'palooza deux

Okay, so with a week's pause, on to Day Two! (Take that those of you who thought this would turn into another once of those serial entries that I dangle before you only to let become buried beneath papers, dates, work and other chattel.)

Sunday
After a rather cadaverous-like catnap, Bosco and I awoke at the crack of 10am.....so much for meeting folks out at breakfast! While he scurried over to orange to attempt some nosh; I began the bike home to prepare my ankles for more persecution. Climbing the stairs to the lakefront path my ATFL balked at another day of callousness and collapsed under the weight of a very heavy Trek and me. Luckily, I caught some cement stairs and managed only a superficial knee bruise and removal of my ring finger tip. Bloody and bruised, I continued to Walgreen's for gel insoles, water and breakfast (as the line outside Einstein’s was 12 people deep!). A quick chow and strapping of my ankles into Docs with their new cushy soles commenced. Amazingly, I still made it down to the festival grounds by 1pm. [Side Note: when googling atfl for ankle you also get The American Task Force for Lebanon. No word on if they have flat feet as well.)

Now, for the reviews!

Kasabian: First, learn to pronounce the name of the band right or you will endure endless finger pointing. KA-SAAB-E-AN. I didn't really get a chance to see much of the band, as 10minutes in the infernal heat had me dizzy and nauseous. Shade was found to the left of the stage and the rest of the show was experienced eavesdrop-like through a veil of leaves. It wasn't a bad show, just very vanilla. They seem the sort of band to experience in a dank and smoky club and the sound was lost amidst the gargantuan carnival scale of the fest. Overall, when in the mood for English psychedelic punk pop I'd check out the likes of Inspiral Carpets instead.

Louis XIV: This was another band that had received much kudos from my chums, and I was quite keen to be rocked. Due to ankle issues (bootstraps were the only things holding me upright!) and the ridiculous fieriness of the temps, another leafy screen was sought out behind the stage. Once more, I was a little disappointed; while I really like the raucous sound it was just not the right venue for it.... especially for one not familiar with the songbook. Not being able to mentally fill in the riffs that wafted out onto the softball fields, I quickly became bored and in favor of becoming as wet as possible before the next show. After checking out some of their downloads, they aren’t half bad and if you hunger for new 70s glam rock it's worth checking out!

Tegan and Sarah: After thoroughly drenching myself, I headed out to the field for this concert; I have a penchant for Canadian bands and this duo is no exception! I had a slight omen of calamity when they took the stage and Sarah was dressed in all black. Having dealt with blistering temps before, I was uber-prepared with light and airy clothes, wet bandana for neck cooling, sunglasses, hat and full water bottle.... with all this I was still uncomfortable; but Canadians are hearty folks, so on with the show! The set was going quite well until Sarah mentioned "Being hot, like placing your shoes next to a campfire." Things went downhill from there, icepacks were brought out to cool the gals, but Sarah still had to leave twice in the middle of songs to apparently puke. While their crew chimed in to finish one of the songs with Tegan, she finally called an end to the show. I was incredibly bummed, and will be looking out for their tour to come through a Chicago club in the near future!

Boredom, a nap and a jaunt for Jamba Juice with Bosco and new fabulous femme L transpired for the next 1.5 hours as no one of any note was on the bill worth seeing.

G. Love and Special Sauce: Yet another exclusively auditory experience, due to the scalding sun still being up. Garret "G. Love" Dutton apparently walked out in a full suit "So you guys don't feel so hot." which, while idiotic, was sweet. I like the sound of this band considerably; problem is I liked it in 1994 with the debut album. The sound is great, but since it's so distinctive a little goes quite far. Perhaps at some point evolution will happen.... which could be absolutely amazing; a modern-day Muddy Waters? I have chills! Otherwise, stick to the older stuff and hope for a multi-band bill to prevent lethargy.

The Dandy Warhols/Killers: I was torn between who to see here...thankfully The Killers were loud enough I heard a sampling of their set while standing in front of the Warhols. Certain folks will lambaste me for even hesitating to choose; but I like a good catchy riff, and even though some of their songs are a tad formulaic, they're pretty dang good. The Killers might not be good for me, but I also like to occasionally sit in front of my TV watching Gilmore Girls while downing a 1/4 of B&Js....guilty little pleasures are good! Dandy Warhols were very disappointing. They had some bopping tunes, which started my toes-a-tapping for a good time. Then, Anton Newcombe of the BJM came out, good-bye good-times. More revolutionary drivel and incoherent credos were spouted; and 8minute long "jam-sessions". After 3 of these aggrandized and narcissistic tributes, Bosco and I left Lolla for good. I did snag a t-shirt on the way out, not so much as this was a musical triumph that needed documentation, as I really liked the typesetting swirl.... and the design geek lives on!

There it is, a consecutive 2-part entry. Huzzah!