My Morning Jacket live

My Morning Jacket
Opening Acts: Catfish Haven and The Slip
The Riviera- 11.24.06

Setlist
One Big Holiday
What A Wonderful Man
The Way He Sings
Off The Record
The Dark
It Beats 4 U
Wordless Chorus
Phone Went West
Lay Low
Lowdown
Golden
Dondante
Run Thru
They Ran
--------------
Bermuda Highway*
At Dawn*
Just One Thing*
Gideon*
Mahgeeta
Anytime

*performed with Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra


Well, My Morning Jacket had already won me over when they released Z, an album that was selected as the #1 release to come out last year, and they continued to impress me when I had the opportunity to see them at Lollapalooza this past August. Now, after seeing them for a full two hour show, I have to say that if you still haven't hopped on the bandwagon, do join in now because you're about to witness something special. My Morning Jacket's performance was astounding to say the least, the band's energy was there from the beginning and Jim James' stage presence was as large as his skeleton platform boots. The band started off with my personal favorite song of theirs "One Big Holiday" and kept the pace throughout, with highlights including "Off the Record," "Wordless Chorus," "Phone Went West." and "Dondante." Performing the first half of the encore with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra was also a treat, although the Riviera's shoddy acoustics at times rendered the orchestra inaudible. Also interesting was how well the band performed all of their old songs. On album, some of the material doesn't stand out at all, but in hearing them live, they're performed with such confidence that new life is brought to each of those songs-- most notably with the aforementioned "Phone Went West." Where this is most apparent is with frontman Jim James, whose tin-can vocals on each of the pre-Z albums are hardly representative of what he can do live. On each song that he performed, his voice was just as good if not better than what it was on album, and his passionate falsettos are simply chilling. After seeing their continuing growth and maturity in just these past two years alone, it's exciting to think what lies ahead for the Kentucky-based group. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and purchase their concert tickets while they're still cheap, or at least buy their latest album.

Kings of Leon/Bob Dylan at the Sears Centre and more

New Look!
In case you haven't noticed, the website has undergone a bit of a change cosmetically. Look even closer and you'll notice a few other changes. First and foremost, all posts from the past few weeks on have labels, so that way if you wanted to go to any specific category (i.e. "News") you can click on that tab and you'll find a full list of posts related to that category. Also, the new sidebar makes it a lot easier to backtrack to older posts if you need to. I hope you like the new changes, and I will continue to tweak things on the site (per usual) as needed.

Bob Dylan
Opening Act: Kings of Leon
Sears Centre- 10.27.06

Although it was far from a sellout crowd, those that were on hand had a chance to appreciate an almost totally satisfying experience with Bob Dylan. While much of the crowd was too old to appreciate what the Kings of Leon had to offer, and consequentially spent the opening set time discussing whatever sense of nostalgia being at a Dylan concert did for them, the younger counterparts used their time to dance along as the Kings of Leon thrashed out a solid 45-minute set. Playing a relatively tight set that centered around their singles (namely "Molly's Chambers," "The Bucket," and "Four Kicks"), Kings of Leon may not have scored high for risk-taking, but as an opening act, they more than held their own, and gave a good taste of what they bring to the table for those that aren't familiar with them.

A brief break between sets gave everyone a chance to check out the brand new Sears Centre, which held its first event only a few days prior, and, at least for concerts, this place is great. Something like a miniature-Allstate Arena, the Sears Centre offers incredibly intimate seating for an arena, and there really isn't a bad seat in the house.

Once the house lights went back off, the crowd went nuts-- something that would only exist to greet Dylan, as much of the older audience spent most of their time seated afterwards. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to hear Bob Dylan play the guitar due to his arthritis, so instead his band was forced to do their best to fill in for him. That in itself is a bit of a tall order, but they did make due by sticking to the basics and letting Dylan get his solo kicks via the harmonica. While anyone with a pair of ears knows that Dylan's voice has been pretty much shot for some time now, what's amazing is how much of a presence and command he has despite (or maybe even because of) that. Sometimes, it made song identification a messy venture, but besides that, hearing Dylan even performing hits like "All Along the Watchtower" and "Like a Rolling Stone" was thoroughly inspiring as it sounded just as fresh and new as ever. While some, as one woman pointed out behind me after the show, may feel that Dylan's best year are behind him because "he sounds nothing like he did [when she was younger]," I think they're missing the point. The fact is that a 65-year old legend is still able to perform everyday at a caliber that may very well not be what it was when he was at his peak, but is certainly an enlightened experience that could come from very few other artists, past or present.

Kanye West MTV follow-up
For those of you that didn't have a chance to catch Kanye making a fool of himself at the MTV European Music Awards, I thought I would post the video for it. I know there are people claiming that it was a joke on Kanye's part, but even if it was (which I know isn't true anyway), it was still a classless move on Kanye's part.




New Music Tuesday
There really isn't much to talk about this week. For you casual Dave Matthews Band fans out there, or perhaps the people that have yet to really be exposed to any of their work, their first installment of their greatest hits collection, aptly named, The Best of What's Around was released today. The tracklisting was more or less chosen by fans, and has one disc dedicated to the DMB's studio efforts and one disc dedicated to their live performances. While it's hard to recommend this to any die-hard fan (there are no extra-perks involved that you wouldn't be able to access otherwise a la The Roots' most recent hits collection), it's a great starter kit for a newbie, if you will, to gain some exposure to the band. Also out today is The Road to Escondido by JJ Cale and Eric Clapton. Eric Clapton has always had great admiration for JJ Cale, so it is fitting for them to be featured together on this album. While in an adult contemporary setting, the album seems to be relatively good, there is really nothing here that sets it apart, unfortunately. If you're a fan, however, especially with Clapton's more staid work, you will probably have a lot of fun listening to this album.

Lollapalooza 2006: In review

Jeff Tweedy (Wilco frontman), in all his shaggy glory, was very happy to play in front of his hometown crowd.

Going into Lollapalooza this year, there were two things almost everyone in attendance were sure of: One is that Lollapalooza would be much bigger than last year and two being that there should be three days of incredible live music. What wasn't expected though was everyone's decision to do a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," a song that was played at least five times-- including Gnarls' own performance. Also unexpected was the genuinely nice weather that lasted all weekend long. All and all, it was an oustanding showing this year, and using Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy to sum it up, "I'm very proud of you, Chicago." With that said, here is an in-depth look at Lollapalooza 2006.

Surprises

The Go! Team got the crowd going on day 2.

Two of the biggest surprises this year came from The Go! Team and The Hold Steady, a couple of groups that I was pretty familiar with before, but had no idea what I was in for when it came to live performances. The Hold Steady really translates well live, and I was disappointed that they weren't offered a shot at getting an afterset at the House of Blues-- they're pretty much the ultimate late night party band. Between Craig Finn's incredibly witty lyrics while performing, and even funnier stories and musings in between songs (many of which were either religion or baseball related), he had the audience drawn to him in a way that's very difficult to do in such a large setting. For my money, these guys were among the highlights of the show. The Go! Team has carried quite a reputation for being an amazing live show with their unrelenting energy and crowd interaction. Yet, even knowing that going in, I still wasn't ready for what would be one of the most fun performances of the weekend. Sure, there were other bands that were better, but in terms of fun, The Go! Team were about as good as it gets, with lead vocalist Ninja mustering up more dance moves than I thought would be possible given the humidity. Another surprise was from the Austin, TX group Sound Team. While I have been a fan of many other Austin, TX groups (Spoon and perhaps lesser-known Fastball come to mind), I still wasn't expecting these guys to be as good as they were. They certainly weren't flashy, but their atmospheric wall-to-wall sound of guitar matched to solid lyrics and musicianship made for a very entertaining one-hour set. The final surprise goes to bluegrass group Nickel Creek (pictured left).

While I was already familiar with their exceptional abilities as musician, seeing them live gave a completely new perspective on them as a group-- as by setlists end they were easily one of the most laid-back groups to perform out of the three days. They threw in a few surprising covers as they did Radiohead's "Nice Dream," which came complete with a mini-rant compliments of frontman Chris Thile of how much they like Radiohead and how incredible Thom Yorke is,
and the shockingly good cover of Britney
Spears' "Toxic." Another nice touch was the band throwing in a cover of The Band's "The Weight" during their performance of "The Fox." Add in a two minute tap dancing session by bassist Mark Schatz, and you've got yet another highlight from the California-based band.

Dissapointments

Gnarls Barkley and their backup band, all adorned in Wimbledon gear, unfortunately left many disappointed.

Unfortunately, these come with the territory of having such large scale music festivals. The biggest disappointment though, and most easily preventable, was the terrible sound. While most of the sound leakage was fixed-- a problem that plagued last year's Lollapalooza-- there were far too many performances ruined by bad sound. The most infamous of these problems was during Kanye West's performance to which even he said "someone might be getting fired tonight."

"Can you hear me now?" Kanye's sound problems left many fans in the dark for the first half of the show.

Besides that, Gnarls Barkley, or more specifically Cee-Lo, dissapointed-- his voice was so shot that at times the background singers were more audible. It didn't help things that 99% of the people that were there were only there to hear "Crazy"-- a song that had already been covered by everyone from Mates of State to The Raconteurs.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers perhaps gave the crowd a bit too much Stadium Arcadium and not enough BloodSugarSexMagik

The final disappointment was the Red Hot Chili Peppers' setlist. The performance itself was incredible, even if it was the Flea and Frusciante talent show more often than not, but since the setlist only included a couple songs from before the album Californication, it was hard to be completely satisfied. Sleater-Kinney and Death Cab for Cutie round out the last two disappointments of the night. Sleater-Kinney, despite performing their second to last concert, really seemed to lack energy, and even though they went 15 minutes over in their set, they only seemed to be going through the motions. Death Cab for Cutie, after performing a marvelous headliner last year, disappointed with a fairly mediocre setlist-- leaving the majority of casual fans in the cold and even driving away a few of the die-hards.

Highlights

Mike James (frontman of My Morning Jacket) and company completely rocked out during their one hour set.

While the headliners were all quite fine and good, the band that really made the most of their hour was My Morning Jacket. They were already my pick to be one of the best bets this year, despite playing at the same time as The Raconteurs, and certainly didn't disappoint. While ordinarily it'd be a bad thing that the majority of songs were from their latest two albums, considering that they're the two most acclaimed in their collection, it seemed to be the most logical. Jim James' howling vocals were even more chill inducing live than they were on album and each of the solos were incredibly crisp as well. In addition to possibly setting the record for most props used on a Lollapalooza stage, The Flaming Lips were in top form as well, with lead singer Wayne Coyne encouraging sing alongs and fan participation all through the set. Adding a touch of nostalgia, the Flaming Lips introduced "She Don't Use Jelly" using a clip from an old Chicago performance. All in all it was a great show, with the extra flare of Wayne Coyne walking on the audience in his inflated bubble, the hundreds of extras dancing on stage, and inflatable santas and aliens all adding to the flare.

The Flaming Lips put on quite the spectacle, pulling out all the stops possible during their hour long set.

Kanye West, technical difficulties aside, put on a great show that will surely be remembered for many years to come, as it marked his first grand-scale homecoming. Similarly, Wilco, also put on an outstanding showing in front of lead singer Jeff Tweedy's hometown, and performed a number of new songs for the crowd on hand. Eels definitely put on one of the stranger shows, which was to be expected, but what wasn't expected (at least from me) was how they managed to rock from beginning to end without any hesitation, including closing out with a cover of "I Put a Spell on You" and, finally, "That's Life."

Wolfmother (bottom right)put on an outstanding show that the crowd really got into, as seen through the numerous body surfers and the giant mosh pit that took place towards the front of the stage. Each of the band members, particularly lead singer Andrew Stockdale, had a stage presence rarely seen from such a relatively new band.

Between the great crowd, relatively nice weather, and good performances all-around, I have to say that this year's Lollapalooza was even better than I was anticipating. Hopefully next year, Perry Farrell and company will look to improve both the sound as well as the number of food booths next year. As far as lineup predictions are concerned, maybe next summer will finally be the year we see a Smashing Pumpkins reunion, or maybe even a Radiohead apperance. Time will tell, but as always, I will release any info as it becomes available.

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Fuzzy Thoughts Profiles Lollapalooza 2006: The Main Acts Pt I

Here's the first of the Lollapalooza profiles, and to quote (roughly) Reservoir Dogs, we'll be going "first thing last." That being said, it'll be main acts (everyone performing post 6:30pm) first and then the other guys afterwards. Since I'll be in Vegas next week, I can't promise that I'll be churning out posts as quickly as I usually can, but I'll put some new posts up whenever possible.

Blues Traveler August 6 adidas-Champs Stage (7:30-8:30)

Alongside the now-defunct Phish, Blues Traveler carried on the jamband torch most notably started by the Grateful Dead for a new era of fans. With the big hit of "But Anyway" from their 1990 debut, Blues Travelers made it big and haven't really looked back since. Although inconsistency and tragedy plagued the band in the mid 90's, two factors which have still hurt the band to this day, they are still mildly popular though pale in comparison to fellow mates Dave Matthews Band. Despite that, Blues Traveler still knows how to perform live, so look for them to make the most of their one hour set. Besides the aforementioned "But Anyway," some other hits of theirs includes: "Hook," "Run Around," "The Mountains Win Again," "Girl Inside My Head," "Let Her and Let Go," and most recently "Amber Awaits."

Recommended Albums

Bastardos! (2005)

Truth Be Told (2003)

Four (1994)

Blues Traveler (1990)

Broken Social Scene August 6 Q101 Stage (7:30-8:30)

Indie rock group Broken Social Scene is likely one of the most critically acclaimed bands around at the moment, and that acclaim is very well deserved. Their debut album Feel Good Lost was an all instrumental effort that showed loads of potential, which they fulfilled on their follow-up You Forgot It In People. Most recently, Broken Social Scene released an arguably even better eponymous album this past year, which was listed very highly on my top albums of 2005.

Recommended Albums

Broken Social Scene (2005)

You Forgot It In People (2002)

Common August 5 AT&T Stage (6:30-7:30)

Still flying high from his most recent album BE, Common is well-regarded as being one of the better underground hip-hop artists of the past half-decade. From his frequent work with such respected artists like The Roots, Erykah Badu, Roy Hargrove, and most recently Kanye West, Common is as diverse as they come. Reflecting that, Common's audience is as varied as Common's own music, so even if you aren't necessarily a fan of most hip-hop, you might find that you like Common regardless. Most notable singles for Common include "Go," "The Corner," "Come Close," and "The Light."

Recommended Albums

Be (2005)

Like Water For Chocolate (2000)

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Concert Review: Damien Rice/Fiona Apple

Just so you know, Lollapalooza mini-profiles will be on their way throughout the weekend. Due to both a busy schedule and downtime in the server, I've been unable to get them out beforehand so I'm just going to bump them back a bit and instead do this review. Sorry for the inconvenience (didn't want you to think I'd forgotten about them).

Damien Rice/Fiona Apple Live at Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island (7/13/06)

First off, I have to say that the Charter One Pavilion is an absolutely gorgeous venue, I do sincerely hope that it stays a part of the city's lakefront permanently. The space is relatively intimate, housing a crowd of about 5,000. Unfortunately, tonight's show was not sold out-- a real shame considering both of their performances.

Damien Rice opened the show with The Blower's Daughter Part II and once he started, he never lost his form. Consistently delivering exorbitantly passionate vocals and guitar solos-- especially on "Volcano", "Woman Like a Man" and "Delicate"-- Rice had much of the crowd standing on their feet by the end of his set. Fulfilling a request by the crowd, his encore entailed an absolutely superb performance of "The Professor & La Fille Danse" to which he really worked his magic by looping his vocals and guitar over and over until it finally swirled amongst the crowd.

If that weren't enough, there was still Fiona who had yet to come on stage. With Apple's performance there was a bit of a build-up, as it seemed like either her voice was shot from the night before or she just didn't quite get into it yet, but once she got there, she really made sure that everyone got their money's worth and thensome. Between her on-stage antics that would make Janis Joplin look calm, and the undeniable talent showcased by her band, Fiona Apple had a ever present connection between herself in the crowd. As such, she sung her heart out on every piece, and was especially good on "I Know," "Slow Like Honey," and "Love Ridden." On her higher energy tracks, Apple adjusted herself accordingly-- and really seemed to be energized by the end. Apple herself (as well as the crowd) was going well enough that she could've performed for an additional hour had she been able to. Instead, after her semi-intentionally funny story about bugs (in which she confesses her fear of killing them but justifies it by saying "the little f****** should move"), she performed "Paper Bag" before streaming into her other hit songs. After a five minute encore break, she returned to do a really lovely acoustic version of "Extraordinary Machine" as well as others.

This concert (and tour for that matter) is quite interesting because both Fiona Apple and Damien Rice are incredibly emotionally raw artists to the point that you can not only see or hear their emotions, but also feel them. While Rice's anger, hurt and frustration was placed solely in the form of his music, Fiona really does let it all unfold the way she wants it to, and that's pretty admirable. While some (and these people were in attendance too) were completely thrown by her antics, others embraced it-- it's hard to be in between. That being said, this is one of the finer concerts I've been to, and I look forward to seeing them whenever they may stop by the Windy City again.

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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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Fuzzy Thoughts: Lollapalooza Day Two

Well, day one was fun, but day two looks even better. As the lineups get better though, the choices get even more complicated, and one glance at the day two or three schedule should confirm that. Of course, that's where I come in, and without further adieu I give you my picks for day two:

From Opening until 2:30

First off, for those that care, The winner of the Last Band Standing contest will be playing at 11:15. I'd like to say that I'd be out there, but more than likely, I'll just be waiting for Sa-Ra's lean 30 minute set at noon. After that warm-up, I think the show that everyone will be talking about (for the non-mainstream acts anyway) is Wolfmother at 12:30. I've seen these guys live on a couple of TV spots, not to mention some of the iTunes teasers they've released, and they've definitely got the energy level kicked up a few notches when it comes to live performances, so they should be really fun to see. Immediately following that show at 1:30 will be The Go! Team, and given what their album sounds like I can only imagine what they're like live (they're supposedly very entertaining as you can imagine). Feist would be a good back-up plan, especially if you don't think The Go! Team's cheerleaders gone indie rock antics are going to be for you.

From 2:30 until 6:30

If you're looking for a good time to take a break (and if last year didn't prove anything else, it proved that breaks are indeed good-- especially at 100+ degrees), I'd definitely look at doing one sometime between the 1:30-3:30 time period. Personally, I can live without seeing Coheed and Cambria (I don't see how even a mother could love Claudio Sanchez's voice), and if I get the chance I'd probably look to catch the last half of Built To Spill. After that, the highlights look to be nothing but hip hop acts, as there's no way anyone should pass up on Lyrics Born at 3:30 (unless your going to see Calexico, then I'd understand), and everyone should see Gnarls Barkley just to see what movie characters they'll be dressed up as this time around (not to mention they've been consistently outstanding in all their live performances). Instead of heading over to one of the 5:30 shows (Dresden Dolls and Smoking Popes oh my!) I'll keep the energy going by seeing the underrated Blackalicious.

From 6:30 until Close

This 6:30 time slot is what really gets tricky for me. Flaming Lips or Common. Yes, one is hip hop and the other rock, but at the same time you're talking about two of the top (and most creative for that matter) talents in either genre. This one is pretty much a coin flip, but if pressed, I'd more than likely check out the Flaming Lips because I've never seen them live before (and out of hope that Common will pop on stage and perform with Kanye West later on). I'm mad that Lollapalooza had to set it up that way, but one conflict out of a few dozen possibilities really isn't too shabby. After that, there are probably going to be the people that decide they're going to camp out to see Kanye or Manu Chao for that matter, and the people willing to risk not being up close and personal so they can see The New Pornographers and Thievery Corporation. I really could care less whether or not I'm in reach of Kanye's backpack so I'll more than likely be checking out Thievery Corporation. Now it's 8:30, and there really should be no question about who to see. Yes, I know, Manu Chao hardly performs in America, but think about it: Kanye West in his hometown of Chicago, performing in front of tens of thousands of fans in the largest musical festival that Chicago has to offer... what's not to like?

Aftersets?

Two really interesting prospects here: The Frames, Nada Surf, and Elvis Perkins will be playing an 18+ show at the Metro at 9pm, and Blues Traveler and Particle will be playing at the House of Blues at 10pm (18+ show).

The days just keep getting better and better, check back tomorrow for a look at the finale of Lollapalooza, and also a list of things to look for and expect out of Lollapalooza 2006. Here's a simplified look at my picks for day two:

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Fuzzy Thoughts: Lollapalooza Day One

Well, with less than a month to go until Lollapalooza, it's time for me to give my picks on who to see, and what to skip. Now after much brain teasing, many sleepless nights, and a few lost brain cells, I've come up with what I think is a suitable schedule. There are definitely some surprise picks mixed in here, but all in all I hope this makes your scheduling a bit easier considering all the choices available. Onto my selections!

From Opening until 2:30

To be honest, the first half of Day One (until at least 2:30) is surprisingly weak. Of course, festivals like these give the little guys a chance to give a breakout performance and make a name for themselves, so it may turn out much better than it looks on paper. That being said, my first band pick is Sound Team at noon. I'm pretty sure more people will be going for deadboy & the Elephantmen, but frankly, I don't find the duo all that appealing, and I'm banking on Sound Team to put out the better set. Following that, I'm going to be skipping out on both The Subways and Blue October to check out Husky Rescue. While there's a good chance that Blue October might be decent live, I'm thinking that the atmospheric Helsinki-based Husky Rescue will probably end up putting the best show out of the bunch.

From 2:30 until 6:30

Staying within the mellow trend, my next pick (and the easiest one by far) is eels. No offense to Panic! At the Disco, but I'd much rather be depressed by Mr. E's songs of sorrow than want to off myself after listening to them for more than five minuets, because at least Mr. E's songs are good. Immediately following that performance is a group of equally compelling performances: Stars, Editors, Jeremy Enigk, and Mute Math all perform at the same time. An interesting predicament if you ask me, as both Stars and Editors are increasingly gaining attention, while Enigk and particularly Mute Math are not necessarily as well known. If you're looking for a sleeper pick of the bunch, it would definitely be Mute Math, and if it weren't for the fact that Stars was playing at the same time, I'd go with that pick. However, since Stars is playing, and I love their music, I have to go with them (perhaps if I get antsy though, I'll head over and check out the end of MM's set). Following Stars at 4:30 is yet another easy pick for me, and should be one for pretty much anyone that's a fan of either group (I don't know if any overlap is possible)-- Ryan Adams over Umphrey's McGee (a pick I would take any day of the week). I'm just hoping that: a) no one pisses Ryan off and b) that he actually puts out for the entire hour. I've heard about his shenanigans, but seeing that this will be the first chance I'll get to see him live (and probably many others as well) I'd like to think he'll do what he's capable of and not go off if someone should call him Brian. At 5:30, both Iron & Wine and The Secret Machines will be performing. As much as I love Sam Beam (the man that is Iron & Wine), I can't imagine him doing well in this venue, so I'm going to go with The Secret Machines and hope that perhaps there will be some kind of Iron & Wine afterset.

From 6:30 until Close

Okay, I get it, everyone loves Jack White and outside of Gnarls Barkley, The Raconteurs is the collaboration of the year. So of course, I'd have to pick them right? Well, in the words of Lee Corso "Not so fast, my friend." While I think that what Jack White is doing is great, unless he's going to bring Meg out on stage and start performing White Stripes songs and then let Brendan Benson do some of his own stuff, there's no way I'm going to pass up My Morning Jacket (yes they're the special guest), a group I consider to be one of the most underrated right now. In my mind, with their release of Z last year, an album that was ranked #1 on my 2005 list (and cracked the top 3 on many others), MMJ has finally broken through and proven that they're not just a fluke. I'm sure that the crowd will be small compared to what The Raconteurs will be getting, but I'm almost 100% certain it'll be worth it regardless. After that set is over, I will be thoroughly enjoying myself as I watch Sleater-Kinney tear it up. While I don't blame anyone, particularly fans, for picking the Violent Femmes, if you're not familiar with SK, you should definitely at least give them a listen as it will be their last performance ever (yep, they're breaking up). Finally, battling certain claustrophobia, I'll be watching Death Cab for Cutie close it out for the second year in a row. They put out too good of a show last year for me not to see them again, and maybe they'll even top the previous performance.

Aftersets?

There's quite a bit to choose from in this department. Of Montreal will be playing at Schuba's (21+ show) at 10pm. Thievery Corporation will be playing along side Govinda and Husky Rescue at the Metro (18+ show) at 9pm, while Blackalicious and Lyrics Born will be performing with Ohmega Watts at the House of Blues (18+ show) at 10pm. Also of note, Lake Trout will be at the Abbey Pub for an 18+ show at 9pm.

Phew, that's quite a lot of music for one day, and we're just getting started! Check back tomorrow for the Fuzzy Thoughts' Day Two overview of Lollapalooza. Just to simplify things a bit, below is a summary table of my picks for Day One:

Dave Matthews Band Live at Alpine Valley 7/1/06

Even without the strongest setlist, DMB still puts out the best performances money can buy.

Say what you'd like about Dave Matthews Band, there are many that love them and many that dislike them, but no matter where you stand there's one thing that should go unquestioned-- DMB is about as good as it gets when it comes to live performances. The opening night setlist suffered from a bit of inconsistency, particularly with the latter half of the set, but yet there were so many great moments during that time that it was hard for even the most discerning Davehead to fault it. The favorite of the new songs were played, that being "Kill The King," "Break Free" and "Sister," which was played only by Dave. Also, the new segway entitled "Can't Stop" (no relation to the Red Hot Chili Peppers song), which serves as an intro of sorts to "Crush" was played quite nicely in it's first relatively full-length rendition. Outside of the new stuff highlights included a rarely-seen "Pay For What You Get", and outstanding jams on both "Seek Up" and "Jimi Thing." Another crowd favorite was the "So Much To Say"->"Anyone Seen The Bridge?"->"Too Much" jam, the latter which had a brief Lil' Jon "YEAH! WHAT? OKAY!" vocals on the part of Dave Matthews (yeah, it's about as funny as what you're picturing I'm sure). All in all it was a very, very good show, I just wish I had tickets for night two as they definitely kicked it up an extra notch for that night. Overall though, the setlists this year have been incredibly exciting and really encouraging in terms of signaling a sense of where the band is going, especially given the addition of Rashawn Ross (from the Hip-Hop/Jazz outfit Soulive) at trumpet. If you can manage to get a ticket to one of the remaining shows this year, I'd say it's a must see. Otherwise, check back in the fall/winter, as they might sneak in a tour in between recording their upcoming album (due early next year).

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