Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Tuesday Top Ten: Bands I'm Most Excited to See at Lollapalooza

The lineup for this year's Lollapalooza (August 5-7; Grant Park; Chicago) has been announced, with Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, and Muse as the headliners. Here is a link to the full lineup.

Of course, one of my favorite things about Lollapalooza is discovering new bands and artists, so I'm sure the list below will not be identical the list of the best shows I see at Lolla this year, but, given that caveat, here are the ten bands or artists I'm most excited about seeing (in no particular order):

1. Eminem
I've never seen him, other than in my dreams.

2. Foo Fighters
Last time I saw Foo Fighters was my senior year at IU when they were teamed up with the Red Hot Chili Peppers for the Little 500 concert. Needless to say, it was a great concert, although Foo Fighters were the first band to play, so they only played for about an hour. I love their new album (and their other albums since 2000), so I'm excited to see them.

3. The Cars
I'm probably not going to be able to see them when they play at The Vic in a couple weeks, so I'm glad they're coming to Lolla.

4. Cee Lo Green
I've seen him a couple times at Lolla as part of Gnarls Barkley. As my friend Greg says, his voice is "velvety."

5. Arctic Monkeys
They're one of my favorite bands over the past five years, and they have a new album coming out within the next month or two called Suck It and See. How lewd.

6. Flogging Molly
I saw them a couple years ago at Lolla, and they put on a hell of a show. Interesting tidbit: lead singer Dave King was the lead singer in early '80s metal band Fastway, who famously recorded the soundtrack to the 1986 metal-infused horror movie Trick or Treat (note, that's his voice, not his body in the movie). For a solid shot of King in his metal glory, watch this video.

7. Cage The Elephant
They put on a pretty good show opening up for Stone Temple Pilots last year, so I'm excited to see them again, especially now that they have a new album.

8. Ok Go
This Chicago-based group is known for their innovative videos and stage shows. I think I saw them 5 or 6 years ago at Lolla, but I may be wrong. I just hope there are treadmills involved.

9. Beats Antique
I missed their show last year, which was apparently awesome.

10. Grace Potter and The Nocturnals
These guys are part of the neo-classic soul movement, and I enjoy their most recent eponymous album. You've probably heard their song "Paris (Ooh La La)" in several commercials for TV shows.

Anyone else you recommend?

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