YeS!Ą!Ą! YoUr'S TrUeLy ViSiTeD LoLLaLaNd....LOLLAPALOOZA that is!!!

Nashville. July 31st, 1997:
THE BANDS: (NOTE: *=BANDS I WATCHED)
.....FAILURE*
.....JULIAN AND DAMIAN MARLEY AND THE UPRISING BAND*
.....JAMES*
.....TRICKY*
.....PUGS*
.....SNOOP DOGGY DOGG*
.....KORN (CANCELLED)
.....TOOL*
.....PRODIGY*
.....LOST BOYZ
.....a few others, I'll have to check for the names...

THE ARRIVAL:

The gates opened at one, and my friend Court Donner and I arrived sometime just prior to the 3 o'clock starting time. Failure was already onstage and sounding excellent as we perused the various t-shirts, wall posters, and jewelry for sale. Failure was still succeeding onstage when we finally reached our seats.

THE DAYLIGHT HOURS:

We chose our seats at random for the simple fact we didn't want to sit on opposing ends of the ampitheater. I remember being extrememly impressed with Failure's first set, and I also remember wishing I had brought the earplugs I had meant to bring.
After Failure, it was the Marley's and their Uprising Band's turn to rattle out some really kicking rasta funk. I remember them playing "No Woman, No Cry" and "I Shot The Sheriff". Both renditions were excellent. It was during the Uprising Band's set that my boss, Shelly, and her hubby to be arrived on the scene just a few rows back. Shelly came and said hi to Court and I, and then returned to her seat.
While I am thinking about it, I must mention the hippie couple in front of us. He was balding in the front yet maintained his long hair in the back. She was pretty, not in the conventional way, but rather, in an earthy kind of way I find hard to describe. Don't get me wrong, she was by no means the MOST attractive lady there, but at least she wasn't pierced in eighty places! We relayed a few words, but nothing to be considered serious talk.
When the Marley's finished their set, a band called James took the stage. The lead singer, Tim Booth, wore a neck brace and real gaudy show clothes. His bandmates were just as gaudy though. The music of James itself wasn't too bad, but the audience only seemed to pay them any mind when Mr. Booth would shout the "F" word between the songs.
Tricky was.....well, a big disappointment to both Court and I. We stayed for the first song before jetting over to the second stage searching for talent. It was on the second stage that we found a group by the name of PUGS.
Pugs had three things going for them. First of all, they were loud and posessed the minimum amount of talent required to get a record deal. Second, the band had the appeal of oddity, which was certainly the order of the day at Lollapalooza 1997, that only having a drag queen keyboard player can bring. Finally, the last thing they had going for them, their lead vocalist was a babe from out of this world. Atleast she appeared to be from another planet (who wouldn't with toilet plungers covering their breasts??????). Even if the act was somewhat of a freak show, it was entertaining.... Know this, everyone fits in at lollapalooza. No outcasts here!!!
That concluded the daylight hours of the concert.

THE EVENING HOURS:

Snoop took the stage at 7:15 P.M. and the party kicked into "high" gear. As the darkness and sheer number of people in the human ocean of the audience protected the Stoners, drugs were used both openly and often. I noticed the smell of weed was getting stronger, and as surely as I turned my head, the couple next to me---in their late 20's, early 30's--- were toking up a big blunt, joint, J, whatever you wanna call it.
People rushed in from everywhere as the DoggFather took the stage, putting the event staff on high alert. Snoop performed for a little over an hour, giving by far one of the best performances of the night. He played all of his early songs as well as a few of his new ones. The gangster theatrics were endless. About half way through the show, Snoop picked up some weed a concert-goer threw onstage, and after a drawn out debate, he proceeded to smoke the blunt on stage. At one point he blew it in the faces of those people up front while the police looked on helplessly. Snoop concluded his set with "What's My Name?"
TOOL took the stage next. The band came complete with side-by-side screens displaying mirroring images of an acidic nature. The lead singer did the whole set in nothing more than a pair of bikini briefs. Sound layered on sound layered on sound---yes, pure metal-edged alternative thrash---bombarded the receptive audience.
Even with Tool's metal music, my mood remained mellow. I swayed back and forth from each side during their set....
Yet, when Prodigy, a band I wasn't a fan of, took to the front and center, my wild side kicked into high gear. I was headbanging from the get-go. I was jamming without a care in the world as to what anyone else thought of the way I was dancing. I felt more freedom in that hour of thrash metal than any other time in my life. Lollapalooza has to be the closest thing our generation has to Woodstock without being a carbon-copy sellout of it. What is the meaning of this?????? GO. ENJOY. LOLLAPALOOZA 1997!!!!!

.......(Note: The Nashville show I attended, did in fact, sellout the Starwood Amphitheater on July 31, 1997.)