So I have to admit, for what should be obvious reasons to regular readers, I've been dreading writing this review. Here are some things, in no particular order, that I'd rather do than write up this overdue review:
--Go back in time to 8th grade and play a game of volleyball with the bitchy popular girls and their mile-high bangs
--Have braces installed on my teeth and continually tightened for no good reason
--Go to Walmart at 4:30 a.m. the morning after Thanksgiving
--Drive a great distance with my husband while a scoreless baseball game is being announced on the radio
--Actually do the office work that has been assigned to me
Some of you may be wondering why I'm so hesitant to revisit this experience, which at the time was an enjoyable one. It's not that it's the last NIN show I'll be writing about for the foreseeable future. I've written thousands upon thousands of words with regard to Mr. Reznor and his bandmates. I'm more than ready to move on and discuss other things. I suppose if I say that it's because I'm not looking forward to all the malicious, psychotic bullshit that is sure to follow, then I guess the terrorists will win.
Trent was right, though...the haters do suck the fun out of everything, even if you try your best to ignore them. However, we here at Places Parallel will persevere. We will continue to keep up with Trent and his music, once he's finished with his hiatus, but we also have a LOT of other concerts to discuss, and what's more, I'd like to see more interaction from you, the sane reader, about what's interesting in music and what good shows you've seen. I assure you that I have no intentions of abandoning this site, and I plan to make good use of the "delete" button when necessary to ensure that this is a welcoming place for all.
August 29, 2009 was my ninth NIN show. I figured that if Trent really does put his old hits out to pasture and retire from touring, that would be a nice number to close out that period of my life. (I only wish it could have taken place on 9/9/09. Not even in LA did he do a 9/9/09 show. Lame!) I was accompanied by my dearest friends and favorite concertgoing companions, Ro, Iris, and Mr. Iris. The show took place at precisely the sort of intimate venue at which I have always wanted to see NIN: the Aragon Theater. He may very well have played his first Chicago show at the Aragon, or a place like it (the Metro, the Double Door, the Riviera, etc.). The Aragon has always had a special place in my heart as it is where I saw my very first rock concert in the big, bad city when I was a teenager (the Violent Femmes). When you're young and hemmed in by curfews and rules and small allowances, a real honest-to-God dingy, urban concert hall--poorly lit and with sticky floors--represents danger and real freedom. You feel the tension build before the show even starts in this hot, crowded place with all these strange people. You're slightly nervous that you're going to lose your friends; some creepy guy offers you a beer, and you refuse. You cling to your $20 bill tightly. It's all the money you've got, and you're trying to decide which t-shirt to buy. I can still feel that electricity in the air when I see shows at the Aragon; maybe I steal the spark from all the young kids in the crowd. At any rate, it was the perfect place for a dedicated fan like me to see her favorite band.
I've written so much about the experience of seeing NIN live that it's hard to know what else there is left to say. Regular readers know that the music means a lot to me personally. That's probably true for most NIN fans. The music taps into emotions that can be difficult to express our daily lives--rage, lust, despair--but these emotions must be given voice sometimes, or a person can just lose it. The lyrics are confessional, yet it's easy for the rest of us to project our own feelings and experiences upon them. I could tell you how each and every song on "With Teeth" is about my personal problems circa 2005--forget all that stuff about some guy named Trent and rehab. I went to every show possible so that I could experience a sense of release and a sense of communion with the hundreds or thousands of people around me--all of us shouting out the same words that are so difficult to say at work, to our lovers, to our parents, to our friends, to ourselves. I could tell from the angry, impatient, excited buzz in the air that the audience of this show was hungry for that release.
Experimental indie Danish (more Scandinavians!) rock band Mew was the opener. I can't remember a lot about their set, other than the fact that their songs were accompanied by unsettling imagery. Their music was pleasant enough to listen to; I think they are often compared to Muse by people in the know. But the hungry, angry crowd was not to be satiated by them; plus, it was at this point in the show when we first encountered "Richard" and his unfortunate wife/girlfriend/date, "Amy." Richard was extremely intoxicated and was well on his way to becoming even more intoxicated. He had been at the show the night before; he wanted to make sure that everyone in the venue knew that. You're aware of that, right? Good. He seemed like a fairly knowledgeable fan in his early- to mid-30s, and perhaps if his blood-alcohol level were somewhere below 0.3, he would have been okay to talk to. We stayed in Richard and Amy's vicinity because it provided Iris with a central view of the stage for her video-recording, but we were soon to regret it.
Finally...the moment we've all been waiting for! NIN took the stage beginning with "Home," which is kind of a "meh" opening. They probably could have skipped it and gone straight to "The Beginning of the End," which would have been appropo.
The setlist, courtesy of Echoing the Sound:
Home
The Beginning of the End
Survivalism
Heresy
March of the Pigs
Piggy
Metal
Ruiner
I'm Afraid of Americans
Burn
Gave Up
La Mer
The Frail
I Do Not Want This
Gone, Still
Right Where it Belongs (v2)
The Way Out is Through
Wish
Mr. Self Destruct
Suck
Echoplex
The Good Soldier
Dead Souls
Reptile(w/ Peter Murphy)
Strange Kind of Love (with Peter Murphy)
Final Solution (with Peter Murphy)
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole
Hurt
As you can see, it was very heavy on "The Downward Spiral"--no complaints from me on that! It would have been cool had he chosen to do some kind of concept, like "Pretty Hate Machine" from beginning to end, but this was a nice mix of his work spanning his entire career. It wasn't too different from what I have heard at previous NIN shows, but I was particularly happy to hear "I'm Afraid of Americans," "Dead Souls," (which poor Ro had been waiting to hear live for the first time for like seven shows), and "Gone, Still" from "Still," which I've never heard live before. I'm going to be honest and admit that I didn't miss the obligatory "Ghost" instrumentals. Those never felt quite as powerful as, say, "La Mer" or "Just Like You Imagined."
One moment that was especially powerful to me was "Ruiner." I think it may have been the first time that I heard this song live, but what struck me this time was chanting the words, "You didn't hurt me, nothing can hurt me, you didn't hurt me, nothing can stop me now." I know, I know, it's Trent's oft-recycled "nothing can stop me!" But I happened to reflect on everything I've overcome in the past and personal problems I'm dealing with now, and it helps to be reminded that there is a rock-solid part of me that cannot be touched by these things, that will never be defeated. It kind of has nothing to do with the song, but it's an example of how we can take away different things from the music than perhaps what was originally intended.
So as you see, Peter Murphy was the special guest, as promised. Which was awesome. We have seen Peter and Trent collaborate onstage with these very songs in the past, however, when NIN toured with Bauhaus, so there was kind of a "been there, done that" feel to this portion of the show, although I am always happy to hear "Strange Kind of Love." Perhaps this could have been avoided by bringing Peter to back up Trent for different songs or by begging and pleading with Gary Numan to come to Chicago. I'm really jealous of the LA crowd getting to see that! Also, it would have been awesome if Trent could have brought on some local legend, like uh...I dunno. Cheap Trick? Just kidding! But seriously...I don't know whom Trent has totally pissed off over the years, but Chicago has brought the world Veruca Salt, Liz Phair, Ministry (yes, yes, I KNOW Al hates Trent), Local H, and of course, The Smashing Pumpkins, although the total weight of the egos of Trent Reznor and Billy Corgan on one stage would probably cause a tear in the time-space continuum and end all life as we know it. Any of those would have been mind-blowing. Seeing Peter Murphy is always welcome...just not mind-blowing.
Trent had a nice spoken interlude wherein he thanked all of his fans and talked about how much he loves Chicago. It was very heartfelt and sweet, and I can't remember a word of it, so we just have to wait until Iris returns with the video of his speech. Come back, Iris!
Meanwhile, during all of these proceedings, Richard managed to make an enemy of every single person around him--from the man whom he spilled a beer on, to me and Iris because he was standing in front of my 4'10" self and talking loudly to the embarrassed Amy throughout the ENTIRE show, to Mr. Iris because he had no respect for anyone around him, to the guy who just finally snapped at the end of the show and shouted, "You were here last night? Good for you! The rest of us weren't, and we'd like to experience the show! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He managed to commit every possible concert foul, and it's amazing that he didn't get involved in a fistfight. With his nonstop drunken chatter, it was hard for me to get in my zone during the show, so that was unfortunate. It was also unfortunate that so many of us had to waste so much time and energy being pissed off at him rather than enjoying the show. He really detracted from the entire experience. So let this be a lesson to all concertgoers...you can pre-party, just don't overdo it! And to all enabling girlfriends/wives, please remove your drunken man from an area before someone punches him in the fucking mouth, as he clearly deserved. So that was kind of a sour note on a great evening, but it can't be helped. As we have all learned recently, a lot of NIN "fans" are total assholes.
And that, I think, is that! *sigh...you know, it was actually kind of cathartic getting through this. I think I'm enjoying catching up on all my overdue reviews as opposed to having that nagging voice running through my brain: "You're ignoring Places Parallel...you're ignoring Places Parallel..."
Stay tuned, more reviews to come!
Showing posts with label Inadequate Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inadequate Reviews. Show all posts
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
And Finally--the Long-Awaited Conclusion to Lolla-freaking-palooza 2009!
Is it November already? Must be time for another post! As I've said countless times, I just want to keep the promises I made to you guys months and months ago, and then hopefully we can all move on and maintain a more regular publishing schedule, etc. Oh my God, when I get through this last Lolla review, I will feel SO relieved! At least I've gotten this written before Lollapalooza 2010!
My husband was eager to get to Grant Park somewhat early that last day to see Cage the Elephant, who have since become much more ubiquitous on the radio and in commercials than they were earlier this summer. They do happen to have the most interesting backstory of any act at Lollapalooza last summer (paraphrased from Lolla marketing). Apparently, the band was founded by two brothers--Matt and Brad Schultz--from Kentucky whose parents were former hippies turned Jesus freaks and lived on a Christian commune. Rock music was forbidden, until their parents were divorced, and then they immersed themselves in all kinds of good stuff like classic rock and grunge. Just like all those kids whose minds were blown by the first Velvet Underground record and had to create their own band, the Brothers Schultz grabbed some friends and made their own record in like 10 days and became a big success in the UK before anyone had ever heard of them here. By now you've probably heard the infectious "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" and perhaps even "Back Against the Wall." They were brand-new to me that day, but I noticed that Cage the Elephant brought good old-fashioned blues-inspired rock to an enthusiastic crowd on a very hot day indeed. The first band I think of when I hear them is the Rolling Stones; they have a classic sound with something raw, sexy, and a little dangerous lurking in the lead singer's voice. After all, we all know what happens to the kids with super-religious, strict parents once those kids get a taste of freedom...unbridled, awesome hedonism! There's also a purity in their garage band sound, reminiscent of the White Stripes before they got all pretentious and discordant with the godawful "Icky Thump." As I recall, their live show was energetic, but it was hard to dance and "whoo" at 100 percent when we all just felt like passing out from the heat. (Paramedics with stretchers passed us at one point to rescue an overheated floozy in a sundress.) I'd definitely recommend catching one of their live shows if you get the chance. I think they were back in Chicago this past weekend, but I was too busy paying tribute to the Angelcat in Los Angeles at the time.
We managed to catch the latter half of the The Airborne Toxic Event's set, as they overlapped with Cage the Elephant, and Mr. Maise was definitely more interested in seeing CTE. We did manage to see TATE's big hit "Somewhere Around Midnight," which always makes me feel melancholy when I hear it because I never have anyone drunkenly chasing me around after glimpsing me at a bar because he's THAT in love with me. I mean, my husband loves me, but he's home and we eat dinner and fall asleep on the couch together...so it's just not the same! "Somewhere Around Midnight" was probably the big highlight of this abbreviated set for us, as I'm otherwise not terribly familiar with this band. I was also a little distracted because it was at this point that my husband disappeared for 15 minutes to get a beer and Ro and Iris disappeared for 20 minutes to re-fill their water bottles. It's sometimes hard to wrangle a whole group at these large outdoor festivals.
Okay, so I admit that I don't know the first thing about Neko Case other than the fact that she is a fellow admirer of greyhounds. She was also playing on the side of the park where we eventually wanted to end up at the end of the night, so we decided to establish a "base camp" of blankets and Neat Sheets on the west side of the park by the Budweiser stage in a shady area that was near (but not *too* near) the port-a-potties and a bar. It was really the perfect location for our group. Those who were tired and hot could lie back on the blankets and absorb the music. If someone wanted to get some food or drinks or take a closer look at the band, the rest of us were easy to locate. Iris and I did leave for a while to get a better look at Neko Case and her lovely fiery red hair. She kind of reminded me of Tori Amos, with a gentler sound that seemed more inspired by country and folk music (although I guess she's also a member of the New Pornographers, so she can do indie rock as well). She genuinely seemed to be having a good time on stage with her bandmates and interacted warmly with the audience. She's just a little too mellow for me, but I appreciated her as an artist, and I can see why her fans are so devoted to her. And any friend of retired racing greyhounds is a friend of mine!
We sort of half-listened to the next act, Dan Auerbach, and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. After all, if you see a guy who looks like this onstage in 2009, you might suspect that you'll be hearing something like Bon Iver...slow, acoustic, ballads about isolation and heartbreak. Dan Auerbach. But as I recall, his music was uptempo and blues-influenced. I really can't tell you anything substantial about Dan Auerbach unless I plagiarized Wikipedia or some such, so I'll just tell you about the human drama that we witnessed at this time. Ro noticed that a large number of people were jumping the fence to get into Grant Park. If they weren't jumping the fence, they were leaping over the row of port-a-potties. Which, frankly, was alarming to me. No one loves hanging out in those little blue outhouses, but could you imagine if you were in there, and someone came crashing down on top of you because he/she misjudged how far he/she had to jump? Horrifying! My favorite port-a-potty leaper was a guy who made the jump, then starting running immediately as he hit the ground, but simultaneously attempted to disguise himself by ripping off his shirt and his glasses. You know, like Clark Kent. Sort of. He assumed that no one could possibly recognize him as an unticketed individual, as we all laughed loudly and pointed.
Anyway, once these people crashed Lolla, as it were, they would then all take off running towards the field in front of the Budweiser stage. But Ro noticed that a couple of guys who were working at the bar would stop these individuals, lead them back to the port-a-potties, and then the gate-crashers would go inside and calmly walk out and be on their way. Then the guys working at the bar would go inside the port-a-potties, presumably to collect the bribes that had been left for them there. They probably made quite a bit of money! We noticed that occasionally they would have discussions with these gate-crashers and then lead said jumpers to an ATM so that they could procure the cash needed for the bribe. These two enterprising men did have a little competition as police were also on the lookout for fence-jumpers, and if the police caught them, they would wind up in handcuffs and (if they were lucky) merely escorted out of the park or perhaps arrested. So my recommendation to you, dear readers, is to a) just pay for the ticket to avoid looking like a chump and b) if you do want to crash, then have some extra cash on you for bribery or bail-posting purposes.
After Dan Auerbach, Lou Reed was scheduled to play. This particular slot of time was the most agonizing decision for me of Lollapalooza 2009. It was Snoop Dogg vs. Lou Reed, and they were at opposite ends of Grant Park, so it was impossible to see both. On the one hand, you have a rap icon who has pretty much become a pop culture punchline and who isn't terribly relevant in the world of hip-hop but who would be a hell of a lot of fun to see. On the other hand, you have a rock icon who is apt to be temperamental and who would probably avoid playing all your favorite songs just to be spiteful. We decided to go with Lou Reed, to see a legend in the flesh and in the hopes that he would play "A Perfect Day" Looking back, I feel that this was probably a mistake. First of all, he came onstage probably about 15-20 minutes late, which caused all kinds of chaos later in the night, as I shall explain. His setlist was all right, I suppose...I'm only the most casual Lou Reed fan, so I wasn't expecting to know every song by heart. We did get "Sweet Jane," "Waiting for the Man," and "Walk on the Wild Side." Lou seemed to be having a good time on stage but didn't really interact with the audience. That may be par for the course with him. So it wasn't a bad show, but I probably would have had much more fun singing along to "Gin and Juice" with all the other white hipsters in the crowd.
Lou Reed's tardiness meant that the next band, indie darlings Band of Horses, wound up starting about 15-20 minutes late. I don't have a ton to say about them except that, like Animal Collective, they chose to continue their set well after Jane's Addiction began. I realize that it wasn't their fault that they had to start late, but they knew they were going on right before the final headlining act of the festival--and not just any ol' headliner, like Kings of Leon, but the original lineup of Jane's Addiction. Now, while Jane's Addiction isn't exactly tapping into the rock zeitgeist as they once did, I feel that they deserve a modicum of respect for inventing the very concept of Lollapalooza. When Jane's Addiction came on, starting with "Up the Beach" and leading to my favorite "Mountain Song," I couldn't even hear it from all the sound being generated by Band of Horses on the other side of the field. And I want to say that they continued until 10-15 minutes into Jane's Addiction's set, even though Jane's Addiction delayed their entrance about 10-15 minutes. What a clusterfuck! Therefore, I propose again that no matter what the circumstances, festival organizers pull the plug on bands at their scheduled ending times. Because I don't care how great the end of someone's set is, it's usually not worth ruining the beginning of someone else's act.
And FINALLY, we come to Jane's Addiction. When Jane's Addiction were at the forefront of the alternative music scene, I was a mere impoverished teenager and had no pocket money to attend any of their shows. When Jane's Addiction was touring with NIN last spring, they did not appear at the Chicago show, probably because they had signed on to headline Lollapalooza. So this was my first (and possibly last) opportunity to see the original lineup of Jane's Addiction. Although it was ever so slightly anticlimactic, as I had seen Perry Farrell and various backing bands several times in the past, and he was always eager to play all the old Jane's Addiction hits. So there wasn't really a sense of "omg omg omg, I've finally heard 'Stop' live!!!"
When their set opened (annoyingly drowned out by Band of Horses, of course), they played "Up the Beach" as a helicopter flew low overhead and shined a spotlight on the crowd. Very dramatic and over the top, but also kind of awesome. I noticed people aiming their laser pointers at the helicopter. Smart move, assholes! I thought as I waited for the pilot to be blinded and crash into the crowd below.
Here is the setlist, courtesy of lollapalooza.com:
1. Up the Beach (w/ helicopter entrance)
2. Mountain Song
3. Ain't No Right
4. Three Days
5. Whores
6. Been Caught Stealing
7. Then She Did
8. Ocean Size
9. Ted, Just Admit It
10. Summertime Rolls
11. Stop!
(encore)
12. Jane Says (w/ Joe Perry)
Hmm...let's see, what do I remember about the show? Good production value, Perry's weird, yet strangely literal segues into songs...I'm pretty sure at one point he called us all "sluts" before beginning "Whores," for example. At one point the first few rows of the audience were given huge lengths of fabric to wave over their heads in order to simulate an ocean--presumably for "Ocean Size" because like I said, Perry can be awfully literal in his interpretation of song titles--and Perry ran in front of the crowd like the happiest dork, pretending to swim and dive. At one point Perry pointed out that their drummer, Stephen Perkins, was performing for us against doctor's orders, and thank God too, as it would have been a real bummer to lose both Jane's and the Beasties as Lolla headliners. As you can see in the setlist above, Joe Perry showed up for a special guest appearance. At the time, Steven Tyler had just fallen off a stage in South Dakota, so Aerosmith didn't have much to do with themselves. So Joe Perry helped out with "Jane Says." Perry asked the crowd if they wanted to see Aerosmith at Lollapalooza next year. Well, of course not, but no one wants to be rude to Joe Perry, so everyone cheered in the affirmative. Anyway, it might not be much of an issue if rumors of Aerosmith's inner turmoil are true. And then a very lucky Jane's Addiction fan was allowed to propose to his girlfriend onstage, and she said yes! (Not that there was any pressure on her or anything). And that's about all I have to say about that. Like I said, it felt a little redundant after all the other times I've seen Perry perform at Lollapalooza, but it was nice to see the original lineup of Jane's Addiction play together again, and they were in fine form, as you can see here.
And so that is FINALLY that. Once again, my apologies for all the long delays; real life occasionally gets in the way of my ghost life, but there is more to come!
Oh, and in all your comments, even the mean ones, I think you should include the sentence "Iris, come back!!!!" She's not dead or anything, but it sure isn't the same without her around here...
My husband was eager to get to Grant Park somewhat early that last day to see Cage the Elephant, who have since become much more ubiquitous on the radio and in commercials than they were earlier this summer. They do happen to have the most interesting backstory of any act at Lollapalooza last summer (paraphrased from Lolla marketing). Apparently, the band was founded by two brothers--Matt and Brad Schultz--from Kentucky whose parents were former hippies turned Jesus freaks and lived on a Christian commune. Rock music was forbidden, until their parents were divorced, and then they immersed themselves in all kinds of good stuff like classic rock and grunge. Just like all those kids whose minds were blown by the first Velvet Underground record and had to create their own band, the Brothers Schultz grabbed some friends and made their own record in like 10 days and became a big success in the UK before anyone had ever heard of them here. By now you've probably heard the infectious "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" and perhaps even "Back Against the Wall." They were brand-new to me that day, but I noticed that Cage the Elephant brought good old-fashioned blues-inspired rock to an enthusiastic crowd on a very hot day indeed. The first band I think of when I hear them is the Rolling Stones; they have a classic sound with something raw, sexy, and a little dangerous lurking in the lead singer's voice. After all, we all know what happens to the kids with super-religious, strict parents once those kids get a taste of freedom...unbridled, awesome hedonism! There's also a purity in their garage band sound, reminiscent of the White Stripes before they got all pretentious and discordant with the godawful "Icky Thump." As I recall, their live show was energetic, but it was hard to dance and "whoo" at 100 percent when we all just felt like passing out from the heat. (Paramedics with stretchers passed us at one point to rescue an overheated floozy in a sundress.) I'd definitely recommend catching one of their live shows if you get the chance. I think they were back in Chicago this past weekend, but I was too busy paying tribute to the Angelcat in Los Angeles at the time.
We managed to catch the latter half of the The Airborne Toxic Event's set, as they overlapped with Cage the Elephant, and Mr. Maise was definitely more interested in seeing CTE. We did manage to see TATE's big hit "Somewhere Around Midnight," which always makes me feel melancholy when I hear it because I never have anyone drunkenly chasing me around after glimpsing me at a bar because he's THAT in love with me. I mean, my husband loves me, but he's home and we eat dinner and fall asleep on the couch together...so it's just not the same! "Somewhere Around Midnight" was probably the big highlight of this abbreviated set for us, as I'm otherwise not terribly familiar with this band. I was also a little distracted because it was at this point that my husband disappeared for 15 minutes to get a beer and Ro and Iris disappeared for 20 minutes to re-fill their water bottles. It's sometimes hard to wrangle a whole group at these large outdoor festivals.
Okay, so I admit that I don't know the first thing about Neko Case other than the fact that she is a fellow admirer of greyhounds. She was also playing on the side of the park where we eventually wanted to end up at the end of the night, so we decided to establish a "base camp" of blankets and Neat Sheets on the west side of the park by the Budweiser stage in a shady area that was near (but not *too* near) the port-a-potties and a bar. It was really the perfect location for our group. Those who were tired and hot could lie back on the blankets and absorb the music. If someone wanted to get some food or drinks or take a closer look at the band, the rest of us were easy to locate. Iris and I did leave for a while to get a better look at Neko Case and her lovely fiery red hair. She kind of reminded me of Tori Amos, with a gentler sound that seemed more inspired by country and folk music (although I guess she's also a member of the New Pornographers, so she can do indie rock as well). She genuinely seemed to be having a good time on stage with her bandmates and interacted warmly with the audience. She's just a little too mellow for me, but I appreciated her as an artist, and I can see why her fans are so devoted to her. And any friend of retired racing greyhounds is a friend of mine!
We sort of half-listened to the next act, Dan Auerbach, and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. After all, if you see a guy who looks like this onstage in 2009, you might suspect that you'll be hearing something like Bon Iver...slow, acoustic, ballads about isolation and heartbreak. Dan Auerbach. But as I recall, his music was uptempo and blues-influenced. I really can't tell you anything substantial about Dan Auerbach unless I plagiarized Wikipedia or some such, so I'll just tell you about the human drama that we witnessed at this time. Ro noticed that a large number of people were jumping the fence to get into Grant Park. If they weren't jumping the fence, they were leaping over the row of port-a-potties. Which, frankly, was alarming to me. No one loves hanging out in those little blue outhouses, but could you imagine if you were in there, and someone came crashing down on top of you because he/she misjudged how far he/she had to jump? Horrifying! My favorite port-a-potty leaper was a guy who made the jump, then starting running immediately as he hit the ground, but simultaneously attempted to disguise himself by ripping off his shirt and his glasses. You know, like Clark Kent. Sort of. He assumed that no one could possibly recognize him as an unticketed individual, as we all laughed loudly and pointed.
Anyway, once these people crashed Lolla, as it were, they would then all take off running towards the field in front of the Budweiser stage. But Ro noticed that a couple of guys who were working at the bar would stop these individuals, lead them back to the port-a-potties, and then the gate-crashers would go inside and calmly walk out and be on their way. Then the guys working at the bar would go inside the port-a-potties, presumably to collect the bribes that had been left for them there. They probably made quite a bit of money! We noticed that occasionally they would have discussions with these gate-crashers and then lead said jumpers to an ATM so that they could procure the cash needed for the bribe. These two enterprising men did have a little competition as police were also on the lookout for fence-jumpers, and if the police caught them, they would wind up in handcuffs and (if they were lucky) merely escorted out of the park or perhaps arrested. So my recommendation to you, dear readers, is to a) just pay for the ticket to avoid looking like a chump and b) if you do want to crash, then have some extra cash on you for bribery or bail-posting purposes.
After Dan Auerbach, Lou Reed was scheduled to play. This particular slot of time was the most agonizing decision for me of Lollapalooza 2009. It was Snoop Dogg vs. Lou Reed, and they were at opposite ends of Grant Park, so it was impossible to see both. On the one hand, you have a rap icon who has pretty much become a pop culture punchline and who isn't terribly relevant in the world of hip-hop but who would be a hell of a lot of fun to see. On the other hand, you have a rock icon who is apt to be temperamental and who would probably avoid playing all your favorite songs just to be spiteful. We decided to go with Lou Reed, to see a legend in the flesh and in the hopes that he would play "A Perfect Day" Looking back, I feel that this was probably a mistake. First of all, he came onstage probably about 15-20 minutes late, which caused all kinds of chaos later in the night, as I shall explain. His setlist was all right, I suppose...I'm only the most casual Lou Reed fan, so I wasn't expecting to know every song by heart. We did get "Sweet Jane," "Waiting for the Man," and "Walk on the Wild Side." Lou seemed to be having a good time on stage but didn't really interact with the audience. That may be par for the course with him. So it wasn't a bad show, but I probably would have had much more fun singing along to "Gin and Juice" with all the other white hipsters in the crowd.
Lou Reed's tardiness meant that the next band, indie darlings Band of Horses, wound up starting about 15-20 minutes late. I don't have a ton to say about them except that, like Animal Collective, they chose to continue their set well after Jane's Addiction began. I realize that it wasn't their fault that they had to start late, but they knew they were going on right before the final headlining act of the festival--and not just any ol' headliner, like Kings of Leon, but the original lineup of Jane's Addiction. Now, while Jane's Addiction isn't exactly tapping into the rock zeitgeist as they once did, I feel that they deserve a modicum of respect for inventing the very concept of Lollapalooza. When Jane's Addiction came on, starting with "Up the Beach" and leading to my favorite "Mountain Song," I couldn't even hear it from all the sound being generated by Band of Horses on the other side of the field. And I want to say that they continued until 10-15 minutes into Jane's Addiction's set, even though Jane's Addiction delayed their entrance about 10-15 minutes. What a clusterfuck! Therefore, I propose again that no matter what the circumstances, festival organizers pull the plug on bands at their scheduled ending times. Because I don't care how great the end of someone's set is, it's usually not worth ruining the beginning of someone else's act.
And FINALLY, we come to Jane's Addiction. When Jane's Addiction were at the forefront of the alternative music scene, I was a mere impoverished teenager and had no pocket money to attend any of their shows. When Jane's Addiction was touring with NIN last spring, they did not appear at the Chicago show, probably because they had signed on to headline Lollapalooza. So this was my first (and possibly last) opportunity to see the original lineup of Jane's Addiction. Although it was ever so slightly anticlimactic, as I had seen Perry Farrell and various backing bands several times in the past, and he was always eager to play all the old Jane's Addiction hits. So there wasn't really a sense of "omg omg omg, I've finally heard 'Stop' live!!!"
When their set opened (annoyingly drowned out by Band of Horses, of course), they played "Up the Beach" as a helicopter flew low overhead and shined a spotlight on the crowd. Very dramatic and over the top, but also kind of awesome. I noticed people aiming their laser pointers at the helicopter. Smart move, assholes! I thought as I waited for the pilot to be blinded and crash into the crowd below.
Here is the setlist, courtesy of lollapalooza.com:
1. Up the Beach (w/ helicopter entrance)
2. Mountain Song
3. Ain't No Right
4. Three Days
5. Whores
6. Been Caught Stealing
7. Then She Did
8. Ocean Size
9. Ted, Just Admit It
10. Summertime Rolls
11. Stop!
(encore)
12. Jane Says (w/ Joe Perry)
Hmm...let's see, what do I remember about the show? Good production value, Perry's weird, yet strangely literal segues into songs...I'm pretty sure at one point he called us all "sluts" before beginning "Whores," for example. At one point the first few rows of the audience were given huge lengths of fabric to wave over their heads in order to simulate an ocean--presumably for "Ocean Size" because like I said, Perry can be awfully literal in his interpretation of song titles--and Perry ran in front of the crowd like the happiest dork, pretending to swim and dive. At one point Perry pointed out that their drummer, Stephen Perkins, was performing for us against doctor's orders, and thank God too, as it would have been a real bummer to lose both Jane's and the Beasties as Lolla headliners. As you can see in the setlist above, Joe Perry showed up for a special guest appearance. At the time, Steven Tyler had just fallen off a stage in South Dakota, so Aerosmith didn't have much to do with themselves. So Joe Perry helped out with "Jane Says." Perry asked the crowd if they wanted to see Aerosmith at Lollapalooza next year. Well, of course not, but no one wants to be rude to Joe Perry, so everyone cheered in the affirmative. Anyway, it might not be much of an issue if rumors of Aerosmith's inner turmoil are true. And then a very lucky Jane's Addiction fan was allowed to propose to his girlfriend onstage, and she said yes! (Not that there was any pressure on her or anything). And that's about all I have to say about that. Like I said, it felt a little redundant after all the other times I've seen Perry perform at Lollapalooza, but it was nice to see the original lineup of Jane's Addiction play together again, and they were in fine form, as you can see here.
And so that is FINALLY that. Once again, my apologies for all the long delays; real life occasionally gets in the way of my ghost life, but there is more to come!
Oh, and in all your comments, even the mean ones, I think you should include the sentence "Iris, come back!!!!" She's not dead or anything, but it sure isn't the same without her around here...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
NIN in Cedar Rapids, IA--11/20/08
So this review is only slightly delayed due to the holiday and the debilitating bout of bronchitis and a sinus infection that I endured in true martyred, moaning-and-groaning-and-leaving-used-kleenex-everywhere fashion. But I am still excited to tell you all about this show because it ranks very near the top of all-time favorite NIN performances, and I've seen quite a few at this point. It is not only worth seeing when the tour rolls into your town, but it was definitely worth crossing state lines and driving on VERY long stretches of I-80, surrounded by cows and cornfields.
We reported to the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, IA, at the appointed time. I don't know if Iowa crowds are particularly tough, but to be admitted, we had to experience the most thorough and gruelling personal search for contraband outside of being arrested. We were subjected to the typical patdown and purse search, of course, but I wasn't expecting the strict, but otherwise friendly, staff members to insist on inspecting my beltline and the tops of my shoes. Cameras were verboten, but Iris managed to sneak hers in under a layer of used, diseased kleenex.
Sadly, tragically, heartbreakingly...the batteries in her camera as well as her spare batteries were on the verge of an untimely death. So we do not have as many A/V goodies for you this time, but Mr. Iris saw our dejected faces and came to the rescue...acting as the Battery Whisperer and somehow keeping the camera going far longer than we would have expected. Apparently you can keep dying batteries charged up just a little by warming them in your hand! That's our science lesson for today, kids. Seriously, though, we are extremely grateful to Mr. Iris for keeping hope alive, and he's the whole reason we do have some video clips to present to you.
Other than the arduous strip- and full-body-cavity searches, I think U.S. Cellular is a great concert arena. It's large enough that tickets will be readily available for most shows, but you don't feel miles away from the band. They have a General Admission area on the floor, of course, but I also appreciated the General Admission concourse area overlooking the floor, but with arena-style seating. From this perspective, we were actually able to see the stage and the terrific production, which really makes all the difference if you're going to see the Lights in the Sky tour.
Our opening band that evening was Japanese experimental trio, Boris. Now, Trent picks opening bands that either become my favorite bands (Saul Williams, Ladytron, The Dresden Dolls) or bands that I tolerate at best (Queens of the Stone Age, Moving Units). This time he outdid himself with Boris. I don't have words to convey my hatred for this dull, overly loud, tuneless, droning jam band, so here's a picture of my dog:
Ahhhh, that's better. Now I feel my blood pressure going down. On to the main act!
The setlist we had was very similar to that we heard at Lollapalooza. But what a difference the change in venue makes! Not having to compete with Kanye West for volume is a definite plus. But indoors, the music can envelop you, mesmerize you, and speaking of mesmerizing...oh my God, those screens!
Trent obviously spared no expense on these toys, and it really enhances the entire show. Even songs that rabid NIN fans have heard 7,000,000 times in concert are greatly enhanced by the stunning visuals. Take the obligatory "Closer," for example. The ladies will appreciate that when Trent sings the chorus, he snarls into the unblinking eye of a camera, and projected 100 times larger than life onto the screen is what I can only refer to as the "Trent fucks you cam." He also employs this camera during "The Greater Good," as I recall. I could only reflect on how much I miss Wearing These Chains' Dierdre as I looked upon all the super-close-up shots of Trent's ferocious teeth. But it's not just all admiring Trent's tortured visage...for "Only," a large screen in front of the band flickers static that is broken up whenever Trent approaches the screen. Unearthly landscapes shimmer during the "Ghosts" instrumentals.
Here are some brief clips of some of the songs I mentioned. Unfortunately, zooming in strained the camera's batteries to the breaking point, so this is the best we can do. Better than nothing, right? Besides, I really think you need to experience this show for yourself...videoclips don't quite capture the saturated colors and the special effects in all their glory:
Trent did a nice mix of the old and the new...and as controversial as Year Zero was as an album and a concept around these parts, all of those songs sound great live. He's really putting so much energy into "Survivalism," it's one of the songs that I really look forward to hearing.
When you go see this show, and you really must go, you can expect to hear most of your old favorites: "Gave Up," "March of the Pigs," "Wish," "Head Like a Hole," etc. But Trent and co. do not shortchange the new songs, even though we all got The Slip for free. Here they are, playing "Echoplex":
Not sure what the deal is with Josh Freese playing Vanna White at the beginning of that song. But anyway.
Trent was in a pretty good mood--no microphone-throwing tantrums, although I suspect those days have largely passed him by. I think all of the bandmembers are starting to get a little tired of being on the road, if this speech is any indication:
Immediately after that, Trent introduced the lineup by saying, "And now I'd like to introduce you to the guys I'm sick of...just kidding," he halfheartedly added. Here's hoping that they all get a nice holiday break because I really like this lineup. Sure, the ever-competent and amazing Josh Freese is, as Fleetwood Mac would say, going his own way. But oh my God, is Robin Finck ever an improvement over the showboat-y Aaron North!
The show ended on a poignant note with "In this Twilight." As the screen projected scenes of explosions above an evening cityscape, each band member got a moment to take a bow and walk offstage.
Now, you all know that I'm Trent's ultimate cheerleader (and some would probably say "apologist" or "sychophant,"--WHATEVS!), but as I said before, this is really one of my all-time favorite NIN shows, and I'm really hoping that he can make one more stop in Chicago before sequestering himself to create the next album. (Or at least make a DVD out of this tour, asap.) Although it was a pretty awesome birthday present to see him in Cedar Rapids.
And, as always, more pics to be found here.
You know, I'm not sure how I feel about the adequacy of this concert review, but that's because I'm STRESSED OUT. Do you know why I'm STRESSED OUT? Because tonight, I need to slave over a hot stove so that tomorrow evening I can feed The Danger Ensemble and AMANDA PALMER when she plays a solo show at the Metro. No, seriously. Iris is making the long drive yet again, and we will be documenting as much as humanly possible. With lots of brand-new batteries this time! Stay tuned...
We reported to the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, IA, at the appointed time. I don't know if Iowa crowds are particularly tough, but to be admitted, we had to experience the most thorough and gruelling personal search for contraband outside of being arrested. We were subjected to the typical patdown and purse search, of course, but I wasn't expecting the strict, but otherwise friendly, staff members to insist on inspecting my beltline and the tops of my shoes. Cameras were verboten, but Iris managed to sneak hers in under a layer of used, diseased kleenex.
Sadly, tragically, heartbreakingly...the batteries in her camera as well as her spare batteries were on the verge of an untimely death. So we do not have as many A/V goodies for you this time, but Mr. Iris saw our dejected faces and came to the rescue...acting as the Battery Whisperer and somehow keeping the camera going far longer than we would have expected. Apparently you can keep dying batteries charged up just a little by warming them in your hand! That's our science lesson for today, kids. Seriously, though, we are extremely grateful to Mr. Iris for keeping hope alive, and he's the whole reason we do have some video clips to present to you.
Other than the arduous strip- and full-body-cavity searches, I think U.S. Cellular is a great concert arena. It's large enough that tickets will be readily available for most shows, but you don't feel miles away from the band. They have a General Admission area on the floor, of course, but I also appreciated the General Admission concourse area overlooking the floor, but with arena-style seating. From this perspective, we were actually able to see the stage and the terrific production, which really makes all the difference if you're going to see the Lights in the Sky tour.
Our opening band that evening was Japanese experimental trio, Boris. Now, Trent picks opening bands that either become my favorite bands (Saul Williams, Ladytron, The Dresden Dolls) or bands that I tolerate at best (Queens of the Stone Age, Moving Units). This time he outdid himself with Boris. I don't have words to convey my hatred for this dull, overly loud, tuneless, droning jam band, so here's a picture of my dog:
Ahhhh, that's better. Now I feel my blood pressure going down. On to the main act!
The setlist we had was very similar to that we heard at Lollapalooza. But what a difference the change in venue makes! Not having to compete with Kanye West for volume is a definite plus. But indoors, the music can envelop you, mesmerize you, and speaking of mesmerizing...oh my God, those screens!
Trent obviously spared no expense on these toys, and it really enhances the entire show. Even songs that rabid NIN fans have heard 7,000,000 times in concert are greatly enhanced by the stunning visuals. Take the obligatory "Closer," for example. The ladies will appreciate that when Trent sings the chorus, he snarls into the unblinking eye of a camera, and projected 100 times larger than life onto the screen is what I can only refer to as the "Trent fucks you cam." He also employs this camera during "The Greater Good," as I recall. I could only reflect on how much I miss Wearing These Chains' Dierdre as I looked upon all the super-close-up shots of Trent's ferocious teeth. But it's not just all admiring Trent's tortured visage...for "Only," a large screen in front of the band flickers static that is broken up whenever Trent approaches the screen. Unearthly landscapes shimmer during the "Ghosts" instrumentals.
Here are some brief clips of some of the songs I mentioned. Unfortunately, zooming in strained the camera's batteries to the breaking point, so this is the best we can do. Better than nothing, right? Besides, I really think you need to experience this show for yourself...videoclips don't quite capture the saturated colors and the special effects in all their glory:
Trent did a nice mix of the old and the new...and as controversial as Year Zero was as an album and a concept around these parts, all of those songs sound great live. He's really putting so much energy into "Survivalism," it's one of the songs that I really look forward to hearing.
When you go see this show, and you really must go, you can expect to hear most of your old favorites: "Gave Up," "March of the Pigs," "Wish," "Head Like a Hole," etc. But Trent and co. do not shortchange the new songs, even though we all got The Slip for free. Here they are, playing "Echoplex":
Not sure what the deal is with Josh Freese playing Vanna White at the beginning of that song. But anyway.
Trent was in a pretty good mood--no microphone-throwing tantrums, although I suspect those days have largely passed him by. I think all of the bandmembers are starting to get a little tired of being on the road, if this speech is any indication:
Immediately after that, Trent introduced the lineup by saying, "And now I'd like to introduce you to the guys I'm sick of...just kidding," he halfheartedly added. Here's hoping that they all get a nice holiday break because I really like this lineup. Sure, the ever-competent and amazing Josh Freese is, as Fleetwood Mac would say, going his own way. But oh my God, is Robin Finck ever an improvement over the showboat-y Aaron North!
The show ended on a poignant note with "In this Twilight." As the screen projected scenes of explosions above an evening cityscape, each band member got a moment to take a bow and walk offstage.
Now, you all know that I'm Trent's ultimate cheerleader (and some would probably say "apologist" or "sychophant,"--WHATEVS!), but as I said before, this is really one of my all-time favorite NIN shows, and I'm really hoping that he can make one more stop in Chicago before sequestering himself to create the next album. (Or at least make a DVD out of this tour, asap.) Although it was a pretty awesome birthday present to see him in Cedar Rapids.
And, as always, more pics to be found here.
You know, I'm not sure how I feel about the adequacy of this concert review, but that's because I'm STRESSED OUT. Do you know why I'm STRESSED OUT? Because tonight, I need to slave over a hot stove so that tomorrow evening I can feed The Danger Ensemble and AMANDA PALMER when she plays a solo show at the Metro. No, seriously. Iris is making the long drive yet again, and we will be documenting as much as humanly possible. With lots of brand-new batteries this time! Stay tuned...
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Maise Fights the Power Backstage with Public Enemy at Pitchfork 2008...
(Note: JR, this is just going to be one big disappointment for you as I really don't have a ton to say about your favorite bands. When I was working, I couldn't really pay much attention to Sebadoh, and I don't know enough about Dinosaur Jr. to produce a competent review of their show. You're just going to have to get tickets next time your dream lineup all plays together, hon. Or you can check out Pitchfork to read about the festival from people who know what they're talking about.)
I wasn't even initially planning on attending the Pitchfork Music Festival this year. I had gone once before with a good friend and found the whole affair rather dull; they normally book obscure indie bands that I've never heard of before, and the whole park is filled with the world's most unfuckable male hipsters. Not that I need to fuck any male hipsters, as I'm married, but if I'm going to be outdoors on a hot summer day, exposed to the elements, in the middle of a large crowd, I'd rather look at fuckable people. Male hipsters seem to be purposely attempting to repel the opposite sex. They tend to have poor hygiene and bad facial hair, and half of them are skinnier than the average supermodel, and they're wearing girl jeans. Swear to God.
Earlier this spring, I received an email from a local pro-choice organization that offered members a chance to volunteer at Pitchfork. In return for my labor, the pro-choice organization would be able to staff a table at the festival and possibly get a donation. And volunteers would get free admission. So I thought, why not? I don't mind listening to obscure music if I don't have to pay for it, I generally enjoy hanging out at festivals, and I would be working for a good cause. I looked at the lineup and was excited to see that there were quite a few good acts playing this year. I mean, it was basically like JR's wet dream! And besides Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr. and Public Enemy, there was also Jarvis Cocker and Apples in Stereo (who I don't really know that well, except they do that cute Powerpuff Girls song) and,most exciting for me, Spoon.
So I arrived at the volunteer booth, despite the fact that the workweek had me really tired out and the weather was threatening. Fortunately, the skies cleared up and I gained my second wind as I donned my volunteer shirt. The volunteer coordinator asked who, among a group of us, would like to work the stage? "I like stages," I replied. So then I was told that I would be assigned to Public Enemy, which had me chuckling all evening, as I contemplated this highly acclaimed, controversial, pioneer hip-hop group relying on the least formidable white girl on the planet for protection.
I was stationed outside of the artist check-in area with two other security guards, "Michelle" and "Jason." It was a little lonely, as Michelle and Jason obviously knew each other very well and weren't terribly interested in getting to know me, this dorky older white woman. You see, I like to walk through life assuming that everyone is at least 30, but sometimes you meet actual 21-year-olds and discover that this isn't the case. And beyond some chit-chat about The Dark Knight, I felt really awkward until later on in the evening when we bonded over the free Chipotle I brought them with my volunteer privileges. (Apparently Chipotle fed volunteers for free, but not the security staff, which sucks, imo.)
But I didn't have a lot of time to contemplate my lack of charisma because even though we were stationed away from the main entrance, we still had a lot of people to direct. People looking for Will Call, people looking for the press entrance, people who paid extra for their tickets looking for the VIP entrance, people looking for the vendor entrance...I cheerfully guided them all, except for the vendors...I still don't really know where the hell they were supposed to go. (Training for this event consisted mostly of "Stand over there by those security guards.") So that's what I was doing when Mission of Burma and Sebadoh was playing: "No, you can't come in this way; go around the corner to Ashland and Lake...Nope, you have to go to Ashland...the VIP entrance is at the end of the block to your left...I don't know where you're supposed to go, sir, but it's not here..." I just couldn't really concentrate on the music that much. But apparently Mission of Burma played "VS" in its entirety, and Sebadoh played all of "Bubble and Scrape."
As far as people who actually wanted to enter the artist check-in, they were supposed to have a laminated pass and matching wristband, which I was prepared to enforce in a brutal totalitarian manner. However, security is a more subtle business. Consider, for example, the crewmember who says, "But my pass is inside"? I would look helplessly at my security guard companions, and a lot of times, they would just let the person through. Other times, they were ready to tackle the person. Basically, whatever I was doing was wrong. If I was giving a person the third degree, then that was typically someone very important who was personal friends with _____ and should be let in immediately without question. If I was ready to wave someone through, Michelle and Jason were at Defcon 1. I felt rather incompetent at moments like these and turned to what I knew best. "The main entrance is on Ashland...the press entrance is by the volunteer booth on Ashland and Lake..."
So that aspect of the job was all very tedious, but what made it worth it was being told by Mike, whose precise title I don't know but he was very busy and carried a clipboard so I think he was really important to the festival, that the artists would be driven through our area to the check-in. We were expecting to see Public Enemy (of course), Sebadoh (who I never saw...sorry, JR!), Animal Collective (whom I've never heard of), and Spoon (who was scheduled to play on Sunday but just wanted to watch Public Enemy that evening). The artists were driven in by staff members either in large blue vans with tinted windows or little Zip cars (cars that you can easily rent in the city).
Public Enemy arrived with about 7,000 people in their entourage. Seeing Chuck D left me with a sense of "Eeeeeee!" They were too far away to actually speak to, but I totally gawked. I saw an impossibly tall and skinny blonde guy getting out of another van and realized that this was Britt Daniel, the lead singer of Spoon, whom I have a mild crush on. I cursed my inherent frumpiness and the unflattering bright yellow t-shirt I had to wear.
Flavor Flav arrived separately, as he was getting mobbed in his hotel lobby. Flavor Flav does not travel incognito, btw. I was informed that Flavor always travels with a driver and a personal assistant, and festival organizers seemed concerned that he would show up with other random individuals, a fear that was not totally unreasonable, as I found.
I've decided that Flavor Flav is my new favorite celebrity. You know why? He's not the kind of person who attains wealth and fame and then bitches about how miserable he is and how he wishes everyone would just leave him alone. No, Flavor was BORN to be a star. He clearly loves all of the attention, and more power to him. He was dressed in a loud shirt and of course had the clock around his neck, but no Viking helmet, I'm afraid. My security guard companions were completely starstruck. "I have loved that man since I was born!" cried Michelle. At one point, Flavor left the festival grounds to walk down the block and returned with an even larger entourage than the one he arrived with. I know this because part of his entourage emerged from the artist check-in area giggling and looking at the pictures they had taken. So clearly Flavor just picked these girls up off the street. Anyone can hang out with Flavor Flav!
And I do mean anyone. The highlight of the evening for me was being approached by an older white gentleman, who appeared to be in his 70s or so. He was dressed in a yellow leisure suit and was covered in bling. Platinum and gold rings on every finger...an enormous gold "LA" pendant around his neck. He tells Jason and me, "I need to get in there. I'm a good friend of Flavor's. I've known him for years." Of course, he didn't have a pass. But I looked at him and thought, "He probably DOES know Flavor Flav." Jason took him to the Artist Check-In Table, and apparently he got through. Huh.
After all this, Public Enemy finally took the stage. It was my first time...um...hearing them live (I couldn't see a thing from where I was standing), and I wasn't disappointed. They brought incredible energy to Union Park, energy that never flagged even though their set lasted 40 minutes longer than planned. I suspected they were waiting for the police to dramatically shut them down, but that never really materialized. They apparently played all of "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" and more.
Of course, blogger Bryon Crawford has a dramatically different take on the show than me, but he seems to know a lot more about Public Enemy than I do and could actually see what was going on. And Flavor, you fame whore, I still love you.
As Public Enemy finished up their set, Spoon decided to check out a bit early. I was inches--MERE INCHES--from the entire band as they walked past me. I smiled at them, but they didn't notice me. Alas. But they seemed to be in a good mood and my God, they're all really skinny. Like their legs are skinnier than my arm. It's kind of depressing.
I was really exhausted standing for 6+ hours in the heat, so I took Saturday off. Even though that was technically my "free" day. And by the time I made it to the festival on Sunday (I had some previous plans to attend to), I really just had the chance to see Dinosaur Jr. and Spoon. Like I said, I don't know enough about Dinosaur Jr. to provide a decent review. (I really am the worst Pitchfork correspondent ever.) And when they were on, I was meeting up with friends, trying to hydrate, etc.
Spoon put on an excellent--but SHORT--show. "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" is my favorite album of theirs, and I was happy to hear "Don't Make Me a Target," "You Got Your Cherry Bomb," "The Underdog," "The Ghost of You Lingers" and "Rhthm and Soul" (my personal favorite). Unfortunately they could only play an hour, explaining that other bands had played longer, but Pitchfork was kind of getting in trouble for it. I kind of wish they had been scheduled to start at 8:30, but on the other hand, I didn't mind getting home a little early since I had work the next morning.
So Pitchfork 2008 was pretty much the same as I had previously experienced--a lot of bands I had never heard of before and completely unfuckable men. But I had a wonderful time seeing things from behind the scenes, and I would work as a volunteer again in a heartbeat.
Now that I read this over, I realize that this is the shittiest review ever...but just you wait til Lollapalooza 2008! Not only do I actually know many of the bands, but Iris will be accompanying me and providing us with her fantastic pics and vids, as usual. We'll try to live-blog as much as possible, depending on who's hogging the computers in their air conditioned high-tech tent.
Stay tuned!
I wasn't even initially planning on attending the Pitchfork Music Festival this year. I had gone once before with a good friend and found the whole affair rather dull; they normally book obscure indie bands that I've never heard of before, and the whole park is filled with the world's most unfuckable male hipsters. Not that I need to fuck any male hipsters, as I'm married, but if I'm going to be outdoors on a hot summer day, exposed to the elements, in the middle of a large crowd, I'd rather look at fuckable people. Male hipsters seem to be purposely attempting to repel the opposite sex. They tend to have poor hygiene and bad facial hair, and half of them are skinnier than the average supermodel, and they're wearing girl jeans. Swear to God.
Earlier this spring, I received an email from a local pro-choice organization that offered members a chance to volunteer at Pitchfork. In return for my labor, the pro-choice organization would be able to staff a table at the festival and possibly get a donation. And volunteers would get free admission. So I thought, why not? I don't mind listening to obscure music if I don't have to pay for it, I generally enjoy hanging out at festivals, and I would be working for a good cause. I looked at the lineup and was excited to see that there were quite a few good acts playing this year. I mean, it was basically like JR's wet dream! And besides Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr. and Public Enemy, there was also Jarvis Cocker and Apples in Stereo (who I don't really know that well, except they do that cute Powerpuff Girls song) and,most exciting for me, Spoon.
So I arrived at the volunteer booth, despite the fact that the workweek had me really tired out and the weather was threatening. Fortunately, the skies cleared up and I gained my second wind as I donned my volunteer shirt. The volunteer coordinator asked who, among a group of us, would like to work the stage? "I like stages," I replied. So then I was told that I would be assigned to Public Enemy, which had me chuckling all evening, as I contemplated this highly acclaimed, controversial, pioneer hip-hop group relying on the least formidable white girl on the planet for protection.
I was stationed outside of the artist check-in area with two other security guards, "Michelle" and "Jason." It was a little lonely, as Michelle and Jason obviously knew each other very well and weren't terribly interested in getting to know me, this dorky older white woman. You see, I like to walk through life assuming that everyone is at least 30, but sometimes you meet actual 21-year-olds and discover that this isn't the case. And beyond some chit-chat about The Dark Knight, I felt really awkward until later on in the evening when we bonded over the free Chipotle I brought them with my volunteer privileges. (Apparently Chipotle fed volunteers for free, but not the security staff, which sucks, imo.)
But I didn't have a lot of time to contemplate my lack of charisma because even though we were stationed away from the main entrance, we still had a lot of people to direct. People looking for Will Call, people looking for the press entrance, people who paid extra for their tickets looking for the VIP entrance, people looking for the vendor entrance...I cheerfully guided them all, except for the vendors...I still don't really know where the hell they were supposed to go. (Training for this event consisted mostly of "Stand over there by those security guards.") So that's what I was doing when Mission of Burma and Sebadoh was playing: "No, you can't come in this way; go around the corner to Ashland and Lake...Nope, you have to go to Ashland...the VIP entrance is at the end of the block to your left...I don't know where you're supposed to go, sir, but it's not here..." I just couldn't really concentrate on the music that much. But apparently Mission of Burma played "VS" in its entirety, and Sebadoh played all of "Bubble and Scrape."
As far as people who actually wanted to enter the artist check-in, they were supposed to have a laminated pass and matching wristband, which I was prepared to enforce in a brutal totalitarian manner. However, security is a more subtle business. Consider, for example, the crewmember who says, "But my pass is inside"? I would look helplessly at my security guard companions, and a lot of times, they would just let the person through. Other times, they were ready to tackle the person. Basically, whatever I was doing was wrong. If I was giving a person the third degree, then that was typically someone very important who was personal friends with _____ and should be let in immediately without question. If I was ready to wave someone through, Michelle and Jason were at Defcon 1. I felt rather incompetent at moments like these and turned to what I knew best. "The main entrance is on Ashland...the press entrance is by the volunteer booth on Ashland and Lake..."
So that aspect of the job was all very tedious, but what made it worth it was being told by Mike, whose precise title I don't know but he was very busy and carried a clipboard so I think he was really important to the festival, that the artists would be driven through our area to the check-in. We were expecting to see Public Enemy (of course), Sebadoh (who I never saw...sorry, JR!), Animal Collective (whom I've never heard of), and Spoon (who was scheduled to play on Sunday but just wanted to watch Public Enemy that evening). The artists were driven in by staff members either in large blue vans with tinted windows or little Zip cars (cars that you can easily rent in the city).
Public Enemy arrived with about 7,000 people in their entourage. Seeing Chuck D left me with a sense of "Eeeeeee!" They were too far away to actually speak to, but I totally gawked. I saw an impossibly tall and skinny blonde guy getting out of another van and realized that this was Britt Daniel, the lead singer of Spoon, whom I have a mild crush on. I cursed my inherent frumpiness and the unflattering bright yellow t-shirt I had to wear.
Flavor Flav arrived separately, as he was getting mobbed in his hotel lobby. Flavor Flav does not travel incognito, btw. I was informed that Flavor always travels with a driver and a personal assistant, and festival organizers seemed concerned that he would show up with other random individuals, a fear that was not totally unreasonable, as I found.
I've decided that Flavor Flav is my new favorite celebrity. You know why? He's not the kind of person who attains wealth and fame and then bitches about how miserable he is and how he wishes everyone would just leave him alone. No, Flavor was BORN to be a star. He clearly loves all of the attention, and more power to him. He was dressed in a loud shirt and of course had the clock around his neck, but no Viking helmet, I'm afraid. My security guard companions were completely starstruck. "I have loved that man since I was born!" cried Michelle. At one point, Flavor left the festival grounds to walk down the block and returned with an even larger entourage than the one he arrived with. I know this because part of his entourage emerged from the artist check-in area giggling and looking at the pictures they had taken. So clearly Flavor just picked these girls up off the street. Anyone can hang out with Flavor Flav!
And I do mean anyone. The highlight of the evening for me was being approached by an older white gentleman, who appeared to be in his 70s or so. He was dressed in a yellow leisure suit and was covered in bling. Platinum and gold rings on every finger...an enormous gold "LA" pendant around his neck. He tells Jason and me, "I need to get in there. I'm a good friend of Flavor's. I've known him for years." Of course, he didn't have a pass. But I looked at him and thought, "He probably DOES know Flavor Flav." Jason took him to the Artist Check-In Table, and apparently he got through. Huh.
After all this, Public Enemy finally took the stage. It was my first time...um...hearing them live (I couldn't see a thing from where I was standing), and I wasn't disappointed. They brought incredible energy to Union Park, energy that never flagged even though their set lasted 40 minutes longer than planned. I suspected they were waiting for the police to dramatically shut them down, but that never really materialized. They apparently played all of "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" and more.
Of course, blogger Bryon Crawford has a dramatically different take on the show than me, but he seems to know a lot more about Public Enemy than I do and could actually see what was going on. And Flavor, you fame whore, I still love you.
As Public Enemy finished up their set, Spoon decided to check out a bit early. I was inches--MERE INCHES--from the entire band as they walked past me. I smiled at them, but they didn't notice me. Alas. But they seemed to be in a good mood and my God, they're all really skinny. Like their legs are skinnier than my arm. It's kind of depressing.
I was really exhausted standing for 6+ hours in the heat, so I took Saturday off. Even though that was technically my "free" day. And by the time I made it to the festival on Sunday (I had some previous plans to attend to), I really just had the chance to see Dinosaur Jr. and Spoon. Like I said, I don't know enough about Dinosaur Jr. to provide a decent review. (I really am the worst Pitchfork correspondent ever.) And when they were on, I was meeting up with friends, trying to hydrate, etc.
Spoon put on an excellent--but SHORT--show. "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" is my favorite album of theirs, and I was happy to hear "Don't Make Me a Target," "You Got Your Cherry Bomb," "The Underdog," "The Ghost of You Lingers" and "Rhthm and Soul" (my personal favorite). Unfortunately they could only play an hour, explaining that other bands had played longer, but Pitchfork was kind of getting in trouble for it. I kind of wish they had been scheduled to start at 8:30, but on the other hand, I didn't mind getting home a little early since I had work the next morning.
So Pitchfork 2008 was pretty much the same as I had previously experienced--a lot of bands I had never heard of before and completely unfuckable men. But I had a wonderful time seeing things from behind the scenes, and I would work as a volunteer again in a heartbeat.
Now that I read this over, I realize that this is the shittiest review ever...but just you wait til Lollapalooza 2008! Not only do I actually know many of the bands, but Iris will be accompanying me and providing us with her fantastic pics and vids, as usual. We'll try to live-blog as much as possible, depending on who's hogging the computers in their air conditioned high-tech tent.
Stay tuned!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Lazerfest 2.0
Okay, so I had some other ideas for a new post but those will simply have to sit tight for now because I saw one hell of a show on Saturday. A local radio station in Des Moines, Lazer 103.3, puts on a summer music fest every year. A couple of months ago, I avoided it because I couldn't imagine anything that boasts Kid Rock as the headliner to be a good thing. To everyone's surprise though, the same station decided to put up for another round of acts with Lazerfest 2.0 and the headliners were the Stone Temple Pilots! Hellz yeah!
I got there around 4:30 and met up with some friends who had already worked their way to the front of the pit area for a band called Five Finger Death Punch who were all about "our metal is heavier than that other pussy metal band." That's damned near a direct quote, folks, I kid you not. Ifdeath pseudo-metal is your thing, then I suppose they were alright, although, to me the lead singer resembled a pissed off leprechaun with a bleach-blonde Mohawk. I would have recorded some footage, but I found myself in a sea of angry mosher boys and topless chickies. Oh dear! Not exactly video-friendly.
Up next was Filter, who looked and sounded great. They stuck with a few of their hits, including "Welcome to the Fold," Take A Picture," and "Hey Man, Nice Shot," all of which I sang along with or, when I was recording, just mouthed the words. They also played their new single, "Soldiers of Misfortune," a nice tune, but a bit on the nose with the anti-war slant. I don't know that I would have chosen the same black on black, long-sleeve ensemble as Richard Patrick, seeing as how it was hovering around 100 degrees outside that day without a twig of shade in sight but, hey, that's just me.
Hinder was next in the lineup, and if you'd asked me to name one of their tunes before the show, I couldn't have answered you. This generally registers a look of disbelief from co-workers and friends when it's come up. After seeing their set, there are a few songs I've heard in passing on the radio and I suppose you could say that "Get Stoned" is a guilty pleasure, although I thought it was by Buck Cherry. I may get flamed by some passersby, but, honestly, these guys are forgettable. Their look and their sound may be fun for the moment, but it's not distinct enough to really stand out in the long run. Of course I invite them to prove me wrong, but I feel I have a pretty safe bet here. I'm a little concerned that if the singer carries on with the screaming/singing as he does that he'll blow his voice in a few years time. If nothing else can be learned from Axl Rose, it's that you need to conserve your pipes, man.
We sought out some shade behind a refreshment booth while Drowning Pool played the other stage and watched the roadies set up for Staind. Staind is another one of those bands like Filter that take me back to that summer just after my senior year of high school when "Outside" was hitting it big on the Family Values tour. I was glad to hear them play it, but something was definitely off. Aaron missed a few lines here and there, and the crowd drew a disappointing blank when he asked them to sing along. Afterward, Aaron said that he wasn't feeling well, which had become obvious. He stuck with it through the rest of their setlist, which included their new single, "Believe," "Right Here," and "Price to Play." I've not seen them live before so I don't know if they were lacking their normal intensity level, but under the circumstances I think they did pretty well.
Now onto the main attraction: Stone Temple Pilots. By this point I was dying to see their set and OMFG! They were so worth the wait! This was my first STP show, and I was a little nervous because, I mean, who hasn't heard the stories of the cancellations or other inflated ego disasters Scott Weiland has contributed to? But the whole lot of them were on top of their game. If there was note missed or a vocal out of tune, I didn't notice because they had such great energy all throughout. When they first took the stage I was a little confused with Scott's outfit. He looked like a deranged pilgrim with that hat, but he was in fine spirits. There was even a point where he seemed humble to the crowd.
Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the stage yet, which was absolutely fantastic! There was a HUGE LED screen that stretched the entire length of the stage, and the resolution on that thing was incredible. Check out this video of "Wicked Garden."
Even that doesn't really do this screen justice. Everything was so crisp and vibrant.
I staked out a place to sit on the rail in front of the soundbooth and was able to video most of the show which I will probably be watching over and over for a while. I am so glad I upgraded my memory card to an 8GB. They broke out most of their big hits, but with a catalog like theirs, there was no way they'd hit them all. "Big Empty," "Vasoline," "Crackerman,"Sour Girl," "Creep," "Plush," "Interstate Love Song," "Sex Type Thing," "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart." All of them were fantastic. They finally wrapped things up around midnight with an encore performance of "Dead & Bloated."
I hope they're able to maintain whatever balance they found in sobriety or moderation. As long as they have that, I would so So SO recommend you catch them this summer if they haven't already passed you by.
I think I just about linked up to every video, but you can always check them out on our YouTube account. I'm not overly satisfied with the quality there right now, so I may be seeking another site that hosts videos. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. You can also see the stills from the festival on our Photobucket.
I got there around 4:30 and met up with some friends who had already worked their way to the front of the pit area for a band called Five Finger Death Punch who were all about "our metal is heavier than that other pussy metal band." That's damned near a direct quote, folks, I kid you not. If
Up next was Filter, who looked and sounded great. They stuck with a few of their hits, including "Welcome to the Fold," Take A Picture," and "Hey Man, Nice Shot," all of which I sang along with or, when I was recording, just mouthed the words. They also played their new single, "Soldiers of Misfortune," a nice tune, but a bit on the nose with the anti-war slant. I don't know that I would have chosen the same black on black, long-sleeve ensemble as Richard Patrick, seeing as how it was hovering around 100 degrees outside that day without a twig of shade in sight but, hey, that's just me.
Hinder was next in the lineup, and if you'd asked me to name one of their tunes before the show, I couldn't have answered you. This generally registers a look of disbelief from co-workers and friends when it's come up. After seeing their set, there are a few songs I've heard in passing on the radio and I suppose you could say that "Get Stoned" is a guilty pleasure, although I thought it was by Buck Cherry. I may get flamed by some passersby, but, honestly, these guys are forgettable. Their look and their sound may be fun for the moment, but it's not distinct enough to really stand out in the long run. Of course I invite them to prove me wrong, but I feel I have a pretty safe bet here. I'm a little concerned that if the singer carries on with the screaming/singing as he does that he'll blow his voice in a few years time. If nothing else can be learned from Axl Rose, it's that you need to conserve your pipes, man.
We sought out some shade behind a refreshment booth while Drowning Pool played the other stage and watched the roadies set up for Staind. Staind is another one of those bands like Filter that take me back to that summer just after my senior year of high school when "Outside" was hitting it big on the Family Values tour. I was glad to hear them play it, but something was definitely off. Aaron missed a few lines here and there, and the crowd drew a disappointing blank when he asked them to sing along. Afterward, Aaron said that he wasn't feeling well, which had become obvious. He stuck with it through the rest of their setlist, which included their new single, "Believe," "Right Here," and "Price to Play." I've not seen them live before so I don't know if they were lacking their normal intensity level, but under the circumstances I think they did pretty well.
Now onto the main attraction: Stone Temple Pilots. By this point I was dying to see their set and OMFG! They were so worth the wait! This was my first STP show, and I was a little nervous because, I mean, who hasn't heard the stories of the cancellations or other inflated ego disasters Scott Weiland has contributed to? But the whole lot of them were on top of their game. If there was note missed or a vocal out of tune, I didn't notice because they had such great energy all throughout. When they first took the stage I was a little confused with Scott's outfit. He looked like a deranged pilgrim with that hat, but he was in fine spirits. There was even a point where he seemed humble to the crowd.
"Rock and roll lives right here. It's not about the West Coast or the East Coast or the South or all those places where everyone is trying to prove they're hipper than you. No. Rock and roll is alive and thriving in the Midwest. You guys are what keeps it going."Okay, so he may have been pandering to us, but I'm willing to accept that. This little speech was even after getting showered with a beer someone in the front threw onstage. Scott just laughed it off and told us how hops are actually really good for your hair, and I'm inclined to believe him. Scott Weiland wouldn't lie about haircare. I don't even know what that means, but "Scott Weiland wouldn't lie about _____" became the running joke of the evening.
Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the stage yet, which was absolutely fantastic! There was a HUGE LED screen that stretched the entire length of the stage, and the resolution on that thing was incredible. Check out this video of "Wicked Garden."
Even that doesn't really do this screen justice. Everything was so crisp and vibrant.
I staked out a place to sit on the rail in front of the soundbooth and was able to video most of the show which I will probably be watching over and over for a while. I am so glad I upgraded my memory card to an 8GB. They broke out most of their big hits, but with a catalog like theirs, there was no way they'd hit them all. "Big Empty," "Vasoline," "Crackerman,"Sour Girl," "Creep," "Plush," "Interstate Love Song," "Sex Type Thing," "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart." All of them were fantastic. They finally wrapped things up around midnight with an encore performance of "Dead & Bloated."
I hope they're able to maintain whatever balance they found in sobriety or moderation. As long as they have that, I would so So SO recommend you catch them this summer if they haven't already passed you by.
I think I just about linked up to every video, but you can always check them out on our YouTube account. I'm not overly satisfied with the quality there right now, so I may be seeking another site that hosts videos. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. You can also see the stills from the festival on our Photobucket.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Checking in with Trent, Part 4
It figures that right after we decided to put WTC on hiatus, shit starts happening.
I wonder if he consciously picked this prison guard shirt and tie combo out knowing how many Year Zero DIY designed panties he would moisten. I can already hear Dierdre saying, "Well, of course he did, Iris. Trent Reznor is always Asking For It!"
Okay so I'm a little behind this morning but thanks to a tip from reader, Persephone, we see some new live performance pictures surfacing. Now I am severely torn by these photos. Half of me wants to say "yes, Yes, YES take me Trent and we can play helpless prisoner/naughty security guard all. night. long.", and the other half wants to seem detached and oh so cool in front of the other hipster bitches here and say "RECYCLED."
But you know what? Fuck being cool. I own half this blog so I can be however I want to be.
Trent, the gloves are still HAWT! Pfffttt...I didn't even make it to the other pictures without 'em. Matter of fact I'm going to go out on a limb here and say they look better now than they did then. I'm not saying I wasn't intrigued by your kinky little fetish getup back then...it's just that skinny guys who look like I could take them out don't "really" do it for me. But now...oh-ho-ho...now you look like you can play the way I like it. And I’m sorry I said I hated you the other day. You know I didn’t mean it! You just...well...you just sounded like shit. But I bet you brought the fucking house down on this night. -sigh-
I wonder if he consciously picked this prison guard shirt and tie combo out knowing how many Year Zero DIY designed panties he would moisten. I can already hear Dierdre saying, "Well, of course he did, Iris. Trent Reznor is always Asking For It!"
Now bring on the hate. I'm waiting...
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Lollapalooza...in conclusion
So now that we've recovered from Lollapalooza, here are some afterthoughts and post-concert reviews. I know it's a week later but hey, this girl's been busy, and it's better late than never, right?
Pearl Jam
I've never really listened to PJ all that much. I know their hits from my high school days, but powerhouse vocalist Chris Cornell of Soundgarden was more my cup o' tea. Now it seems that Eddie uses his vocals to bring attention to world problems, which not all corporate sponsors are pleased with. During "Daughter," the band slid into a cover of "Another Brick in the Wall," where Eddie changed up the lyrics to "George Bush leave this world alone / George Bush find yourself another home." But curiously this section was missing from the AT&T webcast. AT&T has said that the censorship was done in error, and they are currently working to rebroadcast the performance yadda, yadda yadda, which actually means some poor editing schlub got fired because he did what he was told at the time, but when the backlash rolled in, he became the scapegoat. Lucky for you fine readers, I was there to capture the whole thing live! Click here for the complete unedited version. Oh and who knew Dennis Rodman would show up?
Daft Punk
Amazing set (for what we saw). Although I was okay with leaving early that night because it had been a full day, now I'm completely kicking myself for not staying longer. Obviously some were anticipating this act more than others. Check out this guy--100% commitment, people. For those of you not familiar with this getup, check out Daft Punk's video for "One More Time".
I've never really listened to PJ all that much. I know their hits from my high school days, but powerhouse vocalist Chris Cornell of Soundgarden was more my cup o' tea. Now it seems that Eddie uses his vocals to bring attention to world problems, which not all corporate sponsors are pleased with. During "Daughter," the band slid into a cover of "Another Brick in the Wall," where Eddie changed up the lyrics to "George Bush leave this world alone / George Bush find yourself another home." But curiously this section was missing from the AT&T webcast. AT&T has said that the censorship was done in error, and they are currently working to rebroadcast the performance yadda, yadda yadda, which actually means some poor editing schlub got fired because he did what he was told at the time, but when the backlash rolled in, he became the scapegoat. Lucky for you fine readers, I was there to capture the whole thing live! Click here for the complete unedited version. Oh and who knew Dennis Rodman would show up?
Daft Punk
Amazing set (for what we saw). Although I was okay with leaving early that night because it had been a full day, now I'm completely kicking myself for not staying longer. Obviously some were anticipating this act more than others. Check out this guy--100% commitment, people. For those of you not familiar with this getup, check out Daft Punk's video for "One More Time".
Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs
I only caught a couple of songs, due to having to hike about a mile to get from one end of the park to the other. Karen O was...interesting. Clad in a black leotard, crisscrossed pattern pantyhose, mid-arm-length latex gloves, and white sneakers, she was a sight to see. She also seemed to be channeling a bit of Marilyn Manson, sporting a bright blue forehead, which you could see when she wasn't singing under her sparkly Micheal Jackson-esque towel. I was so entertained by her outfit and onstage antics and flirting with the crowd that I really didn't listen to their songs until after getting home and reviewing the clips. Not sure if that makes them good, bad, or indifferent.
!!! (chk, chk, chk)
Oh where do I even begin with this fucking band? After seeing a rousing clip of their act at Coachella on YouTube, I was really pumped to see this group. They seemed like a fun, dorked-out dancing, super group (there's seriously like 10 people on stage), and I was more than willing to completely bust a move along with them when they came on. What I was not expecting was the singer's dorky dance moves to be paired with lyrics / spoken word / pseudo rap crap such as "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK", and "SUCK MY DICK" (or perhaps "cock"--I've tried to block it from memory) delivered as though he were some street-hardened thug. Dude, you failed, Failed, FAILED to pull this off. By the fourth song, I was making my way out of the crowd, shaking my head in disappointment. I probably could have written this off as a bad act and forgotten about it fairly quickly, but the fact that I had left Iggy and The Stooges right as the onstage riot was beginning just so I wouldn't miss any of !!! is like salt in an open wound. Especially since Gabriel had also given them a poor review prior to this. (maise says: I HATE it when he's right!)
Juliette & The Licks
These guys were awesome and so much fun! After their set, we got a bite to eat and casually made our way down to see who was on the list to sign autographs that day. Lo and behold, their names were taped to the schedule. Apparently they weren't initially scheduled, but Juliette had decided that since it was such a good set that they wanted to stick around to sign some autographs too. I had to have a CD to get in line, so I ran in the music store tent: sold out. The shady-looking guy selling them outside the tent: sold out. The people already standing in line: not willing to sell. But fortunately another case was found, and hubby snagged one for me. Up close, Juliette is just a tiny little thing but still full of so much energy. She'd let people come around behind their table to take silly pictures with her and the band and would really ham it up for the camera. Here's the face I got for my picture with her.
Of course I cut myself out because if the saying goes "the camera adds 5lbs," then it should be said that standing next to Juliette Lewis adds 20lbs. And then of course, my signed CD. HELLZ YEAH!
Other tidbits:
*LCD Soundsystem = perfection. Fabulous performance, even though the drummer was under the weather, and it seemed uncertain in a couple of songs as to whether he was going to make it.
*Interpol's bassist can keep the ash on his cigarette from the start of a song to the finish while still playing and moving around. Impressive. While admiring this with Ro's friend, I was hit on by a guy who had clearly stolen his look from Seth Green in "Can't Hardly Wait". I'm talking right down to the goggles.
*As we were walking to the Bud Light stage, Rodrigo y Gabriela played out a few minutes of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" on their acoustic guitars, which gave me chills. Described as a "Mexican-born, Ireland-based, heavy-metal-obsessed instrumental acoustic guitar duo," even if they don't sound like your kind of thing, they still are worth a listen because they're that good.
*Angelman will also be happy to know that I purchased some hippie-dippie Vegan sandals due to poor judgment that morning in festival-going footwear. They were more than I would ever normally pay for sandals, but then again I don't think my tire-tread sole will wear out anytime soon.
You can check out some of our other pictures here or click the link on the sidebar. They're organized by day 1, 2, & 3 for easier perusing. There are loads of them! I think they turned out pretty good considering this was about our average distance from the stages.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Lollapalooza, Day One, continued...
Okay, so there's LOTS to tell, and sadly, not a lot of time to do that this morning.
Iris is working on uploading some pics, and I really can't wait til we can share these videos with you!
So here's a quick rundown on the rest of the bands we saw last night.
Blonde Redhead--you know, I really wanted to like these guys. The critics love them, my cool friends in the know love them, but they did not engage me *at all*. They're like Interpol or Ladytron without the hooks. I also suspect that a large outdoor festival is just not the best venue for them. One would need to listen to their album or see them in a small club. They just couldn't hold my attention in Grant Park. In fact, the Blonde Redhead set was where I learned that my camera phone has "fun tools," so I spent that time taking silly pictures of Mr. Maise. Also, Kazu Makino's vocals really just border on screechy at times. During the last song, Mr. Maise asked, "Is she practicing her sperm whale calls?" So yeah, everyone loves this Italian-Japanese indie trio, but I died a little inside.
Daft Punk--okay, this band is legendary, influential, visionary, and produce an astounding show. But we could only take about 30 minutes of it. It's very repetitive techno, and as Mr. Maise said, we forgot our ecstasy and our glowsticks in our other pants. Their set is remiscent of $25,000 Pyramid, and they sit inside the pyramid, wearing these eerie-looking motorcycle helmets. Lights and lasers are flashing and there's a LOT of lead up to songs like "Around the World." Honestly, I can't imagine that we would have gotten any more out of it staying for the full 90 minutes, and the chick with the pigtails in front of me was threatening to clock me in the head with her fancy moves.
And that is that for the first day, kids. I'll try to fill this in a little better later on, but we're late for brunch at Ro's...more to come!
Iris is working on uploading some pics, and I really can't wait til we can share these videos with you!
So here's a quick rundown on the rest of the bands we saw last night.
Blonde Redhead--you know, I really wanted to like these guys. The critics love them, my cool friends in the know love them, but they did not engage me *at all*. They're like Interpol or Ladytron without the hooks. I also suspect that a large outdoor festival is just not the best venue for them. One would need to listen to their album or see them in a small club. They just couldn't hold my attention in Grant Park. In fact, the Blonde Redhead set was where I learned that my camera phone has "fun tools," so I spent that time taking silly pictures of Mr. Maise. Also, Kazu Makino's vocals really just border on screechy at times. During the last song, Mr. Maise asked, "Is she practicing her sperm whale calls?" So yeah, everyone loves this Italian-Japanese indie trio, but I died a little inside.
Fortunately, Satellite Party, Perry Farrell's new band came up next, and they played a solid, fun set. Perry Farrell looks the same, sounds the same, and he doesn't give a shit what band he's in, he'll play the Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyro's favorites. He twirls like a whirling dervish and has little drunken/high conversations with the audience that turn into interesting little segueways to the next song. "My darlings, I just want to get down there and pet all of you," he announced before playing "Pets." "Are you...kinky?" he asked before playing a song that must have been entitled "Kinky." "The forecast was going to call for rain today, but since it's not raining, I dub this day INSANITY RAIN DAY!" he decreed, before playing..."Insanity Rain." And so on. Interestingly enough, at one point, he claimed that the Chicago Sun Times did not want Lollapalooza to return to Chicago. Now Jim Derogatis, the music critic for the Sun Times, has been especially cranky about Lollapalooza this year, but I wouldn't say that he's called for an outright ban of the festival. All the old favorites, like "Been Caught Stealing" and "Jane Says" sounded great, and Farrell was accompanied by a swimsuit-clad dancer/backup vocalist who may be his wife. I just really enjoyed this set...it was nice to hear some songs I knew, and Farrell did start this whole festival to begin with.
LCD Soundsystem--what can I say? This was clearly the best performance of the night. Who would ever believe that these schlumpy-looking guys would produce this infectious dancepunk??? They had all the hipsters dancing like dorks in the park. I'm not terribly familiar with a lot of their music, but standouts included "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" (ha ha), "North American Scum" and "Yeah." The latter, in particular, was stretched out to about 15 minutes, but it never lost its energy. James Murphy really won me over with his witty average guy commentary. "I don't really know what to say. Usually when bands don't know what to say, they'll shout, ARE YOU READY??? Which doesn't make any sense. Why should you be ready? We're the ones playing..." He praised the guys dancing in the audience for not scaring the girls away. It was just a great set, and I can't wait til Iris gets her videos up for this because I feel like those will say it all. I highly recommend this band to anyone, anytime.
Daft Punk--okay, this band is legendary, influential, visionary, and produce an astounding show. But we could only take about 30 minutes of it. It's very repetitive techno, and as Mr. Maise said, we forgot our ecstasy and our glowsticks in our other pants. Their set is remiscent of $25,000 Pyramid, and they sit inside the pyramid, wearing these eerie-looking motorcycle helmets. Lights and lasers are flashing and there's a LOT of lead up to songs like "Around the World." Honestly, I can't imagine that we would have gotten any more out of it staying for the full 90 minutes, and the chick with the pigtails in front of me was threatening to clock me in the head with her fancy moves.And that is that for the first day, kids. I'll try to fill this in a little better later on, but we're late for brunch at Ro's...more to come!
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