Lollapalooza: Highlights from Day One

Now halfway through the second day of Lollapalooza, we can look back on Friday and pick out some of the clear highlights for Future Perfect Radio:

1. Interview with Perry Farrell
Correspondent Scott Fleischer caught up with the king of Lollapalooza himself: Perry Farrell. He spoke to Future Perfect Radio about the success of this year's festival so far, the history and struggle of Lollapalooza and the failure of FM radio. Farrell: "Internet radio is wonderful. Better than ever."



2. The Decemberists play Hazards of Love in full
Expectations were high as The Decemberists took the stage Friday night. It didn't help that they were 6 minutes late -- the crowd, quickly grumbling, was silenced by the appearance of a spectral figure in a white wedding gown. From then on, The Decemberists had us in the palm of their collective hand. From beginning to end of their set, the band never laid down their instruments, never paused for mid-song chatter, but performed the entirety of Hazards of Love as if it were one long song -- which really, after hearing it played that way, it is. The performance was almost like a theatre production, with different characters coming forward to sing their part in the strange and magical story of the Hazards of Love. Check out photos from the performance here.

3. Interview with Ben Folds

Fleischer (or, perhaps, "Dan") spoke with famed singer/songwriter Ben Folds to discuss the history of Lollapalooza and the differences between the festival's tour incarnation and the stationary "take-over" of Chicago. Listen in below!



4. The Builders and the Butchers for Best Show of the Day!

While The Decemberists, Hey Champ and a few other acts certainly made a case for it, our choice for "Best Show of the Day" can only go to The Builders and the Butchers. Their energy, on-stage mash-ups of songs and fun crowd interactions (...did we mention their energy?) made their songs come alive. Like any live show is supposed to, it made us reevaluate songs we thought we didn't like so much, fall even deeper in love with treasured tracks, and long for a much longer set. While the band may have deserved a bigger crowd, the intimacy of the BMI stage certainly added to the show's impact. Find pictures from the performance here!

Be sure to keep an eye at Future Perfect Radio's Lollapalooza page for continuing updates: interviews (Chairlift already posted, No Age and The Builders and the Butchers up soon!), Twitter updates, photos and more! To hear the music from Lollapalooza's line-up of artists, click the radio image above or here.