Sunday, August 5 was a steady continuation of the current drought in the Midwest. The sun was high in a bleakly open sky. The park was sun-dried, putrefying the baseball fields and grass into a off-putting mud that rivaled Bonnaroo. And the night was set for the biggest acts of the entire weekend; Jack White and Justice. But more so than anything else on my mind was the imminent end of not only my weekend, but possibly my tenure at Lollapalooza. If it would be the final day - the truly final day - how would things end?
Day Three:
Five years in a row, three days a year. There's a passage in Into The Wild that reads, "Happiness is only real when shared." Since my second venture in Grant Park in 2008, I have ridden the Blue Line alone waiting for my friends to arrive late. And if this was truly my end, I'd rather share it than wade through half the day alone again.
We arrived pleasantly late - 3 p.m. to be exact. Slowly wandering the park, we traversed the seemingly endless mud pits on the South side of the park for a spot at Sigur Ros, electing to skip The Walkmen. Coming in, I've heard wild rumors about the Icelandic group's live performances; most notably how it can bring people to tears. Considering the heat and the relatively odd time for their performance (4 p.m.), the band put on one of the most memorable shows in Lollapalooza history. Tears didn't exactly happen, but rumblings of grown men crying did get around eventually. Even though the band left several notable songs out of their one hour set, including "Starálfur" and "Glósóli," the time was unmatched in terms of emotions. Jonsi, seemingly alone in a large group, could project unlike most other singers during the weekend to a continually stunned crowd.
Sigur Ros
While it seems like 80 percent of the park made their way to Florence + The Machine, my friends and I had just decided to spend the time languishing most of our last hours at Perry's with Dr. P, Big Gigantic, and Zed's Dead. It was a good change of pace just to not care for a while and joyously waste some time before the night ended.
The final night rounded out with the weekend's two biggest aforementioned acts - Justice and Jack White. Splitting among friends, I stayed for Justice on the North side. Considering last year's final venture with Deadmau5 proved to be a rain-soaked clusterfuck and that I still haven't seen Daft Punk, this would be the biggest electronica show I've ever seen. And that cannot be understated.
Justice
Justice are unbelievably intense live. Total non-stop, combining the best from their first two albums, It was a totally unique live experience. Although I'd relinquish Daft Punk's status at the top of the live electronica experience, Justice to me would be a fantastic second. It remained the best show of the weekend.
And that's how it all ended. What I'll be saying by this time next year is completely unknown to me, but for the time being I couldn't be happier of what these past five years have been.
Best Performances: Sigur Ros, Justice
Worst Performances: Zed's Dead
Highlights: "Varúð" by Sigur Ros
Lowlights: Mud
No comments:
Post a Comment