Lollapalooza 2007 - Day 1

Part of the beauty of a huge (crowds of 50,000+ each day) music festival is that the sheer variety of performances inevitably pushes your own boundaries of the music you find appealing. It also instructs you in the incredibly broad range of styles that may be encompassed in the singular term "popular music." Day 1 of 2007's 3-day Lollapalooza festival, while lacking in huge name performers, was spilling over with acts that epitomize their own genre as well as those that willingly push boundaries.

Maya Arulpragasam (aka MIA and pictured above right), born in London, of Sri Lankan descent, fired off her world blend of hip hop, dancehall, and Asian style with the beats boosted high enough they rattled your gut. However, her intimate connection with the crowd was beguiling. The Texas amalgamation known as Polyphonic Spree donned their trademark white choir robes to joyfully tear into their own inimitable take on Nirvana's "Lithium" complete with choir, harp, horns, flutes, and more. The brilliance of the moment is that the hard edge of Nirvana's original is present, but somehow it all comes out as a joyous noise.

Earlier in the day, Andrew McMahon (photo at lower right), formerly of Something Corporate, took the stage with his Jack's Mannequin project. Songs like "La La Lie" and "Bruised" are the epitome of emo and McMahon delivers them with an energy and intensity not soon forgotten. One of the most crowd-pleasing sets of the day was turned in by post-punk revival pioneers The Rapture showing off their more recent dance-friendly, angular indie pop. For those who are long-term fans of the Rapture, Luke Jenner's otherworldly howl is not gone, just somewhat tamed.

It was a fantastic first day for Lollapalooza, blessed by low humidity and abundant sunshine on Chicago's beautiful lakeshore. Off to bed for now and back for an even bigger day tomorrow!

• Lollapalooza 2007 - Day 2
• Lollapalooza 2007 - Day 3

_{Photos © Kristin Vogel}