Further dampening my enthusiasm for this year's Lollapalooza, which I still think lacks the major-event headliners of past years, is a splotchy schedule that tends to pit some of the most exciting mid-level acts against each other in the same time slot.
On Friday, August 7, Bon Iver, Rye Rye and Heartless Bastards compete at 3 p.m., while Crystal Castles face Fleet Foxes in the 5 p.m. slot.
Ida Maria, Los Campesinos! and Atmosphere all play at about 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, before a 6:30 p.m. tug of war between Lykke Li and TV on the Radio.
And dueling 4:30 p.m. sets from Neko Case and Vampire Weekend on Sunday are just a teaser for an epic four-way contest around 6:30 that evening from Lou Reed, Deerhunter, Snoop Dogg and Passion Pit.
Some of this is to be expected, of course—on a bill so full you can't expect to catch everything—but it still stings particularly on a year where organizers have been unusually skimpy on the star power.
The bright side, of course, is that many of these acts already have played Milwaukee in the last year or two, so there's less urgency to take in so many sets during such a short time frame.
