[Sorry It took me so long to get this done.. Once I finally got the cast off, the physical therapy on my fingers has been a bit more strenuous than I had hoped for, but I'm finally back to near full strength and typability.. Also, don't forget about picking up any shirts I designed for the show HERE.. Enjoy.]
DAY 1

Carey Ott – This was our buddy from back home.. He rocked it. What started out as just a handful of people in the morning sun grew into a few hundred gathered around his stage as he finished his set. Good times. This is where we met the kids we would end up spending the majority of the weekend with.
Soulive – Nice groovy, funky sound.
Colour Revolt – Eh. Just loud.
Son Volt – I didn’t really know that much about these guys, despite being a medium size Wilco fan. Guess I just haven’t been putting in the back story research like I used to. Highlight of this band was the cute Canadian girl, Catherine, that sat next to me in the shade who I ended up spending a few hours with..
The Polyphonic Spree – Killer set.. They impressed from moment one. Choregraphed moves, costume changes, Nirvana cover.. Really, what more can you ask for.
Sparklehorse – Not the right time slot for this group. Everyone I was with hated them, but I’m sure that if you were in a dark room with one candle, a bottle of whiskey and a box of razor blades, it would be a perfect fit. And I mean that as a compliment. Everything has its time and place and this band wasn’t built for 100+ degree afternoon sun.
Silversun Pickups – One of my most anticipated and easily one of the best of the festival. They had so much fun up there and really tore it up. Turnout was a lot more than I expected, but we got there early enough to get a great spot. Also, I’m still in love with Nikki Monninger, the bassist.
Satellite Party – Perry Farrell.. That’s really all you have to say, right? He’s amazing and he found a way to bring in the new while still paying respect to what got him/us to Lollapalooza again. One for him, one for us. Janes, Porno.. Just good good times.
LCD Soundsystem – Besides the requisite “Daft Punk is playing at My House,” I can’t say I was blown away, but honestly at that point 2Pac and Jim Morrisson could’ve showed up to do an acoustic set with Mozart and I probably would’ve been distracted. Did I mention that Daft Punk was coming up??
Daft Punk – Now here is where hyperbole is not even a grand enough term to capture the digital perfection that is Daft Punk live in Chicago at sundown with the lake on one side of you and the skyline on the other with a hundred thousand of your closest, dearest friends. Just glorious.

DAY 2
Pete Yorn – Great tunes.. Highlight being him covering Peter Bjorn & John’s “Young Folks,” because so many people had asked him if it was him. Nice sense of humor.
Stephen Marley – You all know my basic disdain for reggae. Again, time and place, and this was one of those times and places. And for all the fair-weather fans of his music, he didn’t waste any time with his own music. He gave us Stephen Marley’s Bob Marley & The Wailers Legend cover band, which I thought was very thoughtful.
Sound Tribe Sector 9 – Friends of friends, but up until this day I never really got into their music. It’s still missing some things as far as my personal tastes are concerned, but this was a great great show and a nice large turnout. It was great watching them in the daytime. It was the exact opposite of Sparklehorse, I think the outside daytime nature vibe added to the music, which then led me away from trying to get my nighttime disco groove on to them like I usually fail to squeeze from their meandering tracks.
The Roots – Shit, it’s The Roots.. I saw a few songs, then I left the group to search out CSS on a solo mission to dance, but wouldn’t you know it, after a 15 minute hike across the grounds, I find out their flight got cancelled and so I high-tailed it back to The Roots to catch the last two songs. Other that the ridiculous tunes I heard and all the amazing stories I heard of the songs I missed, I got some pics with the Geico Caveman and met some cute little girls who spritzed me with some water in the intense heat.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Great time.. It rained a bit during their set which was kinda fitting. I expected more from the crowd on these guys and I ended up feeling like I was the only one really rocking out to them, but in the end who gives a shit, I know that I had a killer time rocking out to Karen O and the band.
Spoon – These guys played during a torrential downpour so we had to seek shelter to the side of the stage so that my cast didn’t get completely soaked. Halfway through the set, I wondered off by myself to find a portojohn and, wouldn’t you know it, I ran into those two cute spritzer girls from earlier. By now I had procured a covering for my cast, so I dropped down on the wet ground and sat talking in the rain with the girls for a bit. I guess, I can say it’s a compliment to Spoon that they were a nice soundtrack to my chatting up Lauren and Christie.

Muse – If you haven’t seen them live, see them live. This is my fourth time in a year or so and I’m still pitching them to anyone who will listen. It’s not Radiohead but harder. It’s just great bombastic tunes that rock you to your mortal coil. Go. See. Them.
DAY 3
Juliette & The Licks – We got there after their set, but everyone was talking about them all day and how great they were. Figured this should be mentioned.
Amy Winehouse – Second hand, but apparently so thin and fucked up that she could barely move around.. Also, allegedly, smoking crack in bathroom of Artist’s Lounge. But we all know she went into rehab the next week, so there’s that. Quitter.
Paolo Nutini – Wasn’t familiar, but it was great music. Nothing particular jumps out at me, but it was good times.
Iggy & The Stooges – Iggy Fucking Pop Ya’ll. He opened the flood gates and let hundreds of kids come up on stage for a song and managed to clear them off and still do 3 more tunes to close out an amazing set of good old fashioned punk rock music.

!!! – Looked cool.. Sounded alright.. Nothing ridiculous to write about though, but not bad.
My Morning Jacket – I was psyched to finally see these guys, especially since they were doing some songs with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. They put on a great show.. I rocked out for a bit but then ended up taking the time to chill before TV and PJ.
TV on the Radio – Sadly, not nearly as awesome as I’d hoped they’d be, but then again that’s pretty much how their albums have rubbed me as well.. Not bad but just not great.
Pearl Jam – Overall, a great set from PJ.. Some of the highlights, fireworks that I’m still not sure were intentionally timed for the band, bringing out a Iraq vet to intro a song, the BP Amoco song, Dennis Rodman holding Eddie on his shoulders during the encore. It was great way to end three solid days of madness.. with a little taste of the youth that brought us all to Lollapalooza way back in the big bad nineties.

Still can’t believe I survived it all without losing any more limbs and an unordinate number of brain cells. Next year, another festival, but this time we’re leaving the states. See what kind of damage we can throw down in Europe, eh?
As Always, Mahalo,
Lou
–Some YouTube Videos I found after the jump.. Daft Punk, Yeah Yeahs Yeah, Muse & The Caveman–

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