MGMT frontman Andrew VanWyngarden shares his thoughts on festivals, Radiohead and touring.

Smoke rises from the stage at 8:15 sharp. The sound of pumping air and whisper-like string pulses steadily increase in volume (this is "999,999") as the screech of a guitar emanates from the stage, Trent Reznor, lead singer of Nine Inch Nails, enters, spotlights illuminate the band, dressed in all black. Right into The Slip album opener "1,000,000" Reznor repeats "I feel a million miles away, I don't feel anything at all."

Lights flash white for "Letting You," the entire back of the stage is dedicated to racks of lighting and LED nets. The band cover more than 1/3 of the new album with "Letting You," "Discipline" and "Echoplex", the new songs -- along with Reznor's band (which includes famed studio drummer Josh Freese and long-time member Robin Finck) -- draw a huge crowd rivaling Kanye West's on the other side of the park. The opening drum part to "March of the Pigs" draws a frenzy, this is what the crowd has been waiting for -- a cathartic reliving of what it must have been like 18 years ago at the first Lollapalooza. The crowd is flooded in white light as Reznor screams and snaps his neck, he motions them to clap as his band cuts through an extended distorted synth outro.

When "Closer" starts, with the recognizable "boom-cha, boom-cha" everyone roars. Synthesizers encased in metal are then brought onstage, in what seems an homage to Kraftwerk, and the band plays selections from the instrumental album Ghosts. Reznor has worked hard to create a visually complex performance, LED nets appear and project images of a desert, blue sky and dying trees. The clear images look real and when simulating rain the audience gasps, confused by how it could be raining as they don't feel anything. During "The Greater Good" blurred images are projected on the stage, and, as the focus is pulled back, Reznor's face is revealed originating from a handheld camera streaming live. Afterwards Trent disengages each image with a handheld remote, it is hard to describe how he 'paints' his way out of the images with the wave of his hand.

Now something familiar: "Pinion" merges into the 'Broken' classic "Wish" and then "Terrible Lie," ending with Trent launching his guitar into the stage, crashing into the background, he is now bleeding. As the band pulls their quote-un-quote "hits" the crowd responds. "Only," "The Hand That Feeds" and "Head Like Hole" receive enormous chants and yells from the over-stimulated crowd. The stage turns black, the band exists and then the iconic N I N symbol is projected in red. After a few minutes they re-enter and Reznor is nostalgically remembering how "Perry called us for the first Lollapalooza... we were just kids." As the opening piano line to "Hurt" begins the fans raise their phones (these were lighters 18 years ago) and listen. For the first time you can almost hear Kanye in the distance ending his set with "Stronger".

Set list:
999,999
1,000,000
Letting You
Discipline
March of the Pigs
The Frail
Closer
Gave Up
The Warning
Vessel
Ghosts (3 instrumentals)
Piggy
The Greater Good
Pinion
Wish
Terrible Lie
Survivalism
The Big Come Down
Only
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole

Encore:
Echoplex
Hurt
In This Twilight

(Photos by Mark Venema, Wire Image)

Post by Matt Kivel

Gram Parsons called ... he wants his wardrobe back.

Jeff Tweedy and co. hit the Lollapalooza stage decked out in some impressively coordinated Nudie suits and brought Saturday night's festivities to a close with staples like "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" and "Jesus Etc." as well as a new song ("One Wing") and a few dusty old classics ("Can't Stand It" "It's Just That Simple"). Below are some stellar videos from the set and one not-so-stellar video of the new tune:

"Can't Stand It"

"Pot Kettle Black"

"Impossible Germany"

"Jesus Etc."

"One Wing"

Variety's Abe Burns reports from the front lines at this weekend's Lollapalooza festival in downtown Chicago.

The Octopus Project was one of the first bands heard on the final day of Lollapaloza. The crowd trickled in and it was already more hot and humid than before. Sunday felt slower, with not as many bands scheduled at the same time and the crowd was just tame.

Chicago's own Kid Sister brought the energy level up, sampling the Beastie Boys classic "Intergalactic" and dancing onstage in a yellow, blue and pink getup. Walking through the open field all you could hear was a low bass rumble and Melissa Young singing 'Hit me on my beepa, beepa, beepa". In sharp contrast The Whigs gave a more fitting soundtrack to the intense heat of Sunday afternoon – their distorted guitars, bombastic drums and vintage organ attracted a sizeable crowd. They received a huge response, mostly from fans who were still filtering in from the front entrance. The Southern three-piece broadcast from the MySpace stage, across the field that had been battered by a raucous show the night before (Rage Against the Machine). Hungover, tired and overheated, the people still came, intrigued. The Whigs launched into "Mission Control", which echoed out and became soothing when combined with the muggy air.

Brazilian Girls felt the same way -- "Don't Stop" and audience favorite "Pussy" were enough to placate the crowd in such uncomfortable humidity. Getting away from the intense conditions there was much to explore in and out of the park walls. At the Hard Rock Hotel (only a couple blocks away) Trent Reznor-produced Saul Williams (who distributed his latest album on his website for free) roamed the 4th floor, taken over by Diesel.

Then on to Mark Ronson (left), with all hands in the air. Ronson opened up all the stops -- a string quartet, 3 backup singers and a 4 piece band (not including Ronson, who stuck to his guitar). There were guest singers galore: Kenna, Candie Payne and Daniel Merriweather who performed The White Stripes' "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As Your Told)." A highlight came when Alex Greenwald joined Ronson onstage for a rendition of Radiohead's "Just," followed by Phantom Planet playing "California."

(Photos by Brecheisen, WireImage)

Variety's Abe Burns reports from the front lines at this weekend's Lollapalooza festival in downtown Chicago.

Same as the night before, when 8 p.m. arrived Saturday, everything felt different. In the distance passed what looked like barracks of bodies, barrel-shaped lights flashed in anticipation of headliners Rage Against the Machine. As if gearing up for war I pushed forward, seven of these huge 'light barrels' filled the top of the stage overlooking the massive crowd.

At 8:34 p.m. sharp a blaring siren goes off and the band's iconic red star illuminates the sky. Zach De La Rocha, the intense frontman, steps to the front of the stage and his band follows him with "Testify" – "The war is right outside your door" he belts with a chorus of thousands behind him. Next up: "Bulls On Parade," but something is wrong. De La Rocha pulls the show to a grinding halt. "Listen," he commands, "please chill out and take care of one another, look out for one another – if you could take 5 to 10 steps back." There is a silent pause then the band explodes into another staple: "Bombtrack."


On "Wake Up," De La Rocha exclaims, "For the last 8 years we've heard of some mysterious force that is threatening our way of life" then the politically-driven frontman turned to Obama: "If he gets elected and doesn't do anything, know a lot of people are run down" and threatens people will burn down the houses of their senator(s).


(And he wonders why the crowd is so violent...)

"There are a generation of black and Latinos who are gonna force people in this county to decide what side they stand on. People aren't gonna stand for it, just take it." He shouts the final lyric "WAKE UP" five times.

Encore:  The crowd will not let them leave…  Foreign chants (an anthem possibly) blare from the speakers.


Tom Morello (guitarist) sustains cello-like vibratos on "Freedom." Zach sits still, pensive and bellows, "Your anger is a gift!" The crowd has reached critical mass at this point, there is only movement. The set ends as De La Rocha places one fist in the air, everyone follows. "Killing In The Name" draws the show to an end while people, like myself, regroup and try to internalize what they just saw.

See Saturday Lollapalooza photos.

Setlist:

Testify
Bulls On Parade
People of the Sun
Bombtack
Know Your Enemy
Bullet In The Head
Born Of A Broken Man
Guerilla Radio
Ashes In The Fall
Calm Like A Bomb
Sleep Now In The Fire
Wake Up

Encore:
Freedom
Killing In The Name

(Photos by Mazur/WireImage)

• Day Two Photos - Lollapalooza
• Day One Photos - Lollapalooza

Variety's Abe Burns reports from the front lines at this weekend's Lollapalooza festival in downtown Chicago.

Saturday morning began with Lollapalooza visionary Perry Ferrell making his annual press conference. (The lead-singer of Jane’s Addiction created the event back in 1991 as a farewell tour for the band.) As customary, one band is chosen to accompany the junket, this year it was Brooklyn's MGMT. The quintet spoke of the other bands playing at the fest, new Lollapalooza amenities (a micro-brewery and super-shady hangouts for the overheated) and the band’s various 'green' initiatives.

As for the music, Margot And The Nuclear So & So's, one of the first bands to kick off Day Two, got the day off to a captive start. Their epic constructions: bells, swirling guitars and eight band members carried across the entire park, serving as a wake-up call to anyone still in a daze from the night before.

(Photos by Angeline Vuong/Variety)

The early afternoon was packed for English indie-pop duo The Ting Tings. Fans danced, hands in the air and shouted the chorus for "Great DJ' and Indie 103 staple “That's Not My Name.” Another highlight was "Shut Up And Let Me Go".  It's hard to believe that TT can actually pull of the enormous sound live, given that there are only two members--each song sounds as big as the record.

Having never been to Chicago before and attending many festivals, there seemed to be a sense of community among concert-goers. There were games of Frisbee, the dirty rock of Dr. Dog and you truly couldn't ask for better weather…well Rage hadn't gone on yet, so we'll see.

"We are Radiohead" MGMT jokingly proclaim promptly at 3:30. It's getting hot at this point but the band seemed relaxed even as they notice/mention "Wow, there are a lot of people here". They launched into "Weekend Wars" the garage-phych proclamation, while showcasing a more experimental set. The funky "Electric Feel" brought with it a cool ocean breeze while "Time To Pretend" was a highlight, the crowd sang in unison and they left with the message: "It's Summertime, enjoy it before it's gone."

• Day Two Photos - Lollapalooza
• Day One Photos - Lollapalooza

Variety's Abe Burns reports from the front lines at this weekend's Lollapalooza festival in downtown Chicago.

Cansei de Ser Sexy aka CSS (above; their name is Portuguese for "I got tired of being sexy"), led by eccentric vocalist Lovefoxxx, threw more of a party than a typical show. Multi-colored balloons and streamers filled the air, leaving only a sea of hands and floating colors. The six-piece Brazilian band animated every note from the iPod-approved "Music Is My Hot Hot Sex" to the sinister new single "Rat Is Dead (Rage)". Mid-set, Lovefoxxx instructed the crowd in synchronized dance moves as an homage to their friend/fellow Lolla artist Duffy, and the masses gave in.

Two hours before Radiohead were to take the stage there was already a sizable crowd securing their highly coveted front row spots. Pushed against metal railings and beaten by the heat and humidity, they still came in droves. The lights brightened, and another group of English rockers entered -- Bloc Party (left). While contemporaries like The Arctic Monkeys, Maximo Park and the Kaiser Chiefs have practically fallen off the radar, Bloc Party has managed to make a dent in the U.S. The crowd greeted their intense and epic songs like "Banquet," "I Still Remember" and "Helicopter" with excitement, while heralding the song "Hunting For Witches." With the addition of an amped-up light show and stand-in bass player, they also threw in the new U.K. buzz-single "Mercury" (think a grimey Gang Of Four).

8:00 p.m. Time for Radiohead (above). Looking out into the crowd you could no longer see green grass or the baseball diamonds underneath each stage, just bodies. Hundreds Thousands gathered, taking up every available inch, and the air was condensing. This is what everyone was waiting for. One low growl, resembling a kick drum, came from the huge front-house speaker. The crowd roared. Then another -- the band had just begun, surrounded by what looked like long fiberglass pipes (actually geo-friendly LED's, specially installed for the band). It was "15 Step." Red flashes of light, and one huge screen showcased each band member in haunting black and white, followed by images of the Chicago waterfront. "Airbag" and "There There" came with the same intensity as did the rest of the setlist, which focused on more of the bands "In Rainbows" material. See Radiohead's set list.

(Photos by Angeline Vuong/Variety)

Thom Yorke of Radiohead, left, - 8/01/08
(Photo by Angeline Vuong/Variety)

Setlist:
01. 15 Step
02. Airbag
03. There There
04. All I Need
05. Nude
06. Arpeggi
07. The Gloaming
08. The National Anthem
09. Faust Arp
10. No Surprises
11. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
12. Reckoner
13. Lucky
14. The Bends
15. Everything In Its Right Place
16. Fake Plastic Trees
17. Bodysnatchers

• Day Two Photos - Lollapalooza
• Day One Photos - Lollapalooza

Variety's Abe Burns reports from the front lines at this weekend's Lollapalooza festival in downtown Chicago.

Robert Smith said it best: Hot Hot Hot!!! Chicago in August -- the sun is intense, the air is humid and water costs 3 bux. Now picture you're a band, so you've got to be at the top of your game -- or 75 thousand people are going to hate you and tell their friends they hate you and so on...

Holy Fuck kicked off the festival. The chaotic Canadian foursome, lead by noisemaking duo Graham Walsh and Brian Borcherdt, presented a true sonic lo-fi overhaul early in the afternoon. Falling somewhere between Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine and Kraftwerk, they offer a true representation of Lolla's eclectic musical palette. Supporting their latest LP, the aptly titled LP, the band's pounding soundscapes are stunning, almost mirage-like -- just don't pass out.

Next up were California mid-tempo indie-rockers Rogue Wave. The band, who recently left Sub Pop for Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records, has seen much success from a hard-to-miss (think Sara Bareilles/Rhapsody) ZUNE promo campaign using the anthemic "Lake Michigan," which they of course included in their set.

Brooklyn's own Yeasayer (above) provided a spaced-out and rhythmically mesmerizing respite before Welsh songstress Duffy (below) took the stage, armed with her '60s-tinged pop hit "Mercy" which pays homage to Dusty Springfield and Stax/Motown favorites of the same era. On stage, she may lack the personality of Amy Winehouse and the charm/sheen of Adele, but songs like "Rockferry" and "Stepping Stone" prove she at least has the material to put up the fight.

• Day Two Photos - Lollapalooza
• Day One Photos - Lollapalooza