Lollapalooza Preview: A Critic's Guide

By: Brett Hickman

Wednesday August 02, 2006

August 4, 5, 6 sees the return of the destination music festival Lollapalooza to Chicago's Grant Park.
Woo-Hoo! It's Lollapalooza time again folks! Last year's trial run of Lollapalooza as a certified destination music festival resulted in two glorious days of fun, music and good spirits, with 65,000 blissfully happy attendees. This year the festival goes an extra day with many more musical acts and cool attractions.

On August 4, 5 & 6, Lollapalooza will take over Chicago's Grant Park just as it did last summer. But this year we all get more room to breathe, as the festivities have been pushed north to include the area past Buckingham Fountain. The public will still have access to the Fountain during the weekend.

"It was love at first sight when we visited Grant Park as a possible location," said Charlie Jones, principal and executive producer at Capital Sports & Entertainment. "The setting is as much of a star as the headliners on the stage."

Lollapalooza is presented by Parkways Foundation and produced by Capital Sports & Entertainment and Charles Attal Presents. They are partnered with Farrell, co-producer of Lollapalooza, and the William Morris Agency.

Right now 3-day passes stand at $150 (or as the festival's site likes to hammer home, about $1 a band) with service charges at $17, while single day passes at $65 per with service charges of $8. Earlier this year a specially priced ticket sale for e-list subscribers proved Lollapalooza's buzz quotient, as 3,000 $45 three-day passes sold out in 33 minutes. But, even at the current price, for something of this size, with acts on the scale of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye West, The Raconteurs, Common, Wilco, Death Cab For Cutie and Gnarls Barkley, it's well worth the price of the current admission.

One of the more unique talent additions this year is Lollapalooza's online band competition, Last Band Standing. The lucky and worthy artist will earn a slot on the festival's lineup. So far, at lollapalooza.com, more than 245,000 votes have been placed for more than 2,000 bands that have submitted mp3s and photos for the contest. The contenders were whittled down to the top 100 for final judging, which featured celebrity deciders like Perry Farrell. The final five bands faced off in Chicago for a live play-off on August 2nd at the Double Door, with the runner-up kicking off the fest on Friday and the winner doing the same for Saturday's festivities.

There more than music to be had, though. With the Mindfield stage showcasing fan competitions, short films, comedy and gaming. Farrell introduced Mindfeld to Lollapalooza and the world in 2003, to make the event, in his words, "the most interactive music festival in the world." This text messaging-based real-time game has grown into an on-site subculture, with thousands of registered participants signed up to play. Players receive text message clues and tasks throughout the weekend in the form of flash mobs, eating competitions, signature canvassing, trivia, and more. Players will also interact with characters embedded in Grant Park. Pranksters, as they are named, will involve unknowing patrons in planned activities in which the subjects must perform tasks the Pranskters demand. Gamers compete for prizes like backstage tours, VIP passes and more.

At night Mindfield becomes the Electronic Ambush stage, where it will ignite with DJs, beats, and lights and which will feature Mix Master Mike, DJ Rashida, among others. Also available will be the Who Arted? art exhibit as well as the return of Kidzapalooza, a stage directed at all the little ones attending Lollapalooza. Kidzapalooza will feature a drum circle, The Blisters (featuring an offspring of Jeff Tweedy‘s, front man for Lollapalooza headliners Wilco), Justin Roberts (doing two shows on August 5th) and Peter DiStefano (Porno For Pyros) doing several guitar workshops over the weekend and one Kidz show with Perry Farrell.

"We want the fans to discover and explore," said Farrell, founder and creator of what is considered the "original" modern festival. "That's what Lollapalooza is all about: sounds of all genres swirling about as you walk through the expanse of Grant Park."

Lollapalooza also has not forgotten its roots in political and social activism. Causapalooza will features booths by The NRDC Action Fund, StopGlobalWarming.org, Music for America C3, Parkways Foundation, and Engineers for a Sustainable World.

"I just love that the music fans in the park during Lollapalooza will help fund neighborhood park projects by their attendance," said Laura Barnett, president of Parkways Foundation. "Lollapalooza accelerates our ability to fund new playgrounds, youth programs and greening initiatives throughout Chicago."

If you absolutely cannot come out for Lollapalooza weekend, the AT&T Blue Room may be perfect for you. AT&T has announced that the AT&T Blue Room will give fans unprecedented front-row access to the festival through daily, live webcasts of big-name performances, a 24-hour streaming radio station featuring interviews and shows by past and present Lollapalooza artists. Webcasts will run from 12:30 to 10 p.m. CDT each day. Following the event, much of the content will be archived on the blue room allowing fans to relive the festival experience.

Static Multimedia's Can't Miss/Must-See Lollapalooza Artists

Friday, August 4th

11:45 - 12:30 - deadboy & the Elephantmen (adidas - Champs)
2:30 - 3:30 - Panic! At the Disco (AT&T)
3:15 - 3:45 - The Blisters (Kidzapalooza)
4:30 - 5:30 - Ryan Adams (Bud Light)
6:30 - 7:30 - My Morning Jacket (Bud Light)

Saturday, August 5th

1:30 - 2:30 - The Go! Team (Q101)
2:15 - 3:00 - Peeping Tom (Playstation)
3:30 - 4:30 - Wolfmother (Q101)
4:15 - 5:00 - Kill Hannah (BMI)
4:30 - 5:30 - Gnarls Barkley (AT&T)
5:00 - 6:00 - Blackalicious (Playstation)
6:30 - 7:30 - Common (AT&T)
8:30 - 10:00 - Kanye West (AT&T)

Sunday, August 6th

12:00 - 12:30 - What Made Milwaukee Famous (AMD)
12:30 - 1:30 - The Redwalls (Bud Light)
1:30 - 2:30 - The Frames (adidas-Champs)
4:15 - 5:00 - Assassins (BMI)
6:30 - 7:30 - Wilco (Bud Light)