This year's Chicago Lollapalooza is the ninth installment in 15 years (depending on if you count last year's fest, which was cancelled due to poor ticket sales). The brainchild of Jane's Addiction front man Perry Farrell in 1990, the fest has gone through all of the highs and lows of a messy rock n' roll love affair since its start, with all the parties, boozing, break-ups, make-ups, sweaty, ecstatic love-making highs and gritty, desolate, disappointing lows that entails. The fest has largely been barometer of the alt/indie landscape, and at times, and indicator of pop culture as a whole.
Here's a not-so-quick rundown of the fest's sometimes smashing, sometimes sordid history:
1991: The Start
A watershed moment for rock, and perhaps the single most important event in launching what used to be called alternative music. Initially calibrated as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction, the first fest has Farrell bringing on other acts that represent an under-represented brand of willfully independent rock that was just beginning to filter from underground clubs into the popular consciousness, mainly through college rock stations.
Nine Inch Nails lets loose its Pretty Hate Machine, the Violent Femmes just want to get one screw, and Ice T is one step away from getting a real beat down from the LAPD for "Cop Killer." Circus freaks from the Jim Rose Sideshow mingle with environmental groups and vegetarian vendors. Tattoo artistes, bong hucksters and geeked-out computer kids chill together, embracing the flavor of a burgeoning culture that isn't quite metal and isn't quite hippy, but is definitely theirs for the taking.
1992: The Second Stage
The success of the first Lollapalooza brings buzz for round two to a fever pitch. Grunge starts to emerge in a big way from the Northwest and the stage is ripe for Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, touring on massively popular albums Ten and Blood Sugar Sex Magic (the Peppers wear their Devo-sque fire caps and Eddie Vedder climbs the rafters, leaping into the crowd below). Ministry and Rage Against the Machine energize swarming mosh pits and arena-wide trash fights, while a new second stage boasts up-and-comers Stone Temple Pilots and Farrell's own Porno for Pyros.
1993
'Palooza's third outing solidifies the strength of the festival as a commercial venture, bringing together acts like the goofy bass-slapping Primus, rocking chair aficionados Alice in Chains, J Mascis' defiant Dinosaur Jr. and small but important indie acts Sebadoh and Mercury Rev, keeping up steady interest in alternative rock culture.
1994
Nirvana is set to headline the festival, but Kurt Cobain blows his angst-ridden brains out instead, which casts a slightly depressing pall and kicks off a nasty downturn for the fest as a whole. The Smashing Pumpkins leads the charge with blistering Siamese Dream-era guitar acrobatics, but are upstaged by the whatcha-want wildings of the Beastie Boys. The second stage showcases rising acts like Stereolab, Will Oldham and the stoned, soaring swirl of the Verve.
The Dawn of Mediocrity
As the charm of grunge and the concept of "alternative" start to feel a little stale and commodified, so does Lollapalooza. For four solid years, Farrell and crew struggle mightily to change things up, to balance the logistics of running a huge nationwide multi-band tour while making sure the festival actually turns a profit.
1995
Sonic Youth, Pavement, Hole and Cypress Hill highlight the headliners, as acts like the Roots, Dirty Three and Built to Spill man the second stage. A solid lineup to be sure, but without a heavily "bankable" headliner, ticket sales take a real hit and the fest quickly shuffles into irrelevancy. The day-to-day concerns of managing a growing commercial concert have Farrell running for the hills, heading off to start and experimental electronic festival called ENID.
1996
Without Farrell at the helm, festival organizers take some serious flak for bringing bands like Metallica and Soundgarden as mainstage acts. Some people call it an act of desperation, others derisively refer to the tour as "Metalpalooza," a whole lot of people just stop giving a damn.
1997
'Palooza goes heavy on the electronic side, with bands like Orbital, The Orb, Prodigy and Tricky on the mainstage. It's a good thought, as the electronic scene is undergoing a bit of a revolution of its own, but the change in formatting isn't particularly well received. When organizers find themselves struggling to find a suitable line-up for Round 8 of the festival, they fold up the tent and decide to call it a day once and for all.
2003
After a six year hiatus, Farrell fires up the Lollapalooza brand name, largely as a vehicle for the return of Jane's Addiction, bringing feel good hip-hop act Jurassic 5, bad-ass rock-bitches the Donnas and the loud and proud Queens of the Stone Age along for the ride. The ticket prices are higher, and fan reception is tepid, but Farrell plows ahead for yet another year.
2004
The worst year in 'Palooza history. Despite boasting one of the single most exciting lineups in the festival's 15 years (Morrissey, Wilco, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Flaming Lips), piss poor ticket sales bring the event to a much-publicized cancellation. Blaming it all on a bad summer concert market, Farrell and crew pack it up for the really real last time and Perry lets on that, "my heart aches along with the bands, and all of our employees, whose hard work developed one of the most exciting and important tours that this nation was to see. My heart is broken."
2005
Farrell sells the Lollapalooza brand to Capital Sports & Entertainment, who also manage the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Besides rather brilliantly deciding to make it a two-day, one-city festival, they have the obvious innate intelligence to locate the 'fest in the city of Chicago, where a love of independent music, a progressive mayor and a recent downtown arts renaissance guarantee a solid crowd and a good vibe.
With major acts like Weezer, Widespread Panic and the Pixies, the festival draws a crowd, though the line-up of international indie acts is the real reason to attend, with bands like The Arcade Fire, The Walkmen, Liz Phair and the Bravery promising to bring back a flair for the culture that started the event off on the right foot back in the good ol' days of '91.
For Additional Info and Insider Tips: Check out the Unofficial Lollapalooza Guide on ChicagoFests.com.
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