The biggest Lollapalooza closed out in the as expected big way Sunday with enough music-related spectacle to keep even the most exhausted members of the crowd excited and moving. The day included notable debuts, striking looks, bands stepping up to the big time and a triumphant return.
The afternoon kicked off with the upbeat indie sounds Freelance Whales have been getting noticed for. The set went down two years to the day after the band was formed, and they brought a sense of fresh excitement as they powered through much of their debut album in order, trading instruments all along the way.
Next came the much heralded American debut of X Japan, who musically arrived 25 years late. The band who built their legend during the reign of hair metal bands have toned down their looks a bit since then still came out looking the part and dressed to rock. Plenty of die hard fans sang every word upfront, and the sounds perfectly captured the era when power-pop-metal ruled things.
Incongruously up next across the park, Erykah Badu brought a touch of divinity to Chicago’s Grant Park as she and her on point band got deep into things. Just look up there at the platinum blonde hair being rocked, Erykah did not come to mess around. But it’s not as if she didn’t come to have plenty of fun, and her powerful voice, and equally powerful persona commanded the right mood for the songs and improvised moments she served up.
The crowd at the north end of the festival was probably as packed as it had been all weekend when MGMT took the stage and the crowd surfing and riotous party atmosphere commenced as soon as they walked out. This crowd seemed like they’d been waiting all weekend for this band, and with their expanded sound coming from their expanded line up, MGMT seemed like they’d been waiting a long time to take control of a crowd like this. Sing alongs ensued to “Kids” and “Electric Feel” and the crowd surged along with the entire, extended set.
Ready to match MGMT’s intensity, if not quite their up front energy, The National rose and fell with Matt Berninger’s boozy tales of dark spaces and trapped emotion. The National’s sound works both big and small, and while Berninger still doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself when not pour out his lyrics, his presence matches the mood. Arcade Fire’s Richard Parry even warmed up for his own set sitting in with the band for a few songs.
Five years ago, Arcade Fire staked their claim as a big time, big stage band when they played the first Lollapalooza to settle into Grant Park. This year they returned to claim the headline slot they earned back then. Even with Soundgarden’s deep thrumming resounding from close to a mile away at the opposite end of the park, Arcade Fire took over. The band’s songs can be weighty and drawn out in their recorded forms, but Arcade Fire play them live as they’ll never ever be allowed to play them again, and songs from all three of their albums came across the same intensity of purpose. This is a band that doesn’t need any fancy staging to put on a memorably great show, they probably don’t even need their instruments. Fittingly, they closed out the weekend on a grand scale as the entire crowd joined in on an anthemic rendition of their most recognizable song “Wake Up” and it was hard to tell if the crowd or the band was more into it.
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