play dates

TRAGICALLY HIPSTER
Q101 Block Party with the Queens of the Stone Age + Interpol + Hot Hot Heat + Sum 41 + Rise Against + Unwritten Law + A Static Lullaby
Jun 3–4: New City YMCA; all ages; 4:30pm. $15–$25. Try to glimpse that rarest of sights, a member of Interpol in daylight, then catch them onstage to do a side-by-side comparison and tell us whether Interpol's Carlos D or QOTSA's Josh Homme is the crazier dude. Go for day two and thrash out against, like, whatever, as Sum 41 riles up the crowd with the aural equivalent of a night spent trashing mailboxes hopped up on Red Bull.
Kraftwerk
Jun 4: Riviera; 9pm; all ages; $40. They Who Are the Robots aren't known for bringing the rock live, but the potential crowd—a mixture of laptronic geeks with bedroom tans and black-leather refugees from the Wax Trax scene—will be worth the high-ish ticket price, not to mention the history-in-electro lesson the 'Verk will hurl from the stage.
Modest Mouse + Triumph of Lethargy
Jun 28: Lakefront Pavilion at Northerly Island; 7:30pm; $27.50. On 2004's Good News for People Who Love Bad News, Isaac Brock dropped the herky-jerkiness and finally came into his own as a singer-songwriter, abandoning freakiness for simpler songs with the same vitality.
Intonation Music Festival withTortoise + the Decemberists + Le Savy Fav + Jean Grae + more
Jul 16–17: Union Park; $15–$22 (sold online only). Snark aside, the fellas at Pitchfork have good taste in music. The online magazine's first foray into the festival realm is a two-day sprawl of some of the best indie rock has to offer. We're particularly excited about England's the Go! Team and its frantic mix of '70s cop-drama theme and cheerleader stomps—keep your pom-poms at the ready.
Lollapalooza with the Pixies +Widespread Panic + Weezer + Killers + Dinosaur Jr. + The Arcade Fire + more
Jul 23–24: Hutchinson Field in Grant Park; at press time, $100 for two-day pass. Perry Farrell's bringing his 60-plus–band party toChicago for the only urban-destination fest in the country. Will fans trash the Gehry architecture? And what's to stop people from sitting outside the fence and listening to the Killers' Brandon Flowers pretend he has a British accent?
Devo
Aug 25: House of Blues; 7:30pm; 18+; $65. Welcome, spuds, to a second summer of Devo reunion shows. Your duty is to be present. Although we're not really sure how many people who have $65 to cough up are willing to wear plastic flowerpots on their heads.

BABY-BOOMER ROCK
Stevie Nicks + Don Henley
Jun 19: Tweeter Center; 8pm; $29–$129. The king and queen of '70s California coke rock reunite for this summer's Boomer cash cow. Sure, most of the audience will buy tickets with corporate-account Visas, but we've got money on a "Leather And Lace" duet that'll bring you to tears.
Chicago + Earth, Wind & Fire
Jun 24: Lakefront Pavilion at Northerly Island; 7:30pm; $59.75–$75.25. Thanks to that neo-soul revival a few years back, Earth, Wind & Fire is receiving attention from kids who might only know them from the Roots covering "Shining Star." But consistent touring means their funk is as honed as ever.
The Beach Boys
Jun 28: Ravinia; 8pm; $15–$50. We think that in order for them to legally use the name "Beach Boys," at least one original member has to be involved. Still, this is your best chance to bond with thousands of dads in Hawaiian shirts during a touching performance of "Kokomo."
John Mellencamp + John Fogerty
Jul 1: Tweeter Center; 7pm; $23–$68. The Bard of Indiana meets the best bayou bluesman California ever raised, and it's R-O-C-K in the U-S-A all the way. School's in session, and this time it's serving beer.
Robert Plant + Soundtrack of Our Lives
Jul 9: Auditorium Theatre; 7:30pm; $37.50–$83. He still has most of his voice and most of his hair, and there's still some Zep in his sets, but Robert Plant's steering clear of easy nostalgia. Backed by the Strange Sensation, a gang of refugees from the U.K.'s rave and trip-hop scenes, he's making music as relevant as musicians he's old enough to have (and actually just may have) fathered.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers + The Black Crowes
Jul 15: Tweeter Center; 7:15pm; $28–$59. The nasal-voiced godfather of the economic pop hook bestows his annual presence on us this summer, reminding us again who (besides Television) the Strokes ripped off. And if the Black Crowes's sold-out reunion shows in NYC are any indication, the group's as solid as ever.
Journey
Jul 16: Lakefront Pavilion at Northerly Island; 7:30pm; $39.50–$49.50. If you close your eyes, new singer Steve Augeri could easily be mistaken for original vocalist Steve Perry. And if the show is really going well, your husband might start to look like your high-school boyfriend—unless he's lovin', touchin' and squeezin' another.
The Rolling Stones
Sept 10: Soldier Field; 6:30pm; $60–$450. Another Stones tour is a cliche at this point, but recent tours have received favorable reviews. See (or squint) for yourself from the nosebleeds.

FAST AND LOUD
Judas Priest + Queensryche
Jun 3: Tweeter Center; 7:30pm; $23–$53. Judas Priest's recent Angel of Retribution is that rarest of musical commodities—an excellent comeback album. If the live footage on the DualDisc is any indication, they haven't lost their edge live, either.
Sounds of the Underground Tour with Lamb of God + Clutch + Poison the Well + more
Jul 8: Tweeter Center; noon; $29.50. Virginia rockers Lamb of God are fresh off a tour with Slipknot and will cross Europe before returning to headline this all-day metal fest. Apparently, the devil's work is never done.
Whitesnake
Jul 20: House of Blues; 9pm; $43.50–$45. If it was your dream to shake your ass like Tawny Kitaen on the hood of Whitesnake's car, you might get a chance when the band hits town, complete with David Coverdale and guitar god Adrian Vandenberg. Just be aware that you might have to settle for grinding a tour bus.
Vans Warped Tour with the Transplants + Fall Out Boy + My Chemical Romance + more
Jul 23: Tweeter Center; noon; $29.75. Warped has lost the hip cred it had in the mid-'90s. Now it's more like punk-rock mashed potatoes: The Offspring is still on the bill after a decade, keeping pace with the skateboarding young'uns, which is strangely comforting after all these years.
Def Leppard + Bryan Adams
Jul 30: Alexian Field in Schaumburg; 6:30pm. This double bill makes more sense than you might think, since Mutt Lange produced some of Adams's early-'90s work and made him sound exactly like Def Leppard, a transformation Lange has since attempted with Shania Twain. Adams has the gravelly voice, but Twain has a cute butt like Joe Elliott, so it's a toss-up.
Ozzfest with Black Sabbath + Iron Maiden + Mudvayne + Rob Zombie + Shadows Fall + more
Jul 30: Tweeter Center; $34.50–$87. Aug 6: Alpine Valley; $30.75–$83; shows both days start at 10:30am. The highlight of Ozzfest this year is, by far, the addition of Iron Maiden. The band's planning to play exclusively from its first four albums and recreate the stage sets from its old tours, which means you finally get the chance to bang your head along with papier-mache monsters to "Two Minutes toMidnight," and all will be right in the world.
Green Day + Jimmy Eat World
Aug 10: Allstate Arena; 7pm; $39.50–$45. See Billie Joe&Co. before they sell the rights of their excellent rock opera American Idiot to Broadway and live off royalties for the rest of their lives. Hopefully the band will also share man-makeup tips for kohl-rimming your eyes without looking like a heroin addict. Which leads us to...
Velvet Revolver
Aug 13: Tweeter Center; 7:30pm $23–$48. God knows Scott Weiland has the look: smoky eyes, sallow cheeks, a Jim Morrison–rip-off swagger with the mike. But the real pleasure is watching the ex-G N' R members backing him, particularly Slash, who turns 40 in July and can still shred like he did in '87.
Motley Crue + Exies + Silvertide
Aug 27: Tweeter Center; 6pm; $23–$78. There will be circus midgets onstage and deluded women from Schaumburg exposing their breasts after consuming a few too many Bud Lights. Eesh.

JAM SESSIONS
Dave Matthews Band
Jun 2: Tweeter Center; 7pm; $39.50–$57. Jul 23–24: Alpine Valley; 7pm; $39–$56.50. June is Matthews's first Chicago performance since the poop debacle, and it'll be even crappier if he doesn't at least apologize on stage. While DMB's new album title, Stand Up, is a direct Jethro Tull rip-off, excellent songs that range from jambalaya-flavored funk to hushed balladry make it forgivable.
Big Summer Classic with the String Cheese Incident + Keller Williams + Michael Franti&Spearhead + Yonder Mountain String Band + Umphrey's McGee + more
Jul 8–9: Alexian Field in Schaumburg; 12:30pm, rain or shine; $45–$80. The String CheeseIncident has done a decent job with its upcoming disc, One Step Closer, showcasing the group's gritty yet free-flowing songwriting. One-man band Keller Williams and hippie rapperMichael Franti are worth catching. But we don't support the wearing of Birkenstocks to this.
Jack Johnson + ALO + Matt Costa
Aug 28: Lakefront Pavilion at Northerly Island; 7pm; $35. Apparently, Jack Johnson wants to start an all-star jam band—his wish listincludes Eddie Vedder, Jon Theodore from the Mars Volta and Metallica's Kirk Hammett.Now that we would pay to see.

BEATS AND RHYMES
Scribble Jam
Jun 3: Logan Square Auditorium; 7pm; all ages; $15. This Midwestern minimecca for underground hip-hop used to take place inCincinnati only, but because of past participants like Eminem and RJD2, organizers have taken it on the road. Seeing as Chicago's MC battles are typically few and far between, this is a can't-miss.
Black Eyed Peas + Talib Kweli
Jun 26: Lakefront Pavilion at Northerly Island; all ages; $39.50. You're either thinking, "Damn, when did Talib sell out?" or "How did the Black Eyed Peas get on a bill this good?" Before their Britney-like singer Fergie joined, the Peas were a quality, conscious hip-hop group. Kweli's last album was only marginally better than the Peas's, but his back catalog rivals any hip-hop performer's today.
Anger Management Tour with Eminem + 50 Cent + Lil Jon&the East Side Boyz
Jul 11: Tweeter Center; 7pm; $52.50–$82. Since the Game was kicked out of G-Unit, it's only a matter of time before 50 decides he doesn't need Eminem, either. View this as a last chance to see them together in the place where real hip-hop was born: The outdoor amphitheater.
All Natural + Daara J
Jul 18: Empty Bottle; 9:30pm; 21 and older; $12–$14. If you had any affinity for MC Solaar, the great French MC of the '90s, this might be the show of the summer. Also from Senegal, the hip-hop trio Daara J does conscious rap in French and its native Wolof.

DEEPLY ROOTED
Gospel Fest
Jun 3–5: Millennium Park; free. Chicago played a seminal role in the birth of gospel music, and this weekend extravaganza honors that heritage with some of its best performers in one place. Highlights include theWilliams Brothers, the Rance Allen Group, DocMcKenzie, Mary Mary, a tribute to the lateMahalia Jackson and a rare inspirational set from legendary soul singer Solomon Burke.
Chicago Blues Festival
Jun 9–12: Grant Park; free. In its 22nd year, the Blues Fest pays tribute to British blues icons Savoy Brown and John Mayall, not to mention local blues heroes. Give it up for Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor and that guy who always blows his harmonica out in the audience while the band is playing onstage.
Robbie Fulks + Hawk
Jun 11: Double Door; 9pm; $10. This isn't country for soccer moms or rednecks: Fulks brings rootsy, driving soul along with his twang, as well as some much-needed humor—if you don't get the sarcastic dig at Nashville in "Countrier Than Thou," then don't come to this CD release party.
Toby Keith + Lee Ann Womack + Shooter Jennings
Jun 18: Tweeter Center; 7:30pm; $31.75–$67.75. There are even odds that at least oneof tonight's acts will feature a lighters-outtribute to This Great Country. Expect a crowd full of "Angry American" Bush supporters.
15th annual Chicago Country Music Festival with LeAnn Rimes + AaronTippen + Clint Black + more
Jun 25–26: Grant Park; festival goes from 12:30–8pm. LeAnn Rimes has been moving toward pop music since her debut at 14, and she's ended up pretty far out in Britneyland. Clint Black keeps it a little more country—he's no George Jones (or even Randy Travis), but he can still kick it old-school.
American Music Festival
Jul 1–4: FitzGerald's, $5–$20. Three days of the finest in roots music in one giant yard, this Berwyn festival consistently satisfies the belly and the ears. This year includes performances by Marcia Ball, Robbie Fulks, Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Billy Joe Shaver. As always, excellent barbecue will be served.
Buddy Guy + Jonny Lang
Sept 2: Ravinia; 8pm; $15–$40. It's sad that it took the praise of B.B. King and Eric Clapton, who honored Guy as he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, to score Guy a headlining gig at Chicago's Blues Fest for the first time in years. There's good reason Clapton once called him "the greatest living guitar player"—see for yourself.
Deuces Wild Tour with Brooks&Dunn + Big&Rich
Sept 10: Tweeter Center. Line dancing at Tweeter Center while staring at a 576-square-foot LED projection screen? If that's your idea of a good time, well, we're not sure we want to be your friend.

JAZZ HANDS
Empty Bottle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music
Jun 15–18: Empty Bottle; 9:30pm; 21 and older; $15 per night. This annual summit of avant-garde jazz has gotten more high-profile every year. Besides Bottle regulars Ken Vandermark, Dave Rempis and Jim Baker, highlights include German skronk pioneer Peter Brotzmann with incredible New York drummer Nasheet Waits and a headlining performance by legendary post-bop saxophonist Sam Rivers.
Danilo Perez with Angel Melendez's 911 Mambo Orchestra
Jul 28: Millennium Park; 6:30pm; free. The exceptional Panamanian jazz pianist Danilo Perez premieres a commissioned piece for the local911 Mambo Orchestra, and will be joined by his salsa-singer father, Danilo Perez Sr.
The Exploding Star Orchestra
Aug 11: Millennium Park; 6:30pm; free. One-time ubiquitous Chicago cornetist Rob Mazurek moved to Brazil to play music, but he seems to have a hard time letting go of his hometown. Tonight, he'll lead an orchestra composed of some of the finest jazz and post-rock players in the city, from Tortoise to the AACM.
Chicago Jazz Festival
Sept 1–4: Grant Park; free. This year we get yet another birthday tribute to Charlie Parker, a celebration of the once-great but waning Roy Haynes, and what might be an interesting tribute to Louis Armstrong's bandleader, King Oliver. For those who think Chicago jazz doesn't go beyond bebop and Dixieland, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, celebrating its 40th anniversary, is sure to bring you something not only more experimental, but more sprawling and spectacular, too.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
Hugh Masekela
Jun 16: HotHouse; 7pm, 10pm; $30. South Africa's jazz ambassador is probably better known in our country for his fluke hit, "Grazing in the Grass," but his buoyant, highly danceable take on American jazz goes much deeper.
Oliver Mtukudzi&Black Spirits
Jun 20: HotHouse; 7pm, 10:30pm; $30. Forget that Zimbabwe's primary cultural ambassador will arrive in Chicago to promote his 49th album (yep, you read right), or that Mtukudzi has dared to speak out against the near-fascist regime of Zimbabwe's dictator, Robert Mugabe. Just be content that the slippery grooves he has endlessly tweaked are summer's perfect soundtrack.
African-Caribbean International Festival of Life
Jul 1–4: Washington Park; 10am–10pm; $5–$10 per day. A multiday extravaganza that lives up to its name with performances by gentle-voiced reggae star Gregory Isaacs, the fiery Afrobeat of Zimbabwean Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited, and honey-voiced reggae giant Marcia Griffiths.
Rachid Taha
Jul 1: Logan Square Auditorium; $20; 18 and older; 9:30pm. The Algerian-born Taha has made a career out of combining choice bits of Algerian rai with straight-up rock music. His relatively rare appearances here make this one of the more left-of-center international shows worth catching.
Steel Pulse + Toots&the Maytals
Jul 1: House of Blues; 9pm; 18 and older; $29.50. The touring version of '60s and '70s reggae greats the Maytals (remember "Pressure Drop"?) might be a shadow of the group's former glory, but leader Toots Hibbert still deserves to be called the Otis Redding of Jamaica.
Viva! Chicago Latin Music Festival
Aug 27–28: Grant Park; free. Performers at this city-sponsored celebration of Latin culture include Colombian pop-rock prince Cabas and popular Mexican vocalist Fey.

CLASSICAL MUSINGS
Philip Glass Ensemble
Jun 21: Ravinia; 8pm; $10 lawn, $30–$40 pavilion. U of C grad Glass returns for the American premiere of Orion with his usual keyboard- and wind-heavy group plus traditional world music instrumentalists Wu Man (pipa) Foday Musa Suso (kora) and MarkAtkins (didgeridoo).
Beaux Arts Trio
Jul 4–5: Ravinia; 7pm; $10 lawn, $25–$40 pavilion. In two programs, the finest threesome around—violin, cello and piano—plays Beethoven's complete trio works. Led by famed pianist Menahem Pressler, this trio is sounding better than it has in years.
Grant Park Orchestra with Christian Tetzlaff
Jul 13: Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park; 6:30pm; free on lawn, $10 pavilion. This brainy German violinist has a tone that just won't quit. He plays Brahms's Violin Concerto after James Paul conducts Copland's jazzy Quiet City.
Grant Park Orchestra with Valentina Lisitsa
Aug 10: Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park; 6:30pm; free on lawn, $10 pavilion. Dazzling virtuoso pianist Lisitsa busts out Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, with Grant Park MusicFestival Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar conducting other Americana works by Samuel Barber and Howard Hanson.Dates and lineups are subject to changes. For complete summer concert listings, pick up Time Out Chicago every week or visit www.timeoutchicago.com.