The second edition of the now stationery Lollapalooza festival (and tenth year overall for Lollapalooza) took over the massive Grant Park in Chicago for three days of music, art, and other sorts of entertainment that proved to be a major success in the movement of larger festivals in the United States, as well for the city of Chicago.

Yours truly spent three sweaty and long days trying to catch the sights and sounds of over 130 bands. But let’s face it - I’m just one man and since I forgot to clone myself before I left, I only saw a portion of those 130 bands. I still feel I put a big enough dent into my listening palette to share what I saw. So, sit back and relax as I give you a blow by blow account of the groups that I checked out at Lollapalooza 2006:

Day One (Friday, August 4th)

After spending forever in the always lovely Chi-Town traffic on the Chicago Slow-way (Oops, I meant Skyway), I finally made it to the scene in the mid-afternoon. I missed the alt-pop superstars of the moment, Panic at the Disco, and the enigmatic and entertaining Eels, so that bummed me out for a few moments, but I managed to survive the loss.

With two major stages (the AT&T and Bud Light stages) at opposite ends of the park and almost a mile apart, you had to plan your music listening schedule quite precisely, or you’d be sprinting the length of the Park for days. That’s not even counting the other half-dozen stages dotted throughout the park.

The first major set of my listening day was folk rock superstar Ryan Adams. I am sorry, but I just don’t get Ryan Adams and his somber, morose tunes. Even most of the people in the audience were too busy talking or partaking in other “activities” to notice Adams’ quest to put everyone to sleep at the Bud Light Stage. I needed to check out something a little different.

“Different” took the form of the diminutive female British rapper Lady Sovereign, who started nearly a half hour later than her posted 5:30 start time. Once Sovereign hit the stage, her energy was manic. She should have slowed down and actually pronounce the lyrics to her songs. She was a little too eager to prove that her lyrical flow was quick and sloppy, instead of tight and lethal. The 20 year-old Sovereign still has plenty of time to tighten her game up, and could end up proving to be a diamond in the rough (though very rough right now).

Next, I was off to check out the mellow sounds of the Dallas band the Secret Machines. The band saw their crowd growing throughout the set, and played a lot of new material from their Ten Silver Drops album. The Machines didn’t set the world on fire for me, but compared to Ryan Adams, it was a positive step for the day.

The Secret Machines was just the warm up for my headliner for Friday - The Raconteurs, the double-sided modern rock juggernaut project of the White Stripes’ Jack White and Detroit local artist Brendan Benson. Announcing their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, the band irked the Detroit fans (where Benson and White grew up), and probably fans in Cincinnati (the other members are in the Cincy band the Greenhornes). Either way, the band played their first set for the Chicago crowd, in which the band showed their material from their Broken Toy Soldiers album. The hour long set featured White and Benson trading off vocals on various songs. The Raconteurs are looking to come off as a more blues based outfit than the garage rock of the Stripes, and proved they could throw a few kinks into their set as well, by unexpectedly covering the Gnarls Barkley smash hit Crazy. The Raconteurs lacked the raucous energy of the Stripes, but still played one of the better sets of the day.

With a choice of Friday evening headliners Ween and Death Cab For Cutie, I took it as a cue to go check out some afterparties (including at the CK One Music Lounge at the Hard Rock), and gear up for Saturday.

Day Two (Saturday, August 5th)

We all knew that Saturday would be the longest day of the three days, and it would prove to be the warmest of the days as well. The prevailing winds on Friday died out on Saturday, and made things a little muggier for the bands on the second day.

First off was the St. Louis band Living Things, who spent time in the rock world headlines lately for getting into a fight with the band Alter Bridge. Believe me, if some band was bagging on me that used to play in CREED, I would be fighting as well. Fighting or not, lead singer Lillian Berlin (yes, it’s a guy) looked like a cross between the New York Dolls, and Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes. The music in their 45 minute set was infused with glam rock, with a political streak in them. With songs like Bom Bom Bom, and Bombs Below, the band came off as a more serious version of the Darkness. Check these guys out when you get a chance…

After a quick stop at the CK Music Lounge again, it was time to check out the comic book prog-rock of Coheed and Cambria. The band favored their more popular material in their hour long set, including the band’s initial hit A Favor House Atlantic, and the sizzling guitar work of Welcome Home. The band played well, but due to the Cousin It looking appearance of lead singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez, their personality got lost in his hairdo.

Australia’s buzz band of the moment, Wolfmother, hit the Q101 stage next and while they didn’t tear the roof off the stage, they did sow some seeds to be a potential powerhouse in the future. Ripping through tracks off their superb debut album, such as White Unicorn and Apple Tree, they proved to be a commendable band, but one still trying to find its niche on stage. Their goofy, yet approachable stage presence was cheery, but they will need to take themselves more seriously in order to find bigger fame.

Back on the AT&T stage, the Frankenstein-esque project of Danger Mouse and Cee-lo, Gnarls Barkley hit the floor. Donned in all white tennis outfits, Cee-Lo and the backing orchestra and band put on one of the more entertaining sets of the day. Ex-Goodie Mob member Cee-Lo fought through his hoarse voice, in order to provide a good natured presence for the audience. Through funny anecdotes and bizarre dance moves from the backing orchestra, the Gnarls (as they were called by certain fans) even returned the Raconteurs’ favor from the previous night, and covered a Greenhornes tune. The crowd was antsy to hear the song on everyone’s mind - the mega-hit Crazy. Gnarls ended with that song, and sent the people on a break feeling very satisfied.

Common followed Gnarls, hyping the crowd up with mostly tracks from his Be album, including the title track and the smooth Go, Common seemed to be a good warm-up for the headliner of the evening, Kanye West. (Click here to see the Kayne West review.)

On the opposing stage, the Flaming Lips put on one of the oddest stage shows of the day. Even though I missed singer Wayne Coyne coming out through the crowd inside of a large plastic bubble, I saw most of it. Consisting of the odd mix of large balloons, inflatable space aliens and astronauts, and even an appearance by Santa Claus, the Lips tried to convey a message of peace and love, which only met with a polite reaction at best. In the visually overloaded set, there was music during that set as well, as the band ended with their two biggest tracks, the mid-90’s slacker hit She Don’t Use Jelly, and Do You Realize.

Over on the Adidas-Champs stage, festival organizers introduced the Washington DC electronic group the Thievery Corporation. Armed with sounds of Asia and the Middle Eastern, mixed with electronic beats, the collective seemed to be impressing the fans, and even got the hippies in the crowd moving.

Day Three (Sunday, August 6th)

After the long and warm day on Saturday, Sunday started with a little rain. As the drizzle died off, the fans started to file in on the substantially cooler day. After two days, the crowd was starting to wane a little, but kept in good spirits throughout.

After checking out a tolerable set from former Radish singer-turned “honest singer and songwriter” Ben Kweller, I wanted to get my heckle on for Jared Leto’s band, 30 Seconds to Mars. I came with insult after insult for Leto, all of which amused the people right in front of me, but to the other 10,000 or so near the stage, my barbs went unnoticed. Leto wowed the crowd by scaling to the top of the stage nearly 40 feet and jammed out up there. I was hoping he would jump for some added entertainment, but the band’s songs, such as Attack and the current hit The Kill weren’t exactly the worst things I ever heard. Leto seemed to improve on the last time I saw him, when he berated the crowd and walked off stage 15 minutes into their set.

Mel Gibson’s favorite new artist, the Great Reggae Hasidic Jewish Hope, Matisyahu got the same hippies dancing to the Thievery Corporation grooving to him as well. In his hour long set, the reggae rapper preached messages of faith and understanding in songs like Chop Em Down. He even called for a quick end to the current conflict in Lebanon and Israel before launching into his hit King Without A Crown. For all the naysayers, let me tell you this - the man may be running with this shtick for all its worth, but he put forth a surprisingly good set, which just seemed to improve as it went on.

The goth-electro-pop of She Wants Revenge even topped that, with a midday set in which the music seemed out of place. The group’s music is tailored made for a dimly lit goth club on cuts like I Don’t Want to Fall In Love and the stellar moody track These Things. Led by Adam Bravin (formerly of Powerman 5000), the band provided a sonic template remiscient of Depeche Mode, or perhaps a darker version of the Killers for people that can’t remember Depeche Mode.

After catching the last two songs of the Deadsy set, including their cover of Rush’s Tom Sawyer, Mix Master Mike took over the Mindfield stage for a two hour set. Mixing classic hip-hop with rock tracks new and old, Mike gave the small but enthuastic crowd a second boost of energy before the Red Hot Chili Peppers capped off the festival. (My review of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ set is here.)

Lollapalooza 2006 went off without a hitch, and was attended and organized by level-headed people. It could have turned into a mess, a la Woodstock ’99, but the calm fans won out, and a peaceful time was had by all. It is good to see that the Midwest now has a highly popular and successful festival that can attract from the Chicago area and beyond. Midwestern music fans need and deserve something like this every year…