Friday:
Twenty One Pilots - C+
Arrived a couple of songs into the set. Let me say, I am a huge fan of these guys. Seriously emotionally charged music, deep lyrics, awesome beats. Interesting genre fusion too. But it seemed like they were more interested in jumping on things and doing backflips than making their music sound good. They totally underplayed their hit single, and didn't even sing it so much as spoke it. Ultimately I feel like they were more interested in entertaining an audience than delivering well performed music.
Band of Horses - B
While I'm familiar with the band and the sound, I don't know them that well. They sounded awesome live, but they also were slotted on a stage that was highly inappropriate for their style of music and much like the national I felt like I was more witnessing a show rather than participating. Not a huge connection between band and audience.
Imagine Dragons - F
Second time seeing these guys and a second disappointment. Impossible to get a good spot at, an atrocious crowd filled with lead singlites and bros, a terrible setlist selection, and most importantly when the band experienced technical difficulties during a power outage, they came back on stage and did absolutely nothing to regain their audience by playing the slowest song they have. Combine this all with their disingenuous "humble" attitude... I walked out.
New Order - A+
Best show of Lollapalooza. Most fans in the crowd were Killers fans in waiting, but Sumner & Co. made some conversions on the spot. The slightly overcast sky and the aura surrounding these legends made for a spectacular performance, and the performance of 'Atmosphere' with Ian Curtis on screen and the text 'Joy Division-New Order forever' sent chills down my spine. The pure emotion by Sumner on stage showed that 30some years might have passed but he won't forget. Brought a tear to my eye and I am forever grateful to have gotten to see this show.
The Killers - A
Third time I've seen these guys. Great show. One of my favorite bands. Amazing lights display. Grand stage presence as usual. Bernard Sumner came out and played Shadowplay which was kickass. Only downside to this show was the questionable set list. How you don't play Flesh and Bone and ditch so many other songs that they have for some of the stuff performed blew my mind. Oh, and no confetti cannon. I fucking love the confetti cannon.
Saturday:
Matt & Kim - B-
Biggest crowd I've ever seen for a show on this side stage. Sea of people, they had the crowd roaring too. But their set list was weak. Having seen them before, they didn't come with their A game. And when they faced technical difficulties, they cut the stuff the crowd wanted to hear and played what they wanted to play. Respect to that, but it didn't make the show any better. I thoroughly enjoyed it though.
Ellie Goulding - B-
She inherited the Matt & Kim crowd and it was a good one. Great performance but she seemed really full of stage fright, which led to a pretty slow start. Overall it was a fun show to watch but it was by no means something special.
The National - B
Love this band to death but it felt so distancing. The music is personal. The band is personal. The stage was not personal. You could physically see the emotion in the music but it was really hard to feel it. Really enjoyed it nonetheless, but I just felt a big old barrier the entire time.
The Postal Service - A-
Put on a great show. Not entirely crazy about them to begin with but they sure surprised me. The stage with that skyline and the cool air out, along with the feel-good music was spectacular. The major downfall was the lack of material to fill a set with. Instead of doing something interesting with that extra time, they just finished pretty early.
Sunday:
alt-J - A-
Took the plunge and fought for a good spot on this cursed stage. Finally it paid off. As I expected, alt-J was my favorite new artist of the festival. But... they did ask the crowd to sing along to a rather phonetically challenged song which didn't quite work out as they'd hoped. Overall though, great show.
Vampire Weekend - B+
Admittedly not a fan, but I really enjoyed the show. I felt very out of place though so I think my grade here might have a bit more bias than I desire.
The Cure - A+
Goes without saying. Left everybody I was with to seize this opportunity. Despite the questionable set, the crowd was roaring, the band was in fill force, and it felt like a real piece of history was sitting right in front of me. Glad I made this decision, hopefully ill get to see Phoenix soon enough.