Lollapalooza Entertainment Art Grant Park Chicago, Il 2005- 2008

Throughout its resurgence, Lumino Magazine has been there for the ride, providing concertgoers and music readers with editorial and feature content geared toward recapping the entire experience. As we near our fifth year of Lolla-coverage, we take a peek back at where Lolla has come and where it has gone.

Day 2005 – WELCOME BACK LOLLA

While originating as a touring festival, Lollapalooza found the beginning of its grounded home, landing on Chicago’s Grant Park for years to come. In the first installment, Farrell packed the field with talent and fans (30,000 each day), and used the resurgence as a testing ground for determining future pricing, facility support, security, etc. In year one, talent featured Pixies; Weezer; The Killers : Dashboard Confessional; Cake; G. Love; up-and-comers Kaiser Chiefs; and the legendary Billy Idol.

Day 2006 – BEST LINEUP YET

It will be hard to beat the field from 2006. In fact, both 2007 and 2008 have fallen shy in mainstream talent. Rumors also started becoming a staple of the festival beginning in 2006, as Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters-fame was rumored to play a set with the Queens of the Stone Age. With a lineup that included Red Hot Chili Peppers; Chicago’s own Kanye West and Wilco; Manu Chao; Death Cab for Cutie; Ween; Common; The Flaming Lips; The Raconteurs; Common; The Strokes and many others, still, 2006 remains a favorite in four-time concertgoers eyes.

Day 2007 – TALENT DROPS; NO PUMPKINS

You would think that Chicago would be treated to an early Halloween with the Smashing Pumpkins reuniting and touring, yet the band opted for the Virgin music festival the same weekend. Shocked, Lollapalooza organizers were able to still bring in the likes of Pearl Jam with a supporting cast that included Daft Punk; Ben Harper; Modest Mouse; and The Roots. Many concertgoers complained that the follow-up success to 2006 was not as strong. The rumors also ran rapid with thoughts of Kanye (who was in town) joining his buddies Daft Punk for an encore set. Didn’t happen. On the celebrity-side, no one will forget Ms. Amy Winehouse and her beehive showing up late for her set – surprise, surprise.

Day 2008 – BIG NAMES, STILL NO 2006

While the Lolla village has progressively gotten stronger, the talent has remained about the same. This year featured a major major band in Radiohead, followed up the likes of The Raconteurs; Wilco; Kanye; Gnarls Barkley; and first timers Nine Inch Nails – who’s performance was still said to be disturbed by Kanye rockin’ out. Despite big names that couldn’t touch 2006, this year seemed to have a theme of pulling in up-and-comers and more of a focus on the DJ-networks, which intrigued Ms. Lindsay Lohan to hang out backstage while supporting her DJ girlfriend Sam Ronson. Rumors this year included a visit by Presidential-hopeful Barack Obama to introduce Kanye West – again, to no avail. Guns & Roses great Slash did make a guest appearance, and concertgoers were privileged to one of the craziest, most crowded musical experience when Girl Talk took one of the mini-stages.

Which brings us up to date and prepared for 2009. Could we have an appearance by the Pumpkins? How about more hip hop artists like Jay-Z or a Eminem’s resurgence? Could we see a return to glory with a year like 2006 – or is that even necessary considering more than 200,000 fans packed the grounds this year? And with the life of Lolla-after parties picking up steam, will venues like the Metro, House of Blues, and even The Underground collect more stars than the festival itself. But then again, with 200,000 people dishing out close to $200 for the weekend, are many improvements needed? Only time will tell.

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