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| Quick,, name this Lollapalooza headlining band! |
No, this isn't April 1st (although we do have some doozies planned for that special day) and no I'm not kidding.
While we at The Shit have absolutely nothing but the highest regard for each of the headlining acts, one does get that nagging feelings that organizers for the legendary music festival, realizing the strength of the brand they've built, have taken a page from the Chicago Cubs playbook by fielding a lackluster line-up and still selling a shitload of tickets.
Why break their backs year after year delivering a top-tier line-up of alt. rock's most notable headliners if most folks buy their tickets before (or without) even knowing which acts will be playing?
That's how strong the brand is...tens of thousands of people are able and willing to pay top dollar for tickets to every single day of the festival with zero concern over which bands will actually be rocking the Windy City in July.
So, are festival organizers really just milking the Lollapalooza brand or are they too making some much-painful choices during what they hope will be a brief period of rebuilding?
Let's face it, this batch of headliners seems like something we'd see at a fledgling travelling sideshow of a music festival - the kind of fest that Lollapalooza was when it started out during the grungy days of those hallowed alt. rock '90s - not the Chicago institution it has become.
The simple truth is that the number of headline-level alt. rock acts these days is pretty damn thin and most of the obvious choices have already headlined the festival in recent years.
By placing their faith in such acts as Mumford & Sons, the Killers, Vampire Weekend and Phoenix, the festival is betting that showing faith in such acts now, maybe said acts will return the favor when they truly make the jump to major headlining status on par with the R.E.M.'s, U2's and Foo Fighters of the alt. rock world.