Back in action...

Apologies for the long away, but there's a lot of good stuff on tap for the upcoming updates, so look for those pretty soon. For now, I've got two movie reviews for you.

Thank You For Smoking

With razor-sharp wit and superb acting, Thank You For Smoking is a pop culture masterpiece.

From the moment the movie begins, with the hilarious accompaniment of "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette!" by Tex Williams and the Western Caravan, Jason Reitman (son of the Ivan Reitman of "Ghost Busters" and "Twins" fame) presents you with a hard-hitting piece of social commentary that's unlike anything that's been seen in years. Aaron Eckhart, playing the role of lobbyist Nick Naylor, is once again fulfilling the "likeable asshole" quality much like he did in the 1997 film In the Company of Men, and is just as outstanding in this film as he was in the aforementioned movie. The same holds true for Katie Holmes, who plays an exceptionally crafty news reporter, and gives such a convincing performance that she may very well have established herself as a credible Hollywood talent. What really made the movie work however was the relentless storyline, as Jason Reitman really made the most out of what was already a great platform in Christopher Buckley's novel. Also, the performances of William H. Macy, Rob Lowe, and most notably youngster Cameron Bright (who plays Nick Naylor's son Joey), make this film an incredibly fun yet smoldering ride from beginning to end.

Overall Rating: 92

Match Point

Steamy, seductive and absolutely brilliant.

Woody Allen has enjoyed one of the most paradoxical careers in Hollywood. While attaining a core cult audience, Allen has garnered quite a lot of critical acclaim as well lately, despite having a number of ill-fated works for the past decade. The ideas behind every single Woody Allen movie is always good at least, and is more often than not brilliant, but the issue that has almost always plagued his movies is the transition from the paper to the big screen that's occasionally been lacking. Case in point would be Allen's last release Melinda & Melinda, which had its bright spots but was nowhere near what it could be, despite having a very thoughtful concept. With Match Point, Woody Allen has finally executed an idea from start to finish that is impeccably perfect. To make the movie all the more worthwhile, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson put out the best performances of their careers, as they continue to best each other not only in the plot of the story but also in their acting, it shows how far they were pushed by Allen's direction. The writing, as always, is remarkable, and the story effortlessly flows from being relaxed to seductive to intense to funny and all points in between. What Woody Allen has accomplished within Match Point, is a perfect slice of life where moral ambiguity is the norm and it's within those imperfections that an audience can find themselves wrapped up in the world of what would otherwise be a very disturbing story. While the Match Point experience is still definitely on grounds for being disturbing, it's difficult not to get attached to any particular one of the characters, or at the very least their particular stories, and that takes a true gift in filmmaking.



Overall Rating: 100

A couple of Music Reviews

Here are the first set of album reviews. The rest will be coming shortly along with other news. Enjoy!

David Gray Life In Slow Motion

Sadly overproduced, David Gray's latest still manages to compensate with incredibly well-written songs.

It must be known that David Gray is easily one of the best singer/songwriters to come out of the 90's. While US fans are most familiar with him from the outstanding 2000 release White Ladder, many don't realize that he indeed had a couple of very notable releases prior to that album in Sell, Sell, Sell and A Century Ends. After White Ladder, Gray faced heightened expectations and released A New Day at Midnight to a mixed response. There were moments of the same sheer brilliance as featured on Gray's previous albums, but in the end it fell short. Feeling as if he might've hit his creative peak, I hadn't bothered in his latest album, which was released in 2005, until recently. What caused the change was that once I dug a little deeper than the overly-glossy single of "The One I Love" I realized that the same insightful Gray was still there. Unfortunately, the slick nature of a number of his songs cloud what would otherwise be a readily apparent sign of Gray's strength in songwriting. Also gone are his intricate drum and bass lines, replaced by either softer guitar or orchestral tones, this is a different sound yet not at all alienating. The evolution of David Gray's sound is clear from the opening track of "Alibi," which begins almost atmospheric before evolving into an all out anthem. By far the best track on the album is the simple yet beautiful "Lately" which highlights Gray's talent with the song's sparse instrumentals that swirl around his vocals. Other noteworthy songs are "Slow Motion," the bittersweet "Hospital Food," "Now and Always," and the great closer "Disappearing World." When everything clicks, Gray puts on some of his best work to date, however there are moments where the amount of slick overproduction reaches a point of superficiality, and for an emotional writer like David Gray, it really can detract from his music. While more of a cd for true David Gray fans, I would recommend the selected titles above for those who, if nothing else, would like a bit more exposure to the artist.


Overall Rating: 84


Beth Orton Comfort of Strangers

Simply put, this is Beth Orton's best album ever

Continuing the trend of prominent 90's singer/songwriters, Beth Orton has established herself as being one of the more prominent female singer/songwriters, while in the process becoming overshadowed by such artists as Fiona Apple and Sarah McLachlan. On this album, Orton's focus extends from start to finish, with absolutely no filler whatsoever (something that's evident given that the longest track clocks in at 4:30, and most tracks are around the three minute mark). Each of her songs posses such an earthy, organic quality that her music almost seems like an effortless extension of herself. "Worms" is a perfect opener for the album, and tracks such as "Heartlandtruckstop," "Rectify," and "Conceived" are such great slice-of-life stories that, when combined with Orton's charming and breathy vocals, make for a very intriguing and worthwhile album. It may come off as being too simplistic for it's own good, but with a talent that's as generally diverse as Orton in terms of her sound, the idea of her honing in on a specific focus truly showcases her abilities. An album that's best enjoyed when played straight through beginning to end, Comfort of Strangers, is an incredible album.


Overall Rating: 98

A Brief Announcement and Two Movie Reviews

Album reviews will be coming up next, in the meantime I have a couple of movie reviews for you all-- one old and one new. Before I get to that though, I'd like to point out the little box at the bottom of the webpage. No, it's not an ad, but rather a list of my top listened to artists for the week, just in case you're ever wondering what I'm listening to. The website responsible for it is last.fm, a really nifty webpage that allows you to download a program that will track what you listen to purely for statistical purposes, and from that you can access the website and find other similar artists or even meet other people that like the same music as you. So in case you were wondering what that was, now you know.

Dave Chappelle's Block Party

An incredibly inspiring piece, this is a film everyone should be talking about.

It's a shame that this film will probably go unnoticed when Oscar-time comes around again, as it has been unable to even make a dent in terms of ticket sales. Directed by Michel Gondry (who directed Eternal Sunshine... as well as an immense number of music videos), Block Party offers some great insight into a world that's not often explored, much in the same way of the festival that this documentary was somewhat based on Wattstax. The movie begins by watching Dave Chappelle in his hometown of Dayton, OH, interacting with locals as he talks to them about going to see his Block Party, as he appropriately enough hands out "golden tickets" as invites. It's both here and in the Bedstuy neighborhood of Brooklyn-- the locale in which the concert takes place-- that the foundation of the film shines through. The audience is given a sneak peek into the humble life of Dave Chappelle as well as many of the musicians who in some cases grew up in the very same area that they were performing in. For those going to see it only for Dave Chappelle's humor, you'll more than likely be sorely disappointed, although he does have a few skits within the piece that are simply hilarious. For anyone else that is even remotely interested in hip-hop culture and music, or just wants to see a feel-good story in which people of all backgrounds are able to not only come together but enjoy each others company for hours on end, this film is for you. Gondry has always been outstanding in capturing the human fabric within the realm of music, and this documentary is no exception. The quality of the film might be crude, and the rough cuts and handheld camera angles might be off-putting to some, but it truly just solidified how down to earth all these people are. In a world where people like 50 Cent get the headlines or all the "rap" artists that are getting in fights (or "beef") for no apparent reason, its projects like these where people who usually don't have access to true hip-hop can see that there's a lot more to it than that, and hip-hop is a unifier of a culture, not a divider. If you're willing to soak it all in, you'd be hard pressed not to leave the theatre with a smile on your face.

Overall Rating: 93



Jarhead

Not perfect, but a very thoughtful and engaging film.

I picked Jarhead up on DVD this past weekend, as it's a movie that I really wanted to see but never had the opportunity to. Not usually one to blindly purchase DVDs, I had a very good feeling about this one given that it was both directed by Sam Mendes (of Road To Perdition and American Beauty fame) and starred Jake Gyllenhaal (of Donnie Darko and Brokeback Mountain fame). The problem with war films, particularly now, is that you never know what to expect from them. It has reached the point where there are now genres within the war film genre. There are the psychological war films, the grandiose epic war films, and then the brutal war film. The intriguing aspect of Jarhead is that it doesn't fit into any of those categories, the commentary of it being an anti-war film is apparent just through its cinematic qualities. There are no major-scale battle scenes here, no dramatic classical score, nothing. Now while it might seem disappointing, it really is such a poignant film in the sense that it doesn't meet any expectations and then the more you process the movie, the more everything becomes clear. Sam Mendes once again does a stellar job directing this film, and both Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard were so compelling in each of their roles that they essentially made the movie from an acting standpoint. That being said, there still seems to be something missing from the film, and in a way, that might've been the point. To me however, it's the only thing that kept it from being in the same company as all the other great war films.


Overall Rating: 86

Fuzzy Bits: March 16, 2006 (The Big One!)

Sorry for the long delay, but at least I'm back with great news. I've got the lineup for Lollapalooza 2006, and this will be by far the best show Chicago will see this summer (and could be arguably better than every other summer festival going). So first, let me get to that and then I will give my long-overdue award show recap.

Breaking News! Lollapalooza 2006 Lineup Released
With over 130 bands on 8 stages, it's impossible to get the entire list down without dizzying you, so if you're interested in the full listing please visit the webpage. Here are some of the bigger headlines:

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Kanye West
Wilco
Death Cab for Cutie
The Raconteurs
The Flaming Lips
The Shins
Common
Ryan Adams
Queens of the Stone Age
Matisyahu
Thievery Corporation
Sleater-Kinney
Blues Traveler
Broken Social Scene
Iron Wine
The New Pornographers
Eels
Andrew Bird
Gnarls Barkley (Cee-Lo Danger Mouse)
Stars
Of Montreal
and many, many, more...

So long story short, there's absolutely no reason not to go unless you just don't like music-- even if you can't afford it, just volunteer and get in for free. Thankfully we can put the Smashing Pumpkins rumors to rest, although you never know with them, it is good to see though that there have been so many Chicago acts picked up this year as I think that was one of the weaknesses last year. For those that don't know some of the more famous Chicago artists that will be here are: Kanye West, Common, Wilco, and The Redwalls. I'll be sure to let you know if any more developments take place.

Additional Details on DMB/Sheryl Crow Fenway Park show
There are two options available as far as tickets are concerned: for those willing to spend the money you can get a VIP Reserved pass for $250 while reglar priced tickets will be $65. The shows once again are July 7 and 8 at 8pm. Ticket reserves are available now for Warehouse members, while the general public will be able to get their shot at tickets starting April 8.

Oscar Briefs
Yeah, it was a while ago, but I still wanted to make a few points. First off, Jon Stewart must've thought that it was amateur night-- he was so nervous in his delivery you would've thought he was at the Source Awards. For those unfortunate souls that had never experienced Jon Stewart, I direct you to the incredibly famous The Daily Show which comes on nightly on Comedy Central and really shows off Stewart's comedic genius. George Clooney's acceptance speech was awesome, and it's really too bad he didn't get anything for Good Night and Good Luck, because that really was an incredible film. Whether or not they deserved it is up to you, but I was quite happy that Three 6 Mafia won the oscar for best song, which has the thoughtful title of "It's Hard Out There For a Pimp." Now, I've personally never been a fan of the song, much less would think of it as being Oscar-worthy, but I have to hand it to the Oscar committee for at least attempting to make people think that they're hip. Kudos to Philip Seymour Hoffman and Reese Witherspoon as well for their well-deserved wins. When things started going downhill though is when Crash won for both best screenplay and picture of the year. Outside of possibly Match Point, I don't see how Crash could've beaten all those movies for best screenplay, and I had pretty much given up hope that a movie other than Brokeback Mountain would win for best film, so that was a huge surprise to me as well. My main problem with the Oscars this year was that they were acting like films like Brokeback Mountain and Crash were envelope-pushing movies. Hate to break it to everyone, but they're not, they're both "safe controversial" movies in that they've been presented in such a manner that anyone can relate to them. However, because they feature a couple of gay characters or a "diverse" cast that are all equally racist, we immediately want to say that the movies stand for something. Spike Lee has been making stimulating race movies for years and no one has handed him an award. There have also been a number of other movies that have dealt with the issues of homosexuality more directly than Brokeback Mountain as well, and none of those have been embraced either.

Fuzzy Briefs: March 9, 2006 (More Breaking News!)

Over the course of the weekend I will have reviews for the following albums:
Asheru and Blue Black of the Unspoken Heard Soon Come...
David Gray Life In Slow Motion
Jaheim Ghetto Classics
Shout Out Louds Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
The Walkmen Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone

In addition, I'll have my wrap up of the Oscars (and my overall sentiments of the movie awards) complete during this time as well. In the meantime, I've got some news that just can't wait, so I'm going to go ahead and post that info and I'll have more for you in the next coming days, enjoy!

News!
Dave Matthews Band and Sheryl Crow to perform at Fenway Park July 7 and 8
I didn't think it would happen, but it appears to be true. I have no further information than what was stated in the title, but expect more to be coming soon. Of course, given that Sheryl Crow has been recovering from her battle with breast cancer, she is only expected to make her appearance as the opening act if her health allows her, but other than that the shows should continue without a hitch.

More DMB-related news!
Soulive has been slated as being the opening act for the July 28 show at Hartford. The funk/jazz group has been around the DMB circles for a while, most famously of which is the performance Louisiana Bayou that was televised from the Red Rocks show which featured Robert Randolph and Soulive trumpeter Rashawn Ross. The final piece of DMB news is that David Gray has been added to the Randall Island concert schedule on August 6, with Slightly Stoopid and Tea Leaf Green being added to perform on the side stage for both dates.

Red Hot Chili Peppers release trailer for new album containing clip from upcoming single
Here's the trailer from the band's upcoming album Stadium Arcadium. At the end of it you can catch the new single, "Dani California." Click here to play.

New Beck album?
While this hasn't been confirmed there are rumors spreading that Beck has a still untitled album in the works that was actually recorded shortly before what became the album Guero. If these rumors are indeed true this would be Beck's tenth album (11 if you want to count Guerolito, the remix companion to his recent release). Also of note, Beck has a couple of very well-done Nick Drake covers on his webpage that are worth checking out. If you're too lazy to look for yourself, the songs are "Which Will" and "Parasite."

Fuzzy Briefs: Marh 7, 2005

Unfortunately I don't have a complete Oscar editorial written yet, school has been pretty hectic lately, so my apologies for that. Rather than waiting though and posting everything at once, I thought I would post a review for an outstanding album that was just released today, as well as a single that's worth noting and some other news. Also, it's been called to my attention that comments may or may not be working. I'm trying to do what I can to get this fixed, so if you continue to experience problems please let me know and I'll do what I can. So, without further adieu, here are the news/reviews:

Nightmares on Wax In a Space Outta Sound


2006 is strangely becoming the year of electronica.

Surprisingly enough, some of the albums that have been most impressive so far this year have been electronica albums. Even more surprising is that these albums aren't being churned out by the more recognizable names such as the Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, or Basement Jaxx. Instead, they've been released by relative newcomers or in the case of Nightmares on Wax, an artist that has maintained a somewhat muted underground presence for the past 15 years. Getting back to today's electronica scene however, there was the recent release of Mylo's Destroy Rock & Roll, that was superb to say the least, and the same can be said for Vitalic's OK Cowboy which also just recently arrived on US shores. Like the two aforementioned albums, In a Space Outta Sound is an extremely well-executed album. Rooted in a perfect fusion of reggae and old-school funk with a touch of atmospheric practicality, the album manages to always be intriguing and engaging without ever reaching the point of seeming tedious or boring. The loose jam of "Pudpots" would make a perfect platform for James Brown, while tracks like "Flip Ya Lid" recall some of Massive Attack's finer moments on their Blue Lines album. This is an album that begs to be played from start to finish, and as such it's difficult to pinpoint any particular highlights for the album, as they all flow so perfectly that it's almost like an entire, winding journey rather than a linear effort. That said, this is once again one of the most complete electronica albums I've heard, and if I must make a comparison I would call it the late-night chill version of The Avalanches' Since I Left You, and that's quite the compliment.

Rating: 95

Buckcherry "Crazy Bitch" - Single
Also released today was Buckcherry's latest single for their upcoming album 15. While Buckcherry was, to me, pretty much a novelty band since their breakthrough single "Lit Up" back in 1999, it appears that if their single is any indication whatsoever this may not be true. Once again following in the tradition of the mid to late 80's heavy rock bands (think Van Halen and Motley Crue at their respective bests), "Crazy Bitch" is an undoubtedly classic rock tune with it's sheer cockiness (yes, it's also misogynistic) and straightforward but effective pop sensibility. I would personally argue that this song manages to outdo "Lit Up" as the best single the band has ever released, and while they've never been a favorite of mine, that once again could change if the rest of the album follows suit in being as equally surprising (in the good sense) as this song is.

Rating: 90

News!
The Raconteurs releases tracklist for upcoming album
Slated as being one of the albums to look forward to most this year, The Raconteurs released the list of songs that will be appearing on their May 16th released album entitled Broken Boy Soldiers. While tour dates haven't yet been officialized yet, it's almost guaranteed that we'll be seeing a tour here in the states possibly starting as early as April, after their UK tour is over, and also once the White Stripes are done in Japan. Here is the track listing:

01 Steady, As She Goes
02 Hands
03 Broken Boy Soldier
04 Intimate Secretary
05 Together
06 Level
07 Store Bought Bones
08 Yellow Sun
09 Call It A Day
10 Blue Veins

Gnarls Barkley releases track listing for St. Elsewhere
Another highly anticipated album is this collaboration between Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo, and it looks like it's going to be a good one folks. The release date for the album is May 2, while the single Crazy will be released on April 10. Here is the listing:

01 Go-Go Gadget Gospel
02 Crazy
03 St. Elsewhere
04 Gone Daddy Gone
05 Smiley Faces
06 The Boogie Monster
07 Feng Shui
08 Just A Thought
09 Transformer
10 Who Cares?
11 On-Line
12 Necromancer
13 Storm Coming
14 The Last Time

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah kick off US tour starting tonight
After a superb performance on David Letterman a little over a week ago, CYHSY is ready to do their US tour, and while most of the shows have sold out there is still hope for those of you who can't make it but would like nothing better than to at least listen to one of their live performances. All you have to do is go to NPR's website (www.npr.org) tomorrow at 9:30 EST and you'll find that the entire Washington DC concert will indeed be aired. For those of you that'd like a refresher on the tour dates they are as follows:

03-07 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
03-08 Washington DC - 9:30 Club
03-09 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
03-10 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
03-12 Sunrise, FL - Markham Park (Langerado Festival)
03-15 Ft. Worth, TX - Ridglea Theater
03-16 Austin, TX - Eternal (SXSW)
03-17 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-18 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-21 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture
03-22 San Diego, CA - The Casbah
03-23 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater
03-24 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
03-25 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
03-28 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
03-30 Lawrance, KS - The Bottleneck
03-31 Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
04-01 Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
04-03 Chicago, IL - Metro
04-05 Newport, KY - Southgate House
04-06 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
04-07 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
04-08 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
04-10 Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe
04-11 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
04-12 Boston, MA - Paradise
04-14 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
04-15 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
04-29 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella Festival)
05-28 George, WA - The Gorge Amphitheatre (Sasquatch! Festival)
06-16 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

One final note regarding DMB's Summer tour
It appears that Robert Randolph & The Family Band will be the opener for all but one of the shows that had the opening artist TBD. The one exception is the show on the 28th of July which still does not have a confirmed opening act. Also, to update you all on the rumor mill it appears that there is growing speculation in DMB playing a free show at Grant Park much like the Central Park and Golden Gate concerts in previous years. If that plan does not work out it seems that the back up plan is to play at Soldier Field, with the newly named First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (formerly known as the Tweeter Center, formerly known as the New World Music Theatre, you get the idea) in Tinley Park thankfully scrapped altogether. In regards to the Fenway Park rumors, while there's still been no official releases stating it, it appears that the pieces are falling in place to where a DMB show there could conceivably happen.

Fuzzy Briefs: March 1, 2006 (Breaking News!)

I know I've been doing a lot of updates lately, and to prevent overwhelming you guys I'm keeping this one short. I just wanted to give a preview to what's going to be coming up later on in the world of Fuzzy Thoughts.

Breaking News!
Daveheads unite... just as I published this post I found in my email the schedule for this years DMB summer tour. It appears that the folks at Warehouse listened to our votes after all as the opening acts include Matisyahu, O.A.R., Umphrey's McGee, Gov't Mule, Pat Green, G. Love & Special Sauce, ALO, Gomez and more! DMB will also be returning to Randall Island in August, and will be performing with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and Gov't Mule, and many other artists. While I'm a bit disappointed that there haven't been any IL shows listed yet, that just gives me one more excuse to go out to Alpine. Also, you notice there are some dates missing, so perhaps they will be filling those in with (crossing fingers) a Pavillion show out on Chicago's lakefront? Hey, it's just as likely as them playing in Fenway Park. Here are the dates:

Tue / May 30 / UMB Bank Pavilion / Maryland Heights, MO / with G Love & Special Sauce
Wed / May 31 / Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre / Bonner Springs, KS / with G Love & Special Sauce
Fri / Jun 2 / Verizon Wireless Music Center / Noblesville, IN with G Love & Special Sauce
Sat / Jun 3 / Verizon Wireless Music Center / Noblesville, IN with G Love & Special Sauce
Tue / Jun 6 / DTE Energy Music Theatre / Clarkston, MI with G Love & Special Sauce
Wed / Jun 7 / Germain Amphitheater / Columbus, OH with G Love & Special Sauce
Fri / Jun 9 / Post Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake / Burgettstown, PA with G Love & Special Sauce
Sat / Jun 10 / Post Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake / Burgettstown, PA with G Love & Special Sauce
Tue / Jun 13 / Molson Amphitheatre / Toronto, ONT with Matisyahu
Wed / Jun 14 / Darien Lake Performing Arts Center / Darien Center, NY with Matisyahu
Fri / Jun 16 / Saratoga Performing Arts Center / Saratoga Springs, NY with ALO
Sat / Jun 17 / Saratoga Performing Arts Center / Saratoga Springs, NY with ALO
Tue / Jun 20 / Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre / Charlotte, NC with ALO
Wed / Jun 21 / ALLTEL Pavilion at Walnut Creek / Raleigh, NC with ALO
Fri / Jun 23 / HersheyPark Stadium / Hershey, PA with O.A.R.
Sat / Jun 24 / Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge / Bristow, VA with Gomez
Tue / Jun 27 / Tweeter Center at the Waterfront / Camden, NJ with Gomez
Wed / Jun 28 / Tweeter Center at the Waterfront / Camden, NJ with Gomez
Sat / Jul 1 / Alpine Valley Music Theatre / East Troy, WI with Umphrey's McGee
Sun / Jul 2 / Alpine Valley Music Theatre / East Troy, WI with Umphrey's McGee
Tue / Jul 4 / Verizon Wireless VA Beach Amphitheater / Virginia Beach, VA with Umphrey's McGee
Wed / Jul 5 / Ford Pavilion at Montage Mountain / Scranton, PA with Umphrey's McGee
Fri / Jul 28 / New England Dodge Music Center / Hartford, CT with TBA
Sat / Jul 29 / New England Dodge Music Center / Hartford, CT with Gov't Mule
Tue / Aug 1 / Riverbend Music Center / Cincinnati, OH with Gov't Mule
Wed / Aug 2 / Blossom Music Center / Cuyahoga Falls, OH with Gov't Mule
Sat / Aug 5 / Randall's Island / New York, New York with Gov't Mule and Bela Fleck & the Flecktones
Sun / Aug 6 / Randall's Island / New York, New York with Bela Fleck & the Flecktones
Wed / Aug 9 / Ford Amphitheatre / Tampa, FL with Pat Green
Fri / Aug 11 / Sound Advice Amphitheatre / West Palm Beach, FL with Pat Green
Sat / Aug 12 / Sound Advice Amphitheatre / West Palm Beach, FL with Pat Green
Tue / Aug 15 / HiFi Buys Amphitheatre / Atlanta, GA with Pat Green
Wed / Aug 16 / Starwood Amphitheatre / Antioch, TN with Pat Green
Fri / Aug 18 / The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion / Woodlands, TX with O.A.R.
Sat / Aug 19 / Smirnoff Music Centre / Dallas, TX with O.A.R.
Wed / Aug 23 / Cricket Pavilion / Phoenix, AZ with O.A.R.
Fri / Aug 25 / Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre / Irvine, CA with TBA
Sat / Aug 26 / Coors Amphitheatre / Chula Vista, CA with TBA
Mon / Aug 28 / Hollywood Bowl / Hollywood, CA with TBA
Wed / Aug 30 / USANA Amphitheatre / West Valley City, UT with TBA
Fri / Sep 1 / Gorge Amphitheatre / George, WA with O.A.R.
Sat / Sep 2 / Gorge Amphitheatre / George, WA with O.A.R.
Sun / Sep 3 / Gorge Amphitheatre / George, WA with O.A.R.
Wed / Sep 6 / Raley Field / West Sacramento, CA with TBA
Fri / Sep 8 / Shoreline Amphitheatre / Mountain View, CA with TBA
Sat / Sep 9 / Shoreline Amphitheatre / Mountain View, CA with TBA
Tue / Sep 12 / Pepsi Center / Denver, CO with TBA
Fri / Sep 22 / John Paul Jones Arena / Charlottesville, VA with TBA
Sat / Sep 23 / John Paul Jones Arena / Charlottesville, VA with TBA

Lollapalooza 2006
Once again Lollapalooza will be in Chicago this year. Being one of the approximated 60,000 that attended last year's event, I have to say it was an absolute blast and I can't wait to do it again this year (I'm hoping it won't be nearly as hot this time around though). I'm working on getting as much info as possible in terms of lineup rumors, as the completed lineup won't be revealed for some time. There have been so far only two confirmed acts, both of which are very appealing. The first is one I actually mentioned in my last update, but once again Red Hot Chili Peppers will be taking part in the festivities, as will Thievery Corporation. This year's festival is going to be much larger than last, spanning over a three day period this time around and expecting as many as 225,000 people. That's a ton of people, but as long as they're as organized and well prepared as they were last year, it just might work out well. Dates this year are August 4-6, and you can register for e-mail updates, ticket info and the like when they become available here.

Upcoming Stories
With the Oscars coming up on Sunday, I'll be sure to give a recap for both that and my overall impression of the awards season as I haven't yet commented on them. I'll also have some "Vault" reviews coming from The Walkmen, The Shout Out Louds, and DJ Logic.