Lollapalooza

Richard Hasenmyer of Houston, TX! He rocked. He recycled. And now he will be the envy of all of his friends. Thanks to the over 3,000 of you who took part in the Rock & Recycle program at Lolla this year!

Early Bird 3-Day Passes to the 2010 edition of Lollapalooza, happening August 6-8, are officially sold out. Check back next spring for more 411 on the lineup, tickets, and more. In the meantime, bask in the afterglow of Lolla 2009 —peruse photos, setlists, videos, and more.

One of the many highlights at Lollapalooza 2009 was the bigger, badder Perry’s stage. For three straight days, the best in electronic and dance music poured out on the crowed from the thunderous new sound system. It was so kick-ass that it inspired the BEST DANCE EVER!

Were you one of the thousands at Perry’s this year? Let us know what you thought of the new setup by leaving a comment.

Secure your spot in Grant Park for the 2010 edition of Lollapalooza, happening August 6-8.
Scoop up Early Bird-priced 3-Day tickets at 2009 prices, while they last.
Go Now.

The $60 Souvenir 3-Day tickets were gobbled up in 8 minutes minutes flat. If you missed them, don’t fret. Check back on Monday at 10am CST for 2010 Early Bird 3-Day tickets at 2009 prices.

A limited number of $60 Souvenir 3-Day passes for Lollapalooza 2010 – happening August 6-8 in Grant Park — are up for grabs right now! Got get ‘em!

What a weekend.  We’ve got to hand it to the fans who easily turned in the best performance of the entire festival with a fun-loving resilience that helped everything come together.  Sunday turned out to be an admirable reward, with an unbelievable sequence of great performances of their own from giants in every genre.  You could have gone the entire day without one minute of downtime, and each set was on like Tron.  Hopefully, our iPhone App helped a bit.  At any rate, this morning, everyone’s buzzing about their faves.  And this guy.

Early in the day, an adorable Ra Ra Riot set a mellow pace, one that was quickly done away with by Bat For Lashes, who spent her songs jumping from instrument to instrument, wooing the crowd through the demonstration of her various talents.  The Airborne Toxic Event built out huge climaxes to match the scope of their band’s name, impressing their ecstatic fans and drawing in some new converts (catch an interview with them, White Lies, and The Raveonettes here!)  Dan Deacon had tongues wagging with his enormous ensemble of musicians, keeping the audience involved and making sure everyone stayed bouncing to songs like “Crystal Cat”.  If they were out to prove something, Vampire Weekend didn’t look like it, laid-back in shorts and wayfarers.  Dedicating “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” to the late filmmaker John Hughes, they played out with class and confidence, pleasing the thousands who flocked to catch their peppy indie.  Neko Case and Passion Pit were equally acclaimed, nailing down a growing respect for their very different sounds, keeping it real in the late afternoon.

Rock and roll living legend Lou Reed took over Lolla with a swagger and a sneer that barely concealed an obvious pleasure to be in the thick of things.  His setlist included tracks from all over his storied career, opening with “Sweet Jane” and moving on to hits like “Walk on the Wild Side”.  Band of Horses, by all accounts, were having the time of their life, and it showed.  After their set there was barely time to take a breath before The Killers and a reunited Jane’s Addiction (who brought along a helicopter) engaged in an awesome sonic battle royale, impressing and satisfying the tired, happy masses at both ends of Grant Park.  Good show, everyone.

Our friends over at LP33.tv posted a final video recap from Day 3.  Oh, the memories…

Now that the smoke from the stage has cleared, the crowds have gone home, and our final headliners Jane’s Addiction and The Killers have taken their bows, we look back wistfully at another great Lolla weekend that was over too soon.  As always, we couldn’t have done it without the support of the fans and artists who came together to have fun and celebrate each other, or the sponsors and media partners that lent their time and effort in support  We really can’t thank everyone enough.

Well, enough mushy stuff.  Here’s to a well-deserved good night’s rest for everybody.  Be sure and check back with us tomorrow for Sunday recaps!

Brandon Flowers of The Killers

Photo by Cambria Harkley from the Lollapalooza 2009 Flickr

It’s a fine summer day, especially when you’ve got air-conditioned buses and lots of water for fans for want to take a load off in between wicked sets.  Ones like British heartbreaker Bats for Lashes and Aussie troubadours The Greencards put on earlier for eager fans.

The Greencards host a hoedown (in Chicago!)

Bat For Lashes played many instruments during her set, including a tambourine

Literally, the coolest festival goers in Grant Park at one of the many CTA chill stations

Photos by Jack Edinger and Dave Mead from the Lollapalooza 2009 Flickr

Whether its hula hoops or hair,  Lolla’s littlest guests are having a blast along with their older festival counterparts down in Grant Park.  Kidzapalooza’s been a hot spot for special events this year, hosting a duet with LeAnn Rimes and Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell as well as a special appearance by Blues behemoth Buddy Guy at guitar prodigy Quinn Sullivan’s set.

A young Lolla fan demonstrating why punk’s not dead

You can never have too many hula hoops

Photos by Jack Edinger from the Lollapalooza 2009 Flickr