The Transient Identities of Lollapalooza and the Park That Houses It

by Jonah Ansell, Rivalfish Producer/Music Writer, jonah.ansell@gmail.com

As a follow up to yesterday's Lollapalooza feature, we at Rivalfish are here to help the people of Chicago prepare for the biggest event to converge upon our fair city since Star Jones' pre-gastrointestinal-bypass-surgery-whale-tuchus marched its big ole' self into town. We're simply hoping to make it a little bit easier for our sports-loving friends to make sense of all the hullabaloo that's going on in Grant Park and with Lollapalooza, as both have changed much since the early 1990s. And we'll use the 2005 lineup of the World Series champion Chicago White Sox as our guide.

Many of us remember Grant Park as the second coming of the old Chicago Stadium, the Bulls' home away from home, where they'd ice the cake after six different championship seasons, in front of the applauding hordes of die-hard fans each June. And no you silly Bulls' fans, the park was not named after the bespectacled rebounding machine of the early 1990s, the pre-Rodman Rodman who played alongside the pre-Steve Kerr Kerr (aka a Mr. John Paxson), Grant Park was actually named after Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, or as he's known in the music world, L.L.U.G. We imagine that mama implored Ulysses to "knock out" more peeps than the other "L.L." back in his day, as the old school L.L. is way tougher than any mail catalogue that tries to sell your parents a non-threateningly colored fleece.

Confused yet? Good. Because it is confusing. So much has gone on in Grant Park, since the Bulls put it back on the map in the mid 1990s, that we need to reintroduce the place to our lovely readers. And much has happened to Lollapalooza too, since the rise and fall of the Grunge Era.

The Festival
Originally the brilliant brainchild of Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, Lollapalooza, like Grant Park, has seen its fair share of awkward years. After the festival peaked in 1994, Farrell decided to branch off and form the short-lived ENID electronica festival. Lollapalooza went on a five year break beginning in 1998, allowing this writer to concentrate on his senior year of high school and four years of procrasturbation at one of our nation's finer liberal arts colleges. This year's Lollapalooza festival is only the third time the festival has been held since 1997, and if last year's success is any indicator (see picture to the right), it appears that Lollapalooza might be "back on the rag and ovulating," as a certain whiny overhyped white rapper might exclaim. The festival is no longer in Farrell's creative hands, rather its being run by a group by the name of Capital Sports & Entertainment. But regardless of who's holding the reigns, the simple fact is, it's back to be reckoned with, and we at Rivalifsh think there's a particularly interesting future for Lollapalooza and the place that holds it, because both have shared parallel histories over the past 15 years.

The Park
Sure Grant Park hosted the Bulls' victory championships of the early to mid 90s, but so too did it host Chicago Park District needle feltings, for scores of Naperville/Arlington Heights white women, likely over the age of 62. With Blues Fest, Rib Fest and all sorts of rec leagues to entertain the city's unathletic 20/30 somethings in their idle summer months, Grant Park has formed a post-Bulls transient identity, shifting with the seasons like illegal money into former Illinois Governor George Ryan's bank account. But with the epic music festival of Lollapalooza now in town for the second year in a row, it looks like Ulysses' namesake might be able to stand on its own two feet again.

This Year's Bands/Acts
While the Alternative acts to first surface at Lollapalooza in the early 1990s were followed more by the freaks and geeks than the jocks, the 2006 show features a good handful of mainstream stadium rock/rap groups and other top 40 favorites. It's a changing world out there, with the previously "indie" becoming notably "mainstream,"* so to navigate the lesser known names at this year's festival, we've designed a uniquely Chicago guide for Chicago residents and sports enthusiasts nationwide.

Below is a Lollapalooza guide for the layman or the sportsfan, hip-hopper or hipster, you may not recognize Grant Park or the folks running this year's festival, but it's all about the music and here's the Rivalfish way of determining who's who at this year's show.

C	A.J. Pierzynski - group - What Made Milwaukee Famous - why? - Pierzynski has the white trash demeanor that put Milwaukee on the map. Though neither the snaggle toothed catcher or the upbeat indie pop band are actually from Milwaukee, someone had to kick off this list.
1B	Paul Konerko - group Poi Dog Pondering - why? - Both are beloved in Chicago. Poi Dog's widely known for their hit "Living with the Dreaming Body," whereas single women of Tinley and Orland Park turn into teen Beatles fans when Konerko, recently named Chicago's most-eligible bachelor, steps up to the plate.
2B	Tadahito Iguchi - group: Pepper - Why? - Pepper, the classic game of bunting/fielding that so many bored high schoolers play in the downtime after pregame but before the actual game, also happens to be the name of a pretty good Ska/Punk band. Originally from Hawaii, just as Tadahito Iguchi is originally from a kinda Asian place,
3B	Joe Crede - group: Calexico - Why? - Calexico guitarist and lead singer Joey Burns is one of only very few musicians who uses an Airline guitar. Crede is one of very few major league players to still sport a hideous mullet.
SS	Juan Uribe - group: Mates of State - Why? - One of the few married duos that performs well together, Uribe had to marry in order to get a green card to stay in the U.S. Had he been deported, perhaps the Sox wouldn't have won the series.
LF	Scott Podsednik - group: Hot Chip - Why? - Hot Chip is a group obsessed over how unique they are and touts their outsider status as these Londoners play the States. Podsednik is rarity too, and his ego is fluffed up by the fact that he's one of very few white guys who can run the bases at an above average speed. Both are over-rated, but worth checking out, just to say you were there.
CF	Aaron Rowand - group: 30 Seconds to Mars - Why? - Pesky and annoying, nobody is going to be trying harder than frontman Jared Leto, who will likely be trying to personify what he thinks a rock n' roller ought to do rather than what one actually does. ***Ed. Update: 5/20/07 - see video below!!***
RF	Jermaine Dye - group: Peeping Tom - Why? - This band plays some darksome dark and heady metal. Jermaine Dye is dark-skinned and is unmarried, claiming to never settle. What, rhyming isn't a strong enough link? It is for your second grade daughter who writes poetry.
DH	Frank Thomas - group: Husky Rescue - Why? - Although the lead singer of the band's voice sounds as gentle as an icicle melting onto a patio in mid-March, nobody huskier was in need of rescue than the benched, injured Thomas. Thankfully, this barn hoss is cluttering Oakland's 40 man roster. But despite his downsides, we definitely recommend checking out Husky Rescue for a very chill experience.
SP	Mark Buehrle - group: Cold War Kids - Why? - Their record Robbers and Cowards perfectly describes how Buehrle's deceiving changeup is perceived by opposing hitters and how it makes their knees weak when they step up to the plate. Or maybe it's the fact that Buerhle's parents are refugees from Estonia, and were integral players in preventing the nuclear bombing of the Eastern Coast of the United States in 1971.

* The first cross-over album that killed Grunge was arguably Green Day's 1994 classic Dookie or Bush's radio-friendly 1995 Sixteen Stone. Both were offsprings (not The Offspring) of a post grunge/post punk mid 90s awkward phase, music's pre-teen acne-like stage that inevitably led to the rise of 98 Degrees, N*Sync and other such nonsense. Luckily, even those who were caught up in the throes of that late 90s "Y2K was coming so what did we have to lose?" mayhem (i.e. Justin Timberlake) have now found solid ground in more musically interesting solo careers.

**