A daring stage entry from Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto plus performances by Kendrick Lamar, The 1975 and The 502s highlight day two at Lollapalooza Chicago.
Despite rain looming in the weekend forecast, day two at Lollapalooza was dry, the third consecutive year with nearly flawless weather to begin the four day festival.
Headlining performances by English pop rock act The 1975 and Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar capped a diverse slate of bookings which, for the second straight day, leaned heavily toward the guitar.
“I can’t believe there’s so many people that still like rock music here,” joked Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto Friday afternoon.
Touring in support of their forthcoming sixth studio album It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day, set for release in September, Thirty Seconds to Mars put forth a visual spectacle in Chicago’s Grant Park before the first chord was even strummed, with Leto plummeting down from the top of the stage rigging via a harness, an entrance that will be hard to top.
“Are you with us?” asked the Oscar-winning actor rhetorically of the Lollapalooza crowd. “Look at this perfect day,” said Leto, taking stock of the massive festival crowd as he set up “Kings and Queens.”
Call and response between band and fan drove the Thirty Seconds to Mars set, one in which Leto appeared to be having just as much fun as any fan, humbled and engaging over the course of one hour on the festival’s north main stage.
A particularly funky bassline drove “This is War” late. And as concertgoers batted around black balloons dumped into the crowd, Leto invited an array of fans on stage to dance during “Rescue Me,” stressing the need for embarrassingly bad moves.
“The last time we played this festival in 2007, you weren’t even born yet,” joked Leto on stage Friday in Chicago. “We played it in 2003 too. Were you there?” he continued, noting the band’s placement on the festival’s final year as a touring extravaganza before arriving in Grant Park as a destination fest two years later. “Someone’s grandfather was,” joked Leto, setting up “Rescue Me” during one of Friday’s most entertaining sets.
Following an intimate Thursday night aftershow at Chicago’s Thalia Hall, U.K. alt rockers Foals returned to Lollapalooza for a one hour set on the Tito’s stage at Grant Park’s Petrillo Music Shell.
“It was great. It was really fun,” said Foals drummer Jack Bevan backstage on Friday prior to the group’s set. “We’ve been on tour with Paramore which has been great. But, due to the nature of being a support band, we’ve only been playing for 45 minutes. So, to cut loose and play an hour and a half, and play way more songs, it’s just really exciting for us,” he said of the group’s aftershow.
“I had one of my favorite ever times at a festival here the first time we played in 2008. I pretended I was a member of Radiohead’s family and got on the side of the stage. I think that was where the accent really sort of helped me out.
