Even though I'm still working on transcribing the last of my Rothbury interviews, it's time to switch gears and move up to Lollapalooza. I'm lucky enough to be onsite all weekend, and can't wait to see Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine. I'm also looking forward to checking out all the green accomplishments at the festival and digging deep to see if they live up to the hype.
Lollapalooza's had years and years to perfect its act, so I expect things to go pretty smoothly here. They have an extensive greening section on their website that gives info on the various greening initiatives around the site.
Notably, the new permanent location at Grant Park in Chicago is exceedingly public transit friendly, and it's also going to be bike friendly with a bike storage area and even a bag valet for folks using public transit/bikes to drop off their extra gear. There are two free water locations in the park and fans are encouraged to bring reusable bottles, and of course there is a full-fledged recycling program. At first glance, it looks like Lolla is at about the same green level as Bonnaroo--in other words, they were in front of the pack until Rothbury came along and blew away the competition.
Lollapalooza's frontman Perry Ferrell is known to be big on the green front, and I've managed to snag 5 minutes with him on Saturday for an interview. I'm also working on lining up a talk (or even a behind-the-scenes tour!) with Stacy Rodriguez, the new greening coordinator at C3. On the artist front, I'll be interviewing Saul Williams and others, so stay tuned for lots of good green info in the weeks to come.
One notable interview I won't be able to get is, of course, Radiohead. Getting an interview with Thom Yorke is about as easy as getting an audience with the Queen, but I tried anyway. That doesn't mean I won't try to sneak my way backstage for a look at the ultracool low-energy, battery-powered LED lightshow that the band's production manager devised just for this tour. Radiohead has done as much as anyone to green their tour, and they've been very transparent about the process on their website and blogs, so I'll dedicate a whole post to the band after the dust settles.
There are better clips of Radiohead on YouTube from a musical performance and audio quality perspective, but this is the best example I could find that highlights the LED show. Enjoy!
