Though in the past, TNK has had more of a local focus, in recent years it has branched out to showcase up-and-coming artists from around the country.

This year’s festival, which ran from Wednesday, January 13 through Sunday, January 18, benefitted from recently opening of  Lincoln Hall, which played host to more established bands like the Bowerbirds, Atlas Sound, and Lee Fields and the Expressions.

One of 2010’s up-and-coming acts was Peter Wolf Crier, who opened a sold-out show on Saturday headlined by Owen Pallett (a.k.a. Final Fantasy). Despite being unknown to many in the crowd (the Minneapolis-based band isn’t even a year old), PWC held their own in a room that was already filled with Pallett’s fans by their set time.

Singer/guitarist Peter Pisano runs his vocals through a loop pedal, allowing his raw, unrestrained guitar playing to fuel the band’s indie-garage rock sound. The result was a canyon-like quality to the vocals and two bloody fingers by the end of the energetic set.

- Ian Wilson

I’ve never seen Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, though the premise of an animated series about a metal band sounds hilarious, and I’d never heard Dethklok before, but when I heard that Converge and High on Fire, two groundbreaking artists with compelling rock shows, along with prog-metal stalwarts Mastodon, were on tour  opening for a cartoon, I had to go to Chicago's Aragon Ballroom on October 17 to see for myself.

I’m not knocking Deathklok—the live band sounded great, despite deliberately playing second fiddle to the large screen above—but I still can’t wrap my head around the idea that thousands more people would prefer to shell out their hard-earned cash to see a cartoon (albeit, a cartoon with a live soundtrack), then to see a badass rock ’n’ roll show on it’s own.

Not to mention that prior to the evening’s headliner, the screen was used to run advertisements for the Metalocalypse DVD. Spinal Tap-ish? Maybe. Disheartening? Definitely.

The good news is that each band was exposed to new audience members for the first time (after all, the Aragon does hold 4500 people), which will hopefully lead to more good things to come. High on Fire introduced a badass new song, most likely evidence of a killer record to come in 2010, and Converge put on a thrilling show, showcasing material from their incredible new album Axe to Fall (Epitaph).

Still, next time I’ll stay at home and watch Metalocaplypse on the small screen before heading out to a show to rock my face off.

-Jamie Ludwig

Brooklyn noise/psych trio White Hills, who are releasing a new EP Dead on Thrill Jockey on October 6, opened up with a completely different vibe of late night parties, smoke, and to this date, is the only rock band who has ever made sequin pants look good. (Even I was tempted to buy a pair).

Ra Ra Riot

As expected, Sunday’s heat topped well into the 90s, but that wasn’t about to impede Lollapalooza’s crowds. Before Ra Ra Riot’s set in the early afternoon, audience members were vying for the tiny sliver of shade directly in front of the Chicago 2016 Stage.

There was a definite question as to whether Ra Ra Riot’s intricate arrangements, which are better suited to a smaller venue, could translate well in an outdoor festival. The answer was determined in the first half of the set when Gabriel Duquette’s drums and Mathieu Santos’ bass completely drowned out cellist Alexandra Lawn’s and violinist Rebecca Zeller’s contributions.

Kaiser Chiefs

Always the showman, Kaiser Chief’s lead singer Ricky Wilson’s stage antics didn’t disappoint. Ten minutes into the show, while most other bands are still warming up, Wilson was already stage diving and rocking out with one of the Budweiser Stage’s American Sign Language interpreters.

Cold War Kids

Later in the afternoon, at the opposite end of Grant Park (and the opposite spectrum of audience energy level), the Cold War Kids took the stage. Though the crowd seemed to be into the performance, singer Nathan Willett did little to engage the audience. As a result, their excitement barely registered beyond a little bit of crowd surfing. They at least sort of made up for it by testing out some brand-new material.

Dan Deacon

Dan Deacon’s highly entertaining set, which included an Earth Wind and Fire-sized group that he affectionately named the Dan Deacon Ensemble, was a bit of a throwback to Woodstock due to the incorporation of New Age team-building tactics. Between songs, Deacon asked the audience to build a human tunnel that would loop around the entire crowd and partake in a synchronized interpretive-dance circle. “If you concentrate, it will work!” he told the audience.

Though managing more than 20 musicians proved to be stressful at first (Deacon asked for a do-over within the first 10 minutes), by the end Deacon was relaxed enough to just go with the flow (“I know people think you should rehearse…but we’re a bunch of slobs, so it’s cool”). For the finale, he brought a couple of tubas into the mix for a marching-band-inspired number that the crowd went absolutely insane over.

Dan Deacon – Woof Woof

Neko Case

Neko Case’s mid-afternoon performance mellowed out the crowds and provided some much-needed relief for those who opted to set blankets out on the lawn and take a break. She treated the audience to some brand-new material in addition to some of her old favorites and also joked about how laid back her set was in comparison to some of the other acts. “Here’s another fist pumper,” back-up singer Kelly Hogan joked as they started into “Middle Cyclone.”

Lou Reed

When Lou Reed’s set was delayed, some of the crowd members started getting antsy. “Lou! Loouuu! In a minute I’m going to see Snoop Dogg!” some man with a leg cast started shouting at the stage. Within minutes, Reed emerges and immediately starts into “Sweet Jane.”

He later delved into some of his deeper material like “Paranoia Key of E,” which then morphed into its own 15-minute jam session with “Waiting for the Man” coming out on the other end. Reed finished his set with “Walk On the Wild Side,” proving to the crowd that his performance was well worth the wait.

Jane’s Addiction

Considering that the original Jane’s Addiction lineup hasn’t played Lollapalooza since the event’s inception in 1991, its performance was definitely anticipated to be the over-the-top show-stopper that would close out the festival.

From the moment that Perry Ferrell jumped onto the stage in a gold lamé suit, the audience went crazy (with a crowd-circling helicopter only adding to the chaos). Not even the advice from two specialists warning drummer Stephen Perkins against playing could keep the reunited group from giving one of the best performances of the night.

Though the group started out lively, Ferrell’s commentary between songs started to get a little mundane and even started veering into dirty-old-man territory.  The group initially looked like it was going to end the set with “Stop,” but then a few minutes later came back out and brought Joe Perry with it to do an acoustic version of “Jane Says,” which gave the crowd a finale to remember.

- Katie Fanuko

Depeche Mode on Friday, Arctic Monkeys on Saturday. Visions of America dancing before my eyes — myriad subcultures, from bandanas and beards and the guy with blond dreads who OD-ed at Fleet Foxes to mini dresses in the rain and the guy draped in an American flag, with the word "Liar" tattooed across his stomach. Watching the fans is often more illuminating of culture than the bands.

Friday, August 7

Fleet Foxes

It's only appropriate to hit the Fleet Foxes show first, as it's rainy and the music just had that CSNY feel to it. Reminds me of Olympia, where I lived for a year, and let me just tell you that it rains there all the freaking time. So I imagine that the five members of Fleet Foxes feel very much at home performing to rain-soaked crowd. Peaceful and harmonious sounds from the Sun Giant EP fill the air.

Sometimes it surprises me how much the flower-power subculture is still very much alive. The Fleet Foxes crowd: devoted and happily swaying along to the music and singing along to songs under umbrellas. A blond dread-head looking way out of it is escorted out of the crowd with event staff and a yellow stretcher on hand. "Look, he OD-ed on acid," said a tall and broad guy standing next to me. "How do you know?" I asked. "Because he's a loser," noted his friend, a guy with dark, shortly cropped hair and stocky, thick build. "I hope he dies," he added.

Lead singer and guitarist Robin Pecknold comments on the awesome vegan food at the Chicago Diner. This is Seattle, folks, loud and clear. Despite the obvious popularity of the group, groups of fans file out of the session early, on the way to pay homage to other gods.

I dig the lovely music but it doesn't quite sustain me at the moment. I'd much rather give a listen on headphones or in a small venue like Schubas. Also, I want to dance, not sway.

The Decemberists

The Decemberists – The Rake's Song

An even bigger crowd descends upon the stage area set up for The Decemberists. Folks try to push forward to the front, like the aggressive guy flanked by two blond women, shoving through the crowds, saying, "I'm Chris Rock" in order to part the sea of fans.

Apparently, the most loving and sweet bands still manage to attract those who behave in exactly the opposite way — except for the gorgeous baby girl, happily content in her father's arms, wearing a Nine Inch Nails T-shirt and a floppy sun hat. She gazes around in wonder as the fans scream for the arrival of the band onstage, with particularly loud shrieks for dreamy cameo performer Becky Stark, dressed as Margaret in white dress with flowing sleeves, and Shara Worden from My Brightest Diamond, wearing a chic, sleeveless dress with one strap as the stately queen.

Stark waves her arms around in mystical fashion to the music. "She's so tripped out, it's great," says a blond woman next to me. After taking center stage as Margaret, Stark goes wild on the drums, banging with two mallets, and Worden leads a song.

The two women add an extra dose of drama and glamour to the already drama-rich character of the Portland band. But like with Fleet Foxes, the music of rock opera, The Hazards of Love, while beautiful and soaring, doesn't feel quite Lollapalooza-esque (rambunctious).

Of Montreal

Finally, folks who just want to have fun. The crowd gathered for the eclectic indie-rock band from Athens, Georgia are dancing, jumping, singing along, and having a great time. Perhaps rock is a good formula for Lolla.

Particularly catchy and carefree is the song "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games," with the audience singing along to the lyrics: "Let's pretend we don't exist; let's pretend we're in Antarctica; let's have bizarre celebrations…" Kooky and weird, with a heavy element of fantasy, Of Montreal is exactly the band I'm in the mood for.

Performance is no less strange than addictive, devil-may-care music, with band members dressed in animal form, as pigs and other creatures, and with a Jesus figure on an actual cross. The band makes sense in a non-linear fashion.

Fans toke up, or dance, and throughout the set I don't see anyone leaving. And no aggressive types either. Band keeps fans entertained right up through the final song, the offbeat and upbeat "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse." Overall, the band is a breath of fresh air after the seriousness of Fleet Foxes and The Decemberists.

Tragedy and comedy brilliantly fused in incomprehensible yet provocative manner. Need I also say why I like the somewhat smaller stages? Less pushy types congregate in these spots; that's why.

Depeche Mode

Ok, okay. I really wasn't a big fan back in the day, so shoot me. I know they're awesome, but after the silly fun of Of Montreal, I'm not terribly excited for this band. But wait. The longer I listen, the more I like.

The crowd is mega huge but quiet and subdued, devotional-like. In its melancholy and somber tones, the perfected blended electronic and pop holds religious overtones. On the large screen, the words from Daniel Landinsky: "I have learned so much from God that I can no longer consider myself Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, or Jewish." The audience fills in the lyrics for "Enjoy the Silence": "All I ever wanted, all I ever needed, was here, in my arms."

Standing, the audience reminds me that it's music, pop and rock in particular, that draws the kind of worship that the Catholic Church did back in the Middle Ages. A guy next to me shakes his fist rhythmically in tune to the music, stopping only to take drags on his cigarette. By the time "Personal Jesus" is played, as the finale, I'm hooked. I sing along with the rest of the audience, realizing that the British band, from a bygone era but as polished as ever, is the personal Jesus of the moment.

Saturday, August 8

Moneypenny

The creation of Jessica Gonyea (DJ A Cup), formerly of Office and DJ Mother Hubbard, this newly emerging DJ duo appears to be the female equivalent of Flosstradamus, with the added benefit of Gonyea singing some of the songs written by the two. Tiny and dressed in an all-black, skimpy leotard and black boots, Gonyea pumps up the audience with flirty, sexy songs like "Destroy" that echo rock but are slickly mixed with electronic beats by DJ Hubbard.

The relatively small but enthusiastic crowd dances and cheers for this new band, as if they've already known them for years. Female dancers dressed in black with silver makeup come on stage to add to the act, doing choreographed moves in time with the music. Kind of like En Vogue from the nineties, but that's what makes it kinda interesting.

Moneypenny's performance last weekend at Sonotheque and today's show at Lolla marks the duo's official debut, which looks like something promising for the Chicago electro DJ scene, standing out from the crowd with its edgy rock component. Gonyea resembles a female version of Steve Tyler — all lips with wild, long curly hair and in-your-face-sexuality. Even though it's sweltering, everybody (me included) remains firmly planted for the duration of the set.

Langhorne Slim

One of my favorite shows of the two days I spent at Lolla was this soulful guitar player with heady swatches of folk, country, and blues who belted out his songs like nobody's business.

Lord, praise a man with soul, and who can sing, and who is looking for a do-good woman to appreciate him. A laid-back audience, mostly male, with many guys in either checkered, button-down shirt and sunglasses or backward baseball caps, gathers for this performance, hanging out for what clearly is a sleeper hit of the festival. Clearly, men got a lot of emotion they need to purge. "Mary" is particularly rousing, as is the inspiring feminist ballad "Diamonds and Gold."

You wouldn't guess that Slim was from Pennsylvania, but more along the lines of the Deep South, with his wickedly good bluesy guitar playing and Aretha-like conviction and feeling in his singing. "Restless," that's how I was when the set ended, itching for more.

Animal Collective DJ set

Based on a friend's recommendation, I caught part of Atmosphere, and thus missed the beginning of the DJ set by the experimental Baltimore band. What I did catch was exactly what I expected: odd and good, in large quantities. Indian music, fused seamlessly with other genres such as electronic and pop.

A less than modest-sized crowd of fans enjoys the tripped-out sounds, dancing and flowing to the music. Fans are just as odd as the band they admire — this is where I took the photo of the guy with the red-and-white-striped hat with blue and shiny pointy spears sticking out in all directions.

Not far from the Of Montreal bunch, this crowd also favors its pot and easy-to-like yet complicated music. David Portner dances and grooves to his own spectacular beats, like an exclusive college party that you don't want to end.

Atmosphere

Atmosphere – Guarantees

Sean Daley is not shy about expressing his opinions. "You are too nice, Chicago," he says. "Too tame for a festival audience." From one Midwesterner to a gigantic crowd of many, the Minneapolis native is just as frank in his lyrics. "I hate my life because I hate my boss," he sings. "The only guarantee in life is a life worth dying for."

A mellow, cool, in-the-know audience gathers for this show, gently swaying in time to the music. Would you expect anything less from an audience familiar with underground hip hop? Daley explains the magic of a Chicago audience: "You take a sorrowful, moody song and make it into something positive, and that's beautiful," he says.

Gomez

By the time I hit up the Gomez stage, after eight bands, rain, mud, and schvitzing in the sun, I have to admit that I'm a bit Lollapaloozaed. Beat. Exhausted. And my feet hurt. I think about what Tom Lynch wrote in Newcity, that the Lollla lineup is so bad that you'll be happy to go home early. I don't completely agree, but the idea of escaping from the ever-increasing crowds that take forever to walk through and taking off my boots sounds appealing.

But for the moment, the British rock band of the non-trip-hop or space-rock variety plays fervently. A crazily happy crowd rocks out. Here's the thing about Lolla: even when the lineup is not stupendously spectacular, the whole shebang is certainly worthy of enduring the rain and humidity and crowds in broken-down cowboy boots.

- Marla Seidell

Fortunately for her, the audience didn’t seem that excited either. The only smiles I saw came from two small children playing patty-cake while their father waited for Chairlift to take the stage, arms akimbo.

The store lighting gave the already out-of-place show an even more alien feeling. Chairlift came on late and played one of the most lifeless sets in the history of music. The sound quality was so poor that you had to strain to hear them play above the ambient noise of a crowded electronics store.

After six or so songs with energy levels ranging from catatonic to comatose they walked off the stage to tepid applause.

Passion Pit took the stage in front of a screen playing the iTunes Visualizer and played their way through their brand of mall-friendly electro.

The only semblance of excitement was when several kids jumped over the barrier and started a pitiful mosh pit. Flash-in-the-pan bands like these shouldn’t be allowed out of their Brooklyn lofts.

- Arthur Pascale

Dancing abounded with tunes provided by an rock’n’soul DJ Mr. Jonathan Toubin and sets from local favorites Plastic Crimewave Sound and Bitchin’ Baja. 

Go Go dancer Anna Copacabana revved up the audience to a backdrop of wild video clips before surprising the crowd by busting out with a rendition of “Enter Sandman” on a toy xylophone.

Just days before embarking on a cross country tour with Sonic Youth, Michigan trio Awesome Color provided the evening’s highlight with their vintage, MC5 influenced psychedelic rock’n’roll.

The evening was topped off with an eye-catching performance from Hula Hoop Harlot Melissa Anne.

And a word of advice for those who missed out; next time the Night Train stops by your town, you best jump aboard!

Meat Puppets Interview (ALARM Magazine) from Julian Muller on Vimeo.

Meat Puppets: www.meatpuppets.com
Megaforce Records: www.megaforcerecords.com

Photo credit: Sarah Pietlicki

Dick’s Last Resort is sort of a hybrid of Hooters and Chuck E. Cheese. Not many establishments can boast an assortment of long-abandoned brassieres hanging from the ceiling AND be the perfect place to host your child’s next birthday party.

I would have no reason to be here except for the restaurant’s proximity to my friends’ offices on the south side of the Chicago River.

When my friends called me en route to Dick’s asking if Bad Brains would ever play at the chain restaurant, I thought that perhaps their happy hour had become a little too happy.

HR had played across town the night before on a solo tour for his latest release, Hey Wella (DC Hardcore), but there was no way that the hardcore icon would play a seafood chain where patrons are encouraged to don bibs and two-foot-tall paper hats (those of us there for the beer were not subjected to such bizarre headwear).

But to my surprise, I was completely wrong. In the midst of half a dozen birthday parties, an all-out prepubescent food fight, and several tables of white-collar workers enjoying an after-work bucket of peel-and-eat shrimp, HR and his band, jokingly calling themselves “Good Brains,” took the stage.

Beginning with the title track from the record, “Good Brains” played an impressive half-hour rock/reggae set to its entourage, three loving fans in the first row (us), and a handful of mothers who looked vaguely concerned while their children, who will not understand how awesome this was until they get into punk rock in 5-10 years, watched on with blank expressions.

A nice girl celebrating her friend's birthday offered to take pictures at my request (thanks, Sarah!).

In the end, fun times were had by all, and I learned a valuable lesson: don't be so quick to dismiss that bar band at the local shrimp joint.  You never know what you might miss.

- Jamie Ludwig

HR: www.myspace.com/hrofficial
DC Hardcore: www.dchardcore.com

I didn't expect such a live letdown from NASA -- DJ duo Sam Spiegel (Squeak-E-Clean) and José Gonzales (DJ Zegon) — as it performed its debut album The Spirit of Apollo while dressed in matching orange astronaut suits at the Abbey Pub in Chicago last month.

The midnight set began with a dramatic surge of energy as a backdrop video screen flashed a shuttle launch and the rumbling of remixed track "Gifted" blasted from the speakers, sending us into the set's sonic stratosphere.

But as the duo worked the crowd from behind four turntables and duel laptops — Spiegel with spastic fist pumps and Gonzales cool and collected — the show's energy plummeted back to Earth in confusion and disappointing disarray.

Having spoken with Spiegel a few weeks prior for a forthcoming ALARM feature about the album's production and collaborative back story, I expected a more compelling and creative set.  I expected more from a duo whose album includes a star-studded mash-up of artists such as David Byrne, Chuck D, MIA, Kanye West, and more.

But instead, the duo led the crowd through only a few remixed Spirit tracks and a barrage of trite dance floor techno, '90s house, and old-school hip hop and electro-crunch that left me sunk and scratching my head.

Where was the fun and creativity that exists within the album's 16 tracks? Why abandon the banging mix of break beats, psychedelic rock riffs, and Brazilian funk rhythms?

Why did NASA ditch its best tracks and decide to only play two or three songs from the album? And why pass up the chance to introduce live remixed versions of the album's most emotive, celebratory, and party-starting tracks — "Way Down," "Hip Hop," and "There's a Party"?

Sadly, not even the green body-painted she-alien booty shakers or the goofy space-monster costume dancers made NASA's set sensual, entertaining, or worth remembering. The duo didn't transmit any of the album's intended rejuvenating spirit of musical unity and genre-blending character.

If I had never heard the album, I would never want to buy it based on this show. I left wondering if I had gone to the right show at all because the album's potential for a live celebration of funky break beats and rhymes was completely abandoned.

- Chris Catania