For a big band such as Green Day headlining day 2 of Lollapalooza, a decent amount of the massive sea of people still decided to go with Phoenix to end their night. Even with Empire of the Sun (with a full band) also starting a late slot a half hour later, the Parisian band had a crowd extend all the way from the Budweiser stage to the opposite end where the Playstation stage boundaries were.

Their set was a combination of both their old material and their new songs from the critically acclaimed and successful album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and the hits, “1901″ and “Lisztomania” echoed from the stage into the slightly cooler city air. Watching Phoenix play next to all the skyscrapers of downtown Chicago was a scene that truly justified my departure from Green Day’s set (which involved several annoying”mail bombs” in their overplayed American Idiot backdrop).

The great thing about Phoenix playing this time slot was that they’ve got songs to please two kinds of moods for people ending the night. They’ve got their hits (previously mentioned) that provide the catchy pop melodies for everyone to sing along with. They’ve also got powerful instrumental songs such as “Love Like A Sunset Part I” to enhance those who choose to zone into the music by resting their eyes (as well as those on the ground who were still rolling on whatever drug they had recently taken.)

Phoenix definitely became a big name in the summer of 2009 but there are some who have fallen off the wagon as fans. As a fan whose day is always a bit brightened by any of their songs, it’s still hard to believe. After watching them play the last set for the Budweiser stage, I have a feeling they’ll impress fans with another great collection of songs if they decide to record another album.