Lollapalooza flexes muscle

Jane’s Addiction ended it all too soon in 1991. The band’s two studio albums endure as powerful, influential musical documents, capturing the Los Angeles quartet’s epic swirl of hard rock psychedelia and singer Perry Farrell’s giddy hedonism. Sex, violence, love and punk rock for the masses.

The music opened mainstream ears in the ‘90s to the pleasures of the underground, clearing a path for the alternative sounds of Nirvana, Soundgarden and others rooted in punk. But it should have been a beginning, not the end.

So now that Jane’s has finally been resurrected as a fully functional recording and touring unit, it’s a chance not only to tap into a glorious past but to attempt a creative rebirth. It was fitting, then, that Jane’s arrived back in Southern California on Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater at the head of a revived Lollapalooza festival.

A dozen years since its debut, Farrell’s brainchild Lollapalooza was always meant as more than a simple gathering of bands. It was his expression of community. This year’s model offered an edgy but comfortable mix of hard rock from the likes of Jane’s and Audioslave, plus the progressive rap of Jurassic 5 and a concourse of booths promoting interests political and social.

Jane’s closed the long day with a fast-moving set that roared from the old radio hit “Been Caught Stealing” to the title song from the band’s new album, “Strays,” which was accompanied by a trio of mini- skirted dancers. The new material doesn’t yet have the grandeur and focus of the early Jane’s sound, but neither was it a thin shadow of the band’s creative peak.

Farrell made every moment count, always moving, always in the role of ringmaster, jumping and tumbling and singing ecstatically in a red leather jumpsuit. He led an epic collision of Zeppelin-style rock and underground danger on “Ocean Size” and “Summertime Rolls,” as guitarist Dave Navarro re-created his languid leads and riffs.

“3 Days” made for a fine showcase for drummer Stephen Perkins, propelling a song that remained a sexually charged reminder of the band’s range. The reunited Jane’s isn’t there yet as a songwriting entity. But it’s not a nostalgia act, either. The quartet was easily the best it’s been since dissolving and re-forming as a live act in the late ‘90s. Jane’s Addiction is a true band again.

Which made it an unbeatable force Saturday. Otherwise, Audioslave came close to upstaging the entire Lollapalooza lineup in an explosive and sometimes playful set that suggested the band has finally broken clear of any lingering supergroup awkwardness.

Audioslave, constructed of ex-Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell and the remnants of Rage Against the Machine, erupted with a muscle and command not quite captured on record. On the band’s 2002 debut album, Cornell’s presence seemed to pull the ex-Rage members into a more contemplative vibe, still loud and muscular but less inclined to become unhinged. Live it was exactly the opposite, returning Cornell to his early hard-rock edge while leaving room for several moments of classic rock crooning.

Guitarist Tom Morello was as fiery and airborne as he ever was in Rage, layering eccentric, jazzy leads over a rumbling rhythm of doom. The band was also loose enough for a take on the White Stripes’ “One Nation Army,” as Morello added a bit of his guitar flash without ruining the flavor of the original. The result was lots of fists in the air, both onstage and off.

Cornell also performed for a few minutes alone with an acoustic guitar, turning to a bluesy, searching take on Nick Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding?” The song was a timely and noteworthy choice from the singer, who had said in early band interviews that Audioslave would not share the overtly political bent of Rage. Times change.

Earlier, Incubus delivered a full set that suggested the band has loosened considerably as a live act since its last tour as a pop radio hitmaker. More punk than pinup, the Calabasas quintet rocked hard without discarding its knack for harsh melody. Dressed in cutoffs and a faded black T-shirt, Brandon Boyd set his intense vocal delivery across a hard rock sound fueled by funk, punk, hip-hop and folk rock.

It was another big rock moment in a day that also included such rising rock acts as Rooney and the female garage band the Donnas. A midafternoon set by A Perfect Circle had singer Maynard James Keenan stepping away from his shadowy persona in Tool to greet the sunshine in a new wig (this one long and curly) while leaning mostly on material from its 1999 debut album and few new songs.

As in most Lollapalooza fests, the main stage was reserved mostly for acts of proven commercial muscle. Some of next year’s main-stage acts might have been on the second stage, with a Saturday lineup that included 30 Seconds to Mars, the Kings of Leon and the Music.

Closer to the edge was the Mooney Suzuki, a twitchy New York quartet slashing out pungent garage rock. Playing simple charged rock, the band was not yet as deep as the Hives or the White Stripes, but Suzuki tapped some of the same rock, pop and punk sources.

It’s a legacy that Jane’s Addiction can claim some credit for.