"Lollapalooza Shines as Lollapa-Winner"
Cleveland Plain Dealer Newspaper -- Thursday,
July 30, 1992 -- Page:
By: Michael Norman
Submitted by: Michael S. Dolin
Eddie
Vedder, the charismatic lead singer of the Seattle rock band Pearl Jam, summed
it up best as he stood on the Blossom Music Center stage yesterday afternoon,
surveying the undulating mass of humanity sweating, slamming and stage diving in
the Lollapalooza mosh pit.
"I
dare them to ignore me!" he screamed, speaking in song for all of the young
and neglected, angry and disaffected in the sold-out Blossom crowd "I dare
them! I dare them!"
Vedder
needn't have worried. Whether you love or hate the music (and you're probably
over the age of 30 if you hate it): there's no ignoring Lollapalooza, the
alternative music-festival, carnival and traveling political road-show making
its way around the country this summer.
The
brainchild of Perry Farrell, former lead singer of the defunct alternative band
Jane's Addiction, the festival, is in its second year. It already has become
kind of Woodstock for the '90s generation, offering the cutting edge in rock and
rap, plus all manner of hip, socially conscious and politically correct
attractions and sideshows.
The
festival pitched its tent at Blossom Music Center yesterday, treating a capacity
crowd of more than 19,000 people to a 12-hour counterculture party and music
marathon.
Political
groups ranging from Rock the Vote to People for the Ethical Treatment of ANimals
passed out literature and sought converts. Circus and carnival acts performed
along a midway lined with ethnic food stands. And seven of pop music's best
alternative rock and rap acts--Lush, Pearl Jam, Jesus and Mary Chain,
Soundgarden, Ice Cube, Ministry, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers performed on the
main Blossom Stage, while a slate of up-and-comers entertained during breaks on
the side stage near the hilltop Blossom Restaurant.
Several
passing thunderstorms soaked the audience on the grass and turned the Blossom
lawn into a muddy slide. But the rain and mud didn't faze the fans. In fact,
many dived into the quagmire, transforming part of the hillside into a wild mud
ride.
The
British band Lush was the first to take the main stage, performing a 45-minute
set of nine tunes, most from there latest album, "Spooky."
An
"ambience" band in the mold of My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and Mary
Chain, the Lush sound features a pulsating, hypnotic back beat spiced by
distorted, fuzzy guitars and the purposely indisinct vocals of lead singer Miki
Berenyi.
The
crowd responded politely to Lush's offerings, but went ballistic when Vedder and
Pearl Jam took the stage. The pavilion crowd immediately surged forward,
overcoming security guards to breech barriers that separated the mosh pit (or
dance area) from the rest of the seats.
Like
previous generations, today's young have transformed cutting edge rock into
something that adults probably can't fathom (and certainly can't stomach). The
mosh pit, a place for slam-dancing and diving toward the stage, is a way of
keeping all but the most dedicated fans out of the prime viewing area.
"We're redistributing the wealth," is the way Vedder put it, as he
urged security guards to go easy on the crowd.
Pearl
Jam, whose debut album "Ten" is No. 3 on the Billboard album charts,
stole the early part of the show, taking the stage at 3 p.m. and roaring through
a sizzling set anthemic rock that included renditions of their hits
"Alive," "Even Flow," and "Why Go."
Vedder
is one of the more engrossing vocalist in rock, with a deep, rolling and
passionate voice reminiscent of Jim Morrison of the Doors and Bono of U2. He
works the crowd into a frenzy with a combination of stage antics and vocal
acrobatics.
Britain's
influential and much copied the Jesus and Mary Chain, Seattle grunge rockers
Soundgarden and rapper Ice Cube rounded out the early portion of the show, each
with 45-minute sets. Soundgarden cooked up a hard rock feast with cuts from it's
best selling album "Badmotorfinger." Jesus and Mary Chain delved into
its substantial back catalog, playing several cuts from the seminal noise pop
album "Psychocandy" and its latest release, "Honey's Dead."
Industrial
kings Minisrty backed by a robot like crew of futuristically dressed
"cyber" dancers, delivered a powerhouse hour of technopunk and
industrial pop, revving the mosh pit into hyper motion. Several fans were
injured amid the craziness, and rescue workers carried several away on
stretchers.
The
headlining act, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, took the stage at 9:30 p.m. and
capped the evening with 90 minutes of raw and raunchy funk-rock power. They
kicked off their set with their latest single, "Give it Away," and
pounded through renditions of several other cuts from their latest album,
"Blood Sugar Sex Magik." Lead singer Anthony Kiedas also delivered a
stirring take on the hit ballad "Under the Bridge."
The
Peppers also did a couple of cover tunes, giving a novel treatment to Neil
Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done" and revving up Stevie
Wonder's "Higher Ground" into a funk frenzy.
They
topped that in their one song encore. As they launched into a rendition of Jimi
Hendrix's "Crosstown Traffic," the band appeared on stage with gas
powered flaming helmets sitting atop their heads.
(see also, Lollapalooza Festival )
