I've written about this before, but one of the best things about Lollapalooza are the aftershows. For those unfamiliar, Lolla aftershows take place late at night, usually from 11pm - 2am, allowing bands that perform at the festival a second chance to play a show in Chicago for fans that don't have Lolla tickets. What makes them really special though, is that these shows usually occur in smaller music venues around the city, allowing fans to see large bands play at intimate venues that they otherwise would never perform at.
This year, I focused on the aftershows and attended 3 throughout the weekend. Getting the Lolla experience started for me on Thursday night, was an excellent show at one of my favorite venues - it was Grouplove, live from The Metro in Wrigleyville.
The Metro is one of those music venues rich in history. Countless bands have gotten their start in Chicago, and specifically, this venue. It's a small theater with great sound and a stage right on top of the audience. I saw Imagine Dragons play the Metro last summer and was dying to get back.
Opening up for Grouplove was Joy Wave. They did a decent job of creating a dance environment and warming the crowd up. You'd recognize their final song "Tongues," which I feel like is popular in the club scene.
The young crowd was definitely ready for Grouplove to take the stage. The show was obviously sold out and the crowd went nuts as drummer Ryan Rabin came up on stage to perform a quick drum solo before being joined by the rest of the California gang.
For those unfamiliar with Grouplove, they're your essential fun, hippy band from southern Cal. The members themselves were brought together by a trip to Greece where they all claimed to fall in love with each other. Lead singers Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper are in fact a couple, and appropriately have excellent synergy on stage.
Grouplove has released 2 albums. They're sophomore album, Spreading Rumors, was released earlier this year and I'm a fan. Although, it doesn't quite live up to their 2011 debut - Never Trust a Happy Song. That album is one of my favorite debuts in the past few years and it's still a constant in my everyday listening.
I'm not alone with that opinion. Grouplove received some of the loudest ovations of the night by performing 3 of their first 4 songs off that debut record to open the show. This included album opener and fan favorite "Itchin' on a Photograph." I really have no idea what it means to itch on a photograph, (nor do I know what a 'lovely cup' is for that matter) but this tune was insanely popular with the crowd jumping and singing along on every line.
Songs from Spreading Rumors had their fair share of crowd participation as well. Tunes like "Raspberry," "Shark Attack," and "Ways to Go" are simple and fun songs. Grouplove's performance of songs from both albums really just gave off the feel that they wanted to audience to have a good time. Hannah and Christian just wanted everyone to be bouncing along with them.
One general observation of the band is that they work extremely well together. Christian has a unique voice, not one that would usually take lead vocals in a band. But Hooper's smooth backing vocals compliment it nicely. Even guitarist Andrew Wessen contributes vocally, and in fact takes center stage to impressively sing the single, "Spun." You can easily tell this is a group of talented musicians.
Of course the tunes that Grouplove is best known for came towards the end of the set. Their largest radio hit, "Tongue Tied," threw the Metro into a huge dance party. The song that's always been the favorite for myself, "Colours," was the final of the night. Christian invited their friends from Cage the Elephant on stage to assist with the vocals.
Overall, great band at a great venue. It was a fun time and the perfect way to spend Lollapalooza Eve.
Concert Rating: 4 Stars
SETLIST:
1. I'm With You
2. Itchin' on a Photograph
3. Lovely Cup
4. Naked Kids
5. Raspberry
6. Shark Attack
7. Schoolboy
8. Gold Coast
9. Drunk in Love (Beyoncé cover)
10. Bitin' the Bullet
11. Tongue Tied
12. Slow
Encore:
13. Borderlines and Aliens
14. Ways To Go
15. Colours (with Cage the Elephant)
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