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Aug. 3, 2008

What to Expect at 2008’s Lollapalooza Fest
Pack up your city bags and gas up the car (gulp) - it’s almost time for this summer’s Lollapalooza Music Festival in Chicago, a road trip that tons of Northern music fans look forward to, and one that’s sure to be a hit again this year.

THE ROSTER
Lolla’s strengths have, to date, really been in the smaller, hipster acts, although they did manage to snag both Radiohead and The Raconteurs as the highlight headliners this year. The other headliners include Wilco, the overrated Rage Against the Machine, and the troublesome Kanye West, who hopefully won’t repeat his prima-donna antics from Bonnaroo, via which he refused to play until the early morning hours - sorry, Kanye, that’ll be an impossibility in Chicago due to city noise ordinances, so you’ll have to behave yourself.
Along with the two highlight bands, there’ll be plenty in this year’s lineup to keep you running from stage to stage. Among the bands causing buzz this year are Bloc Party, The National, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, Jamie Lidell, The Go! Team, Booka Shade, DeVotchKa, Louis XIV, The Whigs, Foals, Flogging Molly, The Gutter Twins, MGMT, the return of Gnarls Barkley (a 2006 Lolla highlight), and, of course, fest founder Perry Farrell himself, who always manages to make a showing.
And if you find yourself missing one band to see another (a common predicament at Lolla, with that many stages fired up all at once), you can catch several of them later at the official Lolla aftershows, which will take place around the city of Chicago all weekend, and will include late-night sets from the likes of The Black Keys, Manchester Orchestra, Rogue Wave, Battles, Flogging Molly, and Broken Social Scene, among others.

THE GROUNDS
Divided into “Northapalooza” and “Southapalooza,” the layout of Grant Park has been made a little more user-friendly this year, with the schedule even listing bands from north to south, complete with arrows for the directionally-challenged. All eight stages have returned from last year, although with a few different sponsors; the four main stages being the Playstation, AT&T, MySpace, and Bud Light stages, which will, of course, host the biggest acts of the weekend.
Smaller stages will feature the Kidzapalooza events as well as a plethora of Perry Farrell (the festival’s founder)-helmed electronica/DJ events, and a couple of arrows marked “?” near Grant Park’s famed Buckingham Fountain will surely hold more Lolla surprises for all attendees.
Restrooms-a-plenty, two large (and surprisingly varied) food courts, a Recycling Center, a General Store and Lolla Merch Booth, two Lolla Lounges (north and south VIP only), two medical centers, dual ATMs, a whopping overload of 12 on-site bars and, as if that wasn’t enough, the Lederhosen Biergarten, will make sure that every, er, need is fulfilled.

THE EXTRAS
In case the dozens and dozens of bands aren’t enough entertainment for you, the Lolla grounds offer plenty of other distractions, fun, and conveniences. The F.Y.E. Autograph Booth is where many bands will be stopping by to shake hands and sign things, so you might want to start there (among those scheduled to appear are Louis XIV, The Kills, The Cool Kids, Booka Shade, Sharon Jones, and The Whigs). The MySpace Tent will host other photo ops, not with fans, but with your friends, so you can take home your own personalized Lolla pics.
Once you’ve checked your bags (and all your autographed things) at the NowWhat.com Bag Valet - a smart addition to the fest that will keep your things safe while you trek around - you can check out new games and computer tech at the Playstation Rock Star/Sing Star Booth and the Dell Dome, as well as at the AT&T Digital Oasis. AT&T will showcase their high-speed internet and Dish services, the Blue Room Music webcasts (which will play back the day’s performances), and, of course, that air-conditioned interior tent for escaping the heat; a Hammock Haven and lots of shaded areas throughout Grant Park will be other great places to take a break from the action - and you can be assured that there will be plenty of that all weekend long.
Lollapalooza runs August 1-3; tix are still available as of press time at
www.lollapalooza.com.