lolla2007

I'm not @ Lollapalooza, but I am going to Øya

Lollapalooza 2007, Chicago, Illinois (CRED)
Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza kicks off today in Chicago, and Elvis Perkins, Ted Leo, and LCD Soundsystem are among the artists you’ll be able to watch live from your computer.

Oya FestivalMuch farther away – across the sea in Oslo, Norway – another music fetival is about to happen (Tuesday August 7 – Saturday August 11 to be exact). It’s Øyafestivalen 2007 (a ‘green’ event), and the 5-day lineup includes many familiar names, like: Nine Inch Nails, Tool, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Trail of Dead, Albert Hammond Jr., Amy Winehouse, Architecture in Helsinki, Battles, The Besnard Lakes, Bonde Do Role, Boredoms, Cocorosie, Cheeseburger, Devendra Banhart, Eagles of Death Metal, The Go! Team, Gogol Bordello, Justice, Lady Sovereign, Lily Allen, Low, Malajube, Matt and Kim, Melvins, New Violators, New Young Pony Club, Patrick Watson, Roky Erickson, Shout Out Louds, Spoon, Tinariwen, TTC, The Twilight Sad, Woven Hand and Yo Majesty. The festival also features many, many unfamiliar names – many of them being local Norwegian bands.

OsloI’ll be there (reporting on the festival) for four of the five days. The first day is only DJs – no offense DJs, but it made more sense for me to show up just in time for day two (Wednesday) – that’s when the bands start playing. I’m not sure how much non-music time I’ll have while I’m there, but this will be the closest thing I’ll have to a vacation this whole year. This was also an offer I couldn’t refuse because Øya representatives personally invited me (on their dime) to represent the American press at their festival. I went to Germany, Spain, Amsterdam and the UK a bunch of years ago, but it’s been a while since I’ve flown anywhere that wasn’t Austin, and I’ve definitely never been to Norway. I’m pretty excited.

The bad news: I’m personally going to miss Daft Punk, Handsome Furs, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beastie Boys, The Hold Steady, Tokyo Police Club, Ted Leo, The Thermals, Los Campesinos!, and Metronomy (to name a few) while I’m gone (further proof New Yorkers don’t necessarily need to go to music festivals).

That said, I plan on keeping the site running while I’m there – both with contributors, and updates live from Norway. Things might seem a little slow at times, but I’m confident it will all work out okay.

Please post your tips on bands I should check out, and/or just stuff I should see or eat (note: vegan) in Oslo (assuming I have time). Thanks!