With Day 2 of Lollapalooza almost over, festival organizers on Friday had some big news regarding COVID safety protocols: starting Saturday, masks will be required at all indoor spaces on the festival grounds. The announcement was made via Lolla social media accounts and app. Festival-goers are also encouraged to bring along a a mask for Saturday and Sunday.
Amid the evolving protocols, the music played on.
Here are reviews of some of the sets at Day 2 of Lollapalooza 2021 in Grant Park:
Mick Jenkins
Hip-hop has a strong presence at Lollapalooza this year, including its own class of Chicago talent.
South Sider Mick Jenkins kicked things off on Friday afternoon, warming up the Bud Light Seltzer Stage before fellow born-and-raised wordsmith Polo G came on. Bolstered by a live drummer and DJ, Jenkins gifted the crowd with several firsts in his set, including new tracks from his as-to-be-named upcoming album, none more so gripping than the soul-busting track “Things You Could Die For If Doing While Black.” The title says it all, his informed lyrics referencing innocent activities like going for a jog that led to the death of Ahmaud Arbery, and selling cigarettes that unfolded in the killing of Eric Garner. “I really just want respect,” Jenkins declared several times in the song.
Jenkins is an incredible mouthpiece for a conscious rap style. He leads the collective Free Nation “that promotes creative thought without accepting narrow views imposed by the powers that be,” according to his label, Cinematic Worldwide, and it’s a message seen in his thought-provoking tracks that spread both love and truth.
Free Nation crew member Stock Marley also got his time in the spotlight during Jenkins’ set — something he almost didn’t live to see.
“I almost died last year; doctors gave me a 33% chance to live,” the West Side rapper shared, noting it wasn’t due to COVID-19 and then giving a shout out to the Loyola medical team that helped him recover from his illness.
Offering two memorable numbers, Marley cut the background track to deliver his final few verses, hoping the crowd would pay attention to his words like the true poet he is.
“It’s only worth living for if you’ll die for it,” he gave as his final pearl. The only thing missing was the mic drop. — Selena Fragassi
Black Pistol Fire
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Some might say rock ‘n’ roll is in a tough spot as younger music consumers flock to hip-hop pomp and pop star allure — but that was all thrown out the window watching Austin, Texas-based Black Pistol Fire bring the literal heat on Friday afternoon.
“There’s just two guys up there,” one younger fan exclaimed, awestruck as were many by the mini manpower that lit up the Lolla circuit grid as curious passerbys stopped to see what all the fuss was about.
Shirtless drummer Eric Owen was the picture of primal energy as he beat his kit so furiously on tracks like the explosive opener “Pick Your Poison” that it might’ve broken some laws. He was well-paired by rhythmic ringleader and singer Kevin McKeown, whose guitar gymnastics on surf rock-leaning numbers like “Lost Cause” could be their own sport in Tokyo, while his trailing solos could match up with the best of them at Buddy Guy’s Legends across the street from the fest.
Black Pistol Fire are the type of band you want to see at a wayside hole-in-the-wall but they are also equally made for the primetime festival stage, gaining acclaim for previous sets at Riot Fest and Voodoo Fest — and certainly now at Lollapalooza.
Among all the loops and sampling and production that oftentimes drown out these festival grounds, this unassuming duo showed that flair only goes so far and sometimes the simpler, the better. As McKeown curled in furor on the stage floor, wielding his guitar like a sacrifice to the sky — and later crowdsurfed during a long jammy outro — there’s no doubt kids were already on their phones buying up new Gibsons. Rock and roll isn’t dead — it’s alive all well, it just needs bands like Black Pistol Fire to look up to and emulate. — Selena Fragassi
tobi lou
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When tobi lou took the Lake Shore Stage on Friday afternoon, he looked like a man with something to prove.
Clad in football pads, Oakleys and joggers, the rap and R&B artist tore into his song “Lingo Starr: RETURN OF THE DRAGON,” yelling each lyric while jumping and running across the stage.
Rap artists projecting their lyrics in a festival setting isn’t new, but it was a far cry from the usual laid-back, melodic delivery the Chicago-raised lou has become known for during his steady rise in popularity over the past few years.
The different approach took some getting used to at first, but his live vocals combined with the mellow production worked as a fresh take on his sound that still hyped up the crowd. And even though he was on home turf and faced with hundreds of fans shoulder-to-shoulder, lou acknowledged he may be unfamiliar to some festival-goers. So he worked liked an underdog athlete in a championship game, staying attentive to the crowd’s responses to his every move and putting his all into a performance to win them over — and it worked.
Lou eventually shed the shoulder pads and ran through crowd faorites like “Waterboy,” “Just Keep Going” and “Uncle Iroh” — all songs that have become staples on Spotify playlists, netting thousands of streams.
He also paid homage to Chicago’s Kanye West, rapping nearly 16 bars of West’s 2007 single “Flashing Lights” toward the end of his song “TROOP.”
“It feels so good to be home,” lou said. “Can I be super honest with y’all? This is my first time outside in almost two f—— years — and I’m here with y’all! I came home to do this s– with y’all!”
The homecoming feeling was present during performance of “Buff Baby,” when he tenderly shouted out to his mother who was standing stage left, masked up and filming her son’s performance on her phone.
Loui wrapped up his set with one of his most popular songs, “I Was Sad Last Night I’m OK Now,” and the crowd yelled every word back at him. When the beat ended, a look of accomplishment grew on his face as he gazed into the crowd.
If anyone there didn’t know who he was, they did now. — Matt Moore