LCD Soundsystem at the Aragon | Photo by Richard Giraldi

There might not be another band that have had a better year than LCD Soundsystem. Their 2010 release, This Is Happening, was met with both critical acclaim and commercial success. Their summer stint on the festival circuit including a marvelous set to close out Pitchfork Fest’s Saturday night, which may have been the best performance of the weekend, has proven they’re one of the top bands out right now. That said, LCD Soundsystem are on their victory lap playing for the third time, soon to be fourth time after tonight’s Riviera show, in Chicago. If there’s any downside to these two Chicago stops on their current tour, it’s that this might be the last we see of LCD Soundsystem for a while.

Before LCD Soundsystem’s Pitchfork Festival 2010 appearence, front man James Murphy was interviewed by Time Out Chicago. Murphy talked about how long the tour was and wanting to get out of the music game citing his age of 32. Obviously the tone of his statements don’t translate well through the monitor, but what if part of him really means it? That would be the ultimate shame.

On Monday night, LCD Soundsystem made dancing fools out of a sold out crowd at the Aragon. Despite his words, Murphy didn’t look like anyone who was growing weary of his day job – creating some of the tightest, danceable art-rock this side of the Talking Heads. Unlike other front men, Murphy doesn’t need to pander to the crowd. His passion is in his execution such as when he holds that end vocal hook a few extra seconds on the popcorn-synth sounds of “Dance Yrself Clean”.

That’s not to say the rest of the band don’t shine in their own right. What makes LCD Soundsystem a great live experience is the number of talented musicians on stage who work in perfect syncopation and harmony. Nothing is lost from the studio takes when the computerized rock history lesson of “Losing My Edge” or the bombastic, digital flare-ups of “Someone Great” are translated to the live setting. And yet, the band still manage keep things loose, which gives most LCD Soundsystem songs their undeniable charm.

While guitarist David Scott Stone laid down a simple, fuzzed out solo on the punchy “Drunk Girl” or Nancy Whang sent the crowd into a frenzy with the tiny piano melody from “All My Friends”, drummer Pat Mahoney never over extended himself and kept the beats playful. It’s that kind of musical relationship that really shined through including on the epic clix of “Yeah”, which saw the band evolve into a noisy, electro-mess but still rhythmic enough to keep the crowd moving.

While some gave LCD Soundsystem slack for closing with their Sinatra-influenced number “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down” at Chicago’s Pitchfork Fest earlier this summer, the band closed with the smooth vibes of This Is Happening track “Home” this time around. The song reflects the band in a way as it drives along a simple arrangement, but when pulled together with Murphy’s sweet crooning, it’s irresistible. Whether or not LCD Soundsystem continues on as a band past this tour, it’s probably best to, “Forget your past, this is your chance now”, and live, like the band, in the present. Enjoy it while you can.

Riot Fest is back, people! Now in it’s sixth year, the 2010 edition of the Chicago fall fest is looking like the biggest and best ever! You’ve got what appears to be the final Cap’n Jazz show this Saturday at the The Metro, a nearly all-original Naked Ray gun lineup playing the Busted At Oz show tonight at the Double Door, not to mention performances from Bad Religion, Mighty Mighty Bosstones and more!

Enough chatter though. Here are our picks of bands we definitely think you should check out at Riot Fest this week and this upcoming weekend. This is your Loud Loop Press Riot Fest 2010 Preview…

Naked Raygun — Wednesday, Oct. 6, Double Door

There’s not many punk rock acts who haven’t been influenced by Chicago’s Naked Raygun. Formed in 1980, the band added fearless, working man lyrics into their brand of punk and later post-hardcore music, which brought, unlike many punk bands of their heyday, strong melodies to the table. After originally breaking up in 1992, a version of the band’s lineup reunited at Riot Fest 2006. This year, for the Busted At Oz show, which is tonight at the Double Door, the well-known early lineup of Jeff Pezzati, Camilo Gonzalez, Jim Colao, and Santiago Durangowas was once again planning on gracing the stage. That is until drummer Jim Colao broke his arm in a biking accident, so current Naked Raygun drummer Eric Spicer will take his place. A shame, but, hey, three out of four ain’t bad. (Richard Giraldi)

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Carbondale, Illinois, quartet The Copyrights make addictive power pop-punk that will have you singing along in no time. The band has been around less than ten years but that hasn’t stopped them from putting out five full-length albums, the most recent being 2008’s Learn the Hard Way. Catch the Copyrights when they open for Propaghandi at Riotfest 2010. (Audrey Leon)

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There aren’t many musical acts that can survive for 30 years and still have a respectable music catalog, but punk rock pioneer and festival staple Bad Religion have joined that elite club. Bad Religion will take the Congress Theater stage at Riotfest 2010 to celebrate the release of its 15th album The Dissent of Man, which was released in September. The band — consisting of three founding members: singer Greg Graffin, guitarist Brett Gurewitz and bassist Jay Bentley — are known for their “oozin’ ahs” harmonies and fast rhythms. Nowhere is this more evident that the band’s most-well known track, “American Jesus,” off of its memorable 1993 album Recipe for Hate. (Audrey Leon)

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No one represents Chicago quite like local punks The Lawrence Arms. The Windy City trio named their first full-length A Guided Tour of Chicago and for 11 years the city has remained a primary influence. The Lawrence Arms have made a career out of catchy pop-punk songs with jokey song titles like “3am QVC Shopping Spree Hangover” and “Are You There Margaret? It’s Me, God.” But don’t let the good humor fool you, the band can write write infectious and fast-paced songs with substance; take, for instance, “The Slowest Drink at the Saddest Bar on the Snowiest Day in the Greatest City” off of the band’s 2009 EP Buttsweat and Tears. The music is so attention-grabbing that you almost miss the introspective lyrics underneath it. (Audrey Leon)

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Everyone and their mother knows Boston ska punks The Mighty Mighty Bosstones for that one song “The Impression that I Get” from their 1997 album Let’s Face it or the song “Where’d you Go?” from their cameo in the movie Clueless. But the band has been around since the mid-1980s and have recorded eight full-length albums. Even though vocalist Dicky Barrett now serves as the announcer on the TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live, the band is still busy touring and putting out records, the latest being 2009’s Pin Points and Gin Joints. Having scene the band perform a couple of summers on Warped Tour, Barrett’s gravelly low growl and the Bosstones’ big band style never disappoint. (Audrey Leon)

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It’s a testament to how good a band Smoking Popes is that I wholeheartedly recommend you go see a band that unironically covered “Pure Imagination” from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This band creates rock with sweet melodies, big hooks, and thoughtful lyrics, all raw enough that seeing them live is not to be missed. (Andy Kondrat)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWl-HSnwLWs

I’m going to have to admit, I’ve no idea what line-up these Cro-Mags are throwing out there this time around. From what I gather, it’s the John Joseph lead but Harley Flanagan-less one. So, you get the original vocalist but not the bassist and heart and soul of the band. Those two never got along, and John Joseph initially left after the Cro-Mags magnus opus Age Of Quarrel and has come back and left again many times since then. If they can produce 40% of their original ferocity it’ll still kick more ass than most. (Ross Meyerson)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6UtOIXq8Lo

There are any number of bands that are reviving the early days of punk by writing catchy-as-hell high-octane two-minute songs that you can’t get out of your head. But only the Riverboat Gamblers bring with them the swagger of a bunch of playboys and the menace of a barroom brawl. Put another way: this is stripped-down rock and roll the way it should be. (Andy Kondrat)

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6th

DOUBLE DOOR – Busted at Oz
Doors: 7:30pm
Show: 8:00pm

11:00 – close -- Naked Raygun
10:15 – 10:45pm -- The Subverts
9:30 – 10:00pm – Steve Bjorklund with Articles of Faith (Strike Under set)
8:55 – 9:20pm – Silver Abuse
8:25 – 8:45pm – Toothpaste
8:00 – 8:15pm – Rottenfinko

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7th

METRO
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 8:00pm

11:10 – close – Propagandhi
10:25 – 10:55pm – Cobra Skulls
9:45 – 10:10pm – The Copyrights
9:05 – 9:30pm – The Brokedowns
8:30 – 8:55pm – Vultures United
8:00 – 8:20pm -- Brendan Kelly

DOUBLE DOOR
Doors: 8:00pm
Show: 9:00pm

11:15 – close – The Bronx
10:30 – 11:00pm -- Dummy
9:45 – 10:15pm – The Architects
9:00 – 9:30pm -- Regrets

SUBTERRANEAN
Doors: 8:30pm
Show: 9:00pm

11:00 – close – Bhopal Stiffs
10:15 – 10:45pm – Mexican Cheerleader
9:35 – 10:00pm – No Enemy
9:00 – 9:25pm – Squared Off

COBRA LOUNGE
Doors: 10:00pm
Show: 10:30pm

12:00 – close – Agnostic Front
11:15 – 11:45pm -- Mother of Mercy
10:30 – 11:00pm -- Product of Waste

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8th

CONGRESS
Doors: 5:30 pm
Show: 6:00pm

9:45 – close – Bad Religion
8:55 – 9:30pm – The Lawrence Arms
8:00 – 8:40pm – Circle Jerks
7:15 – 7:45pm – Bouncing Souls
6:35 – 7:00pm – Off With Their Heads
6:00 – 6:25pm – X Is For Eyes

METRO
Doors: 6:00pm
Show: 6:30pm

9:00 – close – Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine
7:45 – 8:45pm – Articles of Faith
7:05 – 7:30pm – Shot Baker
6:30 – 6:55pm – Explode and Make Up

DOUBLE DOOR
Doors: 9:00pm
Show: 9:30pm

11:45 – close – Corrosion of Conformity
11:00 – 11:30pm – Double Negative
10:15 – 10:45pm – Keelhaul
9:30 – 10:00pm – Righteous Fool

SUBTERRANEAN
Doors: 10:00pm
Show: 10:30pm

12:00 – close – The Toasters
11:15 – 11:45pm – The Crombies
10:30 – 11:00pm – Skapone

AAA BUILDING
Doors: 11:00pm
Show: 11:45pm

SECRET SHOW

EXIT
Show: 12:00am

SECRET SHOW

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9th

CONGRESS
Doors: 3:00pm
Show: 3:30pm

9:35 – close – Mighty Mighty Bosstone
8:45 – 9:20pm – Pennywise
9:30 – 8:30pm– Less Than Jake
6:35 – 7:15pm – Snapcase
5:50 – 6:20pm – Anti-Flag
5:10 – 5:40pm – The Flatliners
4:30 – 5:00pm – The Swellers
4:00 – 4:25pm – Banner Pilot
3:30 – 3:55pm – Have Nots

METRO
Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm

9:00 – close – Cap’n Jazz
8:15 – 8:45pm – Smoking Popes
7:35 – 8:00pm – Anxiety High
7:00 – 7:25pm – The Dopamines

DOUBLE DOOR
Doors: 9:00pm
Show: 9:15pm

12:00 – close – Cro-Mags
11:05 – 11:50pm – OFF!
10:25 – 10:50pm – The Infected
9:50 – 10:15pm – On The Attack
9:15 – 9:40pm – Whut?

SUBTERRANEAN
Doors: 10:00pm
Show: 10:30pm

12:00 – close – Riverboat Gamblers
11:15 – 11:45pm – The Last Vegas
10:30 – 11:00pm – Gravetones

AAA Building
Doors: 11:00pm
Show: 11:45pm

SECRET SHOW

Exit
Show: 12:00am

SECRET SHOW

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10th

METRO
Doors: 6:00pm
Show: 6:15pm

9:00 – close – High On Fire
8:00 – 8:40pm – Torche
7:00 – 7:40pm – Kylesa
6:15 – 6:45pm – Droids Attack

DOUBLE DOOR
Doors: 8:00pm
Show: 8:30pm

11:00 – close – Negative Approach
10:00 – 10:45pm – Zero Boys
9:15 – 9:45pm – The Meatmen
8:30 – 9:00pm – Bums, Liars and Thieves

SUBTERRANEAN
Doors: 8:00pm
Show: 8:30pm

10:45 – close – Roy Ellis aka Mr. Symarip
9:50 – 10:30pm – Mr. T. Bone
9:10 – 9:40pm – Eastern Standard Time
8:30 – 9:00pm – Green Room Rockers

He’s already released “Power”, an absolutely killer “Power” remix and the track “See Me Now”, featuring Beyoncé and Charlie Wilson, from his new album. Now, according to his twitter, West tweets that he’ll release a new song every weekend until Christmas.

The tracks will not necessarily be a new Kanye track, as the previous link states, it could be a new Jay-Z tune or something else entirely. The tracks look to come out on Fridays, which West again tweets that he’s calling it “Good Friday.”

So, stay tuned. Sounds like we’ve got quite a few new tracks coming our way. And as we previously reported, West will make his triumphant return to the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, September 12.

Russian Circles guitarist Mike Sullivan

As the trio Russian Circles took the stage last Friday, August 14, at the Metro, they showed no signs of being in a major auto wreck merely weeks earlier. Instead with little to no crowd interaction, they focused all their energy on the instrumental metal journeys they specialize in. This was no joyful and warm homecoming party, but rather a testament to the band’s passion and drive as working musicians.

When Dave Turncrantz’s drum pummels for “Harper Lewis” from Russian Circles’ 2008 release Station opened the show, it seemed more then appropriate. The song begins with a throbbing bass line before becoming a bit subdued for a minute or two until guitarist Mike Sullivan’s massive metal-juggernaut of a riff bears down on the crowd. The song is a tumultuous affair, similarly to the trio’s lives over the past three weeks.

On Friday, July 30, the band’s touring van, which they purchased from Chicago instrumental metal brethren-in-arms Pelican four days prior, and instrument trailer was plowed into by a pick-up truck on a highway bear Baton Rouge, LA, and was ultimately totaled. The band came away unscathed, but Turncrantz’s vintage drum set was destroyed as was there van. After missing a few dates following the incident, the band pressed on dishing out $5000 for a new van from their own, and their parents’, pockets as well as using a borrowed drum kit.

While their set at the Metro didn’t feel triumphant, much of the crowd was still filing in for the night’s headliners Boris, Russian Circles shrugged off any notions that they were even looking to garner any sympathy with a powerhouse set.

The epic climax of “Carpe”, which breaks through nearly four minutes into the nine-minute opus, had all the intensity of a tidal wave dropping into wreak havoc, but gone before the realization of what just occurred. “Death Rides A Horse” was a brutal outburst of tapping guitar-lick loops and gritty, nearly industrial riffage, but even when it slows, the song overs a driving-rhythmic approach that kept the crowd engaged.

Russian Circles bassist Brian Cook

Things slowed somewhat during “Melee” from their latest effort, Geneva, which slowly simmers with Brian Cook’s thunderous bass line vibrating everyone and everything within a few feet of the stage. Unfortunately at nearly eight minutes in length, “Melee” lacks some of the hard hitting dynamic shifts that powers their early tunes and instead offers more indie rock atmospherics.

But when “Geneva”, title track from the 2009 record, ended the show, it was full circle back to their loud-quiet-loud roots as the metallic riffs acted like gear work over the floating melody line suddenly shifts into overdrive. During Cook’s fuzzed-out bass bridge, Turncrantz sounds like he’s playing with four-arms while Sullivan’s mind-bending guitar lines weave in and out before the explosive coda.

Russian Circles’ set proved once again that they have the power and chops to compete for best metal act in Chicago. While at times the slow parts lacked the crunch of their more aggressive punch-to-the-jaw moments, they were still played with a machine-like precision. But their set was most impressive knowing the kind of adversity they went through just to make it back home, and it’s that kind of raw ambition that can carry a band for years to come.

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First up, Wavves brings their brand of noisy surf pop to Lincoln Hall on September 12 (I guess the 90-day radius clause has been eased?). Also, Cymbals Eat Guitars will join The Thermals at Logan Square Auditorium on October 3, and the country-folk of Mumford & Sons swings its way into the Vic on October 31 a.k.a Halloween.

But that’s not all! The lovely Neko Case is coming back with The New Pornographers on October 14 to the Riviera Theatre. Also, during the festival the Chicago Tribune’s Greg Kot tweeted that Hot Chip are planning a Chicago stop with LCD Soundsystem (!) in December at the Aragon.

Speaking of LCD Soundsystem, there’s no shortage of bands from Pitchfork Festival 2010 on their way back here either.

Sunday, Sepetmber 18, finds Pitchforkers Titus Andronicus at the Metro along with fellow festival acts Best Coast and Free Energy. Neon Indian will also hit up the Metro on October 11, and Surfer Blood bring their power pop to Lincoln Hall on October 14, the same night the New Pornographers hit the Riv (Decisions!). And lets not forget Broken Social Scene at the Vic on October 2 at Pavement who play the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park on September 13 with No Age.

And that’s just a tip of the iceberg! Our excellent commentariat have picked up the slack where we left off. Scroll down for Chicago return dates for The Dirty Projectors, The Walkmen, Stars, Social Distortion and more!

So, there’s two ways you can look at this. Either if you miss the big two Chicago fests, you’ll probably get chance to catch the acts again soon, or $90 (Pitchfork) or $215 (Lollapalooza) for a three-day pass to see all those great bands is still a pretty good deal. Now, when’s Arcade Fire coming back?

Lollapalooza 2010. Day Three. Recap. Go.

8:45 p.m.: Arcade Fire

Win Butler of the Arcade Fire

To close out Lollapalooza 2010 on Sunday night, it really was a tale of two headliners. One the south end of grant park, in arguably the bigger area, you had a newly reunited Soundgarden with their big metallic and grungy fueled riffs taking center stage. Unlike Rage Against the Machine or Pavement, the Soundgarden reunion wasn’t really something fans had been clamoring for for years, but it is indeed a nice bit of nostalgia tripping for those who long for the flannel days.

On the other side, you have the Arcade Fire. A band who are pretty much in their prime right now having released the critically acclaimed new album The Suburbs only a few days before the Lollapalooza began. It would be like seeing Soundgarden back in the early ’90s. There might not ever be a better time to see The Arcade Fire in a festival setting again, and that might explain why the crowd for them was a few times bigger than that of Soundgarden and probably the largest of all weekend.

And of course, the Arcade Fire not only lived up to the hype during their performance, but bypassed any uncertainty that they might be the best band out right now. They came running out of the gate with an especially enthusiastic of version of The Suburbs take “Ready To Start”, which saw guitarist/percussionist Richard Parry and Win’s brother other-ist Will Butler taking turns hammering on each others tom drums. The song set the momentum, which never once wavered even during the slower burning “Crown of Love” from their 2004 debut Funeral. In between newer songs like the sleek, mo-town chorus of “Used To Wait” and caustic hymnal “Rococo”, the band played their older and best known songs including the glimmering “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” and towering “Intervention”.

While Win did most of the speaking and singing, Régine Chassagne, whose petite stature was balanced by her gigantic voice, shined on the new rocker “Empty Room”. But she absolutely brought down the house with the synth-soaked journey “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”, which was probably the best song played all night.

But the most epic moment definitely was set closer “Wake Up”, which featured the everyone within ear shot yelling it’s melodic refrain. Chances are if you where any where in downtown Chicago on Sunday night, you probably heard it. And with that, the Arcade Fire brought Lollapalooza 2010 to a powerful end with a performance that was truly fit for a king but witnessed by thousands.

6:10 p.m.: MGMT

Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT

Though MGMT’s new album, Congratulations, didn’t really connect with fans who hold their more danceable numbers like “Kids” or “Electric Feel” in high regard, that didn’t stop an enormous throng to gather at the Budweiser stage on the north side of Grant Park. After opening with the folky, acoustic work of “Pieces of What” from their debut LP, Oracular Spectacular, they switched gears into the eerie, psych-pop salute to the famed producer Brian Eno, which carries his name as its title. The crowd were seemingly still engaged at this point because of its jangly guitars and driving-yet-groovy beat. But things really started to catch a full head of steam when they broke out the Prince-influenced, bass-sex jam “Electric Feel”.

While MGMT alternated between new and old songs so as not to completely lose the audience, sometimes fans were still thrown off guard such as on the cartoon-chase-theme kitsch of “Song For Dan Treacy”. But from “Time To Pretend” to the big, hippie-rock jam out of “The Handshake” their old material was riddled with new energy. When they did finally break into their biggest hit “Kids”, a song they omitted from their Coachella performance earlier this year to the surprise of festival attendees and critics alike, they performed it to a prerecorded backing track and instead every member danced on stage and in the crowd. It’s obvious the band still don’t really want to perform the song, so instead play it off as a silly number simply to appease the crowd. And appease it did as the thousands watching jumped up and down to the song’s bouncy rhythm in what will be classic Lollapalooza 2010 moment. The best part came afterward, however, when MGMT closed with the reflective, Neil Young-folk of their new album’s title track, Congratulations.

4:37 p.m.: X Japan

X Japan guitarist Sugizo

The phrase “They’re huge in Japan” is sort of a running joke among American musicians, but X Japan live it literally. The Japanese heavy metal outfit was originally founded in 1982, but later broke up in 1997 only to reunite ten years later, are huge in Japan. How huge? They can pretty much sell out any arena any time they want. However, the band never made the leap to American audiences. Their brand of symphonic metal is more for niche audiences in the states and never had broken through into the mainstream. But as this Sun-Times article points out, that didn’t stop X Japan fans from flocking from all over to catch the band’s first ever performance in the U.S. at Lollapalooza.

Well, their dramatic arrival was no small event. Hardcore fans, which were easiy picked out with their X Japan merch and paraphernalia, and the curious flocked to the massive south side stage for the show, and those who witnessed it were not left disappointed. X Japan’s set was arena metal adrenaline with a few theatrics such as flames from the bottom of the stage thrown in for good measure. Lead singer Toshi was a masterful frontman who riled up the crowd with cliche rock phrases like “Are You Ready To Rock?” in his broken English, but it worked to set the tone for the deafening guitar assault that followed. Actually, deafening might be an understatement as X Japan definitely won the battle for loudest band at Lolapalooza 2010. The bass and drums were more like atomic explosions than thunder and the guitars chugged along without sympathy on takes like “Jade” and “Endless Rain”. But perhaps the best part was how excited the band looked to be playing to such a large crowd for their first American show. They smiled and even took the time to take some pictures of the audience before they exited the stage when their time was up.

2:35 p.m.: The Ike Reilly Assassination

The second local Chicago act in as many hours, the Ike Reilly Assassination started their set with a meager crowd at the Sony Bloggie stage. Of couse, this was the hottest time period on Sunday afternoon, so perhaps it was cooling off and refueling time for many. But Ike Reilly and his Assassination were completely unphazed as they pumped out tune after tune of narrative-form, southern-tinged, Midwestern working man rock n’ roll. The highlight for many was Reilly’s humorous and clever lyrics, which ran the gambit from a drug-rollercoaster that rattled off even more narcotics than Queens Of The Stone Age’s “Feel Good Hit Of The Summer” or about how New York City has nothing on Chicago. The crowd, which was a decent number by mid-set, were seemingly latched on to the music. Suddenly for a brief 45-minutes, the small, tree-covered Sony Bloggie stage area was transformed into your local dark and dank dive bar.

1:50 p.m.: The Dodos

Meric Long of The Dodos

It was finally during the Dodo’s performance on the Playstation stage on the north end of Grant Park did the rain finally cede to the sweltering heat. Still, neither the sun or The Antlers playing 10 minutes into their set time stopped the band from bringing their acoustic and tribal rhythm based pop tunes. Their material sounds minimal, but there’s a lot going on here with Metric Long’s steady croon and quick-fire guitar lines, Logan Kroeber’s thumping beats, mostly through toms, and Keaton Snyder’s vibraphone work that gives the song’s soaring flourishes just that much more height. Neko Case, who performed at Lollapalooza on Friday with the New Pornographers and who played with The Dodos last Thursday at Chicago’s Metro, joined the band on stage for a couple of tunes, which really added to their atmospherics. However, their 2009 release Time to Die, didn’t obtain the same warm critically reception as their 2008 album Visiter, and not stating this was the reason why, but the band leaned on the side of their older material like the sprawling folk of “Jodi”.

1:17 p.m.: Company Of Thieves

Genevieve Schatz of Company of Thieves

Company Of Thieves have come along way since lead singer Genevieve Schatz was performing at Chicago open mics and have even come along since their 2009 Wind-up Records debut Ordinary Riches. Schatz is obviously the center of attention here with her confident, sultry vocals that to a degree possess a certain Fiona Apple quality, but Schatz is no where near as pained. Her lively stage presence like twirling, dancing and even some tambourine play really hyped up the surprisingly ample crowd. It was when they branched off into the new material that really drove the point home that Company Of Thieves has the capability to be more than another girl-fronted indie rock act. The new songs were brimming with a darker edge expanding into riff-y blues rock territory from guitarist Marc Walloch, and Schatz’s voice became even more gritty and powerful. Still, the band played it safe and ended with the small modern rock radio hit “Oscar Wilde”, which did garner the biggest reception of the set.

12:40 p.m.: The Antlers

Peter Silberman of The Antlers

The Antlers’ album Hospice was one of the biggest surprises in 2009. It put the band on he map drawing comparisons to indie rock royalty, and one of the night’s headliners, the Arcade Fire. However, for the Antlers to get a rainy early afternoon spot at the conclusion of a major music festival was poor luck of the draw. The band did their best to pour their heart and soul into their soaring melodic suites, but the crowd was generally unmoved, talking to friends or trying to find a way to keep dry. The Antler’s songs were a bit too meek and under-powered, and even their more popular tunes, such as “Two”, failed to grab anyone’s attention.

11:50 p.m.: HEALTH

It was a soggy start to Lollapalooza 2010 day three. The morning hours brought rain, which while cooled the park briefly, made things particularly muddy on the south end of Grant Park. But the weather did not hamper a small group of dedicated music fans from braving the wet for a chance to see Los Angeles noise rockers HEALTH at 11:30 a.m. HEALTH, like quite a few acts from this year’s Lollapalooza, were on the bill for last year’s Pitchfork Music Festival, but if I hadn’t stated this fact, a casual listener might mistake them for two different bands.

At last year’s Pitchfork Fest, the band played a deafening set for half an hour and thrashed around on stage to a cacophony of electro-noise. There was little to no melody to be found. Since that particular set, however, the band’s little material, such as “USA BOYS”, is more accessible with nearly danceable pulsating synth breaks and space-echo vocals. Still, while their music may have calmed down, the band were still rambunctious on stage even with the smaller than usual umbrella-holding and poncho-wearing audience.

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.