Sunday, September 7th, 2008

Variety of old, new acts fill summer concert lineup

Monday, 6/23/97 Variety of old, new acts fill summer concert lineup MUSIC: Several festivals, bands hit road in time for big touring season

By Kristin Fiore Daily Bruin Staff Is there life after Popmart? U2 may be here and gone, but there are plenty of great (and not so great) summer shows for those of us who are sticking around Los Angeles, from the myriad festivals like H.O.R.D.E. and the Lilith Fair to club gigs like the Dickies and Ben Harper. The shows most likely to draw a big turnout and bring more bang for your entertainment buck are the festivals (all at Irvine Meadows, unfortunately), which seem to multiply every summer. In recent years, Lollapalooza has been joined by the Warped Tour, the Further Festival and H.O.R.D.E., all of which return this year with more diverse rosters. The newest addition is the Lilith Fair (July 9), featuring performances by rock and pop's less adventurous ladies - Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman, Jewel, Natalie Cole and dark horse Suzanne Vega. Those who dare can catch Ozzy Ozborne, Black Sabbath, Marylin Manson, Pantera and Type O Negative under one roof - the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavillion - on June 29. With the lack of metal and hardcore shows around, this one seems well worth the drive for fans. The Warped Tour (July 3) promises as much mayhem, but for the punk/ ska crowd, with Social Distortion, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Pennywise and Sick of It All, among others, at the Olympic Velodrome in Cal State Dominguez Hills. For more traditional rock fans, the Further Festival (Aug. 3), emceed by Arlo Guthrie, offers the Black Crowes, Rat Dog, Mickey Hart, Bruce Hornsby, Moe and Sherry Jackson. The H.O.R.D.E. show (July 17) is a mix of folk-inspired acts you'd expect, like Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Big Head Todd and the Monsters and newer, more experimental groups like Ben Folds Five, Primus and Morphene. Leftover Salmon and the Squirrel Nut Zippers round out the bill. Aside from the festivals, the biggest shows of the summer will probably be Dave Matthews (with Los Lobos on July 5) and Queensryche (June 25), both at Irvine Meadows, the Indigo Girls, at the Greek on July 2, and the Wallflowers (with the exquisite Fiona Apple opening), who play the Universal Amphitheater on June 28. Except for Queensryche, all of the bands fall into that Triple A/ folk rock category, and their shows will undoubtedly be packed with STAR 98.7 listeners. The best reason to see any of them is that they tend to be better live than on record. Though they lack the live following of Phish and Blues Traveler, they've all built a fan base from live shows and are in their element when performing - especially Dave Matthews. As usual, most of the must-see shows are happening at the clubs. The House of Blues has booked quite a summer, with the Spin Doctors (June 27), reggae mainstay Yellow Man (July 18), amazing and highly recommended flamenco guitarist Ottmar Liebert (July 22), ska veterans The Specials (Aug. 7) and Latin master Tito Puente (Sept. 5-6). Versatile folk guitarist Ben Harper, who plays the Palace on July 29 and 30, always gives a great performance and is definitely one of the club highlights of the season. A scary trend this summer in amphitheaters and clubs is the proliferation of '80s (and earlier) acts that have been raised from the dead (or may as well have been). Though there are some welcome comebacks - New Edition at the Universal Amphitheater (July 5), The Pretenders (Aug. 16) and Ziggy Marley (Sept. 5), both at the Greek Theatre - there are blasts from the past you wouldn't expect. Pat Benetar, Motley Crue, Hall and Oates, the Bret Michaels Band (that guy from Poison?), Chicago and Susanna Hoffs represent the '80s, while Steve Winwood, Styx, Santana, Lynard Skynard, the Village People, Steve Miller and Supertramp revive the '70s. Those of you who have parents with summer birthdays can get them tickets to Natalie Cole (July 12) or Peter, Paul and Mary (Aug. 22), both at the Greek, or Tony Bennett (Aug. 27) at the Hollywood Bowl. Of course, the fashionably late booking policies of L.A. clubs ensure that there will be many more shows than those currently listed. But there are more than enough bands already signed on to keep your nights full and your wallet close to empty. CONCERTS: Consult the venue or Ticketmaster at (213) 480-3232 or http://www.ticketmaster.com for more information.