At some point during synth duo Crystal Castles’ set Friday, a fan wandered out of the steady drizzle and on stage, hoping to dance.
A security guard quickly grabbed him — but so did Alice Glass, Castles’ banshee of a singer. She wanted him to stay. The guard didn’t, and he was pulling harder. A few tugs later, the fan’s hand slipped out of Glass’ and he vanished.
The lesson: Lollapalooza can hit euphoric highs or harsh lows depending on where you’re standing. So RedEye offers the following grades, ratings and reviews with the disclaimer that they all came from where we were standing.
Having survived a muddy and muggy weekend in Grant Park, it’s only fair to acknowledge that overall grades in truth reflect all the smaller moments that shaped our perspectives.
It is, after all, a matter of perspective: A little more than 24 hours after Crystal Castles, Santigold was inviting bug-eyed audience members on stage to dance out her closing number — with security’s permission.
Any doubt those fans gave the weekend an A-plus?
The Killers
8:30 p.m. Sunday
It’s been five years since The Killers’ breakout album, “Hot Fuss,” and the band has not lost its touch. Opening with a rollicking, sing-along version of “Human,” the band got the south end of Grant Park bumping Sunday to close out Lolla opposite big man Perry Farrell’s Jane’s Addiction set. As a cooling lake breeze washed over the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, the Las Vegas act’s very Vegas stage setup (think neon, sequins and a lot of palm trees) lent an over-the-top air to a thunderously over-the-top show. True, the crowd did seem to have run out of gas at points during the hour and a half set, but frontman Brandon Flowers made sure that when it was good, it was really good. Jim Walsh
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
8:30 p.m. Saturday
She strutted onto the stage looking like some sort of mystical winged creature in a headdress and feathery cape, then launched into a dramatic rendition of “Runaway.” She pumped her fist in the air and grinned as guitarist Nick Zinner slipped in a riff from the absent Beastie Boys’ “So What’cha Want.” She donned a leather jacket and worked the crowd into a frenzy with “Zero.” She hissed. She twirled. She growled. She wailed. She forgot the lyrics to “Maps” and brought the show to a momentary halt, yet no one seemed to mind. She is Karen O — she is the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — and no stage is too big for her. M. Kathleen Pratt
Of Montreal
7 p.m. Friday
“Kevin you’re a [bleeping] genius,” screamed one of the many fanboys and girls (but mostly boys) during the colorful theatrics of this Athens, Ga.-based act. Frontman Kevin Barnes (and his flamboyant alter ego Georgie Fruit) led the soggy-yet-willing crowd through a funked-out, psychedelic disco trip, complete with stage priests and demons, glitter, flying feathers and inflatable rafts. The music was pretty good too. Aside from a weak Barnes duet session with singer Janelle Monae, including a David Bowie cover that could have been cool but fell flat, the band was spot on, ending the set in dance floor favorites “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse” and “She’s a Rejector.” (Oh, and despite his penchant for nudity, Barnes kept his musketeer-meets-kimono get-up on.) Erin Osmon
Bon Iver
3 p.m. Friday
A rainy afternoon might be the perfect way to take in Bon Iver’s melancholy tunes. Unfortunately, the crowd didn’t stop talking long enough to enjoy it. But that couldn’t douse Justin Vernon’s spirits. The bearded folkie sang his vulnerable lyrics earnestly, eyes shut, thanking the crowd over and over. Vernon’s music definitely has the power to enrapture a festival crowd. It’s just too bad most of them missed it. Sara Stewart
Friendly Fires
12:30 p.m. Sunday
English dance rockers Friendly Fires have only one goal, and crazy, sweaty heat is no excuse: These guys expect you to move. It was easy to oblige with throbbing takes on “White Diamonds” and horn flourishes on hip-commanding stuff like “In the Hospital” and “Lovesick.” If these frisky, ’80s-influenced groove machines’ less-danceable stuff like “Strobe” isn’t as captivating, it’s at least a moment to breathe, look around the bar, and say hey, whoever that is that came in with Molly Ringwald is looking good. Matt Pais
Chairlift
3:30 p.m. Saturday
There are two words to describe Chairlift: sensual seduction. The ambient, artsy electronic trio opened their set with a sexy, loungey, let’s-make-out-on-one-of-the-couches-in-the-back-of-the-club spin on Snoop Dogg that set the tone for the rest of the show. The hypnotic, ethereal vocals and synths got a little dancing orgy going on the back. Makeout music at its finest. Dorothy Hernandez
