Also this issue:

Blast Off
Rocket from the Tombs relaunches.
-Sam Adams

Cash Back
Rosanne Cash writes the Rules and rediscovers her voice.
-Nicole Pensiero

There are heroes in the seaweed
-Patrick Rapa

Kim Richey
-Sam Adams

Creekside Jamboree
-Sean O’Neal

Ssion
-A.D. Amorosi

Tim Berne's Big Satan
-Kyle Parker

Amy Rigby
-Sam Adams

June 5-11, 2003

music

Blistered in the Sun

Unwrapping the Summer Package Tour

by Jesse Delaney

This is how great summers begin: a break in the rain, a holiday from work, 20 bands and herds of large men in yellow shirts roaming the hillside on a mission to maintain order. And so the stage was set for the 2003 Y100 Feztival, the sunshine compatriot to the radio station’s chilly Feastival.

While not technically the first outdoor marathon show of the season (that distinction goes to last week's ZZ Top/Ted Nugent Beer Drinkers and Public Urination Festival), the Fez's lineup of performers will be hard to beat -- and best of all, Philly was well represented on all three stages. Without taking a buffet-style approach to the Feztival (picking and choosing among the acts: a helping of Finch, a portion of Vendetta Red, a slice of Ike, a dab of The Ataris, etc.) and wearing out your sneakers, it was impossible to experience every act. Concertgoers wore a trail through the tall grass and goose shit traversing the lawn from local stage to Xbox side stage and back again with the main stage in between. Loyal Philadelphians who took in the entire set by Burning Brides (teasing their fans with a set comprised mainly of unrecorded songs and B-sides) missed AFI on the main stage. The best bet was to find a position aurally equidistant from two stages (a triangulation was inconceivable) and employ selective attention to hear both Alkaline Trio and The Roots.

Some performers demanded the full attention of their audience. Good ol' (hed) pe, probably the best of the rap-metal Rage Against the Machine imitators, delivered a formidable set that included a cover of NWA's "---- tha Police" (dashes courtesy of the original Straight Outta Compton LP), and over on the local stage (in constant danger of being rained out) Carfax Abbey managed to be simultaneously dark, moody and fun.

Thanks to overcast skies, the medical tent was pretty quiet; no one required treatment after getting burnt from falling asleep in the sun. Of course, passing out face-down in a puddle comes with its own set of complications. Thankfully, no one drowned either. Event staff were free to turn their energy to other pursuits, such as confiscating drugs and heaving paraphernalia over the back wall of the Tweeter Center in what is certainly for Camden potheads the equivalent of catching a Sammy Sosa home-run ball outside of Wrigley.

Back on the main stage, the concert turned into a USO show. In honor of Memorial Day, the Y100 DJs marched local military personnel onto the stage to remind the crowd that soldiers are dying around the world and now Beck! Not to say that memorial services have no place at rock concerts, but the timing couldn't have been worse. The emcees, perhaps sensing that they were souring the feztive mood, attempted to rally the crowd with a "U! S! A!" chant that cheapened the sentiment previously expressed. It was like pissing on the campfire, then trying to toast marshmallows. Victimized, Beck's abbreviated set wasn't quite able to win back the crowd. To steal one of his lines, "The good times are passed out cold." (Rejoice, he returns June 5!)

Fallen felt fezzes clogged the gutters as the crowd filed out of the Tweeter Center, and the $8 beers (served in guitar-shaped glasses) had done their job and made Memorial Day a little less memorable.

Y100 Feztival, May 26, Tweeter Center

Number of bands: 20

Ticket price: $35-$45

Parking: $15

Passed-out people: 11

Quality of pit (0 = Sunday church service, 10 = Pantera): Avg. was a 3. Alkaline Trio was a 7.

Zippo salutes: 4 (2 for Audioslave)

Avg. wait in food line: 6 min.

Avg. wait in beer line: 3 min.

Start time: noon

End time: 11:15 p.m.