Day 2- August 4, 2007

Saturday was cloudy with temps in the mid-70s, and I arrived at the Bud Light stage around 12:55 pm to catch the second half of I’m From Barcelona’s 12:30 pm set. The Swedish band led by Emanuel Lundgren brought at least 20 people on stage in wildly colorful clothes (and one bear costume).

Lundgren wore suspenders and a bright red tie, and he had red hair and a mustache. They set balloons out on the crowd that added to the merriment, but they didn’t match the giant blue ones that the Flaming Lips use. Lundgren’s thick accent made for funny chatter between songs. Before “Ola Kala,” he said, “What did I have on mind again? I need to buy milk, I…” and then the song exploded.

Then, during the chorus, everyone swayed their arms in the most moving spectacle of the day. The band mysteriously left the stage around 1:05 pm, only to come back immediately. I don’t think it could be called an encore if it happened halfway through their set.

The band’s array of instruments, including tuba, flute and saxophone, were put to better use than by the Polyphonic Spree, especially because of the optimistic tone they muster. At the end of the show, they played the electronica remix of their single “We’re From Barcelona,” and Lundgren announced, “Now dance to this.” Everyone obeyed, and the band (bear included) danced as well. The sad part is, this simple recording was more entertaining than many acts on Friday!

I felt incredible after that first show, and I practically skipped across the park to see Tapes ‘n Tapes on the MySpace stage at 1:30 pm. I had seen this band at Pitchfork Music Festival 2006 in Chicago, but didn’t hear much from them after that. They really brought the energy of their debut The Loon to the big stage.

They played many songs from their upcoming album that were slightly less playful, and had a more streamlined sound. The live show revealed their noise rock influences like Sonic Youth and the Pixies.

I ducked out early to see Aqueduct on the Citi stage at 2:15 pm, where the usual solo project of David Terry was augmented with three extra people. Most of my excitement was built on the few Impact hits from his 2005 album I Sold Gold, like “Hardcore Days & Softcore Nights “ and “The Suggestion Box.”

Sadly, Terry’s vocals were the weakest part of the performance. It cleared up as the set went on, but it tarnished the aesthetic value throughout. Another artist to reveal his influences on stage, you could really hear Terry’s devotion to grunge and late-80s hard rock. I wasn’t hooked, so I got a move on.

I made it to the Bud Light stage with about 40 minutes left of Stephen Marley’s 2:30 pm set. As you might imagine, he sang a LOT like his dad, the late, great Bob Marley. And really, no one had much to complain about. His band was a powerful reggae machine, mixing his competent originals with covers of Bob’s classics. It’s actually amazing that the whole scene didn’t go up in smoke (literally).

Near the end of that set, I turned around and found a good spot in front of the Adidas stage to watch Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) at 3:30 pm. I saw this band play for a short while at Langerado Music Festival last March near Ft. Lauderdale, FL (as you might have read about right here on MusicEdge).

They can generally be described as a jam band and are completely instrumental (no vocals). However, this set showed their electronica and hip-hop leanings, with many darker, groove-oriented sounds. I enjoyed the spinning lights projected on the wall behind them. Strangely though, seeing them gave me an intense desire to see Lotus again (who are playing at the Crofoot Ballroom on October 27).

I turned back to the Bud Light stage at 4:30 pm for the Roots, a band I had been excited to see for a few years now. Unfortunately, one of the biggest upsets of the weekend came right before their set. The large video screen next to the stage announced that CSS’s 5 pm set on the Citi stage was cancelled and that Matt & Kim would replace them. After the festival, I looked unsuccessfully to find an explanation for this. I would get no hot, hot Brazilian dance rock during this year’s Lollapalooza.

The Roots did cheer me up a little bit though. Backed by the great ?uestlove on drums, the full band of instruments – not just MCs with a DJ like most hip-hop groups – was definitely entertaining. I don’t remember many specific details because…eh…I was pretty intoxicated by this point in the day.

We crossed to the south end of the festival grounds even though CSS was no longer set to play and watched the end of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, who had gone on the AT&T stage at 4:30 pm. As long as the vocalist sings in this raspy, whining voice, I’ll never be able to give this band a chance. He scrambles my brain into a juicy pulp. Anyways, they are another example of taking the amazing music of the Talking Heads and squeezing out something less than incredible.

But it gets worse. The Hold Steady took the MySpace stage at 5:30 pm, and it was almost intolerable. I had also seen them at Langerado in March, but I thought I would give them a second chance, since their 2006 album was one of the best received by critics that whole year. They sound like AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, and other classic rock all rolled into one unattractive package.

The singer doesn’t sing – he just rambles with a husky, abrasive voice. The keyboard player dresses creepily and has a nasty mustache. They seemingly play the same thing over and over again, and not just within songs, but between them as well. The baseball organ was nice (it matched the singer’s Twins jersey), but it couldn’t save their clutter. They are like the sonic translation of a skunk spray. (Hey…give me the break. I am the self-declared Anti-Hipster, remember? It’s not an attempt to balance the hype or critical acclaim. It’s my personal taste, backed by a certain amount of logical analysis, in an ultimate attempt to free my mind from outside influence. Feel free to disagree.)

By 6:30 pm, I was sitting on the hill east of the AT&T stage counting the seconds until the Yeah Yeah Yeahs came out in front of the weekend’s biggest crowd so far. Karen O shrieked and moaned as she romped around the stage in a holey black suit with wings, with the prowess I expected from the indie rock princess. She never takes it too seriously though, interrupting herself to giggle from time to time.

Nick Zimmer (guitar) and Brian Chase (drums) looked enthralled as well, but left all the stage antics to K.O. Her whisper switches to a rebel yell instantly, and I’m sure she could be heard at the north end of the park. What attracted me to this band in the first place was the angular, punky sound, and undercurrents of sex and violence. Their new release was more pop rock than art rock, but it all meshed well on stage. Maybe someday they’ll play a show in Michigan. Until then, check out their DVD Tell Me What Rockers To Swallow.

I stuck around for Spoon’s set at 7:30 pm on the MySpace stage. I was hoping that seeing them a second time would give me a definite feel for the band (I first saw them at Pitchfork 2006). And yet after the fact, I’m still indifferent. I love a few of their tracks, like the clap-along joy of “The Way We Get By” and the random guitar spurts on “My Mathematical Mind.” I’ll even give mild praise to their oddly-titled 2007 release Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. I don’t know if it’s their bare-bones approach or the inconsistent danceability of their songs, but they just couldn’t hold my attention for the whole hour on Saturday night. At the same time, I have nothing negative to say about them (and it’s possibly that I just reached my hangover stage early). Maybe it’ll hit me eventually, and I’ll love them.

I watched the beginning of Muse’s performance at 8:30 pm on the AT&T stage from far away. Their light set-up was more interesting than their music. Their sound owes much to Radiohead, especially the wavering vocals that emulate Thom Yorke’s poorly. Then I jumped over to the Bud Light Stage to see a piece of Interpol, who had also started at 8:30 pm. Their NY-meets-Coldplay sound wasn’t enthralling, and since I was exhausted, I headed to the Red Line train to go home.