So I am home, somewhat rested and have finally eaten a meal that is not made of granola and am thus in some sort of condition to wrap up that which was Lollapalooza 2006.

In short, it was an amazing and exhausting experience. The concentration of talent at Grant Park this past weekend was almost obscene, with dozens of bands that could easily sell out medium to large venues on a single bill. For me, the draws were split pretty evenly between favourites I’d seen numerous times before (Wilco, Broken Social Scene, My Morning Jacket) and others I was a fan of but had never seen for whatever reason (Sonic Youth, Built To Spill, The Flaming Lips). And if I could squeeze in some new up-and-comers (Husky Rescue, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Hot Chip), then so much the better.

But festivals do strange things to your attention span. No matter how much you love the band that’s currently playing, there’s that little voice in back of your mind saying, “but you’re going to miss (whatever band is slated to start in ten mintues on the other side of the park)” and for fear of missing out on something magical, that little voice usually wins. Of course, the photo pit policy of three songs and you’re out certainly helped get you thinking about what your next destination was – most times I would just mosey away from the stage while taking in another two or three songs but only a few times did I find somewhere in the audience to plant myself and just enjoy the music. But don’t think I didn’t enjoy what I did see – yeah, I may have missed some of one set but I made up for it with some of another.

And let me also say that the photo pass has completely spoiled me for festivals. Being able to bypass the crowds almost entirely (though the photo pit can get just as crowded as the audience) was a real perk – always front row centre… until they throw you out. Then there’s the free water and (really nasty) energy bars, moderate backstage access, golf cart expresses from one end of the park to the other… yes. Spoiled.

But overall, Lollapalooza has turned me around on the festival thing. No doubt the fact that from my POV it was superbly organized and executed and the weather almost ideal has something to do with it, but for all the negative points I had in my head beforehand – the exhaustion, lousy expensive food, inch-thick layer of sweat and grime on one’s body – I had forgotten the biggest positive, which is the music. I will always love the dank, intimate club shows but there’s something about the right artist on a big stage in front of a huge crowd under the late afternoon sun. It can be something to behold.

I still don’t see festivals like Lolla becoming a staple of my live music diet. The logistics and costs of the American ones (Coachella, Bonnaroo, Sasquatch, ACL, Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot et al) are too prohibitive for me to consider doing more than one or so a year, but the local ones like Hillside, Olympic Island and the upcoming Virgin Festival? Maybe so, maybe so, even though by day three I am more than reminded of my age.

I’d like to say hi and thanks to all the other bloggers whom I hung out with at the festival – Stereogum, Village Indian, Muzzle Of Bees, Scenestars, My Old Kentucky Blog and Can You See The Sunset From The Southside – some were old acquaintances, some new, but all good company and all of whom have their own Lollapalooza coverage up on their sites. And I would be remiss if I didn’t thank those who made the trip possible for me – namely AT&T’s Project D.U. for getting me the press and photo pit access, festival organizers Capital Sports & Entertainment for helping out with lodging, information and probably loads more that I took for granted and AT&T’s Blue Room for providing internet facilities from which I didn’t live blog the fest.

Naturally, reviews of Lollapalooza abound but there’s some more extensive pieces at The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times and CNN. USA Today‘s Pop Candy has some wrap-up lists, LiveDaily has a review and Pitchfork was there (but if that was “fewer ironic t-shirts”, then I shudder to think what a younger audience would have been wearing) and true to form, are the only ones who would declare the Flaming Lips set “a disaster”. In a way I can see where they’re coming from, but come on – lighten up. And local scribe Stuart Berman recaps the festival at Are You Familiar. The Toronto Star was also there.

Work on the photo galleries continues apace – I got a LOT of good shots, another reason to love the photo pass/pit – but in the meatine the Flickr set has been updated again with some crowd shots and general shots from around Lollapalooza. And I’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow. Thanks.

Oh my God, is it over yet?

Shockingly, I made it to Grant Park early on the final day of the festival so I was well in place to see What Made Milwaukee Famous kick things off. Hailing from Austin, I got a copy of their debut CD Trying To Never Catch Up last week and while I haven’t listened heavily, it was interesting enough that they’re on my radar. Purveyors of fairly synthy indie pop, I liked what I heard and will have to make a point of giving the record some more attention. I had to bail after just a couple songs, though, as there was something special going down over at the Kidzapalooza stage.

MP3: What Made Milwaukee Famous – “Idecide”
MySpace: What Made Milwaukee Famous

Patti Smith had been a late addition to the festival and was slated to play the Kidz stage, coming straight from the airport. Not surprisingly she was delayed so to fill in time, festival organizer Perry Farrell and Porno For Pyros cohort Peter DiStefano jammed out a number of tunes including some PfP songs – those certainly took me back to high school. Farrell is an odd duck, that’s for sure, especially around small children.

MySpace: Porno For Pyros

And when Patti Smith finally did arrive, she played a few songs but unfortunately, my schedule called me elsewhere after just two numbers. But still, it was quite cool to be in the presence of someone so legendary and influential. I guess she heard what I wrote about Sonic Youth yesterday and decided to one-up them.

MySpace: Patti Smith

And then it was back to the Q101 stage for The Hold Steady. Yeah, I just saw them on Monday but I was already pretty anxious to see them again. And they did not disappoint – it’s rare the band that is equally at home in the dark, sweaty club and the festival stage but The Hold Steady somehow pull it off. So much fun.

MP3: The Hold Steady – “Your Little Hoodrat Friend”
Video: The Hold Steady – “Your Little Hoodrat Friend” (You Tube)
MySpace: The Hold Steady

People from all over have been telling me to get into Hot Chip. I’ve got at least three of their records in a pile somewhere, so I have no excuse, and after seeing their live show, I now have some motivation. There’s something about an electronic band that makes the effort to create a solid, organic live experience – when they do it right, it’s almost always terrific. Which is a roundabout way of saying Hot Chip was terrific live. Tight, dancable but surprisingly soulful. Those records will be getting dug out of their piles when I get home

Video: Hot Chip – “Over And Over”
MySpace: Hot Chip

There was quite a surprisingly large turnout for Andrew Bird but I suspect a lot of the crowd didn’t know who he was. He was just, you know, convenient. I was there because I really enjoyed seeing him open for The Magnetic Fields a couple years ago. This time he played with a drummer but even so, he was still very much a one-man orchestra. It’s fascinating to watch him work and multitask, handling violin, guitar, glockenspiel, looper and voice, both singing and whistling, is mesmerizing. The fact that he crafts beautiful songs as well is just unfair.

MP3: Andrew Bird – “A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left”
MySpace: Andrew Bird

I managed to dodge the Death Cab on Friday but was hip deep in the indie kids yesterday for The Shins. They’re not a band you would expect to own the festival stage but they did quite well up there. They don’t do rock spectacle but in taking the friendly, chatty approach and making the kids feel like their lives are changing, they did fine. Blending old favourites with new material from the forthcoming Sleeping Lessons (which sounded just fine and Shins-y and is apparently out January-ish), they offered a nice soundtrack to sitting under a tree, gently drifting off. Which is pretty much what I did.

MP3: The Shins -“Kissing The Lipless”
Video: The Shins – “Saint Simon”
MySpace: The Shins

Ah, Wilco. I had hoped that a homecoming show for them would be extra-special, and I was not disappointed. The sea of adoring fans who gathered to see them was nothing short of astonishing – hasn’t this town ever heard of backlash? But the love was reciprocated by the band and they turned in a glorious late afternoon set. In addition to the three new songs they’d been playing on the Canadian tour, they broke out another new one which also sounded great. It was really a shame that I had to catch a golf cart shuttle down to the other end of Grant Park before their set ended – but as the day and festival were winding down, time was of the essence. And anyway, I had my own hometown show to get to.

MP3: Wilco – “Impossible Germany” (live in Milwaukee 2006-07-05)
MySpace: Wilco

I’ve always wondered what Broken Social Scene was like on the road. When they play Toronto, I’ve always thought they maybe take advantage of the adulation of the home crowd to get a little too shambolic or plain messed up. Surely the road audiences wouldn’t be so indulgent? As it turns out there’d be no need – they brought their entire roster, 16 strong by my count and all four BSS ladies, and their A-game. I’ve always thought that Broken Social relies on a certain random chemistry to work their magic live and on this night, they were awash in it. Seriously, there was something amazing happening onstage – indescribable. The band knew it and the audience knew it. I was so dismayed that I had to tear myself away to fight my way into the last photo pit of the night – watching the band on the video screen as I pushed and elbowed my way through the great unwashed I could see, even without being able to hear, that something special happening back there. In hindsight I think I would have rather had my festival end with Broken Social. I really hope that a recording of that set makes it out – I need to hear the whole thing.

Video: Broken Social Scene – “Fire Eye’d Boy” (MOV)
MySpace: Broken Social Scene

Though at first I thought the choice of the Red Hot Chili Peppers as festival closers was a little dated, on second thought it’s pretty canny. They’re veterans, so it can be argued they earned it, and yet they still sell tons of records. They’ve got top 40 cred, alternative cred, and thanks to the generation who grew up in the 90s with Blood Sugar Sex Magic, they’ve got indie/nostalgia cred. Of course, I haven’t heard hardly anything they’ve done since, oh, 1994, but that’s okay. As it turned out, I only stuck around for the first three songs of the set – the pit was super crowded and the mood from the crowd was pretty dark and aggressive. People were getting crushed against the barricade, hurled over the barricade, manhandled by security… yeah. Arena rock, I guess. Not my scene at all. The Peppers were terrific from what I saw – super tight and John Frusciante was on fire – but watching the scene from the safety of the media area, it was kind of hard to reconcile the chaos below with the almost uniformly great vibes that had permeated the fest till that point. I’m sure most in attendance will say it was great, but I was kind of happy to get out of there – and not just because I was completely wiped out.

Video: Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Dani California” (YouTube)
MySpace: Red Hot Chili Peppers

And that’s Lollapalooza 2006. What a thing. I will be back with a proper wrap-up post tomorrow, but for now, once again, check out Flickr for a photo of each performer I saw yesterday. I’ll let you know when the full photosets are up, but the grand total is somewhere around 10GB now so… be patient.

And now? I want to go home.

Lollapalooza day two!

I was a little late getting started yesterday morning and Be Your Own Pet’s noon-hour set was the casualty. The first band I did catch was Cold War Kids, who are something of a blog favourite – a fact that didn’t really bode well for them considering how often my tastes fall in line with the buzz du jour. What they were, to me, was Modest Mouse covering soul tunes. Does Isaac Brock know how many bands are stealing his singing style? Or lack thereof? Perplexing. Anyway, they were alright. Nothing astonishing, but alright.

MP3: Cold War Kids – “Hospital Beds”
Video: Cold War Kids – “Hair Down” (YouTube)
MySpace: Cold War Kids

Geography would dictate much of my schedule for this day, hence The Go! Team – playing right next door to where the Cold War Kids were – got the nod over Feist, who was way the hell on the other side of the park. Their live show is somewhat legendary and now that I’ve witnessed it, I’ll fall in line. Super fun, super high energy and really good tunes, in that hip-hop/disco/dance/garage/sould kinda way. They got the crowd involved with singalongs, call-and-response, dancing, etc. Even the clown troupe in audience got into the groove and you know how dour clowns can be. Definitely a good time.

MP3: The Go! Team – “Bottle Rocket”
Video: The Go! Team – “Ladyflash” (YouTube)
MySpace: The Go! Team

Then it was hoofing it way across the park for Built To Spill. Their (alleged by me) hatred for Toronto is well-documented so they pretty much topped the list of must-see bands I’ve never seen and this would likely be my best opportunity to rectify that. As it turns out, they’re not the most charismatic performers but hearing the 3-headed guitar orgy and great tunes live was still a treat. And they were (surprisingly) the first band I’d heard to make a point about the corporate sponsorship of the festival, telling the crowd that Budweiser didn’t actually care about them. Which is unfair. Budweiser is a big company. Surely SOMEONE there is a Built To Spill fan.

MP3: Built To Spill – “Liar”
Video: Built To Spill – “Conventional Wisdom”
MySpace: Built To Spill

Geography came into play again as I opted for Calexico over Wolfmother even though I had seen them almost exactly one month ago. This time the guest appearance of Salvador Duran, who so spiced up their tour with Iron & Wine last year, was an unexpected treat though Sam Beam, who played yesterday, declined to make an appearance. But Nicolai Dunger, whom I’m no particular fan of, did guest on their “Alone Again Or”, which was naturally dedicated to the late Arthur Lee. When Calexico becomes a fallback act, you know you’re dealing with a loaded lineup.

MP3: Calexico – “Cruel”
Video: Calexico – “Cruel” (MOV)
MySpace: Calexico

Another band I’d never seen before was Sonic Youth and while not nearly the most devout fan, I was more than happy to get the chance. Probably the band at the festival most deserving of the adjective “legendary”, they proved they could still teach bands half their age a thing or two about putting on a killer show. They drew heavily on Rather Ripped – which suited me fine – and sounded fantastic with far more energy than I would have expected from an act that looked as grizzled as they do (the telephoto lens doesn’t lie). Kim Gordon, in particular, was a dancing machine. Handing off most bass duties to ex-Pavementer Mark Ibold has really freed her up to get in touch with her inner pogo-er. Fantastic.

MP3: Sonic Youth – “Incinerate”
Video: Sonic Youth – “Incinerate” (YouTube)
MySpace: Sonic Youth

The next time slot didn’t have anything of real appeal to me so I wandered to the closest stage which would be featuring The Dresden Dolls. They’re advertised as punk cabaret and that’s really as apt a description as any – the two piece, a drummer and pianist, dress in whiteface and cabaret makeup and play, well, punkish cabaret music. Dramatic, theatrical and definitely entertaining, their set was livened up by an accidental (?) n!p slip conveniently right after the photo pit cleared out. The band also has an almost frighteningly rabid fanbase – one girl pressed up against the barricade declared, unprompted, that she would let singer/pianist Amanda Palmer spit on her.

MP3: The Dresden Dolls – “Backstabber”
Video: The Dresden Dolls – “Sing” (YouTube)
MySpace: The Dresden Dolls

By now, everyone knows what to expect from a Flaming Lips show – the giant bubble, the costumed dancers, the confetti guns – and yet even though you know what’s coming, if you haven’t seen it before as I haven’t (or even if you have), it’s still spectacular. The bubble was actually less elegant than I’d expected – I thought Wayne Coyne would be walking more than being buffetted around helplessly, but that made it all the more endearing. And I’d mistakenly dismissed the musical aspect of the show, expecting them to rely heavily on tapes and concentrate more on the theatricality of it all. And while there’s no doubt they’ve spent a lot of time on the costumes and whatnot (in attendance – Martian dancing girls, an army of Santa Clauses and the Justice League), I was pleasantly surprised how much the band actually plays and performs. Simply marvelous and though it’s almost cliche to say, the highlight of the day.

Video: The Flaming Lips – “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song”
MySpace: The Flaming Lips

The New Pornographers drew a much larger crowd than I expected, a fact that did my Canadian heart proud. It was also nice to see them garnering the attention they did without the “big name draws” of Neko Case and Dan Bejar in the lineup – while they’re somewhat lessened in stage presence by their absence, the core lineup still sounds excellent. I didn’t stick around that long – the opportunity to rest up before the evening’s finale was too tempting to pass up. But I could hear the Pornos from the media tent – at least until the crowd gathered at the big stage started chanting “Kanye, Kanye”.

MP3: The New Pornographers – “Twin Cinema”
Video: The New Pornographers – “Sing Me Spanish Techo” (iFilm)
MySpace: The New Pornographers

A year and a half ago, I said I had no idea who Kanye West was. Now, I know that a) he’s from Chicago, b) he headlined day 2 of Lollapalooza and c) he doesn’t think that George Bush cares about black people. The crowd was apeshit for him but after being hustled out of the photo pit with the rest of the camera brigade, I couldn’t bring myself to fight my way back into the crowd to see the rest of the show, and just listened from in back. He had an orchestra with him. Sounded nice.

MySpace: Kanye West

Photos from day 2 have been added to my Flickr set. Another 3.5 GB of photos to go through next week. Huzzah!

Today is the final day of the festival and as you might imagine, I’m about ready to crash hard. But I can keep it going for another 12 hours or so until this all wraps up proper and celebratory-like.

No preamble. Let’s just get right into it.

I chose Brit kiddies The Subways to open up Lollapalooza for me – their stage was the closest to where I was physically located and having seen them in Amsterdam earlier this year, I knew that their high-energy pop-punk would be a good way to kick things off. Their “Hello Lollapalooza!” would the first of many I would be hearing throughout the day. It was pretty amazing to see the size and enthusiasm of the crowd that had shown up so early in the day – definitely an auspicious beginning. Lead singer Billy Lunn seems to have gotten over the throat ailments that had them cancelling shows left, right and centre because he was in fine screaming form. Still not a band whose record I’d bother with, but definitely fun to see live.

Video: The Subways – “Rock’N’Roll Queen”
MySpace: The Subways

I had planned on seeing Finland’s Husky Rescue in Toronto tomorrow night but Instead I was seeing them here in Chicago. Their cool, Nordic sounds were a nice counterpoint to the Subways and considering how electronic their recorded output is, their live show was very tight and organic. Understated but with an undeniable sass. I mentioned yesterday that Lolla is mostly about the big, established acts but it was nice to see someone new step up and deliver as well. Grab an MP3 for “New Light Of Tomorrow” in the Stimuli section of the Minty Fresh website and check out their session for Minnesota Public Radio.

Video: Husky Rescue – “Summertime Cowboy” (SWF)
MySpace: Husky Rescue

Eels, I had just seen a couple months ago but they’re definitely an entertaining live band so they got the nod for their timeslot (and there wasn’t a lot of competition, either). Their wacky-ass live schtick isn’t as bewlidering the second time around but perhaps because of that, they were more enjoyable musically. Alas the photo pit’s 3-song limit was up just before Crazy Al went into his karate man routine.

MP3: Eels – “Sweet L’il Thing”
MySpace: Eels

There was a pretty strong Torontonian Arts & Crafts contingent at the festival this year – first up was Stars. While it was good to see them again, it’s been a while, I can’t decide if the big festival stage really suits them. In that sort of environment (and in the blazing daylight), their songs lose some of their intimacy. The still sound great, don’t get me wrong, and I don’t think Torq would ever say there’s a stage too big for him, but I think I prefer to see them somewhere cozier.

Video: Stars – “Sleep Tonight” (MOV)
MySpace: Stars

I only stuck around for a few songs of Ryan Adams’ set – too much else to see and if he wasn’t going to bring Elton John out as a special guest, then it wouldn’t be as good a show as the last time I saw him. Not surprisingly, I didn’t recognize most of what he played – I think he’s released like 14 albums since I last really paid attention to him – but he sounded good and his band is tight and the one song I did know, “Dear Chicago”, was well-received (naturally) and well played. I was only there for about 10 minutes but I think he released a couple of EPs in that span. There’s a new song streaming on his web page.

Video: Ryan Adams – “So Alive” (YouTube)
MySpace: Ryan Adams

I made a pit stop between stages to see Mates Of State and in the blazing sunshine, it was kind of painful to watch Kori Gardner’s sunburn grow before our eyes. Withing two songs she was turning scarlet red. Ouch. But for those of us with pigment and sporting sunscreen, they were great fun – interesting how they’re both able to be fully animated and engaging performers even though they can’t move from their instruments at all.

MP3: Mates Of State – “Fraud In The 80s”
Video: Mates Of State – “Fraud In The 80s” (MOV)
MySpace: Mates Of State

The Secret Machines have a reputation for a superb live show including light show, etc so I was wondering how they’d pull that off in the bright daylight – well it turns out their time slot was well-chosen as the setting sun not only bathed the band in gorgeous, golden light but was low enough that the synchronized stage lights were effectively dramatic. And their thunderous, epic-style rock was tailor-made for the festival stage. The three-song rule in the pit was changed to two songs on account of the fact that their songs are about 20 minutes long each.

Video: The Secret Machines – “All At Once” (MOV)
MySpace: The Secret Machines

My Morning Jacket were the first band I stayed and watched for more than 4 or 5 songs. Hey, the go-go-go pace of these things encourages a short attention span. But I’m glad I slowed down for their set because it was really just what I needed right then. Even though they opened with “At Dawn”, thing started a little bit slow but quickly revved up to awesome as they went on. Jim James shared his own memories of going to Lollapalooza as a teen, making me realize that a) this was now a generational event, and b) I’m old.

Video: My Morning Jacket – “Off The Record” (MOV)
MySpace: My Morning Jacket

Sleater-Kinney were by far the top draw of the day, what with this being the band’s final performance (save for two farewell hometown shows in Portland). As expected, they were fierce and fearless and rocktacular – maybe knowing the finish line is in sight helps you with an extra bit of adrenaline? It’s truly a shame they’re calling it quits but there is something to be said for going out on your own terms and at the top of your game. They drew a huge, adoring crowd and rightfully so.

MP3: Sleater-Kinney – “Jumpers”
Video: Sleater-Kinney – “Jumpers” (MOV)
MySpace: Sleater-Kinney

I had intended on seeing Death Cab For Cutie to close things out, but it occured to me that I really wasn’t much of a fan anymore and local heroes Ween, also given a closing slot, might well provide a more entertaining finale for the night. As I swam upstream through the sea of indie kids heading to the Death Cab set, I was pretty sure I made the right choice. Or not. I understand the appeal of Ween, but it just doesn’t click for me. After snapping my three songs worth of pics (in terrible light), I high-tailed it out of there. But I did hear “Voodoo Lady” though not the Pizza Hut jingle, which is easily my favourite Ween tune.

MP3: Ween – “Where’d The Cheese Go?”

And that was day one. It was hot but not too too hot. Bearable, anyways. I have to say, I am really impressed with the festival thus far. More than just the great music, there’s a real positive vibe about the whole park (which is massive, by the way) and everyone seems to be having a really good time. Things are also running surprisingly well. I just tend to expect disaster at things of this scale but my hat’s off to the organizers. Clockwork.

I’m also loving the access to the photo pit. I never would have thought I’d get the chance to shoot some of these acts from so up close. It’s going to take me some time to get everything processed but in the meantime, I’ve got a gallery up at Flickr with a single image from everyone I’ve seen so far. I’ll continue updating it through the weekend and try to have the full galleries up by the end of next week. But seriously, there’s hundreds and hundreds of photos to go through.

Now. Day two? Bring it on.

First off, I have never been a festival person. Not in the big, outdoor tens of thousands of punters sense, anyways. I’ve been to my share, yes, but except for seeing Richard Thompson at Bluesfest three years ago (and that was only for him), the last time I did the sit-around-all-day-and-burn thing was seeing Neil Young and Oasis at Molson Park fully ten years ago. A decade! But generally I just can’t be bothered to deal with the crowds, heat stroke, port-o-lets, travel, poor sound, etc etc so I don’t go.

And yet, here I am in Chicago for this year’s edition of Lollapalooza. What can I say, the press pass was pretty damned enticing and between you and me, getting out of town for a few days is something I probably needed. Even if it is for “work”, of a sort. I actually intended to go to my first Lollapalooza a couple years ago but it got axed, as most are well aware. I still have my ticket, soaked with tears, but considering that the bands that I had wanted to see on that tour are all pretty much on this year’s bill, we’ll call it justice. But yes, festivals – it’s been a long time and frankly I have no idea what to expect.

The closest I’ve gotten to something of this scale has been SxSW the last couple years, and even that’s nowhere near the same thing. Besides the fact that it’s spread out all over downtown Austin in a million and one little clubs, Sx is about the new bands – catching the buzz, discovering the talent, and so forth. If almost any of the bands playing Lollapalooza were to make a SxSW appearance, it’d be huge news. Hell, The Flaming Lips’ shows this past March were all anyone could talk about and yet, here, they’re not even a headliner – just the 6:30-7:30 Saturday night slot on the Bud Light stage (okay, maybe not *just*, but you get my point). Like Wilco, or Sonic Youth or The Shins. No, the headliners are the likes of Kanye West and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. You know, bands that sell records.

But this should, at the very very least, be entertaining, exhausting and interesting. The lineup is star-studded but not overwhelming – I have a pretty good idea of who I’m going to see and there’s only a few tough choices to make (Broken Social Scene or Blues Traveler – what to do, what to do). I have a photo pass as well so I’ll be fighting for space in the photo pit to get a shot up Ben Gibbard’s nostril. But mostly I’ll be soaking in the festival experience and perhaps discovering that I’ve been missing out on a great time… or not.

For those of you playing along at home, Billboard has set up a Lolla minisite where they’ll have, um, stuff, and AT&T’s Blue Room will be webcasting a slew of performances live over the internets. The schedule is as follows – note that these are Chicago times, as in Central Daylight Time.

The Subways on Friday 8/4 from 12:30-1:30 PM
Panic! At The Disco on Friday 8/4 from 2:30-3:30 PM
Editors on Friday 8/4 from 3:30-4:30 PM
Ryan Adams on Friday 8/4 from 4:30-5:30 PM
Iron & Wine on Friday 8/4 from 5:30-6:30 PM
Sleater-Kinney on Friday 8/4 from 7:30-8:30 PM
Wolfmother on Saturday from 12:30-1:30 PM
Wilco on Sunday 8/6 from 6:30-7:30 PM

The Associated Press has a piece on how Lollapalooza has changed over the years. I was too young to catch the really good lineups in the early 90s. By the time I was of concert-going age, it was all Metallica and stuff. Yeah. And Spin lists off 10 lesser-known bands playing the fest that they recommend. And Chicagoist also wants to tell you who to see.

And because I know you all get twitchy when there’s no audio content in a post, I leave you with a gift. A low-bitrate, mono gift, but still somehow nice-sounding. Enjoy.

MP3: Jeff Tweedy – “Via Chicago” (live at Harper College, Palatine, IL – March 5, 1999)

Some non-apalooza ites from the utterly bizarre – Johnny Marr has joined Modest Mouse – to the utterly crappy – Arthur Lee of Love has died.

Pitchfork reviews the Luna covers compilation Lunafied. They like it. As they should.

And some shows- The Grates, aka band of the week here, are indeed coming back to town for a third time this year and again, they’re opening. They will support Rogue Wave at Lee’s Palace on September 9 ($12). Islands are at the Opera House on September 28 ($13), Polaris Music Prize nominees Malajube are at the Drake on September 28 (though they might be Polaris Music Prize winners by then), and Scissor Sisters are at the Kool Haus on October 10 ($25).

Okay, off I go.