TJM: Lollapalooza Day 1- Matt & Kim, Black Keys, Chromeo, The Strokes
First of all, big ups to Ronnie for covering for me while we were at Lollapalooza. That cat knows how to party.
Because I like to keep things as short and sweet as possible, I’ll break up the festivities over 3 days and to make sure I don’t put you back to bed on a Toe Jam Monday.
We met up with some friends at Perry’s Stage, one of eight stages, for Peanut Butter Wolf’s dj set, which was a good place to get pumped up and ready for the day.
First on our band list was Matt & Kim, who I always look forward to seeing for their live show spectacles, and they did not disappoint. They have the most amazing, dynamic on-stage presence that leaves you wishing you could meet up with them later for Jager bombs and dance-offs. They have a catchy, poppy sound that is infectious and simple. With Kim on drums and Matt on keyboards, this free-spirited duo packed upbeat original jams into their 1 hour set, plus some classic covers like you say he’s just a friendÂÂ, that had the crowd wanting more.
Next up were The Black Keys and even though I am a Black Keys fan, we didn’t push to the front for these guys. It might have been the fact that it was 40 degrees in the shade, or the fact that we had been living off almonds for 2 days, but even Dan Auerbach’s smooth voice and their brand of blues style rock ‘n’ roll couldn’t make me enter that crowd. The Lolla venue seemed to take away the pull of these guys for me too; I would have rather seen this duo in a small dirty club with bad lighting and cheap PBR. But, we were happy to lay on the grass and blindly enjoy what these Ohio rockers could offer us.
After the Black Keys set, it was back to the Adidas Mega Stage for our fellow Canadians Chromeo. Before they even got into it, they had the crowd’s attention with their keyboards atop stilettoed mannequin legs and Robert Palmer style dancers. Once their electro dance pop sound was in the air so were the crowd’s arms and their booties were shaking. Even though after a while the meatball shaped P-Thugg and tall drink of water Dave1 started to remind me of a 21st century funk version of Pinky and the Brain, I still credited them with keeping the Day 1 crowd with good energy.
Even though seeing Lady Gaga now is like seeing Madonna in the early 80’s, I was torn by the innovative theatrics versus innovative music. The Strokes were playing on the other side of the park and I decided I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t see the Strokes in this venue. That, and there were 90,000 people between Gaga and I, so all I could really see of her was bright lights and big shoulder pads.
It was a mad dash to catch up with what we had missed and I was not upset with my choice to ditch Gaga for the Strokes. Being a long time fan and holding a spot in my all time top 5 albums with Is This it, I was in the zone. I was watching the original hipsters play to a sea of doppelgangers. They had not lost their NYC edge with Julian’s leather jacket and don’t give a fuck attitude. I love that you know exactly what song you’re in for just from the opening riff and it only gets better from there. Even though I loved Julian’s solo venture, you can’t top seeing them all together again. They played songs like Hard to Explain and 12-15 that brought me back to why I love music so much and reminded me why I’m so excited they’re working on new stuff.
Energized but exhausted, we joined the rest of the cattle for the walk home. We still had two more days to go. Little did we know that day 2 would include a Ukranian punk-rocker, a confrontational cop on a segway and a plummet from a bridge. Stay tuned for this post on Wedensday for the full story. You won’t want to miss this one!
Momma’s Boy – Chromeo
[audio:http://www.monstersvsme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/08-Mommas-Boy.mp3]
Don’t Slow Down – Matt & Kim
[audio:http://www.monstersvsme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/07-Dont-Slow-Down.mp3]
Everlasting Light – The Black Keys
[audio:http://www.monstersvsme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/01-Everlasting-Light.mp3]
Is This Is – The Strokes
[audio:http://www.monstersvsme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/01-Is-This-It.mp3]
* If you are a member or manager of the above bands and you would like your track removed, please contact us and we will swiftly oblige. Fans – new or old – please support these bands by using your coffee money to buy their records.