Our 2012 Lollapalooza Faves: Saturday

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 2, 2012 6:00PM

Saturday tends to be the wildest day at Lollapalooza. People have settled into a routine and the festival grounds have truly transformed into a community that feels sealed off by the rest of the world. It’s also the day when people tend to start drinking the earliest, so that always provides some comic relief as you make your way from one stage to another. By now we’re all seasoned pros, a byproduct of which is that many schedules have been thrown to the winds outside a few tentpole acts you paid good money to see in the first place. Allow us to make some suggestions as to which bands should fill those new vacancies in your schedule on Saturday - Tankboy

Kopecky Family Band
12:00 p.m. on the Google Play stage

The term ‘family band’ could scare some Lolla-goers off, especially if they think they’re in store for some down-home country or G-rated Partridge pop. While the Kopeckys come from Nashville, their music is more emotive orchestral folk than than boot stomping fiddle. This six piece falls firmly into the indie folk rock camp (complete with horns) with songs that are powerful and sincere. The Family, made up of singers Gabe and Kelsey, Steven on guitar, Corey on bass, Markus on cello and David on drums, has spent a lot of time on the road over the years (in a 15-passenger van they’ve dubbed “The War Wagon”), hitting festivals and showcases around the country. With three EPs under their belt, the group is finally set to release their first full length album, Kids Raising Kids, in October.

The Kopecky Family Band also play an official Lolla aftershow with Blind Pilot Friday night at Lincoln Hall. Tickets are $20. - Michelle Meywes

JEFF The Brotherhood
1:30 p.m. on the Playstation stage

If you like gritty riffs and relentless drums, don't miss JEFF The Brotherhood. The duo's latest effort Hypnotic Nights was produced by none other than Dan Auerbach, bringing a little more polish to their sound. The Orral brothers' psychedelic-tinged garage rock is sure to satisfy and get your afternoon rocking. - Samantha Abernethy

Moon Taxi
2:10 p.m. on the BMI stage

We caught this Nashville group's set for the first time at Forecastle Fest in Louisville a few weeks ago, and they brought a rock show with a tinge of jam sensibility that we can't wait to see again. While they're rooted in Nashville, their sound isn't. They give a nod to every style but country. The best part of the show was the smiles on every member's face while they played. Their enthusiasm passed to us, and if you have half as much fun as these guys do, that's a damn good time. - Samantha Abernethy

Delta Spirit
2:15 p.m. on the Bud Light stage

With a name like Delta Spirit you might expect this band to cook up some sort of raucous three-chord blues, but once they start playing you’d realize just how wrong your preconceptions were. This quartet hails from San Diego and while there are elements of Southern influences in their sound much of that is smoothed out by the influences that lay within and mellow out most seaside burgs. Their sound is raucous but there’s a vein of gentler pop running throughout that allow their music to contain a barely restrained duality; the California mellow in their blood is constantly being sucked into, and churned about by, a heavier and more raw mentality. This constant battle within their DNA produces a driving melodicism that we can see blowing out a small club, and that will easily translate to the open expanse of a Lollapalooza stage. - Tankboy / Jim Kopeny

Aloe Blacc
2:15 p.m. on the Red Bull Soundstage

You’ve heard “I Need A Dollar,” the upbeat soulful ballad about making ends meet that inadvertently became an anthem of the recession. The catchy tune was the intro to the popular HBO show “How To Make It In America” and appeared in television commercials. But Aloe Blacc is more than just soul and hip hop, he’s touched on genres from country and folk to hip-hop and dancehall. “Whatever I make depends on what instrument I choose to pick up at the time,” says Blacc, “the guitar usually brings something alternative out, while the keys direct me to a more soulful composition.” Based on what we’ve heard, Blacc brings a swagger to whatever he plays, and we’re banking on a hip-shaking good time afternoon set. - Michelle Meywes

The Verve Pipe
4:05 p.m. on the Kidz stage (and Sunday, 12:30 p.m. on the Kidz stage)

We were merely freshmen when we first heard The Verve Pipe, back when we knew everything and rarely ever took advice. The band went on to sell three million albums after the 1996 release of that major label debut, Villains, which included the hit single “The Freshmen.” Though for the life of us we can’t figure out why a band whose most well-known song is about abortion is playing the Kidz stage … twice (or why a band that’s sold three million albums would only play on the Kidz stage), check out their latest release, A Family Album. After being asked to write a new song for a Lansing, Michigan children's song compilation in 2009, the band was inspired to create their own collection of songs that the whole family could enjoy together.

We won’t be held responsible for whatever happens over there if they do play “The Freshmen” though. If people start stomping on baby’s breath ... OK, we’ll stop. - Michelle Meywes

Alabama Shakes
4:15 p.m. on the Bud Light stage

It's been a while since someone has been able to channel the slow, southern-fried burn of the old Muscle Shoals sound, so it goes to follow the band to bring it back would hail from right down the road. The Athens, Alabama quartet honed their live skills for years, playing the bar-and-party circuit, building an impressive live arsenal that deftly mixes rock and soul, Brittany Howard's voice ranging from a growl to Joplin-like yelp. Their debut LP, Girls and Boys, was released to acclaim and fanfare earlier this year, the press raving about a band that's also a bit of a throwback. While the album is solid, there's no matching the band's ferocity in a live setting; expect to hear the Shakes' music thundering across the Park. - Marcus Gilmer

Tallest Man On Earth
5:15 p.m. on the Playstation stage

While comparisons to Dylan have abounded since Kristian Matsson, a.k.a. The Tallest Man On Earth, first strapped on a guitar, the Swede brings a new-found mellow smoothness to his folk songs on his newest LP, There's No Leaving Now. While the edge is off a bit, Matsson still has some of the sharpest songwriting skills around and delivers dusty folk that fits alongside fellow Swedes First Aid Kit. The set promises to be a mellow affair for the late afternoon but Matsson is also capable of churning up plenty of frenetic energy so sleepiness in the late afternoon sun shouldn't be a problem. - Marcus Gilmer

Washed Out
6:00 p.m. on the Google Play stage

It’s no secret that the hazy, catchy bedroom pop of Washed Out’s Life of Leisure defined Summer 2010. A year later, Washed Out (also known as Ernest Greene) released the heavily-anticipated Within and Without on Sub Pop Records and was able to shake off some of the nostalgic flair that first launched him in the spotlight and replaced it with a more mature sound, building upon his chillwave foundation. It's also probably not a coincidence that Washed Out will be playing the festival with friend and electro-pop artist, Toro Y Moi. Washed Out will be playing a breezy, summery set in the early evening, which will give the Lollapalooza audience a chance to catch a super easygoing yet danceable set before the high-energy closers. - Soyoung Kwak

Bloc Party
7:00 p.m. on the Sony stage

When Silent Alarm came out in 2005, there’s no denying that the album immediately and undoubtedly became one of the most defining “indie” records of the 2000s. Bloc Party has come a long way since then, releasing two more albums (with a fourth album to be released later this month) and trying to progressively define and strengthen their sound. Although it is tough to say that Bloc Party’s later albums have matched the exact success of Silent Alarm, the London-based band is definitely one to catch on Saturday, not because of the high nostalgia factor but because we are positive that they will guarantee an explosive live set. We hope they dig deep during their set and bring out the emotions and gritty guitars that made them stand out in the first place. - Soyoung Kwak

Frank Ocean
8:45 p.m. on the Google Play stage

It almost feels like cheating to recommend seeing Frank Ocean since the up-and-coming R&B singer is already riding such a wave of buzz, but we predict this has the chance to either be brilliant or a complete trainwreck. Ocean’s last two albums have proved he’s a master of his craft, but they’ve also shown he can be prone to a self-indulgence that produces inconsistencies in his work. On his most recent LP, channel ORANGE, he mixes mind-bending and genre-blending music that grafts beats and strings and whatever else he can get his hands around onto deeply personal lyrics delivered in a voice that a mixture of angelic awe and world weary pain. What would have been a near perfect album is marred by moment sof musical divergence though, as Ocean indulges his wonts to inject little skits and pointless interludes into the running order, resulting in a disjointed experience. As long as he dispenses with these asides and brings only the music that’s within his soul to the stage we predict his set under the stars and trees at the Google Play stage could be one of the more memorable moments of the weekend. - Tankboy / Jim Kopeny

OTHER 2012 LOLLAPALOOZA PREVIEWS:
Friday
Sunday
Perry's Stage