Day three of Lollapalooza began to lose the momentum of the previous two days. Monophonics performed at Lake Shore, filling in for Hinds at the last minute due to some issues with Visas and transportation. However, they were by no means unprepared. A veteran group of the music industry, they managed to churn out a great performance to a somewhat listless crowd.
In general, the acts in the latter two days of Lollapalooza suffered from smaller crowds and less enthused audiences. Monophonics was no exception, only exacerbated by the fact that they were performing earlier on the third day. Monophonics is a self-described psychedelic-soul group — translation: They have a vintage sound. Think sounds of the ’60s or ’70s like Curtis Mayfield and The Temptations, or even contemporary act Vulfpeck, but with a little less funk and more soul. Singer-songwriter and producer Kelly Finnigan sang with passion and shredded on the keys, a Wurlitzer and an organ. They played many songs off of their most recent album, It’s Only Us.
Tucked away in the BMI stage, Kid Quill managed to garner a sizable audience. The rising Indiana-based rapper has a special brand of happy rap, in a similar vein to Mac Miller. He made the intimate setting work for him and interacted directly with fans. The crowd waved their hands from side to side as he performed his heart out. His band was in the pocket, and his flow was solid.
A bigger act of the day was Limp Bizkit at Bud Light Seltzer stage. With previous shows having a heavy history of violence (Woodstock ’99), the mosh pits were expected to be wild. Fred Durst came out looking unexpectedly like a trailer park dad who came out to tell kids to get off his lawn. However, the performance was everything you could expect: screaming angry vocals with ruthless energy. His spoken-word beatnik approach to heavy metal was surprising, but, like a rash, it grew on me. I couldn’t get that coarse sound out of my system. The other person on stage that really stood out to me was lead guitarist Wes Borland who was bedecked with an iconic white mask covering the upper half of his face and long flowing hair. It may not have been ’99, but it sure felt like it.
Megan Thee Stallion appeared on the T-Mobile stage and released everyone’s inner hoe for a bit. All the “hot girls” and “hot boys” in the audience were fully enjoying the summer. During “WAP,” people seemed to be particularly enamored with the ASL interpreter (her Instagram is Kelly4access), and how well she understood the assignment.
Journey came on stage pretty late at night. I wouldn’t say there was anything great or bad about their performance, though it was a walk down memory lane. Starting off with “Separate Ways” and ending with “Don’t Stop Believin’,” it was definitely a trip through their legendary career. The blue backlighting illuminated the band making them seem almost ethereal.
Lastly, Marc Rebillet performed on the Grubhub stage. In classic fashion, the eccentric electronic musician-comedian entered in a robe. His improvised beats were fantastic, and the lyrics that accompanied his music were certainly memorable. From talking about getting as many vaccines as possible or “giga-vacc’ed,” (while the idea may not be medically sound, we certainly do appreciate the enthusiasm), to cursing out billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates — his messages certainly got the crowd riled up and ready to dance out their frustrations. Somewhere around the middle of the set, he brought a lucky fan, Cole, to come on stage and dance and drink champagne with him. Cole suggested a “funky beat” to the crowd’s delight, and chaos ensued. As the set progressed, Marc shed his clothing (as usual), and the night ended with a bang.
Daily Arts Writer Jason Zhang can be reached at zhangjt@umich.edu.