Smells Like Alternative

The summer concert season is well under way. But just in case you didn’t have time to catch up on all the shows coming around here’s a glimpse at who’s on the road.

R.E.M.: The Athens natives have been on the road in support of their fantastic new album Accelerate, but there’s still time to catch them. They’ll be in St. Paul tonight and will continue their North American tour until June 21 with a show in Atlanta. They’ll then spend the rest of the summer over in Europe.

Radiohead: The band already wrapped their first leg of
their North American tour, but they’ll be back in
August with their second leg, which begins August 1 at Lollapalooza. Until then you can perhaps check the band out over in Europe, which kicks off tomorrow night in Dublin .

Pearl Jam: The mighty Seattle band will embark on a small U.S. tour beginning on June 11 at West Palm Beach. The east coast run will conclude on June 30 in Mansfield, MA. They’ll also be a part of this year’s Bonnaroo, as well as an intimate charity event for the Robin Hood Foundation in NYC on July 1 and will also honor the Who in L.A. on July 12.

Stone Temple Pilots: The band that a lot of people loved to hate have reunited for a lengthy summer tour. The tour began on May 17, but it will run until their August 31 performance at Bumbershoot in Seattle, as long as Scott can keep it together.

Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor will take Nine Inch Nails on an arena tour this summer, which kicks off July 25 at the Pemberton Festival in Vancouver. NIN will cross the country until September 6 when they wrap things up in Inglewood, CA.

Foo Fighters: Dave Grohl and company will kick off a small European tour tomorrow night, June 6, at Wembley Stadium in London. The Foos will then return to North America for another small tour, beginning July 9 in Seattle and ending on July 29 in East Rutherford, NJ. They’ll also be a part of the Virgin Festival in Baltimore on August, 9 and another Virgin Festival on September 6 in Toronto. Austin City Limits will get the Foos as well on September, 28.

311: 311 will be journeying out for another installment of their Unity Tour, which includes Snoop Dogg this summer. The festivities begin on June 24 in Phoenix and conclude on August 3 in Austin. They’ll also be in Hawaii and Japan in August.

The Black Crowes: The Brothers Robinson and company will be hitting the road yet again! This time though they’ll be out supporting they’re great new album War Paint. They have shows running through the rest of the year, including some opening band duties for Dave Matthews Band.

Live: The York, PA natives will be in Holland for a few shows at the end of June, before hitting up the States again, which includes some shows with Collective Soul and Blues Traveler.

Toad The Wet Sprocket: Another somewhat forgotten 90’s band will embark on a scattered U.S. tour. The tour begins at the Troc in Philly on June 11 and wraps up August 30 in San Juan Capistrano, CA.

Toadies: The little band from Texas gets things started on June 20 in San Antonio and finishes up on August 2 at Lollapalooza.

The Breeders: The Deal sisters returned earlier this year with a new album Mountain Battles, and have pretty much wrapped up their North American tour, there are still a couple of shows left though. The band will then spend the rest of the summer in Europe.

Here’s a quick rundown of some other acts that 90’s fans may enjoy: Dinosaur, Jr. will mostly be in Europe with a few U.S. shows, Chris Cornell will unfortunately be a part of Projekt Revolution, the Counting Crows will join the ear bleeding pop sensations known as Maroon 5 following some gigs in Europe, the Flaming Lips and Beck are sticking to some festival appearances.

Now, here’s a taste of some festivals that you may want to check out.

Lollapalooza at Grant Park in Chicago from August 1-3: Remember when Lollapalooza was one of the biggest tours around? While, they’ve done pretty well for themselves in Chicago since the failed 2004 tour. This year the festival landed 90’s heavyweights Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine and Nine Inch Nails. Not to mention fellow 90’s acts like the Toadies, Blues Traveler, Perry Farrell doing a solo set and Pavement frontman Steven Malkmus performing with the Jikes. Oh yeah, there’s also a ton of other great acts like Wilco, The Raconteurs, Cat Power, The Black Keys and more! This is the festival to go to.

Virgin Festival at Pimilico Race Course in Baltimore on August 9 & 10: Foo Fighters, STP, Nine Inch Nails, and The Offspring are enough to make any 90’s fan jump for joy. But, the festival is rounded out by legends like Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Chuck Berry and Bob Dylan and newer acts like Wilco, Black Rebel Motorcycle, the Black Keys and Cat Power. This makes me want hope southbound on 95 this second.

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival at Golden Gate Park in San Fran from August 22-24: Radiohead, Beck, Primus and Ben Harper will represent the 90’s well in this inaugural festival. But, the real appeal to this festival is the blend of legends, like Tom Petty and Steve Winwood, with newer acts, like Wilco, Regina Spektor and Cold War Kids.

Bumbershoot at the Seattle Center from August 30 to September 1: STP and Beck anchor this legendary Seattle festival. Acts like the Black Keys and Ingrid Michaelson make the festival so much sweeter.

Virgin Festival at Toronto Island Park on September 6 & 7: Foo Fighters and Oasis are the headliners for yet another Virgin Mobile Festival. With Bloc Party, The Fratellis and Silversun Pickups also on board, this should turn out for a decent weekend.

And, if you happen to be in Europe, make sure to check out the Southside and Hurricane Festivals in Germany and Optimus Alive in Lisbon, Portugal.

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