Anyone in the Chicago area who loves rock music and didn't choose to attend Lollapalooza this year doesn't deserve a wrap-up, so consider this wrap-up for those of you too far away to attend...which, really, is kind of lame considering that I met folks who'd flown in from Australia, South Africa, and jolly ol' England for the festival.
Anyhoo, without further adieu...
While they sounded pretty much like they always do, a lot of people were saying The Strokes were the highlight of the festival. I personally don't trust a band that wears their guitars so high, but, hey, decide for yourself.
For all you exiles from the grunge age, Soundgarden came, saw, and kicked Arcade Fire's ass. Both bands played at the same time, causing many to flip a coin. Those who chose Arcade Fire still got to hear Soundgraden because they were LOUD (click HERE to watch "Black Hole Sun"). I ran into some peeps who said S'garden's gig at the Vic was hell on wheels. Stereogum has some clips of that gig, if you dig.
Lady Gaga was the obvious reason many people chose to attend Day One. I could not help feeling that she still wants very much to be Madonna and that there was not a single instrument onstage actually being played by a human. Other than that, she was awesome.
When Green Day hit the stage, I turned for a moment to check out the crowd and was amazed at how young the audience was. I don't mean 21-22, more like 12 or 13. It was like watching Ralph's World or something. Billy Armstrong wear more eyeliner than Avril Lavigne these days, is that punk or what?
One of my personal highlights was catching Devo's set. If I had a nickel for every camera phone that came out of nowhere at the beginning of "Whip It", I'd be a very rich man. Here's their rockin' performance of "Goin' Under" from New Traditionalists.