Arctics Rule The Day at Lolla....For Me Anyways

Just flat out one of the UK's best new bands; period. If you know nothing or little about Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys; download, buy, you tube or myspace their songs as quickly as possible. You will not here a better example of the future of music anywhere else. I was lucky enough to see two sets over the weekend. Friday night was the Lolla after show at metro and Saturday was their 4:30 set on one of the two main stages. This is a band as far from pretentiousness and posing as is humanly possible. I do love a good stage set and exploding worlds on stage every now and then, but I love even more a band that came come out in jeans and tennies to rip the audiences head off!! This is the Arctics live; you get exactly what you see and hear. I remember in the summer of 2005 i was in London several times for different festivals and a lot of the "industry" types i know were charged up about this act from Sheffield; Arctic Monkeys. First thought this was a really strange name, hopefully the band and music is not as quirky as the name I thought. The single that started monkey mania in the UK was "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor"; still one of the best singles from the past 5 years. Song and cd went to #1 in the UK and set a UK chart record the fastest selling debut record! The follow up lp was just as strong in it's own right; Favorite Worst Nightmare. New cd drops later this month; Humbug (with some tracks supposedly produced by Josh Homme of Kyuss, Queens Of Stone Age and Eagles Of Death Metal). 2006 saw them play the special guest slot at the Reading Festival right before Muse. They were brilliant, when they played "I Bet..." the crowd of 60,000+ literally exploded; cool r'n'r moment for me! So it has been a few years since I have seen them live and I was excited that I would see them at the relatively small metro and the massive field that is Lollapalooza. The metro set was everything and more. Great energy and a good crowd. They played for over an hour and a half...wow!! Did some songs from the forthcoming release; "Humbug", especially the new single in the UK "Crying Lightning". One of my fav songs of theirs is "Fluorescent Adolescent" and both sets they killed it; had that song in my head for two days. This band will be around making good music for a good while i would think. The band seem devoid of drama and massive ego's; big and quick reasons for the downfall of even the mightiest acts. Good one boys...see you at Reading in a few weeks as they are the headliners on Saturday night with The Prodigy supporting!! How freakin' cool.

For the most part, the rest of my day at lolla was mostly downhill save for Glasvegas!! A brilliant little pop band straight out of Glasgow, Scotland. More than a buzz band in the UK right now, they have made a big impact on that music scene in the past several years and are finally getting a bit of notice here. I caught a song or two several summers ago at a fest and thought they were quite interesting and had something to offer. 2008 seems to be the year that they really took off overseas. Signed to Columbia records and charted in the Uk singles and album charts, they also supported Oasis and U2 at their huge outdoor shows last summer. I have always thought they were a harder Coldplay with a bit of Jesus and Mary Chain throw in; very intriguing! Now when i saw them for a sec several years ago, I did not see the drummer as i was quite far and mellow. Now Saturday I was on the stage waiting for them to arrive and start their set. Saw the three front guys; esp. James Allen (singer) who is a double for Mick Jones in my book....a young Mick Jones), but then a tiny woman with a black, angular haircut stood behind the drums....STANDING UP, BAREFOOTED....how cool. I did not know this and was very impressed/amazed/amused....cool! Set was great and I think they should make some inroads into the states. Thought the crowd was a little thin, but it was 100° and brutal. Check out the video for "Daddy's Gone", melodically haunting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uSdQxKaBfU). Good set but we had to get backstage for some shade and drinks. Will see them at Reading also, they are co-headlining the NME Stage I believe on Saturday also.

Now for a quick rundown on the rest of the bands and people I saw. Rise Against were on next and the played my favorite song first which made me smile. Good punk band that jumps and screams all over the place. Nice energy, good vocals and nice,fast guitar pace. Next up was some food and I loved the jalapeno, cheddar andouille sausage with a lobster corn dog on the side. Sausage kicked ass and corn dog was good. Onto see Lyyke Li from Sweden. She had a nice, couture dress that looked really good and matched her style of music. I thought her band songs were better than her solo, acoustic ones. She seemed very hit or miss with each number. Onto Animal Collective which I had heard a ton about over the years, but had never managed to see. Maybe it's me, but I just did not get it. Boring and over hyped is what I came away thinking. Maybe just not my cup of tea, but i didn't see much tea to begin with! So we marched over the the Chicago 2016 main stage for Tool. Been a long, long time since I saw these guys. It was the side stage at the touring Lollapalooza back in the early '90's. I saw their set in Des Moines at the fairground where Lolla was taking place that year in Iowa. There must have been no more than 50 people watching. Loads of puzzled looks when they hit the stage, Maynard wearing a mohawk, cowboy hate and megaphone. Cool is what I thought and liked the set. BUT my main concern with them is that they seem to be in the same general place musically each and every release. Something i don't dig and follow. The set was solid; the wind was really whipping, so it definitely had an effect on the mix. It was good, but after 45 minutes i was ready to head back. I do admit they have super hardcore fans and they do spark intense loyalty; which i can tip my hat to as most bands don't get the fact that fans equal everything to a successful band or act! Walked by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen still screaming...have they come and gone? Just not digging the past 2 records, maybe i moved on....LOL. I can't wait to go swimming tonight...AHHHH!!!