Lollapalooza Preview Part 2

I'm going to write up elaborate write ups and recaps after the fest is over, but for now here are a few thoughts on today:

Who I Saw Today:
Manchester Orchestra, Gringo Star, Builders and the Butchers, The Knux, Amazing Baby, Ben Folds, Crystal Castles, The Decemberists, Of Montreal, Kings of Leon.

Delirious Knee Jerk Reaction:
Nothing totally overwhelmed me or disappointed me. Overall some pretty enjoyable shows. Also, I'm ready to stab the next person I see with an umbrella.

Saturday Preview (without fancy bold and italicized band names):
Saturday on the surface appears to be the weakest day in terms of quality acts start to finish -- mostly because it finishes with Yeah Yeah Yeah's instead of the Beasties. With that said, some of the most intriguing acts go off and it's doubtful I, or anybody else will leave too disappointed. At 12:30 Delta Spirit goes on, and although I know little about them (and the word "spirit" is in their name) they sound half-way decent and warrant some viewing. At 1:30, producer-team-turned-pretty-pretty-good-group Miike Snow play. I don't know what to expect from them, but their new album is alright. At 2:30 a group called Los Campesinos! goes on, and to be honest, they could throw tamborines at small children for their whole time slot and I'll sit through it because they're on the Budweiser stage before Arctic Monkeys, so seeing them is pretty much required if I want to get a good spot for AM. This also means I'm going to miss out on Chairlift at 3:30, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. 4:30 brings a new look Arctic Monkeys, most likely playing songs from their forthcoming album (coming out at the end of the month). I don't quite know what to expect, but their first single, "Crying Lightning" is pretty encouraging. After they're done, the first of two legitimate conflicts comes up between Pop/Dance/Bud Light Lime Commercial Star Santigold, who came out with one of my favorite albums of 2008 and Scottish rock group Glasvegas. I'll probably lean more towards watching the majority of Santigold's show even though it will probably be much more crowded. At 6:30 TV on the Radio goes up against Lykke Li. Again, I'll probably split time between these two stages if possible, but TVR has the edge if I can't pull that off. Critic darling Animal Collective plays at 7:30, and since their newest album Merriweather Post Pavillion will probably top a lot of end of year Best Of... lists, I'll bite and check them out. At 8:30 the YYYs play and although they don't deserve a headlining spot, their newest album is phenomenal and I'm not gonna lose too much sleep skipping Tool.