Here is what I had a chance to see at Lollapalooza 2008 on Day 2:

Tiny Masters of Today

- Yeah, I saw them TWICE!  They were that awesome.  Kick ass punk rock from a three piece all 18 and under?  How could I not?  Apparently, they hit the list of “not to miss bands” on Day 2 and the crowd was pretty huge.  The front lawn area was full, the bleachers were full and it must have gone 15-20 rows standing behind that.  The kids were a lot more comfortable with this set, I thought.  Go buy their stuff now.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? (partial)

- I caught the last 3 songs in their set on the Bud Light stage.  How much did I dig it?  I bought their record the next day.  They sort of defy categorization — electronica rock?  Plus, anyone that brings the noise with a Flying V is okie dokie in my book!

Mason Jennings

- This was another artist that I would have liked to have seen in a smaller venue.  Perhaps the Playstation stage was cursed?  ;-)  He was mostly acoustic — hooking up with a band a few songs in.  He certainly drew a crowd!

Dierks Bentley

- Bringin’ the country!  Or, better said, bringin’ the roadhouse!  I had never heard him before, but he certainly made a fan outta me…  They really carried the big stage.

DeVotchKa

- Strange.  Matt and Carrie really dug them.  And one of the chicks was playing a tuba.  You have to give them points for the tuba.

Brand New

- In a word?  Disappointing.  I had only heard a few songs — none of which they played — but they seemed like lackluster heavy pop without any soul.

Lupe Fiasco

- Loved it!  Everything was tight about the set and it just sounded fantastic.  I am a sucker for hip hop with real instruments.  And he worked the crowd fantastically…  And he was voted best dressed. 

Toadies

- Although I listened to them from far away, it was the Toadies that brought the heavy pop with soul that I truly dig.  I saw quite a few folks heading in for Rage that just stopped to watch them for a bit.  And who does not love “Possum King”?

Rage Against the Machine

- I am not sure if this makes me “old”, but I was stoked that Rage has not put out much of anything new since I last saw them over a decade ago.  This, of course, meant that I was almost assured of getting a greatest hits setlist.   They did not disappoint.  At all.  They totally brought down the house — almost literally.  After blistering through a few songs, the pits (plural) got very crazy up front — so much so that they stopped 3 or 4 times during the set trying to get peeps to move back and chill out a bit.  Zack went off on a rant that almost made me feel like he was going to vote in the upcoming election for a candidate that would get more than 10,000 votes nationwide.  My only complaint?  It needed to be louder — MUCH louder.