Temps in the 90s, high humidity, rain, and mud… Mother Nature wouldn’t give Lollapalooza a break this year in Chicago’s Grant Park, but the party went on unabated with hometown favorite Shure Inc. taking the stage every night in the hands of a number of performers.

Captions and photos attached will bring you up to speed on some of the action:

THE REPLACEMENTS—With Adam “MCA� Yauch recovering from recent cancer surgery, the Beastie Boys were forced to cancel their Day 2 appearance at this year’s Lollapalooza. In their place, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs agreed to take the stage at the very last minute, sending lead singer Karen O scrambling through wardrobe for suitable stage attire to complement an equally electrifying set list including tunes like “Runaway� (from this year’s record It’s Blitz), “Y Control�, “Zero�, and even a few riffs paying homage to the Beasties’ 1994 hit, “Sabotage�.

Once onstage, O commandeered visual attention with a fluorescent outfit featuring a headdress and cape shaped from cloth cut-outs of multicolored human hands. Delivering her sound to the crowd using a handheld Shure UHF-R wireless transmitter sporting an SM58 capsule, the colorfully-clad Ms. O couldn’t stop smiling throughout the entire set. Drummer Brian Chase and guitarist Nick Zinner cut loose musically with equal panache, bringing the night to a close with a hot energy factor matching the day’s earlier air temps, which hovered around 90 degrees.

SOGGY LOLLAPALOOZA GETS HOT—Friday, August 7 was a bit of a soaker at this year’s Lollapalooza, as festival goers visiting Chicago’s Grant Park braved rains that have stayed away since the event’s move here in 2005, but let loose with a vengeance to usher in 2009’s dates. With 40-minute waiting times in a line moving you into the site’s General Store to find that the only ponchos available were youth size, better prepared fans of Depeche Mode slogged through the mud circa Woodstock ’69 with their own wet-weather gear and prepared for an evening filled with classic keyboard anthems including “Enjoy the Silence�, and a ripping rendition of “Personal Jesus�, the set closer.

Having rebounded from surgery to remove a tumor earlier this year, frontman Dave Gahan led the legendary UK synth/pop group on a charge bridging generations and proving that the band’s musical mettle is still vibrant and intact. Bringing lead vocals to the crowd assembled was a job entrusted to a Shure UHF-R wireless system utilizing a handheld transmitter crowned by an equally legendary SM58 capsule.

Contact:
Mike Lohman
Shure Incorporated
847-600-6417
lohman_mike@shure.com

Greg DeTogne
Gregory A. DeTogne Public Relations
847-367-8187
greg@detogne.net