Lollapalooza Rocks Best Lineup in a Decade
Velvet Revolver expect apology, blowjobs

Last summer, after a six-year hiatus, Lollapalooza made a well-publicized grand return, embarking across the United States with a lineup straight out of the 1990s: Audioslave, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age, A Perfect Circle, Jurassic 5, The Donnas, and a reunited Jane's Addiction all came to play. It was a slight improvement (emphasis on "slight") over the 1997 lineup, but still failed to appeal to the festival's early 90s college-rock roots.

However, this year they seem to have the right idea, striking a nice balance of bands and reminding us of why the whole damn thing seemed like a good idea in the first place, while expanding the festival to a two-day format. Keeping in mind that some bands aren't playing all of the festivals dates, Day One of the 2004 edition features, among others: Morrissey, 'Palooza vets Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Broken Social Scene, The Von Bondies, The Walkmen, and the increasingly impossible to avoid Danger Mouse.

The schedule for Day Two features the Pixies, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, The String Cheese Incident, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Polyphonic Spree (all 83 of them), TV on the Radio, The Thrills (who may or may not be better than The Stills), The Fire Theft, and Elbow. Now that's some good alternative music festival. In further exciting Day Two news, Perry Farrell (festival curator/Jane's Addiction frontman/goth chick from Mean Girls) has announced plans to team up with The String Cheese Incident on Lollapalooza's two Denver dates.

The band will be brilliantly renamed "The Perry Farrell Incident" (we're not kidding), and will reportedly be performing an amalgamation of old Jane's Addiction songs and terribly mysterious new surprises. "We haven't worked out what songs we will play yet," says Incident guitarist Bill Nershi, "but I'm sure we'll have some practicing to do." Furthermore, Farrell will also be performing "his patented brand of organic electro-dub-breakbeat grooviness" under his DJ nomenclature Peretz both days on each stop of the tour. You'll find him gettin' funky-- and we mean that in the lewdest way possible-- in the Lollapalooza Chill Tent.

In a respectable move to preserve energy costs and tangibly express their environmental concern, the festival will feature one stage and sound system powered entirely by solar electricity. Says Farrell of the unlikely achievement: "I am extremely impressed, not only by the power source, but by the sound system as well. It seems that they have hand-built the cabinets and the entire sound system themselves to run without fail. They lowered the oms down to 60, so that they aren't drawing power too fast, and but let me tell you, it packs a wallop! The party never needs to end." Except, of course, when the last band plays and they kick your ass out.

Finally, as reported in NME, Farrell has announced his intent to bring the festival overseas. Quoth the eff-dawg: "I'm starting to begin to speak to people in the UK. I'm not going to rush it because I want to [bring it over], I'm going to do it because all of a sudden the universe will open up and say, 'Go over there now!' With going over to Europe, I just want to make sure that when we go, I've got a wonderful line-up and I have the time to do it." And the people of Europe thank you, Perry. Here's the U.S. festival itinerary, with a city-by-city breakdown of the main stage lineups for all dates:

07-14 Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, The Von Bondies

07-15 Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Basement Jaxx, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, TV on the Radio

07-17 Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, The Von Bondies

07-18 Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Basement Jaxx, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, TV on the Radio

07-20 Chula Vista, CA - Coors Amphitheatre
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, The Von Bondies

07-21 Chula Vista, CA - Coors Amphitheatre
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Basement Jaxx, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, TV on the Radio

07-22 Ventura, CA - Ventura County Fairgrounds
Pixies, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, The Von Bondies

07-23 Ventura, CA - Ventura County Fairgrounds
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Basement Jaxx, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, TV on the Radio

07-26 Greenwood Village, CO - Coors Amphitheatre
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, The Von Bondies

07-27 Greenwood Village, CO - Coors Amphitheatre
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, TV on the Radio

07-29 Tinley Park, IL - Tweeter Center
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, The Von Bondies

07-30 Tinley Park, IL - Tweeter Center
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, TV on the Radio

08-01 Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (Day 2 only)
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Wilco, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, TV on the Radio

08-02 Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, The Von Bondies

08-03 Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Wilco, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, TV on the Radio

08-05 Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheatre
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, The Von Bondies

08-06 Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheatre
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Wilco, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, TV on the Radio

08-09 Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, Von Bondies

08-10 Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Wilco, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, Michael Franti & Spearhead

08-12 Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, Von Bondies

08-13 Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, Michael Franti & Spearhead

08-14 Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, Von Bondies

08-15 Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, TV on the Radio

08-16 New York, NY - Randall's Island
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, Von Bondies

08-17 New York, NY - Randall's Island
Pixies, String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, PJ Harvey, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, Michael Franti & Spearhead

08-18 Camden, NJ - Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, Von Bondies

08-19 Camden, NJ - Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, Michael Franti & Spearhead

08-21 Atlanta, GA - Turner Field
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, Von Bondies

08-22 Atlanta, GA - Turner Field
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, Lee "Scratch" Perry & Mad Professor

08-24 Dallas, TX - Smirnoff Music Centre
Morrissey, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Modest Mouse, Le Tigre, BRMC, Von Bondies

08-25 Dallas, TX - Smirnoff Music Centre
String Cheese Incident, Flaming Lips, Gomez, Polyphonic Spree, Lee "Scratch" Perry & Mad Professor

Lollapalooza 2004: http://www.lollapalooza.com