Sunday, April 1st, 2012
I have missed all of
my favorite holidays down here! April Fool’s Day is probably my 2nd
favorite holiday (after Valentine’s Day) because I’m already full of crap
anyways and this day is just a day where I can walk around like this: http://myfacewhen.com/i/522.jpg.
Upon typing this, I realize I am Spongebob if these are my two favorite
holidays. But alas, I digress, and I guess it’s worth it to miss my silly
holiday to go to Lollapalooza…
We showed up to catch Foster the People. On the plane down
to BA, I read something in the surprisingly tasteful airline magazine about the
band. They didn’t actually have a band formed when “Pumped up kicks” broke the
scene and exploded, so they had to hurry up and figure it out then go on tour
immediately. You could tell this was the case because outside of this song,
they’re still trying to figure out who they are. They make a pretty good
genero, happy summer day music and I think that counts for something.
Then came Band of Horses who, as the name could imply, have
a bit of a country side that I didn’t know about, since I’d only heard their
song “Funeral”. Ryan gave me the “I’ll let you stay for as long as you want,
but if it’s more than 10 minutes, we might have a problem” face and I kind of
agreed with him. It’s not that I thought they were bad, but it just felt a
little out of place to be listening to hipster country music in Chile. Right?
We walked back to the watering hole (fitting with all the horse references…)
where I could hear the twinkly echoes of the opening to “Funeral” concluding
their set. Oh how that song reminds me of many a mental breakdown…
While we sat in the much appreciated shade, I busted out my
giant Chilean avocado I had bought at a fruit stand before coming. It has
always been my dream to eat a real Chilean avocado in Chile. Don’t ask why. It’s
an avocado thing…And while it was delicious, it had a bit of a strange flavor
and kick to it. It was almost like it was infused with Sprite…That’s the only
way I can describe it. By the latter portion of the fruit, I couldn’t eat it
because it was a little too tangy for me and got a little hot on my tongue.
What??? I’ll stick with the imported ones now that I know that there’s not some
grand difference and I actually don’t prefer the native fruits…
Still hungry and waiting for more, Ryan went to get some ice
cream. I hadn’t bought any tickets (the currency at Lollapalooza) but I waited
in line with him. The woman working at the stand thought that instead of
ordering a double scoop, he was ordering double cones, one for me one for him
(does everybody think we’re dating just because we’re hanging out? More
evidence that guy-girl relationships don’t exist here if there’s not something
more going on…). We realized the mistake when she handed over two cones, but
didn’t care. Ryan, in his Ryanesque Spanish said “Estás feliz para la manzana!?” (because we ordered an
apple strudel flavored ice cream) and the woman gave him a strange look which
only made us laugh harder about everything.
This set a good tone for TV on the Radio. I hadn’t listened
to them since high school with Return to Cookie Mountain, so I wasn’t sure what
to expect, but I immediately remembered why I loved them those 4 years ago.
Nothing bad can be said about a band whose lead singer is black (thereby giving
him access to an excellent falsetto as well as Barry White lowwwwwww) supported
by a horn section. Their set might have been my favorite of the festival
because not only did they speak the best Spanish, but they just had such an
energetic, fun air about themselves. Even though I didn’t recognize most of the
songs, I felt like I did and wanted to get their latest album after they ended.
Next was MGMT, who apparently sucks live—but I like MGMT.
They’ve narrated my college years from time to time and I have many a good
memory with their songs emanating from the background. But the problem is that
live, they don’t convey those good times very well. While their lead singer has
a cute little head, he’s a little awkward…And where is the volume on that
synth!? You can’t play electronic music like that and do a mellow acoustic set.
I’m not saying they’re hard. But they’re harder than acoustic on most songs…So
MGMT, I like you, but only when you’re blasting from frat speakers. That’s a
little embarrassing to admit…
After hearing all the songs I needed from MGMT (and feeling
a little sleepy) I decided to go to Skrillex. Skrillex is a complicated issue
for me because as a fan of electronic music (including dubstep) I get irritated
that he overshadows the whole genre. I stopped caring about the classifications
of electronic music (i/e: what is/isn’t dubstep) because there’s so many branches
and it’s a stupid argument to get in where everybody tries to look like a much
bigger original superfan over everyone else. Listen to what you like. Yeah, I
know Skrillex isn’t a “real DJ”, but he sure knows how to draw a crowd, so
maybe just call him an entertainer instead. Because people were going
absolutely mad during his set. In addition to the fact that that was the most
packed that little indoor arena had been all throughout the festival. I was
relieved to be moving around after MGMT’s snoozy set. But my favorite part?
When he yelled “SANTIAGOOOOO!!!” because I could hear his From First to Last
voice and thought immediately back to 9th grade. “Your name might be
Skrillex”, but Sonny Moore is still in there somewhere and you KNOW it…
Be careful, Skrillex. The internet doesn't always like you so much.
After that, I lost 10 pounds in sweat and was rendered
virtually deaf so Ryan and I decided Foo Fighters wasn’t really worth it. We’d
had our fill. Especially considering between the 2 of us we knew maybe 3 FF
songs well enough. Plus there were more than enough fans there to show their
support…And yes, Dave Grohl, you’re pretty cool, but I don’t think I can handle
you telling me that for 2.5 hours. For the first part of your career, you were “the
other guy in Nirvana”. I mean, it’s better than “the other OTHER guy in Nirvana”.
What the deuce happened to THAT guy?
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