Young the Giant, Photo: Wikipedia
Ahhhh, Lollapalooza. Chicago loves you so, and for good reason. You bring in millions of dollars from out-of-towners, who have to stay somewhere, eat, and be merry and pay good money to do so. You also bring the best big-name bands consistently year after year. Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse, Eminem, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5, Kid Cudi… A concert for any single one of these headliners would cost at least a third of the price of a Lolla 3-day pass. Even the one-day passes are a good deal.
However, the best thing about giant music festivals like Lolla is that there are so many acts that there are bound to be some bands you aren’t that familiar with. And even if Perry Farrell and the Lolla crew did a much worse job of selecting bands, there are so many that you are bound to see some great, surprising new music.
Day one of Lolla definitely had its fair share of lesser known acts that put on killer shows. Of course Muse, Coldplay, the Kills, and A Perfect Circle destroyed their main stage sets, but that has come to be expected. It would be a disappointment if any of those bands put on less than stellar performances, but with a lot of the earlier sets, there is no preconceived notion. Both Wye Oak and Young the Giant electrified the early afternoon crowds, making everyone forget that they just woke up and haven’t started drinking yet.
While Wye Oak got shafted with the noon slot they drew a sizable crowd and kept them at the Sony stage, knocking the sleep out of eyes with a set that was much more energetic and intense than their recorded material. With a duo lineup that seems to be getting more popular these days, singer/guitarist Jenn Wasner and drummer/keyboard player Andy Stack unexpectedly rocked out. It was one of those things where you hear an intriguing cacophony coming from a stage, decide to check it out, and realize, “Oh my god, all that sound is coming from two people?
It does help that Stack follows the Rick Allen (Def Leppard’s one-armed drummer) school of drumming… the one arm thing, not arena rock huge drum beats. It frees up his left hand to play bass and synths on a keyboard right next to his hi hat, which effectively transforming this duo into a power trio. It also helps that Wasner has a voice that can go from earnest and sweet to a primal howl, often in the noise rockish portions of their set. Look for Wye Oak next time they come around your city; their indie pop sincerity and top notch performance will not disappoint.
Young the Giant also rocked a bunch of virgin ears in the early afternoon. I’m sure many had heard their smash hit single, “My Body,” but other than that, it seemed like much of the crowd was unfamiliar with the rest of their material. Twas no matter, though, because Young the Giant worked the stage and the crowd like seasoned veterans. Frontman Sameer Gadhia gyrated all over the Bud Light stage, at times channeling Mick Jagger and Scott Weiland while he perfectly hit every crystal clear note. At times he displayed some serious range.
The rest of the band were just as good; guitarists Jacob Tilley and Eric Cannata interlocked their sometimes funky, sometimes mathy chord action, bassist Payam Doostzadeh wowed with some thick-sounding bass chords, and drummer François Comtois was continually exciting throughout their entire set. The showed true professionalism, too, dealing with some guitar issues very smoothly; if you couldn’t see the stage, there would be no way to know anything went wrong, because the other members covered for it incredibly well.
Young the Giant at times reminded of other, similar rock bands like the Strokes, Rooney, and the Killers, but their style is distinctly their own. The comparisons are only fleeting and illustrative. These guys may be new on the scene, their break coming when they won an online contest in 2009 to open for Kings of Leon, but they play like they’ve been around for a decade. Hopefully the huge crowd for them at Lolla is a sign of big things to come from Young the Giant!
