Lollapalooza, Michael Kiwanuka, and M83

Lollapalooza was my first music festival. To call it just a music festival does it injustice; it is a cultural experience. Last summer, I made the voyage to Chicago, IL with a fellow contributor to this blog, Matthew Houchins. After seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers live in Charlotte that Spring, we decided to see them again at one of the biggest musical events of the year. After all, the Chili Peppers were aging and we thought it would be one of our last opportunities to see them perform while they still resembled the band that rose to fame in the 90s.

We left straight from work on a Thursday in order to arrive in Chicago Friday morning. The all-night drive was exhausting, but something well worth it. We drove through North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. Note: not only does the US have a great public school system and giant water parks, it also has a great highway system. Road tripping is easy in America and something I wish I did more of; road trips are fun 95% of the time every time.

The two headliners we saw were the Black Keys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Both were fantastic shows that lived up to the hype. The Black Keys sound just as good in person as they do on vinyl and the drummer, Patrick Carney, is really impressive. The Chili Peppers were everything they were billed to be, a high-energy show filled with plenty of Flea base-lines and a lead singer, Anthony Kiedis, that bounces around more than a basketball in Chris Paul's hands.

The two acts, besides the ones I mentioned above, that I enjoyed the most were Michael Kiwanuka and M83. Each had a totally different vibe that really struck me. Some music is great because it makes you feel a certain way; it affects your emotions and plays with your feelings. Each of these acts had a different effect on me that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Michael Kiwanuka is one-of-a-kind. He is a British soul musician that compares favorably to Otis Redding. His sound is soothing, slow-paced, and focuses on his amazing voice. Kiwanuka is someone I listen to when I want to chill out and let my day waste away from mind. He allows the listener a certain release and comfort in his music and his voice. Below is an example of Kiwanuka at his best; all he needs is a microphone and a guitar:

M83, an electronic band from France, is a different animal.Upbeat and intense, M83 put on a show full of movement and emotion.  They have a dreamy quality to their music where it sounds like you are listening to a wonderful alternate universe (does that even make sense?). After i typed this, I did a Google search on M83. It turns out that the band is named after the spiral galaxy Messier 83, so their other-worldly sound meshes nicely with their other-worldly name. M83 uses loud instrumentals over reverbed vocals to create a real energy in their sound. The music makes you feel alive, hence why it is featured in The Art of Flight, a documentary about snowboarding (if you haven't seen it you're missing out), and several Red Bull commercials focused on extreme sports. In a nutshell, M83's sound is explosive and capturing. Here is one of my favorite songs from their album "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming" (title points back to the dreamy quality of their music). The song is called "Steve McQueen":