Can Lollapalooza recreate the "moment"?

By Rob Janicke. Rob will be covering Lollapalooza for Festival Preview. This first installment gives context for the 2007 festival, which takes place August 3-5 in Chicago.

Before we get into the main section of this piece (which will be the first of a series on the 2007 Lollapalooza festival), I wanted to take a second and explain what this series of blogs and writings will be about. Think of me as a guide of sorts for everything Lollapalooza. We’ll talk about the bands, the festival and its history, how to endure the long days of attending outdoor festivals, and the like. Ultimately I’d like to have a dialog with all of you as to why this Lollapalooza should not be missed. I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I will…

The American Heritage Dictionary defines the noun “MOMENT” as: “A particular period of importance, influence or significance in a series of events or developments." August 14th, 1991, was the date and Waterloo Village, N.J., was the place I was able to experience the “moment” that would define not only my personal sense of belonging and community, but an entire generation's sense of those very feelings. That moment was Lollapalooza.

As I look back on that moment (as well as the 1992 and 1993 versions), I can still feel the excitement, wonderment and hope associated with these festivals almost 16 years later. I was a naïve, daydreaming 18-year-old kid from Brooklyn, N.Y., in the summer of '91 and Lollapalooza was seemingly built, designed and executed specifically for me. Now that I am a soon-to-be 34-yea- old, naïve, daydreaming man living on Long Island it seems that the 2007 version of this experience is seemingly built, designed and hopefully executed specifically for me once again.

Lollapalooza was a very different and creative idea spawned from the inner workings of Jane’s Addiction front man Perry Farrell. His vision was one of a traveling show consisting of live music, art, virtual reality displays, information booths, voting registration tables and much, much more. The music was the obvious draw as Farrell enlisted artists from different backgrounds and genres.

It was a fresh and insightful approach to the concert industry. I had seen my fair share of concerts up to this point in my life and nothing compared to what I witnessed at those three Lollapaloozas. It was groundbreaking, educational and persuasive. It was the perfect idea for the perfect audience at the perfect time. Considering the moment and time we currently reside in, the 2007 version of Lollapalooza this August in Chicago could be that perfect idea for the perfect audience at the perfect time.

I know that last statement may seem a bit bold but I really do need to exercise a little faith and hope with this year's event. In recent years I have noticed a steady decline in the output of good music and good live acts to see. In this “American Idol” culture that we all must unfortunately endure the level of what’s accepted as good music has plummeted. It’s become a sad but very true reality and we need to make a change.

Music should make you want to punch someone in the face, jump off a building, fall in love and scream at the top of your lungs all at the same time. It should challenge everything you are about and everything you’ve been taught. It should not be a glorified talent contest or a get rich quick scheme. It should not be safe and it certainly should not be something we package and vote on like a politician. It should not be fake.

Lollapalooza can and will hopefully bring some perspective and quality back into our musical sight. Now I’m not that naïve to think this is all just one giant love fest where like-minded people are being summoned together by some higher power to set the wheels in motion to change the world. I know this is heavily sponsored by major corporations and at the end of the day that it’s a business. But you know what? It’s a business with a greater good. It has a purpose and it has meaning. I for one am searching for a revolution and maybe, just maybe this year's festival can be the engine that drives such a revolution.

Back in 1991 the musical landscape was turned upside down by what would later be described as "grunge." I hate to use that term or classify music in any way, but people know when they hear that word that it represents a shift in listening sensibilities that originated out of the Pacific Northwest, specifically Seattle, Wash.. Nirvana was given credit for the breakthrough but it actually started happening years before with many other bands in other parts of the country, but that’s a story for another time.

Given the time and the change in musical direction, add a bunch of disaffected youth with money to burn, throw in something called Lollapalooza and you have the perfect storm for a generation. This festival made a difference. This festival meant something very important to many people and as it stands now, I think we are primed for another takeover. At least I hope so.

I stopped attending Lollapalooza after the third installment in 1993 and I am now reenergized and excited to attend the 2007 version. If by taking my own temperature regarding this event and multiplying it by many others (I simply cannot be the only one who feels this way), perhaps I’m correct in thinking that the timing is just about right and we are ready for another musical switch. I hope there are thousands of 18-year-olds out there who feel as I did when I was 18 and this can be the turning point for them as it was for me.

I also hope there are thousands of thirty-somethings out there who are exactly like me in this moment and can return to their youth and regain the hope and passion that music and a festival like Lollapalooza once brought them. I’m ready for a change…are you?

For a the complete lineup of the 2007 Lollapalooza festival please log onto www.lollapalooza.com