With only one day left, and the weather turning for the worse, I took my final trip to Grant Park Sunday, August 8. Could Sunday turn my whole vacation into a pile of shit? No, not really.
Day Three:
Well, it really didn't start out too well. Early in the Chicago afternoon, the clouds had crossed over from the west, flooding the area with rain and heavy (emphasis on heavy here) winds. Leaving the Blue-Line train before noon, the rain began to careen, lets say, horizontally. Incidentally, my $5 umbrella snapped and I had to park myself inside a Barnes & Noble until it got better. Weather reports had rain in the area throughout the day, giving me two options: bitch and moan or just bear with it. I think it's pretty obvious at this point that I'd just deal with it.
Arriving slightly late, the rain lightening up a little and the wind calming, I tried to make the best of what was quickly becoming a terrible day. But I guess my luck hadn't run aptly dry just yet, because the clouds ended up subsiding. Take that every weather person that day.
Now if you read the first two parts of my review (you didn't) you'd know that I've grown to appreciate Perry's place more than the previous two years. So while day three started out a bit late, and the early schedule wasn't too much to fawn over, the long hours I spent at Perry's, jumping with crowds with the Felix Cartal, Didi Gutman and Nervo made even my down-time more than worth it.
Nervo
Yeasayer were the first big act on my radar for the day, so after another mistaken trek to the opposite side of the park (something I did before last year), I made my way back to the Budweiser stage at the north side. The sun had hit its apex at this point, reaching above 90 degrees and glaring on the Brooklyn band. Despite the newfound heat, and Yeasayer lead-singer Chris Keating's affirmation that it "never rains on this band," the show was a bit average. Maybe it was the less-than crowd reception, or the deafening heat index, but one of my more eagerly anticipated bands really just didn't jump out that afternoon.
Yeasayer
Again, I found myself stuck in a 5:00 p.m. dilemma. Erykah Badu or Frightened Rabbit? Well, if you guessed neither you'd end up being right. So, it was back to Perry's for another hour and half or so. It's worth noting that the real reason I didn't see Frightened Rabbit was because the crowd was way, way too large, by the way.
A couple more hours of Perry's under my belt, coupled with a nice surprise performance from JFK of MSTRKRFT, had changed the tone of my weekend completely. No longer had I been so compelled to run my head off, trying to catch at least a song out of every single act I had the slightest interest in, but to just relax, see who I really want, and go to Perry's in my down-time.
JFK of MSTRKRFT
I was more tired than I ever, and The Temper Trap failed to interest me enough to weather their larger-than you may think fan base, so I settled with waiting patiently for the night's final two acts: The National and Arcade Fire.
Matt Beringer and the rest of The National don't have the usual bombast of bands playing into the night and closing out stages. It's pretty well-established that their type of sound is more casually wrought for the serene closed-door crowd, with songs like "Apartment Story" and "Lemonworld" finding more seams for quiet somberness than a 20,000-plus crowd. Regardless of whether the found fit the scenario, The National are too unique and too enriching to ignore. Plus, there's zero children there.
The National
Unfortunately, I had to leave the National set early to grab an at least "not so bad" seat for Arcade Fire, seeing as how Soundgarden didn't seem so big anymore, despite what ever 30-40 year old guy there would tell you. But whatever you've heard about the Arcade Fire's live performances, they're severely understated. The band, live, is an experience - an all-enriching oeuvre of lights, energy and a youthful orchestra of raw bliss that is not matched by many other acts. Truly, after the show, I was enthralled but not overwhelmed. Looking back, however, I understand now the sheer thrill I saw not only for myself and my friends, but every single other person there that day. It really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Arcade Fire
And there it was; three days of pure joy, once again proving why I ever decided to go in the first place. As it is, again, I'll be counting down the days until Lollapalooza 2011. Hell, the dates are already set. See you again Chicago, August 5 - 7.
Best Performances: Arcade Fire, The National, Nervo, JFK
Worst Performances: Yeasayer
Highlights: "Crown of Love," by Arcade Fire, "Apartment Story," by the National
Lowlights: The overcrowding at the Sony Bloggie stage for Frightened Rabbit and The Temper Trap.
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