I missed seeing Friendly Fires due to getting a late start and having a long lunch. When I got to the media tent, I quickly spotted Mick Jones (The Clash/Big Audio Dynamite) talking to ABC Radio. After he was done, I asked if I could get a quick picture and he willingly obliged. (I’m proudly sporting the Ohio Mixtape t-shirt from Alison Rose).

Also saw members of the Deftones and Joy Formidable in the media tent this afternoon.

After chatting for a few minutes with (former?) Donewaiting columnist Tankboy, booked to the other end of the park to catch the final 2 minutes of the Black Lips set. Saw the band destroy their guitars and throw the pieces out into the crowd. I have no idea how the rest of the set was but the guitar stunt left people talking (I heard lots of “They were GREAT”).

Death from Above 1979 played the Bud Light stage (the same stage Coldplay played the night before) and while there were thousands of people there to check out DFA 1979, I was able to work my way up to the front row. I’m not all that familiar with the band’s output other than the single, “Black History Month” (which somehow reminds me of early Robert Plant solo material) but when a friend asked me to describe them, I said “Imagine if the Foo Fighters actually rocked hard.” Eh, probably not the best description but it’s the best I can do. There was an interpreter in front of the stage that was fascinating to watch. I didn’t see anybody sitting in the hearing-impaired area but this woman was ROCKING OUT and singing along to every word.

Had my first real goosebump moment of the festival when the Deftones hit the stage. Chino was bouncing around the stage, looking like he was loving life and this was my first time seeing Sergio Vega (ex-Quicksand) on bass with the band. I’m still holding out hope that tomorrow during Rival Schools’ set, Sergio will join his former bandmate Walter Schreifels for a mini-Quicksand reunion. Not likely, but I want to be there if it does happen. I’m a sucker for the hits and loved when the Deftones tore into “My Own Summer (Shove It)”. During “7 Words”, Chino jumped down into the photo pit and inserted a bit of Katy Perry’s “Fireworks” into the lyrics. Definitely my favorite act of the day.

Cool bracelet I saw during the Deftones set.

I returned to the media tent to charge my phone and ran into the legendary DJ/VJ/music encyclopedia, Matt Pinfield. The guy is amazing, has stories for everything and is super nice to everybody he meets.

I heard Cee-Lo’s set starting from where I was in the media tent – he opened with a cover of Danzig’s “Mother”. I figured I’d check him out and grab a spot to watch Eminem later in the night. The field where Cee-Lo was performing was PACKED, tens of thousands of people having the same thought I did. After getting a text that “Most people must be camping out for Eminem because there aren’t a ton of people getting ready to watch My Morning Jacket“, I, again, walked across the park to find a spot to watch MMJ. Not sure how I’ve missed them in the past, but this was my first MMJ experience and you can tell that these guys are going to continue to grow into a band that will some day be called legendary. Their hippie/jam band/hard rock/alt-country/post-grunge/mountain rock songs were perfect for an outdoor venue as part of a festival. It just felt “right” to see them get headlining status … well deserved.

Though there was no way of getting within 10 football fields of Eminem, I couldn’t have left Lollapalooza 2011 without saying that I had seen a song or two. From where I was standing, even the enormous video screens looked small. For the short time I watched him, Eminem didn’t really do much actual rapping – he was mainly talking to the audience (“Where are all the girls at? Let me hear you!”). The only song I caught was “Love the Way You Lie”, the hit single featuring guest vocals from Rihanna. I was a little surprised that she didn’t show up as a special guest – instead, they used a recording of her singing while Eminem rapped his part live.

Overall, today was a little less productive than yesterday although there weren’t a ton of bands that I really wanted to see. Tomorrow’s the BIG day – I should be arriving at Grant Park at noon and be watching music pretty much non-stop throughout the day all the way through Foo Fighters closing performance.

That being said, there’s plenty to see this coming weekend at Grant Park. Last week I spotlighted two lesser known acts performing this year – Midnight Conspiracy and Kyle Lucas & Captain Midnite over on Lollapalooza.com.

Here are ten songs I want to hear at Lollapalooza this weekend.

My Morning Jacket – “Victory Dance” (performing Saturday, 8pm, Bud Light stage)


The Joy Formidable – “Whirring” (performing Sunday, 1pm, Bud Light stage)

Foo Fighters – “Bridge Burning” (performing Sunday, 8pm, Music Unlimited stage)

Wye Oak – “Civilian” (performing Friday, 12pm, Sony stage)

Crystal Castles – Celestica (performing Friday, 7:15pm, Sony stage)

Deftones – “My Own Summer” (performing Saturday, 6pm, Playstation stage)

Rival Schools – “Used for Glue” (performing Sunday, 1:45pm, Playstation stage)

The Naked and Famous – “The Sun” (performing Friday, 1:30pm, Sony stage)

The Cars – “You Might Think” (performing Sunday, 4pm, Music Unlimited stage)

Friendly Fires – “Hawaiian Air” (performing Saturday, 2:15pm, Bud Light stage)

These songs/artists obviously reflect my music tastes and these are not the only bands I plan to see. Have any recommendations? I’m especially looking to check out lesser-known bands so if there are any “can’t miss”, leave a comment and I’ll try to check them out.

Our main man Clinton Reno is always keeping busy. Recently he did the artwork for the new My Morning Jacket fan club which included a logo, poster, and t-shirt. He also did recent posters for Neko Case and The Flaming Lips.

If you’re in New York, Reno will be selling his posters this weekend at Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. Kiesha and I will be his employees in his booth as well so be sure to stop over and say hello.

Keep reading for some more Reno art.

Stevie Wonder
Arcade Fire
Kanye West
Coldplay
My Morning Jacket
Fleet Foxes
Alison Krauss & Union Station
Nas & Damian “Jr Gong” Marley
Cee Lo
Bright Eyes
Social Distortion
Empire Of The Sun
Cut Copy
Santigold
Pretty Lights
TV On The Radio
Skrillex
Big Boi
Randy Newman
Iron & Wine
Ray LaMontagne
Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
Broken Social Scene
Chromeo
Old Crow Medicine Show
Death From Above 1979
Cold War Kids
The Airborne Toxic Event
Elbow
Gillian Welch
Fitz and the Tantrums
Delta Spirit
The Walkmen
Foster The People
Smith Westerns
Court Yard Hounds
Young The Giant
Alexander
Chiddy Bang
Mavis Staples
Gomez
J. Roddy Walston & the Business
Jack Ingram
Preservation Hall Jazz Band and The Del McCoury Band
James Blake
Sara Bareilles
City and Colour
Twin Shadow
AWOLNATION
Wild Beasts
Hayes Carll
Brandi Carlile
North Mississippi Allstars
The Antlers
Wanda Jackson
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
The Head and the Heart
Mariachi El Bronx
Abigail Washburn & The Village
Joseph Arthur
Gary Clark Jr.
The Secret Sisters
The Belle Brigade
Aloe Blacc & The Grand Scheme
Bomba Estereo
Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub
Phosphorescent
MONA
The Vaccines
Charles Bradley
Reptar
Fool’s Gold
Beardyman
The Greencards
An Horse
Nick 13
Asleep at the Wheel
Futurebirds
Theophilus London
Patrice Pike
The Moondoggies
The Cave Singers
Ha Ha Tonka
Francisca Valenzuela
Miniature Tigers
Cowboy and Indian
Ruby Jane
Little Hurricane
Tyler Bryant
Hudson Moore
Bobby Long
The Kingston Springs
Jon Pardi
Chancellor Warhol
MilkDrive
Seth Walker
Courtney Jaye
Leroy Powell
The Lee Boys
The Durdens
The Warrior Gospel Band
Endurance
The Bells Of Joy
Disciples Of Christ
Tyree Morris & The Hearts of Worship
Sara Hickman
Peter DiStefano & Tor
The School of Rock
Heidi Swedburg
Mariana Iranzi
Brady Rymer
Recess Monkey
The Q Brothers
Quinn Sullivan
The Barton Hills Choir
Fresh Millions

Eminem
Foo Fighters
Coldplay
Muse
My Morning Jacket
Deadmau5
A Perfect Circle
Cee Lo Green
Damian Marley and Nas
The Cars
Ween
Bright Eyes
Arctic Monkeys
BAD
Deftones
Beirut
Explosions in the Sky
Atmosphere
Lykke Li
The Kills
Sleigh Bells
Best Coast
Black Lips
DOM
Titus Andronicus
Phantogram
Wye Oak

Click here for complete list of bands.

No Beastie Boys?

Enter your email address here and get a free download of the title track from My Morning Jacket’s forthcoming album, Circuital.

My Morning Jacket @ Terminal 5 – SOLD OUT

Guided By Voices @ Outland – CLICK HERE TO BUY

Reno’s got a show in Columbus coming up soon.

Tickets go on sale Saturday. Festival happens Memorial Day weekend.

My Morning Jacket
Massive Attack
Pavement
Ween
Vampire Weekend
MGMT
Band of Horses
The National
LCD Soundsystem
Tegan & Sara
Broken Social Scene
Passion Pit
Deadmau5
She & Him
Public Enemy
Nada Surf
The New Pornographers
The Hold Steady
The xx
Dirty Projectors
OK Go
Drive By Truckers
Kid Cudi
The Long Winters
Minus the Bear
The Mountain Goats
Quasi
Camera Obscura
Fruit Bats
Brother Ali
Midlake
Dr. Dog
Caribou
Simian Mobile Disco
City & Colour
No Age
The Temper Trap
Vetiver
Miike Snow
Portugal. The Man
Telekinesis
Mayer Hawthorne
Why?
Girls
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Wale
The Lonely Forest
Japandroids
Boys Noize
Yacht
Freelance Whales
Laura Marling
Patrick Watson
Past Lives
Cymbals Eat Guitars
The Low Anthem
The Very Best
Phantogram
Neon Indian
Nurses
The Tallest Man on Earth
Fresh Espresso
Mumford & Sons
Jets Overhead
tUnE-YarDs
Shabazz Palaces
Fool’s Gold
Morning Teleportation
Z-Trip
Dam-Funk
Hudson Mohawke
The Middle East
Local Natives
Avi Buffalo
Booka Shade
A-Trak
Yes Giantess
Craig Robinson
Rob Riggle
Garfunkel & Oates
Luke Burbank
…and more to come!

TICKET INFORMATION
Beginning February 20:
Single tickets, per day / $70.00
Discount 3 day pass / $170 (available on sale weekend only)

February 20—May 23:
Single tickets, per day / $70.00

May 24—May 28:
Single tickets, per day / $80.00

Day of show:
Single tickets, per day / $86.00

An Evening With My Morning Jacket
Monday, October 6, 2008
The LC (Outdoors)
$29 Advance and $32 Day of Show

Tickets onsale 8/2.

The last time they played Columbus, Dr. Dog opened and The Whiles (with Zach still in the band). So yeah, it’s been awhile.

My Morning Jacket will be playing with Yo La Tengo at the Houston Verizon Wireless Theatre on March 10th, and at the Austin Music Hall on March 13th. Jim James will also be performing solo at Austin’s St. David’s Church on March 15th.

If Yo La Tengo is in Houston March 10, a SXSW appearance isn’t out of the picture, amiright?

Also.. Kimya Dawson, getting more popular due to her work on the Juno soundtrack, posted to her Livejournal that she’ll be at SXSW, too. (thx Alex)