Lollapalooza 2009

Last festival of 2009: Lollapalooza. The classic. Set in my favorite urban environment of Chicago. What a great festival. There are soooo many bands here. It was hot as is typically the case for August in Chicago. This festival would be a lot better in September. We did have one day of rain that made it hard to bear, but it was still great. Performances I remember:

• The Knux -- they really rocked it here at Lolla
• The Gaslight Anthem -- ehh. Not into the new Bruce Springsteen.
• White Lies -- now these guys rock.
  
• Bon Iver -- I really like the band, but Justin didn't have the same energy at Lolla...mainly because he played to a rain soaked audience.
• Crystal Castles -- another band that was solid, but just way better at Sasquatch
• Thievery Corporation -- Soooo glad I got to see them here. A favorite I always wanted to see live.
  
• Peter Bjorn - solid and I hope to see again
• Of Montreal -- solid, but stronger at Sasquatch
• Depeche Mode -- Oh man, great stage effects and killer sound. Blew me away! A highlight for me.
  
• Kings of Leon -- What's not to like?!! Great band.
• MoneyPenny -- played a really fun DJ set
• Atmosphere -- can't even recall
• Gomez -- dug it, but not remarkable
• Chairlift -- solid rock.
  
• Arctic Monkeys -- great set. Hard rock to the core.
• Rise Against -- Dig 'em. Solid set
• Lykke Li -- don't recall
• Ben Harper -- relaxing and good set. Not spectacular, but solid.
  
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- fun and solid, but I ditched out to hear...
  
• Tool -- Man they can really rock. Another super impressive band. The stage was amazing and the sound rocked. A highlight of the festival.
• Ra Ra Riot -- finally got to see them and was happy to check out their set
• Bat For Lashes -- I really liked her. Great stage presence, strong sound. Liked it.
• Portugal. The Man -- so glad Ben talked me into this one. Festival highlight for certain!
• Car Stereo (Wars) -- can't recall. (It was a year ago!)
• Cage the Elephant -- Feast and famine. One minute you can't believe how much they rock, then next you are getting ready to leave. Their album is the same though.
• Kaiser Chiefs -- fun and solid
• Dan Deacon -- harder than I thought. Not bad.
• Gang Gang Dance -- can't recall
• Vampire Weekend -- great sound!
• Cold War Kids -- Fantastic! Check them out!
• Snoop Dogg -- how can you miss Snoop? I enjoyed it, but cut out halfway to watch...
• Silversun Pickups -- best performance yet on their part! They tore it up. They were gracious to the crowd and raved about the city. They loved the city backdrop and you could tell they didn't want to leave the stage. Wonderful energy.
• Deerhunter -- ehhh
• The Killers -- Great performance!