Four years up, four years down. If there was any hesitation that I had become a festival regular at this point, it's been thoroughly tossed aside. With every new expansion of the park, there's still the staples: That smell from the mud on the south side, the BMI stage being consistently empty, the north side offering crowd size relief, lines at Kuma's, etc.
But with Lollapalooza's 20th Anniversary, there were some notable changes. First and foremost was the newly expanded Perry's Place, which in four years had expanded from a small gathering to the football field-sized cave. Over those years, festival organizers (and notably Perry Farrell himself) have done a lot for electronica music, growing and moving the stage every year, gathering bigger and bigger acts. In addition, with the size growth, the largest Lolla crowd ever (270,000 + fence jumpers over all three days) didn't seem as overwhelming as it had in years past, sans for a few way, way too overcrowded acts (Foster the People).
Day One:
Festival-goers noted that day one was easily the most crowded booking of all three days, with enormous acts laced throughout the schedule, causing numerous scheduling conflicts. For me, it all started with The Vaccines.
The much-hyped UK act had a very early slot on the first day, sitting comfortably on the south side's main stage. I don't quite know what it is, but the first act I see every year usually delivers, and the group was no exception. Pacing through nearly their entire debut album (closing with "Norgaard"), the four-piece put on at the very least a solid show, setting the trend for early Friday afternoon.
Delta Spirit
After a small break, Delta Spirit were set to play on the same stage. Already familiar with the act after seeing them at Lolla two years ago, I knew kinda what to expect - a rowdier than thou spectacle befitting a band with a little more publicity to back up their name. Live, the band is in another world of exceptional, baiting singles here and there with lead-singer Matthew Vasquez easily leading the crowd. Sure, there were a handful of Muse fans here and there, with just permanent frows of disappointment that they weren't listening to Muse yet (they played the same stage later that night), but they couldn't take away from an outstanding show, led by an incredibly enigmatic front-man. With all respect, if you missed this show, you missed one of the best of the weekend - bar none.
What followed next was a series of glory and frustration, all at Perry's. Through Feed Me, Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 1977, and Skrillex, I was immersed in a shroud of deluded assholes, genuinely nice people, and then many more assholes. The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 1977 proved to actually be one of the weekend's all-around best acts, far and away, but wading through Feed Me and Skrillex's crowd was unbearable. It in itself explained this year's greatest flaw and asset - the Perry's crowd.
Looking around the tent's outside, one could easily see throngs of kids in large groups - far too large to have traveled far distances. It's apt that the bros would only hang around the other local bros, because that was all they cared to see, aside from Eminem the next night. It's no coincidence, however, that because of this the shows outside of Perry's were for the most part very comfortable and easy to manage. Still, it's an absolute shame that the generic Perry's crowd dragged down the atmosphere of the park.
Crystal Castles
After a sweaty stagger away from the tent, I crossed shortly over to catch Crystal Castles' set. After a notoriously poor showing in 2009, the set was plagued with technical problems. Alice Glass' mic was continually cut off or spaced out, with the show ending a few minutes early. Still, the crowd seemed more than pleased, despite the clear difficulties, with the duo ending the set with "Not in Love," one of the best songs of the weekend. It's somewhat apparent that this is more of an indoor, late night band, rather than one playing for an oversized crowd of casual onlookers. Maybe the festival scene just isn't right for them.
For the first time in the festival's Chicago history, four headliners would close out the night. The near 100,000 Friday fans were split among the aforementioned Muse on the south side, Girl Talk at Perry's, Coldplay on the north side, or Ratatat at the smaller Google+ stage. I gladly opted for the smaller act, with a much better guaranteed seat.
Ratatat
Ratatat is truly an act better seen in the dark, as was evident with their performance at Coachella. While the fireworks and light shows were meant for Muse and Coldplay, Ratatat gave a fine light show performance tucked in Grant Park's corner. It likely didn't have the bravado of the two other acts' already well-established shows, but it did prove to be a nice outlet for those who don't really care for them.
Aside from the occasional asshole, Friday was an astounding success, just like the previous years (sans 2009). Tomorrow, I'll be posting my Saturday review.
Best Performances: Delta Spirit, Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 1977, Ratatat
Worst Performances: Crystal Castles
Highlight: "Bushwick Blues," by Delta Spirit. "Warp 1.9," by Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 1977. "Not In Love," by Crystal Castles. "Louder Pipes," by Ratatat
Lowlight: The Skrillex crowd.
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