Favorite Local Fests

Got any cool stories about the best local festivals that make your area special? Know of any local festivals we've left off our Summer Concert Guide that we should add?  Post them here & let me know!

A few of my faves:

WBCN River Rave in Boston area, MA. I particularly dug the year that Lenny Kravitz & Beck played the main stage. Both of them were over the top showmen. Can I just say that Lenny Kravitz looks better in a purple feather boa than any man has the right to. Also got to catch an impromptu jam with Me'shell Ndege Ocello in a side tent. Bass goddess. 'Nuff said. 

This year the River Rave features The Offspring, P.O.D., The Darkness, Puddle of Mudd, Dashboard Confessional, New Found Glory, The Chemical Brothers, Everlast, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Story of the Year, The Distillers, Finger Eleven, The Living End, My Morning Jacket, & more.

UMass Spring Concert [On the Pond], Amherst, MA. Yes, it was a nice way to spend a spring day in college, that's for sure. Over my four year tenure at UMass Amherst, I got to see Fishbone, Ziggy Marley, Phish, Bob Dylan & many others.

This year the lucky students get to see Busta Rhymes & Jurassic 5. Soooooo jealous. I guess they now hold it at Mullins Arena. Sort of a shame it's not outdoors anymore.

Louisiana Swamp Romp at Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA. It's cajun, blues & zydeco lunacy on the lawn. A slew of of people dancing their butts off under the summer sun, drinking bottled brew & imagining themselves down in New Orleans while the washboard keeps time on stage.

Breaking News: Good gossip on upcoming shows

Just got word that Jack Johnson is going back out on tour late this summer. I saw him last year opening up for Ben Harper, and have been wanting more ever since. I love that he's touring with G. Love and Special Sauce, who released Jack's song, Rodeo Clowns, as a single many moons ago. Can't wait to get tickets!

Another interesting combo is The Roots touring with 311 and Medeski, Martin & Wood on the 2004 Summer Unity Tour. I've been dying to see The Roots for a couple of years now, and it seemed like they just never seemed to play DC. Or maybe I was living under a rock the last time they were in town.

For info on these tours and more stuff coming to town this summer, check out the Summer Concert Guide. I'll be sure to post more gossip as I hear it.

Snow Patrol at 9:30 Club

Went to my fave venue, DC's 9:30 Club, on Saturday to catch Snow Patrol, with opener Carina Round. I'd not heard of Snow Patrol until a fellow music-fiend recommended I check them out. (Thanks, Shannon!) With the help of another of our music-fiend friends, we were able to get on the list for free tix (Drew rocks!), so we were off and running  for an evening of Brit Pop.

Snow Patrol, out of Glasgow, Scotland, is some of the best new indie alterna-pop I've heard out of the UK in a while. I particularly like the moodiness in the songwriting, the melodic hooks, and the quality of the lead vocals. Something about their sound is evocative of a rainy Saturday at 3am in Glasgow. It's not overly earnest, boozy or romantic -- but you can hear hints of all three. Check out their latest album, Final Straw at AOL Music, and decide for yourself if this description comes even close. Post your own opinion!

Their live show was kickin. Definitely check them out, if you can. It's their first tour of the US and the crowd loved them, which really amped up their energy. I know the NY shows sold out, but I'd imagine that they're new enough on the scene that most other cities will have tickets left. Look for tickets.

Also worth mentioning is opener Carina Round. Her voice reminded me of a young Siouxsie Sioux, tempered with a little Sinead O'Connor (thanks, Shannon, for nailing the Sinead reference). Most memorable for me was the fact that their bassist played standup throughout most of the gig. I've never heard a standup bass sound heavy before. Amazing. Carina Round made for a great double-bill, which was a nice surprise.

All in all, a killer night. Don't you justlove going to a live show on a lark, and leaving loving the band with a new CD in hand?

More summer shows that wet my whistle

Great High Mountain: I'm not much of a country fan, but I fell in love with the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou. Turns out that the Great High Mountain tour is all music from O Brother and also Cold Mountain -- which I loved, as well. Though Jack White won't be playing his tunes from Cold Mountain on the tour, Alison Krauss will be. Sounds like the perfect kind of show to get some lawn seat tickets, pack up a picnic with some friends, and listen to some bluegrass under the stars.  Word to the wise in DC & NoVA: It looks like the Wolftrap show is going on sale this Saturday (4/17).

Lollapalooza 2004: Morrissey, Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips,  Modest Mouse, The Polyphonic Spree, and The String Cheese Incident. I'm a huge Smiths fan, so seeing Morrissey would be great, even though I only have one of his solo records. I saw Sonic Youth at the Orpheum in Boston, which was an awesome show. They've certainly got the whole tapestry of feedback thing down. Not sure when the Lolla dates are going on sale. Their official website is shockingly out-of-date. What are they thinking?!

Hey Morrissey fans: Can anybody recommend a fave solo Morrissey album I should check out?

Why You Should Buy A Plane Ticket Right Now & Get Your Butt to Coachella

I'm so jealous of all the folks going to Coachella this year!!!!  Let me count the reasons...

1. It's Radiohead's one and only show in the US for all of 2004, according to their website and several news sources. ARGH! 

2. A reunited Pixies will play, and I never got to see them in their heyday... made worse by the fact that they dropped out of UMass before I got there. (Yes, they wrote a song about how much they hated it there. It's educational!)

3. The Cure

4. Belle & Sebastian

5. The Flaming Lips

6. The Crystal Method

7. Dizzee Rascal -- THE biggest buzz in hip-hop imported from the UK.

8. Bright Eyes

9. Wilco

10. I've never been to Coachella before and this is the year to go.

Have you ever been to Coachella? Share your stories of Coachellas past and present.

What are your top 10?

I'd love to hear about other folks' top 10 shows ever. Or even your top 1 or 2 if you can only think of a few off the top of your head. Add your list so folks can see!

Shows I'm dying to see this summer

1. Projekt Revolution: I've already bought my tix to the Nissan Pavilion show in August. As you can tell from my top 10 list, Linkin Park are one of my faves, so I bought the tix mostly to see them. Plus, I love hip-hop and have always wanted to see Snoop Dogg live. I'm also really curious about Korn. I've never been a fan, but one of the best things about festival shows is that you see bands you wouldn't normally buy tix to see.

2. Incubus: Saw them at last year's Lollapalooza, and they blew me away. Can't wait to see them again. Just waiting for their MCI Center tix to go on sale. Any day now...

3. Madonna: Saw her Drowned World Tour in 2001 at the MCI Center in DC. I haven't bought American Life, but I'm still a huge fan and her live performances are so worth seeing, that I'll buy the tix even though I won't know her most recent stuff. Tix should be going on sale for this one over the next couple weekends, too.

Do you have any tickets already in hand? Any shows you're dying to see? Tell us!