Lyrics To Crush

Leyla at Lolla: Lollapalooza 2011 Day 3

How did 48 hours of exciting live music draw to a close so fast? I woke up Sunday morning with the slightly wistful feel that my whirlwind weekend would soon be over, but I quickly shook that and rushed to the “L” to get downtown for the final day of Lollapalooza 2011.

Due to my persistent caffeine addiction, I was late to Grant Park. I missed The Joy Formidable (though luckily we can all see them at the MidPoint Music Festival on Sept. 22), as well as Titus Andronicus and Fences , all bands I wanted to give a good go. I guess that’s what YouTube, Soundcloud, Facebook, MySpace, etc. are for.

The first band I caught (around 2 p.m.) was completely by accident. Little Hurricane was just that: an unassuming duo rocking out at the Google-Plus stage, kicking up a storm. Best described as sounding like The Black Keys with a girl or a bluesier (and technically savvy) White Stripes, this girl drummer and guy guitarist/singer from California were great. I loved the reverb-y, crunchy guitar that lead singer Tony Catalano plays—he also utilizes slide guitar, which adds another cool visual and aural element. This pair has a great rapport, evidenced on stage in their vocal chemistry and musical interplay. If they make it out here to the Midwest, don’t even think twice about seeing them. Just do it.

I dipped my toes into a different type of sound altogether next, swinging by the smaller, intimate BMI stage. I appreciated how the Google-Plus and BMI stages were almost like showcase areas, where the musicianship wasn’t lost in the space, but the crowds could still pack in.

Lia Ices , an Indie Folk singer and pianist from Brooklyn, let loose her siren call amongst the trees. Ices’ voice reminds me of Enya (but not on steroids) or a flute, and the girl’s got some serious piano chops. Her vocals and backing band's accompaniment crashed like waves on the people gathered and they soared through ethereal ballads with grounded guitar lines and Ices’ passionate lyrical interpretation of mythos and evocative imagery.

I crossed back to the Google-Plus stage to hear buzz band Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. With a name like that, I expected (and was delivered) a band with a quirky sense of humor. A Detroit-based duo, these guys have a playful, sunny-day ironic-picnic vibe. When the drummer came out wearing a NASCAR jumpsuit, I knew it would be a good time. DEJJ's infectious, Beach Boys-reminiscent tunes kept an edge with instrumental and electronic layering, a guest horn section during their song “It’s a Corporate World” (replete with smart, knowing lyrics and a surprisingly catchy chorus) and a generally laid-back approach.

Lyrics on several occasions, a selection of stage & screen lyrics written for sundry situations, and now arranged in arbitrary categories : to which have been added many informative annotations & disquisitions on their why & wherefore, their whom-for, their how, and matters associative

New York Ricans from the hip hop zone

The Melody Lingers on, The Great Songwriters and Their Movie Musicals

Raising Hell, The Reign, Ruin, and Redemption of Run-D.M.C. and Jam Master Jay

Songs Written by Dave Mustaine, Crush 'em, Hangar 18, Symphony of Destruction, the Mechanix, Sweating Bullets, Jump in the Fire, Mary Jane