With the heat and humidity killing me as I walked fro one festival end to the other, seeing Hockey perform their Lollapalooza set over at the Sony bloggie stage came as something truly refreshing. Performing a set in the middle of the day can be easy or very hard. People are either already revved up or slowing down to prepare themselves for a night time zone. The weather can change and affect people’s moods very quickly but Hockey‘s set of cool dance punk melodies just took everyone’s comfort level to 100%.

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While many had been drinking throughout the day, there was one band that wanted to get a bottle and drink alone tonight. Even though it was only a few minutes past three, Seattle’s Minus the Bear busted out in a big way on the ADIDAS Mega stage on a blistering Sunday afternoon at Lollapalooza.

Many have heard and latched themselves latched onto the catchy and often witty titles of songs from early releases. I mean who wouldn’t say “Thanks for the Killer Game of Crisco Twister” and who hasn’t lost all their money at the cock fights. But there is more to this band then a bunch of tongue in cheek humor.

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Critically acclaimed San Franciscan band, The Dodos, were waiting just on the other side at the PlayStation for those of us who finished listening to The Antlers. Going from one trio to the other, there was still an excitement as both bands were quite different from one another. Just like the previous band from Brooklyn has taken one subject matter and turned it around to become something unexpectedly fantastic, The Dodos have been switching up the norms on the west coast as well. This was all displayed in their amazing Lollapalooza set on Sunday.

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Montreal’s Arcade Fire had a difficult task in front of them. Not only were they headlining a stage at Lollapalooza and having a time slot that conflicted with the reunited Soundgarden, but they had to follow The National. Although it seemed like a difficult challenge, the Canadian indie-rockers not only accepted, but they silenced any naysayers in their path.

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Closing out Lollapalooza’s Playstation stage on Sunday was the indie group of Joy Division worshippers known as The National. A veteran of the festival – and many others the world over – these guys knew exactly how to play to their crowd. Coating their set in a fine lacquer of fan favorites gave the band’s set a beautiful, glossy sheen from start to finish.

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England’s pop-rock quartet The Cribs are no strangers to an early morning appearance at Lollapalooza. In 2007, the band – then still a trio comprised solely of the three Jarman brothers– proved that they could wow a festival crowd early in the day. Fast forward three years and the band made a triumphant return to the fest, but this time on the site’s biggest stage.

The prolific Johnny Marr – most well-known for his work with the legendary British pop band The Smiths – has joined The Cribs in the interim, and his addition is more the noticeable in the band’s live show. Marr’s added dynamics allow for singer/guitarist Ryan Jarman to be able to explore the stage and focus more on his vocal work than he had been able to previously. Continue Reading

As rain came down on Lollapalooza early Sunday, Frank Turner made his way onto the tiny Sony Bloggie stage to start the day off with his folk-punk style. His half hour on stage was just what the rain soaked crowd needed to forget about the morning’s rough start on the weather front. Lucky for the festival crowd, Turner was accompanied by a full backing band for this Lollapalooza appearance; something that accentuated Turner’s sound perfectly. Continue Reading

For those of us who attended the last day of Lollapalooza early, we experienced some unexpected rain. (It was unexpected for us who didn’t check the weather forecast, at least.) Ponchos, umbrellas and galoshes came out but the rain was a bit more than an inconvenience since Chicago is the windy city after all. However, that wasn’t going to stop us from making our last day of the festival a great one and after hearing a bit of HEALTH and Frank Turner, we headed over to the main Budweiser stage for some Brooklyn melodies from The Antlers.

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Lollapalooza‘s first day may have had Lady Gaga, but day 2 was jam packed with artists whether you were a huge electronica head, an indie rocker or Bayside ska kid. We knew we definitely had our day cut out for us but with Grant Park’s massive size for a festival, we must have walked miles as we rushed to see band after band.

Some big names that got us warmed up for the night’s headliners included Stars, Metric, Grizzly Bear, AFI, Spoon and more. We were able to support our Los Angeles bands such as Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Soft Pack (San Diego’s close enough), Dawes and more as well. However, the night ended with fireworks during Green Day, Phoenix and Empire of the Sun. Take a look at our day in photos below!

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