What the fuck? I can't say I've ever payed too much attention to it, but isn't Lollapalooza supposed to be a punk thing? Lady Gaga does not seem to fit in very well.
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OT: Lollapalooza lineup announced
More like modern indie-rock and grunge throwbacks. They usually do at least one mass appeal artist too. The last time I went they had Kanye West and Gnarls Barkley.
I walked away from Gnarls Barkley after like ten minutes, and didn't even waste my time with Kanye - he was playing opposite NIN.
arcade fire, frightened rabbit, and phoenix, i'm sure all put on a good live show.
i really like grizzly bear, but i feel like it's very possible they could suck live.
minus the bear is a band that should be seen live. it's all live guitar looping stuff that doesn't translate to records.
i haven't given lollapalooza a thought in years, and looking at this lineup makes me want to go... soundgarden was my band in high school, man.
...but I like you. I really, really like you. Between your Sufjan Stevens avatar and your interest in Grizzly Bear, Minus the Bear, and Frightened Rabbit, I think we should be friends.
I know that might sound creepy, but I'm completely heterosexual.
I swear.
dude, magnus is trying to sound NOT gay, and you're talking about him servicing people's dongs? you are not helping him out here.
Really impressed by the taste in music in this thread. I've been off on internships for the last two summers but was lucky to catch Lolla the prior two years in Chicago. It's a GREAT time. My most anticipated for this year if I'm able to go:
Arcade Fire (obviously)
MGMT
Phoenix
The Strokes
Grizzly Bear
Minus the Bear
Lady Gaga (sideshow-type appeal)
Hot Chip
...I would pay to see any of these individually.
(Others in my iTunes: Wolfmother, Dirty Projectors, the Temper Trap, Cut Copy, Frightened Rabbit, The Black Keys, HEALTH, Rogue Wave, Empire of the Sun, Stars, prly a half dozen others)
it's okay. i'm down for a good old fashioned bromance every once in a while... also, it's good to know people who you can trust to tip you off to good new music.
recent additions to the arsenal:
broken bells (self-titled)
gaslight anthem (59 sound)
cold war kids (behave yourself EP)
I do like Broken Bells and Cold War Kids. I haven't listened to Gaslight Anthem before, though. I'll have to check them out.
Have you ever heard of Motley Crue? They're a pretty big deal in underground circles.
gaslight anthem is a little more americana than i normally do, but one of my sources is really high on them.
i'm liking the cold war kids ep enough to consider investing more in them. there are a few bands like that that i'm late to the game on, but i'm okay with that. vampire weekend, for example, although i'm trying to figure out how they're not just a slightly rastafarian grizzly bear.
motley crue: starting a guitar solo by saying "guitar". brilliant.
The Gaslight Anthem have a great EP titled "Senor and the Queen" that might be better than 59 Sound.
I wasn't familiar with The Gaslight Anthem until I saw them at Lollapalooza last year. I really enjoyed them and decided they are pretty good. Still enjoying their album.
Seconded, though I've heard that Grizzly Bear is pretty good live. And frightened rabbit should be epic.
was arcade fire at lollapalooza 2005. so much energy and stage presence, not to mention great music.
and just to give you an idea of where they stand, they outrank the following live performances i've seen:
- Michael Jackson, Silverdome, 1984
- Pink Floyd, Silverdome, 1994
- Page & Plant, Palace, 1994
- Grateful Dead, Palace, August 1, 1994
surprised to hear you say that. I was telling a buddy earlier tonight that I like Arcade Fire but thought they might not be that great live.
I'll definitely make a point to check them out now.
definitely not into the top three headliners but there is some good stuff after that.
only festival with arcade fire this year, i think. that's pretty awesome. i might make the trip out just for whatever day they play.
I am definitely excited for the lineup. The headliners are usually kinda "meh" to me, and when I do like one, I walk away from the experience kinda bummed because it's so hard to get close to the stage without risking your life. That's why, in my opinion, the best shows at Lolla in Chicago are always the non-headliners.
I saw The Arcade Fire at Lollapalooza in 2005 and it was fucking awesome. I am stoked about them coming back. If I recall, around Christmas of '05, Rolling Stone had a list of top live shows of the past 25 years or something, and that Arcade Fire show at Lolla was in the top 10. I can't wait to see them follow it up this year.
THE STROKES
I see the Drive By Truckers have been invited. DBT is a great band to see. They are southern, and they rock, but they avoid the Southern Rock label like poison. Their frontman, Patterson Hood, is the son of legendary studio bass player David Hood, one of the "swampers" (yes, THOSE swampers) from Muscle Shoals Studios. They blend alt country, rock, punk, and even a little bit of metal and it all comes out as gloriously "in your face" while retaining a melodic feel.
I became a fan when I saw them at Bonnaroo in 2003; it's great to see a band you don't know and have them surprise you.
Caveat emptor: if you stereotype southern accents as "ignorant," you will not enjoy this band. If you like everything except the accents, just pretend Patterson Hood is RR with a lot more hair.
DBT is playing at Saint Andrews Hall on Thursday in case anyone is interested
They were my favorite band as a teenager, but had broken up by the time I was really into them. I'm curious if Chris Cornell can still hit the high notes from Superunknown, its been pretty much absent from his Audioslave and solo efforts.
That was my favorite band at the time they broke up and still rank easily in the top 5. The last Lollapalooza I went to was the one with Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Ministry. Still the best show I've ever seen.
When I heard they were getting back together I told my son that it would probably be his first concert (he's 12).
superunknown is just a brilliant piece of art. i started listening to it again recently.
Arcade Fire was reallly all I needed to see. The National will be great too
Matt & Kim are good, as well as freelance whales. If you like the same music as i do, that is
Matt and Kim.... I don't know what it is about them, but they are kinda fun. I enjoy their peppy peculiarity.
Spoon, The Black Keys, The National, The New Pornographers, Gogol Bordello, Matt & Kim, Drive-by Truckers, Blitzen Trapper, Frightened Rabbit are all there?
Should be pretty good.
Actually, Lolla has 6 headliners, the 3 mentioned plus Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix. It is a really weak headlining group this year, Phoenix has one hit song so i'm not sure why they are headlining, greenday seems like the types of douches to only play their new stuff (which sucks), and arcade fire had fleeting stardom 3 years ago or so. Soundgarden could either still have it or not, it would be sweet to see them reunited, Gaga is just plain huge right now so that make financial sense even though I don't care, and the Strokes are pretty good and pretty big. It just seems like Coachella and Bonnaroo did a better job with booking this year. I would go if Lolla had vampire weekend to go along with MGMT. Oh well, maybe next year
Phoenix has a lot more than one hit song. Educate yourself.
a hit song is not the same as hearing it on the radio once in a while, 1901 is the only true hit they have and it peaked at #1 on the billboard hot alternative chart, not the hot 100 or top 200. bands with hit songs, billboard top 10-20 or hot 10-20 songs, like Greenday or Lady Gaga bring in more fans and more money than bands like Phoenix. I'm not saying I don't like them cuz I do, but they aren't headliner material.
Just because radio stations don't pump out their songs 24/7, it doesnt mean that they aren't good. The entire album is very good, and they are definitely worthy of headlining.
no they aren't, doesn't anybody understand the meaning of a headlining band? just because they have good music, they are too obscure to be a headliner, headliners are the bands that have huge mega-hits that everybody wants to see. if you play 1901 to people most of them will go "oh, thats that song on that commercial". walk down the street and ask people who lady gaga or greenday is and then ask them who Phoenix is. you can't compare phoenix to headliners for other years like RATM, Radiohead, kanye, pearl jam, the killers, kings of leon, i could keep going on.
Soundgarden, Green Day, and Lady Gage are your mega-hitters. The Strokes, Arcade Fire, and Phoenix are 3 of the biggest "indie" bands in the world, and Lolla is capitalizing off of the success of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix in tapping Phoenix. I guarantee you you'll have thousands of brahs and whatnot for Phoenix. You're seriously underestimating how popular they are.
do you have proof that phoenix can sell out a venue in minutes or are you just talking out your ass? plus what kind of venues are we talking, stuff like the blind pig, or the joe?
http://wearephoenix.com/journal/?page_id=254
Looks like they've sold out 90% of their shows this year. They're playing 2-5,000 person venues.
The Strokes, Arcade Fire, and Phoenix are one hell of a "secondary headliners" group.
Agreed. I won't be seeing any of the "headliners," (Gaga, SG, GD) but I will be going to each of these shows- Fri, Sat, Sun. And I wouldn't be shocked at all if about 40% of the crowd goes to see one of the "secondary" headliners if they're playing at the same time as the "main" headliner, depending on the combination. I've gone every year it's been in Chicago, and usually they try to pair the "headliners" so people who, say, aren't that into Lady Gaga (like me) have a good alternate option, such as The Strokes.
Grizzly Bear is good, the Soft Pack, Frightened Rabbit, Matt and Kim, Edward Sharpe, Spoon and Black Keys will all be good to see. I think its a great lineup except for GaGa and fucking green day.
mutemath puts on an amazing show
Awesome that they made the bill, most (if not all) of them are recent UM alumni. Really fun sound (they call it dancethink), plus they'll probably play "The Victors".
Soundgarden is awesome, definitely want to see that show (maybe I'm a bit older?). Wolfmother was a great show. I've seen them at some small venues in Chicago as well as Lolla in 06. Arcade Fire and Strokes are great live as well. Much better lineup then last year.
for maybe being a bit older, you aren't a Tool or Depeche Mode fan?
True, I do like both of those bands. I forgot about those shows.
Arcade Fire, The National, New Pornographers, Grizzly Bear, Wolfmother, Yeasayer, Mutemath, Dirty Projectors, AFI, Stars, Minus the Bear, Switchfoot, The Walkmen, Rogue Wave, Cymbals Eat Guitars, The Antlers, Wavves, all good to see.
Lineup isn't as strong as in years past with big names, but Soundgarden hasn't performed live in forever, only festival for Arcade Fire, Lady Gaga is pretty huge right now, etc etc.
Not a bad lineup really.
Man nobody mentioned slightly stoopid or blues traveler. Your all a bunch of jerks. Making me go there and look it up myself.
the are on the list.
is great. One of my favorites. Phoenix is awesome live. I really enjoy the Strokes and heard they put on a great show. MGMT's new album is supposed to be different but good. Arcade Fire is excellent. Spoon has some great stuff as well.
Go see Blues Traveler just to see the sweatiest man alive. He really pours as he wails on his harmonicas
The National are fantastic.
awesome awesome show.
The Strokes do put on a great show.
I saw them once right after This Is It came out (I had a teenage crush on Julian Casablancas the way girls now have one on Justin Bieber) and they were fantastic. They only played for about 1/2 hour because frankly they didn't have much more material than that, but it was still a helluva show.
I'd love to see them play some of my newer favorites like Heart In a Cage and Under Control. <3
Yeah, the Strokes are pretty good live. I saw them play a joint concert with the White Stripes a few years ago. I forget the name of the venue, but it was right on the Detroit River. I think it was called Chene Park or something like that...
Sounds pretty gay.
I'd definitely want to check out Wavves and HEALTH. I have no idea how good either show would be (I've heard Wavves shows can be spotty, and HEALTH might turn into a bunch of guys fiddling with knobs and sound boards, which can be boring), but both are awesome on their records.
Video gets a little bloody, should probably add a NSFW tag.
Minus the Bear and MuteMath both play great entertaining live sets. Plus with Minus the Bear's new album coming out around the same time, they should play a great show, highly recommed going to see both.
Need I say more? What do you think they'll open up with? I wouldn't mind seeing them come out to Rusty Cage myself.
There's some good bands on there. Probably not worth $200 or whatever the ticket is, though/
I'm really excited for Lollapalooza. I've gone every year it's been in Chicago and have never been disappointed. It's a pretty unique festival since it's in the center of a big city. Being surrounded by the Chicago skyline with Lake Michigan off to one side and a ton of awesome bands playing in the middle of the summer is hard to beat...
Once again, this thread confirms that MGoBlog has some of the coolest readers of any sports blog out there. This discussion would be at home on Stereogum or something.
+1 to all of you.