popwreckoning

The best part about Lollapalooza is not seeing some headlining act that you probably couldn’t afford during a regular tour, or hanging out next to Lake Michigan, or the excuse to start drinking at 11 a.m. No, the best part is the discovery. Perhaps you heard a band name in passing, you got tired and just plopped down in front of a random stage, or (as was my case) you had a friend just rave about an act you just have to watch: at a big music festival, you’re bound to discover some sort of new band that you’ll keep listening to long after they’ve torn down the stages from Grant Park.

This year, my big discovery band was Skybox. My friend had just met the lead singer at her job in Kansas City, so I was surprised and excited to learn that a Lolla band had a connection to my hometown. Live, they were one of my favorite acts at the festival, delivering a high energy and very catchy pop rock set.

I caught up with the lead singer, Tim Ellis, to talk about how the band divides its time between Chicago and KC, their music, Lollapalooza and more. The full interview is below their video for “In a Dream.” They’re touring this fall and for my fellow Kansas Citians, they’ll be at the Riot Room on September 14. Be sure to check them out.

Bethany, PopWreckoning: How does the split KC/Chicago-base thing work with like practicing and writing?
Tim Ellis, Skybox: Well, I’m actually out here a lot. I’ll come out here like a week before we play to get really rehearsed. Like I’ve been out here [before Lollapalooza] since Tuesday. We rehearsed, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and play today [Saturday]. Before tour, I’ll come out at about the same time, a week or so before, then we’ll tour. After the tour, if we’re writing, I’ll come out here for writing purposes.

PW: Are you from Kansas City originally then?
TE: Yeah.
PW: So that’s why you decided to live there and the rest of the band stayed in Chicago.
TE: Yeah. And we [my wife and I] just moved to KC recently, so we’re getting back to the city recently. We just moved downtown in February.
PW: It’s a good city. A little more affordable than Chicago.
TE: Definitely.

PW: So how did you guys form Skybox?
TE: We released our first record in ’06. That’s usually when I tell people that Skybox was officially Skybox was that first record in ’06. However, we did form about a year before that just writing, figuring out members and the whole dynamics of how it was going to work. It was primarily, well, I was in a folk kind of project before Skybox, me and a good friend of mine from Kansas City, we were just playing folk music. We moved to Arizona during the whole folk thing. After about a year, we just started getting some good press and started getting some people kind of helping us out and putting us on the road and stuff like that. Doing some folk stuff on the road we realized, we’re just so young and we really want to be in a rock band again. We missed it. We had done that our whole lives in high school. So we went ahead and did some home recordings and throwing around ideas. Once we had some solid foundation, that’s when I called Christian [Fields], which is our piano player/guitar/vocals. He had played drums with me most of our lives. He actually was born with me. His mom and my mom were best friends before we were born. So we were born around the same time and were both playing together since we were real young. So I gave him a call to see if he could move to Phoenix and play lead guitar for the band, ironically, coming from playing drums. But we really needed a lead guitarist and keyboard player. So he decided to do it. After a lot of convincing, he finally moved out. From there, we added a few more members and started recording our first record, Arco Iris?, and released it in ’06. Then moved to Chicago.

PW: If a person hasn’t seen or heard your band before, how would you describe your sound?
TE: When people ask me, I usually say just weird pop music.

PW: How would you describe your live show to them?
TE: It’s different. It’s a lot of fun, a lot of energy and just a really fun, strange show.

PW: How do you come up with the costumes and outfits and the occasional theatrics?
TE: We definitely like to mix it up at all our shows. We hope that if somebody comes to see us they’ll like it and the next time they come it will be a little bit different for them. We’re all ADD in the sense that it’s a little hard to stick with one thing or one sound and we hope that we can give something fresh back to the audience if they have the same schizophrenic feelings.

PW: Who would you cite as some of your influences, whether for show fashion or musical sound?
TE: The whole fashion thing is kind of glam, I guess like Iggy Pop and all that kind of stuff. We also like really big sound. Like ELO was a huge influence for us. There are a lot of great modern bands that we’re listening to a lot like Dirty Projectors. We got to go backstage with those guys the other day, so that was cool. I’ve been listening to a lot of Genesis lately, getting into that again.

PW: With Lollapalooza being as big as it is, what have you learned from the festival and making the most of the three days?
TE: This is my first time here, so I’m learning the ropes myself. The golf carts have been great to get around, but I don’t think everyone has access to the golf carts. There are so many good bands playing here that you can really go anywhere and it is going to really inspire you and motivate you to be artistic.

PW: What are some of your favorite bands at this year’s Lolla?
TE: Devo. We got to see them. Dirty Projectors was good. We even saw the Strokes, which was awesome. We’ve been looking forward to Yeasayer and Grizzly Bear. Empire of the Sun, I’ll go see. X Japan. There are others.

PW: With your Chicago ties, what is a must do for anyone coming here for a show?
TE: There are a lot of great venues. There’s Lincoln Hall, which is a cool place to adventure to and they’re always having great bands. Burlington is a cool bar. Wicker Park, in general, Uptown area, Logan Square, that’s where we used to live. Lots of good places to go and good food. The Bead is a great restaurant.

PW: So what are your Fall plans for Skybox?
TE: We’re touring in September, the West Coast, with a band called What Laura Says. They’re really great. So we’ll be starting Midwest and going out West, which will be awesome because we haven’t been out to Phoenix, our former hometown, in about year. So that will be a homecoming of sorts for us, so we’re pretty excited.

PW: Finally, anything else that you want to get out there or something that I didn’t cover that you think people should know about your band?
TE: Well, one thing that has been really, really huge for us is giving away free music and we do that at our website, Skyboxmusic.com. It’s just a huge thing for us to go to a city that we’ve never been to and have people singing our songs and being familiar to our music. It’s a testament to the artist’s freedom, giving free music away.
PW: Sounds great.

Even rain couldn’t stop Chicago’s Team Bayside High from drawing a huge dance party at this year’s Lollapalooza. PopWreckoning caught up with the DJ duo to talk about television, their Chicago residence, new single, Lollapalooza and more. Check the full interview out below.

PopWreckoning, Bethany: Let’s start with how you guys met and started DJing together.
Derek Barry, Team Bayside High: We started djing together a little bit later in the game. We first started off as promoters together. Me and Rick met right when I started throwing parties here and I moved to chicago. I needed a little bit of help and Rick came in. We kind of needed a company name, so we wanted to be Team Awesome, but then we moved to the next best thing and became Team Bayside High. We wanted to control the music format of the party we were throwing a little bit more and as time went on, we’d put on iPods and CDs, but we were like, man, we want to move more into djing because it is a little bit weird just to play – well not be mixing and what not, but really have people raging. So, we were like if we can take it to the next level, we’re going to. So we started djing together and moved on to that and next thing you know, we’re getting booked outside. And we’re like, hell, let’s just take this thing for real and we made this our main thing. Promoting got pushed out of the way and Team Bayside High moved forward.

PW: Where did Team Bayside High: the name – obviously Saved by the Bell – but where did it come from? Are you just huge fans?
DB: Who’s not?
PW: What character would each of you most identify with?
Rick Carrico, Team Bayside High: It’s a struggle. We don’t know who’s Zack Morris or A.C. Slater. People always say oh you’re totally Zack or he’s totally Slater. It keeps switching.
DB: Who doesn’t want to be Zack Morris? Everyone wants to be Zack Morris.
RC: It’s cool. I just want a giant phone I can take anywhere and I want to be able to stop time. If I could do that, I’d be Zack Morris. Everything would be cool.
DB: We just wanted to make a name that was fun. We don’t take ourselves too seriously as far as human beings. Our music we like to take serious, but as far as us, we just like to have fun. And with our name, we want people to know us – these guys sound kind of wacky. It creates a little bit of tension. We’ve had a bunch of people maybe go, I don’t even know what these guys are like, but I want to hear them because of this name: Team Bayside High. And like we said – Saved by the Bell – we love it. It worked out.

PW: What goes into how you select what music you remix and then mixing in your original music? Where do you get your influences from?
RC: We both have really strong metal and rock backgrounds. It’s party rock. We try to take anything that we think is going to make people throw their hands up and bounce off the walls and go crazy. We’ll take that and we’ll take the energy and the music that we’ve grown up with and just piece that together.
DB: Good answer.

PW: Now, you guys have a residence at the Debonair every Monday. How do you keep it fresh every week with that?
DB: Yeah, that’s been a big struggle. You throw a party every single week, you have to do something different or you’re going to be stale, but if you’re doing something too different, and what we pride ourselves on – we don’t like to play things that no one knows. We like playing new things, but we want to play things that everyone can jump around and fist pump and head lock your best friend to and singalong, so every week just try to reach into the library of literally what we grew up on in the 90s – those guilty pleasures – and mix it with the new things that are out and selections that are our favorite. There’s so much just fun music out there. We’re not limiting ourselves to a certain genre of electro or rock, so we can be all over the board and go from playing “California Love” and the crowd goes crazy and the next thing you know we’re playing “Don’t Stop Believing” and everyone’s having a huge singalong, you know?

PW: How’d you guys get hooked up with Moneypenny and do you have any other guest performers?
RC: We’ve been friends with Moneypenny, Jess and Chess, and our manager is also their manager as well. We’ve been such good friends and we both share a lot of musical tastes. Outside of being able to create a track together, we hang out. We throw events together. It’s like a family really, more than anything.
DB: The writing process with Jessica on the single was amazing. We came together and in 30 seconds we had a beat for the song and we knew exactly where we wanted to go. We knew that – she has an incredible voice and an incredible melody that she writes. We gave her the track and literally like I said, 30 min later we had a single. We’re happy we did it and her performance just now [at Lollapalooza] was incredible. That was the first time that we really actually performed it fully live.

PW: It sounded really good. With the residence, I know you have a few other Midwest dates that you sometimes go to, but do you tour or anything or go on the road that often or you stuck into working here every week?
RC: Yes, we tour. In May, June, and a few in July we just did a Til Death Do Us Party tour. That was our tour name. We hit up Nashville, Cincinnati, Cleveland, St. Louis.
DB: There was a Los Angeles stop in there. We were all over the Midwest. Some of these markets we were nervous to go to. Are they going to like dance music in Nashville? But people were jumping off the stage and crowdsurfing. They knew all the songs we were playing and everything. Midwest is really where it is at as far as people who just want to go crazy and are not jaded by music. We’re primarily Midwest touring right now and playing our second leg soon. Us and Moneypenny are going to do a full on tour in the fall that will be nationwide details will be coming soon. teambaysidehigh.com.

PW: Since you are from Chicago – what is a must do for out of towners that come to shows here?
RC: You must eat Pequod’s Pizza. We’ll give the location and maybe we’ll get a free pizza out of this which would be awesome, but the location is Webster and Clyborn. You’ll see it because there is a whale with a thong on its head. It’s a light up neon sign. But honestly, it is the best pizza ever. If you’re from chicago. Go to Pequod’s.

PW: Ok. Final question. What’s like the craziest thing that has ever happened at one of your shows or sets? You said the Midwest could get crazy?
DB: I’m going to go ahead and field this one. Maybe not the craziest, but a pretty crazy thing for me personally. We’re djing in Cleveland, me and Rick, about two months ago…
RC: That’s not what I was going to say.
DB: what were you going to say?
RC: The Lolla announcement.
DB: Ok. Let me change that. The craziest thing that has ever happened to Team Bayside High. We were involved in the Lollapalooza announcement party with C3 and everybody. We knew Perry Farrell was going to be in the house so we talked to him right before we were going to go on our set. We said, “hey man, you want to get up and say anything.” He got kind of like, “I’m super busy. There’s tons of press here. I’ll try to help announce the line up. I can’t make any promises.” We totally understood. Even coming, he really surprised us. So we start our set with Phoenix “1901″ and Perry Farrell jumps up and says, “Can I sing this song?” And he jumps up and sings the entire “1901″ with us. We’re like that’s incredible and he goes, “Well, I’m not going to leave,” so he stays up and goes into our next song with us and keeps singing “Kids” by MGMT. It’s an incredible experience. He’s headlocking both of us and singing the words. And we grew up on Jane’s Addiction, so it was just incredible. We went home and I don’t think we washed our necks for like two weeks.
PW: Were you here last year when Jane’s played?
RC: Yeah. It was awesome.
DB: We did a lot of drinking going into it, so we can’t really say much except it was a great time.
RC: The helicopter coming in was one of the coolest entrances I’ve ever seen.

PW: And you guys have a new album or single that..
DB: We just dropped our new single. It’s available on teambaysidehigh.com and we have a new mixtape coming out. it’s going to be an after Lollapalooza sort of theme: so Summer and a lot of artists from this year.

RC: Keep your Summer rocking.
DB: Keep your Summer going and it’s not over yet. We’ll drop that in the next week or two.
RC: You can always party with Team Bayside High. We’ll be here for you.
PW: New mixtape, new single, tour coming up in the fall, so lots to look out for on teambaysidehigh.com. Sounds good.

One of PopWreckoning’s favorite acts at Lollapalooza 2010 was Jukebox the Ghost. Check out a video from this D.C. act’s Lolla after show performance at the Bottom Lounge.

Equally as important to the Lollapalooza experience as the time spent in Grant Park is the time spent at the Lollapalooza after parties. With the additional official and unofficial shows after it’s lights out at Grant, Lollapalooza becomes a 24 hour experience, three days of the week as festival goers pour the park’s gates into various clubs, venues and hotels throughout Chicago.

PopWreckoning made it to a few of the after shows. Friday, it was off to Belve Nights: a party at the Hard Rock Hotel that’s popular amongst some of the more VIP Lolla attendees. It helps that this Belve Night  featured a DJ set by Matt and Kim and performances from acts such as Neon Trees and Hockey to draw out a big crowd.

Neon Trees were an act that had already blown festival-goers away during their Lollapalooza set earlier that day. The act already seems to be following hot in the footsteps of similar band, The Killers. They continued to own the stage as the singer prowled the stage. The set was a brief five songs, but the band left the audience hungry for more.

Hockey followed Neon Trees with a pop rock set that was just a teaser for the even more energetic set they’d deliver in Grant Park the following day. Beginning with current single, “Song Away,” they band also played some new material and older tunes such as “Too Fake.” Hockey had their set cut short at Lolla 2009, so it was great to see them living up Lolla 2010 with extra performances.

Saturday night, PopWreckoning ventured out on the CTA to a free show at the Bottom Lounge. This show featured a  couple of amazing local acts and a few national acts – free for those who had RSVP. Gotta love free.

Though energy was waning quickly for many at this point (a long day walking the grounds at a festival spanning a park that’s over a mile-long will do that), each of the pop rock bands, The Spinto Band, Skybox and Jukebox the Ghost,  brought a fun quirkiness to their tunes and a contagious enthusiasm. The Spinto Band even divided the audience up into three parts to be a train at one point. Odd, but fun:

Skybox:

Jukebox the Ghost:

Sunday, PopWreckoning returned to the Hard Rock Hotel for another Belve Nights. This evening, Glassnote was bringing the best of its roster.

Among the performances was Mumford and Sons. This UK act is already being praised as one of the best Lolla acts in general and one listen to their harmonies, funky bass lines (upright bass lines, no less!) and heart-wrenching lyrics, it’s easy to see why. “Little Lion Man” is a good place to start for those unfamiliar with their tunes.

After Mumford, it was the crooning, experimental rock band The Temper Trap. Many are familiar with them for “Sweet Disposition,” which was on the “(500) Days of Summer” sound track. And while that song is indicative of some of the other fantastic, rollicking-guitar riffs they produce, it doesn’t really do them justice. Although, perhaps it is better that way because then audience members are extra surprised when the singer pours water on a tom drum and beats a spray of water and heavy beats midway through the set.

Perhaps the highlight of this evening was when Mumford and Sons returned to perform with The Temper Trap. It was like everyone at Belve Nights was a part of a big family: the band, audience members (both VIP and average folk) and even the staff on hand that night. It was extra special when Glassnote’s founder even came out and echoed the sentiment. What a perfect way to end Lollapalooza….well almost. There was a one final treat. Lollapalooza headliners and Glassnote members, Phoenix, though tardy to the party due to another aftershow performance, closed out the night with a DJ set. What a way to end 2010!

Sunday nature battled itself giving us both the coldest and hottest day of Lollapalooza. But there was still music to be heard! So a poncho-packed crowd stumbled through the mud to start their day dancing to “USA Boys,” with HEALTH. As the guys thrashed about the stage with the guitar-driven dance rock, my only thought was that they should have had one of the prime evening spots like similar acts in Cut Copy and Hot Chip. I couldn’t believe they were stuck in one of the earliest sets of the day. Not with how good they are and how popular I thought they were. I’m sure everyone has at least heard one of their remixes at one time or another.

I picked my way past puddles to Perry’s where Team Bayside High was getting ready for their DJ set. I have to give the kids at Perry’s props: the rain seemed to peak during this set, but it didn’t kill their dance buzz for a second. It helped that the DJ duo in Team Bayside High really knew how to interact with the crowd and get them amped up. There wasn’t a single mix that they played that slowed them down too much or killed the mood. As they smoothly went from Franz Ferdinand to a Mario theme, I could see why these guys were asked to play a permanent residence at Rehab in Chicago: they were diverse and fun. For a special treat at the end of their set, Moneypenny‘s Jess joined them to sing her part live on their new single “Party Professionals.” You can actually download the track free at Team Bayside’s site. (We also did an interview with Team Bayside High, so check back to PopWreckoning soon for more from these guys.)

Having seen many of the next acts several times before, I walked past Company of Thieves as their female singer belted out Oscar Wilde refrences, past the Dodos’ percussion heavy set that features a bowed vibraphone and ended up at the Hard Rock Hotel for lunch.

The place was more packed than it had been for the entire weekend. I set off to to investigate what was going on. Turns out one of the larger lobbys had been completely closed off as a “special VIP” had requested privacy while getting a new tattoo. So I went into the cafe to eat and enjoy some hip hop music from Chiddy Bang. Hip hop isn’t usually my thing because I’m a lyric gal and often times the lyrics are offensive, dumb or just downright vulgar. I didn’t have this problem with Chiddy Bang and actually found it witty. I particularly liked that there was a live drummer and not just pre-recorded backing tracks for the performance.

After the performance, I ventured back up to the closed lounge, which was still closed. I was about to ask a girl standing next to me if she knew what was going on, but a beefy, tall man ushered her out of the lobby just as I opened my mouth. Turns out that girl was Hayden Panettiere – you know, from Heroes, Remember the Titans, etc? And it also turns out that she was the “special VIP” who had shut down the room for her new tatt. I guess the cast of Scream 4 had come down to Lolla from filming in Michigan. A part of me wishes I had realized who she was sooner, but I’m also glad I didn’t. That’s kind of the cool thing about Lolla. Actors and musicians are just walking around. You never know who you’re going to rub shoulders with, but at that fest, we’re all equals. We’re all music lovers.

So, since I am such a big music lover, it was time to take my leave of the Hard Rock and head back to the fest for some more bands. Only this time, instead of walking back, I took the Vitamin Water Bus back. This was kind of a cool thing set up where you could relax, rehydrate and enjoy some DJ music going back and forth between the Hard Rock and the fest. I wish I had thought to use it sooner!

I continued my love of watching bands that make you dance by checking out Hockey, who started with “Song Away,” played a few new songs before amping people up with “Work” and “Too Fake.” This set was a lot tighter than their technical-difficulty filled set from the year before. After that I went over to Yeasayer.

If you should know anything about me, it’s that I’m always feeling Yeasayer: multiple vocals, big guitars, lots of synth and even bigger drums. Plus you can dance! What’s not to love? “O.N.E.” got people to stand up and dance through a majority of the set, but it was really “Ambling Alp,” that drove home their awesomeness as a set closer. As I turned to watched MUTEMATH on a neighboring stage, I couldn’t help, but feel a bit bored after the great set that Yeasayer had just delivered.

Fortunately, Frightened Rabbit restored my faith that there was still awesome after Yeasayer. They’re completely different from that dance rock sound and pretty much straight up indie rock. It’s the cool Scottish accents and sweet harmonies that make this band stand out.

But I couldn’t stay there long. I needed to see the shit show that would be Erykah Badu and a shit show it was. Blonde hair and a hideous green dress that no one in the world could pull off. And let’s be honest – her music is uninspired, so we all just were gathered there to see what she would wear and what diva moves she’d pull. This was a clusterfuck, so I made it as long as I could before heading into media to grab some water.

In media, I got a special treat. Festival founder and lead singer in Jane’s Addiction, Perry Farrell, was making the rounds and greeting people. It was so cool to see the icon acting so down-to-earth, especially with how big his Lolla project has become.

I exited media in time to see a bunch of hair bouncing, hear surprisingly killer vocals yowling and watch as hands whizzed through Zepplin-inspired guitar riffs. This was Wolfmother and this was awesome. No, it isn’t something I’ll listen to the CD over and over for, but it is something I’d watch live again.

From here, it was indie rock hour on the other side of the venue. So I trekked over to see MGMT, The National and my most anticipated: Arcade Fire.

MGMT is one of those acts where I really, really, really love the singles, but feel ho hum about the rest of their music and even their live show. I’ve seen them a few times and was disappointed and bored. I wasn’t expecting much at Lolla, but they completely took me by surprise. I don’t know if people complained enough or what, but they were a changed live band. They talked to the audience, interacted, and offered up spots for the crowd to take over singing duties. They even had a frog puppet! It was bizarre and shockingly fun. And yes, songs from the new album did receive a more lukewarm reaction, but I was reeling from the overall change in the band, that I could care less about that. Nice work, MGMT. Maybe you do deserve your fame.

As people flocked to the National on the neighboring stage, I moved closer to a better a spot for Arcade Fire. Sounds of “Blood Buzz Ohio” buzzed in my ear, and as much as I like the National, it wasn’t long before their music became exactly that: just a buzz. Their songs started to sound the same, but it might have been that I was just antsy for Arcade Fire to start.

Oh, Arcade Fire. You, with your bajillion members and insane amounts of instruments from accordion to violins to brass and more. Can I join your band?

Before the fest, one of my friends tried to insult the Arcade Fire by calling them, “The indie world’s Coldplay.” In other words, they meant the band was wildly popular, but without any real merit. You have to understand, this same friend is driven crazy by Coldplay’s unwillingness to use more than three chords. After seeing them live, I can attest, that Arcade Fire is not overhyped. They deserve all the attention they get.

While fireworks went off for other headliners and light shows blinded, Arcade Fire settled on a simple video backdrop and relied only on their music to dazzle. They fittingly started with “Ready to Start” and from there it was just one great song after another. Everything was tightly performed with jubilation. For a moment, I forget my painful blisters and just let their complex instrumentations swallow me. Fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end Lollapalooza 2010. Sorry Soundgarden – Arcade Fire is where it was at this year.

Now who’s ready for 2011?

…

Be sure to check out the rest of the Lollapalooza 2010 coverage on PopWreckoning.com. More posts and interviews!

Weary festival goers clutched their Starbucks cups closely on the CTA. The enthusiasm for day 2 of Lollapalooza was there, but the energy was not. Friday had been hot and filled with a combination of lots of dancing and walking. The evening was packed with after shows and after parties, so passengers suavely tried to glance at the tangled wrist bands of others to see what Chicago venues they had ended up at or in some cases, were just now returning home from.

For those that thought Saturday would leave thoughts of Gaga in the dust, they were wrong. One of the first bands I saw that day paid her an early afternoon tribute. Over at the BMI Stage, I caught the pop rock act: Skybox. These guys are Chicago-based, but they also have a Kansas City (where I’m from) connection. So I already, felt a bit of a bond to these grandiose rockers. The band’s singer, Tim Ellis, quickly had the crowd in the palm of his hand as he bounced around the stage singing catchy hooks and amping the crowd up for the rest of the day. When it came time for their last number, he said they were dedicating it to Lady Gaga, and he disappeared. When Ellis re-emerged, he was wearing a sparkly bra with his striped pants. Once past the initial shock of his change, we went with it and started dancing and having fun. It was like a big party in front of the stage. Fantastic.

Wild Beasts were one of those surprise bands that I ended up loving and had just kind of stumbled into. I honestly, didn’t know a thing about these ethereal rockers, but from the sampling I saw, I’m recommending everyone check them out.

Dragonette continued the trend of the BMI stage featuring synth-heavy, up-and-coming rock bands that were great for dancing. Considering that Gaga was able to blow up after her hot mess of a set on the BMI Stage a few years ago, I wouldn’t be surprised if this tight performance launches Dragonette into even bigger stardom.

Speaking of hot messes, I was less of a fan of the poptart I saw at the Hard Rock Music Lounge: Kristine Elezaj. She wants to be the next Britney or something, but with her over the top performance for a bunch of already established music industry people was a bit much. Honestly, we don’t need to see some over produced act feeling herself up while we’re trying to enjoy lunch. Ugh. Disgusted, I hurried back to the festival for some guaranteed good music.

More from day 2 soon to follow!

The first day of Lollapalooza was basically goo goo for Gaga day. The line up was stacked with glam, synth-heavy, dance-loving bands leading up to the fashion icon’s performance and the crowd was packed of Lady Gaga wannabes. They could be found flooding performances by My Dear Disco and Semi Precious Weapons at the BMI Stage. Whipping it good to Devo and continuing the dance with Hot Chip before the queen’s own show.

However, though the blonde wigs and pleather jackets reigned supreme, there were still plenty of fans gathered rocking real leather jackets and tight black jeans, while they waited for their beloved the Strokes to reunite on the Budweiser stage. These were the fans that could be found singing along to “Dominoes” with the Big Pink or chilling on the lawn with the Black Keys. These were even the hipsters at Wavves and the Dirty Projectors.

And of course, you did have a smaller crowd that was prepared to bounce between both headliners.

For me, my day started with Chicago’s own BBU. I had flown in to Chicago from Kansas City and immediately hopped on a CTA train to drop my bags off where I was staying before heading to the fest. The train was packed and I was wedged between baseball and music fans. At one stop a large posse of people hopped on the train shouting, “Lolla, lolla, lolla.” They tried to get the train to join in. One of the women in the group laughed and shook her head, pretending to be embarrassed by the boys’ antics, but still having a great time. The group asked who was heading to the fest then revealed that they were BBU and that they’d be performing on the Perry’s Stage. Some older woman on the train, who had probably never listened to hip-hop before, asked what they sounded like and if they could sing for us. Guess what? They did. A very brief little rap before more chants of “Lolla!” It was fun, rather than annoying, to have the ride disrupted by this group and I was glad I got to have this unique introduction to a group that I probably would have otherwise skipped.

Eventually, I made it to my stop and dropped my bags off at my friends. Then it was immediately back on the train to ride to Monroe and the fest. Train delays, and then a ridiculously long walk to the press check-in meant that I missed more morning acts (These United States, Wavves, Javelin, Foxy Shazam, etc) than I would have liked and my feet were already sore before even walking to a single stage. I booked it to catch the tale end of the pop rock piano tunes of Jukebox the Ghost. The DC-trio plays songs that I think puts Ben Folds to shame. I stuck around waiting on My Dear Disco to take over after them on the BMI Stage. I had just spoken to the group the day before, and was excited to see that their music lived up to my expectations: unique instrumentations to craft fun dance songs that got the crowd moving despite the heat.

I then went on a trek down to the Hard Rock Hotel to grab a tasty bite to eat and a few drinks, while enjoying an acoustic set from the Constellations. This was the perfectly blend of jazz, blues and rock to accompany my meal. All the vocals blended together perfectly and single “Felicia,” was so upbeat and catchy, that I completely forgot my veggie wrap because I was so absorbed. After their set, I explored the rest of the music lounge. People were getting tattoos, enjoying DJs, getting massages, and having their hair-styled. It was a pretty sweet set up, but there was still plenty of music to be heard back at Grant Park.

Perhaps the most talked about incident of the day happened about midway through Friday. Gaga tour mates Semi Precious Weapons were owning the BMI Stage when the headliner herself joined them on stage. She did some impromptu drumming and singing, a little provocative dancing and then ended with a stage dive into the crowd. Insane! It was a great treat for the smaller crowd gathered there while the indie kids were listening to Neko Case sing with the New Pornographers and a little bit of an older crowd broke out their dome hats with Devo.

For me, the highlight of my day was the BMI Stage, but it was the performance of Neon Trees that I thought was the best. These guys are poised for success with their easily accessible songs perfectly crafted for singing and clapping along. Tyler, the lead singer, knows how to hold the crowd in the palm of his hand – or even the claw of his hand. He really takes the single, “Animal,” to heart and rawrs and claws at the audience. The band has the added perk that it not only sounds a bit like The Killers, but it also was discovered by the Killers.

Since I’ve seen the Black Keys multiple times this summer I excitedly ran over to watch Hot Chip. Fully ready to dance, I was a bit disappointed with the performance. Sure, Hot Chip played the singles and songs you wanted and yeah, it was cool to hear them dedicate a song to Gaga, but they were boring. They never moved. How can a dance band expect people to dance if they don’t even want to move to their own music? For all I knew, they were just playing CD recordings because there really was no reason for the band to be on the stage. Continuing the disappoint was Chromeo. Lots of lights, and it wasn’t so bad when it was just the music, but the vocals, I could have done without. They were obnoxious, repetitive and just didn’t offer anything of substance. I was more than over their nonsense and ready for my headliners: Lady Gaga and The Strokes.

I’m still processing the spectacle that was Lady Gaga, so check back in a few hours once I have my thoughts sorted. For now, enjoy a few photos from the performance.

Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga. What to say? Gaga’s Lolla show is pretty much the spectacle that she’s been touting across the country for her tour. It’s a mix of an actual concert and a Broadway production. The plot of the show is that Gaga and posse have to get to the Monster Ball-an incredible place where you can be your true self-but the car is broken down. Gaga, of course, says she can save the day and goes to tinker and play around in the engine, which doubles as a piano. The staging is cool, but it is all just a bit over the top as well. Dramatic pauses that lasted uncomfortably long left you praying that she’d just start singing already; gross, bloody photos graced the megascreens; and then there were motivational speeches. Oh My Gaga the speeches. Look, I give the lady props. She actually has some talent and knows how to work a crowd. Heck, she really knows how to work a piano. But the near-crying routine? I didn’t realize this was some weird motivational speaker I was watching. I thought I was supposed to at a concert. Too much. When Gaga started going off on how inspirational we all were and she started tearing up, that’s when I bailed. I needed music and I needed it to rock. Fortunately, the Strokes had me covered. It was moreso a visit to the classics of their catalogue, so sorry that I can’t give anything away about what to expect from a new Spring album. All that matters is that they still sound amazing, they kill the guitar solos and damn, is it good to have their no-nonsense rock back.

Check back for more updates and recaps from Lollapalooza Saturday, Sunday and the after shows.

It’s day one of Lollapalooza and the Friday line up offers a diverse range of musical genres from electronica, folk, rock to Dance Think. If you’re unfamiliar with the genre of Dance Think, it is new genre crafted by Michigan’s My Dear Disco. It combines electro-pop with funk, rock and techno. Live it translates to music that you can dance too but with a twist.

“It’s a dance rock infused band, so there are going to be five people with five different types of sounds. There will be some bagpipes, screaming guitars, a giant megaphone, a clear drum kit and this giant red bass,” says singer Michele Chamuel. “It’s all going to come together into this groove, where each individual can stick out and make a body move.”

And yes, you read that right. The dance band has bagpipes.

“People love the bagpipes. We almost faded them out at one point because we kind of had the same thought. Does this really make sense? But then we noticed that people would kind of go ballistic whenever we used them. So, now we use them all the time…Well most of the time. They’re a staple of the show,” the MDD says.

So after jumping up and down and letting out a few screams of excitement, the band has being getting ready for Lolla. During some of their pre-Lolla preparations, the band stumbled upon a new way to get amped up for shows.

“We like to get pumped spraying ourselves with a fire extinguisher. We got into a little bit of a mess at a TV station doing that, but they were very patient with us.”

Granted, this was an accidental discovery. The band just got a new van. Lolla is actually the first trip that the band is taking in the new vehicle, but a stoway from the old van made it to the new one: the fire extinguisher. What didn’t make it: the safety. So when they were loading and a suitcase ended up on the extinguisher, mysterious mist started spraying everywhere. They quickly realized it was from the extinguisher.
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“It did pump us up and it was a good motivator. That’s the type of effect we want to have on the crowd: this blowing up fire extinguisher that’s just unexpected to happen”

Fire extiguishers aren’t the only way the band is preparing. Water, ear plugs, sun screen, plans to “leach off the hospitality of the major artists” and the most important item: “oil blotters.”

“If you go and look online, you can see that we don’t have a speck of oil on our faces. It’s beautiful: good clean pores.”

Of course, their fun personalities, unique instrumentation and clear complexions aren’t the only reasons to check them out. You’d want to be at this set because it will “melt faces.” Plus, they say they also beat all the other in an arm wrestling and thumb wars match.

“So, if you want to see a band that’s better at thumb wars and arm wrestling, come see us.”

My Dear Disco plays on the BMI Stage at 3 p.m., Friday, August 6. You can also catch them at various after parties. On Saturday, they’re playing a free after show with Neon Trees, but the venue is a secret. Keep on eye on My Dear Disco’s website for clues. And for those not able to join the band at the fest, be sure to check them online or in another city. They do a pretty unique cover of Lady Gaga’s “Pokerface” – that’s the bonus of two Lolla artists for the price of one! Although, we did find out that the band doesn’t plan to overdose the Lolla goers with their cover of that song.

Tomorrow, Friday, August 6, Lollapalooza kicks off. Here are our recommendations for Friday survival and fun.

Tip 1: Let’s start things off with the weather. Unlike last year, it is supposed to be sunny all weekend! Yay! However, this means it will also be hot, even with the festival being set up next to the lake. So stay HYDRATED. And as awesome as it is, beer is not a means of hydration. WATER is a must. Fortunately, Lollapalooza, does have water stations set up (you can usually find them by port-a-potty areas). So there’s no excuse for not drinking water. And when you’re done with your plastic bottles or cups, make sure you recycle. Lolla has plenty of recycling stations throughout the park.

Another tip: Sleep. Especially tonight (Thursday) because between the actual fest, stuff to do in Chicago, and after shows, you won’t get much sleep the rest of the weekend.

Tip 3: Show up early. Especially on the first day when they have to put wristbands on. If there’s a band you want to see, it will take awhile to get through the check-in and over to the stage, so don’t plan on seeing a 1 p.m. band showing up at 12:50. It isn’t going to happen. There are two entrances to help people get in Grant Park quickly, but it will still take some time. Also, show up early because there are some great bands that start playing really early in the day. Don’t regret missing These United States at 11:15 a.m. because you were still watching TV at your hotel.

Tip 4: RSVP. There are tons of free events going on after the festival. More great bands, free drinks and more fun. But there’s a catch. A lot of them require RSVPs. So plan your post show fun now and double check if you need to RSVP. There’s some good recommendations on free after events here.

Tip 5: Watch bands you’ve never heard of. Look at the schedule. I’m betting you haven’t heard of quite a few of the bands playing, but go check them out. Did you know that just a few years ago, Lady Gaga played one of the smaller stages during the day? No one really knew who she was then, but now she’s headlining! So go discover someone awesome.

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Five bands to check out each day:

Friday: These United States (11:15 a.m.), Jukebox the Ghost (1:45 p.m.), My Dear Disco (3 p.m.), Devo (4 p.m.), Lady Gaga (8 p.m.)

Saturday: The Morning Benders (12 p.m.), Skybox (12:30 p.m.), Dan Black (3 p.m.), Gogol Bordello (3:45 p.m.) Cut Copy (7:30 p.m.)

Sunday: Health (11:30 a.m.), The Antlers (12:15 p.m.), The Dodos (1 p.m.), Freelance Whales (3 p.m.), Yeasayer (4 p.m.)

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PopWreckoning will be at Lollapalooza! We’ll post our reviews, photos and interviews over the next few days here. For more immediate coverage, follow PopWrecker Bethany on Twitter at twitter.com/glowah.

After conquering the world with their high-powered rock shows, Melbourne, Australia-based band the Temper Trap will return to North America for an extensive tour August through October. The openers on this tour will be Manchester’s electropop/dance trio Delphic (who will join the tour in September) and Brooklyn duo The Hundred in the Hands. Presale tickets are already available from the Temper Trap‘s official website but the general ticket sale begins on July 9. The Temper Trap will also make appearances at Lollapalooza in Chicago, Outside Lands in San Francisco, and Austin City Limits.

Tour Dates
Aug 04 – House of Blues / San Diego, CA
Aug 06 – House of Blues / Cleveland
Aug 08 – Lollapalooza / Chicago
Aug 10 – Ogden Theater / Denver
Aug 11 – Depot / Salt Lake City
Aug 13 – Showbox / Seattle
Aug 14 – Roseland Theater / Portland
Aug 15 – Outside Lands Festival / San Francisco
Sept 26 – Trocadero / Philadelphia
Sept 29 – House of Blues / Boston
Sept 30 – Wellmont / Montclair, NJ
Oct 01 – Terminal 5 / New York City
Oct 02 – Le National / Montreal
Oct 03 – Capital Music Hall / Ottawa
Oct 05 – Phoenix / Toronto
Oct 09 – Austin City Limits / Austin
Oct 11 – St. Andrews / Detroit
Oct 13 – Turner Hall / Milwaukee
Oct 14 – First Avenue / Minneapolis
Oct 22 - Fox / Pomona, CA
Oct 23 – Club Nokia / Los Angeles

The Temper Trap: website | myspace | @ 9:30 Club | @ Bonnaroo 2010, Day 1
Delphic: website | myspace | Delphic’s Debut Album Streaming on MySpace
The Hundred in the Hands: website | myspace | The Hundred in the Hands’ ‘Pigeons’ takes flight with Foals’ remix

Photo: Mary Chang