Even though I attended the second Lollapalooza when I was 16 years old–and had a great time–I really haven't missed it these past few years. In '92, bands I enjoyed quite a bit, like The Jesus And Mary Chain, Lush, Ice Cube, and Ministry, played. But I discovered punk rock shortly thereafter, and as the years wore on, I had no desire to attend what I viewed as a lame festival full of cheeseball alternarock bands. And there's just something weird about seeing shows with thousands of other people. In fact, the only time I've ever feared for my life in my 15 years or so of going to shows was at Lollapalooza '92, when a stage rush at the beginning of Pearl Jam's set pinned me upright in a crowd, my feet literally off the ground.
Nevertheless, I checked out this year's festival here in Chicago because it seemed intriguing. More important than that, though, was the fact that a reunited Digable Planets was playing. I never had a chance to see the hip-hop trio before they broke up in 1995, and my wife and I have been huge fans since back in the day. Then there was the reunited Dinosaur Jr., not to mention the reunited Pixies (but I saw them last fall).
I expected the worst out of the festival: unruly crowds, outrageously priced concessions; brief sets; people boozed up and looking to kick some ass; etc. But the whole thing pleasantly surprised me. The four-stage set up on the main field kept everything moving; as soon as a band finished on one stage, another would start. There was some audio bleed from stages across the field, but if you were relatively close to the stage you were watching, you'd only hear it between songs. The crowds weren't too bad, and even though literally thousands and thousands of people were crammed onto this field, I never felt claustrophobic. Even drinks were relatively cheap: $3 for soda & water, $5 for beer. The price of food varied, but it wasn't outrageous.