Windy City Dispatch: 2011 Lollapalooza 20th Anniversary Review
“People dancing, people laughing
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs
Eh curare! Itza nice Ey!
Can you dig it (yes, I can)
And I’ve been waiting such a long time
For Saturday
Saturday in the park”
Chicago, “Saturday in the Park” off their 1972 album Chicago V
My experience from Lollapalooza was just that: A Saturday in the Park but I was wishing it was Pitchfork instead of the Fourth of July. DO NOT get me wrong. Lollapalooza is a grand time with a myriad of bands to chose from, but the convenience of a Saturday stroll is out of the question.
The distance between the Music Unlimited and the Bud Light (two main stages) is costly. Game plans and band map out sessions need to be considered very strategically. At Pitchfork you could see the completion of a set and do not have to worry about stressing over missing the beginning of the next. The beast that is Lollapalooza controls you and causes you to make quick decisions based on if you are “feelin’ or not” because of location. I have been going since the beginning of college and enjoy how big the crowds are but intimacy is cherished after a day in Grant Park.
I drove up to Chicago on Friday to catch the Local Natives / Walk the Moon set at Lincoln Hall on Friday and my only ambition was to catch Saturday at Lollapalooza and head back to Indianapolis before My Morning Jacket on Sunday. One and done in the festival scene and believe me….I got all I needed.
Comfort and convenience aside, I had a splendid time seeing some great live bands. Many of which I had been waiting to see for a long time which was an added bonus.
My day:
1:00 PM – J Roddy Walston and the Business – Playstation Stage
2:30 PM – Phantogram – Sony Stage
3:15 PM – Friendly Fires – Bud Light Stage
4:30 PM – Dom – Google+ Stage….side: Only saw a song or two. I saw their after show on Saturday night so it was not priority. Food and bathroom were paramount at this point
5:45 PM – Drums – Google+ Stage
6:30 PM – Local Natives – Sony Stage
8:15 PM – Lykke Li – Google+ Stage
9:45 PM – Beirut – Google+ Stage
I just realized I saw more bands than I thought after compiling this list. Totaling out at 8 is a very good day. I will bet my life I would not have been able to do this if I had gone on Friday.
Key notes:
- The crowd at Local Natives was the biggest crowd of the day that I noticed. It brought a tear to my eye that a band I had been following since the beginning was finally it.
- The Friendly Fires show was a sweatbox. They came with energy and I was thrilled they delivered. A dance circle was created by my crew. It took off. About 20 strangers participating in a jig fest to a band we all love – Can’t beat that
- Sarah Barthel from Phantogram might be the hottest Alt chick out there
- Beirut was not as cool as I expected
- Lykke Li owns me
Thank you Lollapalooza. It was another Saturday in the park but next time I’ll be waiting for July (Pitchfork Festival 2o12)
Written and experienced by Brett McGrath
Concert Review: MOKB Presents My Morning Jacket: Indianapolis, August 7, 2011
My Morning Jacket brought their traveling circus to Indianapolis’ White River State Park on Sunday night. The band played a mammoth 23-song set just a day after headlining Chicago’s 20th Anniversary Lollapalooza festival, adhering to the motto: You don’t take nights off while conquering the world.
The concert was a homecoming for the band’s long-time guitarist Carl Broemel. A graduate of Pike High School, Broemel grew up playing in local band Old Pike before studying guitar at IU. My Morning Jacket picked him up in 2004 after two of the band’s members had quit. He has since carved out an important niche in the Jim James led outfit, lending his talents on guitar, saxophone, vocals and lap steel.
Tracks from My Morning Jacket’s latest summer soundtrack Circuital dominated the setlist Sunday night. The band looked a tad drowsy on the first few songs of the evening but throttled into high gear shortly thereafter. By the time they played “Mahgeetah” from 2003’s It Still Moves The Lawn had reached full-on party mode.
This is a band that displays clearly its ten years of experience. They hit on every cylinder with a catalog of songs that span an astonishing range of genres—the mish mash of sounds are all bound together by James. His vocal influence can be felt on so many of today’s hottest acts.
James stands alone in his natural born ability to entertain. He has learned over the years when to push an audience’s buttons. When to dance like a mad man. He wears his heart on his sleeve, constantly offering an emotional earnestness to the crowd that often seems false or contrived with other performers. It is James’ ability to constantly appear genuine that allows My Morning Jacket to frolic so boldly from style to style without alienating their audience.
A decade in their rear view, these guys are fucking rock stars with serious chops. This ship will continue sailing as long as the band can tolerate each other. If Sunday night was any indication, they are all having entirely too much fun to hop off the bus any time soon.
Written and experienced by Rob Peoni
Top photograph courtesy of Sam Kowal.
Inset photograph courtesy of Michael Stephenson.
Click HERE for previous Thought on Tracks coverage of My Morning Jacket.
Thought on Tracks 
Oranje: Naptown’s Craziest Ten-Year-Old
The first few weeks in September tend to be the busiest of Indianapolis’ arts and social calendar. Penrod. French Market. Greek Fest. Irish Fest. Jazz Fest. Art vs. Art. The list goes on. September is possibly the only month that Hoosiers can rely upon consistent, pleasant weather. The humidity of Indiana’s swampy summer is usually behind us. But enough warmth remains for scantily clad nights on the town.
The unfortunate part about jamming some of the city’s most well attended artistic events together is that sacrifices must be made. This year, as I have for the last several, my Saturday night was spent at Oranje. The evening marked the tenth anniversary for the event that bills itself as “Indiana’s Premier Arts & Music Explosion.” Explosion proves an adequate description.
Oranje can be overwhelming. More than 30 musicians and 40 artists fill and surround a warehouse at 23rd and Illinois for a veritable feast of the senses. A whirlwind of sights, sounds and tastes combine for one of Indianapolis’ can’t miss parties. At its best, my memories of the evening wind up a blur of experiences that I rarely separate into individual performances. They all merge together into a single, enjoyable mind fuck.
From an outsider’s perspective, Oranje seems like our city’s ill-fated attempt at trendy, artistic expression. And to some extent all the necessary clichés are in place—half-naked hipsters, experimental music, interactive exhibits. Non-natives may wonder what original thought Hoosiers could offer such a scene. Those who have attended know better.
I always leave Oranje motivated and inspired. This city is home to so many talented, interesting minds. In a state that prides itself on our small government, public funding of the arts is scarce. But the relative low cost of living allows artists to thrive for a fraction of the cost that larger cities, like New York and Los Angeles, demand. What Indianapolis needs to improve upon is providing these artists with a voice. Oranje accomplishes this in spades, but it’s not enough.
Indy’s residents should not wait until the second weekend in September to take in the arts. Terrific, worthwhile events take place all over this city every week of the year. Indianapolis’ greatest strength is arguably its accessibility. We can get almost anywhere in twenty minutes. We can park. With such opportunities all within arm’s reach, there is no excuse for failing to take advantage of all that Indy has to offer.
I thank the Oranje crew for the massive amount of planning and hard work that goes into this annual bash. Their contribution to the Indianapolis art scene over the last decade has opened a lot of local eyes. Now we’ve got to keep those eyes open and get them out of the house before next September. Let’s face it, folks. The Colts are not getting any better. Luckily for us, there’s more than football in Indiana.
Written by Rob Peoni
Photos by Katie Kirkhoff