|
Lollapalooza Lives--For One Weekend
04/22/2005 7:36 PM, E! Online
Charlie Amter
Chicago is apparently Perry Farrell's kind of town.
The Jane's Addiction frontman and Lollapalooza cofounder has dusted off
his famed music festival for a two-day run in the Windy City this
summer.
The downsized Lolla, coming off a 2004 tour scuttled
due to poor ticket sales, will take place July 23-24 in the city's Grant
Park, organizers announced Friday.
Formerly a touring road
show, Lollapalooza has been reincarnated as a two-day music lovers'
paradise, not unlike the annual Coachella festival in California.
The Lolla lineup will feature 70-plus acts, including the
alt-rock likes of the Killers, the Pixies, Digable Planets, Liz Phair,
Weezer, Billy Idol, the Arcade Fire, Kaiser Chiefs, the Bravery, Louis
XIV, Death Cab for Cutie and the recently reunited Dinosaur Jr.
Per tradition, the event will also offer up art, fashion and
food. And, in recognition that many alt-rock fans are now married with
children, "activities for kids," according to a press release. The
so-called Kidsapalooza area will also feature family-friendly
performers.
Around 30,000 fans are expected each day;
tickets are on sale now.
Farrell and company first launched
the circus-like fest in 1991, with the intention of kickstarting the
alternative music revolution by introducing under-the-radar bands to
mainstream audiences.
Lollapalooza proved successful in that
endeavor; hitting at least 25 cities every summer during the mid 1990s,
until the fest took a breather in 1998. The tour was dusted off again in
2003, only to experience a few problems in select cities due to weak
ticket sales in a bad economy.
Last year, despite a lineup
featuring the resurrected Pixies and Morrissey, the venerable festival
ran into more serious trouble as slow ticket sales forced cancellation
of the entire tour before it even had its first date.
Now, a
new group of Austin-based promoters in conjunction with Chicago's
Parkways Foundation have come together with some of the original
principals to reinvent the festival.
Marc Geiger, a
Lollapalooza cofounder and head of contemporary music at the William
Morris Agency, told E! Online Friday that he couldn't be happier with
the new-look Lolla.
"I'm thrilled with the transition of
Lollapalooza from a touring road show to a location-based European-style
festival. Plus the lineup is killer!"
The Killers couldn't
agree more.
|
