Day three at Lollapalooza wiped away any notion that the four-day festival was going to be lessened by grey clouds and rain.  The sun shined bright Saturday afternoon and the artists shined with it.  During a normal festival year, this third day of concert hopping would be the festival’s last, but with the extra day, in celebration of Lollapalooza’s 25th anniversary, the possibility of energy loss would be worrying.  Yet, with the always-expected powerhouse performance from Red Hot Chili Peppers, he laid-back relaxed set by Two Door Cinema Club and Vic Mensa’s dominating performance, the energy remained high.

X Ambassadors

I’m still on the edge about X Ambassadors.  For a band that has collaborated with some of the greatest living hip-hop artists — from Eminem to Jay-Z — along with working with several others bands, you’d think X Ambassadors would be something special.  They delivered the hits, they played “Jungle,” they played “Renegades” but that was the only time I saw the majority of the crowd excited.  Perhaps it was just early in the day, but the 60 minutes that the New York alternative band played for felt like the longest of the entire festival.   Though the highlight of the performance isn’t given to X Ambassadors, but to Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello who joined the band on stage, earning the credit for Saturday’s best surprise guest.

Marshmello

I can’t say I understand EDM.  Furthermore, I can’t say I understand EDM DJs who wear masks. From what little of the performance I saw from Marshmello, the fans certainly seemed to enjoy it.  Though if it weren’t for the masks, I don’t think anyone could tell this was that DJ versus some other EDM DJ that was at the concert.  

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

Throughout Rateliff’s entire set I don’t think one fan in the crowd could deny the talent that he had behind his folk-sounding voice and his quick fingers on the guitar.  I had listend to Rateliff and The Night Sweats, but as my first time seeing them in concert they’ve earned the best surprise performance at Lollapalooza so far.  I don’t know what I expected from the Denver band but it was nowhere near the catchy, soulful and danceable music that their performance brought this year.  It wouldn’t surprise me if half the crowd lost their voice during their performance of S.O.B.

Leon Bridges

The back-to-back soulful concerts of Rateliff and then Leon Bridges could make for a fine double feature one day.  Bridges is the epitome of ’60s cool, and I’ve never been so glad that hundreds of fans at Lollapalooza could dig it. From his opener “Smooth Sailin” to “Coming Home,” Bridges and his band brought the festival back a few decades.  His slow soul music, and soft voice might’ve brought the crowd down a few notches during the afternoon, but the performance itself was still a great look at classic Bridges.

Oliver Heldens 

I’ve come to conclusion EDM is just not for me.  My experience at Heldens was quite similar to my experience at Marshmello, except I saw Heldens’ face — whether that’s a good thing or not is your call.  There were flashing lights, there were costumes in the crowd, there were flags being waved and that’s about the gist of it.

Two Door Cinema Club

When fans in the crowd screamed that lead singer Alex Trimble resembled the looks of another Irish singer, Ed Sheeran, you could see the joy on his face.  Two Door Cinema Club delivered a very relaxed performance Saturday night as they played to the crowd’s mood and exhaustion.  The Irish indie rock band’s highest cheers were for their late performance of “What You Know” that had the crowd dancing, and singing along.

St. Lucia 

Because LCD Soundsystem aren’t playing until Sunday night, St. Lucia filled the alternative electronic hole Saturday.  While I expected far more fans waiting by the stage for the Brooklyn-based musician to start, he did easily (and quickly) grab a larger crowd as he kicked off his performance.  Mostly playing songs off his latest album, “Matter,” the crowd may not have known every word but the music was nonetheless danceable, fun, and enjoyable — Lucia’s wild personality and energy certainly helped.

Vic Mensa

While from the first two songs I quickly caught, I’d certainly give Red Hot Chili Peppers Chad Smith’s powerhouse drumming the award for most audience captivating performance—though Mensa is easily second best.  Vic Mensa’s set wasn’t just powerful, it was personal.  The Chicago rapper proclaimed how he had wished Chicago’s biggest music festival was free, free for the kids on the South Side of the city.  And after that hit heart to the city’s visual poverty gap, dancers marched out in police and military uniforms as Mensa continued with the performance of “16 Shots,” addressing possibly the City of Chicago’s biggest failure in the most recent memory, the killing Laquan McDonald by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke.  Much of Mensa’s work is deeply rooted in the social issues of our time, and that was present last night, from Laquan McDonald to the LGBT community in “Free Love.”  This set was easily the best performance of the festival thus far because while Chicago’s skyline lights may have shone bright in Grant Park at night, failing to address the darkness that illuminates it is failing to realize how far this city has come and how far it needs to go.