It's hard to imagine, but there was a time when Perry Farrell had to explain this foreign concept that he called "Lollapalooza."

In 1991, Farrell could be found spouting mightily about this rolling multi-act circus, a meeting of diverse musical styles, a place where the goths, the metalheads, the punks, and the hip-hoppers would happily co-exist.

It didn't make much sense in theory, but when Farrell's band Jane's Addiction (who were looking for a way to jazz up their farewell tour) joined Nine Inch Nails, Ice-T and Body Count, Souxie and the Banshees, Henry Rollins, Living Colour and the Butthole Surfers in the summer of '91, they took one giant step that reshaped the summer concert landscape.

In the years that followed, the tour lured performers like Pearl Jam, Ice Cube, Beck, Hole, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice In Chains, the Beastie Boys, George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars, Metallica, Soundgarden and many more. Lollapalooza became more than a tour, it became a phenomenon spawning a parody on "The Simpsons" and making "-palooza" an acceptable suffix for any event hoping to acquire extravaganza status.

Lollapalooza also gave rise to a slew of specialized multi-act imitators, in effect revolutionizing itself out of the market (at least for now). So in the wake of the news that Lollapalooza will be sitting this one out, MTV News is looking back at the beginnings of the tour. Here you'll find a multimedia glimpse at the tour's first outing, with interview and performance footage from the acts that graced the stage on Lollapalooza's maiden voyage as it rolled into Chandler, Arizona on July 17, 1991: Nine Inch Nails, Ice-T and Body Count, Souxie and the Banshees, Henry Rollins, Living Colour, Butthole Surfers, and Jane's Addiction.

Enjoy the ride...

jane's addiction | butthole surfers | living colour | rollins band | ice-t | nine inch nails