For the 1993 summer tour, Lollapalooza is adding even more fuel to its alternative fire.
If the lineup of main stage performers is any indication, the focus this year is on musical diversity rather than alternative acts on the verge of mainstream success like last year’s Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam.
The Main Stage will feature Rage Against the Machine, a punk-rock rap band that recently passed through Miami as part of the Divine Playground; the heavy female rockers Babes in Toyland; Tool; Front 242; Grammy winners Arrested Development; ska-rockers Fishbone; twisted guitar gods Dinosaur Jr.; heavy beyond belief Alice in Chains; and bass-happy band Primus.
Quite an eclectic group. South Florida fans better be prepared for a broad musical experience when the tour pulls in July 27 at Miami’s Bicentennial Park. Tickets are $28.50 in advance, $30 day of show plus surcharges, and go on sale at 10 a.m. June 26 at all Ticketmaster outlets.
A lot of emphasis this year is on “The Village,” a place Lollapalooza is creating to be a surreal world where art, music and politics collide. One focus of the village will be the Second Stage, where ground-breaking underground national acts will play along with local bands.
Other unusual side shows will feature bone readers, adult puppet shows and a booth where original Hopi Indian silver jewelry will be made.
Performance artist Jason Woods will create unseemly acts with his pet chainsaw, and the Cyber Pit will mix art and technology with computer kiosks where festgoers can create and collect information.
Specially created videos of musicians reading their own works will play in the Spoken Word tent. Artists on tape include Henry Rollins, Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Jim Carroll.
Back for more eye-opening refreshment is the Smart Bar, serving “psychoactive elixirs” and the Rhythm Beast, a giant, two-story percussion instrument that thousands enjoyed beating on last year. Food booths serving Cajun, Jamaican and Greek foods are expected.
Bicentennial Park was a nice arena for Lollapalooza last year, with its bayfront breezes, hills and shaded areas; much betterthan the soggy landlocked fairgrounds of Orlando in ’91. The fairgrounds once again will be the site for Orlando’s tour date of July 28.
The first three dates of the tour in June sold out within a day, and the buzz on the tour is as loud as ever, even without a big-name headliner. Fifty cents from every ticket will go to local and national charities.
— Sandra Schulman writes a local music column for the Sun-Sentinel.
SHOW INFORMATION
Lollapalooza ’93, featuring Primus, Alice in Chains, Dinosaur Jr., Fishbone, Arrested Development, Front 242, Tool, Babes in Toyland, and Rage Against the Machine, is scheduled July 27 at Bicentennial Park, 1075 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. The event also features local groups, arts and crafts, performance artists and food booths. Gates open at noon. Tickets are $28.50 in advance, $30 day of show plus surcharges, and go on sale at 10 a.m. June 26 at Ticketmaster outlets. Call Ticketmaster, 966-3309 (Palm Beach), 523-3309 (Broward), 358-5885 (Dade).
