Lollapalooza 2010. Day Two. Recap. Go.

9:15 p.m.: Phoenix

At the complete opposite end of the spectrum from Green Day’s Broadway-in-Chicago approach, French pop rock outfit Phoenix made the north end of Grant Park look more like a European disco with massive strobe lighting effects. When originally announced as a headliner, many felt the band wasn’t quite ready for that big of a stage. And in the first couple of songs in their set, it did seem like the band were a bit nervous and awe struck at the thousands positioned in front of the stage.

After opening with arguably their biggest and most well known hit, “Lisztomania”, from their latest release Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, the band stumbled a bit on their second song “Lasso” in which guitarist Christian Mazzalai hit some missed notes during the bridge. But the band recovered nicely on their next few songs including soaring soul-tinged, groover “Fences” and rhythmic “Girlfriend”, which was carried by front man Thomas Mars’ melodic vocals. The band eventually won the crowd completely over with the nearly 10-minute, electro-pop epic “Love Like a Sunset Part I” and “Love Like a Sunset Part II”. At the close of heir set, the band quieted doubters that they were headliner-ready with a rousing version of their hit “1901″. While theatrics reigned on the south end, the north end had Phoenix bringing the attention back to where it should have been all along – on the music.

8:00 p.m.: Green Day

Truth be told, I didn’t catch Green Day’s entire set, only the beginning before booking it to the other end of the park for Phoenix. But if I learned one thing for he 45 minutes I witness, Green Day have come a long way from the three-chord punk band that initiated a mud-hurling fight with the crowd at Woodstock ’94. After their underrated but commercially unsuccessful Warning was released in 2000, he band’s commercial appeal began to wane. But only four years later, the band completely changed their image from bratty, abrasive punk rockers to eye-liner wearing pop rock opera composers. 2004′s American Idiot saw the band move into the political realm, but with an album that was a call to arms for the younger generation than to make any real statement.

But at the end of the day, this dramatic shift in who the band are worked greatly. Now, Green Day are coming off their latest successful opus 21st Century Breakdown and a Broadway version of American Idiot, which really comes out in heir live show that’s more spectacle than performance. All the hype leading up to Lady Ga Ga’s Lolla debut was washed away when Green Day unveiled their arena rock-ready pyrotechnics.

Unfortunately, those were the only real fireworks to occur during their set. In the first fifteen minutes, the band only managed two songs instead of the probably seven they would have fit in that time frame in the early 1990′s. Billie Joe Armstrong now plays the part of not only lead singer and guitarist, but also foul-mouthed hype man by dropping F-bombs and “Yeh-Oh!” call and response shouts with the crowd. This made their set feel bloated and empty for the first 20 minutes or so. Not long after, I left the scene. But I hear things picked up when the band finally delivered their old-school hits in a straightforward manner. If Green Day does still have any true punk antics left in them, they indeed showed them off by playing for 15 minutes past the official city of Chicago curfew of 10 p.m.

6:50 p.m.: Spoon

Britt Daniel of Spoon

Spoon are what you’d call veterans of the festival scene, if not the rock scene in general. They’ve played Lollapalooza in 2007, and they even headlined Pitchfork Music Festival in 2008. Not to mention the fact that they were just in Chicago back in April as well as recently played Old St. Pat’s World’s Largest Block Party last month. But they’re back again – and this time Britt Daniel and Co. were in full force. After some not-so-flattering reviews about the band’s sound in the massive music-eating cave that is the northside’s Aragon, Spoon ratcheted up the rock during their hour and fifteen minute set. Things started subdued with Daniel coming out solo to play an acoustic version of “Me and the Bean” from 2001′s Girls Can Tell.

But after that – save for a couple of detours – their set was completely comprised of their more energetic tunes, many of which were from their latest album Transference. “Writing In Reverse” sounds a but plain on record, but live he song takes a life of it’s own with more upfront and twisted guitar and rollicking piano interplay. At one point during the song, instead of the proper lyric, Daniel lets out a demented laugh through reverb in mad scientist style. They even reached into their older material rockin’ the Pixies-guitar laden “Utilitarian”, opener for 1998′s A Series Of Sneaks, which seemed to be lost among the younger crowd. But near the end of the set when Daniel strapped on the acoustic for a swinging version of “I Summon You”, you could actually hear all the hearts of the women in the crowd swoon. Whether it’s acoustic gems, horn-featured testaments like “The Underdog” or rambunctious, Beatles-inspired pop of “Trouble Comes Running”, Spoon has no limits to their reach.

5:44 p.m.: Metric

One of the most surprising big crowds of the day was for the Toronto indie rockers Metric. The band combines early ’90s influenced pop rock but make he grooves and rhythms far more danceable. And if there’s one thing that’s been proven a sure winner a both Lollapalooza and Pitchfork Music Festival his year, it’s that kids love to dance. But their set really seemed like a coming out party for lead singer Emily Haines, who was far more than just a pretty face to look at. Haines has a legitimate set of pipes. From the moment he stepped on stage, she commanded the audience’s attention both visually and aurally, and hopped around the stage while feeding off the hordes of people in front of her. Metric’s music occasionally reaches into the hard rock spectrum with James Shaw’s meaty riffs, but Haines’ synth and drummer Joules Scott-Key’s quick-changing beat broke up any heavy elements and replaced them with a raw, pop-like edge that recalled the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at their mos fun.

4:28 p.m.: Gogol Bordello

While contemplative buzz band The XX were taking things slow on the north wide of Grant Park, I chose to stay on the south end for Gogol Bordello’s gypsy-punk, family-band antics. From the get-go, there was no let up as their punk backbeat and swift accordion kept everyone dancing in time. At one point, Ukrainian lead singer Eugene Hütz ditched his shirt and guitar, and instead began to swig a bottle of wine. The songs range from nearly genuine ethnic dances to the occasional hard rock influence with big, distorted riffs from guitarist Oren Kaplan, but still stayed within the song’s body-moving tempo. They closed wih the always rousing “Start Wearing Purple,” which cause two girls near me to lock arms and begin to dance a jig. Just like how the band’s members represent seven different nationalities from Russia to Ecuador, Gogol Bordello’s set was a joyous gathering for all without a speck of pretension.

3:05 p.m.: Against Me!

Tom Gabel of Against Me!

Against Me! kicked off the punk rock theme going on at the south side of Grant Park with AFI, Social Distortion and Green Day all set to appear later in the day. Though the Gainesville, Florida, group play a brand of punk rock that’s more in line with the Hold Steady, whose ex-member Franz Nicolay played with Against Me! during their set, or Pitchfork Fest 2010 favorites Titus Andronicus than the Ramones. Against Me! featured big, bustling overdriven guitars and earnest monologues from singer and guitarist Tom Gabel. Their songs were beer-chugging anthems laced with profanity – the perfect release music for the younger in the crowd who aren’t easily affected by the late afternoon heat and humidity.

2:18 p.m.: Warpaint

Warpaint bassist Emily Kokal

Warpaint quickly set themselves apart from many of this year’s acts in that this quartet isn’t about summer fun or beach parties when it comes to the music. They play moody art rock that’s fleshed out through sturdy bass grooves and intricate guitar interplay that recalls Sonic Youth at their most minimal. Even when you think the band are going for a build up, it slowly feather-floats back down instead of reaching epic payoffs. But that didn’t dull their live show as guitarist Theresa Wayman’s vocals carry that same haunting urgency of the Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan. Later in the set when drummer Stella Mozgawa got going, their songs unfolded into a dark ’80s pop feel in the vein of Tears For Fears. The crowd latched onto every winding and crisscrossing guitar line for a performance that could be considered one of the breakthrough variety.

1:20 p.m.: Harlem

Harlem bassist Jose Boyer

The first thing noticeable about this Austin trio is that their drum kit features an oversized kick drum. But it seems the instrument is just for show seeing how rhythm wasn’t Harlem’s focus. Instead, the band seems to push melodic and harmonic vocals to the front, while their driving, ’60s-garage riffs are more in common with the Black Lips. They’re simple fun, but occasionally first time listeners might have a hard time distinguishing between all their fast-thumping songs.

12:35 p.m.: Skybox

Tim Ellis of Skybox

The day began at the BMI stage for Chicago’s own Skybox. Even for early in the day at a small in the tree up against Lake Shore Drive, Skybox had a sizable crowd. Their good-time, sunny pop rock really connected with the audience who clapped along to the beat of almost every song. For some small bands, playing a show to a crowd of that size, I’ll estimate it at 125, after not playing regularly for a while – which Skybox haven’t been – might be intimidating. But Skybox let nothing rattle them and seemed quite at ease of their in front of loyal listeners.