Early bands, such as The Switches and Illinois, turned in crowd pleasing acts with the early sets, going on live at 11:15 a.m. and 12 p.m., respectively. With the early sets, bands can’t expect huge crowds, but enough locals and out-of-town guests played hookie in order to show their support.
The day’s earliest big name, Jack’s Mannequin – the California-born pop ban led by front man Andrew McMahon (who doubles as keyboardist and vocalist for Something Corporate) – cashed in a great show in front of Lollapalooza’s early big day crowd. One of the coolest side notes on McMahon is that he recently battled through a diagnosis of acute lymphatic leukemia, but after a temporary hiatus and a successful bone-marrow transplate, McMahon and crew were ready to please Lolla-creator Perry Farrell.
Local boys Chin Up Chin Up rocked out enough during its 1 p.m. slot to build some buzz, while Arlington Height’s born Powerspace did the similar during its 2 p.m. BMI stage set.
For mid afternoon sets, M.I.A. drew a very large crowd in front of the Bud Light stage, all the way across the field and seemingly hours away from the AT&T stage at the other side of the Lolla grounds. G. Love & Special Sauce climbed up its Lolla notoriety by securing a 5:30 p.m. set while G. made his second Chicago-Lollapalooza visit (2005).
With Wax on Radio, Against Me!, Sparklehorse, and Silversun Pickups each capturing large crowds, no band could pull a following that Farrell and Satellite Party did with the 6:30 set – a set worthy of closing out the festival, as Farrell reached back in his pocket to his days with Jane’s Addiction and Porno for Pyros.
moe., the New York-based group and current day jam-band rockers, played super long jam sessions during its hour long set while definitely prompting the dazed crowd to light up and send a cloud of Mary Jane smoke into the air.
And to cap the first day of Chicago’s biggest music festival – and one of the biggest in the country – Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals at the Bud Light Stage and Daft Punk at the AT&T stage each packed crowds sure to build photos in the world’s largest music magazines.
All-in-all, a solid day despite having a huge pull.
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