Biggest pleasant surprise at Lolla?

mulva9

Who did you see at Lolla that you didn't know much about, didn't listen to very much, but really impressed you?

Patti Smith for me. I knew very little about her and went to check her out. Blew me away. Best performance next to PJ for me without a doubt.

lalalalaaaaaaaa

M.I.A. for me. I danced through her entire set. And I guess I should say The Stooges as well. I knew they'd be good, but not as good as they were. The rest of the bands I saw were great as I expected them to be, especially Patti. For her to close with Rock N Roll Nigger....that was my best moment during the whole festival I think.

tribejammer05

Pete Yorn. He comes to Columbus quite often, but I never got the chance to see him. He's amazing live. Way better sounding than his albums.

Also, did anyone see the guy who introduced Pete dancing on the side of the stage? I just stood there and did this one dance the entire time. It was hilarious.

soulsinging

tglass6105 wrote:

Pete Yorn. He comes to Columbus quite often, but I never got the chance to see him. He's amazing live. Way better sounding than his albums.

Also, did anyone see the guy who introduced Pete dancing on the side of the stage? I just stood there and did this one dance the entire time. It was hilarious.

i wonder if that was teh same guy who was onstage for part of polyphonic spree... he was this totally weird dude in a suit dancing like a fool. i loved it. im still bummed i missed pete yorn, but ti was ok becos being up close for silverchair was the highlight of my weekend.

my gf and i paced ourselves cos we just moved into a new apartment, so we didnt get to check otu many new/random bands.

pleasant surprises:
polyphonic spree- they were a blast. i was looking forward to seeing them and they had sound struggles, but it was still great.
silverchair- i remembered them being good live, but not THAT good!
pearl jam- i had high hopes and they were exceeded. despite tons of tech problems, the energy of the band and the suprirsingly enthusiastic crowd made theit set amazing.

disappointments:
muse- yeah, the lights were cool and muse deserves to be listened to that loud, but they had no personality and the songs were note for note reproductions of the album.
my morning jacket- i don't know why, but i just wasn't feeling their set like i have every other time i saw them. i wish i had gone to see modest mouse.

iamsampj

matt & kim: they're so excitable and happy. it was awesome to see such a great crowd for them. when i saw them at a club in orlando, there were only 30 people there...boo!

annuals: love them. i would take it as a huge compliment if i were them that tv on the radio were watching their set from the side of the stage

yyys: karen o. enough said!

tapes 'n tapes: i already knew they'd be amazing, but they rocked it!! if i could listen to "insistor" from that set over and over...dancin my ass off!

kings of leon: so excited to finally see them can they seriously be any cooler?!? loved it so much.

i wish i would've give up my great spot for pearl jam to dance my booty cakes off to tv on the radio (can i really say that on this board )!!! their music is absolutely amazing and makes me so incredible happy. at least i could kinda hear it while waiting for pj to start...i was singing along to "staring at the sun", i'm sure everyone around me thought i was crazy!!

SomethingCreative

did anyone catch The Colour Revolt on friday?? I thought they were pretty damn good

thesheff

The Hold Steady. I love their albums, and heard good things about their live show, but it was just so much fun.

Also, Daft Punk. I had seen some of the videos on youtube before hand, and I do like some of their songs, but I thought I would grow tired of the techno/lights stuff. Boy was I wrong. Best show of the weekend.

I'm also amazed by how close I was for Pearl Jam. I was by myself all day and never got a chance to go to the bathroom or get food (because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it back to my spot) but I survived (I was right in front of the first security barrier)

South of Seattle

I enjoyed the Black Keys. That was my first time hearing or seeing them and I'll definitely check out more of their stuff.

wolfbear

mulva9 wrote:

Who did you see at Lolla that you didn't know much about, didn't listen to very much, but really impressed you?

Patti Smith for me. I knew very little about her and went to check her out. Blew me away. Best performance next to PJ for me without a doubt.

Great thread. I was wondering the same and there are some great responses so far.

pureoc

South of Seattle wrote:

I enjoyed the Black Keys. That was my first time hearing or seeing them and I'll definitely check out more of their stuff.

Agreed. I had heard a little of them and was looking forward to seeing them. Good show. After Pearl Jam and Ben Harper they were my favorite Lolla act that I saw.

LedZepFan

ben harper...i knew he was supposed to be good, but not THAT good..that show was awesome

JaneNY

Daft Punk, without a doubt. I'd heard a little bit of their music, but didn't know much about them. What an incredible blast! Festival on the grass and I could make up my own dances in the light and sound. Really, wow wow WOW - I loved them!

I can't say Patti Smith was a surprise, because I KNEW what her shows are like! (But maybe a pleasant surprise was my daughter managed to keep a rail spot from Regina Spektor so I could stand right behind her (she's little) for Patti)

Westernsky

Favorite performances: The Roots, YYYs, TV on the Radio, Interpol, Yo La Tengo, Iggy, G Love, Ted Leo & the P, Viva Voce... and of course Pearl Jam!

Biggest surprises: LCD Soundsystem & Daft Punk - goodtimes!

Worst time conflict: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah & The Roots

Total Letdown: Hold Steady & MMJ (who went over their time & caused TV on the Radio to have to cut their already short set)

Not sad I missed at all: Muse

IlovveePJ

Kings Of Leon!! A friend of mine introduced me to their music but I hadn't heard them live..... they were amazing!!!! Completely blown away.

jimed14

soulsinging wrote:

disappointments:
muse- yeah, the lights were cool and muse deserves to be listened to that loud, but they had no personality and the songs were note for note reproductions of the album.

if there are any other thoughts on Muse, in the course of the thread, I'd love to hear them

My girl is big on Muse and I kind of dig them ... we're thinking of going to Vegas in October for Vegoose (Muse is there, with Rage, Iggy, Daft Punk Public Enemy, Gogol Bordello, etc) ... but, if people find Muse to be not so great, would be good to know.

anyway .... continue ....

AndySlash

The dancing fool is widely known as Beatle Bob. Look it up on Wikipedia or google. I can't stand seeing the guy... to me he detracts from the show when he is so clearly visible.

Patti Smith was THE show of Lolla for me, followed by Iggy/Stooges. Amazing to think two 60+ year olds truly owned this festival.

Daft Punk's show was great, too, but due more to the stage effects than the actual music. Amazing to see, no doubt, but strip that stuff away and it isn't as good. I'm sure people who may have been trippin' balls went for the ride of a lifetime, though.

thunderDAN

Kings of Leon- I hated the first song I heard of theirs, but saw them at Lolla and got 2 of their CDs

Black Keys- they are from my hometown and I've never seen them. They are awesome and to imagine it's only 2 guys.

I was tapping my feet to The Rapture, they had some catchy songs


I used to like Muse, but I ended up leaving during their set becuase I was board. I often think that most Muse fans are only fans becuase of a couple reasons a)they have never heard Radiohead, b)they love Radiohead so much they want more bands to try to copy them or c)they are looking for music with substance and think that Muse gives that to them. I actually think I am turned off to Muse becuase they as a band take themselves way too seriously

frusciante89

jimed14 wrote:

if there are any other thoughts on Muse, in the course of the thread, I'd love to hear them

My girl is big on Muse and I kind of dig them ... we're thinking of going to Vegas in October for Vegoose (Muse is there, with Rage, Iggy, Daft Punk Public Enemy, Gogol Bordello, etc) ... but, if people find Muse to be not so great, would be good to know.

anyway .... continue ....

Muse is great live, saw them in last September. Great show but a bit short on their set, but who is'nt these days

lalalalaaaaaaaa

thesheff wrote:

Daft Punk. I had seen some of the videos on youtube before hand, and I do like some of their songs, but I thought I would grow tired of the techno/lights stuff. Boy was I wrong. Best show of the weekend.

JaneNY wrote:

Daft Punk, without a doubt. I'd heard a little bit of their music, but didn't know much about them. What an incredible blast! Festival on the grass and I could make up my own dances in the light and sound. Really, wow wow WOW - I loved them!

hehehe I told yas

http://forums.pearljam.com/showpost.php?p=4460059&postcount=226

soulsinging

iamsampj wrote:

matt & kim: they're so excitable and happy. it was awesome to see such a great crowd for them. when i saw them at a club in orlando, there were only 30 people there...boo!

annuals: love them. i would take it as a huge compliment if i were them that tv on the radio were watching their set from the side of the stage

yyys: karen o. enough said!

tapes 'n tapes: i already knew they'd be amazing, but they rocked it!! if i could listen to "insistor" from that set over and over...dancin my ass off!

kings of leon: so excited to finally see them can they seriously be any cooler?!? loved it so much.

i wish i would've give up my great spot for pearl jam to dance my booty cakes off to tv on the radio (can i really say that on this board )!!! their music is absolutely amazing and makes me so incredible happy. at least i could kinda hear it while waiting for pj to start...i was singing along to "staring at the sun", i'm sure everyone around me thought i was crazy!!

i think id have preferred modest mouse/tv on the radio/losing my pj spot to sitting there through mmj to be where i was. ive seen tv on the radio live and they were awesome.

tapes'n'tapes i only heard from across the field but they were rocking WAY more than they do on the albums tracks i've listened to. i might have to give them another listen.

i cant go with you on the yyy's though... i just don't get them. it was too self-consciously hipster for me... they felt so contrived to me.

the annuals did sound good, though i didn't really get to see their full set.

soulsinging

thunderDAN wrote:

I used to like Muse, but I ended up leaving during their set becuase I was board. I often think that most Muse fans are only fans becuase of a couple reasons a)they have never heard Radiohead, b)they love Radiohead so much they want more bands to try to copy them or c)they are looking for music with substance and think that Muse gives that to them. I actually think I am turned off to Muse becuase they as a band take themselves way too seriously

yeah, i wanted to leave and go catch some of interpol, but my friend really wanted to see them.

don't get me wrong, muse was good live, they just didn't meet my expectations. the light show they had going on was a nice complement, but don't expect much else. there is no spontaneity. the singer has no personality... he never said a word, it was the drummer who thanked the crowd maybe twice during the set and there was nothing else spoken. the songs were good, but were identical note for note to the album. it was just kinda underwhelming. i was hoping they'd rock it out or stretch or be rowdy and aggressive and they weren't. very polished, but nothing like the liveliness of a pearl jam set. i would have expected that from interpol, but not muse.

also, the black keys were great and got a great crowd response. a nice gritty but still kinda chill late afternoon set.

im still sorta kicking myself for missing daft punk. ben harper was good, but just like any other ben harper set ive seen. everyone who saw daft punk seems to have ahd their mind blown. it was all i heard about all weekend.