10 Things Everyone’s Talking About After Lollapalooza 2014

By Tom Williams

Lollapalooza 2014, the tenth anniversary of the legendary Chicago music festival, wrapped up in the city’s Grant Park over the weekend, and there are some intriguing things that people are talking about as they reflect on the past few days of music, mud and live streams.

1: THE KIDZAPALOOZA STAGE

Lollapalooza’s Kidzapalooza Stage was a clever idea. Imagine a stage where the VIP pit right at the front is designated solely for young kids and their parents to enjoy some great music without the worry of a volatile mosh pit or an overly sweaty festivalgoer creeping in on their good vibes.

Alaskan rockers Portugal. The Man took to the Kizapalooza stage early on Day One, and kicked off their kid-friendly set with a cover of Pink Floyd‘s classic song Another Brick In the Wall, Pt. 2, which segued into cuts from the band’s most recent album, Evil Friends. Pretend you’re a kid again below.

Watch: Portugal. The Man – Another Brick in the Wall Pt.2, Purple, Yellow, Red, and Blue at Lollapalooza 2014

2: RIHANNA JOINS EMINEM ON STAGE, FILLS IN FOR DIDO

At the end of Day One, rapper Eminem performed a career-spanning set for which he was actually rapping without a backing track. What’s more, he was joined on stage by popstar Rihanna, who lent her expertise to Stan — singing Dido’s famous hook — Love The Way You Lie and The Monster.

Watch: Eminem & Rihanna – Stan at Lollapalooza 2014

Watch: Eminem & Rihanna – The Monster at Lollapalooza 2014

Watch: Eminem & Rihanna – Love the Way You Lie at Lollapalooza 2014

3: THE RAIN AND THE MUD

Chicago’s weather was reportedly rather nice over the weekend, or at least up until Sunday. As the festival came to a close, dark clouds gathered and the heavens opened, turning much of the soil on the festival grounds into thick, treacherous mud, the stuff that festival memories are made of.

The weather didn’t get people down. Kentucky rockers Cage The Elephant played an erratic live set, unbothered by the rain and ensuing mud pools. Singer Matthew Shultz remained covered for the majority of the performance, and routinely dove into the crowd to spread the mud-love around.

Watch: Cage The Elephant – Shake Me Down and Spiderhead at Lollapalooza 2014

http://youtu.be/CUxnN-F0aI4

4: THE STRONG ANTIPODEAN CONTINGENT

Australia was represented by a slew of uber-talented artists at Lollapalooza this year, including Courtney Barnett, rapper Iggy Azalea, Jagwar Ma, Anna Lunoe, Riptide singer Vance Joy, The John Butler Trio, Betty Who, The Temper Trap, Cut Copy and Sydney producer Flume.

Courtney Barnett drew punters throughout her Friday set on the Grove Stage. Passersby were pulled in by the songwriter’s candid and lyrical wordplay. Backed by a two-piece band, Barnett took the majority of her set from 2013’s The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas (highlights below).

That said, New Zealand singer Lorde drew one of the biggest crowds of the weekend at the Bud Light stage on Friday night. “I’m at a loss for words,” she told the crowd. “That doesn’t happen very often.” And you could see Lorde’s excitement in a very animated performance of Team (below).

Watch: Lorde – Ribs and Team at Lollapalooza 2014

http://youtu.be/BQJZHj-hVHM

Watch: Vance Joy – Emmylou and Riptide at Lollapalooza 2014

http://youtu.be/rbo8JHzq7AA

Watch: Courtney Barnett – Avant Gardener and Canned Tomatoes at Lollapalooza 2014

http://youtu.be/LKJuRh0xGFA

5: HANGING WITH THE PRESIDENT’S KID

There’s times at a festival when you wish you had your own personal security task force. It would certainly pay off, just ask Malia Obama, who attended Lollapalooza with a Secret Service entourage and according to the Chicago Sun-Times, stayed spotless during the mud-ridden festival.

President Obama’s daughter was reportedly seen exiting the festival grounds after fellow Chicago native Chance the Rapper’s set. And if the Secret Service thought they could dive in and out without being detected, they thought wrong, because as you can see below, Twitter is a thing that exists.

Screen Shot 2014-08-05 at 4.11.12 pm

6: COVER VERSIONS. COVER VERSIONS EVERYWHERE!

Covers are seemingly back in fashion (thanks, Jack White!) and there was an abundance scattered throughout the Lollapalooza weekend. After their Pink Floyd cover opener on Friday morning, Portugal. The Man later covered Oasis‘ 1996 hit Don’t Look Back In Anger over on the main stage.

Other notable tributes belonged to Fitz & The Tantrums, who played Eurythmics‘ Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), Kings of Leon, who covered Robyn‘s Dancing On My Own (below), Vic Mensa, who played an intense cover of The White Stripes‘ Seven Nation Army (below) and recent visitors Grouplove, who performed both Beastie Boys‘ Sabotage and Beyonce & Jay-Z‘s Drunk In Love.

Watch: Kings Of Leon – Dancing On My Own (Robyn Cover) at Lollapalooza 2014

Watch: Vic Mensa- Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes Cover) at Lollapalooza 2014

http://youtu.be/U5h3lyw_2AM

7: WHEN CHANCE THE RAPPER BROUGHT R. KELLY ON STAGE

Chance The Rapper surprised a huge crowd when he called hometown hero and fellow Chicagoan rapper R. Kelly onto the stage. Kelly and Chance then performed a short medley of tracks, which included The World’s Greatest, Bump N’ Grind and Ignition (Remix). Watch it all unfold below.

Watch: Chance The Rapper Brings Out R. Kelly at Lollapalooza 2014

8: THE HUGE CROWD WHO STAKED OUT PRIME OUTKAST-WATCHING REAL ESTATE

After playing Splendour In The Grass last month, everybody’s favourite reunited hip-hop duo, Outkast, were greeted by a massive crowd at Lollapalooza. Some die-hard fans reportedly stayed at the front of the stage for hours before the group’s set, just to acquire prime position.

And the Southern-fried rap heroes did not disappoint. The two performed a career-spanning set which included classics such as Roses, Ms Jackson and B.O.B.. “We had a great fucking time, for real,” Andre 3000 told the crowd before Outkast played their final song, The Whole World.

Watch: Outkast – Roses and The Whole World at Lollapalooza 2014

http://youtu.be/8sqzTGtJL8s

9: TRAGEDY AT A FESTIVAL AFTER-PARTY

According to the Chicago Tribune, one man was shot to death and another severely wounded outside of a Chicago nightclub early Monday morning. The incident occurred just before 4am at local venue Bodi, which at the time was hosting an unofficial Lollapalooza after-party featuring Nas.

Police reportedly heard the gunshots while on patrol and engaged with the suspect. However, the suspect fled and was able to evade capture. According to Revolt, the shooting stemmed from a disagreement between venue security and a patron who was denied access to the club.

10: THE ALLEGED ASSAULT OF A PERFORMER BY SECURITY PERSONNEL

Blood Orange‘s Dev Hynes and his partner Samantha Urbani were allegedly assaulted by security personnel shortly after his band’s performance. Festival organisers have since released a statement saying they are working to “resolve the situation”. Catch a clip of Blood Orange’s set below.

Watch: Blood Orange – You’re Not Good Enough at Lollapalooza 2014

http://youtu.be/kXFYyKBCHnE

Catch video recaps of the Lollapalooza 2014 weekend below, or head here for more on-demand streams of festival performances .

Watch: Lollapalooza 2014 – Friday Recap

Watch: Lollapalooza 2014 – Saturday Recap

Watch: Lollapalooza 2014 – Sunday Recap

Tom Williams
Tom Williams

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