Mosh pits aren't the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Lollapalooza , a festival known for its pop and indie acts, but A Day To Remember opened two in the crowd when they performed this Saturday, the 27th, with a heartfelt tribute to Taylor Hawkins , drummer of the Foo Fighters .
The Americans had already played in Rio de Janeiro and performed at Lolla Parties in São Paulo when they took the stage at the festival this Saturday, the 27th. It didn't take long for the crowd to start mosh pits, and vocalist Jeremy McKinnon reiterated his invitation to more extreme ways of enjoying the show throughout the set, suggesting that women climb onto their boyfriends' shoulders and inviting fans to crowd-surf, despite warning that the practice was dangerous and not recommended. Even so, he was delighted to see a fan standing in the middle of the crowd. "Make your ticket money count," he said.
Drummer Alex Shelnutt paid tribute to Hawkins by placing the musician's initials on his instrument, just as Taylor himself did last year with Charlie Watts . The Foo Fighters were scheduled to perform at the festival on Sunday the 27th.
Even with a competent performance, delivering what was expected and getting the most loyal fans into mosh pits and jumping, A Day To Remember couldn't overcome the challenge of performing for an audience as diverse as Lollapalooza's today. Unlike solo shows or rock festivals, today the band took the stage after Brazilian pop singer Jão and before rapper A$AP Rocky , failing to gather the same audience as other acts on that stage.
In an interview with Wikimetal before coming to the country, guitarist Neil Westfall was confident about this mix and the opportunity to introduce the band to other audiences, but the band failed to capture enough attention away from the core of passionate fans, one of the biggest challenges of an event of this size.
The isolation of A Day To Remember in the lineup raises the question: When will Lollapalooza have a stage focused on rock and metal? With the success of acts like The Strokes and Foo Fighters, already known from other editions, and even with Metallica on their headliner resume, perhaps it's time to create more connection between heavy music fans and the event.
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