Lollapalooza Day 2: Disappears, Typhoon bring the rain

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Disappears gets Saturday off to a rousing start with thundering bass lines and trancy beats from “fill-in” drummer Steve Shelley, who is taking a break from Sonic Youth to help out the Chicago quartet. With its reverbing vocals and guitars, and rhythms riding down the Autobahn first paved by German art-rockers Neu, Disappears plays under a thick blanket of gray.

“Check it out, we brought the clouds,” the band says, and then makes a sound big enough to sound like the voice of doom descending. The rain that follows seems inevitable, but it doesn’t linger for long.

The humidity is thick, but Typhoon – a 12-piece mini-orchestra from Portland – cuts through it with songs colored by horns and strings. The pensive melodies blossom with the aid of reggae and South American grooves and syncopated hand-claps. The tree-lined BMI stage where Typhoon plays, along with the similarly scaled Google stage are especially conducive to more intimate listening experiences.

They stand in contrast to Perry’s, the dance tent that has become party central in downtown Chicago this weekend. The crowds were so thick Friday that promoters removed a few panels from the roof this morning to improve the air circulation.

Meanwhile, the early crowd is already gathering at the foot of the main stageat the south end of Hutchinson Field in anticipation of this evening’s headlining performance by Eminem.

greg@gregkot.com