The Palooza

I attended my first Lollapalooza in 1992, back when it was still a touring show, at Riverport Amphitheatre (now UMB Bank Pavilion) in St. Louis. In only it’s second year, Lollapalooza was already a force to be reckoned with. The main stage acts included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Ice Cube, Soundgarden, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Pearl Jam, Lush, Temple of the Dog, and the Rollins Band, and the second stage had the likes of Porno for Pyros, Cypress Hill, Seam, Stone Temple Pilots, and Rage Against the Machine. While the lineup was stellar, Lollapalooza wasn’t just about the music, it was about the culture at the time. You could could completely ignore the music and explore a variety of art installations, visit with people who wanted to save the environment, or just sit back and watch the freaks, in both the festival crowd and in the Jim Rose Circus.

After Perry Farrell left Lollapalooza, the festival gradually ran out of steam and sustaining a traveling tour had become a money-losing proposition. Even after Farrell rejoined the tour, the 2004 tour was cancelled when nobody bought tickets. After seeing the success that destination festivals like Bonaroo and Coachella were experiencing, Farrell relaunched the Lollaplooza last year as a two-day festival in Chicago’s Grant Park.

So how has it changed? Well, aside from the fact that Lollapalooza is not coming to a venue near you anytime soon, it’s really no longer really about the culture – it’s all about the music (and the advertising!). Sure, there are some art installations and some side stages (for the kids!) but, there is just so much music crammed into the now three-day festival and it takes nearly 20 minutes to get from end of the park to the other, these things are almost an afterthought. Plus, who’s gonna pay attention to a sculpture when you have Buckingham Fountain spurting Chicago’s beautiful skyline? That said, it was surprisingly easy to get in and out of the festival even despite the one entrance/exit. Food & drink prices weren’t outrageous (I think it was $5 for a Bud Light) and festival staff were helpful and friendly.

About the music, on paper this year’s lineup was certainly impressive. On Friday I saw all or parts of shows by the Eels, the Editors, Mates of State, Stars, Violent Femmes, Sleater-Kinney, Ryan Adams, the Raconteurs, My Morning Jacket, and Death Cab for Cutie. On Saturday, I saw all or parts of shows by Oh No! Oh My!, Wolfmother, The Smoking Popes, Gnarls Barkley, and the Flaming Lips.

Thoughts? The rush was on to see the two flavors of the month, Gnarls Barkley and the Raconteurs. Of these two, Gnarls Barkley probably wins the prize simply because the effort to entertain was there. Cee-lo, Dangermouse, and crew showed up in their best tennis whites and steamed through their set. The only problem was that they have a short list of songs – a point which Cee-lo acknowledged at least twice. The Raconteurs, also of very few songs, were one of two bands to cover Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” (who in turn covered the Violent Femmes’ “Gone Daddy Gone”) during the day (the Mates of State were the other), but aside from Brendan Benson’s shockingly gaunt frame, I wasn’t impressed enough to stick around so after 20 minutes I hot-footed it across the park to catch the last half of My Morning Jacket (btw, Culture Bully has the full Raconteurs set for d/l here)

The best show of the weekend? Without a doubt twas the Flaming Lips. I’ve seen Wayne and the gang probably 4 or 5 times, but they somehow manage to top themselves each time. Wayne tumbling through the audience in an inflatable bubble while santas and aliens cheer him on? The Flaming Lips should give a class at the beginning of Lollapalooza on how to entertain your audience – their were certainly some bands that could have used it.

All in all, I saw some good shows (Smoking Popes and My Morning Jacket), some great shows (Death Cab for Cutie and Flaming Lips), and one bad show (Eels – awful).

Will I go again? It depends. Seeing all of those shows in Grant Park was nice, but ticket prices are rather steep and my reasons for attending festivals like this tend to be less about who is playing and more about who’s going with me.

So if you wanna go next year, let me know.

• Listen to The Flaming Lips’ Do You Realize
• Listen to Death Cab for Cutie’s I Will Follow You Into The Darkness
• Listen to Stars’ Elevator Love Letter
• Listen to Gnarls Barkley’s Gone Daddy Gone
• Listen to the Raconteur’s Crazy

Live sets from this year’s Lollapalooza will be available on iTunes shortly, we’ll update you when they are.