I was not a good ‘paloozer this year. I only bought a ticket to the least crowded day; and then I was soooo damn lazy that I couldn’t even be bothered to walk to the other field to see bands I really wanted to see (Stephen Malkmus, I’m sorry, will you forgive me?) when my friends were determined to see someone else. As a result, I only saw two “new to me” performers. Grrrr. Totally annoyed with myself in retrospect but I had fun at the time so I guess I just need to get over it.
Rogue Wave – Third time I’ve seen them this [fiscal/school] year so nothing very surprising. Still, a fun performance despite being so early in the day. Can’t really get enough of the lead’s voice.
The Kills – Yay!!! They were awesome. Totally enjoyable set. Loud and sassy and even better than on the album. Woot.
The Black Keys – They fall somewhere between the Raconteurs and (early) Rolling Stones. Rock with a bit of rollicky blues-i-ness. I thought they sounded great even though I was perfectly happy to be far from the stage where I could sit when I wanted to. The kind of performance that when it ended I immediately wanted to go buy every album. Really solid.
Cat Power – She was on what I consider the worst stage at Lollapalooza. There’s concrete, you have to stare into the sun, there’s a walkway/sidewalk right in what would be great seating. Yeah, I just couldn’t deal. She sounded fine but I bailed for the record store, although technically I was listening to her the whole time I was there / I just wasn’t devoted to the performance.
The Raconteurs – These guys are just great live. But as with Rogue Wave and Cat Power, I’ve seen them before, I knew what to expect. Jack White is really a great performer, he brings out the best in the rest of the band. A solid, enjoyable show.
Radiohead – Well, you must be aware by now that I’m not Radiohead’s greatest fan. In fact, I find them hardly listenable at this point. And I’ve already seen them at a festival and not thought it was a good venue for them. So I listened to song one, nice, cool lights, fine. And then song two started. And it was a song I didn’t like. The call of home and shower and bed was too strong. See ya later, Thom Yorke, maybe next time you’ll impress me enough to stay. But not today.
So there you have it. Saw two new performances and enjoyed them, four repeat performances and enjoyed two of them, and was generally the lamest Lollapaloozer-er ever. It *could* be I’m just getting too old and cranky for this shit.
