Only about two weeks and 13 letters to go before Lollapalooza, and RH keeps pace with our look at bands starting with the letter "L." No losers in this bunch, just you, if you sleep on all the talent that's going to be in the Chi August 1st-3rd.

Friday

Louis XIV:

Louis XIV is not deceased royalty, but a California band formed in Paris, France and embraced heavily in the United Kingdom. Their first album was cut inside a French basement, and is a conceptual album about a boy locked in his room. The independent release sold 22,000 copies completely on a word of mouth basis. Since that 2003 release, Louis XIV returned to the United States, and linked up with Atlantic Records. Their weapon of choice is a punk sound with elements of blues, and some post punk influences. They push the envelope with their sexual content that consists of videos with girls undressing and lyrics that you wouldn’t want your grandma to hear. They were picked by Rolling Stone as a band to watch in 2005, and David Bowie cites them as one of his favorite new bands. Their most recent album, Slick Dogs and Ponies, was released in January of ’08 on Atlantic. You can see them hit Lollapalooza on Friday at 3:15 at the Citi Stage.

Saturday:

Jamie Lidell:

Besides looking like a cross between Oasis’ Liam Gallagher and Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, Jamie Lidell is a British born beat-boxing soul singer who once set a speaker on fire during a show at the Bumbershoot Festival. Lidell has released five albums, the last three of which have come on Warp Records. His most recent release is simply title Jim, and hit stores shelves on June 16, 2008. A little bit G. Love and The Special Sauce, a little bit Jamiroqui, and maybe even some Blues Brothers, Lidell’s sound is funky and soulful with a vintage vibe. You can check it out Saturday at 5:30 at the MySpace stage.

Sunday:

Love & Rockets:

Love & Rockets is a British band which is a subset of the band Bauhaus. They remind me a lot of Cracker, the band Cracker. Some may recall the comic book of the same name, which is where the these guys actually got their moniker. Love and Rockets formed in 1985 after Bauhaus’ 1983 split, so maybe Cracker should remind me of them…Anyway, the fellas have traveled a rocky road since then, which saw them release nine albums, each exploring a somewhat different genre of music ranging from rock, pop, and electronic. While working on their 1996, Sweet F.A., on American Recordings, a fire broke out which cost them equipment, music, and photos. It also left them with a hefty insurance bill and legal battle. The band broke up in 1998, reunited with Bauhaus, and has played on and off together since. They are scheduled to play Lollapalooza on Sunday at 6:15 at the Bud Light stage.

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