Lollapalooza Live Review!
Lollapalooza
Grant Park, Chicago
August 4, 5, and 6, 2006
In its second year as a Chicago-based, standalone festival, Lollapalooza was a rousing success for nearly all involved. What appeared at first to be a logistical nightmare (the mile distance between the two main stages) proved to be no more than a sweaty inconvenience on a weekend where the weather mercifully held off. With 130 bands and an improv side stage running virtually continuously, it’s difficult to derive a single theme, though the overriding one seemed to be the joy of life.
Lollapalooza, the tour, began in the early ’90s as a showcase for the emerging music underground, stables of bands formed in the alienation of the Reagan ’80s. Politics, while not always explicitly debated, were at the core because after all, Lollapalooza was a political statement. Today’s version, aside from some off-the-cuff Bush bashing, is decidedly not urgent and more or less a life-affirming party (perhaps underscored by the blatant exclusion of heavy metal bands). From founder Perry Farrell toasting champagne to The Flaming Lips’ set-salvaging “Do You Realize?” to Common’s can’t-believe-I’m-here enthusiasm on to The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn effusively thanking the crowd for having them, the angst that practically defined Generation X has dissipated. (“Causapalooza,” a section arranged for non-profits, was secluded and nearly empty.)
But people don’t go to Lollapalooza for the issues, they want music. They want things to happen, so here’s our list of highlights:
Category: Live Reviews, Weekly
You guys captured the essence and spirit
of this years Lolla. Weather -cool temps-
played a big part of the enjoyment. Thought Common and Chilli Peppers were the highlights. Thought the sound bleed from stages was more controlled, too.