I took a pass on Day 2 of Lollapalooza, however I did make it to the third and final day of the festivities. And that was no harm to me. As much as I would be curious to see Interpol, The Roots and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, with no disrespect to those bands, I can definitively say that seeing them (in an outdoor setting, no less) would not necessarily make my day or week.
The same could not be said for Sunday's lists of artists. Or at least, for one of Sunday's artists. Here's the rundown on all the artists I got a chance to witness:
Juliette and the Licks – Nothing special. Entertaining to see the Natural Born Killers actress perform, sure, but that's about it.
White Rabbits – I saw New York City's White Rabbits earlier this year at Schubas opening for Richard Swift. A couple songs into their set then, I was impressed, but shortly thereafter, forgot about them after seeing Swift's set. Then recently they were on Letterman and I was intrigued once again. I'm not sure if having two drummers necessarily helps them, but they were an amusing band nonetheless.
David Vandervelde – I really wanted to like the guy, but I just wasn't into it. I tried.
Amy Winehouse – She showed up to the stage 10 minutes late more than slightly inebriated (one can only assume) and still managed to end her show a few minutes early. Her band is all men, which has got to be emasculating for all of them whether they know it or not, as talented as they may well be. That said, she played a decent show. Of course, the entire crowd was waiting on their hind legs waiting for "Rehab".
Iggy and the Stooges – Here's a story. The Stooges are undeniably the most important band on the bill this year, if not the most important, influential and dynamic band still active today. It doesn't matter that The Weirdness is nowhere near the brilliance of Fun House or Raw Power; all that matters is that The Stooges are back.
I stayed in the crowd after Amy Winehouse for a solid hour, waiting for The Stooges to take the stage. My patience had managed to get me within two rows of people from the gate located directly in front of the stage.
The band took the stage wasting no time by opening with "Loose" and "Down on the Street" off of Fun House. He would proceed to play the rest of the Fun House record scattered throughout the set.
The Stooges themselves are Iggy Pop on vocals, of course, Ron Asheton on guitar and Scott Asheton on drums. Notorious punk bassist Mike Watt also joined the band for their reunion.
While the Asheton brothers are as rock solid musicians you could ever hope to have in a rock band, Iggy is anything but. I'm not sure anyone could harness the energy that this man has, made all the more remarkable by the fact that he is now in his 60s. Meanwhile, on bass, Watt is in sprawled out on the stage like third baseman fielding a groundball, maintaining a puckered facial expression on every thumping note.
About eight songs in, preceding the performance of "No Fun", Iggy addressed the crowd: he would like the crowd to join him on stage. As the song started, there was a slight hesitance I noticed from the people around me, but I had a feeling that he was serious. At which point I see the middle of the crowd open up and begin rushing the stage. Myself and a handful of others jumped the fence into the security/photographers well and proceeded to run up to the steps to meet The Stooges on the stage. I landed on my elbow as I stumbled over the railing, gathered all of my belongings and proceeded to run towards the steps. Others were just jumping straight on the stage, which was a good 3 feet taller than myself in stocking feet, if not more.
The scene was unbelievable. It was like the absolute inverse of the Titanic. As I am frantically running my way up the steps, a security guard shoved his hand into my chest and said that no more could go up on stage. He instructed me go back down the steps immediately. I decided to push it, and waited on the steps for his attention to be diverted. Fifteen seconds later, I am on the stage between Ron Asheton's Marshall amps and the drum riser.
The song is still going on, and I can't even see Iggy for all the people on the stage. People are mauling him with so much gratitude that you would have thought that he had given them all kidneys. I glance over to see Watt and he still has not broke stride. Likewise Ron Asheton, who is playing some very impressive chops, is now behind his Marshall stacks.
I am pretty sure at this point Perry Farrell is on the side of the stage, laughing and admiring the show, but I honestly could not see for all the people. Behind the amps is saxophonist, Steve MacKay, waiting to play on a couple forthcoming songs. I glance over at him with a look that said, "Do you believe this?" After the song was over, with well over a hundred fans now on the stage, I asked MacKay, "What now?" He smiled and shrugged and directed me to help move people along of the stage.
Being the reasonable person I am, I helped move people off the stage. The Stooges road crew is uncommonly cool about the whole situation; they knew it was coming. Before I leave I made sure to shake Scott Asheton's hand behind the drum set and thanked him accordingly.
After being escorted off the stage, I made my way to the back of the crowd and saw the rest of their truly extraordinary show. By the end, what had culminated was simple: it was without question, the best rock 'n' roll show I've ever seen. And in some unusual way, I was a part of it.
Even now 30+ years past their prime, I honestly don't think you can find a better rock 'n' roll show than The Stooges.
Yo La Tengo – You know what, they played great. It was what I expected, but I truly did not care. You can't follow The Stooges with Yo La Tengo; it just doesn't work.
The Wailers – Talk about a strange series of events. As I am walking past Yo La Tengo's set I see The Wailers performing "No Woman No Cry". I'm lucky I didn't have an aneurysm. Who honestly can go from hearing the entire Fun House record, to Yo La Tengo, to the survived The Wailers playing the best reggae song ever written, in a half-hour time span and not have the cognitive dissonance within to sit down and ponder what implausible events you are witnessing. I needed to rest.
TV on the Radio – Last show of the night for me (no thank you, on Pearl Jam). And TV on the Radio played very admirably. I bet their show, like most other bands, would have been much better played with in the four walls of a club, but that's neither here nor there.
