Saturday of Lollapalooza 2009 was like Lollas of old: hot, muggy and crowded. Saturday is always a busier day at the fest, and you can especially feel it at the North end of Grant Park, where a bottleneck makes getting to 30% of the shows close to impossible.
But the music! Saturday rated on the list of Top 5 Lolla days for me.
Logistics: Unfortunately, we were not allowed to sneak in with our wristbands at Balbo as we had Friday (and, well, all of 2005, 2006, and 2007.) This meant our sunscreen in an aerosol can was confiscated. The can could be a weapon, they said, but skin cancer is what really kills, so we were lucky to have some backup.
Delta Spirit - A very solid rock and roll band, good vocals and the kind of energy a 12:30 band needs to bring. I could definitely see myself driving too fast to some of their songs. "We're used to playing to like 200 people, and there are like thousands of you. Hi!"
Quinn Sullivan/Buddy Guy - On our way to get ice cream, we got a Lolla text that Buddy Guy was going to make an appearance at the Kids stage, so we headed over and saw this 10-year-old blues guitar prodigy named Quinn Sullivan. The kid is amazing. Buddy came out for one song called "Buddy's Blues" and the kid basically pounded the Kids stage into a pile of rubble with the sound of his guitar. You had to smile.
Miike Snow - What is it with Scandinavia? only heard a few minutes of the set, but it had a great beat, electronics, weird sounds and fun vocals. And check out this album art.
Atmosphere - White guy rappers always start out with two strikes against them, but I liked Atmosphere.
Gomez - I've liked Gomez for a long time. Great to see them live. Professional British rock.
Coheed and Cambria - Not being into metal or graphic novels, I wasn't sure what to expect from C&C. But I stayed for 30 minutes and was pretty impressed. The lead singer has a mass of curly hair in front of his face so you can't see him sing half the time, but you can definitely hear him. Incredible guitar playing, atomic power chords that shake your soul.
Glasvegas - Put me to sleep.
Lykke Li - Crush alert. Lykke Li, the lost Swedish Olsen twin, vamped, pouted and basically put the crowd in its place. "I don't think you liked that one too much, here is a song so you can dance," she said, then sprung into action with her megaphone and black cape.
Ben Harper, Animal Collective, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tool - skipped em! We landed free tickets to the Double Door to see The Gaslight Anthem and Constantines so we went home to clean up and be AfterShow appropriate. Via the Twitter, I hear Ben Harper was good and that Tool caused many people to have nightmares.
Constantines - Canadian. Unrelenting rock. So loud. Gravely vocals. I can dig it.
The Gaslight Anthem - They said it was their first club show in months. Another great performance. This is not the most complicated music. It's definitely made for (insert your love-to-hate alt-rock radio station here). But it's nice to have a pop band on your side. A mosh pit broke out, I almost had to crack some fool for pushing me, and it was so hot and sweaty near the front that I drive home with my shirt off. All in all, a successful Day 2.
Photo: Lykke Li, Lollapalooza 2009, Saturday
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