Lollapalooza 2013 Reviewed
Well it was the first weekend of August and that could only mean one thing… Lollapalooza is upon us. Chicago houses one of the biggest festivals in the world, in one of the biggest cities. Boasting a massive lineup of every genre, we at Elektro like to focus on one stage and one stage only, and that was Perry’s Stage. The stage that was set to the Southwest corner of the massive layout that Lollapalooza was. Headliners such as Steve Aoki, Steve Angello, and Knife Party were ready to give sundown sets, a 16 year old by the name of Cole Plante was about to make Lollapalooza history as the youngest person to ever DJ this storied festival, and 300,000 people (over the course of the weekend) were about to enter the grounds and forget about life’s worries for a day (or a weekend).
Day 1 started off with the trio from London that is signed to Skrillex’s Label Owsla. Monsta got the party started with hard hitting basslines and synth-laden sounds. “Holdin’ On” was a huge single for them this year and it showed when it was dropped during their set as the crowd was in an uproar. Following them was none other than the fatherless child known as Dillon Francis. As blow up kittens were inflated on the stage and clouds started to get thicker and darker Dillon was about to deliver the hardest set of the day. Playing a few huge remixes such as Suit & Tie by Jay Z/Justin Timberlake and Dada Life’s “So Young, So High,” Dillon started to gain a rather large crowd, as he was being followed by the dubstep rock band known as Modestep. It was awkward seeing guitars and drums on Perry’s stage. During their set was the first mosh pit I’ve seen all day, and boy was it insane. They were a perfect lead into Flux Pavilion. With his powerful bass, and melodic lyrics, people were singing along while dancing uncontrollably in the mud. He sang “The Scientist” live which is a personal favorite, and the crowd belted it out along with Flux. Ending his set with “Golddust,” I was hoping for gold glitter to be shot into the crowd but that didn’t happen… The stage was set for the headliner of day 1, Steve Aoki. Asian Jesus came out to a sea of people; the most packed Perry’s stage was all day. Steve Aoki was a ball of energy bouncing all over the stage. The lights were spectacular as they shot from the stage but also there were light stages towards the back that shot strobes and rays of light towards the main stage, along with video screens. Steve even brought out a special guest, none other than Lil Jon came out to accompany Aoki on there collaborative track “Turbulence.” And as every Aoki show goes, there was cake! Day 1 at Lollapalooza was just a taste to what was to come the rest of the weekend, and hopefully better weather too.
Day 2 was a hot one and sunny as could be as the 16 year old prodigy Cole Plante started off the day. Wearing a throwback Jordan jersey, he was already scoring points. For being so young, he sure knew how to throw down, mixing in massive house anthems, he dropped his own major tunes including the newest single featuring Myon & Shane 54 called “Lie to me,” and his other hit “Forever.” Was a great way to start the day as a lot of people seemed to funnel in as his set went on. After all this kid is the youngest DJ to ever perform at historic Lollapalooza. Next up was GRiZ, who has the soulful beats to make anyone get into a vibe out mood. As beach balls flew across the crowd while others jammed out to hits such as “Getting’ Live” and “Smash the Funk.” Next up Chicago was transported to Dada Land. Bananas, champagne bottles, and awkward screen videos were shown during Dada Life’s set. The crowd was bouncing in every which direction and the guys from Dada Life were waving the flag of Dada Land. “Boing, Clash, Boom,” “Happy Violence,” and “Kick Out the Epic Mother” were just a few of the songs played by this Swedish Duo. As the sun set, it was time for another Steve to headline, this time it was Steve Angello from the super group Swedish House Mafia. He played a massive house set, and a slew of Swedish House Mafia tracks, during his set Fireworks were being shot off from what seemed to be Soldier Field. And then not too long later, more fireworks were seen shooting off from Navy Pier. Angello had the coolest light show/pyrotechnics of the Perry’s stage thus far. He was a solid note to end day 2.
Day 3 boasted the best lineup for Perry’s stage as it was the day that had all the heavy hitters, and then some underground styles of Art Department. Once again the weather was beautiful, as Kill the Noise was first on deck. Turned out to be one of the most improved sets I’ve seen of anyone I’ve seen at Lolla. He was mixing it up left and right. As soon as you thought you knew the beat and what was coming next, he would switch it up and hit the crowd with something totally different. For instance he dropped the Spanish tune suavememente, and then led that into a heavy trap beat. Kill the Noise was a great way to start the day. Art Department was next, and they were kind of the awkward dj that was smashed in between multiple dubstep artists. They put on a great chill tempo set though, a good change to catch your breath for what was about to come. Following them were the supergroup consisted of Skrillex and Boys Noize. This set was house and bass heavy, the one downfall was Skrillex being his usual self and screaming into the mic. They played an array of their own tracks while playing a bunch off their released EP. This paved the way for the heartthrob Diplo as part of Major Lazer. Dressed in a suit he got the crowd twerking and dancing in all sorts of awkward directions. As his MC hyped up the crowd and Diplo did what he did best by making girls sweat. He like Aoki has his signature “move” during a set, and brought out his plastic bubble and “orbed” the crowd, as they call it. The crowd was definitely the biggest I have seen all weekend as Major Lazer led into Knife Party. They seemed the most popular out of most of the artists that played Lolla over the weekend. They set the stage on fire during “Bonfire,” and when “Internet Friends” was played you can bet the crowd lost it. Such a high energy set from beginning to end, and when the set ended everyone was begging for more.
That was my Lolla for the weekend, tons of great artists packed the Perry’s stage all weekend long. Top 2 Favorite sets of the weekend would have to go to Dada Life’s transformation of Lolla into Dada Land, and Knife Party’s annihilation of Grant Park. Most surprising set would have to go to the 16 year old, that I personally have never really heard of, but Cole Plante as pretty sick, and everyone out there should expect huge things from this high school junior. Thank you Perry Farrell for putting on yet another amazing festival in Chicago, and it truly is one of the best in the country if not the world… Until next time Lolla…
Written by: Derek Bogseth