This past weekend, I was sent to L.A. to cover the Midsummer Night’s Dream party at the Playboy Mansion for my full-time gig, playboy.com. More on that—and a fashion trend coming soon to Chicago—shortly, but a weekend in L.A. is nothing if not star-studded, so first, a Celebrity Spotting update, West Coast edition…
Before I lose my wireless signal, I’m shooting off the best and worst of Sunday at Lollapalooza.
BEST
1. Eddie Vedder pulling Ben Harper up on stage for “Body of War.” Vedder did a lot of politicizing—taking on the war in Iraq and BP Amoco. “Think of it as a boyfriend or girlfriend who never brushes their teeth,” he said, of BP Amoco, and its potential dumping in Lake Michigan. “You wouldn’t kiss them. Don’t show BP any love until they clean up their act.”
2. My Morning Jacket pairing with a local children’s chorus…
Keeping with yesterday’s theme, here’s the good, the bad, and the occasionally unfashionable from Saturday. While we’re at it, write in with your bests and from Lolla in the comments box.
THE BEST
1. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs! Finally, I got to see them live.
2. Finally finding all the 30-somethings. They ARE here! They’re all at Roky Erikson! …
THE BEST
1. The Black Keys, an Akron, Ohio, duo that’s been touched—no, gifted—with a sound reminiscent of dirty Mississippi blues I heard growing up and unprocessed rock ‘n roll.
2. Daft Punk! My generation’s Peter Frampton
3. The sign language volunteer for the Polyphonic Spree; most of the interpreters just sign and kind of sway, but this lady rocked out, particularly during the “yeah, yeah, yeah” part of the Spree’s cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit."
4. The hipster T-shirts. My favorite: A purple one with a picture of Kurt Vonnegut. It said, “Vonnegut With This?” If you have a shirt like that, then yes. Yes, I do…
With an event the size of Lollapalooza (120 bands; 200,000 attendance expected), there’s sure to be a wealth of pre-parties, after-parties and after-after-parties. After jamming to Dave Specter Thursday night at Millennium Park, good Southern girl that I am, I headed over to Subterranean for Paste magazine’s pre-Lolla party…
From a Show About Nothing to a Show About Everything Carol Leifer has a pretty cool claim to fame. The Emmy-nominated comedy writer and producer was the inspiration for the character Elaine Benes on a little show you may have heard of called Seinfeld. Leifer’s years in TV with Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show … Read more
I love a good smackdown. Except when it comes to bands.
Every year of Lollapalooza, I’ve lost my friends during the pivotal afternoon time slots. Last year, I stood alone at Andrew Bird when my friends headed over Matisyahu. I didn’t find them again until several hours later (thanks, text messaging!)
If you’ve ever been to Lollapalooza, you know that the planners have ESP. They somehow can sense which bands are on your must-see list. They then manage to put them at the same time slot at stages umpteen miles apart. This means that you must either (a) sacrifice Cold War Kids to Rhymefest or (b) run like hell to cross the great divide between the two fields. It is the concert world’s cruelest joke.
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Features Glorious ItalianOur dining critics have spent the past four months twirling their gilded forks. From spaghetti and meatballs to spaghetti with caviar, here they present the best of all foods Italiano in Chicago. The Manilows Are Inby Carol FelsenthalSusan and Lewis Manilow are a low-key, high-impact couple whose commitments – cultural and political – … Read more
