Lollapalooza 2009 I just got back to San Francisco from a crazy weekend in Chicago. This year was my third year at Lollapalooza and the best yet. The lineup could not have been better primarily because it paralelled my taste in music perfectly. Perry Farell and the whole Lollapalooza crew know me far too well. Day 1: The first day of the festival really got going around 3 in the afternoon with Bon Iver. During their performance the sky was grey and rain was falling fairly heavily. The combination of the "sad" weather and Bon Iver's heartbroken songs legitimately evoked emotions out of me. It was pretty strange; I've never been so emotionally affected by live music. Bon Iver put on a truly amazing performance, playing their songs quite differently live than on the album without compromising the original integrety of their music. After Bon Iver I hit Perry's Stage (the DJ stage.) The sound system at Perry's was unbelievable. The speakers were EQed perfectly, featuring cutting high frequencies and spleen rupturing low frequencies. Also, I was pleased to find that sound was not too loud. Much too often sound guys at venues just try to knock the crowd of its feet with volume, disregarding the sound quality. Crookers stood out to me as the best act at the DJ stage on Friday. Ironically, as DJs I think they're terrible. Their mixing is about as good or even worse than any bedroom DJ's. The tracks they play, however, are too massive to not make people go nuts. Whether they play Day n Nite or some heavy dubstep from DZ, they truly "get the crowd hype." After Crookers, I went to an after-party/after-show of sorts at the Congress Theater. The Congress theater was pretty strange. Imagine an opera house with no seats...that's what it was like. This party had Crookers and Major Lazer headlining. Major Lazer ended just being Diplo and Skerrit Bwoy. I don't know where Switch was. Anyways, Diplo tore it up but Skerrit Bwoy's MCing was pretty irritating. I have know problem with MCs unless they're aimlessly yelling drowns out the music. Crookers ended the night with a heavy set. It was similar to their Lollapalooza set, but they dropped some heavier dubstep and more of it. And that just about doest it for day one of Lollapalooza. Day 2: I woke up on Saturday morning in the most fatigued state I have ever been in. The after-party and the rain really wore me out. I was determined, however, to get my ass to Lollapalooza for day two. No Age was the first band I really saw on Saturday. As they put it, their set at Lolla was "insane." There was just so much energy flowing not only between Dean and Randy, but in the crowd. People in crowd were goin' nuts, moshing, throwing a few punches and elbows...it was truly insane. Randy had dislocated his shoulder the night before but he still managed to bring it. The chemistry between Randy and Dean made the show energetic and fun. After No Age I went over two the Perry's (the DJ stage) to see Diplo. I saw Diplo at HARD 13 in LA. He brought the hype then, but this time he really, really brought it. Diplo has changed his style quite a bit. In his Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1 about a year or two ago he played a lot more electro, rock, and b-more. But his time, as in LA, he played some real bassie stuff (Trouble & Bass type things) as well as some dubstep and dutch house. Diplo always get the crowd excited and dancing. I think the speed of his mixing makes him awesome. I mean with Diplo it's just track after track after track; he keeps the crowd on its toes, waiting to hear what will be dropped next. The one thing that annoyed me during his set was how physically into it the fans got. Kids were moshing and throwing each other around which is cool when you're seeing No Age or someone, but with Diplo, it's house music for crying out loud. CHILL OUT AND STOP TRYING TO INJURE ME. Day 3: On Sunday I was extremely tired. Once again I had serious trouble getting out of bed and to Grant Park (where Lolla was going down.) All the walking around in Chicago, along with moshing, the rain, the heat, and everything else had taken its toll on me. I bounced around from stage to stage trying to hear some good music, but I just didn't have the energy. Later in the day I tried going to Boys Noize to get hyped up. Boy Noize was killing it and I was right up in front. For some reason I just wasn't feeling it though. I was too worn out. So I ended up just posting at the DJ stage listening critically to Boys Noize's set, then MSTRKRFT's. They turned out to be alright, but by the end of the festival I was so sick of being in a big-ass crowd dancing to electronic music. I need a break! Back to guitars, bass, and drums!