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| LOLLAPALOOZA MUSIC FESTIVAL Blossom Music Center, Ohio 07.20.03  HistoryThe first Lollapalooza popped from the mind of Jane's Addiction front man Perry Farrell in the summer of '91. At the time, following the demise of festival rock, it was an unprecedented cross-pollination of musicians riding the cusp of the early 90s alt-rock resurgence to equally unprecedented success. Lollapalooza, which Webster's defines as "something outstanding of its kind," was as much a cultural festival as a musical festival; a marriage of musicians, non-musical acts, art, politics and freaks. In subsequent years the festival would snowball, drawing more and more commercial acts and mainstream crowds. Ironically, the festival's very purpose would be its downfall. By '97, "alternative" had long since become "mainstream" and the relevance of Lollapalooza had become nominal. Unable to find someone to headline the tour in '98, Lollapalooza ceased to be. Until this year. With the reformation of Farrell's seminal act Jane's Addiction and a musical climate bereft of alternatives, Lollapalooza is back. Community One of the reasons for Lollapalooza's instant success was it's sense of community. With an almost fair-like atmosphere, one could wander into traveling tattoo and piercing parlors, catch Mr. Lifto and his weight-bearing penis at Jim Rose's Circus [back when freaks were freaks and not Jackasses], play a virtual reality game or hang with an environmental non-profit organization. Keeping with the times, and the technology, this year's 'Palooza offers up Gameriot, an at-venue video game competition, Mindfield, interactive text messaging games, polls, scavenger hunts and more, and the World of Just BeCauses, a host of local and national non-profits including main stager Tom Morello's Axis of Justice. Unfortunately, also keeping with the times, the sense of community remains missing, replaced by angrier, drunker kids and an air of corporate sponsorship. The intent is there but, alas, participants seem less willing than a decade ago. It seems silly for me to talk about '91 as a more honest, innocent time, but one need look no further than the etiquette and style of today's mosh pits vs those of '91 to understand what I'm talking about.  The Other StageSecond stage, with an eclectic lineup of such non-draws as Burning Brides, Cave In and BoySetsFire, lacked something. In it's defense, some bands on the tour's lineup were not at the venue that day [30 Seconds To Mars, Mooney Suzuki, Fingertight] but with the later second stage bands competing on the schedule with early main stage acts, I'm not sure those missing would have helped. The crowd was sparse, the enthusiasm wanting, the air indifferent. I can appreciate the idea of the tour exposing these bands to new fans but I think everyone is better served by having bands on the lineup that people specifically came there to see rather than just catching as a by-product of the show's length. Steve-O, idiot extraordinaire, had actually been bumped to second stage headliner... It does not bode well when the biggest pull on the "other" stage is a blithering moron whose claim to fame is self-mutilation and acts of stupidity. That being said, I'd be remiss if I didn't say Canadian band Billy Talent was a stand-out for me; high energy, irreverent punk with a charismatic, albeit slightly off-center, singer. Rules Of Thumb Here's a few tips for those of you attending festivals, just a couple rules of thumb the rest of us would like to offer up... Cologne and sweltering heat do not mix, please rethink the quantity of Grey Flanel you submerge yourself in before leaving your house. Just because you have breasts does not mean we want to see them. Think twice and then, just before you take your shirt off, think twice more. You paid a lot of money for that ticket. Maybe noon is a little too early to be that drunk?  The DrawSometimes you'll look at a main stage lineup and not understand... What is this band doing on main stage? Why on earth would this band be on after that band? Not so here. Not only was the 'Palooza main stage lineup solid from top to bottom, the progression of bands ran seamlessly, a sensible order building to crescendo. With The Distillers, The Donnas and Jurassic 5 already over, it was time to move our focus to the final four, the reason most of us were there that day, the draw. Queens Of The Stone Age QOTSA took the stage at 5:37, just a few minutes behind schedule. Though the crowd seemed into them, I was fairly disappointed with their set. Very little movement, very little crowd interaction and very little variety. I take nothing away from them musically, as musicians go they're a talented bunch, but I could have had the same experience listening to the CD on the drive there. Or maybe I was distracted by guitarist/singer Josh Homme's uncanny resemblance to Craig Kilborn doing an Elvis impersonation. The highlight of the set - Ex-Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan coming out to do vocals on three tracks. The lowlight - A brief instrumental portion of the set that dipped dangerously close to Great White's "Rock Me." Incubus Next up was Incubus, who opened, oddly enough, with the slower tempo "Warning." Front man Brandon Boyd proved once again he's not just a pretty face but rather one of the most capable singers in music today. He hit his stride on the first chorus and never let down. Noticeably absent was hit song "Pardon Me," but outside of that they played a solid, eclectic set that included Lionel Richie cover "Hello," "Happy Birthday" to Audioslave singer Chris Cornell [who turned 39 that day], Maiden cover "Number of the Beast," and Incubus standards "Nice to Know You," "Circles," and closer "Wish You Were Here." New bassist Ben Kenney fit in seamlessly with his bandmates and the band's overall performance was a welcome boost of energy for the crowd. Audioslave Tom Morello makes his living at the bottom of a guitar neck more competently than any guitarist playing and Chris Cornell is the greatest rock and roll singer this side of Robert Plant. Any questions? Audioslave's music isn't bad, it just doesn't do them justice. This is an amazing band; raw, powerful, imaginative, dominant, and they perform as such. Would that they had music to play that matched their performance. It took a few songs for Cornell's voice to break through some initial rough spots [Sore throat? 39th birthday?] but once he did, there was no stopping him. He looked great [when hasn't he], sounded great and controlled the crowd, the stage, the venue with charismatic flare. When he smiled, we smiled. When his hand went up, our hands went up. We followed his steps, his notes, his destruction of mic stands with fervor and want... And when he came front and center, his bandmates off-stage for a brief respite, and treated us to an acoustic version of Elvis Costello's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding," you got just how special this man is, a singer for a generation.  Jane's AddictionTaking a page from Metallica's book, Jane's knew enough to stick to a greatest hits set list with just a sprinkling of new works. Perry Farrell continues to be the consummate front man, as commanding a performer as we've seen since Freddie Mercury. Lavender "puffy" shirt, silver suit and gloves, vibrating and gyrating his way through classic Jane's tune after classic Jane's tune. And guitarist Dave Navarro, who looks better in a boa than most women, is the perfect foil. Through every Farrell vibration, there was the calmness of Navarro, an extraordinarily underrated, understated guitarist. Playing with a peaceful veracity, he whipped through crushing riffs with such serene ease that he, impossibly, didn't break a sweat. And even when the scantily-clad dancers appeared, it is clear the stage, the show was about Farrell and Navarro, their bandmates necessary but almost incidental. High energy, quality sound, visually stunning, Jane's Addiction put on that rare kind of performance that makes you realize just how far other bands still have to go. show review by scott sisti |