The Tape

Lollapalooza Day 3!

Written by willshoob on Wednesday, 6 of August , 2008 at 2:13 pm

Lollapalooza day 3 was by far the best day for me. If only I had met Lupe on Sunday, it might have been one of the better days of my young life. It started off with a fantastic set from Chicago’s own Kid Sister, who straight killed it. She brought Autobot to DJ and J2K (her brother) to be the hype man. She played a bunch of new shit and ran through most of her EP. She even attracted Dave and P Thugg from Chromeo to her set.

Kid Sister- Control (JFK Remix)

I then headed over to What Made Milwaukee Famous, and they happened to put on one of my favorite sets of the festival. There was just something about the music they played that was so perfect for a festival setting. In fact their set was so good, it prompted me to buy a “I Made Milwaukee Famous” shirt. Anyways, one thing that confused me was a song of theirs called “Sultan.” I don’t know much about the band, so when they played it I thought they were playing Spoon’s “The Underdog.” In retrospect, they aren’t very similar but I had convinced myself they were similar so that was the verdict.

What Made Milwaukee Famous- Sultan

I then ate lunch and headed over to the Myspace stage where Chromeo would later be playing. I stationed myself in the middle of the stage, and danced along to many Chromeo songs. Dave and P didn’t do a whole lot instrument wise, but it was still a lot of fun. I ducked out a little early to catch the back end of The Black Kids. I found a shady spot in the garden area and fell asleep. They weren’t boring, I was just not interested enough to stay awake.

Chromeo- Fancy Footwork (Crookers Remix)

Black Kids- I’m Making Eyes At You

I then waited around for a while waiting for the brilliant Saul Williams to begin. His set was much more crowded then I had expected, so I was pushed towards the middle, further away from where I wanted to be. But the crowd was well deserved, as Saul straight killed it. He put on one of my favorite shows I’ve ever seen, not just at Lollapalooza 2008. He played every song of his I love, and ended with Sunday Bloody Sunday, which gave me chills. He gave a really powerful speech that I managed to capture on film, and is located below. If you’ve never checked out Saul, I highly recommend him not only as a musician but also as a fantastic poet.

Saul Williams- Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare)

I then made my way over to Gnarls Barkley to enjoy a little bit of their set, before heading across the park to catch the back end of Flosstradamus’ set. Gnarls Barkley was a lot of fun. They make great 3 minute pop songs that are really catchy. Below is a short clip from a very far distance of their hit single entitled Run. I didn’t see all of their set, but from what I heard they’re a great live band. Dangermouse is a star, to put it simply. Cee-Lo is awesome as well, but Dangermouse is just a flat out star.

Gnarls Barkley- Gone Daddy Gone

I then headed over to Perry’s DJ Tent to catch a little bit of Flosstradamus. I love Flosstradamus. They don’t do anything very different from anyone else, besides the four turntables… But there is just something there that not many other DJ’s or DJ groups accomplish. They had a combination of club bangers and old school guilty pleasures, while mixing up some pretty hard to dance to songs. For example, they went from “Where’s Your Head At” by The Basement Jaxx, to “Otherside” by The Red Hot Chili Peppers. That is what impressed me most about them.

The Cool Kids- Pump Up The Volume (Flosstradamus Remix)

I left Flosstradamus about 20 minutes before they ended to get a spot for the main event, Mr. Kanye West. Before I say anything about his show, I sincerely apologize to Kanye. I have done quite a fair share of Kanye bashing on this blog, and I for one am very sorry. Kanye put on an absolutely stellar show. This wasn’t a hip-hop show, it was a rock show with a full band. No A-Trak just drums, guitar, bass, synths, backup vocals, and some orchestral percussion. And that is all he really needed. He was absolutely fantastic. He gave me the chills on a few occasions. The first on Homecoming when the whole crowd screamed “Do you remember when, fireworks at Lake Michigan” with the backdrop to this festival being none other than Lake Michigan itself. He played almost all of his hits, the only one he left out was All Falls Down, but that wasn’t a big deal. Now, there were a few things that disappointed me. For one, he made it very clear that this was HIS show, not anyone elses… just HIS. Lupe showed up on stage for Touch The Sky during every single Glow In The Dark date, but not here. It was all him. That was very disappointing. He also compared himself to James Brown, John Lennon, and Jimi Hendrix in the same sentence. He is achieving the status of celebrity that those men obtained, but he is in no way the talent of any of those men. No offense, Kanye is a fantastic, creative musician, but those man are on a plateau of their own. Kanye also sang his verse from Young Jeezy’s Put On which was fun. One last thing I have to mention is how much time Kanye puts into these shows. He is absolutely one of the hardest, if not the hardest working men in music. He re-arranges most of his songs for this live setting, and the work pays off with brilliant versions of his hits.

Kanye West- Throw Some D\’s (Remix)

Category: Concerts

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