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We're getting on towards the end of the year and as we mark the things we're thankful for, one of them is Lollapalooza. Year after year it leaves us with some jaw-dropping performances that make it worth all the sweat and crowds and this year, there were several more that will enter the Lolla Hall of Fame, but we're going to focus on two for now.
While reviews of the Radiohead set seemed lukewarm (though ours was favorable), it was worth it for the following segment alone: during the performance of the songs "Everything in its Right Place" and "Fake Plastic Trees," fireworks from the Chicago Bears Family Day at Soldier Field exploded high above the stage and created one of the most memorable moments not only of this year's edition of the fest, but perhaps of any edition. While the quality of the below video isn't the best, it's still pretty good and gives you a good idea of how things looked.
While that got the fest off to a rousing start, hometown rapper Kanye West brought the house down on Sunday night. While Tankboy and the other rockers were on the other side of the park for Nine Inch Nails, myself and several other Chicagoist staffers were front and center for Kanye. And no one left disappointed. At the time, we said:
We've been apologists of sorts for Mr. West, dismissing his antics as secondary to his amazing artistic output and we hoped for an equally stunning performance. What we got, instead, was something transcendent. While his backing band was dressed in black to blend in to the background, Kanye took the stage by himself with no assistance from hypemen or collaborators and for the next ninety minutes stalked, danced, and crawled across the stage. He would sink or swim by himself, on his talents alone. In the end, he didn't swim; he flew...Barking lyrics with more ferocity than we could ever imagine, West gave it his all and even the haters would have a hard time finding fault with his performance. During a spoken interlude in "Touch the Sky," he admitted that he was striving to be "the best in the world," but also copped to not being there yet. After last night's performance, we consider him a few steps closer.Four month and several dozen spins of Kanye's new LP later, we stand by this assessment. People can continue to criticize him for his antics, but we like to focus on the output. Kanye FTW!
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Nine Inch Nails were probably the best live act on that bill.
Fireworks can't make Radiohead more interesting, sorry.
I agree with CL ... and why do folks here at the ist constantly fellate Kanye and Radiohead? seriously ... it's getting ridiculous.
Come on jmagic. The Kanye thing: I'm not a fan, but he's huge - and, relevant to our discussion - from Chicago. And I haven't seen a plethora of Radiohead posts, so I don't think fellatio enters the picture; let's keep it that way. Point is, I'm also thankful for a pretty substantial music festival happening here and here alone for the foreseeable future.
Even though it kills the summer season in the clubs? I agree with DeRo's argument when it comes to Lolla. It's too long and it condenses the concert season around here to one long weekend with horrible beer and limited sets.
How does Lolla kill the summer season in the clubs or go on for too long? Anyone with a job will tell you that one weekend doesn't last long enough, and if Lolla really kills a summer season, I think that says more about the summer season than it does about Lolla. Come to think of it, what is the concert season and who is attending? And who attends Lolla? Chicago offers a good mix for everyone. I think it's a mistake to think Lolla takes away from that; if anything, it adds to it.
Lolla has exclusive contracts. No bands that play Lolla can play here for several months before and after the festival. Does it kill the music scene? No, but it does but a big damper on it.
As for bad beer. Sneak in booze dude, its real easy.
I wasn't aware of the contracts. I can see how they may be a damper. But how extensive are they? Do they apply to the headliners or everyone on the bill? Not to neglect club concerns, but if a band signs a contract they probably have a reason to do so. Regardless, how many bands play at Lolla in one weekend? A lot of people could name a lot of bands that aren't there in any given year. I still think it's probably a good thing on the whole.
I agree that Lolla is a good thing. I love it and go every year. There are around 150 bands, and apparently everyone of them must sign the exclusive contract. The thing is many of the bands tour extensively and if they can't play here 3 months before and after Lolla it means they don't come to Chicago for more than half a year, besides a short hour or less set at Lolla. There are obviously reasons to sign the contract, but there are also external pressures that make it a hard decision to pass up as well I am sure.
Unless you make a deal with the promoters, they're pretty damn extensive. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only time I've seen some of the bands from Lolla play the clubs around here is if they're playing a special one-off show when they are in town (i.e. an after-fest party). Sure, the band has a reason to sign the contract....they're playing in front of a lot of people and getting paid fairly well. But when I want to see NIN come through town, I want to see them in a venue where sound bleed from Kanye West is not a problem and where they don't play a festival-friendly set. One day would be fine, three days sucks up my concert season and the venue isn't even that good. They book so many bands that there is sound bleed and it's not even that enjoyable.
As for the clubs, they're doing way less business as a result. I'd rather support my local clubs than to have a three day calamity in the park.
Fireworks went off during Pearl Jam last year. How is memorable for Radiohead but not for Pearl Jam?
Pizza Club - That happened in 2007. This post was about Lolla 2008.
Oh, and Kanye's new album is terrible. Nice to see you can rag on Billy Corgan for being a d-bag with questionable musical output but when Kanye puts out something less than stellar, you don't call out his d-baggy-ness
You think it's terrible, we don't.
@Marcus Gilmer
"created one of the most memorable moments not only of this year's edition of the fest, but perhaps of ANY EDITION."
And I'm not the only one that thinks Kanye's new album sucks.
And we're not the only ones who think it's good.
I can understand why people don't like Kanye's new album or that Radiohead wasn't a big deal and I understand the disagreement with my statements in the post. But the "[Band Name] Sucks! You're opinion is wrong!" thing is just so old.
Don't get me wrong, I love Radiohead, but I don't understand how the fireworks going off during their set was any more memorable then when it happened last year during an equally awesome band's set.
Kanye's new album is bad ... like the dude couldn't get away from the vocoder long enough to realize that his own singing voice is flat and he sounds damn near tone deaf.