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!