More Lollapalooza 2004

We announced the lineup of this year’s Lolla a couple of weeks ago. I just got in an update that, frankly, is rather impenetrable, or maybe that’s just the mind of Perry Farrell:

The Lollapalooza 2004 is quickly shaping up as this summer’s most provocative and exciting musical extravaganza. Genre-blurring Brighton, England-based blooz-rockers, Gomez, and San Francisco’s intoxicating space-garage trio Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have just been added to the Main Stage melting pot. “I’ve always thought of Lollapalooza as an outdoor circus,” says Gomez singer/guitarist Ian Ball. “It’s going to be surreal!”

The diverse two day bill – featuring a previously announced roster that includes Morrissey, String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, and the Polyphonic Spree – spans a remarkable array of sounds and visions, from cutting-edge rock ‘n’ roll and avant-garde pop to progressive bluegrass and improvisational electronica.

The roster represents Lollapalooza’s guiding force Perry Farrell’s enthusiasm for the free-wheeling jam scene, an organic community driven by loyal fans and inventive music. One of his goals for Lollapalooza 2004 is to fuse divergent subcultures to generate an unprecedented, unpredictable musical and social “love child.”

This ambitious merging of cultures was inspired earlier this year, when Farrell – in his Peretz guise – shared a Denver, Colorado bill with boundary-pushing breakbeat band, Sound Tribe Sector 9. While he was initially unsure of how the STS9 audience would react to his electronic dance sounds, Farrell was overjoyed to find the fans to be remarkably positive and responsive. “I found the people I spent the evening with to be conscious, artistic, and inspired – all things Lolla!” he recalls.

“A fellow who had a stall at the first Lollapalooza came over and reintroduced himself. ‘Hey Perry, remember me? I was on the first Lolla! Man, you know what I’m waiting for? I’m waiting for Lollapalooza to run with the spirit of this evening and take it across the country!’ “The spirit I envision to come over the country with the 2004 Lolla is akin to the gypsy of old,” Farrell continues, “but his coach is solar-powered in keeping with the music’s message. He’s part of the ‘Revolution-Solution,’ having a little fun as a ‘Political-Prankster’.”

Lollapalooza 2004 will officially kick off its coast-to-coast itinerary on July 14th and 15th at Auburn, Washington’s White River Amphitheatre. Further dates, along with on-sale information, will be announced in the coming weeks.

Well, Gomez and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were not what I had in mind when I said they still needed a real headliner.