On the heels of being relatively disappointed with the Musikfest lineup, the Allentown Fair comes out of left field with an amazing one-night lineup.  The announcement just came down the pipe that on August 31 the fair will have a mini festival featuring Sonic Youth, Ween, The Flaming Lips and Magic Numbers.

Seriously? That's a hell of a lineup, and a hell of a random one at that, if you ask me.  Who would have thought the A-Town fair would grab a handful of huge, albeit relatively obscure, artists?  Funny that while the Fest is trying to get big names who are actual has-beens, the Fair digs deep to find really cool artists who've just been enjoying quiet success among dedicated fans.

Whether or not this six-hour festival of alt-noise-punk-whatever rock will pack the grandstand is hard to say - do these bands have a big enough audience here?  One thing's for definite, though - for 40 bucks a ticket you can count me in without so much as a blink.  Hell, one of my buddies paid at least that much last summer just to see Sonic Youth alone, and I'd be willing to bet ticket prices for any of these artists' solo tours would be about the same.  So here's to the Allentown Fair: way to bring in an unexpected ringer in the battle of the summer fair/fest fight.

    -Tucker