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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
 Posted - 08/02/2007 : 15:19:24
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Paste Magazine.
Lollapalooza 2007 Preview
One-time touring fest settles down
Writer: Rob Mitchum
Features, Issue 31, Published online on 01 Aug 2007
The Paste Summer Festival Preview 2007
August 3-5 Chicago, Illinois - Grant Park
Lollapalooza.com
Selected Acts: Pearl Jam, Daft Punk, Ben Harper, Muse, My Morning Jacket, The Roots, TV On The Radio, Spoon, Patti Smith, G. Love, Sparklehorse, Amy Winehouse, Elvis Perkins
Bring the Kids: Children aged 10 and under get in free with a ticket-holding adult, and the festival’s Tag-A-Kid program exchanges parents’ contact info for youngster-sized numbered wristbands in case the wee ones get lost amongst all the rocking-out.
Historical Fact: The fest is staged each year at Chicago’s Grant Park, which dates back to 1835 and was named after U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.
For the third consecutive summer, a secret society will form in Chicago for the duration of a three-day weekend. Strangers with color-coded wristbands will silently nod to each other on the Chicago Transit Authority, guitar solos will reverberate off the downtown skyline, and cars will clog Lake Shore Drive in an auditory gaper’s block—all signs that Lollapalooza has returned, the third edition under its new guise as sedentary behemoth rather than rambunctious traveling roadshow.
Since its days as the ultimate symbol of the ’90s-alternative-rock boom, Lollapalooza has widened its scope, becoming simultaneously a nostalgia trip (headlining performances from the Pixies and Red Hot Chili Peppers), a post-HORDE jamband depot (Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler), and a chance for up-and-comers to get their big-league call-up (Arcade fire, My Morning Jacket). To encompass all of these missions, the relaunched Lollapalooza more than doubled in size from Year 1 to Year 2, spreading out over the entirety of Grant Park and giving music fans their summer exercise while running between the festival’s nine stages. For all the exhaustion and heat, it’s an unparalleled urban destination for the camping-averse, a surprisingly functional all-you-can-hear buffet of rock sounds, some of which are finally — in part because of the exposure festivals like this offer — beginning to break through on TV and radio.
Spotlight: Cold War Kids
AS SEEN ON THE INTERNET
When Rolling Stone charted the rise and fall of hype surrounding the Cold War Kids, with the peak hitting sometime before they actually released their first EPs, the band became something of a poster-child for the ever-shrinking life-cycle of a media frenzy. “It’s kind of a charming thing when it wears off, because you get to sit back and feel like, ‘OK, we get to do what we do and play our songs, and we have people at our shows that love our music, and it’s great,’” says lead singer Nathan Willett.
But despite all reports of a quieting buzz, when the Cold War Kids took the stage at Paste’s SXSW party, there was a block-long line out the door. And while bloggers dropping the band’s name and fans passing around free mp3s started the hype machine, it’s Cold War Kids’ hyper-frenetic live show that’s kept it well-oiled. The Fullerton, Calif., quartet made its festival debut last year at Lollapalooza and will return this summer with a year of experience and a lot more fans. “And we’re staying in hotels,” adds Willett. “No sleeping in trailers this year!”
Kate Kiefer
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Even though Wikipedia tells us that Lollapalooza got its moniker when festival founder Perry Farrell was amused after hearing the word uttered in a Three Stooges short, and the dictionary further informs us that the unusual word represents “an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event,” we can’t help but wonder if there were some ditched name ideas for the alternative music festival. Here are a few that might have crossed Farrell’s mind.
Addictionpalooza: Because the festival was originally intended as a goodbye tour for Farrell’s band, Jane’s Addiction. After realizing that sponsors were leery of throwing money at an event that seemingly promotes dependence on artificial substances, Farrell is forced to think up other options.
Controversapalooza: Because controversy is so alternative, man! That, and Ice-T’s metal band, Body Count, was slated to play the first Lollapalooza before even recording its debut album, which would include the later-banned track “Cop Killer.” Deemed too awkward and clunky a moniker, Farrell goes back to the drawing board.
Flannelpalooza: Because the success of grunge helped propel early incarnations of the festival. Ultimately, the plaid-centric title gets shot down as Henry Rollins (whose Rollins Band performed at the first edition) becomes furious at the prospect of changing his strict, no-shirt dress code. Considering Rollins is the size of a Mack truck, Farrell acquiesces.
Austin L. Ray |
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Lollapalooza 07'
