Lolla Day One

It's sprinkling as we leave the house and by the time we get downtown there is a full on rain storm. Lolla day one is not off to the best start. I started the day off by drinking a pot of Oregon's finest coffee so I was a little jumpy before we even got to the show. After a detour to buy umbrellas and a twenty minute wait in line we are in the show. Let there be rock (because there is almost no hip hop at this entire show).

First thing we catch is Bon Iver who's last album is an intimate acoustic album recorded in the woods. So the best way to hear it is in a field during a rain storm, right? They tried and Flume sounded phenomenal but the whole set never really got going. You could see how bad the band wanted to rock the fuck out and they never really got there. Ben Folds was next and was exactly what you expect. Randy Newman without all the songs about short people and Los Angeles. This just in Folds sings about dwarfs. So Randy Newman without all the songs about L.A., great. Your college's acapella group is waiting breathlessly for his next album. We used this break to visit the loo.

Biggest moral dilemma of the day is to check out Fleet Foxes or try to get to the front for Decemberists? Off to the front we ran. We waited about an hour while a gaggle of Miley Cyrus types kept asking if I had a bowl. Nope, I am old as shit. If I smoke at a show I will either fall asleep or freak out and sit down somewhere till I stop hyperventilating. Another fun character near us was the 40 year-old mom lecturing everyone about smoking and stepping on her 10 year-old daughter. Lady, its a festival. If you don't want smoke, crowds, or swearing get out of Chicago. Those are three things this city does well.

Holy shit, The Decemberists blew us away. They were playing The Hazards of Love front to back and it couldn't have been more amazing. It was a note perfect performance and the weather played into the whole feel of the show. The only thing lacking was the crowd. We tried to clap along, sing along, and dance along. For whatever reason it never took. This was not Colin McCoy's fault. The star of the show was either Shara Warden who was melting faces with her vocals or Jenny Conlee who managed to play an organ solo while holding an accordion. How is that even possible?



We ran to catch the end of Peter Brjon and John. Forget the Target add. These guys sounded like Pavement and played part of a Joy Division song. If you do that I will fall in love ever time. From there it was Of Montreal. Lots of costumes and video. The songs are danceable but by this point everyone was wet, muddy, and not in the mood. Plus I think most people's drugs were starting to wear off. We watched Depeche Mode for about half of an hour before we left. Gahan's voice was shot and the band was just off. By all means play songs off your new album at a club show. But opening night of Lolla, bring the heat. Open with the Policy of Truth and then segue into Enjoy the Silence. Problem solved.

Big thanks go to the ginger guy with the big teeth that gave my sister a poncho and offered us sandwiches. Again let me doff my cap to The Decemberists, unbelievable.