Hola, loyal readers!
I'm back and better than ever, with something very important to discuss-- my weekend adventure, LOLLAPALOOZA! The famed festival, as usual, lived up to its enormous hype and was absolutely one of the best times of my life. I thought that I would do a little recap of the highlights (and, unfortunately, lowlights--though they were far and few between) of this crazy weekend.
FRIDAY:
So, on Friday, I arrived around 6, and therefore missed all of the goodness that went on in the morning. But the two shows I saw certainly didn't disappoint.
The Black Keys (6:00 - 7:15)
Of all of the shows I saw, The Black Keys--and their fans--definitely had the best concert vibe. There was just the perfect mix of chilling and dancing, and it made for one of the most enjoyable concert experiences.
Lady Gaga (8:00 - 10:00)
Right off the bat, I want you to know that I am not a Gaga fan--I don't enjoy her music one bit. But I have to admit, she can put on one hell of a show, and is, without a doubt, one talented performer. Between the impressive vocals, bizarre props and dancing, and innumerable costume changes, I dubbed Gaga's performance as most insane. Also, due to her incessant monologues and tangents, I also awarded her with most loquacious.
SATURDAY:
Saturday was very intense for me--I spent the entire time at shows and hardly took a break to eat! But the sore vocal chords--and even sorer feet!--were small cons to an otherwise fantastic day.
The Morning Benders (12:00 - 12:30)
I arrived at the Morning Benders completely unaware of their intense musical prowess. My friend Rebecca persuaded me into going, and I cannot tell you how grateful I am that she did. They actually blew my mind, which is why I am awarding them with best musical discovery.
The Soft Pack (12:30 - 1:15)
The Soft Pack... what is there to say about the Soft Pack? Well, for starters, they sucked. They were really loud. Their fans were undeniably and insanely douchey. And they won the worst performance of the weekend! Congratulations, the Soft Pack, you guys were pretty freaking terrible. It was legitimately impressive, the degree to which you guys blew.
Rogue Wave (1:00 - 1:45)
After I sprinted, fingers in my ears, away from the screechy Soft Pack, I checked my handy-dandy program and noticed that Rogue Wave was playing at adidas MEGA, which was all the way across the park. I'd never heard of Rogue Wave, but I was totally in the mood for some good music, so I decided to take my chances. I trekked across Grant Park, my motivation to escape the loud non-musical noise of the Soft Pack pushing me with great speed toward adidas MEGA. That long walk was not in vain--Rogue Wave was great! That is why I am awarding them with second best discovery.
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (6:30 - 7:30)
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are known for their wild shows and intense hippie-dom. Now, I certainly understand why. At various points during the show, the bandmates requested we pop a squat on the muddy ground, had a little dance party on the stage while we jumped around like lunatics, and had us all laughing and singing along for the entirety of the show. Therefore, I have dubbed their performance as undoubtedly the funnest--for both the audience and the performers.
Phoenix (8:30 - 10:00)
Phoenix, the french quartet, is one of my all-time favorite musical groups. Their sound is so unique, and it translates beautifully from recording to live performance. On stage, they are so lively and precise and purely wonderful that it is literally like musical catharsis to watch them play. The experience was euphoric and crazily great. Therefore, Phoenix's hour and half performance (which actually clocked in at around an hour fifteen, to my immense disappointment) were the best hour and fifteen minutes I spent at Lollapalooza. Obviously, I have decided that they were the best performance of the weekend.
SUNDAY:
Sunday was off to a rocky start--I couldn't find my friends before the first show, it was wayy too wet, and I trashed one of my favorite pairs of shoes! C'est la vie--and, after all, it was all in the name of great music.
Miniature Tigers (11:30 - 12:15)
Miniature Tigers was miserably wet and lonely for me--that is, until I bumped into some friends and eventually located my designated Lolla partner (my friend Rebecca, whom I mentioned earlier). Despite the not-so-pleasant scenario, I gritted my teeth and set aside my comfort for the sake of Miniature Tigers, a favorite band of mine. It was well worth it--Miniature Tigers, along with Phoenix, are good performers--not too talkative, not too many frills--just good old fashioned music. They were definitely the most intimate show I attended.
Mumford and Sons (3:00 - 4:00)
Rolling Stone magazine named Mumford and Sons as one of the five best new artists of 2010, and not without reason--they pretty much rock my world. Their show was so lively and fun and full of happy, foot-thumping, head-bobbing, air-fiddle-playing people--hence, they were the most danceable performance!
MGMT (6:00 - 7:15)
I am a big MGMT fan. However, two other bands I was super excited to see--The Temper Trap and Wolfmother--were playing at the same time. Yeah. Dilemma central. So, I decided to see MGMT, simply because I know more of their music. I don't really stand by that decision. They were incredibly quiet--yes, I was standing pretty far away, but still, I could barely hear them--yikes. So, yeah. MGMT was pretty disappointing... oh well.
The National (7:15 - 8:30)
Well, the National is kind of awesome and wonderful and just freaking spectacular. They have insanely dedicated fans and the ability to convert any new listener to fandom within basically 3 seconds. Their sound live is just... impeccable. Yeah, I liked them a lot. Decidedly, they had the best sound of anyone at Lollapalooza.
Arcade Fire (8:30 - 10:00)
For anyone out there who has been to an Arcade Fire concert, you will probably agree with the next statement I make--Arcade Fire puts on an expertly weird show. But not weird in a bad way. In fact, weird in the best way possible. They're very experimental with their sound, and I really like that. Also, their fans are WILD. There were so many people at that concert we were packed together like legitimate sardines. No joke. My claustrophobia kicked into overdrive--that is, until their ethereal and innovative music flooded Grant Park. Despite being the sweatiest show, Arcade Fire was also the best way to close this indescribably great weekend.
Oh, and a funny story about Arcade Fire--my friends Rebecca, Nora and I were standing pretty far back and didn't have a great view of the stage. Everyone around us was crowd-surfing in a pretty much fruitless attempt to break through to the front. Rebecca and I persuaded Nora (literally persuaded--I had to scream expletives at her until she complied) to try it--and she ended up surfing all the way to the front, where she was pulled over the fence! Somehow, she made it back to us through the massive throng of people. It was pretty brilliant.
This has gone on long enough. I love you all--and the blog is back!
XOXOXOXO,
Marissa
P.S. Sorry this took me so long to write, I promise the next post will be shorter--much, much shorter... ;)
