Blog Posts by Taleen Kalenderian

Day two of Lollapalooza's 20th anniversary weekend in Chicago's Grant Park needed an A-list headliner that would blow all predecessors out of the water, and there was no one more up for the task than Eminem. The rapper certainly let the anticipation rise before he arrived onstage Saturday. Fans who had gathered at the Music Unlimited Stage started chanting, "Slim Shady!" as early as 8pm, then progressed to "Marshall Mathers!" and finally to "Eminem!" until 8:30pm. That's when the stage finally darkened, and a history of the hip-hop legend was displayed onscreen like movie credits, chronicling Em's mid-2000s hiatus from the music scene and ending with the simple words: "You are all here to witness Eminem's recovery."

And what a recovery! In a recent interview with Time Out Chicago, the rapper confessed that he's "fairly new" to large festival shows (although he mentioned he played some in his "hazier days"), and said, "I stopped jumping in the crowd a few years ago, when I jumped in

Perry Farrell's Lollapalooza--the Jane's Addiction leader's alt-rock allstar tour of the 1990s, now resurrected as a one-off, three-day festival in Chicago for the 2000s--kicked off Friday, August 5 in the Chi's Grant Park. And as far as festival battles go, day one of Lolla's 20th-anniversary weekend featured a major headliner showdown between two indie Brit greats: Coldplay vs. Muse, who were playing on opposite ends of the park at the exact same time. And even though actress-turned-singer Gwyneth Paltrow didn't show up onstage to duet with her husband Chris Martin, Coldplay were, unsurprisingly, the more popular choice with the Lolla crowd.

Coldplay were, more surprisingly, Lollapalooza virgins. "We've always wanted to play Lollapalooza," announced the enigmatic Martin. "It's like a dream come true! This is our first proper show back in the States, so we're gonna give you everything we have." And that they did. Before they even hit the stage, hundreds of fans started to hum the

When Lady Gaga cried on the first night of this year's Lollapalooza Festival, she told the tale of her infamous Lollapalooza performance from 2007 when she played as an opener and left the crowd's jaws dropped. With so many headlining bands this year slotted during the same time (Gaga vs. The Strokes, Green Day vs. Phoenix, Soundgarden vs. Arcade Fire), seeing indie bands during the day was a great way to get the most buck out of the fest. Here's a list of Yahoo! Music's top 10 emerging artists that could very well get to near-Gaga headlining fame in the future.

1) Wild Beasts - This art-pop-rock outfit's dramatic tempo shifts and shimmering guitar lines can channel a more glam rendition of what Grizzly Bear has accomplished--maybe even some Fleet Foxes (without the sweeping, cheesy, Disney-forest vibes). But what distinguishes this English foursome is the shrillest, most androgynous falsetto from frontman Hayden Thorpe, rigorously tempered by bassist/vocalist Tom Fleming's erratic

The final day of Lollapalooza at Chicago's Grant Park hit a high-drama note with a slightly late performance by Lou Reed, which allegedly caused some discontent among Band Of Horses, who had to wait until he was finished to start their set on the nearby PlayStation stage. But honestly, guys? He's Lou Reed. He doesn't know how to be uncool (though he did look a tad grumpy). And, wait--he's LOU REED.

Lou opened his set with "Sweet Jane," and then played an excellent 15-minute droning session toward the end of the show, segueing into "Waiting For My Man." Fans sang along to "Walk On The Wild Side" until the sun went down, and then the New York King exited the stage.

To complete festival organizer Perry Farrell's vision of a crazy dance space, MSTRKRFT was booked for Perry's Stage, and the area was packed with blinged-out scenesters getting their jam on.

Before Jane's Addiction took the main stage, a helicopter did rounds above the crowd. For a second I thought the band would pull

Day two of Perry Farrell's Lollapalooza fest in Chicago's Grant Park kicked things up a notch by adding some diva flavor to its indie-boy band lineup. But first, No Age bravely kicked off the second half of the day, even though band member Randy Randall had recently dislocated his shoulder in a dance contest and had to play wearing a sling. The duo debuted at Lollapalooza regardless, bringing much-needed L.A. noise to the festival.

Sweden's Lykke Li is known for her charming pop debut Youth Novels, but what people don't know about this diva is she can bang on the drums like a real punk and dance like a dream, as evidenced by her afternoon Lolla set.

Animal Collective rocked the Vitamin Water stage at sunset, screaming much-welcomed jams from Merriweather Post Pavillion.

Has Karen O been inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame yet? All bets say she will be one day. The rock goddess came beaming onto the stage with a gigantic headpiece and dress made of felt hands, then

Oh, Lollapalooza...Perry Farrell's famed festival of festivals has been rocking with a '90s spirit since, well, the '90s. Restarted in 2003 and now a long Chicago weekender instead of a touring fest, this seventh-year event made no cuts in budgets, pomp, or circumstance, with three days billed to the brim with new indie acts and old icons alike. But most of all, this year marked Jane's Addiction's epic return to the stage for the first time since the festival's revival. And knowing Perry Farrell, it would be worth all three days of insane heat.

Although the first day began with a promise of rain, Seattle's Fleet Foxes warmed the wet festival grounds with a folky, forest-y set.

Thievery Corporation had fields of people dancing.

Angus Young---um, I mean Peter Bjorn & John--brought indie quirk with shorts just short enough to make for an idiosyncratic AC/DC effect onstage.

Of Montreal took a rock 'n' roll voyage to Mars when they covered David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" with special

At numerous points the All Points West Festival seemed like an ongoing parody of the epic mudbath of Woodstock '69: a bad, bad joke without the life-changing lineup. Nevertheless, hoards of concertgoers stayed optimistic, tromping through Jersey City's Liberty State Park for three consecutive days to see their favorite indie-rock stars.

Day One:

I had been on festival grounds for five minutes, and already decided to throw out my jellies.

The National played a gorgeous silvery and black set full of numbers that warmed the heart of every city kid in the crowd.

Ever-enigmatic Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontman Karen O brought the love at sunset by giving "Get Well Soon" shoutouts to the Beastie Boys, who cancelled their APW festival performance due to Adam Yauch's recent throat cancer diagnosis. She then spit out water like a badass rock-star whale, and the band did an awesome cover of the Cramps' "Human Fly."

Hippie fever surged as the fields grew even muddier and the sun came down.

The

10) Michael Jackson
The indieverse did not forget the King Of Pop. He was there in spirit at Chicago's Union Park throughout the three-day weekend: blasted on the stage between sets, as a carnival cutout, and on Ponytail frontlady Molly Siegel's T-shirt.

9) Curating A Reunion: "Write The Night"
It had been more than 10 years since Chicago veterans the Jesus Lizard played their hometown. While David Yow didn't give the crowd his age-old southern exposure, he did lead the band through a fan-picked setlist--stopping only to spit, curse, and follow up with a stagedive.
P4K's rating of Jesus Lizard's Bang: 7.3
Y! Music's rating of Jesus Lizard's P4K set: 7.2

8) Making Boredom Look Cool
Vivian Girls may have started out playing every Brooklyn loft show under the sun, and seemed terribly bored doing it. But loads of touring cred (and a new album in the works) must have given the indie princesses some live chops. They were one-part bored and two-parts giggly Sunday evening, giving a much-needed