Dreary with a chance of brilliance
In typical Lolla fashion, the kickstarter of the three-day fest was doomed with a downpour, but it didn’t stop ardent music fans in the slightest. Lollapalooza the brainchild of Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell made its debut back in 1991, and now over 20 yeas later is a staple of the libations and inhibitions that go along summer and good ol’ fashion rock n’ roll.
With an eclectic grouping of artists from nearly every genre imaginable, on nine stages, the sonic brilliance that emerged was the best this side of the Mississippi.
The Las Vegas based Imagine Dragons brought their airy and melodic sound to the Lake Shore stage. Their music, inspired through emotional highs and lows, resonated deeply with the crowd. When the first notes of “Radioactive” rang out, nearly every concert go began signing along.
And of course, Queens of the Stone Age, took the Bud Light stage by storm. Always the showmen, their set was flawless. Hearing them play any tune off “Songs for the Death” is a memorable event equivalent to the birth of one’s first child. Throughout the entire performance Joushua Homme didn’t miss a beat and kept the energy levels high.
Closing out the first night of Lollapalooza were Nine Inch Nails, Lana Del Rey and The Killers, with the acts like this it became quite the conundrum for deciding, which one to catch. If you were anything like us, it was a mad dash running between stages to at least catch a bit of each, which was quite a feat given that NIN and The Killers were at opposite ends of Grant Park.
Artists we’re sad we missed:
The Neighbourhood
Twenty One Pilots
Timeflies
Hey Marsellies
Modstep
