Reasons to arrive early

Zap Mama

Photo: Jurgen Rogiers

Yes, there is a reason to show up first thing on Friday, beyond blowing off work for a few extra hours. Festival kick-starters Hockey (PlayStation, 11:30am) have a JC Penney commercial and U.K. buzz before an album, but their rough-and-tumble disco-Strokes confections merit the hype—at least commercially. But if the bag-check line isn’t moving fast enough for you to catch ’em, pop over to see the Virgins (Citi, 3:30pm), who do a similar shtick but with more new-wave slickness.

Manchester Orchestra’s (Budweiser, 12:15pm) heart-pouring melding of My Morning Jacket and Nirvana is our bet to convert the most newcomers. Then again, it could be some greasers straight outta New Jersey: the Gaslight Anthem (Chicago 2016, 2pm). The James Dean clones pay homage to the Boss with punky dreams of cars and bobbed-hair brunettes.

The Iggy and Mick aping from St. Louis’s Marxist-posturing cock-rock troupe Living Things (Chicago 2016, Saturday at 12:45pm) comes off much better onstage. For a break from all the pants stuffing, head over to Ida Maria (Citi, 2:15pm). The Norwegian might be a dead ringer for Björk, physically, but her stripped garage come-ons are more like a bubblegum PJ Harvey meets Joan Jett. It’s the perfect setup for Saturday’s female-fronted A-list: Santigold, Lykke Li, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc.

Sunday kicks off with a dilemma. Jangly indie-pop Ra Ra Riot (Chicago 2016, 12:30pm) has one perfect little toe-tapping gut wrencher, “Can You Tell.” There’s also the chance that singer Wes Miles might offer up some tunes from his side project, Discovery, featuring a guy from Vampire Weekend, which plays the same stage later. Still, dance-rock gurus Friendly Fires (Budweiser, 12:30pm) could turn the north field into a sweaty dance floor even in late November. —Brent DiCrescenzo

The colorful cross-continental fusion of Zap Mama (PlayStation, 1pm) is reason alone to be among the first to waddle past security on Friday. Congolese native Marie Daulne leads the long-running group through a soulful multi-culti day trip that weds Brazilian and African rhythms with Western funk. Given the relative absence of international and hip-hop acts, it’s confounding that fest programmers have pitted Daulne and co. against rising hip-hop hipsters the Knux (Citi, 1pm), one of the token rap groups on offer this weekend. The former Knuckle Heads, Krispy Kream and Rah Almillio (brothers Kentrell and Alvin Lindsey), are at the forefront of Hollywood club-rap—pairing old-school verses with the occasional electric guitar.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s Amazing Baby (Citi, 2:15pm) should sate classic-rock fans of all stripes with its balmy pastiche of bell-bottoms and booze, recalling the best of Bowie, T. Rex and Thin Lizzy. Fans of Chicago’s Bloodshot Records will find a suitable PBR-swilling soundtrack in Heartless Bastards (vitaminwater, 3pm) care of Erika Wennerstrom’s lovelorn bar anthems.

Canada’s Constantines (Citi, 1pm) kick off Saturday with steely postpunk that’s remarkably sincere, countered by twinkling synths and bass slaps from Chairlift (Citi, 3:30pm), whose incandescent indie is rife with new-wave posturing.

Taking it a step further, Natasha Khan couples an ethereal Kate Bush affect with a gauzy Stevie Nicks style as Bat for Lashes (vitaminwater, Sunday at 1:30pm), paying explicit tribute to the ’80s before Brooklyn kooks Gang Gang Dance (Citi, 3:30pm) bring their extraterrestrial dubstep. The borough outfit remains far to the left of center, exposing arena-size headliners like Tool and Jane’s Addiction as the true Sunset Strip sleaze they are. —Areif Sless-Kitain

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