Lollapalooza, Day Two: DeVotchKa, Dr. Dog Keep It Groovy

Photograph by Rory O'Connor

Just past the lunch hour on Day Two of Lollapalooza, Philadelphia indie quintet Dr. Dog became one with the sun-drenched afternoon. Their curlicues of guitar pop wafted on the merciful northeast breeze from Lake Michigan, while guitarist Scott McMicken's astringent, Neil Young-style voice tangled with bassist Toby Leaman's sandy rasp on songs such as "Livin' A Dream," from 2006's Takers and Leavers EP. Despite the intrusion of an ever-present Lollapalooza hazard -- sound bleeding through from the next stage over (in this case, British post-punk act Foals) -- Dr. Dog hung tough and sweet.

Later, DeVotchKa offered swirling, Eastern-European-derived dance rhythms and intricate Old World melodies that revived a crowd dazed by the heat. This was for sure the only Lollapalooza set where you stood a chance of hearing someone in the audience admonish a fellow fan: "The tuba player wants us to clap." And clap they did, as well as breaking out their best squat-kick dance moves. In addition to tuba, DeVotchka's singer-guitarist multitasked on theremin and trumpet, the latter spicing up DeVotchKa's occasional forays into mariachi territory. The crowd embraced every one of DeVotchKa's quirks, but this was a festival crowd after all, and they like to hear hits. So the biggest reaction of all came when the band offered the closest thing it's got to one: "The Winner Is," from the soundtrack to Little Miss Sunshine. -- MOIRA McCORMICK