Adventures at Lollapalooza 2012 with Bruno Postigo

On a long train ride back to Ann Arbor, our resident photographer and seasoned festival pro, Bruno Postigo, wrote a review of his experience that was Lollapalooza. Over the three day extravaganza, Bruno shot some of the world’s biggest names in the music industry. He covered miles and miles of park surface running back and forth from one stage to the next, weathered an evacuation on Saturday due to a storm, dodged his favorite “frat bros” all weekend and somehow made it out to tell his story.

Below you’ll find a step-by-step replay of the weekend that was. To follow along with the journey, click the “i” in the upper right hand corner of each photo for information on what’s happening. Enjoy his memoir and just a reminder all of these photos and more can be found on our Facebook page. Hop over, tag yourself and your friends, share the albums and leave your comments and thoughts from 2012′s edition of Lollapalooza.

Friday

Lollapalooza 2012 // Day 1

[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_SharonVonEtten.jpg]Sharon Von Etten
I picked up my credentials and started shooting at around 3 p.m.. Sharon Van Etten was my first stop, a woman with a powerful voice. I overheard a fellow photographer say that she shot around 800 frames of her.
[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_Metric.jpg]Metric
Metric was the second stop of the day. I was excited to see how their music would translate to a live environment. I wasn’t disappointed, and neither was the crowd. The north main stage (Bud Light Stage) was consistently packed with people throughout the weekend, especially at night.
[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_SBTRKT1.jpg]SBTRKT
SBTRKT was calling my name after Metric. This time Sampa was in charge of the vocals and keys. Unlike his dj set in Detroit, this set felt more organic, with SBTRKT playing live drums. The post dubstep they create has been some of the most refreshing electronic music of last year, with the whole "brostep" phenomenon destroying EDM.

[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_SBTRKT2.jpg]SBTRKT
On that note, it was interesting that you could identify what stage people were heading to by just the way they dressed. Lollapalooza revamped their electronic stage. They got rid of the giant tent of doom, and thus appealed to a different crowd than in the previous years. Perry’s Stage was a mud bowl of testosterone and ear shattering bass. I decided to avoid that stage as much as possible throughout the weekend as intoxicated Greek Life members don’t make me feel at home.
[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_DieAntwoord1.jpg]Die Antwoord
I backtracked myself to see Die Antwoord. After watching their latest music video, "I Fink You’re Freaky," I made a mental note to check them out. I entered the photo pit and soon after, Die Antwoord’s dj emerged wearing a neon orange jumpsuit and a grotesque mask.
[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_DieAntwoord2.jpg]Die Antwoord
He got the freak party started and soon the female lead joined him. She’s a tiny blonde woman with black contacts that cover the sclera of her eyes. She reminded me of an Imp and she was yelling and flicking people off. The lead, Rapped, emerged after a couple minutes. He was as freaky in person and he is on the video. A mild sense of fear ran through my body being so close to him, especially when he stared dead into my lens.

[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_TheShins.jpg]The Shins
After their set [Die Antwoord], I decided to check out The Shins, and see the rest the festival grounds. I’m usually carrying 20 pounds of photographic equipment, so planning ahead and minimizing walking was essential.

The Shins with Port of Morrow being released not to long ago, are at top of their game. I was especially surprised by their live sound and how tight the band plays together. The crowd started singing along when "Simple Song" started. I found myself humming the tune as I walked to the media tent to grab some red bull, Boxed Water, and enjoy the delicious tea they have. The official water of Lollapalooza is Boxed Water. A company out of Grand Rapids, props to them!
[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_M83.jpg]M83
M83 was the obvious choice to follow The Shins, considering I photographed Dawes in Ann Arbor during the Folk Festival not too long ago. M83 is one of those bands that I’m not a huge fan of, but I can appreciate their music.

[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_m831.jpg]M83

[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_BlackKeys.jpg]The Black Keys
The Black Keys were next on my photo list, since the Black Sabbath photo pit was limited to only 7 wire photographers. The duo from Ohio have played Lolla in the past, but after blowing up, this is their first time headlining. Their sound has changed a lot over the years, but I still don’t feel that it translated to an arena sized environment. The band was tight and as epic as always, but left me wishing for more.
[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_BlackKeys1.jpg]The Black Keys

[img src=https://mispymag.com/wp-content/gallery/Lolla 12 Friday/thumbs/thumbs_BlackKeys2.jpg]The Black Keys

I decided to drag my tired body another mile to check out Black Sabbath. That mile didn’t seem like much when I finally made it to the other main stage. Black sabbath is as legendary as I expected. After their set ended, I was hungry for more, but Ozzy was probably craving carrot cake and had to leave. The CTA’s red line was hell, but I managed to find a seat and fell asleep until I reached my stop.

Saturday