My dad saw little bits of an inconceivable number of performances at Lollapalooza. For those of you who think it is impossible that he heard and saw so many...me too! But he did! Here is what he thought:

Lollapalooza 2006
Artist Grading System
1-10 ++++ or (10^ which means out of sight)
My grading is probably biased as I only heard 15 minutes or so of some bands.

Artist
Score

No particular order in each scoring category.

1. NaDa Surf
10 ^
2. The Dresdon Dolls
10 ^
3. The Frames
10 ^

4. Sleater Kenny
10++++

5. Sound Team
10+++
6. Editors
10+++
7. Sonic Youth
10+++
8. The Flaming Lips
10+++
9. Andrew Bird
10+++
10. Broken Social Scene
10+++

11. Eels
10++
12. Matt Costa
10++
13. Built to Spill
10++
14. Nickel Creek
10++
15. She Wants Revenge
10++

16. Extra Metro Josh from Smokin Popes 10+
18. Panic at the Disco
10+

19. Death Cab for Cutie
10
20. Queens of the Stone Age 10
21. Extra Metro Elvis Perkins 10

22. Go Team
9++

23. Subways
9+
24. My Morning Jacket
9+
25. Ween
9+
26. Shins
9+
27. Sybris
9+

28. Aqualung
9
29. Stars
9
30. Iron & Wine
9
31. Catfish Haven
9

32. Feist
8+
33. Wolf Mother
8+

34. Anathello
8
35. Cold War Kids
8
36. Calexico
8

37. Particle
7
38. Lady Sovereign
7

39. Common
6

40. Sa-Ra
(-5)

So, I'll be honest, I got a little bored and bogged down with posting New Tuesdays. It was a good way for me to keep track of what was coming out that I was interested in, but it was a pain. Anyway, I'm taking a break from that.

That said, it was a good Tuesday yesterday. While I haven't listened to any of it, some CDs I'm very excited to hear came out:

Ray LaMontagne
Pete Yorn
M Ward

So check it out!

Lollapalooza wrapped up with a bang on Day 3. I started the day off with the fabulous Austin, TX indie pop group "What Made Milwaukee Famous." They were one of those bands, like Sound Team, that I hadn't heard much of previously but what I heard I liked. They didn't disappoint.

Next I headed over to get a spot up front for the Frames. From across the field I heard "The Redwalls" sounding great. They were one of the only two bands returning from last year's Lolla, so that is a great accomplishment.

The Frames were next, and they put on one hell of a show, as if there were any doubt. At first I was a little less then underwhelmed because I was comparing it to their show at the Metro. But soon they owned the stage. I never had seen the Frames play outdoors, and it was truly an experience. You could tell how excited they were at the HUGE crowd, and I was really moved by Glen occassionally looking up at the skin with a huge grin on his face as if he were sending the songs up to Mic and whoever else and it was really extremely touching.

The set included a lot of great songs, but most excitngly revelate, which the crowd was yelling for and which I believe was left out of the Metro set. After playing that they learned they had time enough for another and to people's cheering then finished with Fitzcaraldo. Another highlight of the set was bringing Beatle Bob out to dance during God Bless Mom (I believe I may have heard the words God Bless Bob in there somewhere). I would say this ranks as my favorite performance of the festival (combined with the Metro performance). Check out pictures from the show here.

Afterwards I was on quite a high and headed over to see Nickel Creek who were excellent and pointed out that the combination of them preceeded by the Frames and followed by andrew bird might be the only trifecta of fiddling in Lollapalooza history. Their set was spectacular, and they even managed to fit in two covers - the first being Radiohead (although I can't remember what song any more... something off of The Bends I think) followed by a great bluegrass cover of Britney's Spears "Toxic." I love them. I'm sad to say that I just heard today they will be disbanding at the end of 2007 (so CATCH THEM ON TOUR WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE!).

Andrew Bird is up next and he was one of the top four people I was most excited about seeing. He had far and away the best set at Intonation the year before, but at Lollapalooza I just wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. I think it had a lot to do with my distance from the stage and the people around me. Andrew is one of those guys you really should be up close and personal for. Although, I have to say, the new material sound freakin' incredible and I can't wait. A new Frames CD and a new Andrew Bird CD? Oh fourth quarter, you rascal...I love ya.

A new disc is on the way as well for The Shins. I would say they took the award for band I was most excited to see at Lolla that I had never seen before. Once again, I was a bit underwhelmed. They sounded good, but from my vantage they just didn't have the energy needed to match the crowd. I would love to see them in a small venue as opposed to a large outdoor festival. It was a good set to just chill to.

Afterwards I sped over to see the end of Of Montreal. They were wearing some goofy outfits and just having a great time and it was a blast (even though I didn't hear any songs I knew at the end.) They drew a pretty big crowd that was spilling toward the food lines and passersby stopped to enjoy the music (or just to say "these guys suck" if they didn't like themI kind of wish I had gone to see their Schubas set... they really are a lot of fun.

Afterwards I went and met up with Shayna, Scott and Halley and listened to a couple of Chicago bands... a bit of the end of Poi Dog and the first half or more of Wilco. I sat through most of the set and just relaxed. I had never seen Wilco before and I really enjoyed their stuff... specifically the prettier songs and the ones they didn't throw weird noises into. Lollapalooza was wearily winding down after a long, exhilirating yet tirnig weekend...

However it went out with a bang when Broken Social Scene (another band that is going on hiatus so the members can work on solo projects) took the stage. I was shocked at the number of people clammering for them (since when did BSS get so big and draw such a huge crowd). I figured the crowd was just on its way to the Chili Peppers, but no...drunk frat boys were singing along. When did this happen? Anyway, the band sounded great and the crowd was thrilled when occassional members of the band, Emily Haines (Metric), Amy Milan (Stars) and Leslie Feist (Feist) deuted on Anthems For a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl. It was impressive that they were able to get all three in the same place at the same time and truly a memorable performance. The end of their performance was one of the most noteworthy moments of the whole festival... the crowd cheered and cheered for an encore and wouldn't stop until the introduction of the Red Hot Chili Peppers alerted them that BSS wouldn't be allowed to play another song. As sad as it is, I was amazing that BSS got the loudest, longest most organized cry for an encore at the festival...they deserved it. It also left me and many others wanting for more... so, until next year, thanks for the great memories Lollapalooza!

When Lollapalooza was announced my first comment was "As long as The Frames and Nada Surf aren't scheduled against one another it will be the greatest festival ever." So you can imagine my excitement when I found out the bands would be playing together at The Metro on Saturday night. They even had a beautiful poster made by the talented Steve Sleeve for the event. It doesn't get much more exciting then that.

Or does it?

The highlight of the event was that my Frames friends flew/drove in from all over to see the shows. You know if Shannon and Courtney and Lizzie are their with their entire entourage it is going to blow your mind. And it did. Add in friends Steven, Joe (and his woman) and my dad, and you have a historic event. And it was.

The evening started off with Josh Caterer from the Smoking Popes... I had not been able to see them at Lollapalooza and I was very impressed with his solo performance here. It seemed like maybe the crowd wasn't totally in to him, but I loved it.

The next act was Elvis Perkins. Between sets the crazies had started filing in and the confronted us for sitting down while Elvis Perkins was sound checking. They yelled at us to get up and respect the band. Ummm... they haven't started playing yet. Elvis Perkins and his band were really really wonderful. I wish I had been able to see them at Lolla too. I think my dad may have fallen asleep standing up at some part during this set. Either that or he just had his eyes closed for a long period of time listening. During the set the crazy girls were yelling for the Frames and Nada Surf and all kinds of nonsense. It was pissing a Frames fan in the front row off something fierce who eventually just left his front row spot during the Frames set. I felt bad.

Then... the Frames. Oh the Frames. The first time I saw the Frames (my group of Frames girls were there too) they were opening for Damien. And to be honest, it wasn't love. I enjoyed it alright...I liked it more than the CD I had from them (Setlist). I loved Star Star. And I loved getting to chat with Glen after the show. But I wasn't in love with them. The next show was at the Metro awhile later. I had guest list (and opera box) tickets to see Marc Broussard that night at House of Blues and left after a few of his songs, literally RAN to the train, and then RAN from that to the Metro and got there just before the Frames gig (and there was an empty spot at the front left that I managed to snag... amazing.) And the show blew me away. It was definitely one of my top live shows ever. The mood was great, the songs were all expertly performed. It was revolutionary. I loved the Frames. The next show of theirs I saw was at the Park West and once again, I loved their songs a little bit more than the last time.

This show was no exception... I really feel like the band gets better every time I see them. The had more energy then a whole day's worth of Lolla bands combined and even the annoyances in the audience couldn't stiffle their genius. At one point a photographer squeezed in front of me to snap pictures, and then he decided to stay in front of me... the whole time. And he brought his girlfriend. And they were Frames fans. So, that was a bit rude I would say. But at least they were fans, and it didn't bother me too much really. What did bother me were the snatchy girls who had yelled at us. They sang LOUDLY and yelled stuff at the band through the set. Apparently they were Irish. Eventually they were so annoying that Glen started bantering with them... saying maybe they shouldn't have gotten so drunk before following the band and telling the crowd that they do not represent Ireland. It was almost worth them being annoying just to see Glen's reaction. Regardless, the set was great, if not too short (do they not play Sideways Down anymore?!?) and they played some great older stuff (The Stars Are Underground, Dance the Devil Back Into His Hole). I can't wait for their new CD. And for the Swell Season show at Schubas coming up. After the show I saw a stage hand crumpling up a Frames set list and yelled out "noooo... what are you doing? You're crushing my soul." He came over and gave me the setlist.

Nada Surf was fantastic as well. Their set was in mostly chronological order, and as I'm not extremely familiar with their older stuff, it was a bit of a slow start (but obviously a huge event for the harder core Nada Surf fans). Once they got into the stuff that I knew things picked up, and I was elated that they played Do It Again and Imaginary Friends, two songs shockingly missing from their Lolla set. During the show some guy came up and said "you don't look shy, can you get my demo CD to Matt?" So I was basically nervous about trying to get him the demo for Nada's whole set. Once the band did their last song before encore Matt was walking off stage and was in earshot so I yelled out his name and he looked at me. I held the CD toward him and yelled "happy birthday" since it was his birthday and he came over and took the CD and thanked me (at which time I pointed to the guy behind me). Side note - I asked him to email me a copy of the demos too, and he never did, or he would be getting a super awesome mention in my blog. That's gratitude for you huh?

So, in conclusion, what an amazing night. Following up two days of Lolla I was exhausted...but I was also kind of wired (Shark Attack 3 fans in the house?) Thank you to the Metro and bands and friends and everyone for making the night so memorable.

I started day two of Lollapalooza off with Matt Costa. (It was also started nicely with a txt message from the Mindfield game saying I could show my txt message to the Sweet Leaf Tea people and get a free Sweet Tea... I got Mint and Honey flavor. I also forwarded the message to my friends who went and got some tea too. Good marketing tool too...I've bought their brand from the store since then.) Anyhow...it was great to see Matt playing Lolla...so proud of him. He's one of those few people who I feel like I have been there from the beginning with. Cold December and Astair were both amazing, as were all of the songs really.

I left Matt a couple of songs early to get a close spot for Nada Surf, who I was uber pumped about. Sadly, I guess Elvis Perkins joined Matt on stage for the last song... in hindsight I would have liked to have seen that. Oh well. Nada Surf put on a killer show. I was actually kind of surprised by their setlist. The played a lot of their slower stuff (Paper Boats, Blonde on Blonde, Inside of Love, Always Love) and not as much of the upbeat stuff that I figured would be great for an outdoor festival (Do It Again, Imaginary Friends). They played Popular pretty early on in the set but didn't play Your Legs Grow (which was on an OC soundtrack). Regardless, it was a great set...and it was Matt's birthday and Ira got the crowd to all sing for him. Awww. All in all a kick ass show that lived up to my expectations.

Feist was next and I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting much. When I saw her at The Park West I was just so so about her - I liked her opener and fellow Broken Social Scene member (exmember?) Jason Collett more. I figured that the outdoor venue wouldn't suit her. In fact I really enjoyed her a lot, probably more, here. I just stood back and really had a great time with her set. Secret Heart was great (one of my fave songs that she sings... a cover of a Ron Sexsmith tune that I loved from him as well) and Mushaboom was decent, but it was a lot of her unknown songs that I really dug. Dunno why, just hit me and I was feeling it . Great job Feist.

Built To Spill on the other hand I didn't feel. I wasn't very familar with their stuff to begin with (although what I have heard from CD I have enjoyed) and it didn't do much for me. I'm sure fans probably loved it but I just wasn't feeling it. Plus I was a little disappointed in their attittude... they were playing the Bud Light stage and were kind of badmouthing Bud Light and Adidas...saying that they didn't really care about the music and the music would still be around without them. But actually, it takes tons of money to organize such a massive musical event as Lolla, get the equipment for it, promote it so that it is successful, pay the bands (I'm sure that Built To Spill wasn't playing for free) who in turn get exposure to a diverse crowd who might not have heard their music previously. That's why sponsorship is necessary and I think it is cool that companies do that. Now, I'm not saying that sometimes that can't go overboard, but I never felt at Lolla that the music wasn't the most important thing (I got pissed off at last year's intonation when the crowds booed the MC thanking XBox for being a sponsor, too). Now, I can understand if the band had a problem with a company for a specific reason, but it just seemed like they were complaining just to complain. No thank you. If you want to try and have an outdoor festival without corporate sponsors give it a try (I know that Dispatch's last concert was a free show, and very successful...but that was only one band and they still had Nantucket Nectars sponsoring them!) but if it is a big enough deal to you that you are going to complain about it during your show then just don't play (or if you are a crowd member who is upset about sponsorship don't go) because you just seem like a big hypocrite. Ok, end rant.

Calexico, like Feist, I have seen before, and when I have seen them I've been just so so. Like with Feist I have seen them with Jason Collett and enjoyed him more, and like with Feist their Lolla show impressed me more than I guessed it would. The music was upbeat and energetic...it added some great flavor and fun and a departure to the music of the day. I was hoping that I would get a guest appearance from Iron and Wine since they did "In the Reins" together recently but no luck. I did get a surprise cameo from Swedish singer Nicolai Dunger who sang along on a song dedicated to the memory of Arthur Lee.

After Calexico I made my way across the grounds (picking up a bite) and saw a couple of decent songs from Gnarls Barkley before heading back for a couple of decent songs from Sonic Youth.

The Dresden Dolls were next and put on quite a bit of theatrics in their face paint. I didn't realize they were a two person act on drums and keyboard. My first thought was "they are the evil twins of Mates of State." The show was pretty good (one of my dad's faves). Amanda had a quick wardrobe change at one point (made on stage!) The highlight was a perfect performance of Coin-Operated Boy. I left a bit eary so I could get a good spot for the Flaming Lips.

Talk about theatrics...the Flaming Lips has got it. I have heard that the first Lips show you go to is the best, because it is all new to you. There was the lead singer rolling around the crowd in a big ball, and tons of HUGE baloons thrown out (looking behind me was an awesome experience...baloons as far as the eye could see silhoutted against the Chicago skyline. The stage was filled with dancing santas and aliens. A machine was used to shoot streamers into the air. It really goes on and on, but it was pretty amazing. While some bands I was skeptical about their ability to thrive in an outdoor setting, the Lips were truly in their element. They kept attempting to get us to sing along so loudly that we stopped traffic on Lake Shore Drive...loudly enough to get Israel to stop bombing Lebanon, to bring about peace in the middle east. They wanted us to sing so that if singing could bring about positive change in the world just through than that was the song to do it. It was pretty great and transformed their new single, which I had previously been annoyed with, into something special. (Its inclusion in Little Miss Sunshine commercials has helped make me love it too!) They told some great stories about Lolla tours past and how great they were and talked about the times before Starbucks and energy drinks, where they drank homemade strong coffee and homemade energy drinks. This prompted some stupid girl behind me to start bitching about Starbucks and about how Clear Channel was producing Lolla and how awful it was. I didn't see anything that lead me to believe that Clear Channel was involved with Lolla at all. But that didn't stop her from drunkenly going on and on about it. The only thing that stopped her for a bit was when they mentioned playing "She Don't Use Jelly" on 90210 at which time I heard her squeal "at the Peach Pit!!!!!" Uggh. Regardless, it was a great set and a great performance, and once again provided the perfect "setting sun" song with "Do You Realize." Or I guess I should say the perfect illusion cause by the Earth spinning around song. Regardless, it was a great music moment. And all thanks to clear channel apparently.

On my way over to see the New Pornographers I got to hear a little bit of the Theivery Corporation, including "Lebanese Blonde" from the Garden State soundtrack, which I was very glad to hear. I arrived at the New Pornographers just in time to hear "The Bleeding Heart Show" which is my favorite track from them. Like with Feist and Calexico, the New Pornographers were a group that I have seen before and never gone wild over, and like those other bands this is probably my favorite performance from them. Maybe I was just in the mood, but they sounded really great.

That would have been the end of a great day of music...but the night was young and there was a Metro show that I was more excited about then the whole Lolla festival on the horizon.

My father and I arrived for day one of Lolla 2006 at about 11:30. In a rush to not miss Sound Team I got separated from him. I didn't see him for the rest of the day. Sorry pop! (BTW, on the way to the Sound Team I passed the stage where the runner up to Last Band Standing was playing. The band was Chicago's the Cankles and they actually sounded pretty good despite their awful name and the fact that they beat my friend's band, Dearborn.)

Sound Team started the day off amazingly. I wasn't too familiar with their music other than clips I've heard, but they sounded wonderful, had very catchy music and pleased the audience. St. Louis' Beatle Bob started his Lolla day with this band too! I can't think of a better start to the day... this got me excited to hear some new music and made me want to race home and buy their CD!

As I was heading to my next band I heard the Subways start and they sounded REALLY good. But alas, I was off to get a prime spot for Anathallo. I got a wonderful spot right up front. While waiting for the band to start I could hear the band Blue October playing loudly from a nearby stage. They sounded good (if not a bit Phil Collinsish.) Sadly it didn't stop once Anathallo started. Their music blared over Anathallo's pretty consistently, especially in the more mellow parts. Despite this, Anathallo put on one hell of a show. They were the most humble band of the day, repeatedly mentioning how big of an honor it was to be playing the festival and thanking listeners. They didn't even complain about the other music drowning out theirs...they just said "wow, those guys rock...sometimes I wish we rocked that hard." That is class. Anathallo brought the same exuberence they had at their recent club show to the (HOT) festival stage and gave the most enthusiasm and energy I saw throughout the day, jumping from instrument to instrument, clapping and banging the drums, playing pots like instruments and theatrically interpreting the songs. They told the story of the fable that inspired one of their songs... a man has a dog that can sniff out gold and dig it up so the guy's neighbor asks to borrow the dog, but in his yard the dog only digs up gross stuff (slugs and bugs, etc.) so the neighbor gets pissed off, shoots the dog, burns the body and buries the ashes. But then the ashes come back in the form of a tornado and kills the neighbor. Um, hell yeah. The highlight of the show (one of the highlights of the whole day) was during one song the band members started blowing up balloons during the moments they weren't singing. In the crowd I noticed a lot of people were blowing up balloons too. Then, at a certain point, everyone let go of their balloons together and they flew through the air before falling back empty to the ground. It was beautiful and something I had never seen at a concert before. Bravo. If the Sound Team had been the perfect start to the day, Anathallo drove home how monumental of a day of music it was going to be.

Next we moved on to Aqualung. I was blown away by the number of people camped out for the Aqualung show... holy crap. We managed to sneak up the side and get a pretty good view. The new songs sounded wonderful, the old songs were perfect (Another Little Hole in My Heart was that sad bastard fix I had been craving!) and the crowd banter, as always, was adorable. I'm so proud of these guys...they've come along way since the first time I saw them at Martyrs.

After Aqualung left we moved to the front of the stage to wait for Stars, the next band to take that stage. In the interim we could still hear the eels from the next stage over and see them on the video monitor. They sounded pretty good, but I didn't hear much that reminded me of my favorite eels song (and really one of the only songs I really know well by them), Railroad Man. It sounded like they were playing a good selection for an outdoor show. I wish I could have seen them more, but I wanted to be front and center(ish) for Stars.

There is not much I can say about Stars other than I love them. Love love love. They are one of those bands that I just don't want to quit playing until they've exhausted their entire catalogue. The violin was beautiful and my favorite song (One More Night) was sultry hot. This was one of my favorite performances of the day, probably because I was so close to the stage and because I am so familiar with their music. But also because their music just about begs you to have fun.

Next up was Ryan Adams. I had never seen Ryan before and was really looking forward to it. I was excpecting he would play a lot more upbeat rock numbers for the show since it was an outdoor festival, but he went more along the country/western route. It still sounded really good (and the version of Dear Chicago he played was out of this world) but the set seemed better suited for the Ryman then an outdoor setting. Also, he was talking to a helicopter in the sky which was odd. I would love to see him sometime again, but I think up close in an indoor venue would be a better bet.

I left during his set and went to catch some of Mates of State. They were FANTASTIC. I would say they were better than when I saw them at the Metro. They controlled the crowd and I think were the only band I saw who got the crowd dancing and jumping in the heat. Fantastic.

After they finished I went to catch the last half of the Iron & Wine set. I was worried about Iron & Wine at a festival because they can be more mellow (at least my favorite tracks by them) but they were playing some more catchy stuff (and stuff I was less familiar with). We were hoping Ben Gibbard would come out and sing with Sam on Such Great Heights, but they didn't play that song in the part of the set I saw, so maybe that was before we got there. They ended there set though with the Trapeze Swinger, which was perfect timing with the sun dipping down low behing the stage as dusk approached. It was a pretty magical moment.

After that I went to get some food and listened to My Morning Jacket while doing it because they had THE LOUDEST SPEAKERS EVER. They started with a song I didn't know was their's but LOVED, "Off the Record." The next song was very familiar too, but it was off across the field to see some of the Raconteurs.

They had already played Steady As She Goes, but I did get to see them play Hands, which I enjoy and a rockin' cover "Crazy" so now I guess I don't have to see Gnarles Barkley at all! I thought the set was pretty ok, although Brendan Benson looks more tore up each time I see him. Where's the pretty(ish) guy from the cover of The Alternative to Love?

Next I made the ardous journey back to the stage where Sleater-Kinney was playing their last Chicago show (and I think next to last show of all time). I dug it! My boss has been playing them in the office a lot so I was familiar with the music and it definitely was a neat experience getting to see one of their last shows ever. I'm glad to say I saw them.

As much as I would have liked to have seen Ween (at the suggestion of a couple of friends), who were playing back across the park, the Sleater-Kinney stage was right next to the stage Death Cab for Cutie were headlining on...and I know I love them so I just decided to stick around. After a bit we decided that we needed to find a better spot to stand so I was enlisted to lead the way. I wove through the crowd to a pretty close distance (you could discern the people on the stage). I was pretty much a bad ass... it went something like this:

The music was great and they made a joke about covering "Crazy," which apparently Mates of State had ALSO done during their set. They dedicated a song to Stars, who they had toured with previously and Sleater-Kinnety who they said they were fans of and were sad that they were disbanding. I also noticed at one point that there was a fireworks show going on behind us (from the direction of the Ween stage) and it was beautiful to watch those along with the Death Cab music. During the Sound of Settling, the last non-encore song of their set, I noticed the crowd had thinned a bit around the edges so I decided to see if I could get closer (I could tell they needed me so much closer). So I started up and made it about twice as close to the stage as I already was. Then, after the band left the stage a huge mass of people started to leave the front and I rode the wave of departing people up to right in front of the stage for the two encore songs: "Follow You Into the Dark" (which was my best song of the year for 2005) and Transatlanticism (during which Stars emerged to sing and dance along. It was my favorite set I've seen from Death Cab (third time seeing them) and I couldn't think of a better way to end a day of AMAZING music.

Top 5 Songs of the Day:

1. Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
2. One More Night - Stars
3. Dokkoise House (with face covered) - Anathallo
4. The Trapeze Swinger - Iron & Wine
5. Another Little Hole In My Heart - Aqualung