Lollapalooza 2012, day 3 steady as she goes

Sunday’s headliners at Day three of Lollapalooza provided another study in contrasts. On one end of Grant Park, singer-guitarist Jack White of White Stripes/Raconteurs/Dead Weather fame played a solo show that touched on a little of everything in his repertoire. While capable musicians backed the extremely capable White, he took an even rougher approach to the blues than he did with his previous bands. We were excited that he snuck in a few White Stripes covers (including “Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground” and “Hotel Yorba”) during the ramshackle set that seemed a little bit unfocused.

On the opposite side of the park, the Parisian dance duo Justice cranked up the amps during an electronic music performance that had all the elements of an arena rock show. The guys effectively used strobe and LED lights to amplify the disco elements of their electronic dance music. Unlike most DJ acts that seem content to replicate a dance club environment, Justice improvised and added a live dimension to their performance, playing live keyboards on the tune “D.A.N.C.E.” and manipulating other songs so they came to clear climaxes. Other highlights from the day included The Verve Pipe, who played an entertaining show on the Kidzapalooza stage. (We’d listen to their “A Family Album” just for the Cereal song and we don’t even have kids.) A performance by C.U.T., a Chicago-based tumbler group, was exciting as anything we saw all weekend all long as the guys (and gal) went through a rigorous and seemingly dangerous acrobatics. We also liked Red Oblivion, a Goth rock group that benefited from having a cellist in the band, white rapper/DJ Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and At the Drive-In, the high-energy screamo band that reunited for the festival. Though Guy Clark, Jr. played to a large, appreciative crowd, we found his Texas blues to be rather pedestrian. The sound mix didn’t do him any favors as his vocals were often buried and inaudible. And though we had high hopes for Sweden’s Miike Snow, the band’s indie pop didn’t capture our attention. The same went for Brooklyn, New York’s White Rabbits, a band that favored texture over hooks during its hour-long set.

Though Sunday’s line-up lacked the star power of Friday and Saturday’s the slightly smaller crowd meant shorter lines at the restrooms and in the concession stands, something that provided welcomed relief from the rest of the overcrowded weekend. Check out our photos from the Chicago music festival here.