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Lollapalooza 2009 - The fifth edition of the region's biggest rock fest
The fifth "anniversary" run of the biggest rock festival in the area is hitting the fields near Austin, Texas, from June 19th to 20th, 2009. It’s a killer spot—about 30 minutes from a major hub and easy enough to reach from nearby cities—and with this year's lineup, we're looking at a massive turnout. They're expecting nearly 200,000 people over the three days, so if you haven't grabbed tickets yet, you're already behind. Last year was absolute madness, featuring heavy hitters like Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Linkin Park, Pearl Jam, Green Day, System of a Down, Massive Attack, The Killers, Queens of the Stone Age, and a whole bunch of others.
Even though we've still got three months to go, most of the heavy lifting is done regarding the roster. Honestly, I don't think the lineup has ever been this stacked: Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Placebo, Die Toten Hosen, Faith No More, Slipknot, Nine Inch Nails, Machine Head, Gogol Bordello, Guano Apes, Chris Cornell, Disturbed, Staind, Sevendust, Kaiser Chiefs, Killswitch Engage, Chickenfoot, Trivium, Duff McKagan's Loaded, Dimmu Borgir, Dredg, Mastodon, Monster Magnet, Less Than Jake, The Sword, All That Remains, Lacuna Coil, Static-X, and more. Once they finish the list, we're looking at over 80 bands tearing up two stages over three days.
Naturally, the heavyweights carrying the show will be Metallica (marking their second time at Lollapalooza), the reunited Faith No More, and Limp Bizkit—plus Die Toten Hosen and Guano Apes, who always play well to the crowd. You definitely can't miss Nine Inch Nails; they're easily one of the best live acts out there, and since this is their final tour, it's kind of a big deal. Then there's Mastodon touring their new record, Crack the Skye, and Chris Cornell, who’ll likely be ripping through a set of Audioslave and Soundgarden classics. It’s also pretty rare to catch acts like Static-X, Dredg, and Sevendust on the same bill. And for the fans of the old guard, we’ve got Duff McKagan (ex-Guns, Velvet Revolver) with his new project Loaded, plus the supergroup Chickenfoot—which is basically a California rock dream team featuring Sammy Hagar (ex-Van Halen), Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony (ex-Van Halen), and Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. For the metalheads, they've got the Slipknot + Killswitch Engage combo, which we just saw in the States a few days ago, along with Trivium, Disturbed, Machine Head, All That Remains, Dimmu Borgir, and Lacuna Coil.
While the full schedule isn't out yet, we do know the rough breakdown: Friday features Metallica, Mastodon, Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More, The Gaslight Anthem, Sonic Syndicate, The Living End, and Slipknot. Saturday brings Placebo, In Extremo, and Monster Magnet. Finally, Sunday wraps things up with Trivium, Die Toten Hosen, Machine Head, Limp Bizkit, August Burns Red, Zeronic, Bring Me The Horizon, 3 Feet Smaller, and Disturbed.
Three-day passes are going for $109. No word yet on single-day tickets.
Check out more info at www.novarock.at
