@AndyShore No offense to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but they never stood a chance. They’re not the Beastie Boys, nor will they ever be. At All Points West, Jay Z replaced the Beastie Boys and opened with “No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn.” The Yeah Yeah Yeahs can’t top that. At Outside Lands, the Beasties are being replaced with Tenacious D. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs will never make me laugh like the D does. The fact of the matter is, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs drew a huge reaction from the Lollapalooza crowd. I’m just holding a grudge. Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore Ben Harper & Relentless7 was one of the shows I was most looking forward to this weekend at Lollapalooza. I saw them last November, and really enjoyed it. I also did a cover story with the band for College News, and really enjoyed talking with them. They could not have been nicer guys. Their album, White Lies For Dark Times, has been on heavy rotation lately. I have always liked Ben Harper’s voice, and this band showcases it better than the Innocent Criminals ever did. The raw, gritty rock sound provides a great vehicle for his voice. Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore Zack has been raving about TV on the Radio for a couple of years now. I had given them a listen here and there, but never been too taken with their music. In all honesty, I would not have checked out their set at all if not for the fact my ankle couldn’t take walking all the way across Grant Park to go check out Rise Against with the rest of my friends. I’m actually kind of glad it worked out that way. Sometimes it takes seeing a band live to truly appreciate them. I’m not rushing out to buy up their discography now, but I dug what I saw. Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore I saw Santigold open for Coldplay a while back at the United Center. Her world infused version of hip hop did not quite fill up the cavernous stadium. I was looking forward to seeing her in a festival environment. Especially after seeing the one man dance party video from Santigold at Sasquatch. I wasn’t the only one that was excited for her set. The crowd was so packed in tight after the Arctic Monkeys that I couldn’t even make it up to the photo pit. I settled into a seat on the handicapped platform to see what Santigold had in store for the Lollapalooza crowd. Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why the Arctic Monkeys rock as hard as they do. Lead singer, Alex Turner, has a unique voice, that while not overly impressive, works perfectly. There is no face melting guitar playing, but catchy riffs that keep you hooked. I think where the magic of the Arctic Monkeys comes from is their rhythm section. Nick O’Malley on bass and Matt Helders on drums create a dance-able groove within the context of a rock song. Nothing they do is that complex, just driven songs that keep you moving. Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore Kings of Leon seem to have been on the radar forever, but only recently exploded as much as they have. As big as they are here in the U.S., they are even bigger abroad. Zack discovered that Kings of Leon are the biggest band in Australia (with MGMT being a distant second). When Only By the Night was released, the buzz began. By the time the Blackhawks began playing “Sex On Fire” during hockey games, I was officially hooked. Once I heard King of Leon were one of the headlining acts at Lollapalooza 2009 began, I was officially excited for the festival. Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore The introduction for Andrew Bird explained that Lollapalooza 2009 was serving as both a coming home and going away party for the Chicago native. Bird is scheduled to leave for a three week European tour this weekend. His dedicated fans were packed in up tight against the barrier and screaming their heads off from the moment he took the stage. Not a bad way to be sent off to Europe. Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore Last year I had a bad experience at Perry’s stage at Lollapalooza and avoided it the rest of the weekend. Slash took the stage with Perry Farrell, but wasn’t properly hooked up. I saw him play, but never heard a note of it. I was pissed to say the least. This year, they moved the location of the stage, and improved it vastly. Now there’s a dance party going at all times during Lollapalooza 2009 on the stage that looks like a space ship. A-Track was just what the early evening crowd needed for blast off. Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore One of my fellow photographers told me that he heard the rain was supposed to stop around 4:00, the same time Ben Folds was set to take the stage at Lollapalooza. As I made my way into the photo pit for the absurdly high up Budweiser stage, the rain was still coming down. Luckily, you can count on Ben Folds to brighten up any rainy day. The guy did write an album, that sounds happy was can be, about divorcing his wife. Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore I made it into Lollapalooza just in time to see Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, after some worse than expected traffic on the way downtown. As I made my way across the field towards their stage, I got a text from Zack telling me he was at that show too. I responded saying I was excited to see them, likening them to a male version of Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. If there is one area where the Venn Diagram of Zack and my musical tastes cross, it’s funk. The other thing we agreed on during this set? That Black Joe Lewis is redundant. Joe Lewis was black. Zack said he wouldn’t call his band White Larry Bird, but I think that’s a great name that Bill Simmons would be proud of. Read the rest of this entry »