PreLollers

So in preparation of Pistol Pete, K-Mart, and mine's second straight trip to Chicago's annual music festival, Lollapalooza, I thought we could start our coverage on it and give you a little rundown on some of the gigs we are looking forward to the most. Given we haven't settled our schedules out completely, this will give you a better idea of what exactly this weekend will entail for us.

Wavves

It would be rather tragic if 31st/Chi missed this set considering the (over-abundance in) coverage Wavves has received on this site. This show should start off the weekend with a bang. Everyone seems to like Nathan's new album much more than his previous work, so I'm guessing we'll hear quite a bit from King of the Beach.

Post Acid - Wavves

Dirty Projectors



I am extremely interested to see this band live. For me, this band defines a progressive alternative act. Talented complexity is what comes to mind when I think of this group. Dave Longstreth's guitar should be ridiculous along with Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian vocals. Their sound should transfer over well to the festival scene. We should be in for a real treat here.

Cannibal Resource - Dirty Projectors

Hot Chip

The London natives released their latest LP this past year, One Life Stand, to rather successful reviews. The electronic-pop group should get our evening of dancing pretty early. These nerds know how to party. This set is right before Chromeo. That's right, gettin jiggy with it.

Boy From School - Hot Chip

Chromeo



Chromeo will essentially be a DJ set...or so I'm assuming. It may as well be seeing as I'm pretty sure the whole crowd will be dancing the entire time. We should also be hearing some new jams from his upcoming album. Good way to start out the evening. I hope girls like Chromeo. Hot girls.

Night By Night - Chromeo

Wild Beasts

Another English band, Wild Beasts released one of 2009's better records in Two Dancers. I'm excited to hear how the sound transfers over to a live setting. Especially looking forward to hearing the lead singer's hop in octaves to falsetto as I'm curious if someone actually has to kick him in the nuts every time he hits that high F#.

All The King's Men - Wild Beasts

Stars



Torquil Campbell and Amy Milan's canadian group has been around for a while now. I wonder if Torquil feels as old as he's looking. Regardless, this will be a good show. They just released a new LP this summer, The Five Ghosts. Should be great to hear live and I'm hoping we get to hear some of the older favorites from years past.

Take Me To The Riot - Stars

The xx

One of the shows I am most excited for. One of my favorite records of the past few years, The xx is renown for a pretty fantastic live experience. I am a bit concerned about their sound at a festival venue, but from what I've heard their spacey beats and echoing guitar and bass lines thrive just as well out in the open. This set is right before Grizzly Bear's which makes for 2 incredibly good hours of great tunes and fantastic musicianship.

Basic Space - The xx

Grizzly Bear

One of best live shows I've witnessed. Incredibly talented band from Brookyln coming off what I believed to be the best/my favorite album of 2009. Another band who's transition to the festival scene will be interesting. This group has the ability to engross it's listeners in their patented beautiful harmonies and transitions to a point of no return. Looking forward to seeing them again, to say the least.

All We Ask - Grizzly Bear

Cut Copy

The Australian electronic dance-pop trio has a great time slot that should suit their set perfectly. Dancing will be a definite at this set. I saw them on their tour for In Ghost Colours and they were fantastic. Hoping to hear a few newbies from them this weekend as well. And yup, wouldn't mind finding some bitches to dance with.

Saturdays - Cut Copy

Mumford and Sons

This Irish folk band kind of seemingly came out of nowhere into a whirlwind of a past 8 months. They have become Ireland's darling band that is making quite the ruckus over here in The States as well. Should be great to see a true folk act on a nice, sunny afternoon

Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons

Yeasayer



It's been two and a half long years since I've seen Yeasayer. Trust me, it's seemed that long. This is one of my favorite live shows. Their sound, the presence, the energy, it's all there. Throw in some new tunes from Odd Blood and it sounds like a party...or an acid trip.

O.N.E. - Yeasayer

Erykah Badu

Crazy, controversial R&B singer. Yup. Sign me up. Think she'll get naked on stage? I'll let you know.

Window Seat - Erykah Badu

Arcade Fire

Hmm let's see... I really don't feel the need to elaborate but in case you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, Arcade Fire is on top of the world right now. This past week, they just released their third studio album, The Suburbs, which has been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, have been acknowledged for the charitable donation of nearly $850,000 over the past 5 years to help the country of Haiti, and are headlining Lollapalooza. Renown for their powerful and emotionally driven live performances, this is the show of the weekend...maybe the year.

Ready To Start - Arcade Fire