LPC's Lolla Blog: Day One

Pictured: My Dear Disco

Anthony Nowack of Backstage All Access and I made it safely to Chicago for day one of Lollapalooza.

We checked into the press tent at 11 a.m. so Nowack could take shots of B.o.B. (which you can see here). I spent my time thinking of snarky, self-indulgent Tweets in order to update my mass Twitter audience (population: three).

By 3 p.m., I made sure My Dear Disco was in my agenda of "bands to see." The Ann Arbor, Mich. band played Lolla's BMI stage, which the band called "smart," since the stage is located in the shade.

At 4 p.m., I headed over to the Parkways stage to see Devo. Weird, colorful, and catchy, this was the band to kick off any music lover's dream weekend

During the Devo set, I caught up with Rapid Growth's new managing editor, Juliet Bennett Rylah, WYCE's Nicole LaRae, Founders' Joey Basch, and members of Chance Jones. Grand Rapids, you are well-represented in Chicago.

In the interim, the big Lolla question will be pondered. To see or not to see: Lady Gaga, or The Strokes?

Theo Katzman plays the bass, drums, and musical chairs

The musical chairs part is symptomatic of his personal musical evolution. He gained prominence playing bass with the Ann Arbor based electro-pop band My Dear Disco. He has played with several other area bands including the folk ensemble Red Arrow Highway, and jazz-rock band Vox Maui.

Now hes a singer-songwriter, and he's going it alone, debuting with a performance at Bell's Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo Thurs., Feb 25. The show will begin at 9:30 p.m., and there is a $5 charge at the door.

Katzman describes his new sound as "indie-rock-soul." He will be playing venues where MDD has already acquired a fan-base, so if you are not in Kalamazoo, look for a performance soon in a town near you.