Sunday, July 10, 2016

Remembering Lollapalooza 1996 in Downing Stadium at Randall's Island


Hard to believe that this was a full two decades ago!

But indeed, that is what the calendar says, and I'm starting to get used to talking about what seem like fairly recent memories, but talking about them in terms of how many decades ago they were.

This one meant something to me at the time and, if anything, it has increased in meaning over the course of the years, because this was Lollapalooza, back when it was still more or less in it's heyday! I might have missed the first couple of them, which I would have really loved to have seen, but at least I did go to one, and got to experience it. For that, I am thankful, as far as concerts that I went to are concerned, anyway.

There were some acts there that I was unfamiliar with, and/or did not care about. But we hung out by the main stage, and were up close and personal for the first few acts. We got to see Psychotica (one of the bands that I did not care much about, one way or the other), and then the Shaolin Monks, who were amazing with their martial arts skills and tricks illustrating their mind over matter approach! Then there were the Screaming Trees, who almost made it big like their other Seattle counterparts, but just fell short. 

We moved back after that, because it was starting to get really crowded. But on this day, we would see some incredible acts, including Rancid, the Ramones (and I still feel grateful to have seen them!), Soundgarden, and Metallica to close the evening off. 

For so long, I had heard about Lollapalooza, and how cool it was. In many ways, I feel that this was my generations Woodstock, if you will. It had cultural significance, political significance, and there were a lot of great, young rock acts that came out of it. And I felt especially pleased to have gone to one, and now, looking back, feel that this went a long way towards making me feel like I took part in that whole 1990's music scene!

Here are some videos from various Lollapalooza shows:














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