| Reviews |
Review by Brett Milano / Boston Herald
Resuscitated rock fest: Lots of lolla and few loozas
There's still plenty of life in the old Lollapalooza.
The tour that defined alternative rock in the '90s has been off to a shaky relaunch, with low turnouts and technical problems in other cities but it was all good in Mansfield last night, as the sold-out show ran like clockwork.
The atmosphere on the grounds is still part carnival, part shopping mall and part political free-for-all. This has to be the only place where you'll find an anti-war information table a few feet away from a Marine recruiting booth.
Merchandise booths ranged from art gear to odd novelties. One booth was even selling ``Chronic Candy'' that allegedly tasted like marijuana, but was more reminiscent of green Life Savers.
Onstage, Lollapalooza still has its distinctive punk-gone-hippie vibe. Queens of the Stone Age singer Josh Homme said it best when he threw a beach ball into the mosh pit up front: ``Remember this isn't Ozzfest. This is a bout peace and love and all that crap.''
The one thing this year's Lollapalooza lacked was the anything-goes programming of the glory days. After the early afternoon sets, when punk and rock were represented by the Donnas and Jurassic 5, it was all alternative metal all the time. You might even say that the show's main stretch had only two kinds of bands: Jane's Addiction and bands influenced by Jane's Addiction.
There was, however, a long way between the fiery set played by the Queens of the Stone Age and the limp one turned in by Incubus. Though they played long before the sun set, the Queens had it all: big crunchy riffs, catchy tunes, heady psychedelic jams, and the killer single, ``No One Knows''. In contrast, Incubus was more about singer Brandon Boyd's large ego and bare chest.
Audioslave is less ambitious than either of its parent bands, Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine. But they got more than enough firepower from Chris Cornell's emotive singing and Tom Morello's guitar slinging. Since they played mostly new material, their biggest crowd pleaser was a surprise cover, The White Stripes' ``Seven Nation Army.''
For a band that once embodied rock's dark side, Jane's Addiction looks almost wholesome these days. Singer Perry Farrell was positively athletic as he did high jumps and ran laps around the stage.
With a trio of dancers providing eye candy, familiar numbers like the manic ``Stop'' and the slinky, sexy ``Summertime Rolls'' had the feel of an old-fashioned rock and roll celebration.
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Review by Jim Sullivan / Boston Globe
Lollapalooza revives rock but not revolution
MANSFIELD -- A Lollapalooza moment: Queens of the Stone Age singer-guitarist Josh Homme looked out over the sea of faces Friday afternoon and was not pleased with what he saw. There was a giant, multicolored plastic orb being batted up in the air around the mosh pit in front of the Tweeter Center stage. "This is not Ozzfest," Homme barked, midset. "This is about peace, love, booze, and [sex]." Of the beach-ball behavior: "It's a game, a really stupid game."
Well, that was part of it, a classic part: a sneering punk-rock attitude. But Lollapalooza -- the '90s multiband rock and road show revived this year by cofounder Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction -- was many things to many people. And it was many people: This 12th stop of a 29-date tour was a sellout. There were two stages, a total of 15 acts, and enough mega-decibel, heavy-hitting music to sap the strongest of rock marathoners. Of course, there were kids who spent much of the day out of the sun and noise in the GameRiot tent, playing video games. And there were some who dutifully spent time at the political action awareness kiosks. On the musical side, Jane's Addiction had Zeppelin riffs, psychedelia, sleaze, and hedonism; Audioslave had fairly pedestrian mainstream rock, but kicked up by ace guitarist Tom Morello; Incubus was Bushlike and cushy, with ever-shirtless singer Brandon Boyd winning the old-school sex appeal award. Hip-hoppers Jurassic 5 provided the most atypical sounds of the 10-hour day: sampled jazz from the '30s and antigangsta rap music. The Distillers and the Donnas -- bands featuring the only females to play the main stage -- began the day with variations on the punk theme. The Distillers did it with ragged but right speedballs, with strangled vocals from Brody Armstrong. The Donnas, sounding like the (prettier) figurative younger sisters of the Ramones, played the day's best cover song, Kiss's "Strutter." Queens of the Stone Age, with covocalist Mark Lanegan ambling on and off, was the most impressive band, with a taut, explosive rhythmic attack that would do Metallica proud and guitar licks spun off like shrapnel.
On the second stage, headliner Steve-0 and his Idiot Friends were a no-show -- MTV placed an emergency call to Steve-O to come back and work on his fall series, so the sadomasochistic stuntman is off the tour, and His Idiot Friends took the day off to figure out how to go on with the gross-out show. Mansfield was thus spared the pleasure of seeing Steve-O apply a staple gun to his bare buttocks. Philly's Burning Brides moved up to the headline slot and slammed through a Stooges-influenced set of blistering rock, with vocals and guitar by Concord native Dimitri Coats, who noted he snuck in over a fence to see the first Lollapalooza here in 1991. Boysetsfire's singer Nathan Gray railed against the current political climate, saying anyone "who speaks out has been called a criminal or traitor." A fan saluted him with his middle finger, and he replied, "You have the freedom to flip me off. Thank you." MC Supernatural brought some comedy to the stage and improvised raps off suggested topics.
Stepping back to look at the lineup, it was weighted heavily toward loud guitars and the punk/hard rock/metal end of contemporary music. No electronica, alt-country, garage rock, or new prog-rock. Not many female voices. If not anymore a groundbreaking, breathtaking idea and event, Lollapalooza nevertheless comes back to us as a mighty beast, one that can put its paw on the top of your head and make it snap. In a good way, of course.
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