If Friday could be summed up as a day of cultural fusion through music, Saturday could be summed up as a day of intensity. Arriving early my mates and I caught Memphis' De Novo Dahl. This was the sucker punch band of the day, the act that no one was expecting anything from and were awesome. As soon as their set ended, the band I have been waiting all year to catch, England's Does it Offend You, Yeah?, took the stage. Does it Offend You were not only technically perfect but also drew a very impressive crowd to see their thrash - electro hybrid of sound. They were energetic, fun and everything Bloc Party should have been the day before. While braving the 90+ heat of the early afternoon, band members were running on and off stage in between songs to vomit from exhaustion. Certainly noble in action, and certainly one of the best bands all weekend.From an epic showing of Does it Offend You, Yeah?, we took it easy catching sets from Mason Jennings, Fouls and Gutter Twins before heading to MGMT. They drew the biggest crowd of the afternoon, but MGMT needed to step it up a bit as it took them a while to really get into what was a rather boring set. As soon as MGMT finished, Brand New took the main stage. The Long Island emo band has come a long way and started off rather normal, yet in typical front man Jesse Lacey fashion he blows it for his band. Telling the band to see Explosions in the Sky (who were on the same time as his band) and calling the crowd "fools," he really insisted that his fans leave and not watch them. After playing a heavy Devil and God set, they cut their set 15 minutes short purposely. At a festival when bands would kill for that extra 15 minutes, Brand New showed their cocky side and it is something I am just really tired of. A band I once loved, I don't think I will ever waste my time with again.
As frustrated as we were, we blew off some steam with a few beers and Austin's Okkervil River. Their art rock and singer Will Sheff's voice projected all through the park. The fans were packed in tight for them, making it hard to see, but worth the listen. Another artist who was worth every second, was Chicago's own Lupe Fiasco. Lupe came out back flipping to the Rocky theme and was what I like to call the honorary Mayor of Chicago for the evening. It was a hometown throw down that had the audience begging for more. This is the second time I have seen Lupe cause a fiasco on stage and I can safely say he is the brightest star in Hip-hop's future.
After a long day of intense sets and music it would all be second fiddle to the most powerful band of a generation - Rage Against the Machine. A band that has taken me 24 years and trip to Chicago to see, but was worth the wait. Opening with "Testify," then going into "Bulls on Parade," and "People of the Sun," it was a performance for the ages. Yet, it was still backed with the stereotypes that follow the band, forcing them to stop their set three times due to serious injuries in the pit, people climbing the sound system and fire's breaking out on the field. After witnessing someone walk out with a broken nose, it was as if the band never stopped barnstorming through cities and energy is still there. The highlight of the band's program came during "Wake Up," my favorite song from the band; singer Zach De La Rocha spit his political diatribe during the breakdown, screaming anti-war, anti-Bush, anti-American comments that was a welcomed verbal embrace to his fans and why we need Rage back now more than ever. Once of the most epic band's I have ever seen and was the best and only way to close out day 2.
De Novo Dahl (above) / Does it Offend You, Yeah? (Below)
Brand New (Below)
Rage Against The Machine (Below)
