If you do anything this summer, go to a music festival. The summer's music festivals are kicking off soon, and they are competing to have the biggest little bands, host the greenest event and to all in all be the one festival that will be worth your time and money. Who will win this winner-take-all fight? No one knows yet, but these shows are sure to be the most blogged and bragged about events of the summer.
Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago - July 17-19
Featuring: Built to Spill, The Flaming Lips, Beirut, Matt and Kim, Yo La Tengo, Doom.
You like beer. Get rewarded for getting drunk by saving and returning all of your plastic cups. Redeem them at the recycling store for festival-related gear.
Warped Tour, Orlando - July 24; St. Petersburg: July 26
Featuring: 30H!3, All Time Low, Bayside, Streetlight Manifesto, Senses Fail, Less than Jake, Chiodos, Bouncing Souls, Underoath.
Being located in Florida, is definitely a plus, and at $34.76, the daylong show is less of a commitment than the more expensive, multiple-day concerts. The downside: Being in an awkward and underrepresented age group - too old to identify with the young teens secretly smoking cigarettes, and too young to be the creepy 30-something man, buying beer for kids, in a desparate attempt to recapture his youth.
Fuji Rock Festival, Niigata, Japan - July 24-26
Featuring: Oasis, Franz Ferdinand, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, Lily Allen, Jimmy Eat World, Public Enemy, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Dinosaur Jr., Bright Eyes, Peaches.
This three-day, 12-stage event on Mount Takenoko typically draws crowds of more than 100,000 people and features on-site campgrounds. Imagine innocently dropping this during a conversation: "Oh, I went to this super-cool music festival in Japan and camped out in the mountains." Who could top that? No one. More than 100 bands will perform.
All Points West, Jersey City - July 31-Aug. 2
Featuring: Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, MSTRKRFT, Coldplay, Lykke Li, We Are Scientists, Mogwai, Crystal Castles, Steel Train, The Ting Tings.
All Points West is probably the most well-rounded of the summer festivals. With bands from Tool to MGMT and comedians like Tim and Eric and Janeane Garofalo, it has something to offer to almost anyone. Watching such a diverse group of music fans try to interact with each other should be a bonus source of entertainment too.
Lollapalooza, Chicago - Aug. 7-9
Featuring: The Killers, Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg, TV on the Radio, Animal Collective, Band of Horse, Of Montreal, Fleet Foxes, Ben Folds, Bon Iver.
A three-day show with a diverse lineup of more than 80 big-name bands and little indies that make it worth the $205 and trip to Chi-town. You could also win a 2010 Honda Insight hybrid by refilling your water bottles, recycling or riding a bike to the show.
Outside Lands, San Francisco - Aug. 28-30
Featuring: M.I.A., Modest Mouse, Black Eyed Peas, The National, Silversun Pickups, The Avett Brothers, The Dead Weather, Dave Matthews Band.
You are really into the environment. Outside Lands will be carbon neutral this year and will offer valet bike parking, a solar cell-phone charging station, organic food and a local farmer's market. The downside: Being around people who like Dave Matthews Band.
Reading Music Festival, Denmark - Aug. 28-30
Featuring: Brand New, Bloc Party, Radiohead, Kings of Leon, Lady Sovereign, Anti Flag, Jack's Mannequin, Fake Problems, Arctic Monkeys.
Reading has an (unintentionally) hilarious, semi-aggressive Web site that gives consumers precious gems of wisdom ("Before you buy anything for the festival (or even in everyday life), please take the time to watch this 20min film…") and informs concert-goers of the new crowd-surfing policy ("The policy has been revised and if you come over for fun, you will be put back onto road G4 and made to walk back down to the arena entrance to come back into the arena that way, the long way").
