Most of my grand schemes went foiled thanks to certain mitigating factors: mainly that the main stages were too spread out or the bands I wanted to see were playing at the exact same times.
Never was this more prevalent than on Day 3. Oh sure, there were some glaring King Solomon moments where I was forced to choose between bands on the first two days (Satellite Party vs. The Black Keys; Electric Six vs. Slightly Stoopid vs. Sparklehorse vs. Against Me!; Muse vs. Interpol), but Day 3 there were conflicts at damn near every turn.
4:15-5:15, I had to choose between Kings of Leon or Iggy and the Stooges. I chose Kings because I'd never seen them before; but really I haven't seen Iggy either. I was in attendance at Bumbershoot when he played there a couple years ago, but I was high and drunk out of my gourd, forced to sit in the bleachers and hang my head in nausea. Had Iggy played only an hour later, I would've gladly seen his antics stone sober. Plus, Kings of Leon played on the 1-a stage where I was forced to park my ass since the bulk of the performers I wanted to see were on that side thereafter.
5:15-6:15, I wanted to see a California band by the name of Yo La Tengo. I've been looking forward to seeing them since I first saw the list of bands playing Lollapalooza this year. But, I COULDN'T, because they were playing all the way across the park and I would've spent their entire set walking back and forth! But, fuck it, I'm gonna fork over the money to see them live on their own; I justify my dereliction because I know they'd put on a killer 3-hour show and their talents would be wasted in the 60 minute format.
6:15-7:15, I had to choose between My Morning Jacket and Modest Mouse. This was easier than the Iggy decision because I've seen Modest Mouse twice, both times sober enough to remember what they sound like. Still, Modest Mouse was a nice add to the festival and I would've gladly seen them again had they played at a better time.
7:15-8:00, TV on the Radio was playing at the MySpace stage that's actually on the same side of the park where Pearl Jam would play directly after. I failed to see them because it would've meant that I'd have a crappy spot to see Pearl Jam, and I kinda liked where I was at. Ergo, I sat on my ass for 40 minutes instead of seeing music. Sucks, but you've gotta make sacrifices.
In the end, I'm of the opinion that Day 3 was the weakest of the three. Day 2 was pretty weak, but it did have The Roots and Muse performing, the top 2 bands on my list. Day 3 had more of my favorite bands than any other day, but they didn't really kick my ass as much as I'd hoped. Of course, that has just as much to do with it being the third straight day of standing, in intense humid heat, with the largest of the festival's crowds. Nevertheless, the layout of the park prohibits one from Being All That He Can Be, and for that Lollapalooza gets a 70% grade