What do you have when you combine trend-setting music, talented artists, approximately 75,000 avid concertgoers, lavish grounds, and an amazing metropolis? You have the legendary annual Lollapalooza Music Festival at Grant Park centered between downtown Chicago, Illinois and Lake Michigan.
Lollapalooza was once again the setting for wide-eyed music lovers and unique people of all ages, shapes, and sizes who were adorned in wildly creative attire. There were many bands and musical performers to choose from such as The Strokes, Lady Gaga, The Black Keys, Neon Trees, Caspa, Tiga, Erol Alkan, Devo, The New Pornographers, Vonnegutt, Steve Porter, The xx, Gogol Bordello, Social Distortion, AFI, Green Day, Kaskade, Phoenix, Switchfoot, The Cribs, Nervo, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Temper Trap, X Japan, Wolfmother, The National, Cypress Hill, Arcade Fire, Soundgarden, Felix da Housecat, Flosstradamus, and MGMT. Here are some of the highlights.
Erol Alkan
From across the pond, specifically London, England, hails Erol Alkan - DJ/Producer known across the world and highly regarded as one of the best. Mixmag honored Erol in 2006 with its prestigious “DJ of the Year†award.
He spun his well known songs “Waves†and “Death Suite†to a crowd of energetic youngsters at Perry’s stage on Friday evening. Erol has certainly made an international name for himself and has come a long way since his resident DJ years at the famed London Trash nightclub, which he founded.
Video credits: hAsh015 (Youtube)
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga, a.k.a. Stefani Germanotta, arguably defined this year’s Lollapalooza. Her Friday night headlining set was the talk of the town for the entire weekend, and many of her fans (who she so fondly refers to as “Little Monstersâ€) were present to witness her theatrical performance. A production so extravagant and enticing, even the multiple wardrobe changes - each one more glam than the previous, exuberant dancers, and inspiring backdrops weren’t enough to satisfy the insatiable appetites of the Lady’s many devotees.
She opened her set with “Dance In The Dark†then “Glitter And Grease†and transitioned into the crowd pleasing mega hit, “Just Danceâ€. Lady Gaga should definitely get an “A†in effort for wooing her “Little Monsters†with a superb display of pyrotechnics that exploded in the back of the Parkways Foundation stage into the night sky.
Ms. Gaga ended her 2 hour emotional performance with the global hit single, “Bad Romance†directly after she defeated the “Fame Monster†who unsuccessfully tried to devour her onstage. Lady Gaga’s popularity has quickly skyrocketed worldwide and can be compared to the likes of superstars Michael Jackson and Madonna.
AFI
The alternative young rockers from Ukiah, California graced the Adidas Mega stage on Saturday afternoon. Known for their goth, emo, punk, and alternative musical styles, Davey Hovak and his supporting band serenaded fans with their haunting tunes “Love Like Winterâ€, “Miss Murderâ€, and “Girl’s Not Greyâ€.
Their uniqueness has helped sustain this boyish ensemble throughout the years as one of America’s most popular alternative bands. AFI is currently on a U.S. summer tour opening for Green Day.
Mexican Institute of Sound
DJ/Producer, Camilo Lara, of Mexican Institute of Sound brought down the stage at Perry’s with his unique blend of traditional ethnic flair from Mexico City and contemporary electronica beats. Camilo, along with touring drummer, DJ, and bassist, are a powerful force to be reckoned with.
The gatherers on Sunday afternoon were sent into a state of dancing euphoria, which was most notable during Mexican Institute of Sound’s mega hit, “Yo Digo Bailaâ€. They are currently on a world wide tour supporting their most recent album, Soy Sauce.
Wolfmother
Hailing from the land down under, Andrew Stockdale and Wolfmother bandmates delivered a memorable display of powerful chords and amazing hits to the anxious crowd gathered at the Parkways Foundation stage on Sunday evening. Opening with the first track from their first album, self titled Wolfmother, “Dimensionâ€, the band infused their fans with a jolt of energy.
The stage was adorned with a bright gold backdrop which depicted two enormous leopards while displaying the band’s initials “WM†in the center of each feline. This backdrop proudly enhanced the stellar guitar licks and penetrating vocals of Andrew Stockdale as Wolfmother played into the night.
The band performed all of their hit songs from their freshman and sophomore albums, Wolfmother and Cosmic Egg respectively, which included the high energy “New Moon Risingâ€, the melodic “Mind’s Eyeâ€, the revved up “California Queenâ€, and Zeppelin-esque “Womanâ€.
Flosstradamus
On Sunday evening at Perry’s, Flosstradamus, who is comprised of DJ’s Josh Young and Curt Cameruci, enticed their audience with a mesmerizing light show and hypnotic beats. The crowd danced in a wild frenzy to the deep bass and high pitched sounds created by the duo.
Their tune “Act A Fool†scored high on the Richter scale as it seemingly made the earth move. Flosstradamus continues to entertain crowds around the globe and have been on a continual tour for over three years. They have no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
Cypress Hill
The legendary Los Angeles based Latino rappers, Cypress Hill, took to the Adidas Mega stage on Sunday evening playing to an eager and enthusiastic posse. Full of charisma, B-Real, gave the onlookers exactly what they wanted and delivered the goods in true old school fashion.
They sang their hits such as “How I Could Just Kill A Manâ€, “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like Thatâ€, and the super smash single, “Insane In The Brainâ€. Currently on their tour promoting their eighth studio album, Rise Up, Cypress Hill is proud to be part of Snoop Dogg’s regime at Priority Records/EMI Entertainment.
Felix da Housecat
A homegrown Chicago native, Felix da Housecat, a.k.a. Felix Stallings, Jr., spun his fluent sounds for the crowd gathered before him on Sunday evening at Perry's stage. He mixed his techno/house music from the 90's to present day hits.
Along with Felix's rhythmic fusion of Garbage, The Chemical Brothers, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, and New Order tunes, his set featured a psychedelic display of images boldly depicted on the stage backdrop and on the front of the mixing station.
Video credits: tessalenorec(Youtube)
Soundgarden
Like a trip down memory lane, Soundgarden’s Sunday night headlining stage show made it feel as if it was still the 1990’s. Chris Cornell, donning long wavy locks, belted out the band’s reminiscent tunes such as “Spoonman†and “Black Hole Sun†as well as others hits their devout fans were anticipating.
After a 13 year hiatus, the band had decided to reunite in April 2010 and have embarked on a North American tour to spread the word that they’re back and stronger than ever. Soundgarden closed out the three day festivities with a bang.
Lollapalooza has become a true destination for alternative, progressive, grunge, hip-hop, rap, and r&b music lovers from across the U.S. and abroad. Chicago is the most sensible choice to host an annual music festival of this magnitude. See you in 2011!
