$60 Dolla-palooza

Boy, am I bitter! The ever-elusive sixty dollar Lollapalooza souvenir tickets went on-sale earlier today, and once again I missed out.

If you have been living under a rock since the early 90's, Lollapalooza was organized by Jane's Addiction front man Perry Farrell in an effort to showcase to the U.S. the rapidly blooming alternative music scene. After taking a break in 1997, and returning in 2003, the once traveling festival decided to make Chicago's Grant Park its weekend long festival destination during the summer of 2005.

A few days ago if you were a subscriber of the official Lollapalooza newsletter like myself, you received an email warning everyone that the sixty dollar "golden tickets" would be going on-sale "sometime" this week. Once this was announced, the only way to obtain the coveted discounted pass was to constantly watch the ticket section of the Lollapalooza website like a hawk, waiting for them to appear. This is the fourth year in a row that i have received this email, and the fourth time I have not been quick enough to cash in on this amazing deal.

Let me explain why these deeply-discounted tickets usually disappear in a matter of 20 minutes. Each year weekend passes generally go on-sale at an initial "early bird price", and once that allotment of tickets has sold out, they release a new set at a slightly higher price and so on and so forth until it reaches a price cap over $200.00. Since the resurrection of the festival and it's growing popularity, final pricing on tickets have increased every year. So as you can see, if you plan to attend the festival on an annual basis like myself, you definitely want to score those sixty dollar three day passes and save yourself some money for the $5 beers.

Okay, now that i have vented my frustration, I urge all of you who plan on attending this year's Lollapalooza, which will take place August 7th-9th in Chicago's Grant Park, to catch the first round of early bird tickets going on-sale March 31st, 2009. Even though the line-up is set to be released mid April (rumor has it Beastie Boys, Jane's Addiction, Depeche Mode and three more "big" headliners will perform-- among others), it would be wise to lock down a ticket at the initial lower price if you plan to attend all three days. I took the initiative last year and it definitely paid off. For those of you who prefer your Lolla' experience to be "Fun Sized", single day tickets will most likely go on-sale once the initial line-up is announced.

So kudos to the couple thousand people who were lucky enough to stumble upon the now extinct recession friendly Lolla' weekend pass. As the festival approaches be sure to check back here for updates and information including initial line-ups, the after show party schedule, and my very own Lolla' Survival Guide!