lollapalooza day three

for whatever reason, i decided that on the third day of lollapalooza, the most exhausting day, the hottest day... i'd get the most jacked. here are some highlights, although some of the shows passed by me in a daze...

rodrigo y gabriela
myspace.com/rodrigoygabriela
you can't deny the talent that these two guitarists possess. the absence of vocals forces you to concentrate on technique and sound, which comes across flawless. sometimes using the body of the guitar for percussion, you soon forget that there are only two people on the stage. the best part was hearing gabriela pronounce the f-word in between songs, as in "is everyone fuckin' drinking?" to which the crowd would respond with various shouts and laughter.

amy winehouse
myspace.com/amywinehouse
yes, amy winehouse is hot. yes, she is the real deal. yes, when she sings, it's like she's not even trying. she's got an incredible voice and a unique singing style, but you know what? not much of a stage presence. almost, if i dare say, a boring performance? her backup vocalists/dancers seemed to have more energy. it was great to listen to though, amazing sound and great clarity.

iggy and the stooges
myspace.com/iggyandthestooges
are you fucking kidding me? this guy almost stole the whole weekend. it was good to see him perform in his old age. he still moves like a teenager on ecstasy. it was an energetic and inspired performance, worthy of a slot in my top concerts of all time. one disappointment was that he didn't perform "lust for life", but i bet it was because it was getting overplayed on those royal caribbean cruise commercials.

one other note... anna and crew sat next to us during iggy... and so did their chaperones. at some point, after the bowl had been passed around our circle, it made its way toward them and eventually to some of the chaperones as well! everyone was feeling great from the iggy show! what a day. i wish they could've stayed longer, but they left soon after iggy finished.

modest mouse
myspace.com/modestmouse
what can i say? i like modest mouse now, more than ever. i think the crowd was still pumped up from iggy pop, as most of the people just stayed in their spots. roy has more info to follow, in his guest blog.

pearl jam
myspace.com/tenclub
i expected this performance to suck. i bought ten and vs. and i gave up on them. but wow. eddie vedder knows how to work a crowd. he got a little political (which i hate at concerts), but he addressed the bp/amaco dumping in lake michigan, so that wasn't bad. there was a long jam during alive, which kicked everyone's ass. there was a firework display as well, but i'm still unsure as to whether or not it was part of the show. they did two encores and they finished lollapalooza with what i believe to be the performance of the weekend. i'm still not a big fan of pearl jam and i'm not buying their new shit, but i have to give credit where credit is due. the perfect end to my first grant park lollapalooza.

guest blog :: by roy chamcharas
Tim, Bri, Dar, and I start off with the best of breakfast - two beers and a strawberry. We got to the park a little later, at 1:15. We see Rodrigo y Gabriela, an acoustic group that sounded electric. I had no idea who these people were, but they got the crowd really pumped up. They were just jamming on their guitars. We meet up with Henry and Jeff and his friends. Then saw Amy Winehouse, who can really sing. She was good and we all fell in love with her. We went to eat during Paulo Nutini and to get a spot for the next show. Paulo was ok.

Then, Iggy Pop came on stage. He absolutely blew away everyone! He was dancing like Mick Jagger on acid. He was so old, but still incredible. He told everyone to rush the stage, so at one point everyone and their mother was on the stage. He would move throught the crowd on stage and have them sing his songs. It was unbelievable. Bri and I kept looking at each other in disbelief.

Then we were exhausted after Iggy, so we stayed in our spot to wait for Modest Mouse while Yo La Tengo played in the background. Yo La Tengo was good, but we wanted to keep our close spot to the stage.

As for Modest Mouse, the crowd was so energetic especially after Float On. The moment was just right ... so I ask Bri and Cheryl about crowd-surfing. Then this girl next to me says, "Stop talking about it and just do it!" So Bri and Cheryl helped me out - Bri and Cheryl took my wallet and hat and lifted me up! I did my first crowd surf during Modest Mouse! Then I did my second. I was addicted! It was a blast.

Then we moved onto the other field to wait for Pearl Jam and listened to TV on the Radio in the background. TV were good. But everyone was really there to catch Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam rocked. Vedder started everyone chanting Don't Go to BP Amoco! And he brought an wounded Iraq veteran while he and Ben Harper sang No More War. Vedder was doing all his classics - he did Evenflow, Alive, etc - but no Jeremy. While Pearl Jam was doing their show, a bunch of fireworks went off in the background - and for a moment it was magic. He closed out with Keep on Rockin in the Free World.

Overall it was a great time! Highlights for me were pearl jam, hold steady, lcd soundsystem, modest mouse, iggy pop, i'm from barcelona. Compared to the other shows, this one felt the most rock-ish.

guest blog :: by cheryl
...So the girl that told him to stop talking about it and go for the surf was... ME! hah!!