Mainstream Fest Lollapalooza Loses Its Historic Edge For Innovation Despite Hard-Charging Rock Performances

Lollapalooza Tuesday, July 30, The Gorge

Tuesday’s Lollapalooza concert at The Gorge confirmed what most of us have been thinking all summer.

Lollapalooza ‘96 is nothing more than overhyped, bloated rock fare with very few unique qualities.

It’s become what festival mastermind Perry Ferry railed against - a non-alternative, mainstream rock ‘n’ roll circus.

Gone is the musical and cultural diversity, even if previous years featured only one token “female band” and one token “rap combo.” At least the lineup was still far more diverse on the main stage than it was Tuesday.

This is nothing against the performing bands who, for the most part, shelled out excellent sets.

Lollapalooza - once a non-commercial and extraordinary, albeit pretentious, music fest - has become just an ordinary big-budget rock show. Tuesday there were no surprises - that is, if you don’t count girls milling around topless.

The food served in the food court was lousy. Vendors peddled the same trinkets and trash that you can find on a street corner - Jamaican flags, cheap “blue-blocker” sunglasses and junk jewelry.

There were no art exhibits, no cyber-chat rooms, no spoken-word performances, no eclectic oddities, no sideshows, no film showings and no poetry slams.

The Brain Trough sounded like a promising concept - a tent filled with various exhibits, games and tables offering agenda-oriented information. However, the line just to get into the tent was a half-hour long.

Not to sound insensitive, but who wants to stand in line to get a “safe sex kit” when there are bands to be watched?

One thing’s for sure: Lollapalooza is running out of ideas.

In past years, the festival tried to outdo the previous years. Additional stages were introduced and new attractions were tried out. This year, organizers produced a limp festival that had very little to offer except for the music.

But if you went into the show looking for a monster guitar rock extravaganza, you got a good show.

Headliner Metallica belted out an explosive set more punishing than the day’s sweltering heat. Any doubt about the band’s ability to rock as hard as it did during the ‘80s was quickly dispelled.

Fans banged their heads for 90 minutes steady to songs from “Load” and albums past.

Soundgarden, though playing only two songs from its new album “Down on the Upside,” churned out a furiously exceptional set. Chris Cornell’s solo rendition of “Black Hole Sun” added a nice touch.

The Ramones were the Ramones, cranking out about 20 three-chord jabs in the space of an hour. Each song was inaugurated with the group’s patented “One, two, three, four.” The Ramones closed their set with the trademark chant, “Gabba, gabba, hey,” and trotted off stage for the final time in Washington state.

Devo was more of an educational experience for most of the people in the audience. But it was a memorable experience at that.

The goof-rock band, which helped pioneer new wave, donned the yellow radiation suits its members wore on their “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” album sleeve. Halfway through its anthem “Jocko Homo,” Devo stripped off their suits and revealed black volleyball uniforms, complete with red knee pads.

They lent their electronic, musical weirdness to several classics, including “Girl U Want” (which was covered by Soundgarden five years ago), “Gates of Steel” and “Can’t Get No Satisfaction” (their quirky rendition of the Rolling Stones song).

One thing that really came out of Devo’s set was that its music has withstood the near two decades since its release.

Rancid, with faux cockney accents, old-school punk drive and ska material, seemed to be more of a tribute to the genres than the real thing.

Ellensburg’s Screaming Trees pounded out a raucous set of heft rock. Singer Mark Lanegan rendered an outstanding vocal performance, even if his outward enthusiasm appeared to be vacant.

The second and third stages were a positive addition, showing audiences that despite the mediocrity dominating the press, airwaves and MTV, there actually are some terrific rock bands out there, making a case that ‘90s rock hasn’t been tapped dry.

Conveniently, the two stages were located next to each other so it didn’t require more walking than necessary.

The Melvins, perhaps the heaviest, meatiest and noisiest power trio in rock history, felt like a wrecking ball in the face. They garnished their second-stage set with noisy textures and a bunch of musical tremors like “Roadbull,” “The Bloat,” “Sweet Willy Rollbar” and “Bar X the Rocking M.”

Soul Coughing coughed up a spectacular performance from the second stage. They fused trip-hop, jazz, avant garde noise, Velvet Underground influences and dance hall in most of their dozen songs, including “Soundtrack to Mary” from their new album “Irresistible Bliss.”

Knocking the socks off many wandering the second and third stage grounds was the soulful rock of Seattle’s Satchel, who played the second stage. Already generating a buzz among hipsters for being Afghan Whigs singer Greg Dulli’s favorite band and containing former Malfunkshun and Brad drummer Regan Hagar, Satchel didn’t disappoint.

Vocalist, guitarist and pianist Shawn Smith set his blissful tenor to some atmospheric and often classic rockers. “Isn’t That Right” from their second album, “The Family,” was quite moving.

From the third stage, the Cows’ Shannon Selberg wore a plastic dildo on his left middle finger and wore it more proudly than his Navy uniform. As always, Selberg was quite eccentric and animated on stage, demonstrating martial arts moves more impressive than the Shaolin Monks.

And yes, the rest of the Cows provided quite a barbed backdrop.

, DataTimes