10 Reasons Lollapalooza is THE U.S. Music Fest of the Summer
by Matt Priest

10 Reasons Lollapalooza is THE American Music Festival of the Summer

10. NECK-SNAPPING VARIETY

We’ve become so accustomed to the hodgepodge of diverse genres represented at most modern festivals (not to mention the sound of our iPods on "shuffle"), that it’s almost impossible to replicate that feeling of whiplash one got when reading through the line-up of that inaugural Lollapalooza: Jane's Addiction, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Living Colour, Nine Inch Nails, Ice T & Body Count, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band and Violent Femmes. But thanks, in part, to that Lollapalooza concept, it’s now commonplace to see artists from a number of varying disciplines rubbing elbows at an event. But with Lollapalooza ’08, it really seems like Perry’s trying hard to conjure up that old feeling once more. This year’s line-up boasts the glammy psychedelia of Love and Rockets, the lunatic soul of Gnarls Barkley, the old-fashioned guitar stomp of Jack White’s the Raconteurs and the classic noir of Nicole Atkins & the Sea, right alongside the muscular emo-pop of Brand New, the roadhouse country of Dierks Bentley, the multilingual electrofunk of Brazilian Girls, and the doom metal of Swedish stoners, Witchcraft. Get those neck braces ready!

9. NO JACK JOHNSON

Generally speaking, I’ve got no problem with laid-back, acoustic, vaguely summery music. I really don’t. I’ve got some chilled-out, front porch G. Love & Special Sauce records and one by Mason Jennings that’s full of calming melodies over plaintively strummed guitars (both of whom are on this year’s line-up). But try as I might, I just can’t wrap my head around America’s current love affair with Jack Johnson. As far as I’m concerned, falling asleep in a hammock on the beach doesn’t require a soundtrack; it’s nice at it is. Okay, so he used to surf professionally and he’s Hawaii’s most famous export since Don Ho (R.I.P.); I guess that’s interesting. But his sleepy brand of mellowness is *not* suitable for closing out a full day of serious rock action. So how this guy managed to score prime slots on FIVE of the nation’s top summer festivals is beyond me. He’s headlining the mainstage at Coachella this Friday night and then going on to grace the rosters at the Bonnaroo, All Points West, Virgin Mobile and Outside Lands festivals. Suffice to say, Lollapalooza is one of just a few save havens this summer where you can rest assured you won’t be hearing any songs about Curious George.

8. BANDS WITH UNIQUE NAMES AND MORE UNIQUE STYLES

For whatever reason, some of this year’s best Lollapalooza performances promise to come from bands with funny names. One of the wildest shows I’ve ever seen featured gypsy punks Gogol Bordello, a motley band of musicians hailing from all over the world, but based in NYC and led by once Ukrainian refugee Eugene Hütz. Their theatrical, high energy show teetered on the verge of chaos throughout and ended with the band tossing its kick drum into the crowd. They’ll be playing Lollapalooza this year, along with the excellent, soon-to-be-announced Devotchka, whose concerts begin like a strangely romantic night at an eerie cabaret, but eventually unravel into bursts of mariachi horns and wine-fueled audience sing-alongs. Also appearing is Okkervil River, whose combination of ramshackle Americana, kitchen sink instrumentation, exceptionally literate lyricism and emotionally raw vocals make them one of the more compelling live bands I’ve seen.

I’m also personally excited about seeing the following three artists for the first time: Yeasayer, Amadou & Miriam and De Novo Dahl. Yeasayer’s 2007 album, All Hour Cymbals, is a swirling stew of distant, tribal rhythms, thick harmonies and beguiling melodies that ropes you in when you least expect it. It’s also one of the best records I heard last year, so I’m excited to see it come to life in person. Amadou & Miriam are a blind couple from Mali, who make joyous, pulsating pop music full of influences from around the globe and De Novo Dahl is a caffeinated quintet from Tennessee, who specializes in raucous, technicolor indie pop. Those performances, combined with those of the other notoriously intense live bands on the bill, The Black Keys, Flogging Molly, Explosions in the Sky, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Dr. Dog and Manchester Orchestra, should make Lolla ’08 a sweaty and tiring weekend to remember.

7. CHICAGO CUISINE

Although to the outside world, Chicago’s primarily known for heavy, artery-assaulting foods, such as deep dish pizza, hotdogs, ribs, steaks, Polish sausage and Italian beef sandwiches (not there’s anything wrong with that), it has also quietly become one of the premiere American cities for diverse, creative, high quality cuisine. And Lollapalooza, realizing this, has refrained from overdoing the usual options and instead, offers a wide variety of food that essentially amounts to a mini-Taste of Chicago. Many of the offerings feature organic ingredients, while all come from local vendors and are usually cheaper than what you’d pay for food at a ballgame. The aforementioned classics are available, yes, but in years past, I’ve also had tempura chicken, pot stickers, pulled pork tacos, fresh guacamole, vegan ice cream sandwiches and strawberry-banana smoothies. I realize that not a very rock n’ roll list, but when you’re on your feet for the majority of three straight days in August, you don’t much feel like eating the sorts of things for which Chicago is famous. And in true Lollapalooza spirit, any food leftover at the end of each night gets donated to a local food pantry.

6. THE GHOST OF PITCHFORK PAST (AND FUTURE)

Chicago-based tastemaker Pitchfork Media deserves a lot of credit for bringing well-deserved attention to plenty of indie, alternative and underground artists via its enormously popular website. And for the past three years, many of their favorite artists have been showcased at the Pitchfork Music Festival, an excellent Chicago event in its own right, featuring 40 or so artists over the course of three days, for a fairly modest ticket price. But for music fans put off by the hipster quotient at that fest (which really isn’t as bas as one might anticipate), you’re in luck. For your indie convenience, this year’s Lollapalooza has assembled a virtual “best of” the Pitchfork Music Festival, presenting artists who have given some of the most memorable performances over that fest’s three year existence: Broken Social Scene, Cat Power, The National, Grizzly Bear, Stephen Malkmus, Girl Talk, CSS, Battles, Jamie Lidell, Spank Rock, The Go! Team and Cadence Weapon.

Furthermore, Lollapalooza has scored a few other bookings that certainly seemed like they’d be going the way of Pitchfork, but because of the festival’s close proximity to one another, artists playing one aren’t usually allowed to play the other. In the months leading up to the announcement of their line-up, Pitchfork’s artists often begin appearing more and more often within the pages of its site. So I was surprised to see Pitchfork-approved acts like Chromeo, MGMT, the Gutter Twins (Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli), The Kills, Black Kids, Black Lips, Booka Shade, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, The Octopus Project, Noah and the Whale, Foals and Uffie on Lolla’s line-up. In fact, it’s even been reported that the aforementioned Yeasayer was practically “stolen” from Pitchfork by way of a higher offer.

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