Music Times reporter Ryan Book works best in his home territory of the Midwest, or at least that's what he told us. Join him every day this weekend for a chronological look at what went down at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago.
11:05: We forgot our bottle of water today, so we break down and head to the concessions area to buy one. They were selling cans of Deja Blue. Cans of water?!? What will these kids think of next?
12:00: Oyinda told us that we should check out her opening set, so we take her up on it. She, like many in the crowd, begins the day with hands in pockets, but gets everyone wiggling soon enough. The vocalist also insists that the crowd sing "Happy Birthday" to keyboardist Rafferty Swink. "You mad?" she catcalls at him. "Or nah?" responds her fans accordingly.
12:48: Jhené Aiko is "ready for war" (from opening song "To Love and Die") but she shows up for her set wearing pink kitty ears. The vocalist may be an early act, but her touring with Drake and the accompanying hype has brought the crowds early to the Samsung Galaxy stage.
1:15: We find an empty tent and chat with the members of Smallpools about rain at festivals, as an expected storm starts its first downpour of the day. Check out the full conversation at MusicTimes.com on Monday afternoon.
1:30: Bleachers seems to calm the storm, which fades away by the end of the band's first song. It's too late however. A majority of the crowd's early attendees, sans umbrellas, are soaked. Jack Antonoff's group covered Tom Petty's "Don't Come Around Here No More" but this time treats the crowd to a version of The Cranberries' "Dreams."
1:58: Quite a bit of grass had been trampled dead at Perry's and the Bud Light stages thanks to EDM sets, but this rain spells doom for the Grant Park baseball fields. Some fans merely trudge through the mud. Others slip 'n' slide and throw handfuls of gloop at each other.
2:13: Bleachers is done a few minutes early so White Denim starts a few minutes early. A good attitude to have, especially if that means the blues rock band can squeeze in a few extra moments of jamming. Rain comes back early during the set and we spot the greatest Lolla Fashion statement of the weekend: A dude with a white garbage bag over his head, with one hole punched for his mouth plus two tiny holes near the ear regions so he can still rock his sunglasses from underneath his makeshift poncho. We salute you sir.
3:05: Maybe someone with London Grammar slipped Mother Nature a dollar because this rain is perfect for the band's approaching-goth pop vibe as they open with "Hey Now." It's the band's first festival appearance in the States and they make a good job of it despite having a rather short setlist.
3:38: A woman walks by, picking up cans from the field and dropping them in a bag that her child carries behind her. She's just another attendee looking to score swag by assisting in the cleanup but it seems a little shameful to drag your kid into it. While we're thinking about it, why don't parents use their kids as booze mules? Security never pats down children like they do adults. We definitely don't support using your children to smuggle contraband, but we were just ruminating.
4:10: As predicted, Perry's field has been reduced to a wasteland of mud and grime. The Samsung stage isn't doing much better, as both Gesaffelstein and Cage The Elephant play into their respective audiences' desires to get dirty. Mud face paint replaces the glitter popular in previous days.
4:45: Gesaffelstein is smoking while he works his tables. Granted it's not Slash or Keith Richards cool, but it still looks pretty dang cool. (Public Service Announcement: KIDS, DON'T SMOKE).
5:15: Our hope that Gesaffelstein would bring out Chicago native Kanye West for a surprise performance of the pair's "Black Skinhead" doesn't come to fruition. Not all dreams can come true.
5:40: Flosstradamus is absolutely destroying this field.
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