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Our second day at LouFest was much cooler and more laid-back (for the most part) than the first. With low-key acts like The Low Anthem and Cat Power on stage, we saw lots more lawn chairs and blankets on the field, filled with people preferring to relax and listen rather than jostle for a spot in the crowd.

The exceptions, of course, were two very high-energy shows from !!! and TV on the Radio. The first (pronounced “chk chk chk,” in case you were wondering) played at 6pm on the main stage and really got the crowd moving with their heavy “dance punk” beats. Frontman Nic Offer hopped and flailed around the stage for the entire 40+ minute set, kicking stray beach balls back into the crowd, climbing up onto stacks of speakers for hip-thrusting dance breaks and even jumping down into the crowd to dance with spectators—looking back, I’m not sure I can remember him ever being still for more than a second. It was a very fun show to watch, and definitely got the crowd amped up for some dancin’ later that evening with TV on the Radio.

As great as the lineups on the two main stages were all weekend, we’re glad we took some time on Sunday to swing by the Area K stage, where high school bands got the chance to show off their chops for the festival crowd. We were quite impressed by Feedback, which was the last Area K show of the fest. They had a fair amount of original tunes mixed in with the covers (though I did enjoy their take on “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes), the girl on vocals had a very mature voice for her age, and the lead guitarist ripped out some pretty sweet solos.

In the end, I walked away from the weekend with a sweet “I # STL” tee (for participating in the LouFestTweets scavenger hunt), a Yelp shot glass, a painted frisbee, a weird tan line and the hope that LouFest will continue to grow bigger and bigger each year. With a few years and enough support from the community, we should be able to give ol’ Lollapalooza a run for it’s money! Eventually…

[photos by Max Campbell]