[concerts] Lollapalooza Day 2 (8/4/2007)

So I'm about one day off with my choice of clothing, as I'm totally prepared for the sun and the heat on Saturday, only it's cloudy and actually a bit cooler.

SIDENOTE: Beetle Bob sighting outside the festival by the box office! This time I've got a picture. Maybe I'll post it.

I'm From Barcelona. I'd say that the Swedish band paled in comparison to The Polyphonic Spree, only they dressed much more colorfully. Still, the music and the cast of thousands on stage didn't compare to the similar effort on the same stage the previous day, although there was a kazoo solo, and singer Emanuel Lundgren gets at least honorable mention in the Witty Banter Awards just for being Swedish and kind of bizarre.

Pete Yorn. I'm not sure how this can be, but I found Yorn's songs to be very good, and his band's performance to be eminently capable, but was still kind of bored with the singer/songwriter's set.

Silverchair. All the recent press has been about how they've grown so much from being a teenaged Aussie knockoff of Nirvana from over ten years ago, and how they have something like seven number one albums in Australia, but none of that is enough to explain why Q101's Ryan Manno was so frickin' excited when he introduced them. I also get the feeling that they've all grown facial hair specifically to combat the perception that they first came to light as teenagers. On stage, they seemed to be trying way too hard, and the songs didn't seem very good. Dead last in the Witty Banter Awards, and heck, Interpol barely said anything!

Motion City Soundtrack. One of the first real revelations of the festival, in that we really didn't know anything about these guys other than that they were from Minnesota. The band came off as a more uptempo, more earnest version of Fountains of Wayne that were very clearly excited to be there. Justin Pierre gets third place in the Witty Banter Awards, asking for a show of hands in the crowd for anyone attending Lollapalooza for the first time, then asking for a show of hands on stage for anyone playing Lollapalooza for the first time.

SIDENOTE: Another stuffed chicken sighting! This time I've got a picture. Maybe I'll post it.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I know everyone goes on and on about this band, but the singer's voice is just nails on a chalkboard, so we didn't last more than three songs.

The Roots. Once again, trombones only allowed on the north stage. The shorter set meant no horns-and-drums breakdown and no epic guitar-drums-and-sousaphone version of "Masters of War," but the grooves were happening. ?uestlove's right wrist is made of rubber. I wish I could play like that.

Snow Patrol. Lots of singing along at this set, as the regular bloke vibe attracts the guys and the songs about love and longing -- and probably the regular bloke vibe as well -- are certainly part of the appeal for the ladies. My biggest issue is that every single song is just driving eighth notes on the guitar. I was dying to hear some syncopation, some dotted eights and sixteenths, anything.

Interpol. We ended up staking out a good spot for the last band of the night instead of forging our way over to see Patti Smith. The slight rain -- which some journalists seem to have taken artistic license with and called a steady downpour -- seemed to set the tone for the dour songs from the New Yorkers. Which also featured a lot of driving eighth notes, but with better lights. Their lead singer didn't look the way I pictured him from his voice, for whatever that's worth. It wasn't transcendent, by any means, but a good set and I'm glad I had the chance to see them.

SIDENOTE: Three girls standing behind us for Interpol were actually at the Diver show at Fado on Friday night, and have been at Vaughan's. I'm a rock star!

Bands I would have liked to have seen, but didn't get to: Dear and the Headlights, CSS (who canceled), Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Patti Smith, Muse.