You can’t rain on Perry Farrell’s parade. Lollapalooza returned this year with enough momentum (the festival was sold-out with 90,000 fans/day) and a solid lineup to blast through some stormy weather which plagued the final day of the weekend’s activities. I caught a few photos during the festival, which will guide you through a quick Lolla recap.

I couldn’t get any tickets for Friday, but no sweat: it gave me a chance to check out the VIP-day party at the  Miami “Express Yourself” Oasis and EXPRESS ROCKS! SUITE at the nearby Hard Rock Hotel. Besides some complimentary refreshments (read: Asahi beer and UV Vodka!) and snacks, many of Lolla’s artists and special guests came through the party and were given loads of swag (Motorola tablets, Guess sunglasses, etc.) by over-eager sponsors. For instance, Elijah Wood swung by an filled out a Mad Libs for Pentel’s charity contest (see below). I think it’s funny that he chose “Sam” – maybe he’s secretly hoping for a Lord of the Rings 4.

The daytime lounge also boasted a full service salon powered by got2b and Red 7, which was free for guests (see below). Local Natives ducked out of their haircut appointment, so Eleven Lolla crew member Josh jumped in to trim his fro (see below).

Bands were periodically playing stripped down sets in another room, but after a good afternoon of hanging in the Hard Rock (read: drinking), it was time to find some loud tunes. Surprisingly, heading over to the ever-hip W Hotel did the trick.

I wouldn’t normally draw a link between a W Hotel and loud, raging afterparty, but a Lollapalooza weekend can bring the rock to even the trendiest of locales. The Belve Music Lounge invaded much of the lobby and banquet room of the hotel, and tonight’s entertainment was Two Door Cinema Club, (DJ) Grace Potter (see above), and headliners Fitz and the Tantrums (see below).

The crowd (fueled by the party’s namesake vodka) was taken by Fitz’s dual vocalist attack by soul-man, band leader Michael Fitzpatrick and the firey Noelle Scaggs, and everyone was jumpin’ until the lights turned on at 2 am.

I had tickets for Saturday and Sunday (thanks, team Red Bull!), and I was psyched to finally get into the festival grounds. English buzz band Friendly Fires kicked the day off with a healthy dose of funky, new-wave dance-rock, and I’m surprised frontman Ed Macfarlane didn’t pass out from his relentless, spastic dancing. With such a high energy set, the band easily won over a sizeable, early in the day crowd. I caught Dom next (see above), which carried their non-chalantness from their music to their stage banter and appearance (singer/guitarist Dom sarcastically played a Barbie-esque pink guitar). The band’s mash of garage and 60s pop-rock lent well to a summer afternoon, and they ended with a rousing “Living in America.”

I was really excited about Big Audio Dynamite’s set (see above). For those of you who don’t know, B.A.D. is fronted by Mick Jones (of The Clash, the only band that matters); as a huge Clash fan, I had to go see him in person. B.A.D. had a few hits in the 80s, and was at the forefront of new wave and incorporating Jamaican influences and hip-hop into rock. Jones, though now in his late 50s, sounds exactly as he did thirty years ago (though he’s lost some hair since then). Songs like “Bottom Line” still hit hard and related to the world’s current economic condition, and the rest of B.A.D. seemed as excited to still be playing as Jones. It was refreshing to see an old punk luminary not suck, and Jones and Big Audio Dynamite proved that old guys can still rock.

Lollapalooza was packed, and getting out of the festival grounds after the headlining sets was a mob scene (see above). I navigated through a sea of people was everyone flooded though the gates into downtown Chicago.

It was back to The W for another night at the Belve Music Lounge, this time hosting Skylar Grey (who has been writing and singing the hooks for a ton of hip-hop hits over this past year) and Black Lips (see above). As shown by the toilet paper flung across the ballroom during the show, Black Lips tore it up and incited the first (I’m guessing) mosh pit in a W Hotel. The party-going crowd was somewhat divided – half jumped right in, while the more socialite, dressed up portion cowered on the sidelines. By the end of the set, toilet paper was hanging from every chandelier in the room, and I had a fitting end for a great day of shows.

I woke up early on Sunday to make sure I wouldn’t miss on of my favorite live bands, Titus Andronicus (see above). The eclectic rockers from Jersey once again impressed, kicking off their set with a “A More Perfect Union.” Patrick Stickles violently howled his verbose lyrics, yet made time for each band member to ham it up with a revolving solo during “Titus Andronicus Forever.” With such a great performance, hopefully Titus will return next year with a later set time and a larger crowd.

The rest of the day went by at mach speed. In the early evening, Portugal. The Man’s cover of Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger” ended with the first of two storms, transforming all dry land into a Woodstock ’99ish mud pit. Everyone ran for cover, but for most it was a futile attempt and were all soaked (me included). Once the rain subsided, Arctic Monkeys played a shortened set, followed by everyone’s favorite post-rockers Explosions in the Sky. The band’s atmospheric riffs must have had meteorological effects, however, because the skies fired another volley of rain just three songs into headliners Foo Fighters’ set. Frontman/rock-wunderkind Dave Grohl wouldn’t let some H2O stop his set, and shot back at the heavens with an epic “My Hero” and a volley of stage lighting.

By this time, I was once again soaked, and racing/sliding through mud to position myself in the crowd at Perry’s for Kid Cudi (see above). Perry’s was the electronica tent (though the area wasn’t fully covered for aesthetic reasons, which allowed rain to seep into and muddy the area), outfitted with club lighting and a rave-like ambiance. Cudi’s energy matched his fans – it felt as if everyone in the tent knew all of the words to every song and were belting them out at the top of their lungs. Songs such as “Soundtrack 2 My Life,” “Mr. Rager,” and a cover of Ye’s “All of the Lights” showed Cudi at his best, leading us through hook after catchy hook. The set ended with a sing-a-long, a capella version of “Pursuit of Happiness,” but not by choice. To Kid Cudi’s and our surprise, the mics were suddenly silenced; the crowd went nuts, chanting to give him a few more minutes. But, the music never came back. Pissed off, Cudi did what any rap superstar would: he kicked over two of the speaker stacks on the stage before fading back into the darkness. Though the set ended abruptly, Cudi still killed it – but next time, give him a stopwatch!

Caked in mud and surrounded by rabid Cudi fans, I made my way to the exit and back into the real world. Lollapalooza was, as always, one of my favorite weekends of the year. Keep it up Perry, and I’ll hopefully be back next time.

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1. Red Bull Thre3style w/ DJ Who, DJ Deception, DJ D-Mega, DJ Needles, DJ A-Flex, DJ Kue, DJ Uptown, and DJ Lonnie Bee

-Where: The Old Rock House
-When: Thursday, June 9th @  10:00 PM
-How Much: $5 (21+)
-Why: Only two rules: three genres and fifteen minutes. The rest is left wide open to let the true STL party rock champion show his might and blast the dance floor the entire time. Go support our local DJs, and help choose who will rep the Lou in the national championships!

2. The Diplomats of Solid Sound w/ Hazard To Ya Booty
-Where: The Gramophone
-How Much: $7 (21+) / $10 (18+)
-When: Friday, June 10th @ 9 PM
-Why: It’s the weekend, so it’s time to let loose and get down to some slick soul from The Diplomats of Solid Sound. And, we’re “welcoming” them to the Lou, too – see the Gramophone’s site!

3. The Blind Eyes CD Release Show w/ Sleepy Kitty and The Livers
-Where: Off Broadway
-When: Saturday, June 11th @ 9 PM
-How Much: $10 (21+) / $13 (under 21)
-Why: You need to buy local power-pop mainstays The Blind Eyes’ new album as soon as possible, and this release show will be your first chance.

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There’s never a bad time for a road trip. Concerts, parties, and adventure are waiting on every turn, and who doesn’t like sleeping on couches? Assuming Chicago has been excavated from last week’s blizzard, we figured our fellow Midwestern metropolis would be a fine destination for the weekend. Time for Eleven to hit the road.

Snacks, check. Red Bull, check. Playlist, check (see below). Car? Luckily, Scion hooked us up with a shiny, brand new tC coupe to make the trek north. And the manual transmission on this given model was no sweat – all of that Cruisin’ USA and San Francisco Rush arcade experience back in the day has finally paid off! Keep an eye on elevenmusicmag.com and @elevenmag to join us on our trip, and we’ll wrap up our adventure in our upcoming March issue. Buckle up!

Chitown Playlist (all somewhat related):

We Don’t Care – Kanye West

Life on TV – Kid Sister

Daydreamin’ feat. Jill Scott – Lupe Fiasco

September – Earth Wind and Fire

I Believe I Can Fly – R. Kelly

We Should Fight – Ezra Furman and the Harpoons

Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night – The Hold Steady

Take on Me – Cap’n Jazz

Secrets – Headlights

Chicago – Sufjan Stevens

Amulet – The 1900

Happens To Us All Otherwise – Bound Stems

Zero – Smashing Pumpkins

All of the Lights – Kanye West (note: I’ma let you finish, but Kanye gets 2 songs on the list)

BB Who? – BBU

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Together as One, Los Angeles (above)

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1. New York City: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

-Where: Best Buy Theater
-How Much: $39.50-$55
-Why: This will be the funkiest place in all of NYC, so go get down!

2. Los Angeles: Together as One w/ Diplo, Major Lazer, Rusko, and tons more
-Where: LA Sports Arena
-How Much: $80-$150
-Why: Three huge areas, stunning lighting and effects, tons of DJs, and some daggering to Major Lazer, mon!

3. Chicago: Japandroids w/ My Gold Mask
-Where: Schubas
-How Much: $30 (21+)
-Why: If you can’t afford a T-Pain ticket (and if you can – go!), get excited for 2011 at Japandroids’ rambunctious set.

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1. The Blind Eyes w/ Kentucky Knife Fight and Dino’s House Band

-Where: Off Broadway
-When: Friday, December 31st @ 9 PM
-How Much: FREE (21+)
-Why: Ring in 2011 with some great rock ‘n’ roll and a few inevitable, drunken sing-a-longs with STL supergroup Dino’s House Band.

2. DJ Grocery’s 80s and 90s party
-Where: The Gramophone
-How Much: FREE! (21+)
-When: Friday, December 31st @ 9 PM
-Why: Throw back beers and throwback jams ’till 6 in the mornin’. Or at least ’till close.

3. Funk n’ Horny NYE Party w/ Hip Grease, Funky Butt Brass Band, Dogtown Allstars, DJ Alexis, DJ Alejan and DJ Cory Thomas
-Where: Upstairs and Downstairs of 2720 Cherokee
-When: Friday, December 31st
-How Much: $10 adv/$15 doors (21+)
-Why: Tons of music – from funk to house – will shoot you dancing straight into 2011.

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Get in line.  With only 300 copies of the new Euclid Records 10″ EP of Detroit garage rockers the Sights’ in-store performance, you better get moving.  Packed with goodies (a poster, all access pass, etc.), the EP boasts three solid Sights’ originals and a cover of Nolan Strong’s “My Heart Will Always Belong to You.”  Visit Euclid Sessions’ website here for more information, or just swing by the store to grab one before they’re gone.

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No – this isn’t Kevin Spacey’s hip-hop breakout.  Chicago emcee Verbal Kent (a Usual Suspects reference) is dropping a new album on 1/11/11 (a damn good date), and it has got plenty of raw production.  Check this track, and grab the album next month.

Verbal Kent feat. Lance Ambu – “Examples”

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

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I’ve got the cure for a Monday with the temperature outside ranging in the low teens: OFF!, a punk supergroup composed of members from the legendary Circle Jerks, Rocket from the Crypt, Burning Brides, and Black Flag, just dropped a short, rowdy, and rapid-fire collection of songs on First Four EPs.  Hopefully this track will help when your caffeine buzz dies down:

OFF! – “Upside Down”

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

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If you happen to be on the westbound Metrolink train departing from the Fairview Heights station on Saturday, December 18th at 2:31 PM, you may be surprised by some of your fellow passengers.  KDHX and Metro are facilitating Rhythm ‘n’ Rails, a free concert on a train (well, you still have to pay for a Metro ticket) with (Eleven alums) Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three – just make sure to mind the gap.  More deets here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=181583818525765.  Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three: http://www.pokeylafarge.net/

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