Lollapalooza 2012: Friday

By Staff in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 4, 2012 4:00PM

Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduces the Black Keys at Lollapalooza 2012 Friday night. (Photo Credit: Joshua Mellin)

As we arrived at Lollapalooza early Friday Grant Park was pretty sparsely populated, but I knew that would change by day’s end. I took advantage of the lull before the storm to take in the grounds and see what’s changed since last year. The biggest difference is definitely Perry’s stage. It no longer resembles an airplane hangar since they’ve removed the canopy and turned it into an open air stage. The obvious benefit to this is opening up the space, but it also removed last year's club feel. And despite massive LED screens encompassing the stage and dotting the grounds, the visuals were largely diminished by the sun. Despite this, that didn’t stop the kids from literally running to the area every time a bass dropped.

The other obvious change is the new fencing that forms a second perimeter around the festival, forming an additional level of security to keep fence jumpers out. We did see some of the fencing knocked down on Lake Shore Drive and we witnessed a few crashers simply run through one of the auxiliary smaller security checkpoints. When the person working the gate saw this happen they looked at the security guard who looked back at them and shrugged their shoulders. So it seems at least some are tolerating a few gratis entries? - Tankboy / Jim Kopeny

I began the day with Yellow Ostrich - and a marriage proposal. Midway through their set, singer paused for the special announcement, passed the mic to his friend, and luckily, she said yes!

The band served up some jaunty pop to go with the hot afternoon sun (and the love in the air). Band leader Alex Schaaf, a New Yorker by way of Wisconsin, self-produced his latest album (with the help of Beau Sorenson), Strange Land. It's much like the debut album, but this effort explores more expansive, dramatic sounds. On stage, the drumming really stood out, a polyrhythmic African influence that helps make their songs even catchier. The group closed their set with their strongest, most popular song, “Marathon Runner.” - Michelle Meywes

We decided to journey over to the ever-expanding set up over at Perry's to see Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. We had heard a set from the Oxford DJ at the Spin Magazine party the night before and decided to brave the club under the sun for more. TEED’s on-stage costume resembles a stegosaurus, and today, he was joined by two tiny dino go go dancers, complete with leotards and tails, on each side of the stage. Perry’s this year has lost the cover of last year, fully encompassing the open field, though a lot of the scantily clad spandex wearing youngsters opted to hide in the shade of the trees since it was already pushing 90 degrees. The stage has had a facelift as well, booming with multiple huge LED screens that make those club lights easier to see in daylight, and a raised DJ platform. - Michelle Meywes

We were on our way elsewhere when Dry the River's sound beckoned us to the shade of the BMI stage. The London group's complex sound is somewhere between rock and folk, reminiscent of Fleet Foxes, but not as saccharine. It has a little more edge. Their soft, pretty vocal harmonies, sometimes a cappella, give way to catchy riffs with more force than your regular swaying sound. Bonus: Shirtless, long-haired bass player rocking out. - Samantha Abernethy

The afternoon had us doing a lot of wandering, looking for shade, food, and some bands we were unfamiliar with. But first we headed up north to the Bud Light stage just in time to hear the end of Metric’s set, humming along with Emily Haines to “Stadium Love”. Of course wished that we had opted to see their whole set as we were reminded just how fun their songs are and how solid they are live. From there we stopped by Chow Town and the Google Play stage to hear a little bit of SBTRKT, a masked electronic artist who has pumped out remixes for MIA, Modeselektor and Basement Jaxx, though were weren’t all that compelled to stay. Something about his vocal tone with that musical style just didn’t fit for us. After watching newno2 on BMI (which Sam talks about later), we returned to the trees at Google Play to check out Band of Skulls. Here we got to see some solid rock, with a strong drummer (Matt Hayward) and a chick rocking the bass (Emma Richardson). After the song “Wanderluster,” we had to move on to catch the evening portion of our program. - Michelle Meywes

The Newno2 (Samantha Abernethy/Chicagoist)

Thenewno2
This is the first time I've heard a truly original sound in a while. It was refreshing, especially in the festival environment where the sounds become a blur. Thenewno2 incorporates elements of electronic music, but it's just the backdrop for the performance, in the manner of Nine Inch Nails (though that's not at all what they sound like). There are a lot of instruments on the stage, and they incorporate the electronic with a pop sensibility. Song-by-song, it's hit-or miss, but there's serious potential. I'll spare you the farce of comparing frontman Dhani Harrison to his father. Let's just say his talent is stronger than any celebrity his name lends him. - Samantha Abernethy

The Shins (Image via Youtube screen grab.)

Friend 1: I think they just needed to go away for a while. It’s not their fault…

Friend 2: Yeah, it’s Zach Braff’s fault.

This is how our conversation at the Red Bull stage began, and how we imagine a lot of talk during The Shins set went. The band rocketed to popularity between appearing on the 2004 Garden State soundtrack, and the success of 2007’s Wincing The Night Away. Our conversation continued with a discussion on why bands like Iron and Wine didn’t see the same soaring acclaim, with the response being that their songs just weren’t as compelling. As we entered the south end of the park, we heard James Mercer’s unmistakable, unwavering voice and we were reminded just how catchy and well written his songs actually are. The name The Shins really only applies to Mercer nowadays, as he’s retooled the band so many times since it’s inception. These days, it could be argued that the band he tours with sounds more like The Shins than The Shins ever did. On Friday, they of course played old hits like “Phantom Limb” and “New Slang” and some new ones from this year’s release, Port of Morrow. - Michelle Meywes

While M83’s set was glorious I let it early in order to catch NERO at Perry’s stage. DJ/producers Dan Stephens and Joe Ray are still not household names in the U.S. but they're one of the biggest DJ teams in the world right now. And they traffic in the growly dubstep that the kids love so much, but they dress it up with a pop edge that makes it safe for radio, should U.S. radio ever decide to move out of their parochial pastures. And judging by the crowd response the times aren’t a’changing, they’ve changed.

The Black Keys (Image via Youtube screen grab.)

Afterward the The Black Keys packed the south end of Grant Park. It was a pretty impressive sight and we should have expected it when the grounds became barely navigable during M83’s preceding set. The Keys were augmented by a few additional musicians, necessary for the newer, more complicated material, but detracting from the old primal power we’ve witnessed from the two-piece combo in the past. We missed it but we hear their set was announced by none other than Mayor Rahm Emanuel as he continues in his head-to-head death match against Alderman Proco Joe Moreno over who has the hippest taste in music.

Black Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne (Image via Youtube screen grab.)

On the south end of the field a smaller but no less frenzied crowd assembled to be schooled in the dark ways of rock by Black Sabbath. Ozzy Osbourne was gleeful and obviously having a great time, dispelling our fears that this set would be phoned in. Tommy Iommi was particularly impressive, his fingers having lost none of their agility as they coaxed dark roars out of his guitar. And even though the official Lollapalooza camera crew seemed determined to ignore him entirely, Geezer Butler’s bass playing showcased the debt all heavy metal bass players owe to the man. And while there was plenty dark imagery and talk of faeries coming out of Osbourne’s mouth the man balanced it with a winning sense of humor. Our favorite line of the night was when he turned a concert convention on its head in front of the crowd yelling, “"ARE YOU HAVING A GOOD TIME!? … Who said no?" It wasn’t me Ozzy, I was having a blast. - Tankboy / Jim Kopeny

Every time I walked past Perry's stage, I wished I were young enough to enjoy it. I'm only 28, but I'm cursed with flat feet that barely allow me to walk all day during a festival let alone dance, and it's rare an act inspires me to power through the pain. Jealousy and curiosity got the best of me Friday, and emboldened by the power of Black Sabbath, I headed to Perry's. If Ozzy can perform, so can I.

I came up on the crowd for Bassnectar from the back and pushed through to the middle, between the two big light towers. I tried to dance, but I couldn't quite get into it. Every one around me was so young and neon and grinding. Then the bass dropped. I get it, I guess. It felt like it altered the beat of my heart. So much power and light. I don't know how long I stayed. It could've been 10 minutes, but it felt like 10 hours. Frankly, the potency of the various smokes around me was getting to me. I started to push out the side of the crowd, then I saw a father and his son, who was maybe nine years old. The father had black gloves with neon tips, and he was doing those rave moves. The kid was jumping around with glowsticks. Ok, maybe this isn't just for the 16-24 crowd. It's probably still not for me, though. - Samantha Abernethy

Ready for day two? Who are you going to see? We have a few suggestions if you’re trying to fill your schedule.