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SOUND
AFFECTS
Lollapalooza may resurface at an arena near you ROSS RAIHALA Originally published Nov. 30, 2001
Maybe it's a simple case of nostalgia or maybe it's those stacks of unsold Perry Farrell solo albums.
Whatever the case, the fabled Lollapalooza package tour is set to make a comeback in the summer of 2002.
Last week, The Los Angeles Times reported founder Farrell and his less-colorful business partners are working on a lineup for what will be the first Lollapalooza go-round since 1997.
"We think the time is right," said Peter Grosslight of the William Morris Agency, co-owners of Lollapalooza. "There is a sort of new alternative scene, so to speak."
While no bands have been officially announced, the newspaper offered three possibilities: whining neo-goth/metal rockers Staind, sensitive new-metal types Incubus and the yet-to-be-named band that features Rage Against the Machine with Chris Cornell (late of Soundgarden) in the place of the departed Zack de la Rocha.
Hmmmm.
When Farrell hatched the idea for Lollapalooza way back in 1990, it sounded positively revolutionary.
Modeled after the British mega-festivals like Reading and Glastonbury -- with a nod, of course, to this country's own Woodstock -- the first Lollapalooza assembled a relatively disparate lineup of mostly non-mainstream acts. Rather than a one-off event, Lollapalooza hit the road for a tour that stretched across the summer of 1991.
The first year boasted a still-eclectic set of bands, from Farrell's own Jane's Addiction to aging goths Siouxsie and the Banshees to Body Count, the then-controversial metal band headed by Ice-T. Living Colour -- remember them? -- was the closest thing to a household name that the first Lollapalooza had to offer, and that band was a good two years past its prime.
Still, Farrell seemed to have his priorities in the right place by shunning corporate sponsorship and offering space within the gates to all sorts of political groups and nonmusical artists.
Maybe it's just nostalgia on my part, but as a 19-year-old college kid, I loved the first Lollapalooza. At the time, there was this sort of exciting feeling that a ragtag bunch of underground acts -- as underground as major-label-affiliated bands could get, I guess -- could attract so many people.
And the following year those crowds got bigger, thanks to the presence of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, a trio of acts that were just breaking through to the masses.
I can still remember my shock at the increased size of the audience and my dismay when I was stuck next to a bunch of beery jocks shouting insults at my beloved Jesus and Mary Chain.
I skipped '93 -- along with plenty of others -- when the limp bill featured Primus, Alice in Chains and Dinosaur Jr. (In Seattle that year, concert posters were defaced to read: "Corporate Suck-Ups Tour 1993.")
The '94 tour turned out to be my last Lollapalooza. I loved the Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys and the Breeders, but had decided that at the tender age of 22, I was getting too old to tromp around all day in the blazing sun and dust alongside 20,000-plus people I would usually cross the street to avoid. And most of the second-stage acts I had come to adore, from Luscious Jackson to Unrest, were much better appreciated in the intimacy of small clubs.
Apparently, I wasn't alone in my thinking. The press -- Spin magazine in particular -- may have championed the open-mindedness of Lollapalooza crowds, but much of the new crop of kids who descended on the '95 tour left before Sonic Youth's headline performance. In response, Lollapalooza organizers unfortunately pandered to the metal crowds with Metallica in '96 and Korn in '97.
Surely sensing the end of an era, Garbage, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails and the Foo Fighters all turned down offers to headline Lollapalooza '98. Organizers declared a "year off" while attempting -- and failing -- to lure Guns N' Roses, the Offspring and No Doubt for a '99 tour.
Besides, by that point specialized jaunts such as Lilith Fair, OzzFest, the Warped Tour and H.O.R.D.E. had drawn both bands and fans away from the seemingly antiquated Lollapalooza.
The potential 2002 Lollapalooza bands mentioned in the Los Angeles Times article don't exactly point to a fresh, artistically revitalized show. In fact, it sounds more like the Family Values Tour, only with a harder-to-spell name.
Ever the dreamer, Farrell said he'd like to beef up the nonmusical aspects of the new Lollapalooza. It could be more than eight bands and 800 trucks of equipment, he said: "There's so much more that can be done."
In the real world, meanwhile, Farrell's partners announced Lollapalooza 2002 would be presented only with the help of corporate sponsorship.
Of course, there's a chance Lollapalooza 2002 will recapture the magic of the original. There's just as much of a chance it will once again never actually get off the ground.
Maybe that would be for the best.
Cheap Gossip
Looking for the biggest Olympia entertainment bargain of the weekend?
Four bands will play the Backstage of the Capitol Theater tonight: Hella (a California-based duo with a disc due in March on Olympia's 5 Rue Christine), Sedalia, Callisto and the always-wonderful and occasionally transcendent trio the Gossip.
The door price for the show, which starts at 8 p.m., is a mere $4. Miss it at your own peril.
Ross Raihala covers music for The Olympian. Send news and Top 10 lists to OlyRoss@aol.com. The Olympian Copyright 2001 back to main SOUND AFFECTS index
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