Day 1 Fun

The perks of going to a music fest is obviously getting to see and experience all different kinds of music at one place.  Yesterday, was a great day to do just that at the opening day of Lollapalooza held in Chicago’s Grant Park.  My day kicked off checking out The Vaccines, an indie rock band from London, who are growing greatly in popularity, they definitely played to the crowd and won over many new listeners.

The Vaccines

The Naked and Famous played right across the field from where The Vaccines had graced us with their presence and the crowd warmly welcomed them as they kicked off a mini dance party.

The Naked and Famous

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals were next on my list purely for the reason they never disappoint.  Grace herself always looks and sounds flawless, while the band tares it up every time.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Next, was my surprise of the day, Foster the People, while I had heard great things, I can say the first time I listened their music was yesterday, and I am now ashamed to say that. I have been missing out. Drawing the biggest crowd they have ever played in front of and the largest of the day so far in my opinion, they played like there was no place else they’d rather be then on that stage. The crowd, myself included, appreciated and enjoyed them so much that they were easily my favorite new act of the day.

Foster The People

Cults are a band I had the privilege of shooting a couple months back down at SXSW and since that time I feel they have blown up already. They are a group that I can only see going up and up.

Cults

(Editors Note: We know that the bands from this point forward aren’t “new”, but they’re doing new things and they’re vibrant and they were part of a great day 1. So, how could we not talk about them?)

In standard music festival lineup the bigger more established bands play later in the evening hoping to draw the bigger crowds. While the remaining bands of the evening are by no means “new” both Bright Eyes and Ok Go have recently come out with new work.  It adds a whole new element into the consideration of measuring success and growth of a band, the ability to continuously create music to draw fans, that shows growth and new ideas, but without straying far from the original concept of what was already decided to be the sound of the band.  However, both Bright Eyes, and Ok Go do just that and were able to draw the fans to their respective sets last night.

Bright Eyes

Ok Go

The last band on my list was Muse.  An established band that really just knows how to put on a great show.

Muse

Overall day 1 of Lolla was a great success in my book, new bands, check, awesome sets by familiar bands, check, finishing the day only slightly bruised and battered from the photo pit, check. Keep checking the website for new coverage of the rest of Lollapalooza weekend.

All photos (c) Daniela Montelongo