Fuzzy Thoughts: Lollapalooza Day Three

So we've come to the conclusion of the Lollapalooza preview. While day three may not have the big names that day two featured, there is a lot of top talent here, so it should be arguably the most interesting of the three day set. First though, I offer the following tips for the first-timers that aren't really sure what to expect out of Lollapalooza:

1. More than likely, it will be really hot. Last year it was well over 100 and humid, so get to know the concessions stands really well. You can bring your own water and camelback backpacks so that is also a good plan for the thrift-minded.


2. There is lots of food to choose from at Lollapalooza, but if you'd like to, you can venture off elsewhere and find somewhere else to eat (and perhaps some AC in the process). While there's more than enough available for you to be able to walk around and just find something, you can always check out Metromix to find something specific.


3. Don't forget about the autograph tent! There's almost always someone good over there after performances, so be sure to check out their schedule, and get there early.


4. Stay alert for secret performances, aftershows, etc. as they're almost a certainty.


5. Yes, it'll be crowded, but everyone's there just to have some fun. For a first-year run event, Lollapalooza was run extremely well last year, and despite the massive growth in size this year, I'm thinking that Perry & Co. are going to pull through once again in running a great operation.

Hopefully that will clear up some of the questions and concerns and, if not, feel free to post a comment. With that in mind, I'll move right along to my picks for the grand finale that is day three of Lollapalooza.

From Opening until 2:30

Surprisingly enough, the opening set is one of my "must-see" picks, as Jim Noir is performing (appropriately enough) at the adidas-Champs stage at 11:45. For those of you that aren't familiar with Noir, his single "Eanie Meany" has served as the background music for the outstanding adidas World Cup commercials that you might've seen (I'm still upset that France lost, ridiculous head butt aside). Noir has also attained an incredible amount of hype with his full length album titled Tower of Love, which was already released overseas and will be here August 8-- making the timing of his performance at Lollapalooza all the better. Following that should be yet another great show from local band (Highland Park to be exact) The Redwalls. They absolutely blew away the crowd (myself included) last year and have been riding a high horse ever since. From one hot band to another, look for The Hold Steady to put on a very solid show for their hour-long set.

From 2:30 until 6:30

I was a bit surprised that Ben Kweller was selected once again as he hasn't released anything new since his so-so release On My Way. On the other hand there is the pop/country/bluegrass group Nickel Creek, that also knows how to put on a show. I'm picking Nickel Creek easily over Ben, as much as I like the guy, because I'm betting that Nickel Creek really puts on a big-time show. If you're looking for something under the radar, check out The Benevento-Russo Duo. Though they're only performing for 45 minutes, they're a very intriguing avant-garde jazz duo (think of a poor man's Medeski, Martin & Wood). At 3:30, Andrew Bird will be performing, and there's really no contest if you're wondering who you should see then. Bird is just about as good as it gets, and he should definitely let everyone else know that much with his performance. Coming in at 4:30 are Matisyahu and The Shins. My personal pick goes to The Shins, I can't really take Matisyahu all that seriously (bad reggae is bad reggae, period), although I might leave early to check out Of Montreal who performs (for some strange reason) from 5:00-6:00pm. It seems to me that it'd make much more sense to have them paired off against Poi Dog Pondering and She Wants Revenge (which is a little bit like choosing whether you'd like to poke your left or right eye out), but oh well.

From 6:30 until Close

Once again, I'm torn with the 6:30 performances. If it were almost any other act, I would go with Queens of the Stone Age and never look back. If you're looking to rock out and really get hyped about the Chili Peppers performance, QOTSA would be the band to see. However, seeing that this is Chicago's own Wilco that is performing at the same time, there's no way I can go against them. I've been waiting to see Wilco far too long to let the opportunity pass by, and if the heavy stuff isn't for you anyway you would more than appreciate their wonderful sound. Afterwards, I'll head over to check out Broken Social Scene, because I can't really see Blues Traveler doing all that much in a one hour set-- they fare much better when they're able to jam out. To make up for missing them, I do plan on possibly seeing their HOB aftershow, which I think would probably be more fun anyway, but I may change my mind. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are the last set of the day, so you don't really have much of a choice to see anything else. Given how incredibly happy I was with Stadium Arcadium though, I'm really excited to see how those songs transfer over live.

Aftersets?

There are none that have been officially listed surprisingly, but I'm pretty sure that will change, I'll keep you posted.

Well that's the conclusion of day three and thus also the preview of Lollapalooza. In the next coming days I'll be throwing up profiles of some of the artist to give you some information on them without having to scour the internet. Here's a breakdown of my picks for day three:

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