10RW: You Should Be Excited About Lollapalooza

By Jim Shearer on 04/22/2009

Yesterday, the official line-up was announced for this year's Lollapalooza festival, which will be held in Chicago's Grant Park on the weekend of April August 7-9. This is the fifth year of the re-vamped Lollapalooza--which transformed from traveling tour in the '90s to one-stop-shop festival in the '00s--and the fifth time it will take place in Chicago (festival organizers have a 10-year agreement with the city's park district).

Though Coachella usually grabs the "wow" headliners first, and many other summer festivals will feature the same artists on Lollapalooza's bill, there's still good reason to get excited about the weekend-long party that will go down in the Windy City later this summer.

Here are 10 Reasons Why You Should Be Excited About Lollapalooza '09:

10. Chicago
You don't have to journey to a desert or schlep through acres of muddy farmland in Tennessee to enjoy this festival. Lollapalooza takes place in the middle of Chicago--one of the best looking cities around (in my opinion). Not only is it easy to get to, but beautiful Grant Park will make you forget that you're in one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the country.

9. Perry's Back
I don't know how much say Lollapalooza founder, Perry Farrell, has in the festival anymore, but it's always nice to see him back in the fold as a performer. Jane's Addiction--who played the very first Lollapalooza--is back as a headliner!

8. Bring Some Glow Sticks Just In Case
Whether or not Farrell is personally booking the bands for Lollapalooza, he has made sure to include a "night club style" dance-stage for the festival, called Perry's. Bassnectar, MSTRKRFT, Simian Mobile Disco, KiD CuDi and A-Trak are booked to spin.

7. Lou Reed Quote
With bloggers and Chicago music writers weaving their way in and around the backstage area, I'm sure at least one of them will manage to get a classic curmudgeon-like quote from Lou Reed.

6. Depeche Mode Lollapalooza Worthy
Though they seemed like a perfect fit in the '90s, Depeche Mode will actually be playing their first ever Lollapalooza this year. For those that attend the festival to relive '90s nostalgia, a Depeche Mode performance at Lollapalooza will carry more weight than a Depeche Mode performance at any other outdoor festival.

5. On Job Training
It's no secret that the "rock star" is an endangered species. Lollapalooza--as many other summer festivals do--will give some of our decade's most promising stars--The Killers and Kings Of Leon--a chance to move a crowd of thousands, as well as rub elbows with and observe rock royalty. You don't think Dave Gahan could drop some knowledge on Brandon Flowers? Or Lou Reed on Caleb Followill?

4. Oh, The Possibilities
With that many artists in one place on one weekend, expect anything, especially with Perry Farrell backstage giving elbow nudges. Snoop Dogg usually seems down for anything, so how awesome would it be to see him drop some rhymes on top of a TV On The Radio or Peter Bjorn and John riff? (Don't hold your breath, but don't judge out the possibility.)

3. My Favorite In-Between-Album Bands
Arctic Monkeys, Band of Horses, and Vampire Weekend (three of my favorite acts of the last few years) are all in between albums, yet are all playing Lollapalooza. If I can get one new song out of each band, I'll go home happy.

2. Lollapalooza Trivia
For those who take their Lollapalooza seriously, you can spend a weekend quizzing your friends on Lollapaloozas past: What year did Snoop play his first Lollapalooza? Who did he share the bill with? Are any of those artists on the bill today? How many times has Jane's Addiction played Lollapalooza?

1. Lollapalooza Homecoming
Old-schoolers like Jane's Addiciton, Tool, and the Beastie Boys can work a crowd of 70,000 like it was a club show. To this day, one of the craziest sets I have ever seen was the Beastie Boys at Lollapalooza '94. Kids were body surfing on top of barricades, with hundreds and hundreds of others being launched through the sky via picnic blankets. April 7-9 will be a homecoming party like no other for esteemed Lollapalooza alumni. So get your beach blankets ready for some people flinging.

2009 Lollapalooza Line-Up:

Depeche Mode
Tool
The Killers
Jane's Addiction
Beastie Boys
Kings of Leon
Lou Reed
Ben Harper and Relentless 7
Thievery Corporation
Snoop Dogg
Rise Against
Andrew Bird
TV on the Radio
Vampire Weekend
The Decemberists
Neko Case
STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
Animal Collective
Band of Horses
Of Montreal
Arctic Monkeys
Coheed and Cambria
Ben Folds
Fleet Foxes
Silversun Pickups
Kaiser Chiefs
Crystal Castles
Bon Iver
Santigold
Atmosphere
Dan Auberbach
Cold War Kids
Deerhunter
Lykke Li
Robert Earl Keen
Peter Bjorn and John
Heartless Bastards
Gomez
Glasvegas
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Passion Pit
The Raveonettes
The Gaslight Anthem
The Airborne Toxic Event
White Lies
Ra Ra Riot
No Age
Asher Roth
Los Campesinos!
Bat For Lashes
Chairlift
Gang Gang Dance
The Virgins
Amazing Baby
Portugal. The Man
The Knux
Ida Maria
Delta Spirit
Friendly Fires
Manchester Orchestra
Constantines
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
Hockey
Miike Snow
Alberta Cross
Hey Champ
Sam Roberts Band
The Henry Clay People
Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
Cage the Elephant
Living Things
The Low Anthem
Blind Pilot
Langhorne Slim
Other Lives
The Builders and The Butchers
Eric Church
Joe Pug
Kevin Devine
The Green Cards
Carney
Thenewno2

Featured performers at Perry's include:

Bassnectar
MSTRKRFT
Simian Mobile Disco
DeadMau5
Boys Noise
KiD CuDi
Crookers
A-Trak
Hercules and Love Affair (DJ Set)
The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set)
LA Riots
Kaskade
The Glitch Mob
Hollywood Holt
Rye Rye
He Say, She Say
Car Stereo (Wars)
Dark Wave Disco
Moneypenny
Yello Fever
Animal Collective (DJ Set)