Shocking Rock Festival News
I was too young and uncool to attend the first three groundbreaking years of the Lollapalooza tour, but I went to a couple, the last of which being the excellent 1995 tour. It is tough to beat main stage with Sonic Youth, Pavement, Beck and the Jesus Lizard (it may have been David Yow’s first exposure to sunlight and the out-of-doors). Plus I got to hang around the second stage enough to see my first Yo La Tengo performance ever, catch an acoustic second set by Beck, and have Coolio assault me with a water pistol. It is a pleasant nine-year-old memory. By the next year the show was being headlined by the strangely-classified-as-altrock Metallica, which prevented me from making it and seeing a set by the legendary Capsize 7.
Like I said, nice memories. But I never figured I would go back, because I don’t like big outdoor concerts and was getting older and the lineups were getting more conventional. So it was nice that 1995 was the last really cool year. Until 2004, that is.
Apparently this year’s show features the headliner from 1995 and Aaron’s favorite live band, the one and only Sonic Youth. It also includes PJ Harvey, who is an amazing performer, particularly when she doesn’t outsource the guitar-playing duties. I have always admired the music of the Flaming Lips and the Polyphonic Spree, and they are both supposed to have fabulous and inventive shows. And back-from-the-dead Modest Mouse is one of my favorite bands, although I tend to be moderately underwhelmed by their performances. (But the first few listens indicates that their new record is great.) It would be the tour of the summer if the Pixies weren’t getting back together. And that is probably enough to get me to spend too much money to stand in the heat around lots of teenagers.