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Lollapalooza oral history book retraces the festival’s wild, revolutionary roots

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In 1990, Jane’s Addiction made public their highly praised album titled “Ritual de lo Habitual.” This Los Angeles alternative-metal group faced numerous challenges such as substance abuse, internal conflicts, and disagreements, which eventually led them to disband at the peak of their fame.

Musician Perry Farrell initially conceived Lollapalooza, dubbed as a “Woodstock for the Forgotten Youth” by the New York Times, as a final tour for his band on the verge of disintegration. However, it evolved into something far greater.

From 1991 to 1997, the Lollapalooza festival tour captivated, amused, and inspired disenchanted American youth, particularly during its initial stages. As Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour explain in their engaging oral history, “Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock’s Wildest Festival,” if Lollapalooza didn’t solely launch what was later called the ‘alternative nation,’ it significantly defined its principles for a generation of teenagers and young adults through an eclectic array of avant-garde musical acts, rebellious fashion, art, political activism, and sheer oddity on stage.

Without a doubt, the authors make a compelling point: Lollapalooza’s influence is significant and undeniable. It sparked events such as Ozzfest, Lilith Fair, H.O.R.D.E., and Warped Tour; it propelled fashion trends like combat boots, flannel shirts, piercings, and tattoos into the mainstream; and it catapulted bands like Nine Inch Nails and Pearl Jam to stardom. Lollapalooza’s impact on popular culture is so profound that Farrell brought it back in 2003, and it has been thriving ever since, drawing over 100,000 fans to Chicago’s Grant Park each summer.

Initially, festivals were losing popularity, with events like the US Festival, Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, and Monterey Pop Festival becoming distant memories. Lollapalooza’s diverse first lineup, featuring bands such as Jane’s Addiction, Rollins Band, Ice-T, and Siouxise and the Banshees, didn’t appear to be a combination that would ignite the world or sell out venues nationwide.

At its inaugural performance on July 18, 1991, at Compton Terrace in Chandler, Ariz., Lollapalooza came perilously close to falling apart. The scorching temperatures reached triple digits, causing Nine Inch Nails’ equipment to fail, prompting Trent Reznor to damage the stage in anger. Moreover, an excessively intoxicated Dave Navarro, the gifted guitarist of Jane’s Addiction, and Farrell engaged in a physical altercation near the stage following their performance. “The tour was on the verge of collapsing right then and there,” recalled Kevin Lyman, who served as Lollapalooza’s stage manager in 1991 and 1992.

However, it didn’t falter. The festival, with its unique blend of avant-garde musicians, activist groups such as Handgun Control Inc. and the National Abortion Rights Action League, along with quirky food and drinks, perfectly reflected the spirit of the times. Despite being one of the least productive summer concert seasons in over a decade, Lollapalooza stood out brilliantly.

Things would only get better.

1992 saw the rise of an alternative wave, and Lollapalooza, the festival that followed, was poised to ignite. I, as a movie critic reviewing the music scene, can attest that Pearl Jam, whose album “Ten” was skyrocketing in popularity, were among those booked for the event. Fellow Seattle grunge rockers Soundgarden also made an appearance, along with industrial-metal powerhouse Ministry. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, sporting flamboyant hats adorned with flames during their performance, were there too. It was a lineup that promised nothing less than an explosion of sound and energy.

1992’s Lollapalooza marked the debut of a second stage for performers, which was one of the first to showcase emerging acts such as Rage Against the Machine and Stone Temple Pilots. The Jim Rose Circus Sideshow, featuring attractions like Slug the Sword Swallower, the Torture King, and a man who drank his own vomit, became popular among attendees, paving the way for “The Jim Rose Twisted Tour” TV show.

Bienstock and Beaujour skillfully portray the free-spirited, all-inclusive atmosphere that defined Lollapalooza 1992, an event I had the pleasure of experiencing firsthand, as I attended the opening concert at the Shoreline Amphitheater in the Bay Area.

In the afternoon heat, following Lush, Pearl Jam played their set briskly, introducing new tracks such as “Alive” and “Jeremy.” Known for his captivating stage presence and musical prowess, Eddie Vedder frequently ascended to the scaffolding and speakers’ heights, and even leaped into the crowd, employing various tactics to engage the audience.

The Ministry performance left an unforgettable mark, deafening everyone with its intense volume. Frontman Al Jourgensen, supported by a statuette of an animal bone acting as his mic stand, along with his bandmates, frequently overpowered audiences with their hypnotically heavy sound, often facing fines for surpassing venue noise limits. Stone Gossard from Pearl Jam described the performance as a “sonic shockwave.

1992’s Lollapalooza stood out as the festival’s pinnacle, a moment that would never be equaled in terms of cultural and artistic impact. The subsequent edition in 1993, with Primus and Alice in Chains at the helm, didn’t quite match up to the previous year’s vibe. In 1994, the organizers almost secured Nirvana as the headliner for that year, but unfortunately, Kurt Cobain overdosed in Rome and took his own life in April. Despite a stellar lineup consisting of Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars, the Breeders, they couldn’t replicate the magic that Nirvana would have brought to the stage.

1995’s less-than-impressive roster showcased critically lauded indie art-rock favorites Sonic Youth, however, the crowd didn’t flock. The event, known as “Artypalooza,” transitioned to Lollapalooza 1996, which was mockingly labeled “Dude-apalooza” due to its predominantly white, aggressive lineup led by Metallica, a band that wasn’t typically considered alternative. Temporarily, Farrell departed the festival in disagreement.

1997 marked the final farewell of Lollapalooza before its comeback, a year that leaned heavily towards electronic music’s ambitious pioneers like The Prodigy, The Orb, and Orbital. As a cinephile of alternative music, I found this shift intriguing but ultimately, it fell short in reviving the once-golden festival spirit.

Looking back at Lollapalooza’s glorious beginnings in the ’90s, it seemed to lose some of its sparkle by 1997, earning only about half the revenue of Lilith Fair. On average, it drew just 67% of the venue’s capacity compared to Lilith Fair’s impressive 93%. As a devoted film enthusiast, I can relate this to a once-great movie series that lost its edge and originality, becoming too predictable and overexposed. Co-founder Marc Geiger put it perfectly when he said, “Lolla had its time in the limelight, and we felt the formula was starting to crack. It became too generic, shining too brightly for too long.” Clearly, it needed a moment to recharge and reinvent itself.

Fortunately, unlike its namesake festival, “Lollapalooza” the book seldom disappoints. Bienstock and Beaujour, authors of the hit book “Nöthin’ but a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the ’80s Hard Rock Explosion,” spoke to numerous artists, tour founders, and Lollapalooza organizers, among others. Their work offers an entertaining, juicy, and unexpectedly emotional reading experience.

The authors imbue their book with references to sex, drug use, and rock music culture. For example, Joe Klein, who was once the guitarist for Siouxsie and the Banshees, recalled “the most conspicuous orgies” happening on Ice-T’s tour bus, which was presumably filled with groupies. Drug use, particularly heroin, was a common occurrence during tours. The late Mark Lanegan, lead singer of the Screaming Trees, frequently sent someone to find heroin, crack, and meth throughout the ’96 tour. Alternatively, he would search for drugs himself. As Gary Lee Conner, guitarist for the Screaming Trees, put it, “We’d arrive in a town, and he’d immediately head to the dangerous areas and nearly get hurt.

Instead of saying: “And what could be more rock and roll than members of Rage Against the Machine, who were the breakout stars at Lollapalooza ’93, stripping naked during a show in Philadelphia to protest the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), headed by Tipper Gore, a group that pushed for parental advisory labels on certain albums?”

You could rephrase it as: “What’s more quintessentially rock and roll than Rage Against the Machine, who made their mark at Lollapalooza ’93, taking off their clothes on stage in Philadelphia to challenge the PMRC, a controversial organization led by Tipper Gore that advocated for warning labels on some albums?”

By altering the sentence structure slightly and using “challenge” instead of “protest,” I’ve aimed to keep the essence of your original text while making it more natural and easier to read.

It might come as no surprise to Farrell that Lollapalooza has turned into a significant milestone in rock history, given that he never expected it to reach such heights. “People frequently ask me if I thought Lollapalooza would turn out like it did,” he stated. “Well, that’s preposterous! How could I have known? I was merely there for fun, end of story.

Ballon, who was previously a journalist for The Times, Forbes, and Inc. Magazine, now instructs an advanced writing course at the University of Southern California (USC). He currently resides in Fullerton.

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2025-03-24 13:32

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