(image, once again, by SaraE)
The Picture above kinda represents what we were doing for a big chunk on Sunday...Finding a shady tree and waiting till it was absolutely essential to go back out into the sun to see a band. As was widely reported, the temperature got to over 100 degrees BEFORE the heat index. It was absolutely brutal out there.
The night before we went to check out this Afterparty where Diamond Nights and Blonde Redhead played to a small, relatively private crowd. While seeing those bands in a little club was fun, It was hot, sweaty, drunk and way too New York for what I was hoping would be a weekend away from the likes of Addvice and Last Night's Party. Overall a pretty miserable experience for me, capped by the fact that I, of course, lost my camera there. A late night, followed by an excruciating 'El' ride back to the burbs did not leave me in the best of places for Sunday morning, but a couple of Sugar-Free Redbulls and a lot of great music was a good fix.
The Changes - We arrived at the park right around noon, and were in time to catch a good chunk of the local band The Changes, who were the only unsigned band playing the weekend aside from a battle of the bands winner on the Axillary "Planet" stage. These guys are very very good. I wish I could have caught their whole set. Surely they'll be back in NYC soon.
Kasabian - We got some lunch and sat under a tree behind the stage where Saul Williams was dong his thing, then walked over to catch Kasabian, who are actually really fucking great live. I was oversaturated by marketing and hype for them when they first started getting big in the states, and never could take them too seriously, but it's time to give credit where it's due and admit that these guys are actually very good.
Dinosaur Jr. - We walked over to the other Main Stage for Dino next, and found a somewhat shady spot to the left of the stage to watch. They blow me away with what they're still able to do. Loud and fast. If you weren't looking at them, you'd never guess that it looks like they've got two math teachers and Sean Connery from the beginning of "The Rock" up there. I could have done without seeing a topless Murph, but it was really really hot, so I'll let that slide.
Louis XIV/Tegan and Sara - We left towards the end of the Jr. set to go find some more much needed shade. Unfortunately, the best shade in the park was right next to Louis XIV, so I had to endure those creepmongers for a little while. Tegan and Sara went on nearby right after them, and we listened from behind the stage for a bit until about a half hour into the set, it was abruptly cut short, and I saw the girls being whisked away on a golf cart from backstage toward the Medical Tent. Apparently Sara got heatstroke and couldn't continue on. Poor girl, hope she's ok.
Drive-By Truckers - After that I met up with my buddy Jay and headed over to Watch the Truckers perform. I last saw them on New Years eve last year at Bowery and, while hazy, I was impressed. They were brilliant once again. Hearing "Puttin' People on the Moon" live sends chills down my spine. They were the best act of the day by far. And yes, that even includes the next band...
The Arcade Fire - Always amazing. Even their weakest set is better than 99.9% of what is out there today. And yes, this was the weakest I've seen them. Maybe it's because nothing could live up to the brilliance of their Coachella set, but they still played their hearts out and sounded amazing. (The mix was heavy on the violins, which was nice) It just didn't have the magic that was there the previous times I had seen them. They did play a beautiful new song, which featured a new bandmember on the French Freedom Horn. (as Win playfully calls it) At the end of the set, Win jumped into the crowd, never to return to the stage. The band finished up on their own, and maybe 5 minutes later, as we're about to head back to the shade, Win comes stumbling by us, hops the security fence and gets backstage. The man does not quit.
The Rest - I've been writing too long and the rest of the night was kind of a coast. We got something to eat and listened to Spoon from the shade. Then headed over to watch the Dandies play. Courtney is a pretty pretty man, but their set was pretty dull. Obvs, Anton and Matt H'Wood coming out was exciting, if not a little pre-fab. (Dandies have a new album coming out, after all, and Ondi was filming the fest for a documentary...) After they were done playing together, we headed to watch The Killers finish their set with a few old favorites. We finally went over to catch a little Death Cab before heading home. Long long day after a long night before, and I passed out pretty soon after getting back to Evenston.
Fun weekend tho. Despite the fact that I had seen most of the bands before, I still had a blast seeing most of them again.
Anyway, thank you thank you, Nora and your family for letting me stay at your house for the weekend. Jay, if you read this, it was great to chill for a little bit.
Chicago, I don't love you, but you treated me ok for most part. Just keep the temperature down next time, please. And if anyone out there was up in VIP at the Double Door Saturday night and found a little silver Cannon camera laying around, please e-mail me. Thanks.
All in all, it really was a very well run festival, and I commend Perry for getting it so right on the first try. Bravo.
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