Lolla, we’re still worried about you. After the headliners were leaked last week, we were hoping for a strong selection of mid-level bands on the lineup to back up the somewhat droopy top players. Unfortunately, , it appears the Lolla disappointment continues.
As the fest drifts closer to EDM, we get a number of unexciting top players — Skrillex and Calvin Harris — to anchor a number of filler acts in the lower portion of the lineup. But what’s toughest to swallow about this festival is its lack of imagination. It feels as if festival organizers took the lineup from top iTunes downloads rather than put any thought into creating a unique experience at Lollapalooza 2014.
Let’s start at the top: We’ve already shared our full thoughts on this year’s headliners, but in short, Eminem, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys and Skrillex all feel dangerously 2009. With the full announce on Wednesday, OutKast and Calvin Harris were added to the top of the lineup. At this point, it hardly seems as a surprise to see OutKast at a festival and Calvin Harris marks another easy-to-grab EDM act (who also has a big spot at Coachella this year).
Near the top, we have the Avett Brothers and Foster The People. These are both reliable acts, but it would be nice to see one legacy or reunion act — Neutral Milk Hotel, the Relacements — thrown in here. Lorde is an interesting choice for the third line. While she has the buzz factor from making her debut in 2013, she hardly has earned a spot that high up on a major festival lineup.
There are certainly some welcome mid-level bands here: Broken Bells, who have been getting a good amount of praise this year; Spoon, a favorite among the indie crowd and a guaranteed good time; Childish Gambino, a definite strong pick for the more enlightened hip-hop fans; and Interpol (headliner in 2007), who may not have been doing as well commercially with their last couple albums, but are always a sight for sore ears when they pop their heads back into the scene. Chance the Rapper and Phantogram mark two good upcoming choices — both of which will end up on some Lolla festivalgoers’ favorite shows of the weekend.
There are some other honorable mentions from the middle: Blood Orange, Typhoon, CHVRCHES, Chromeo, The 1975, White Denim, Parquet, Courts, Portugal. The Man, and The Kooks, who all undoubtedly pull their own weight. This is what the majority of the schedule should look like. But honestly, two-thirds of the 130 bands consists of lower level acts.
But when it comes down to it there’s not much use complaining about it, unless you were one of the people who got tickets before three-day passes sold out within an hour of going on sale, before the lineup was even announced. Had we seen the lineup before tickets sold out, we may have advised you to save your money on Lollapalooza 2014. Go see a smaller festival where you can catch some of these mid-level highlights without the inflated price tag from some of these weaker headliners.
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James Garcia is a community reporter at the Loveland Reporter-Herald and a new blogger at Reverb. Follow him on Twitter @JamesGarciaRH.
