Lollapalooza 2009!

After months of being super skeptical of this years Lollapalooza lineup, i must admit it was brilliant. I believe this was the first year where it felt like almost everyone was on the same wavelength. I also think the weather added alot to environment. The first day was rain, wind and mud! And although Day 2 and 3 were suppose to be dreadfully hot, the breezes from the lake seemed to cool me down at every minute i needed relief. So although i have no formal credentials to review a show, i am however, a huge fan of live shows and that's enough for those of you who read this. The best shows at Lolla went as followed:

Day 1:
1. STS9
2. Crystal Castles
3. Thievery Corporation
4. Crookers
5. Kings of Leon

I was the most impressed with Crystal Castles and Crookers. This could be for a number of reasons. Mainly, because I have never seen sets of theirs before Lolla. I was extremely skeptical about Crookers. A lot of tracks that Crookers have recorded don't really move me. A lot of their sounds sound redundant. However, when i herd them live, their set was so good. And to be honest, i'm not even sure what i herd. I just kept dancing and had so much fun. So Crookers have earned some credibility from me. Not that means much.
Day 2:
1. Arctic Monkeys
2. Santigold
3. Diplo
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Day 2 was the one day that i knew exactly what i wanted to see. NO EXCEPTIONS! And thankfully, my plans worked for the absolute best. Starting the day out with Artic Monkeys was probably the best idea. Through friends, I remember hearing their first CD, "Whatever People Say I Am, I'm Not" and instantly falling in love with their execution of "alternative music". Hard drums, ill guitar solos and a raspy british singer? If you guys don't know, i have a thing for accents so you guys have to understand why I'm sold. Another thing you should be able to gather from this blog, is my love undying love and devotion for Santigold. This would be my second time seeing her and all i can say is that this chick knows how to put on a fucking show! I was a fan of how her live band playing her songs as oppose to a dj like the last time i saw her. One thing I'm so happy to see hasn't changed were her fierce ass backup dances. Give me some time to practice some of those move and I'll be breaking them out sometime really soon!! Santi also just made me feel appreciated. Sure, every band is happy to have fans but she genuinely seemed so moved at how everyone was rocking out to her music. I think I can speak for most when i say that there's no denying her talent as a singer. But the subject matter of her songs is incredible. It's worded simple but has so much meaning if you take time to read the lyrics. She's a real artist and you can feel her soul in her music which let me know she's doing all of this for the sake of making music, nothing else. It was also cool to see the people who came out to show her love like GZA, Joy Bryant and Qudose-former mtv vj from back in the day when i was like 12. Diplo was amazing. That's all i'm really going to say. That's all i have to say. So smooth in his 3 piece suit rocking Chicago the fuck out. Some of you might know but I really love Diplo and it was great to finally see him live. He's so talented. And i know firsthand, he's good to his fans. We didn't get to smoke a blunt this time but i know in the future we'll cross paths again. And Diplo, if you're reading this somehow, thanks for telling me where the after party was but i was too fucking tired. You and everyone wore me out. But it's always love, stay up dude. There was nothing like ending Day 2 with the fucking Yeah Yeah Yeahs! Karen O. is seriously the closest thing we have to Poly Styrene and Siouxsie Sioux. Her energy is so raw and unapologetic-so much that even though she forgot words to Maps meant nothing to me nor the other thousands in the park. And i praise her for being able to balance between new shit from "It's Blitz" and old songs we all know and love. Particularly, when she did the song 'Skeletons' from her new CD, i was the most moved. Bravo Yeah Yeah Yeahs! For them to not have even suppose to be there, you would have never known because so many people were there rocking out! So much fun.

Day 3
1. Passion Pit
2. Snoop Dogg
3. Mstrkrft
4.Deadmau5

Big ups to everyone who played the last day. Looking at the lineup, i was under the impression that i was not going to be at lolla very long. But i ended up staying till the end and actually wanting more. Words can't express how much fun Mstrkrft and Deadmau5 were. Those brain tweak beats blaring was so invigorating. I was most impressed with Deadmau5, the mask, the lights, everything was perfect. Snoop Dogg was the best thing to see as the sun went down. The energy of the crowd was intoxicating and i was really impressed.

I wasn't going to talk about who did bad sets but I have to keep it real. Kid Cudi, you seem like a really cool dude. But after your performance at Lolla, I'm afraid I'm going to have to relax on you. Words can't express how boring and overcrowded that set was. And acapella is not for everyone. Please stick with beats and just record club tracks for the club. I'm not denying his talent whatsoever. But i just don't really see him as an actual performer. Sorry. If it means anything, I still like him more than Drake any day. But that's not really saying much.

But now, Lolla is over. So we must wait for the lineup next year. One thing I've realized the lineup is only half of the equation. Lollapalooza had some of the best vibes in the crowds i've ever experienced. There's so many people there. I don't understand how someone couldn't have fun. Until next time.