First up is the 3rd annual appearance of Lollapalooza at Chicago’s Grant Park. You have to hand it to founder Perry Farrell for reinventing the festival and picking Chicago as its home. This year has the usual suspects of buzz bands and big names making it a perfect 3-day weekend to spend downtown surrounded by our beautiful skyline. Also don’t miss our day to day coverage of the event here at Lumino Magazine.
The following weekend brings the mullets, the leather and the devil horns when Ozzfest arrives in Tinley Park. This year the rest of Black Sabbath is still on the road with Dio as Heaven and Hell, so Ozzy is going solo but bringing along acts like Static-X and former QOTSA’s bass player, Nick Oliveri’s Mondo Generator, as just a few of the acts to ensure whiplash!
The following day you can head back downtown to Charter One for a little bit of the reggae, white boy style, with the likes of 311 and Matisyahu. I saw the Jewish rapper earlier this year in Hawaii and he puts on a great set and he can beat box with the best of them.
If you still didn’t get enough from Ozzfest, the Anti-Christ Superstar is back after a nasty divorce to prove he’s still got his gothic groove on when Marilyn Manson along with SLAYER take over the Allstate Arena. Love him or hate him he has a flare for the theatrics and is always entertaining.
Of course if that’s a bit too scary and you like catchy pop tunes from the 80’s then maybe the recently reunited Crowed House is more where you want to be. They sounded great when they played a brief set at Coachella earlier this year and I can only imagine how the few months since has helped to get them back to top form.
Also that night you could try your luck with your camera phone at the United Center and see if Beyonce will make another prat fall worthy of YouTube. Hell even if she doesn’t the girl can sing and dance her ass off and is well worth the ticket.
Towards the end of the month the House of Blues is hosting a charity event with Kanye West for the Benefit of the Kanye West Foundation. The tickets aren’t cheap with a $125 dollar price tag but it’s probably a rare chance to see him in such an intimate setting.
Last but not least, Velvet Revolver is back bringing along the newly formed Alice in Chains to Tinley Park. I missed them earlier this year when they tore the roof off of the Riviera Theater. So I am not going to make that same mistake twice.
On the CD front, it’s a weird month with most of the big new releases coming out in the second half of August. Perhaps it’s for the kids going back to school or just poor planning regardless there are still a few to look out for.
First up is actually not a CD or even in a DVD for that matter, but instead a new format called MVI (Music Video Interactive) that plays in most DVD players and is set to replace the standard DVD format. It’s a bit confusing but I wouldn’t expect any less than the Flaming Lips pushing the envelope and jumping on the newest technology before anyone even knows what it is. Wayne and the boys bring their two-hour homecoming concert from last year to a store near you. If you haven’t ever seen them then this is a taste of what their rock-art shows are about with everything from confetti to gi-normous balloons that makes a Flaming Lips show what it is. The Legendary Concert in Oklahoma City: U.F.O.'s at the Zoo makes it ways to the shelves on August 21st.
Also hitting the shelves that day is M.I.A.’s sophomore effort, Kala. The Sri Lanka rapper has been working on this album since last year and includes collaborations with Timbaland and the Three 6 Mafia. The first single, “Boyz,” has a tribal sound that may be a hint to the direction of the album.
In addition, Kayne West’s “Graduation” is yet another big CD arriving in the stores. This is his third release featuring the single “Stronger” that he performed at last month’s Princess Dina concert in London. You can’t argue his talent or the controversy that he creates. His mother Donda has been quoted as saying this is his best album musically and lyrically. See for yourself when it arrives on the 21st.
The following week finds Ben Harper back with a new album he recorded in Paris entitled, “Lifelines.” If you can’t wait that long he’ll be here on Friday closing out the first day of Lollapalooza. Recently at Bonnaroo, Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones joined him on stage for “Dazed and Confused.” So let’s hope something magical happens on Friday as well.
Well that’s some of the highlights for the month of August. But those are only just a few of the many bands coming to our great town and there are so many other CD’s that are arriving this month that might equally be worthy of your money and time. So do yourself a favor, open up your ears and explore.
• Random Noise appears monthly, exclusively in Lumino Magazine.
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