Saturday, 2:15-5:15

Neon Indian, Paper Diamond, Chairlift, Delta Spirit, The Temper Trap, Alabama Shakes, JJ Grey & Mofro, and Empires will be performing at Lollapalooza 2012 between 2:15 and 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, August 4.

‏NEON INDIAN
‏Powered by tunes like “Deadbeat Summer” and “Terminally Chill,” Neon Indian’s Psychic Chasms shot Denton, Texas, native Alan Palomo to the forefront of the chillwave movement. Second album Era Extraña was recorded in Helsinki, Finland, with Flaming Lips’ producer Dave Fridmann. As a result Palomo was able to focus his vision, morphing the drugged-out, psychedelic electronics of his debut into a much more refined, lush and singable synth-pop opus worthy of your undivided attention. (Saturday, 3-4, Sony Stage) –text: Mike Scales

‏PAPER DIAMOND
‏Though Colorado-based Alex B. might be a trusted producer, he is testing uncharted musical waters in a new project that finds him creating music under the name Paper Diamond. With a high-energy sound, Paper Diamond is recognizable for driving beats and bass that can’t be ignored amidst a backdrop of spacey synthesizers, sweet melodies and catchy vocals. Paper Diamond’s EP Levitate is available for free download from Pretty Lights Music. (Saturday, 3:15-4:15, Perry’s) –text: Annalisa Rodriguez

‏CHAIRLIFT
‏Formed at the University of Colorado in 2005 with the intention of creating background music for haunted houses, the electronic synth-pop duo Chairlift — with cheery lyrics of unrequited love and danceable bass-synth melodies — are anything but spooky. Fronted by the ever-alluring Caroline Polachek and the production talents of Patrick Wimberly (producer of Das Racist’s debut album), Chairlift brings Something (their 2012 follow-up to 2008’s Does You Inspire You) to day two of the Lolla action. (Saturday, 3:30-4:15, Google Play Stage) –text: Jason Oliva

‏DELTA SPIRIT
‏Can you name any bands who have played back-to-back Lollapaloozas? We can only think of one: San Diego’s Delta Spirit. Their newest self-titled release departs from its folk/Americana aesthetic towards a more electronic rock sound, which should make for a more high-intensity show than their Lollapalooza debut in 2011. Though their sound has changed, loyal Delta Spirit fans should not be completely disparaged: the unmistakably raw vocals and lyricism of Matthew Vasquez remains intact. (Saturday, 2:15-3:15, Bud Light Stage) –text: Kara Henderson

‏THE TEMPER TRAP
‏You’ve probably heard The Temper Trap’s breakout single “Sweet Disposition” since it was inescapable in movies and TV a few years back. But the Melbourne, Australia group is much more than one catchy song. Relentless touring behind 2009’s Conditions has built their brand of anthemic indie rock a sizeable following, and their even better self-titled follow-up released this May leaves them poised to pick up more. (Saturday, 4-5, Red Bull Soundstage) –text: Griffin Waterman

‏ALABAMA SHAKES
‏There’s an undeniable rough-honey sweetness in 23-year-old Brittany Howard’s voice when it comes peeling out of Alabama Shakes debut Boys & Girls. Birthed from a high school psychology class in Athens, Georgia and having cut their teeth in the sports bar/country dive circuit, the Alabama Shakes cull together interests in James Carr, early Conway Twitty, AC/DC and Bowie and meld them into simple, rootsy noise with timeless Southern soul and a bright warm glow. (Saturday, 4:15-5:15, Bud Light Stage) –text: Molly Hess

‏JJ GREY & MOFRO
‏Apparently you’re required to say the word “gumbo” when describing this band’s slow-cooked blend of styles, and who are we to argue with journalistic convention? Take a healthy base of Allman Brothers, add some Otis Redding and pepper it with more Southern food name-drops than a Cracker Barrel in Alabama, and you get JJ Grey & Mofro. The recipe reads like warmed-up leftovers, but it’s served hot and spicy to hungry audiences. (Saturday, 3:15-4:15, PlayStation Stage) –text: Jerry Brennan

‏EMPIRES
‏When it comes to up-and-coming musicians with real work ethic, no band in town quite measures up to Empires, Chicago’s own unsigned trio of rockers with serious arena potential. Each of their hard-hitting rock tunes is self-written, recorded and produced, from their 2008 debut album Howl to this year’s Garage Hymns. If the catchy hooks don’t get you stomping along at their set, the energy and wailing vocals of frontman Tom Conrad surely will. (Saturday, 3:20-4:00, BMI Stage) –text: Valerie Wojs

Delta Spirit

Bringing us Hot Dougs is the best way to get on the guest list.

story by Ian Jones

Delta Spirit is a multi-talented band of rockers hailing from Ron Burgundy’s hometown of San Diego. The band was started when founding member/drummer Brandon Young spotted lead singer/guitarist Matthew Vasquez playing music on a bench at two in the morning. Utilizing a wholly unique fusion of folk, soul, and indie rock, they’ve released a pair of albums and EPs, including debut Ode To Sunshine — which was recorded in a Northern California cabin in ten days. Staying true to form, their new single “California” is leading the charge of a newly invigorated tour starting this month.

Chicago Innerview: Who actually brought the idea for the song ‘California’ to the table?
Matt Vasquez: [Multi-instrumentalist] Kelly [Winrich]. It kind of happened in reverse for us. Kelly had a break up this record, so a lot of the songs pulled on that. The last record was like that for me. Originally that song was a very slow, sad, acoustic song. He didn’t want to put it on the record because it didn’t flow in the direction we were going and we had this idea to pump it up and have these My Bloody Valentine guitars in there, so it’s more of a ‘fuck you’.

Chicago Innerview: I would have never guessed that.
Matt Vasquez: It’s nice to do that. We all went through that break up. When one person breaks up with somebody, we all do. To be able to sing that song on Kelly’s behalf is a true pleasure.

CI: I noticed the guitars were fuzzy. Were you trying to go for that on this album?
MV: We’re not trying to do that. I could make a My Bloody Valentine song sound like a My Bloody Valentine song and it’d just be a My Bloody Valentine song. We tried to go into this project with the deepest fidelity. It’s a lot harder to make a clear-sounding and energetic record and still capture the ghost of the recording. I’m really proud of this one for that. We spent a long time in pre-production. We were sharing Cold War Kids and Murder City Devils’ rehearsal spot for a month before. We recorded there in about a month.

CI: So you were in the studio for a month compared to Ode to Sunshine’s ten days?
MV: We demoed so many things in Ode to Sunshine. We hadn’t even been a year old yet. The second record we didn’t have a lot of time to write. This time we had a lot of time to write, so it was nice.

CI: What do you listen to when you’re on tour in the van? Do you still have that green van?
MV: No, the green van got annihilated by a truck our first time in New York. We’re in a white one now. We listen to a mix of Grandmaster Flash, Tom Waits, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and then our friends’ bands.

CI: How do you feel about festivals compared to single shows?
MV: We played Bonnaroo two years ago and we’d never played in front of 150,000 people before. We lost our flight due to weather and some friends helped us stay on the bill. We thought it wasn’t going to work out because our bassist Jon [Jameson] ended up missing his first flight and drove a rental car in the rain at 120 miles an hour to run there, stand on stage, plug in and go — and we were the last band before it rained.

CI: That’s almost religious. Any last thoughts?
MV: Bringing us Hot Dougs is the best way to get on the guest list at the Metro for someone who doesn’t have a ticket. We’ll send a Twitter out the day of the show.

Delta Spirit :: with Waters :: Metro :: March 23.