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Tool
8:30 p.m. Chicago 2016 stage
The last time Tool headlined the Lolla stage it was 1997. The time--or the hiatus during which frontman Maynard James Keenan has spent digging up Sauvignon blancs-- has done little to dull their hard driving edge, or cut into their massive popularity as evident by the sea of enthusiastic fans Saturday night. They're reportedly working on new material, but Saturday's set was full of old favorites, such as "Schism" and ""Aenema," which they ripped through masterfully against a backdrop of provocative films projected on the big screens. At one point, Keenan, who was hilarious, told the crowd they were under arrest for, cough cough, illegal activities. To which a fan screamed "Take me away!" For an hour and a half they did.
-- Dorothy Hernandez
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
8:30 p.m. Budweiser stage
She strutted onto the stage looking like some sort of mystical winged creature in a headdress and feathery cape, then launched into a dramatic rendition of “Runaway.” She pumped her fist in the air and grinned as guitarist Nick Zinner slipped in a riff from the absent Beastie Boys’ “So What’cha Want.” She donned a leather jacket and worked the crowd into a frenzy with “Zero.” She hissed. She twirled. She growled. She wailed. She forgot the lyrics to “Maps” and brought the show to a momentary halt, yet no one seemed to mind. She is Karen O—she is the Yeah Yeah Yeahs—and no stage is too big for her.
-- M. Kathleen Pratt
Animal Collective
7:30 p.m. Vitamin Water stage
When Animal Collective took the stage Saturday evening, a distinct smell washed over the crowd. You know, the kind of smell you'd associate with trance music and trippy videos. The Baltimore-based group pleased their hazy fans with an intricate set of psychadelic noise through a mess of electrical equipment. The way-mellow show picked up at the end with a nearly 20-minute version of upbeat "Fireworks." Animal Collective definitely has a specific, loyal fan base. Perhaps they're an acquired taste.
-- Sara Stewart
TV on the Radio
6:30 p.m. Budweiser stage
There was a thick funk in the air, and it wasn't just the humidity coming off the sea of 20,000 slick bodies gyrating to TV on the Radio's searing set. When singer Tunde Adebimpe wasn't competing with drummer Jaleel Bunton to see who could sweat through his white shirt first, he was pogoing about the stage preaching his post-apocalyptic gospel above guitarist David Andrew Sitek's swirling guitars and Kyp Malone's rolling bass lines. If there was ever any doubt an intelligent, inventive band can get a crowd moving, TV on the Radio laid those concerns to rest.
--Matt McGuire
Rise Against
6:30 p.m. Chicago 2016 Stage
Look at 'em now, Chicago! This reincarnation of the hometown punk band you might've seen back in the day at the (old) Fireside Bowl screamed onto the stage in true Rise Against style. Fist-pumping anthems and politically bent sing-a-longs abounded, never losing steam and fueling many a sweaty mosh circle. Did it feel like Warped Tour at times? Yep. Were we disappointed? Not in the least. It's good to hear Tim McIlrath promise another Chi show before the end of the year.
--Lisa Balde
Lykke Li
6:30 p.m. Citi Stage
Amazing. Best show I’ve seen. “Dance. Dance. Dance.” started it off for me, and it only got better. She is so adorable and sounded so good I wanted to take her home and keep her. Then, my mind was blown. Miike Snow singer Andrew Wyatt came out to perform her cover of “Knocked Up” by Kings of Leon. I thought they were “really going to have this baby.” And to bring it up a notch, she covered Lil Wayne’s “A Milli”. Perfect. Period.
-- Rex Chekal
Santigold Glasvegas Arctic Monkeys No Age Chairlift Joe Pug Atmosphere Los Campesinos! Ida Maria Langhorne Slim Miike Snow Delta Spirit The Low Anthem Ezra Furman and the Harpoons
5:30 p.m. PlayStation stage
Anticipation built as the entire north end of the festival filled, waiting an extra 15 minutes for Santigold to take the smaller stage. It was worth the wait. The audacious indie pop diva burst out with a full band and gold-clad, almost militant backup dancers. The attention-grabbing outfits and wicked-fun dance moves were just the icing on her energetic set. Santigold owned the crowd and in the end grabbed her favorite dancers to join her on stage.
-- Sara Stewart
5:30 p.m. Vitaminwater stage
Let's hope heaven is air conditioned and that it offered John Hughes a good view of Glasvegas' set in the sweltering late-afternoon sun. The Scottish quartet were a fitting tribute to the moody pop bands that filled Hughes groundbreaking mid-'80s movie soundtracks, sounding equal parts Jesus and Mary Chain and Phil Spector on Quaaludes. Frontman James Allen looked like Joe Strummer's long lost son as he lead his band through a set of fuzzed-out guitars and echoing beats, the latter provided by drummer Caroline McKay, whose sparse two-drum set filled a surprising amount of space.
--Matt McGuire
4:30 p.m. Budweiser stage
I've always found Arctic Monkeys' spry, cheeky and oh-so-Brit act insufferable. Which is why they were a revelation Saturday. First off, they're best experienced live. They were loud, tight and relentless. Maybe more important, their new CD, "Humbug," out at the end of the month in the U.S., sounds promising -- dark, muscular and brooding, like four guys who want to pummel you with rock and roll. The sweaty, shirtless and tatooed masses, body-to-body well past the sound tent, went their fist-pumping craziest for old frenetic standbys like "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," but that song was outshined by "Crying Lightning," a burner from the new CD built around a deep bass groove. Notice has been served: Arctic Monkeys are growing up.
-- Josh Noel
4:30 p.m. Citi Stage
It's hard not to give mad props to guitarist Randy Randall, who dislocated his left shoulder last night and played today's show sitting down, his arm in a sling. And to drummer Dean Allen Spunt, who doubled his punk-pounding efforts and tried to keep spirits high (“embrace the brace,” he told the crowd and Randall). But the Sup Pop duo's usual rock veracity suffered and certainly dipped in energy despite its very best and heartfelt efforts. We felt their pain.
--Lisa Balde
3:30 p.m. Citi stage
There are two words to describe Chairlift: sensual seduction. The ambient, artsy electronic trio opened their set with a sexy, loungey,
let's-make-out-on-one-of-the-couches-in-the-back-of-the-club spin on Snoop Dogg that set the tone for the rest of their show. The hypnotic, ethereal vocals and synths got a little dancing orgy going on the back. Makeout music at its finest.
-- Dorothy Hernandez
3 p.m. BMI stage
It is possible to get the chills in 80-degree heat. Just ask the smallish crowd gathered in front of the shady BMI Stage as Chicago-based singer-songwriter Joe Pug closed his set with a haunting acoustic version of "Hymn #101." Though Pug wisely played to the venue by bringing in a full band for amped-up versions of blues-driven songs like "Nobody's Man" and "Nation of Heat," it's his poetic acoustic work that made this one of the more memorable sets of the weekend. The steely-voiced folk singer, to borrow a line from his own "Hymn #101," clearly came to test the timbre of all of our hearts.
-- M. Kathleen Pratt
2:30 p.m. Chicago 2016 stage
Atmosphere painted that s--- gold. As rapper Slug made sure everyone had a good time ("if you don't give a s--- to [participate in the song] then just randomly walk around and make out with strangers."), the creative hip hop outfit straight outta Minneapolis delivered a tight set with razor sharp commentary as well as humor.
-- Dorothy Hernandez
2:30 p.m. Budweiser Stage
Surely this much unbridled energy would've proven disastrous for bands less articulate than Los Campesinos!—especially with seven members on stage. But this Wales-based gang of popsters pulled it off effortlessly. Celebrating their second-ever Lolla show (their first was two years ago), they jumped from one sunny, bouncing song to the next, all the while pulling off flawless boy-girl vocal changes, an Elliott Smith tribute and at the end, simultaneous crowd surfing by the drummer and a guitarist. Nice.
--Lisa Balde
2:15 p.m. Citi stage
Norway native Ida Maria Borli Sivertsen -- better known by her first two names -- could almost be too twee, too cute, too pop chaunteuse (I'm looking at you, Regina Spektor). But Saturday she and her three-piece band came off with just enough P.J. Harvey wildness to make their 45-minute set muscular and, better still, fun. Ida Maria's lean pop songs have a familiar quality to them, and in lesser hands, could come off formulaic. But propelled by her raspy screams and howls, the group put together a fine mid-day set, especially "Oh My God," a tight bit of pop-punk made even better when Ida unzipped her animal-print dress (proudly revealing a maroon bra) and doused herself in water. Those Scandinavians sure know how to deal with Chicago in August.
-- Josh Noel
1:45 p.m. BMI stage
Arching trees shaded the path to the BMI stage, providing a pleasant, breezy setting for the stylishly raucous, boot-stomping set by singer/songwriter Sean Scolnick, aka Langhorne Slim--who played as a three piece with drums, bass and Scolnick on acoustic guitar. The seasoned showman engaged the crowd with a hootin’, hollerin’, hip-swingin' swagger, and even waded into the crowd to start a clap-along. He also had candid moments, joking about singing a version of “This Land is your Land” with Tool and recounting how his mom wouldn’t let him go to Lollapalooza as a kid. The sound, setting and songs aligned to create one rock-solid show, one of the better sets I’ve seen this year.
-- Erin Osmon
1:30 p.m. Vitamin Water stage
Frontman Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow set the record straight on Saturday: "We're a band, not one person. ... And Miike is spelled with two ii's." Good to know. The indie electro-pop group that put out some of my favorite remixes this year far exceeded my expectations as a live act. Their danceable tunes and shuttering synthesizers kept everyone moving in the early afternoon heat.
-- Sara Stewart
12:30 p.m. Budweiser stage
A sunny day band all the way, San Diego quintet Delta Spirit has an awful lot of soul for a band that doesn’t play soul music, with the group’s jangly, piano-spiked rock often becoming a cathartic experience. The band didn’t build a ton of momentum through their hour-long set, but the defiant stomp of “People C’Mon” made toe-tappers ask for mercy, while the heartfelt plea of closer “People, Turn Around” is the sort that makes old friends want to forgive each other.
-- Matt Pais
Noon Vitamin Water stage
The new-Americana, blues-folk and secular gospel offerings of this Providence-based trio of multi-instrumentalists was encapsulating. Their sweet yet powerful harmonies–tales of moonshine, box cars and lost love–hypnotized the small group of dedicated onlookers, whisking them away into visions of simpler times past. A few sound-issues aside, this was a lovely start to a sweaty Saturday at Lollapalooza.
-- Erin Osmon
11:45 a.m. PlayStation stage
A great example of truth in storytelling, Evanston native Ezra Furman crafts impeccably catchy tunes—sometimes sounding like a ‘60s songwriter tackling ‘80s punk—filled with terrifically precise details. (“Halloween Snow” tells of a relationship crumbling after accidentally boarding a flight to Africa instead of Japan, a great metaphor for a couple who winds up in a place they can’t handle.) At Lolla the energetic locals proved just how fun cleverness can be.
-- Matt Pais
What other people are saying...
jyarnall9581 from Chicago - August 12, 2009 at 10:13 AM
There seems to be a conspiracy in Chicago -- or at least at the Tribune -- to ignore Gomez. Something about well-crafted songs that don't all sound...
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