When it rains it pours…
It’s hard to believe that this year was the 20th anniversary of Lollapalooza—despite its age, the festival lineup seemed fresher and more entertaining than ever. Perry Farrell’s brainchild is definitely all grown up and has only gotten better with age.
A record 270,000 music fans attended this year, which is up 30,000 from last year, and up 45,000 from 2009. One sign of just how big the festival has gotten is Perry’s DJ tent, which was colossal in size, could have easily hosted a Bears game—a far cry from the relatively tiny tent that premiered in ’08. This time 15,000 techno, dubstep, and hip hop fans bounced each night to the beats of Girl Talk, Afrojack, Kid Cudi, Pretty Lights, and Skrillex, to name a few. There was plenty of crowd surfing, zany costumes and body paint. And a post rain mud pit turned “dance floor” made the experience complete.
Speaking of which, the rain during the festival was no joke. Coming down sideways with massive wind gusts only to fuel the fans’ excitement further. A highlight of the weekend was seeing Dave Grohl and The Foo Fighters lean into the downpour during the closing set on Sunday night in a “Defy the Gods” rock on moment.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b7f0FqFyLA&w=560&h=345]One of the major moments of Lolla 2011 was Eminem’s performance Saturday night. Talk about Detroit loving Chicago. Slim Shady owned it. Dynamic and at the top of his game, Marshall had the throng of festival goers singing every line. He was pure electricity. It was stunning to watch him look out at 100,000 people and just soak it in—a 21st Century musical master still at the top of his game.
There were other notable performances, to be sure included Wye Oak, My Morning Jacket, Coldplay, Cold War Kids, Perry Farrell and Peter DiStefano…but Mr. Mathers stole the show.
And the food! Most music fests don’t have much beyond a bad pretzel and a burger you have to choke down because you’re starving. Everyone was rewarded by Graham Elliott’s lobster corndogs, Buffalo chicken with Pabst Blue Ribbon suds and amazing Parmesan/truffle popcorn. Thanks for bringing your A game, Graham! Please come back next year.
On a sour note, Sunday night Portugal The Man’s van with all their instruments was stolen. It seemed impossible that this would happen given the good nature of the fest. The van was recovered but the instruments were not. I hope PTM comes back to Chicago and doesn’t take this unfortunate incident to heart. Btw, If you aren’t already familiar with Portugal the Man they’re definitely worth checking out.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLSapRbdf1g]The VIP after party Sunday night was DJ’d by the unstoppable Lance Herbstrong featuring guitarist Peter DiStefano. It was the perfect end to the musical merry making that was Lolla 2011.
According to a source, Perry said there’s no other city in America that he’d rather have host Lollapalooza. He has an obvious love for Chicago and he clearly appreciates how the town’s embraced the festival over the years. Here’s to Lolla’s future success and continued impact on the American music landscape.
– Allison Wright Clark
Head Of Development