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[Fri, 30.Jun.06] Chicago Blues Festival Feat. Bettye Lavette 8.Jun.06: Chicago The last I was excited by a new blues album was in the '90s, so why the heck would I go to a blues festival?

[Wed, 28.Jun.06] Mike Doughty Band 17.Jun.06: Cleveland, Ohio The fans that turned out to see ex-Soul Coughing frontman Mike Doughty may not have needed converting, but I sure did.

[Tues, 27.Jun.06] Dick Dale 4.Jun.06: New York Wait, Dick Dale? Wasn't he in Pulp Fiction or something?

[Mon, 26.Jun.06] The Bang on a Can Marathon featuring Matmos, Glenn Kotche, Amiina, and Alarm Will Sound 4.Jun.06: New York A mind-blowing 10-hour avant-garde event makes its home in the strangest of places: the mall.

[Fri, 23.Jun.06] Cat Power Oft-emotional indie diva Chan Marshall is on the rebound, and she's never sounded better. PopMatters crosses the gender divide, exploring this new Chan's effect on both the lads and the ladies. Cat Power and The Memphis Rhythm Band 11.Jun.06: Philadelphia Chan Marshall looks like she's been through Extreme Makeover: Chanteuse Edition. Cat Power and The Memphis Rhythm Band 10.Jun.06: New York A man only meets a few women who have the power to completely and utterly ruin him.

[Thur, 22.Jun.06] Download Festival 2006 feat. Guns & Roses, Metallica, Tool, and Coheed and Cambria 9-11.Jun.06: Leicestershire, UK Psychos, thieves, weirdos filling bottles with piss and throwing them into the crowd, this festival is not for boys in parachute pants. It's for metalheads.

[Wed, 21.Jun.06] Mary Timony + Tralala 4.Jun.06: Washington, DC While the Black Cat's backstage is more unfinished basement than concert venue, the right artist can bring the room's aesthetic to life. Of course, not every artist is the one.

[Tues, 20.Jun.06] Wolfmother 3.Jun.06: New York Sticking to the proven power-trio format, Wolfmother's Sabbath-like crunch makes Green Day look like Hanson.

[Mon, 19.Jun.06] The Carl Palmer Band 2.Jun.06: Huntington, NY Bands like Tool and the Flaming Lips are reviving elements of prog -- not to mention the (ugly) platform shoes -- so why not bring back the big boys?

[Fri, 16.Jun.06] Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band 31.May.06: Indianapolis To be sure, a tour like this involves a certain degree of trust, particularly when you're dropping 90 bones to hear the Boss sing "Froggie Went A'Courtin'."

[Thur, 15.Jun.06] Bobby Bare + Bobby Bare Jr. 26.May.06: Chicago Sure, it's a game of old-school show and tell, but who's showing who?

[Wed, 14.Jun.06] Richard Hawley 26.May.06: Leeds, England Hawley's tunes bristle with experience and come soaked in impossible longing, leaving the listener open-mouthed and bursting with heated blood.

[Tues, 13.Jun.06] Wayne Kramer 20.May.06: New York Turned down but tuned in, these days Brother Wayne is kicking out an entirely different kind of jam.

[Mon, 12.Jun.06] Jenny Scheinman & Friends 10.May.06: New York A thank you note to a Tzadik wonder.

[Fri, 9.Jun.06] Mogwai 24.May.06: Vancouver This was the first show I ever attended with earplugs ready and waiting in my pocket. I took the precaution because last time I saw Mogwai they nearly inflated my intestines.

[Thur, 8.Jun.06] Phonograph 8.May.06: New York We've pushed further into intangibility as communication has become more and more immediate. Are we destined to get lost in the formless mist of all that static?

[Wed, 7.Jun.06] Architecture in Helsinki 18.May.06: New York Ditching the prom for more esoteric delights.

[Mon, 5.Jun.06] Lee "Scratch" Perry 24.May.06: New Haven, CT "I don't smoke ganja anymore; I smoke incense. Because when you smoke incense, your senses are in."

[Fri, 2.Jun.06] All Tomorrow's Parties: United Sounds of ATP, Weekend 1 Featuring Devendra Banhart, Comets on Fire, Vashti Bunyan, Black Mountain, and Bert Jansch 12-14.May.06: Rye, UK Forget your bucket and spade, put away your sunhat. All Tomorrow's Parties is here and peddling an entirely different kind of seaside rock.

[Thur, 1.Jun.06] Tool 11.May.06: Kansas City, KS While Tool's new gimmicks are mildly amusing, they indicate that the band is trying to de-emphasize its personal peculiarity. Why the hell would it want to do that?