ALL and I mean ALL I cared about today was Lupe Fiasco and Pearl Jam, beginning and end. There were other things I wouldn’t have minded seeing, but for one reason or another just didn’t really care if I saw or not…and since Lupe and PJ were both going to be at the same stage and I knew Pearl Jam would be bloody fucking hell to get a good spot at if you didn’t plan it out several hours ahead….

So yeah, I picked our spot, spread out my sheet and did not move my butt away from that little incline except twice when I had “blanket company” and I ran up to the portapotties. Otherwise I just sat and read my book and occasionally listened to WHOEVER happened to be playing that field and lazed the day away in the BOILING sun.

Lupe Fiasco: Loved it. Totally loved it. Even though I saw him in March opening for the Roots, I still got totally jazzed by this performance. Like Rhymefest the day before, he’s super young and a little raw (and man does it crack us up when he says things like “sometimes I like to do my OLD stuff”. boy you don’t have OLD stuff yet!), but he’s a little more “poppy” and upbeat (whereas Rhymefest is a little more on the serious, heavy message side), and his dancing antics just totally push all my buttons. Would love to see him open things up with a backing band instead of just a DJ. His new album “The Cool” comes out on Halloween. Can’t wait!!

Blue October: I would have walked to the other field to see Paolo Nuttini, but a) did you read the first two paragraphs of this post? and b) I would really rather see Paolo in a small venue like the Vic or the Metro so I didn’t feel like it mattered if I missed this set. I do actually have a few mellow songs by Blue October on the iPod so I figured I might enjoy the set anyway. Not so much. It was 99% headbanger’s ball and 1% mellow. (For you young’uns, Headbanger’s Ball used to be an hour or so long set on MTV at midnight where all they played was heavy metal. Whenever you see “headbanger’s ball” on this blog, you can substitute the words “heavy metal shit that carolyn does NOT listen to” and you will get the context.)

Kings of Leon: I just do NOT get what the fuss is with this band. When everyone was lovinglovingloving their previous album a few years ago, I was loving Kings of Convenience instead. After seeing them live, I STILL DON’T GET IT. I did not think they sounded very good. Just loud. Boring!

!!!: I can’t remember how to pronounce their name although I know I read it several different times last week and after seeing them live I doubt I will ever even want to find out. I thought this set pretty much sucked. As did several people around me. But their friends (sitting elsewhere) loved it. Never know what’s going to float one’s boat, do ya.

My Morning Jacket: This was my pleasant surprise of the day. As with Kings of Leon, I’ve just never understood the hype. I bought “Z” when no critic would stop talking about it, and i just couldn’t get into it. Seeing them live was a TOTALLY DIFFERENT STORY and I am really going to have to either give Z another listen or check out other albums that I might enjoy more. Because this set was GREAT. Really great. They were both rocking out and slowing things down very effectively. The vocals sounded great. They brought the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra out and the combination was just as sonically pleasing as almost any show I’ve been to in the past few years. Really impressed me and I was NOT expecting it. I would go see them live again in a heartbeat!!

TV on the Radio: This set left almost no impression on me because as the field just kept filling up and filling up and filling up, it got to the point where I could barely hear them over the crowd murmur of the milling about and not so patiently waiting Pearl Jam fans. Apparently during this time, Cafe Tacuba played a blisteringly awesome set in the other field. Which if the world was perfect and I could BEAM places and back effortlessly, I would have gone to but a) bygones, and b) I refer you again to the first two paragraphs. Two goals today. TWO GOALS. No dithering around.

Pearl Jam: Great set. Not the most even or polished performance I’ve ever seen. But a solid crowd pleaser. A mix of old and new, with the old songs certainly getting the most crowd involvement. Having seen him sit in with Ben Harper Friday night as well, we were all a little “woah” at how Eddie Vedder has aged. Maybe he’s doing some of the same kind of hard living as, say, Keith Richards, because he looks a lot older than he actually is. I figure this is probably my one time seeing Pearl Jam since a) I’m not big on the stadium-size shows other than at Lolla and b) I don’t spend all that much time listening to them anymore although I still LOVELOVELOVE their back catalog; so I was super psyched that I sat it out all day and had a really great view and could hear everything and … And. It was really a satisfying performance. Eddie brought Ben Harper out for a duet also (how did Ben Harper play HERE Friday night, at Virgin fest in where? Baltimore somewhere? on Saturday, and then back here Sunday night. Is he crazy?), And the “bring everyone from backstage on stage for the last song” really cracked me up especially because DENNIS RODMAN was there and at one point put Eddie Vedder up on his shoulders like a little kid. Too funny. Definitely a well-worth having seen set, not something I will easily forget.