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From Bonnaroo to Bumbershoot, Neko Case to Prince, we braved sleepless nights

Published 7:00 am Monday, September 24, 2012

Sasquatch! Music Festival, The Gorge, George, Wash., May 24 to 26: We are R.E.M. -- this is what we do.
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Sasquatch! Music Festival, The Gorge, George, Wash., May 24 to 26: We are R.E.M. -- this is what we do.
Sasquatch! Music Festival, The Gorge, George, Wash., May 24 to 26: We are R.E.M. -- this is what we do.
How childish.
Pemberton Festival: Pemberton, B.C., July 25 to 27: At Pemberton Fest, across the boarder in British Columbia, the Canadian kids crowd surfed for Tom Petty.
And the Flaming Lips played the obligatory festival set.
Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, July 18 to 20: Public Enemy performed their classic album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.
Yoko showed up and didn't break anything up. (As far as we know.)
Radiohead, Outside Lands at Golden Gate Park on Fri, Aug 22: For the first time in modern history, an artist not only played every festival, venue, and city in the nation, but each and every show, song, chorus, and bend on the e string, was perfect; without flaw.
Musical wonks will forever remember the summer of 2008 as the summer that Radiohead did no wrong. Ever. Honeybucket Co. even turned their shit into InRainBurritos.
Rage Against the Machine, Democratic National Convention, Denver, Aug. 27: The most anticipated of several much-hyped DNC concerts was Rage Against the Machine's show at the Denver Coliseum, part of the Tent State University Festival to End the War.
Zack de la Rocha provided the rage, while well-armed cops waiting outside provided the machine.
Monotonix, Every Show, America: Seen here at Cake Shop, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Monotonix did not keep a low profile this summer.
The Mars Volta's Cedric Bixler-Zavala tried to snatch our photog's livelihood. She kept her hands away from his.
Siren Music Festival, July 19, Coney Island, NY: Thousands of NathanaE™s chili-cheese hot dogs, the largest ferris wheel in the world, 13 bands, two beach-side stages, and one roller coaster. Need we say more?
This year, Stephen Malkmus (pictured) and Broken Social Scene headlined the Village Voice sponsored all-day festival.
SP20, Marymoor Park, Redmond, Wash., July 12 and 13: Sub Pop Records' twentieth birthday celebration featured re-united grunge-era acts like Green River along with up-and-coming young bucks like Fleet Foxes (above).
Tom Waits, June 26, the Fabulous Fox Theatre, St. Louis: Writer Roy Kasten So if it's true that Waits last played St. Louis 30 years ago (there's apparently a photo of a young Tom on the walls of BBs Jazz Blues and Soups; was it there that he played?), then the question of why he waited so long to return answers itself.
One concert every five, even every ten is an event. Once in a third century changes everything, and your grand kids will want to hear all about it. Read more of the Tom Waits in St. Louis concert review. See more Tom Waits in St. Louis photos.
The Warped Tour, Anywhere, USA: By now you know what to expect from this traveling rock 'n roll daycare.
This year's class starred Gym Class Heroes (above in Denver) in the traveling skate-punk menagerie that visited parking lots and dust bowls in every corner of the country.
Coachella, Indio Calif.: April 25 to 27: Portishead launched the summer concert series with a deep, loud, mournful set at Coachella that stunned the collected masses. Beth Gibbons quickly silenced the skeptics who thought they were a one-trick-pony. Her yowl floated across the polo field.
Plus one worthy, life-changing set from Girl Talk.
Taking the ferry there, you are dumped in New JerseyaE”and for once, this does not upset you.
Bonnaroo, June 12 to 15, Manchester, Tenn.: The festival built on jam featured a set from Jack White's The Raconteurs.
As well as B.B. King.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Aug. 23, Scottrade Center, St. Louis: Annie Zaleski wrote at the time, The band perform[ed] an awe-inspiring three hour and fifteen minute set that was light on recognizable hits, but heavy on songs from latest album Magic and album cuts. The highlights of the show are almost too numerous to mention.
A smoking version of Because the Night which was popularized by Patti Smith, but co-written by Springsteen -- found guitarist Nils Lofgren cutting a blazing streak. Read more of the Bruce Springsteen in St. Louis concert review. See more Bruce Springsteen in St. Louis concert photos.
Boy George, Nowhere, U.S.A.: Boy George's Visa was denied, and his U.S. tour was canceled, but we're CERTAIN he would have made the list had he been allowed to enter the country.
Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, Seattle Center, Seattle, Wash., Aug. 30 to Sept. 1: Neko Case and Lucinda Williams performed back to back on Saturday, Aug. 30.
It was, by all (ok, at least one) account, an alt-country web dream come true. (Sans the BBQ sauce.)
All Points West, Liberty State Park, NJ, Aug. 8 to 10: The inaugural APW festival raged all day and all night Friday through Sunday, headlined by Radiohead the first two nights.
Prince was predictably amazing at Coachella, as well.
Dave Matthews Band, Cricket Wireless Pavillion, Aug. 23: Yes, DMB spent another summer on the road. But this time, it was green-themed, encouraging fans to carpool to the band's shows. Meanwhile, band members arrived individually on separate busses. The show in Phoenix was particularly memorable, in that it took place the day after the death of saxophonist and founding member LeRoi Moore. Pictured are flowers left on the stage at Cricket Wireless Pavillion in MooreaE™s memory.
Lollapalooza, Chicago's Grant Park, Aug. 1 to 3: The once-touring, now stationary festival featured performances from the likes of Saul Williams.
And festival found Perry Farrell, of course.
JellyNYC Pool Parties at McCarren Park, Brooklyn, NY: For the last three years in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint, thereaE™ve been free Sunday-afternoon shows in a giant, gorge-like empty pool, starring the likes of TV on the Radio, MGMT, the Hold Steady, the Black Lips (above).
In actuality, these gratis shows were a teeming mass of cool-kid humanity strutting through the most bewildering fashion show on the East Coast.
Often there were surprises: when Williamsburg electro-joy duo Matt & Kim opened for the Breeders, the pair brought out a full marching band.
Who knew how to get down.

From Bonnaroo to Bumbershoot, Neko Case to Prince, we braved sleepless nights and endless sweat to bring you a summer’s worth of concerts in one sitting.Published on September 8, 2008

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