Although the weather report predicted thunderstorms, Sunday’s sky was clear at Lollapalooza. Other than not getting soaked, the day’s high points included Juliette and the Licks, the Diffs, The Stooges, and Pearl Jam among others.
Juliette and the Licks kicked off the festival’s final day with a steadily growing crowd. “I’m not sure how many of you knew about us, or if we were just a surprise,” actress and front woman Juliette Lewis said with genuine modesty. But whether people watched because she is a movie star, the band was on first, or they just loved her music, Lewis and company completely won over thousands of people.
Even though some songs (and dance moves) were a little tired, The Licks gave a lively performance, including an interlude in which all band members took to the drums. Clad in black leather and vinyl, Lewis proved herself to be fearless, throwing herself into the audience and having the crowd raise her up in a victorious pose (shown left).
The Postmarks were a bit more “ladylike” in their approach. Though their French-inspired indie pop was sweet, their performance was dull. Singer Tim Yehezkely mostly stood still at her keyboard, her long hair and shy demeanor reminiscent of vocalist Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) but without that underlying hypnotic quality.
Young Los Angeles quartet The Diffs were one of the few bona-fide punk bands of the festival — in the spirit of The Devil Dogs or The Germs rather than Fall Out Boy. This is hardly surprising given that guitarist Elvis and drummer Max “Maxi-Pad” Kuehn are the sons of TSOL keyboardist Greg Kuehn.
And though certainly not a new take on the genre, The Diffs had energy to spare and inspired one Chicago teen to try to dismantle the park’s wire fence and sneak into the festival. Now that’s punk rock!
And speaking of punk rock, the band that started it all, The Stooges — with original members Ron and Scott Ashton as well as former Minuteman Mike Watt — gave the day’s most powerful performance. At 60 years of age, Iggy Pop (shown left) was in his glory, humping an amplifier, jumping into the photographer’s pit, and inviting the crowd to come on stage and dance with him during “No Fun.”
Psychedelic indie rockers My Morning Jacket ran long, causing a delay for Brooklyn’s TV on the Radio, who were subsequently cut short so headliners Pearl Jam could potentially start on time (even though they didn’t). But on the last night of TV on the Radio‘s massive fourteen-month tour, the quintet were still going strong, infecting throngs of fans with their danceable pop rock.
As the sun went down and the lights went up over the AT&T stage, a mammoth crowd gathered to watch Pearl Jam. Fifteen years after they first headlined Lollapalooza, they are still a commanding presence, knocking out crowd pleasers such as “Alive” and “Rearview Mirror.” Eddie Vedder was humble, giving props to a list of his favorite festival performers.
Between hits, the group got political. Vedder spoke out against BP Amoco for their plans to dump waste into Lake Michigan, and before a second encore that featured Ben Harper, Pearl Jam brought Iraqi war veterans out to urge fans against the war. Pearl Jam then ended Lollapalooza with a heartfelt rendition of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
– Jamie Ludwig
Photo credits: Tanya van Kampen