Saturday, August 7, 2010

Lollapalooza 2010 day one: The Ettes, Jukebox the Ghost


The Ettes at Lollapalooza (photo: Windy City Rock)
The first day of Lollapalooza's three-day run has come to a close, and I must say Friday's installment proved to be one of the most enjoyable times I've had at the festival since it started in its current incarnation in 2005. Not only was it a beautiful day (albeit quite hot at times, though anyone who's ever been to Lollapalooza has come to expect that), but the performances overall seemed to be of a very high caliber.

I arrived at the fest just as it was opening, and immediately noticed a bigger crowd accumulated than there typically has been in past years this early on in the day. Usually the acts that perform early don't have huge crowds, but that didn't seem to be the case this year. Hip-hopper B.o.B. kicked off the festival with an 11:30 a.m. set at the adidas MEGA stage, and as I passed by I noticed a very sizable audience. The same was the case for Nashville-based quartet The Ettes, who played at 12:30 p.m. on the BMI stage on the North side of the festival.

The band's set was the first I decided to check out after arriving, opting for them over Wavves. Their crunchy, down-and-dirty rock sounded great and was ideal for pumping the crowd up and getting everyone ready for a three-day musical party. What made The Ettes stand out among their contemporaries for me was the band's front woman, Lindsay "Coco" Hames. Rarely do you hear such a girly voice (think Kim Deal or even Jane Wiedlin) paired with this style of music. It made for a really ear-catching juxtaposition. They seemed like really cool people without pretension, too, which is always refreshing at a festival where there's never a shortage of egos.

Jukebox the Ghost at Lollapalooza (photo: Windy City Rock)
Shortly after, I headed back to the BMI stage to catch a portion of Jukebox the Ghost's set at 1:45. I didn't know much about this band going in, and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised. The Washington, D.C.-born trio's jaunty, good-natured indie pop was incredibly well-written and performed with plenty of enthusiasm. I had seen them compared to Ben Folds, but in my opinion a band such as fun. would be a more accurate comparison. I was only able to catch a few songs as I wanted to see Mavis Staples, whose set began at 2 on the Budweiser stage, but all it took was those few songs to win me over as a fan. I will definitely be checking out their new album, Everything Under the Sun, when it comes out next month.

More photos after the jump
The Ettes

Photo: Windy City Rock
Photo: Windy City Rock
Photo: Windy City Rock

Jukebox the Ghost

Photo: Windy City Rock


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