08.05.2006: Bursting through the gates, hundreds of fans sprinted to get front and center for opening act, "The Subways." I hadn't seen that much potential energy since last week when a rancid gallon of milk Rob's family forgot to throw out before going to Europe was about to explode in his fridge. Having gotten in an hour early with media passes, Rob and I just casually walked the few feet to the stage and propped ourselves front row center.
"The Subways'" lead singer Billy Lunn must have downed a case of red bull back stage with the onslaught of energy he brought to the 12:30 show. The power trio out of England woke everyone up with their unrelenting rock. Lunn climbed the scaffolding, frequently jumped on the drums, into the crowd, and finished by flinging himself into the drums. And the music kicked ass too. Catchy, punky, rock with thrashing drums. Rob said they're supposed to be the Subways and Arctic Monkeys are supposed to be the big thing out of England, so look out for them.
Next we had to decide whether to hold down our front row spot, but that would entail waiting for an hour with no music, so we decided to wander. We saw a few minutes of "Cursive," and I think my love of Billy Madison may have drove me to say this, but I think the music backed it up. "I hate cursive and I hate all of you." OK, I love you, but cursive is more obnoxious now, then it was when I had to learn how to write a capital Z in it in third grade.
We got back to the stage we saw "The Subways" at to see some "Panic! At the Disco." They had a whole vaudeville themed show which was like that music video for "Moulin Rouge," only not attractive and the music was not my cup of tea. The dancers and half the band had odd painted faces, and two girls dancing in vaudeville bras and underwear and the lead singer wore a Sgt. Pepper-esque vest. I had listened to their album earlier in the week and thought they kinda blew, but what surprised me were the covers. "Karma Police," by "Radiohead" was great, with a rare use of xylophone, that sounded perfect. They also had a spot on cover of "Tonight, Tonight," by "The Smashing Pumpkins" with an interesting fan show to go with it.
After loading up on the unlimited free water and energy bars backstage, which ended up being my only meal of the day, we went backstage for free ice cream and shmoozing with "Umphreys McGee. I ran into Joel, the keyboardist, who I seem to run into at every show, and asked him what they'd been up to. He told me they were fresh back from Japan which was fun, but he still only knows ten words of Japanese.
\nI met up with some friends and got third row seats for "Umphrey's McGee." I've seen them a dozen times before but never in the day, and never for so short. I was worried they'd cut down their typical ten minute jams to fit the space, but instead they just played six songs in their hour set. Highlights were new songs "Words" and "Believe the Lie," and a rare playing of older song, "Always in Time." Their three guitar, two drummer set-up allows massive jams and crescendos. The familiarity between guitarists is evident as they nod and smile at each other, giving visual cues as they build tension. The band paid homage to their roots in South Bend with a Notre Dame hat and amp, but acknowledged their second home in Chicago with a Richard Dent bears jersey and personalized cubs jersey for the keyboardist. All in all it was a great show, but an hour isn't nearly enough Umphrey's.
I found Rob for a few songs by "Iron and Wine," which was cool, but they were quiet and not really captivating the audience. I had my heart set on seeing "My Morning Jacket," but Rob convinced me that "The Raconteurs" would only be around for a short while, and it's as close as I'm going to get to seeing "The White Stripes." The group is a combining of Jack White of the White Stripes, and a few friends from other bands. Their single "Steady as She Goes" is so popular I was sure it had to be in a commercial the amount of times I've heard it without knowing it. They rocked immensely hard, sounding like a fuller "The White Stripes," playing the single, some stuff off their album, and a couple interesting covers. They did "Bang Bang," from "Kill Bill" and "Crazy" by Saturday performers "Gnarls Barkley." As the sun went down and it got a little cooler in beautiful Grant Park, we were immensely entertained.
Last year the first night ended with "Weezer," this year it ended with "Ween." Weezer was my favorite band in high school, before I'd heard of classic rock, and I had a nonsensical dislike of Ween because I thought they took up too much space that belonged to Weezer at the record store. Eventually I actually heard Ween and found out they kick ass, and was pumped for the show. Well, actually at this point I was exhausted and ridiculously sunburnt. I kept telling Rob I wanted to go lie down in the grass, but he insisted I stand for the Ween. It was worth it. They're lyrics are all over the place at times and some songs are quick little bursts like "The HIV Song" where they repeat AIDS. HIV. over and over, but they always make it interesting. A few songs in I saw people body surfing and it reminded me of my first Weezer concert where I body surfed up to the front, and thought well, if I did it for Weezer, I'll do it for Ween. I strapped my backpack on backwards and Rob and a few well wishers launched me for a pretty sweet twenty seconds of surfing before I came tumbling down into the dirt of the infield several rows ahead. After a few more songs, an hour into the set, I was really exhausted and decided to go lay down to the side of the stage for the last few songs.
Next thing I know, someone wakes me, saying, "Dude you gotta go home." The concert had ended a few minutes ago so I called Rob and he sounded groggy too and told me to meet him "where we're supposed to be." So I met him in the media tent and he told me he was so glad I'd called because somehow he'd ended up sleeping under a trailer. We made our way to the train and after fifteen minutes of waiting came to realize the train had stopped running for the night. I called a bunch of friends who were either busy or didn't feel like picking me up. A lot of time went by and Rob and I realized our cell phones were both about to die and we were starving and in need of a bed. One friend offered her couches up to us, but said we were a cab ride away. I spent my last fifteen bucks on the cab and then, forgetting the exact address and having no working cell phone, wandered the streets for twenty minutes. Eventually we made it to her apt. with no clean clothes and no way to get in touch with anyone, but we're safe and sound after a long day of rocking.
Check back tomorrow for reviews of "Gnarls Barkley," "Blackalicious," "Flaming Lips," Kanye West, and more adventures.
