101
Monday, August 9, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
LOLLA
From Page 8
tionof "Rent" than apop music perfor-
mance. But Gaga will be Gaga, and by
the time she had overdramatized her
way through bouts of musical theater
and motivational speaking, it was clear
that, apart from the dance-crazed die-
hards, many left disappointed and con-
fused.
Those who did leave Gaga early (or
were wise enough to not go at all) were
treated to a historical performance
by newly reunited NYC heroes The
Strokes. Aided by an incredible light
show, the band was dead-on, play-
ing now-classic tracks from its first
three albums perfectly and with roof-
igniting energy and ease. For a band
that's admittedly back together for
the money, it sure sounded like their
members still love to play together -
one could nearly forget that frontman
Julian Casablancas is almost as big of a
diva nowadays as Lady Gaga.
After Friday night, the rest of the
weekend promised to be pretty incred-
ible - and Saturday didn't disappoint.
With early sets by The Soft Pack and
The MorningBenders, whosebreakout
albums launched them from indie dar-
lings to 2010 festival mainstays, those
who wanted a little more guitar with
their Lolla were satisfied early on.
The feel-good pop-rockers of Blues
Traveler emerged with chromatic
harmonica blazing, playing the band's
own '90s hits along with a Sublime
cover, and bookending their fittingly
sunny set with songs from the "Team
America: World Police" soundtrack.
Back in the shaded Sony bloggie
stage toward the center of the festival,
psych-rock group Warpaint played a
sleepy, meditative set that entranced
the midday crowd - most of whom
seemed to have showed up to give
their ears a rest from the more aurally
demanding artists on the other stages.
Grizzly Bear emerged on the Bud-
weiser mainstage as Lolla veterans,
though its crowd this year easily out-
sized 2008's performance on a tinier
side stage. Frontman Edward Droste
apologized for the Brooklyn quartet
not being much of a festival band - but
you wouldn't know it by its passionate
reception as the crowd sang along in
earnest to Droste and Daniel Rossen's
songs from last year's Veckatinmest.
Another clear highlight, Grizzly Bear
may have finally freed itself from its
reputation as a sleepy live band - and
it's about time.
Next up was Spoon, who played
tracks from last winter's eclectic
Transference and dug deep with a track
from A Series of Sneaks. Along with
Grizzly Bear, the band also played
"Modern World," a Wolf Parade cover
with all the signature minimalism and
disjointed percussion that Spoon seems
to write in its sleep.
Sandwiched between Grizzly Bear's
and Spoon's sets was Social Distortion,
whose influential '80s punk blared
from the main stage on the southern
end of the festival. Younger members
of the audience not familiar with the
pop-punk pioneers might mistake
them for ripping off more modern acts
like Green Day, and it's a shame they
played prior to Billy Joe and the gang
instead of after.
Back on the Budweiser stage,
French indie rockers Phoenix played
an incredible set, complete with yet
another sublime, seizure-inducing
light show and spirited performances
of "1901" and "Lisztomania." The band
stretched tracks like "Love Like a Sun-
set" from 2009's stunning Wolfgang
Amadeus Phoenix to well beyond the
10-minute mark, giving the blissed-out
and transfixed crowd the best show of
the day.
Performances like those of The
Strokes and Phoenix gave Sunday's art-
istssomebigshoestofill.Butwithamaz-
ing shows and happenings all around,
each one furthering the momentum the
Lollapalooza machine has created, even
a little Sunday rain could never prevent
another amazing day in Grant Park.
GLASS
From Page 9
she seems more concerned about
her collection than her children.
So when she refers to 'my chil-
dren,' she's usually talking about
her art ... She just doesn't want it to
go to her uncle's museum, the Gug-
genheim in New York."
Edwards, who portrays the
eccentric and promiscuous Gug-
genheim, is a Broadway actress and
singer. She was last heard at the
Performance Network as the man-
eating plant Audrey II in "Little
Shop of Horrors." Children of the
'90s might remember Edwards for
her voice role as Queen Beryl on
the hit anime series "Sailor Moon."
Tulip, who has collaborated
with Edwards at the Performance
Network in "Man of La Mancha,"
had high praise for the veteran
actress.
"She's a good actress and works
extremely hard," Tulip said. "The
interesting thing is when directing
one actor, you are as much a con-
fidant, a psychiatrist, a confessor,
as well as a traditional director
because it's more of a conversa-
tion. It's more of a temporary artis-
tic marriage than just leading a
troop."
Music fans watch Green Day's performance at Lollapalooza in Grant Park on Saturday.
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The Ypsilanti Community Band
is now the
Washtenaw Community Concert Band
'Welcoming musicians looking for a true concert band experience
In partnership with Washtenaw Community College,
earn 2 credits by enrolling in MUS 112
Find out more about the class by visiting
www.wccnet.edu
For more information on the band call
734-252-9221
or e-mailatypsicommband@gmail.com
*1
Washtenaw Community College
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