Lolapalooza

     As I approached Lola’s Bar and Grill on W. Main Street Friday night I could hear “Check One, Two…Check One…Check...Check…” echoing out over the streets of downtown. COOL!  How do you describe the electrifying energy of approaching an outdoor concert surrounded by others arriving in anticipation for a great night of live music?  Jackson-based “The Grove” was getting ready to kick-off “Lolapalooza” 2005.
    I’ve always been charmed by outdoor music concerts and festivals.  Music just seems so much richer and resonant when played outside.  Maybe it’s the wide-open spaces…the way that base and beat sound reverberates into the distance?  Whatever the case…”Lolapalooza” Jackson 2005 was a great experience!
    I’d never attended before, and what I hear it’s an annual event.  Like most things, I researched the term “Lolapalooza” on the internet and discovered that “Lollapalooza” (yes, different spelling) is a traveling alternative rock festival that this year sported 60 bands on 5 stages in Chicago.  As founder of “Lollapalooza”, Perry Farell, frontman for Jane’s Addiction, defined the slang term as meaning “something or someone striking or unusual.”  Ok, so now I figured out the name…obviously a play on “Lollapalooza” but at Lola’s in Jackson it’s “Lolapalooza.”  I can dig that.
    While Jackson’s “Lolapalooza” has no official link to Chicago’s “Lollapalooza” I’d have to say after hanging out stage front and central while Jackson’s own Forty5 South headlined the event, I was impressed.  Having never heard Forty5 South, but having heard a lot ABOUT them, I was truly looking forward to understanding the big 
 

following they have.  I’m no country music fan, but these guys were awesome!  I recall turning to a friend when they started playing and stating, “WHOA, that’s BIG sound.” Interpretation: This band has a sound that commands the “big venue” environment…i.e., big arena, cheering crowds, complete with flashing lights and pyrotechnics.  I was then momentarily zapped into what I’ll call a mental-morph state. Time stood still just long enough for me to feel the layers of history that existed right where I stood on Main Street.  Hearing the band mingled with the chatter and cheering of the crowd, I felt blessed.  Not sure I can explain that…but I suppose it was related to the fact that I didn’t have to drive two hours to some big stadium, pay $50 plus bucks to get in, climb my way to my seat and hope I could make out the facial features of the people I was there to see.  No, I was standing on W. Main Street minutes from home, a few feetfrom the stage, a few feet from the bar, a few feet from everything!  Yes, Forty5 South was great…and so too was the Grove, and One Less Reason who also played that evening. Not just one, but THREE bands in one night?  Who could ask for more?  …or maybe I just don’t get out enough.      Whatever the case, huge thanks to Lola at Lola’s Bar and Grill for hosting such a great event!  Billed as “Jackson’s Biggest Street Party,” I’ll have to agree.  But I have a hunch this is only the beginning of things yet to come downtown.
   Dickson is the owner of The Dickson Gallery of Fine Art at 118 E Lafayette Street. She may be contacted by email at rachel@dicksongallery.com or by phone at 423-9708.