By this week, the news that Lollapalooza 2004 went bust probably isn’t a surprise to many, but that doesn’t make the truth of its demise any less unfortunate. The traveling alterna-band blowout was supposed to kick off at White River Amphitheater on July 14, but instead, on June 22, news from Perry Farrell HQ was that the numbers just didn’t add up and the entire festival was canceled: Festival cofounder Marc Geiger told the New York Times, “I am in utter disbelief that a concert of this stature, with the most exciting lineup I’ve seen in years, did not galvanize ticket sales. I’m surprised that given the great bands and the reduced ticket prices, we didn’t have enough sales to sustain the tour.” That announcement came out only a week after a Rolling Stone article predicted tough times for a number of summer concerts, since, among other factors, ticket prices for big-name shows are more and more often out of consumers’ reach. Before Lollapalooza’s cancellation, the magazine named that tour as one of a number of shows–from Ozzfest to Fleetwood Mac and the Dead–that have seen ticket sales take a tumble this year.
While I can’t say I’d shed a tear if some of the more singularly focused shows disappeared, I’d hoped Lollapalooza’s return to its original ideals of netting a wide array of artists would help inspire more creativity within the festival and for promoters at large. As I’ve written before, there’s nothing new about crossing genres and popularity levels at a major, mainstream event, and yet it happens so infrequently–even less frequently in the Northwest. For those who didn’t have the cash to shell out for plane and concert tickets to, say, Coachella, Lollapalooza promised to bring the musical mash-up to us, which gave me hope that the broad mix of “alternative music”–from Bumblebeez 81 to PJ Harvey, the Flaming Lips, the Coup, and Modest Mouse–would be stirred together in one of the most adventurously scoped lineups in years. Sadly, finances guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case, but hopefully some similarly creative lineup will come to light in the near future. In the meantime, check local club calendars to see if any Seattle venues pick up Lollapalooza artists for their Northwest dates: Already the Walkmen have announced a Seattle show at Neumo’s on July 13th, and Sonic Youth and Wolf Eyes will screw with your ears at the Showbox on July 14. (And there’s always the Cure‘s Curiosa festival at the Gorge August 21.)
Those of you feeling fired up for a different kind of action after seeing Michael Moore’s gut-wrenching Bush slam, Fahrenheit 9/11, can help affect political change through music with No Vote Left Behind (www.novoteleft-behind.net). As one of many musical/political groups hosting benefits around the city, they’re having a show this Friday, July 2, at the Hideaway with the Invisible Eyes, Haoke, the New Fangs, and DJs spinning French pop and new wave for $6.