Hype Wins, We Lose at Lollapalooza

It would be pretty difficult to bring 150 bands together for three days and not have at least a few of them leave you wondering what all the hype was about, so here's a look at some of the bands that didn't quite justify the pre-palooza hype.



1. X Japan. Seriously? These guys have sold 20 million records? Who to? Talk about an over-the-top band, this Sunday performance -- on the Parkways Foundation big stage no less -- was the band's first ever in the U.S., and there was little to impress. Loud and louder. Shrill, bone-chilling vocals. Icy hot painful guitars. Hyper-amped, double kick drums... It hurt the ears. Blood red flashpots eaarly in the set hinted at what was coming -- but not much could prepare the crowd for singers shrieking, exhorting the medium-sized crowd to "Scream!" repeatedly throughout. Not that there wasn't something to X Japan. Delicate piano, taped Japanese choral interludes, and some decent guitar playing were evident throughout -- just not worth the time or the aural damage.

2. Erykah Badu. Okay, let's make sure we get this accurate. X Japan ends promptly at 5:00. A few minutes later Badu sends out her DJ who spins two vinyls for 10 minutes. Then her band strolls out and they play for 9 minutes. Then Badu saunters to stage right and stands there, hands on hips, golden Sly Stone hair style glinting in the hot sun. She wanders to the mic, peering at the audience as if asking "What you lookin' at?" and then starts to sing... 22 minutes into a 60-minute performance. If Samuel Beckett had been in attendance avant garde theater would be presenting "Waiting for Badu."

3. Wolfmother. Back on the Parkways stage, this band tries to stake a claim to a Led Zepelinish sound, and if that's accurate, well... good riddance to Led Zeppelin. But I doubt it's the case. Loud does not Zeppelin make, and after 15 minutes it was clear there was little difference from once song to the next. Can they play? Yes. Does it matter? Not last Sunday it didn't.

4. MGMT. Well, this isn't going to make many people happy but I just don't get it. Kids had the huge Budweiser stage crowd bouncing but other than that what was there? MGMT sounds a little different than most bands so they get some credit for that, but what's all the buzz about? Maybe I'm missing something.

5. Dirty Projectors. These folks get a lot support from the indie underground and even fellow artists but Friday afternoon their experimental indie rock fell flat -- at best. Standing and listening to these folks fiddle about trying to be innovative was quite the annoying 60 minutes -- especially the pounding synth that started midway through and lasted the entire rest of the set.



6. The xx. This band only partly belongs in this list -- because they played a good set, I think. The biggest problem was how this band was going to translate what Lollapalooza described as "sleepy vocals and minimalist instrumentation" to an outdoor stage in the middle of a sunny afternoon. The Playstation stage (Petrillo Bandshell) was packed -- so much so that it was difficult to get in to hear. And while the instrumentation ame through loud and clear, the vocals were almost completely lost by the time the sound reached the first walkway. Not necessarily the band's fault but too bad they weren't on one of the smaller stages... check them out when they come to a club near you.

7. Lady Gaga. An awful lot of people believed (or at least were interested because of) the hype, and many of those types of music fans left the Parkways Foundation stage in droves, either to catch the rest of The Strokes or their train. Supposedly her set got better as it went along but a lot of those with mild interest were long gone by then.