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Lollapalooza 2007 - I ain't that old yet!

I'm a hardcore music fan and I always have been. I love the Indie rock. This was my 7th Lollapalooza and it was almost as good as the first! Lollapalooza is a music festival that started out in the early 90s, traveling around the country with hot bands of the time. It's the brainchild of Perry Farrell, best known for his band Jane's Addiction. It went on for about 6 years and then stopped. It was brought back in 2005 as a 2 day concert in Grant Park, Chicago. In 2006, it spread the entire length of Grant Park (its got to be a 3/4 mile across) and became 3 days of rock 'n roll bliss.

Friday - Aug 3

I left my home in Michigan about 8:30 am. I had my iPod loaded and ready to go with my Lollapalooza mix, a bag of a dried fruit mix and a thermos of coffee. I got to the show around 1pm and regretted eating all of that dried fruit. The Fratellis played earlier, but unfortunately, I missed them.  I did catch the middle of Chin Up Chin Up, before heading over to see Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. Ted Leo used to be kind of a punk but he's mellowed out. He can turn a great lyric. They sounded great.

It's so funny to see these kids in their "Corporate Rock Sucks" t-shirts, spending $7 for a Bud Light at a concert sponsored by AT&T and Citi, among other. I digress.... Chicago was damn hot and humid. It had to be 88° and 75% humidity.

Polyphonic Spree, all 30 people in the band, came out in head to toe black, with long sleeves, looking like some sort of Eastern European military. Polyphonic Spree is the happiest band to ever live, it seems. The show was high energy and they sounded jubilant. They have a harpist, horns, guitars, keys, some electronic oboe like thing and an entire chorus. It was really entertaining, but the Chicago heat was oppressive. Too bad. I would love to see Polyphonic Spree again, in less hot circumstances.  Listen: Running Away from Polyphonic Spree


Next up, Against Me! I hadn't heard this band until Jason Sharp from Toolfarm sent me a track. I really dig them. I'm a girl who likes to rock and Against Me! sounds like they're channeling The Clash, one of my all-time favorite bands. The audience, of course, was mainly sweaty guys pounding fists into the air. They rocked hard but they really weren't all that exciting to watch on stage. Of course, it was about 95° outside, so I can't say I blame them for keeping it low key. Listen: White People for Peace (Butch Vig remix)


M.I.A. didn't let the heat bother her. M.I.A. is a rapper/singer from Sri Lanka via London. I encourage you to read M.I.A.'s Wikipedia entry, even if you don't like her music. It's nuts. She had a tough life, with a father who was a head guy in a militant Tamil group in Sri Lanka. Anyway, her show was high energy and very loud! Her voice went out towards the end of the set and she used some sort of throat spray that she said Jack White FedEx'd to her the night before. Yeah, sure, M.I.A...throat spray.


M.I.A.'s music is a mix of hip-hop, rap and dance music with some sounds of Africa and Jamaica. It's definitely interesting, but I still can't decide whether I like it or not. She's a great entertainer and looks good in sequined short shorts, something I'd certainly have a hard time pulling off. She had her backup singer bounded all over the stage, dancing and rapping. It did seem like the sound guy was a little heavy on the volume. It sounded a bit crunchy and rattly to me. Maybe my ears were starting to ring by that point, I don't know.

See Boyz Video from M.I.A.. You video people will get a kick out of the graphics.

The Rapture are a band that I really like until the singers voice gets to me. You've probably heard the song Wooh! Alright! Yeah! and not known who it was, with the line "People don't dance no more, they just stand there like this." If you don't know what I'm talking about by now, you don't know the song, trust me. Get Myself Into It  and Olio are better songs and they did play all three. I had no idea that the Rapture had two lead singers... both whiny. Anyway, this band is not a band to see outside on a bright sunny day. This is a band you want to see in a smoky bar with lots of strobe lights. The sunlight and heat (did I mention it was at least 98°?) did the band a big disservice, not to mention these annoying kids in front of me who screamed the words to every song at each other for the entire show. Yeah, you know the words. Great. Haha, maybe I am getting old. I used to be that kid screaming the words at concerts.

I caught the end of the Blonde Redhead show and they sounded terrific, too. After that I left the show to go meet some friends. I'm wishing I would've stayed to catch Daft Punk. I heard about 10 people say how great the show was. Also, I wish I would've watched Satellite Party, Perry Farrell's band. I heard them as I was walking down Columbus Ave. back to my friends place. They played "Stop!" from Jane's Addicition and a couple of other tracks. I picked up the Satellite Party CD after Lolla and I'm LOVING it. It's brilliant. Listen to Wish Upon a Dog Star from Satellite Party.

Saturday, August 4

I wanted to catch Tokyo Police Club on Saturday morning but missed them. My sister sister came in on the train and I went to the station to pick her up. Tokyo Police Club's Be Good is in my heavy rotation on my iTunes.

We did catch the tail end of Tapes 'n Tapes and they were okay. I didn't get to hear Cowbell, which is a great song.


Silverchair was next up. I'm not really a fan, but my sister is, and in the end, I was blown away by their performance. I remember them as teenagers back in the early 90s doing grunge. Their sound has matured over the years, as has the band members. The singer, Daniel Johns... meow... is a totally sexy bad boy. He went shirtless for most of the show and has his nipples pierced and a pornstache. The band rocked really hard and Daniel is a flamboyant frontman, writhing around the stage on his back while playing guitar and even playing with his teeth. Very entertaining show. Since Lolla, I picked up their latest CD and it's great. Check out their Reflections of a Sound video. It's an innovative video and it's going on Toolfarm's Inspirations page as soon as I finish this review.

My sister had to leave for a while, so I camped out midway between two stages and took a nap while listening to the Cold War Kids and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. This Lollapalooza was the convergence of the whiny singer I swear. I dunno. Maybe their shows were great and I wasn't close enough to enjoy them.

CSS, a Brazilian electronic band made up of mostly women, was a group that I was really excited to see and they cancelled!

My sister came back and we went to see Snow Patrol, a band that most of you know from their hit Chasing Cars.  They weren't all that exciting to watch on stage but they sounded sublime. Gary Lightbody, the singer, sounded perfect. The whole show sounded exactly like listening to the CD, except with the crowd singing along to Chasing Cars and my favorite tune Run with it's resolute chorus "Light up light up, as if you had a choice". Sends chills down my spine.

Snow Patrol is a band that is going to have a big future. I, maybe unfairly, lump them in with the likes of Coldplay, but they have that radio friendly sound. Don't get me wrong, I love the band. It's great to chill out too and the song Run can give you shivers as you wake up at 4am, bleary eyed on the couch, to their video on MTV. It's not as rockin' as I like for a live show. That said, I did see Air Supply in concert once and Snow Patrol rocks harder than Air Supply.


English band Muse was the headliner for the night and they were LOUD! Seriously, I'm still half deaf from the show. Because of them, I bought earplugs. Muse sounded incredible and they had an impressive light and video show. They did take quite a while between songs, at least a minute most of the time, but they have a forceful wall of noise that's thick with bass and jangling guitars. That comment about whining singers... it applies to Muse too, but they won me over. They put on a tremendous live show and they played all of the great songs I wanted to hear: 
Starlight, Time is Running Out and Super Massive Blackhole. Let the Radiohead comparisons begin.

Watch Stockholm Syndrome recorded at the show, probably on someone's phone, but it will give you an idea of the video and light spectacular.

Sunday, Aug 5

We got to the show late (again), this time due to a very slow restaurant serving lox and eggs. I missed the Cribs, which I'm very sad about because I had them double circled on my schedule. Men's Needs is one of my current favorite songs.


I got to the park just in time for the beginning of Rodrigo y Gabriela, a duo from Mexico, by way of Dublin. They play flemenco guitar mixed with inspirations of Black Sabbath. Yeah, a strange combination, but they're so good. If I had one of those lasers that could pick up the temperature, their guitar strings had to read about 800°. Their fingers played about 500 miles per hour while using the guitars and their hands and feet as their percussion. I can't imagine the callouses on their finger tips. As amazing of musicians as they are, I think they'd be better to see in a small club instead of a huge festival.  Watch Stairway to Heaven



Amy Winehouse is the one act my sister and I were both dying to see. We were praying that she wouldn't cancel the show. You know the song Rehab? Well, she doesn't sing that song for no reason. I've been following the news about her downward spiral of exhaustion and cancelled shows. Well, she played! She sounded amazing. Her voice is so strong and soulful. Her hair is an enormous bouffant and her legs are as big around as beer can. She looked like she could topple over. She didn't seem to be putting a lot of effort into her performance. She stood there on stage, barely swaying her hips, completely expressionless for the duration of the show. The backup singers/dancers, though, they were kinetic, playing off of each other in what looked like a totally improvised dance routine. They were so much fun to watch. It's too bad Amy's performance wasn't more peppy.

We caught a bit of Blue October and were unimpressed. It was 105° outside and the singer was dressed for a crisp fall day, which I guess if you want to suffer for fashion, that's your business. The only song I have heard by this band is Hate Me, which has that "angst ridden emo boys with eyeliner" sound. Meh.

I watched a bit of Iggy Pop. Pretty much what I expected. I wanted to catch !!! (which is pronounced Chk Chk Chk) at the MySpace stage and that show overlapped with Iggy. It was a good decision. !!! was one of the best shows I saw all weekend. You know the dance scene at the end of Napoleon Dynamite? The singer totally channels Napoleon Dynamite. He's full of energy and it was a fun, fun show.  The band is sort of a dance funk alternative rock band and I think they must enjoy hallucinagenics. They played Pardon my Freedom (actual performance video from Lolla - very entertaining) early on and it totally got the crowd going.

Modest Mouse was next up... another band I was very excited to see. Float On had the crowd singing. I was starting to really get annoyed with the kids pushing through the crowd by this point. Big sweaty hairy guys should leave their shirts on too. Come on, a little etiquette please! Modest Mouse sounded really good, but we left the show about a half hour early to get good spots for Pearl Jam.

We ended up sitting quite a ways back for Pearl Jam but we had a good view of the screens, and we were both sick of kids pushing by us. This ended up being a wise decision. Pearl Jam played all of the hits except Jeremy. I have to admit, I'm not much of a Pearl Jam fan. I have their Ten album (who doesn't) but haven't had it out in probably 10 years. I did see them at Lollapalooza in 1994 or so and they were great. This time, they were even better. Eddie Vedder's voice was strong and sounded amazing. The band totally rocked and turned every song into a 9 minute jam. 

Eddie did a great rant on Don't Go BP Amoco who are planning to pollute our precious lake.

They had a Iraqi vet in a wheelchair come out and told his story. He's in a documentary about ending the war. Just then, Ben Harper walks out on stage and they do a duet called "No More War", which was awesome.

They ended the show with "Keep on Rockin in the Free World". Eddie passed his bottle of wine around the crowd and then hoards of people came out on stage. Dennis Rodman comes out and carries Eddie on his shoulders and Juliette Lewis also came out on stage. It was absolutely one of the best shows I've ever seen. No, it doesn't get "Eddie Vedder" than this.

I am still recovering from the weekend, but reliving my twenties every once in a while is something I just have to do. I refuse to give in and get old. I'll be taking my daughter to rock shows when I'm into my fifties, as long as I can deal with those damn kids. Speaking of damn kids - lip piercings are not attractive, okay. Really they're not.

And... Grant Park.... beautiful Grant Park... completely trashed. They're going to need a lot of sod to fix that one.

Posted at 11:14PM Aug 10, 2007 by Michele Yamazaki in Music  |  Comments[4]