North Coast Music Festival 2010

I couldn’t believe when I heard about this festival that it was only $75 for three days. It was a weekend full of ALL of my favorite bands in one tiny little park on the west side of Chicago. Now Lollapalooza comes through Chicago every summer and for three days the tickets can come close to $300. I thought that maybe I had read it wrong and it was $75 a day, but no, it was really $75 for all three days of the best music a small festival could bring together.

Friday started with Pretty Lights where I heard Gold Coast Hustle for the first time. It was super cool to hear my fave Colorado band throwin some love out to the Chi. It really hit my heart and made me love PL even more. Next we went to Chemical Brothers which simply blew my mind. The beats and the music was so intense and awesome, and their visuals were breathtaking. What a cool performance. I left the night in awe, I could not believe that this was only the beginning of what was to surely be an EPIC weekend.

Saturday we got there just in time for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. What a badass. I have never seen a more beautiful blond chick playing the guitar so fiercely. She was seriously inspiring, I wish I could be as talented as her. She played a cover of Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit which was simply amazing.

Next up we went to The New Deal. Their set was pretty cool, but there weren’t that many people there. But those who were there were dancing all over the place. They really knew how to pump up a crowd. Next we walked over to the smaller stage on the side where Future Rock was playing. Wow that was so much fun. We kind of teetered toward De La Soul while waiting for Boys Noize to come on. De La was really fun and of course everyone was having fun bouncing and singing along. Boys Noize brought on the bass as well as the Kool-Aid Man who came out and danced all around the stage. It was such a funny and electric show. Then of course we made our way back over to the main stage where Umphrey’s McGee was playing. God that was so much fun, their jams and their lights kept everyone captivated and swaying and bouncing around. Everyone was enjoying themselves, including myself. Now I had to just scope out Moby because I have always been pretty obsessed with that bald headed 90’s DJ. I mean I would have to consider Play to be one of my favorite albums ever. Unfortunately for me, Moby’s set was not at all like his albums, but instead he was throwing down some mad beats, I was pretty impressed that this super chill electro dude could bust out such jams. I think he may have even thrown in some Jack Beats in there.

Sunday, the last day. I wasn’t sure if this festival could get any beter, but I knew that Disco Biscuits were at the end of the night so I knew that I was going to be blown away once again. We came a little early to check out some of the art and people at the fest. But when Benny Benassi came on, we were ready to dance. He managed to get the whole crowd to bounce at a synchronized beat for the whole set. I swear it was like one giant organism bobbing up and down to the beat. Then we kinda sat around in the middle catching bits and pieces of every set around us. Mayer Hawthorne, Flying Lotus, Green Velvet, then finally Chicago’s own Lupe Fiasco. This set wasn’t as good as his set at Lollapalooza a few years back when he had just gotten big and Daydream was constantly stuck in everyone’s heads. But it was still a really fun show and he really interacted with the crowd. Nas and Damian Marley came on next, we stayed for a couple songs, but I was really eager to get over to the other side to see the band who I had really come there for, The Disco Biscuits. And boy was I right. The show was totally amazing. Their lights are so cool and ran in and out of the leaves in the trees making the leaves look like they were alive and glowing. One big tree kinda swooped over the middle of the crowd, and people kept climbing up there to get the best view in the whole house. If my knee wasn’t busted and I wasn’t completely terrified of heights, I would have loved to climb up that big ole tree and get an unobstructed view of Bisco.