8.06.2008

Show Review: Lollapalooza - Saturday

Witchcraft - Citi Stage - 12:00


Witchcraft was the only band I saw that I hadn't heard a single song from. All I knew is that they are from Sweden and sound kinda like Black Sabbath. While both of those things are true the two songs we watched of theirs were pretty good. It's always entertaining to watch hard rockers look all awkward playing in the daytime (see: The Gutter Twins). I wanted to check them out at The Jackpot last night, but there was no way my body was going to another show right away after this weekend.

Margot & The Nuclear So and So's - Myspace Stage - 12:15


Indianapolis' Margot & The Nuclear So and So's are another band that are playing in support of album that isn't out yet (two actually). They still played plenty of songs of The Dust of Retreat which got the biggest crowd reactions.

The Ting Tings - AT&T Stage - 12:45


This was a band I definitely thought I'd hate. The name alone is reason enough but also because the one song I'd heard on the radio was kinda annoying. My Girlfriend really wanted to see them and I obliged, but by the time they were three songs in i was into as much as anyone. Sure there isn't much depth to it but it's fun and everyone around us was enjoying the hell out of it too.

Dr. Dog - Myspace Stage - 1:30


Philadelphia natives Dr. Dog were on my list of bands to check out if there wasn't anyone else I'd rather see at the time, until they released one of the better albums of the year so far, Fate. Dr. Dog look like they might be having as much fun on stage as the audience is. They were one of the most energetic acts of the day and drew a decent crowd as well.

The Gutter Twins - AT&T Stage - 2:30


The Gutter Twins were a must-see show for me. If you aren't familiar Mark Lanegan (lead singer of The Screaming Trees/part time Queen of the Stone Age) and Greg Dulli (lead man behind The Afghan Whigs/The Twilight Singers) are the men behind The Gutter Twins. Even though the two are basically alternative rock royalty they seemed really out of their element playing to a big festival crowd in the middle of the afternoon. They looked pretty bored and limp on stage but it was a flawless sounding show. I'd imagine seeing them is a dark smoky bar would make it all that much better.

MGMT - Myspace Stage - 3:30


The most disappointing set I saw of the entire weekend went to MGMT. It wasn't bad by any means, just really boring. Their debut album, Oracular Spectacular, is a near-brilliant pop tour-de-force spanning every genre from dance pop to glam rock and punk. The problem is they either don't have the musical chops or energy to match the record live. I will admit that 'Electric Feel' and 'Kids' did close out the show on the right note, but by that time I had already lost interest.

Battles - Citi Stage - 6:30


Seeing Battles over Broken Social Scene and Lupe Fiasco was one of the more difficult decisions of the weekend, but after the amazing show at The Record Bar I knew choosing to see them again wouldn't be a bad decision. Battles music is a described as math-rock which is a mix of prog/electronic/post-rock/whatever else you want to throw in there. I like to describe them as dance music for nerds. They are also an incredible live band. Battles performance of 'Atlas' was easily one of the highlights of the entire weekend.

Other bands we caught on Saturday: Spank Rock, Jamie Lidell, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Wilco (we left the Wilco show after three songs to make it to the Broken Social Scene/Yeasayer aftershow at the Metro...which ended up starting over an hour late anyway).

-Matt

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