I attended the Lollapalooza Music Festival for the first time in the early 1990s. At that time, the fest was still in its infancy — only a few years old. Organized by Jane’s Addiction’s frontman Perry Farrell, the festival was like him, a young, restless beast, roaming the country bringing what was then known as “alternative” culture to those tuned to such wavelengths.

The music featured was eclectic and represented the cream of the “120 Minutes” generation of bands (those who recognize the reference, I salute you): Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails, Rollins Band and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour, Pearl Jam and many more. The line-ups ran hundreds deep over the years.

More important was the sense of community that Lollapalooza fostered.

The fest offered a refuge of sorts for weird, wild, tattooed, smart and arty, self-conscious outcasts, all of whom banded together as a collective middle finger toward what it understood as the mainstream. It was oddly powerful, this strange circus of music and message that rolled into town each summer. The frequent sight of Jim Roses’ Circus Sideshow — the traveling freakshow revival full of sword-eaters, wildmen and other oddities — furthered an us versus them carnival feel.

This sense of inclusive exclusion only lasted so long, though — both for Lollapalooza and the “alternative” nation.

As monies rolled in, corporate America took notice. There’s gold in them there kids! Big radio started playing our music. Our styles hit fashion runways. And Lollapalooza became a brand: a place where the normal folk could go to see weird music and freakies, but in a safe environment, of course.

The acts got bigger (Metallica? Really?), the crowds grew larger, and the fest got decidedly lamer until it slowly fizzled away in a whimper in the late Nineties.

The transformation mirrored one occurring amongst those who attended Lollapalooza from the outset. We grew up. Hair was dyed back to its original color. Nose rings were removed. Tattoos were covered-up to land jobs. In appearances, we looked like the folks we rebelled against. However, despite conservative airs, fire still lived in our hearts.

This notion was fresh in my mind when Lollapalooza was resurrected in 2006 and planted in Grant Park, where it has rested ever since as a once-a-summer, three-day-long festival.

The fest still adheres to its late-period dedication to absolute inclusiveness, even adding activities designed to attract not just Average Joe and Jane, but also their whole families. The musical acts largely skew popular and nostalgic, as well.

However, buried amongst the blockbusters lies impressive musical programming with an ear to the underground and the sonically adventurous. This year’s festival was no exception with The National, Phoenix, Matt & Kim, Hot Chip, MGMT, The Antlers, Blitzen Trapper, Yeasayer, Mutemath, Cut Copy and many, many more proving that they can draw big numbers without Top 40 radio play.

Traversing the crowds, the diversity is apparent. Frat boys bump elbows with soccer moms with strollers far too often. However, I was struck by how much a large contingent does resemble Lollapalooza’s early devotees. Mohawks and multi-colored hair have been replaced with headbands and body paint resembling dried feces (two fashions that I still can’t comprehend), but the spirit of rebellion is still alive.

Even if it does cost almost one hundred dollars per day to unleash it.

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By Jonah from East Village
Posted: 08/18/2010 12:24 PM

You seem to forget "Taxpayers", that we "hipsters" pay taxes, too! Get off your high horse.

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By Your Taxpayers from South Loop
Posted: 08/12/2010 7:54 AM

Phil, you hipsters are too cool for. Somewhere outside the "Frat boys, soccer moms" and your "wild, tattooed, smart and arty, outcasts...whom banded... as a...middle finger toward...the mainstream" is REALITY. REALITY is that your 'Hope and Change' is not so free. The event borrows at a fraction of the actual cost, the public parks, roads, police, graft, waste, fraud, overhead, and time, that those meddling 'mainstream' pay taxes for. Some folks could rebel while being grateful for REALITY.