Having begun as a tribute festival for Jane"s Addiction in 1991, Lollapalooza today offers amusement for hipsters, band-aids, little toddlers with pseudo-mohawks, as well as grizzly-bearded grandpas. In addition, Lollapalooza has experienced an unprecedented revival in the past two years, and this year was no exception with Interpol, Daft Punk, Ben Harper, Muse, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, G Love and Specials Sauce rocking heavy.

Plus, better than a cherry on a ‘Sundae", Pearl Jam closed out the festival Sunday with fireworks and spicy words on the president (excuse the cheap puns). Now that our sunburns have cooled and we have recovered from utter dehydration and blisters, Aced Magazine"s Faith-Ann Young has some time to chronicle a few lessons learned from this year"s festival with tips for next year:

{mosgoogle right} Number 1: Choose Flip-Flops Over Sunscreen. Though idyllically situated in the city center of the sprawling metropolis of Chicago, the Lollapalooza Festival is a vertically-oriented festival. Two large paths to the various stages extend like wings to the north and south of the main entrance, Buckingham Fountain.

In other words, you have to hoof it about one mile (the park itself is 312 acres of crying-out-loud) in chaffing, mid-west summer heat to get from one end to the other. (In contrast, Coachella is in a circular formation, so you can bounce like a lotto ball in spin-cycle around from stage to stage with little difficulty.)

Lollapalooza is also three days long, with sets beginning at 11 a.m. and the last shows ending around 10 or 11 p.m. So, while it doesn’t matter what kicks you are to relish from the 72-hours of heart-pounding, adrenaline-raising rock, rap and punk, unless you want to scare away neighbors or suffer from paralysis of the toes-in-heels, I highly recommend flip-flops.

Number 2: Follow Perry. Perry Farrell is a demi-god at Lolla. If you have never heard of him, I suggest buying his oral autobiography (though you’ll have to read it to know why it is called Whores). Former Jane’s Addiction member and founder of the festival back in 1991, the god, formerly know as Perry, has ascended through the years of grudge and heroin addiction. To this day he appears to love and relish each live performance. Follow him and you are destined to see all the glam and glitter of the festival as every artist, executive, and fan come to pay their respect.

Number 3: Schedules Are For Wusses. So I finished watching the Cold War Kids beast through their live set with Matt Aveiro spitting, Nathan Willet crooning then slamming on the piano, and Jonnie Russell and Matt Maust prolonging each euphoric moment with riveting guitar and base licks. But next the options are endless. Should I try to sneak a peak at the new Kentucky-based, attitude-filled Cage the Elephant, or begin a trek to the North end to watch the Roots, or the south end to watch Clap Your Hands Say Yeah?

Sure, everyone has made more difficult decisions in life, but these little tiffs were cause for serious beer-throwing, cat-scratching, and spitting over a period of three days. So for you band-aids, if you are traveling in a big group, note you will have to make sacrifices at Lolla next year. As long as those sacrifices are not missing Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs enthralling gothic stage theatrics, don’t shed a tear, nurse your beer, and rest assured your day will be song-filled and fruit-full at each turn.

Number 4: Take Risks. With 130 bands, Lollapalooza harnesses some of the best old and new music this organic, iTunes-infested world has to offer. I recommend checking out the line-up beforehand, surfing MySpace, testing out some of the tunes, and then checking out some of the newbies. This sounds obvious, but I can’t describe how many people simply lounged by the big stages on either end all day long, without venturing to the smaller sets where you are within breathing distance of new talent.

I got a better bang for the buck by traipsing to see Chicago’s new progressive rock harbingers Wax On Radio (check out Aced Magazine’s Review ), the weeping arrangements of indie pop band Acqueduct, the naughty, salacious slurs of New York’s sequin-bra disco DJ Lady Gaga, and the addictive hard rock hooks of MINK.

Number 5: Girls, wear skirts with caution. It ain’t called the Windy City for nothing. Sure Amy Winehouse pulled it off in gingham black-and-white, but she was chilling in the VIP section and her private trailer before being whisked on stage, while I had to battle through the wind tunnels of downtown just to buy Kleenex or tequila. Oh and boys, I recommend following the girls in skirts...

Number 6: Enjoy the BigMacs Too. While enjoying the new streams of music ingénues and relaxing in the sun, it is critical not to miss the bands that made you love music, covet your first ‘tape’ or ‘cd’, roll down the windows with a radio-blasting high, smuggle into concerts underage, dress like jail-bait, or sport black eyeliner.

Silverchair brought me back to 1995, when I had the poster of Frogstomp in our gym lockers, or Gavin Rossdale who was my computer password. Though hindered by health issues, Silverchair remains a live treat with raw talent that has not fizzled.

I was hauled off stage by security guards after sneaking on to watch Daft Punk unleash synthesized jubilation over a hypnotized crowd (even up close you can’t see through their robot suits). Muse made the floor quake. I associate the Roots to at least one fiery night with my first love and a jeep. And, how many people wept during Pearl Jam...I lost count.

Need I say more, except Lolla we love you?

Check out some photos from the event (Photographer Faith-Ann Young):

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Jasen   |2007-08-15 07:20:38 Nice pics. I like the suggestions. You should do the ten commandments of Lolla next time. haha Reply 0   0

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."