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‘Lollapalooza – n. slang.
Something outstanding of its kind.’
- The American Heritage Dictionary
Something outstanding of its kind.”
Supposedly, it originated with the Three Stooges, but the word
Lollapalooza is now synonymous with a great concert that showcases
some terrific talent.
Lollapalooza came to Denver on August 13, and brought with it
a whole “circus” of acts. Many in attendance were
there primarily to see the triumphant return of the band Jane’s
Addiction.
When the word Lollapalooza is mentioned, one might think about
all of the exceptional bands that play. Others may think about
the activities and booths that travel with the tour. For most,
though, the word Lollapalooza conjures thoughts about the originator
Perry Ferrell’s Jane’s Addiction.
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photo by Chelsy Klein -
The Metropolitan
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| Singer Perry Ferrell of the band Jane's
Addiction makes a smoothy using a hydroelectric powered
blender. |
Ferrell is a very average looking and
acting guy. If you saw him on the street, you might never know
that Ferrell is the outrageous and flamboyant lead singer of
the widely popular Jane’s Addiction. Even the most diehard
fan may not know that Ferrell and the rest of the band are advocates
of alternative sources of power, such as hydroelectric power,
and that one of the main focuses of the tour is to bring awareness
to such causes under the guise of great music.
Prior to his performance that night, Ferrell went to the booth
promoting hydroelectric power and made Smoothies using a blender
that ran on hydroelectric power to demonstrate its efficiency
and availability He then passed the Smoothies out to the small
group who gathered around and listened to the presentation.
The audience was thrilled to hear Jane’s Addiction perform
music off their new CD “Strays.” They were elated
when the group performed their older music, including “Been
Caught Stealin’.” The crowd seemed disappointed
at the end of the night when Jane’s Addiction left the
stage without performing their widely popular song “Jane
Says,” but Ferrell and the rest of the band would not
let their audience go home unhappy. They performed the song
as their encore, complete with steel drums
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photo by Chelsy Klein - The
Metropolitan
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| Rap
artist Akil from the group Jurassic 5 entrances the audiance
with help from his fellow band mates. |
The Lollapalooza tour began in the
summer of 1991 and has successfully run every year since. Lollapalooza
founding band, Jane’s Addiction, however, did not continue
to perform with the tour after its inception. In 1991, there
were many bands that performed, including Nine Inch Nails, but
Jane’s Addiction was the headliner. When they returned
to the tour this year they were again the headlining band.
Lollapalooza has, in the past, been a staging ground for budding
talent, as well as a way to showcase current talent.
When it came to Colorado, Lollapalooza brought with it a belly-dancing
troop, a huge video game competition, and fifteen different
bands, ranging in notoriety from the popular Audioslave to the
lesser known 30 Seconds to Mars.
Ferrell’s mission, apart from drawing attention to some
of the problems that face the United States, was to also give
these lesser-known bands a forum to display their talents and
gain a larger fan base.
For example, one of the lesser-known performers this year was
rapper MC Supernatural. Because Supernatural does not have the
same popularity as, say, Jane’s Addiction, he was scheduled
to perform on the second stage. But this did not discourage
Supernatural; he still put on an amazing show. One of the things
that made Supernatural stand out was his signature rap. In this
particular rap, Supernatural asks the audience to hold up random
items, and then he comes down into the audience and makes up
a rap, on the spot, about the things people are holding up.
He found a way to rhyme about everything from keys to water
guns.
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photo by Chelsy Klein -
The Metropolitan
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| Singer Chris Cornell from the band Audioslave
looks out at the crowd during the band's Aug. 13 performance. |
MC Supernatural was not the only rap
act at Lollapalooza. The rap group Jurassic 5 was also on the
bill, but they played on the main stage. Jurassic 5 is one of
the founding rap bands and they put on a very lively and energetic
show.
One of the highlights of the event was seeing Audioslave perform.
Audioslave is the fusion of two former super-groups, Sound Garden
and Rage Against the Machine. They were able to put on an amazing
show that revved up the audience. They performed their new song,
“Like a Stone,” and they also did a fantastic version
of “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes.
Incubus’ performance was also a crowd pleaser. They performed
many songs from their new CD called “Morning View,”
which includes the song “Wish You Were Here.” Lead
singer Brandon Boyd, despite describing himself as painfully
shy, stunned the audience not only with his exceptional voice,
but also with his vivacious dancing and moving.
Lollapalooza was a larger- than-life extravaganza that suited
just about everyone’s musical tastes and provided a wide
array of activities, as well as bringing back one of rock’s
most outrageous bands – Jane’s Addiction.
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