The final day of Lollapalooza, which featured long-standing big-timers the Foo Fighters, was a serious endurance test for rock fans, who had to deal with an onslaught of rainstorms that put a literal damper on the entire festival. Taking place in two installments, the storms transformed Chicago's Grant Park into a giant mudpit, a Mudapalooza of sorts. However, since such a silly thing as inclement weather couldn't possibly ruin a festival that's been going strong for 20 years, the Lolla punters reacted by dancing, sliding, and rolling around in the mud like crazy swamp animals.
The first storm did affect the showtimes, as Arctic Monkeys' set at the Music Unlimited Stage was delayed by 30 minutes, and right afterwards, Texan post-rockers Explosions In The Sky had to cut their set short by 15 minutes to make sure that headliners the Foo Fighters started on time. But other than that, it was fun as usual, rain or shine.
It's a good thing that Dave Grohl is just about the coolest rock dude there's ever been. The Foos started their set on the dot at 8pm after many fans' chanted declarations of "We want Foo!" The lead singer and former Nirvana drummer wasted no time in getting the party started, raising his fists up in the air and shredding on his guitar from note one, joined by the rest of the members of his classic '90s band, now with original bassist Pat Smear fully back in the lineup.
The Foos' energetic set was actually the most gratifying headliner experience of Lollapalooza 2011, especially considering that Lollapalooza has its roots firmly planted in grunge (Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell launched Lolla in that all-important grunge-centric year, 1991) and has embraced it in one way or another over the past two decades. Along with being the ultimate festival band, the Foo Fighters--who, incredibly, had never played Lollapalooza before--were the perfect '90s heritage act, the perfect embodiment of the Lollapalooza legacy, and one of the last access points for the genre. But their set was no flannel-flying nostalgia act, as their new material, like this year's Wasted Light, was totally suitable for fresh ears and young listeners. Anybody claiming grunge is dead should have been there to witness Grohl's relentless energy, hair-flips, fist-pumps, and guitar-shredding on the opener "Bridge Burning," which lead right into "Rope" and "The Pretender."
And then, during "The Pretender," came the second storm. Fans squealed and photographers ran for cover as the rain hammered down on Grant Park, but that didn't stop the Foo Fighters from fighting the good fight. Grohl exclaimed, "I don't give a f*** if it's raining! This is funny s***. This is our Chicago show. We're gonna play new songs, old songs, and songs of 16 years. Are you ready?"
Read more: http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/bestofthefests/13345/lollapalooza-2011-sunday-the-perfect-storm/
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