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Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza 2012: Best Moments of Day 3

The final day of the Chicago fest brought out PDA, inflatable guests and scary-ass clowns. Here are the 10 things that made the mud and sun all worth it

August 6, 2012

Jack White Switches Bands Mid-Set!

If you've seen a Jack White show in the past year, you've either caught the former White Stripes frontman playing with the Peacocks, White's all-female band or the Buzzards, his all-male group. On tour, the singer alternates backing bands, allowing music nerds like us to debate the merits of each and have another "Who's better?" argument to fight over. Not tonight! For the singer's headlining set, White swapped bands halfway through his two-hour performance, substituting the Buzzards for the Peacocks in a rare switch. When you have a platform as big as Lollapalooza, you can't be greedy. Nice work, Jack. 

Aubree Lennon for Fuse

xxxx of Little Dragon performs during 2012 Lollapalooza at Grant Park on August 5, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois.

Little Dragon Cause Bro-High Fives and Makeout Session

Perry's Stage, composed primarily of EDM artists like Kaskade and Zeds Dead, welcomed select interlopers to the tight-knit group of mostly teenage ravers. Sweden's Little Dragon, who straddle the line between Pitchfork-approved indie rock, synthpop and warm electronic, played a galvanizing, high-energy set that caused two distinct reactions in front of me. During the stomping "Little Man," four teenage guys waiting for dubstep producer Doctor P initiated the so-rare-I'm-making-up-a-name-for-it-now "four-man bro-five," in which four people form a circle and simultaneously high-five the people to your left and right. Imagine a bro version of paddy cake and you're close. Next to them: a couple mouth-molesting each other like it was prom night. That the band can elicit such disparate feelings from the same song says more than I could ever write. 

Aubree Lennon for Fuse

At the Drive-In Frontman Gets Close With Cameraman

We've already covered frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala's joyfully insane banter on Fuse.tv, but the wiry singer is as known for his physicality and penchant for flinging himself on stage as his caustic, penetrating vocals. During one track, Bixler-Zavala hopped on the riser directly below the stage and began grabbing the cameraman's shoulders while screaming directly into the camera. For fans, it was another reminder (as if we needed one) of the singer's unpredictability. For the cameraman, it was hazard pay. Win-win. 

Aubree Lennon for Fuse

Worth 1,000 Words

Spotted at Perry's Stage, but you already knew that 

Jason Newman for Fuse

CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 5: Channy Leaneagh of Polica performs as part of of Day Three of Lollapalooza 2012 at Grant Park on Augu

Polica's Name Starts Fights, Makes Fans

The Minneapolis quartet's non-traditional setup eschews a guitarist in favor of two drummers, allowing the group's blend of atmospheric rock, dark soul and electronic to retain a thick, bottom-heavy sound that resonated deeply throughout the crowd. The band's set was well-received, yet festival appearances are a good reminder that at least part of the crowd happened to stumble upon your band. Two girls in front of me spent the better part of two songs arguing and debating over the band's name, including, but not limited to, A) How to pronounce it, B) What country it's derived from and C) What does it mean? There's a happy ending: They stayed for the whole set and became new fans, an appropriate parable for the dangers and benefits of a festival set. 

Rob Loud/Getty Images

Macklemore's Bowie Jacket

Seattle rap group Macklemore + Ryan Lewis clearly recognize the primary age of their fan base. When Macklemore asked "How many of you were born in the '70s?," only one Fuse journalist meekly raised his hand (1979, to be precise). Same question for the '90s and the place erupted. The rapper then asked who knew 'Labyrinth,' the 1986 sci-fi film starring David Bowie as Jareth, the evil Goblin King and proceeded to showcase a hand-drawn picture of Bowie on his jean jacket. Here's hoping no one mistook it for Bieber with makeup. 

Aubree Lennon for Fuse

Toro Y Moi

How do I know Toro Y Moi's bouncy synthpop resonated with the crowd? When the singer's backing band played the first few notes of "Still Sound," the insanely catchy track from 2011's 'Underneath the Pine,' a group of 10 girls, all sitting, screamed in unison and stood up to dance. So many questions here: Why weren't the dancing before? Did they only know this one song? Do voices really scream that high-pitched? Whatever. People dancing = good thing. 

Aubree Lennon for Fuse

Miike Snow's Inflatable Friends

Swedish pop group Miike Snow may have had the most rabid fans of the day, but as their set closed near, a crop of inflatable animals and objects began rearing their plastic heads. I counted a banana, tiger, shark, giraffe, hammer, flamingo and Pikachu. Where the hell did it all come from? The mystery remains. 

Aubree Lennon for Fuse

Cooper McBean of The Devil Makes Three performs on stage at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park, San F

The Devil Makes Three Starts Dosey-Does

The California Americana trio played to a boisterous crowd ready to lap up the group's springy bluegrass, folk and rockabilly. On 2009's "For Good Again," the band caused multiple dosey-does in the crowd, a rarity for this weekend's rock- and EDM-centric lineup. Honorable mention to Cooper McBean's beard featured above, which is so magnificent, it deserves its own Twitter. 

Anthony Pidgeon/Redferns

Look at This Clown

See ya next year! 

Aubree Lennon for Fuse

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