From a photographic standpoint, shooting dance rock act Friendly Fires is an ideal way to kick off a long day at a music festival. Yeah, it was blazingly hot and humid by the time this trio of drummer Jack Savidge, guitarist Edd Gibson, and vocalist/keyboardist Ed Macfarlane bounced onto the Budweiser stage on day-three of Lollapalooza. And sure the crowd was thin and slow to show up for this opening act. But none of that could stop the super charged energy of Macfarlane and company, which is exactly what concert photographers hope for.

From my plain old music fan’s perspective, though, Friendly Fires are no less enjoyable to watch. Being that the Budweiser stage is a behemoth of a performance space, I was most impressed by how well Macfarlane and Gibson made use of it—especially Macfarlane. He’s got the showman quality of Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan, but with a much quicker step. One minute he’s getting down on the keys and the next he’s evoking a clap along. Macfarlane is only human, hence why he half-jokingly announced that he might pass out in this set. “I’m just warning you,” he added. Thankfully, nobody fainted despite the abundance of flushed and sunburned faces.

With tracks as playful and up-tempo as “Photobooth,” it’s hard to deny the mass appeal of Friendly Fires and those who showed up early were treated to a top-notch show. Why this group was slated to play first on this stage isn’t entirely clear. Yet Friendly Fires don’t come across as the type of artists who are going to complain about their spot and subsequently small audience. From the moment they stepped up to their closing song, this trio kept the briskness alive.

Words and Photos by Max Herman