This was definitely the hottest Lolla front to back that we've had in a while. It was in the 80s to low 90s and humid most of the weekend, but it only drizzled a little bit Thursday night. Otherwise, any rain was overnight or in the mornings, but thankfully it wasn't so much that the fields became too sloppy.
All four days, there were bands or artists I wanted to see early, so I was in Grant Park by 12:30 p.m. each day. I once again skipped the aftershows this year because the only ones I would have wanted to see were at venues far enough away from me that it would have meant I probably would have gotten home close to 3 a.m. You can't be doing that shit when you're in your mid 40s and need to get up early enough to make it back down to Grant Park by lunchtime.
We had a good crew of Lolla regulars, as well as a friend from college, his wife, and their teenage daughter, who were all first timers. Jester and I took the kids on Friday because the girls wanted to see SZA. And of course, just like every year, I randomly ran into people I knew every day and made new "festival friends" at shows or in cocktail lounges throughout the weekend, including a group of Kiwis in their late 40s/early 50s who were eating mushroom paste from a ziplock bag (psilocybin, not porcini) and dumbfounded that they couldn't easily score coke at the festival. They also had VIP wristbands and thought the regular cocktail lounge was a VIP lounge. I'm just sorry I didn't ask them about the Toothbrush Fence.
Thursday was definitely the most crowded I've ever seen Lolla on a Thursday, which was apparently due to Chappell Roan, who played on the south end at the T-Mobile stage from 5-6 p.m. that day. It was apparently the largest crowd for a non-headliner in Lolla history. The overhead shots are crazy. We walked down that way because we were going to see some of Kesha's set (she was playing right after on the other stage on the south field), but the crowds were so massive that we turned right around and avoided the south end the rest of the day.
Overall, I thought the lineup was decent, but not great. As I did last year, I made a Spotify playlist with three songs from each non-EDM artist and listened to that for the week or so before Lolla. That at least helped me figure out where the rock and roll was -- and it was, for the most part, earlier in the day. Hence, my early arrivals every day. There was an overabundance of solo singer-songwriter types, and I'm not sure why. I have nothing against it, but it's just not always great "festival music." There wasn't enough rock, plain and simple. And then Sunday, a few bands must have had to cancel or something because the schedule got shifted. For someone who prints out the daily lineups and highlights who he wants to see -- which is really the best way to get a global view of how your day is going to go -- this could have been a disaster. Thankfully, the information tent had a pen I could use to write in new set times and put arrows on the sheet for bands switching stages.
I again very much enjoyed the cocktail lounges, which are always a nice 21-and-over respite from the masses. They added one next to the BMI stage (which is usually my favorite stage anyway) that used to be a GA+ lounge. It had karaoke, which was a nice bonus. Another great addition to the cocktail lounges this year: hot dog carts. Fucking brilliant.
The Cutwater canned margarita continues to be the best bang for your buck, even at $16 a pop, as it's basically the alcohol equivalent of a double at $11 less than what a double cocktail will cost you. Plus, you can still bring cans outside of the cocktail lounges, but not the cups with the mixed cocktails -- though you can just pour those into a water bottle and the fuzz is none the wiser.
For the third year in a row, I was severely disappointed with the craft beer garden. They moved it to a new location, near the Perry's stage (i.e., the EDM stage), as if suburban teenagers vaping and tripping on Molly care about craft beer. And the beer selection was once again piss poor, with the same beers they've had the last few years and only a couple options that weren't available at the "regular" bar tents all over the grounds. I will say that the addition of Hoop Tea -- a hard iced tea -- to the standard bar menu across the fest was a pleasant surprise, especially with the heat. Quite refreshing.
But at the end of the day, no matter how many nits I had and no matter how much it felt like someone hit me in the lower back with a 2x4 when I woke up Monday morning, I had a fantastic time. As always, I added many bands and artists to my list of "followed" bands on Facebook, so that I know when they might be coming back to town. And even with the strangely overrepresented signer-songwriters at this year's Lolla, there was also rock, pop, hip hop, rap, punk, disco, soul, metal, alt rock, alt pop, folk, comedy rock, glam, country, R&B, indie rock, and everything in between. Only after compiling the list below am I realizing how much I packed into four days.
Here are the bands and artists for which I saw two or more songs over the course of the weekend:
Thursday: Been Stellar, quannnic, Chance Emerson, Fleshwater, Blondshell, Goldie Boutilier, Riovaz, brenn!, d4vd, Wolves of Glendale, Gioli & Assia, Walter the Producer, adan diaz, Hozier
Friday: The Stews, sundial, Geese, Militarie Gun, Wilderado, McKenna Grace, Tiny Habits, Sexyy Red, The National Parks, Kevin Abstract, SZA
Saturday: Brigitte Calls Me Baby, Friko, Hayes Warner, Infinity Song, Happy Landing, Destroy Boys, Quarters of Change, Natalie Jane, TV Girl, Tommy Newport, Sam Nelson, Killer Mike, Hippo Campus, The Killers
Sunday: Kyle Dion, Scarlet Demore, Hanabie., Good Kid, Post Sex Nachos, Huddy, Nico Vega, Carmen DeLeon, Vince Staples, The Last Dinner Party, Conan Gray, Pierce the Veil, Two Door Cinema Club, blink-182
Here are my top ten shows that I saw over the course of the weekend (in chronological order):
Honorable Mention: quannic, The Stews, Militarie Gun, Destroy Boys, Killer Mike, Kyle Dion, Nico Vega
1. Been Stellar (Thursday, IHG Hotels and Resorts stage)
The weekend started off with a rocking bang, with New York's Been Stellar playing early Thursday afternoon. I'd describe them as '90s alt-rock-influenced, and they brought energy to those of us sweating in the shadeless Grant Park sun.
2. Wolves of Glendale (Thursday, BMI stage)
Comedy rockers Wolves of Glendale were highly entertaining. On first listen on the Spotify playlist leading up to Lolla, I wasn't really paying attention to the lyrics, but I thought the songs were good. Then I actually noticed that they had a song called "Vapin' in Vegas," which I thought was strange, and I figured out that they're funny. A highlight of the Lolla set was when they asked the crowd for suggestions of a song by one band and the name of another band. The song someone shouted was "Tubthumping" by Chumbawumba, and the band someone else shouted was blink-182. The band then improvised a version of "Tubthumping" in the style of blink-182.
3. Hozier (Thursday, Bud Light stage)
I have never seen Hozier before, and he's an artist who I don't really follow, but when I hear his songs, I generally like them. My friend and I wanted from the cocktail lounge at the end of the field that faces the stage because we secured some chairs under a tree that shielded us from the rain. Hozier gave a soulful, rocking performance that we enjoyed, even from several hundred feet away.
4. Brigitte Calls Me Baby (Saturday, IHG Hotels and Resorts stage)
This was another early afternoon slot (12:30) that I made sure to get downtown early to see, based on what I had heard on my Spotify playlist. Plus, they're from Chicago, so it's always good to see a local band on stage at Lolla. I'd describe their music as influenced by The Cure and the more uptempo Smiths songs, with a little 50s rock thrown in. The lead singer could crush a Roy Orbison song at karaoke. And apparently "Brigitte" is pronounced "Bridget."
5. Infinity Song (Saturday, Bud Light stage)
Infinity Song is a band from New York comprised of four siblings, and they're generally R&B and soul, at least on tape. Live, they were full of energy and rocked out, ripping off a full on jam at one point. They're song "Hater's Anthem" is great, and their live rendition was even better.
6. The Killers (Saturday, T-Mobile stage)
I've only seen The Killers before at Lolla (including at the first one in Grant Park in 2005), but they have always put on a great show, and this was no exception. They were energetic, their stage presence was great, and they proved again that they are truly worthy of a Lolla headlining slot.
7. Scarlet Demore (Sunday, Bacardi stage)
Another Chicago band in an early afternoon slot, Scarlet Demore helped kick off the last day of Lolla with some grungey rock and roll on a hot day.
8. Hanabie. (Sunday, T-Mobile stage)
It wouldn't be a Lolla without a random all-female Japanese metal band. Last year, it was Band-Maid. This year it was Hanabie. I love the juxtaposition between the cartoony, stuffed animal get-ups and the hardcore music.
9. The Last Dinner Party (Sunday, Tito's stage)
This was one of the bands I was most excited to see. The chorus to "Nothing Matters" is arguably the best chorus with an f-bomb in it since Cee-Lo. I've described them as what I would imagine a band would sound like if the backup band in the Robert Palmer "Addicted to Love" and "Simply Irresistible" videos had daughters who formed a band and possibly a coven. They're an all-female band that plays alt-rock and baroque pop, and there is something ethereal and mesmerizing about their music -- like they might actually be sirens. And their set at Lolla was great.
10. blink-182 (Sunday, T-Mobile stage)
blink-182 closed out this year's Lolla, and they did it with their typical irreverent banter and pop punk anthems. For the week after the show, I couldn't stop thinking with a blink-182 inflection ("I'm saur-ray," "were arr yiauw," etc.).
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