Lollapalooza 2007
Day 3
Sunday August 5th
Grant Park, Chicago, IL
Words by Cameron Cook
Photos by Abbey Braden

The Cribs, 12:15PM, Bud Light Stage

The Cribs. DIY heroes, new wave Brit-pop legends, or simply best band in the world, their opening Bud Light Stage set was as immediately essential as anything else they've ever created. If the world were a perfect place, they'd be headlining the entire shindig, instead of some grunge band from 15 years ago, but we guess there'd also be no global warming and Al Gore would be getting ready to end his two-term presidency, so we suppose you can't win 'em all. The new record stood up to the classic tunes, and the crowd, made up of old fans and new recruits, lapped up every note ("It's so nice to be here," sneered guitarist Ryan Jarman midway through the performance). "Hey Scenesters!", predictably, gets the biggest crowd response, but probable future single "Our Bovine Public" steals the show. As always the band end with the epic singalong "The Wrong Way To Be", and all is right in the world. It saddens us that this band will probably never fully get the acclaim and respect it deserves, however they'll always be OUR band, and that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Rodrigo y Gabriela, 1:15PM, Adidas Stage

What do you get when you cross two Mexican metalhead lovebrids and the complex art of the Spanish guitar? A crowd of hundreds of people with their jaws on Grant Park's muddy pavement. Rodrigo (clad in a black and purple Testament T-shirt, thank you very much) y Gabriela totally wowed us with their completely virtuoso musicianship and their command of a crowd who obviously adored them (more than one giant Mexican flag was spotted). Now we understand why so many people flipped their shit when some of their recent NYC dates were cancelled. Fucking brilliant stuff--how can you resist when a sexy, extremely talented guitar player incites the audience by saying: "This next tune doesn't have a name, but feel free to dance like a fucking lunatic?"

Los Campesinos!, 2:15PM, Playstation Stage

(Gareth from Los Campesinos! running around the crowd during "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks")

"Can I get less Amy Winehouse in my monitor please?" Seven-headed Welsh indie pop newcomers Los Campesinos! are a little miffed that a certain British soul songstress' every note can be heard from across the field on the Bud Light Stage during their performance, but they don't let it mar their 45-minute set (shortened even more by mysterious technical problems). We're a little surprised that a group of frat boys wearing polo shirts (yes, popped collars) were as excited as us to check out a British twee outfit who name songs things like: "You! Me! Dancing!" but hey, there's more than enough love to go around. Los Camps blasted through a shitload of superbly summery songs about mix tapes and bedroom dancing, and when they ended the set with "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks" and front man Gareth Campesinos! jumped into the crowd to start a dance circle, we remembered why we go to these things in the first place: amazing bands.

Kings of Leon, 4:15PM, AT&T Stage

Peter Bjorn & John, 5:00PM, Citi Stage

Flosstradamus, 6:00PM, MOTO Mindfield

Clips we identified in Flosstradamus' video projections: Wet Hot American Summer, Diablo, Ernest Goes To Jail, Dinosaurs, Total Recall, Men In Black, Super Nanny, Muppet Babies...

Feel-good DJs are hard to come by, but Flosstradamus got the party started in the Mindfield (we don't know either) with a bumpin' DJ set before their rapper protege?© Kid Sister took the stage. Beastie Boys, Daft Punk, Soulwax, House of Pain and Salt 'N' Pepa were all mixed and mashed to everyone's glee and, when the Floss brandished a T-shirt cannon, well, things got a little crazy.

Modest Mouse, 6:015PM, Bud Light Stage

TV on the Radio, 8:00PM, MySpace Stage

PISSED WE MISSED: Smoosh at the BMI Stage

We ended up blowing off Pearl jam to avoid the mass exodus from the fairgrounds, thus ending our most physically demanding and emotionally rewarding festival experience to date. Thanks for the good times Lolla, and see you next year...