At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, indie band Men I Trust, most well known for their hit “Show Me How,” took the Bacardí stage at Lollapalooza. 

The band put on a nice show, presenting mellow indie psychedelic rock.

The set began with a nice, calming and catchy guitar riff that led into a guitar solo. The instrumental was long, setting the scene for the rest of their set.

It was hard not to enjoy this song; looking around and seeing people in creative outfits grinning from ear to ear, singing along and filming the opening song. 

The lead singer and guitarist, Emmanuelle Proulx, came in with dreamy, filtered vocals. 

My first thought was “this band is cute.” I still stand by that statement. 

Their music is enjoyable, however simple. Most of their songs sound the same, so you know what to expect. This is — at times — an issue for me, but Men I Trust actually has a good sound to offer. It reminded me of DJO, a band fronted by Stranger Things star Joe Keery, which was a nice surprise. 

A few songs in, I figured out what I like so much about Men I Trust. During the set, I was able to close my eyes and picture myself driving peacefully down my favorite road on a clear summer night. It was pretty cool, not every band does that for me. 

I also noticed that this band drew in quite the crowd — it extended back to the treeline and spilled into Columbus Drive. 

I also noticed that the band has a carefully curated color scheme. The entire band — Proulx, the guitarist, the bassist, the keyboard player and the drummer — were all in white shirts and black bottoms. The banner behind the band displayed their name in white font on a black background with an illustration of a woman in the corner. It was oddly fitting, and a nice surprise. 

As the set continued, the band did more and more instrumental breaks. There were many times where it felt like the band was just vibing on stage. They’d barely move. The instrumental breaks extended anywhere from around 90 seconds to around three minutes. 

Unfortunately, while the band seemed into it, I’m not sure the crowd was. The audience, who had been happily singing along with Proulx, kind of just stood there during the instrumentals. That’s not to say that no one enjoyed them, but the people around me did seem a little uninterested. A guy near me even said “This song should be over. Like, now” at one point. 

I’m also, regrettably, in agreement. Maybe this set just wasn’t for me then, that’s ok. But when it felt like I had been hearing the exact same song for 30 minutes, I have to admit that I got a little bored. 

I thought to myself that I would have been more content if I watched about 20 minutes of this set and then gone to Carly Rae Jepsen’s 7:00 p.m. set. 

Then, gloriously, the band began playing their final song of the set, “Billie Toppy.” I really, really enjoyed this one. It had a faster tempo, stronger guitar, and a really, really nice bass presence. The whole crowd seemed to agree with me — everyone started moving and dancing. It was my favorite song of the set by a long shot. The band’s energy seemed to kick up a notch, as if they were ready for a more upbeat song too. 

So, in the end, I did enjoy this set. There was a lull in the middle, but they redeemed themselves by the end. They’re a neat band, and they were worth seeing. 

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