Lollapalooza- Day 2
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Grant Park/ Chicago, IL
posted 8/11
Review by Andy Argyrakis and Kathryn Randall, Photos by Jeff Niesel and Andy Argyrakis
Very few acts could follow the cinematic mindset of Lady Gaga from the previous evening, but as Saturday’s sun set, it was apparent that Green Day could carry the charismatic torch. Backed by a set overflowing with pyro and sky high fireworks, the trio consisting of front man Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool fired on all cylinders, while blazing through a career spanning set that clocked in well over the two hour mark.
The marathon-like generosity seemed sincere as Armstrong in particular raced around the stage like a guy half his age, belting out a series of war cries like “Song the Century,” “Know Your Enemy” and “Holiday.” As has been the case throughout the 2000s thus far, the group’s material is decidedly political in nature, though this time through town, there was plenty of celebrating to be done given the administration shift.
Thankfully though, Green Day let the music do most of the talking, recalling everything from yesteryear’s angst-ridden fist pumpers like “Longview” and “Basket Case” to the militant “21 Guns” and the pummeling “Minority.” Though not as urgent as it was during the Bush era, “American Idiot” at least served as a rousing sample from the band’s Broadway musical of the same name, while the acoustic ballad “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) became a blissful moment of communal bonding.
Across the field at the same time, dance poppers Phoenix struggled to exude the same amount of stage presence, and considering the group’s tunes are tailored to clubs, the France-bred band couldn’t quite command the attention of co-headlining caliber. Goth-tinged punk rockers AFI are still drawing massive crowds despite little variation over the years, but its easy to see why given its balls to the wall performance aptitude. The same could be said about Social Distortion, who as punk’s elder statesmen on the bill, showed off the genre’s true grit to teens (as opposed to the watered down mall version).
Those who showed up early enough were able to catch London buzz band The xx, yet another electronica-centered act whose beats were bold and hypnotic. A few hours later, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros unfurled an ultra-eclectic indie/hippie multi-instrumental mix that fell somewhere in between Arcade Fire and The Flaming Lips, suggesting they’ll moving way up the scheduling ladder come next year.
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