TVD Live: Lollapalooza, Day 1 at Grant Park and The National aftershow at the Metro, 8/2

Since 2005, downtown Chicago—more specifically 115 acres in smack dab downtown Chicago (a.k.a. Grant Park)—has been home to the city’s largest music festival, Lollapalooza. It is a festival locals love to hate and hate to love. It doesn’t matter. People travel from far and wide to this Midwest mecca every year without question. Tickets typically sell out within hours. And don’t let the locals’ eye-roll attitude about Lolla fool you, we all go as well. And when we don’t, we’re sad about it. There’s a power that Lolla week in Chicago has over all of us. It’s in many ways our summer climax.

So here I am on the backside of the festival weekend comparing my peak to last years’, and I’m happy to report that this was one of the best Lollas to date. The crowds were (for the most part) manageable; the bands were on time; all went as scheduled; crime went down; hospitalizations went down; it didn’t rain; I repeat—it didn’t rain!—and somehow I managed to leave each day still walking without a limp and looking forward to the next day. So, yeah, the world is probably ending soon.

Now a four-day festival, Lollapalooza ’18 kicked off on Thursday, August 2nd. Highlights from day one included Slaves, who managed to resurrect the spirit of Lollapalooza ‘91 with their black-leather wearing, microphone-eating, head-banging, guitar shredding set. And of course Scotland’s Franz Ferdinand didn’t disappoint, and whose leader, Alex Kapranos, also got my vote for the weekend’s best high kicks.

Of course the ultimate highlight came that night, when a small crowd packed the Metro for an intimate performance by Lolla Friday headliners, The National. It was a simply gorgeous set—heavy on their latest release, Sleep Well Beast—and a truly special way to kick off the weekend.

VALEE

SPACE JESUS AND PERRY STAGE

SLAVES

TYLER CHILDERS

THE WOMBATS

FRANZ FERDINAND

THE NATIONAL

LOLLAPALOOZA DAY ONE, 8/2/18

THE NATIONAL SETLIST
Light Years
Nobody Else Will Be There
The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness
Walk It Back
Guilty Party
Don’t Swallow the Cap
I Need My Girl
This Is the Last Time
Empire Line
Born to Beg
Apartment Story
Day I Die
Hard to Find
England
Graceless
About Today