I would definitely have to say it's been my top festival of the summer with only Summer Set left to go. My only complaint is my broken phone not holding a charge, not getting service and not being allowed to bring in my big camera so I wasn't able to get a lot of my own photos or videos.
Despite that, it truly was one of my best Chicago summer weekends to date. Now for some awards of my best/worst picks from Lollapalooza 2012...
Best Overall Set:
Florence + The Machine -- Her voice is absolutely haunting; she literally brought me to tears. And damn, what a performer. Hopping up and down, running around the stage, spinning, slipping out of time... was that the wrong pill to take? Still can't get her beautiful music out of my head...
Worst Overall Set (Only based on the sets I saw):
M83 -- Maybe I was just salty because I got pulled away from Nero to see them, but M83 did not impress me at all. Everyone in the crowd kept looking at each other and asking why it was so quiet, but even with a shoddy sound system, there wasn't much energy coming from the group themselves. Overall they weren't horrible, but I think they could have delivered much more to make up for the lack of volume. At least you know I saw some pretty awesome acts if these guys were considered my worst!
Best Electronic Set:
Calvin Harris -- The Perry's stage was ablaze with hot EDM artists all weekend, but the most fun for me had to be Calvin Harris. Everyone was super excited to be back after the evacuation so the energy was super high while the bass thwomped low through hot tracks like "Bounce," "You Used to Hold Me" and "We Found Love."
The Rain Couldn't Keep Me Away:
Red Hot Chili Peppers -- After waiting around all day for the weather to decide whether or not I would be allowed to see my #1 reason for buying tickets to Lolla in the first place, I was beyond ecstatic to climb on the tallest shoulders I could find for a glimpse of my favorite rockers. While I was slightly disappointed they didn't sing me any "Scar Tissue," I was just as happy with old favorites like "Otherside," "Give It Away," and "Under the Bridge."
Super Depressed I Missed:
My New Girl Crush:
Emily Haines // Metric -- Absolutely killed it for me. Not sure if it was that sparkly top + leather shorts combo or her head-banging rocker chick attitude, but this front woman's sexy stage presence had me all sorts of hot.
Performance I Wasn't Expecting to See, But Loved:
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis -- My friend Jordan has been talking about this Seattle rapper for months, but I never actually got around to listening to any of his tracks. After seeing his great interaction with the crowd and his ability to keep me jumping around for an hour straight, I have to say I am sold.
Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 , 8
