Cassidy Ryan: Today definitely felt like the final day of a festival. It was a struggle to even stand up for an entire set and it seemed like a hiccup was bound to happen at any moment. That possibility materialized when the festival was evacuated from about 2:30 to 3:40 for an underwhelming thunderstorm. The music began again at 4 PM and, much to the relief of both the artists and the audience, nobody’s set was canceled—some were pushed back a few hours.
A$AP Rocky tried to bring the same energy from the Bud Light stage, and while the Mob behind him brought the hype in full force, his show came off as insubstantial. There were nice Kriss Kross and Nirvana tributes (really, the DJ just played “Jump” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and A$AP let the crowd rock), but nothing creative was done with the bonus material, and it would have been nice if the main man himself had spent some more time actually playing the emcee.
I’m nominating A$AP Rocky’s set for the best place to get puked on at Lolla. Fortunately I escaped any actual spray, but in the first half of the set I saw at least three passed-out and vomiting girls getting carried away by their friends. Rocky’s set itself was only OK. He did so many Chief Keef covers I was half expecting Keef’s notorious hologram to make an appearance. Of course Rocky played “LSD” and of course that prompted everyone to start lighting up.
A$AP Rocky served up a platter of covers and samples, from House of Pain’s “Jump Around” to Chief Keef’s underground smash “Faneto” to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to Vic Mensa’s “U Mad,” which drew the Chicago MC onstage for a surprise cameo. Although I was disappointed Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye didn’t dive much deeper into his own trip-hop catalogue than top 40 hits like “Fuckin’ Problems” or “Goldie,” he still commanded the crazed crowd like the DJ of a massive party—complete with a crowd-surfing wheelchair.
