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

Well, not here here, but Philly.  I'm getting psyched because I'll be going to Thursday's show at the Tower Theatre, but in my browsing about I realized the two shows in Philly this week are the band's first stops in the U.S. on this tour.  Now that's pretty cool.  The tickets are way sold out online, but you still might be able to e-bay some, or cruise around Upper Darby on the night of the show looking for scalpers.

If you're a fan, it should be worth it - the theater is a small, intimate setting and apparently the band is playing a lot of new material that should make it on the next album.

    -Tucker

The Allentown Fair just announced today that the Black Eyed Peas will be another headliner this year. Not that the BEP are all that but at least they are still on the charts and still on the radio and still on MTV unlike many of the washed up or old-school artists that we get on stage at these kinds of events.

I think the A-town Fair may have trumped Musikfest this time around - unless they've still got some big name up their sleeves. We'll see... the first Saturday night is still open as far as wel can tell. Here's hoping it's Springsteen and not Taylor Hicks.

- Judianne

No matter their taste in studdly singers with star-status, the ladies will be lining up this Memorial Day weekend at Mayfair to get a glimpse of Bo Bice and Nich Lachey.

They're both playing on Friday night (opening night) May 26 on the Cabaret stage. When I told some friends this news they went on and on about how they should show up to create the chance of getting to date Nick or Bo. Um, okay. I guess it's possible, but my money is going to be on the boys being in to sing and out the door.

Good luck landing a look everyone. Who knows? Maybe you'll be the next to have your own newlywed show on MTV. But you probably have a better chance of trying to stand behind Nick while he's getting shot by the paparazzi to get your mug in People.

- Judianne

Sometimes it's a reach to find more than one thing to do on the weekend in the Valley that's different from the usual. But not this weekend. I just discoverd a couple events this week that will feature art, music and food - all for FREE. (And we all know that's the most important thing.)

First off, there is Arts Alive in Quakertown. It's billed as a street festival and it will feature two stages with local music, a reading from some poetry contest winners, and booths from local artists.The Web site (http://www.quakertownalive.com/artsalive/index.html) also brags about free parking and free admission. So basically you just have to show up in downtown Quakertown any time between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday and you can practice your festing.

Second, I found another "Fest" called the Cattyfest in Catasaqua. It's at a park but it's got a pretty sweet lineup of local music. Steve and Debbie Eck, Jake Kaligas Band, Common Band and Amerbris are all performing. There is also a chili contest (always a good idea) and other food.

So make the most of this opportunity to get free stuff and check out the events this weekend. Looking for something else... look for more best bets on Friday in our THIS WEEKEND feature.

- Judianne

Only two more weeks before it all begins. The summer season of back-to-back local fairs and festivals. It's the time of year when everyone agrees on what to do around the Valley (for a few weeks, anyway).

We just had RiverFusion but I don't really count that among the major events. Next up in Mayfair (this has the potential to be lame but it could be worth a trip this year). It's May 26 to 29. Then it's time to hit the shore and take vacation trips before the long haul of Musikfest (August 4 to 13), The Allentown Fair (August 29 to September 4) and Celtic Classic (September 22 to 24). Phew!

Sounds like a lot of music, food and drinks in the great outdoors. HOORAY FOR SUMMER!

- Judianne

Well, since I last posted about my insane 3-day Nine Inch Nail concert plans and some tentative others, I now have a finalized concert schedule for the next month.  My most recent addition, the June 1 date, has drawn a lot of envy from friends and enemies across the board.  How did I get lucky? I dunno, I just have the magical Ticketmaster touch, I guess.

May 17 - Tool, Tower Theatre, Philly
June 1 - Radiohead, Tower Theatre, Philly
June 14 - Nine Inch Nails, Tweeter Center, Camden NJ
June 16 - Nine Inch Nails, PNC Center, Holmdel NJ
June 17 - Nine Inch Nails, Jones Beach, Long Island NY

This is really amazing, for me - three of my favorite bands of all time in the span of a month, and three times seeing NIN before they end their "last North American tour for a while."  For those wondering, these aren't paid or free gigs or anything, all on my own dime (though I'll certainly write up some quick reviews for your viewing pleasure).  This job has some perks here and there, but they're nowhere near this big!

    -Tucker

Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow.  For most of you, that means by 10 p.m. you probably won't remember your names.  For some of us, including yours truly, it means we'll be on the clock so you can keep the party going.  Specifically, I'll be helping out at the Merge Party Crew event at Riverside Barr & Grille.  Sure, it's not so bad as some of you who'll be serving drinks all night long, but it won't be nearly as fun as being at the events.

So for all of you out there who are getting ready to party tomorrow, have a great time - and for all of us who are stuck punching the time clock, there's always Seis de Mayo.

    -Tucker

I swung by Lehigh's Zoellner Arts Center on Sunday to check out The Discordia Project: Experiment #1.  It was a unique music and theater performance, and I hope creator Colin McGurk keeps expanding on the idea.  I showed up a little before the scheduled start at 7, not entirely sure what to expect.  Apparently, neither did anyone else in the audience, so we just sort of milled around in the black box theater talking to the actors as they bounced around the room. The show's band, made of Jason Headeye of the Insidious Rays, Jon Fadem of Post Junction and Robbie Grim of Kef, provided a chill background jam until it was time to get things kicked off.

The show opened with a quick three-way rocks-paper-scissors (an excellent ironic touch to start things) and a charge from god (appropriately voiced by McGurk).  From there, it just got weirder - it's kind of hard to explain the next 30 minutes outside the experience, but it was a tight integration of imporovised acting, music to set mood and effects, and two chances for the audience to pick a direction for the story.  As a crowd, the choices we made were interesting - preferring Justice and Chaos to Mercy and Order.  The humor and liveliness brought to the show's dialog by actors Josh Tonkay, Dylan Jamison and Tom Prue lifted the weightiness of the subject matter.  Discordia could have easily devolved into a 30 minutes of dry, confusing existential waxing, but the pace, music, interaction and humor kept things moving along steadily.

Like I said - Discordia is a "had to be there" experience, but I will add this: it was by far the most organic theater I've ever seen.  If the goal of the "experiment" was proof-of-concept, it was a resounding success.  McGurk told me during the planning stages that he wanted to combine the feel of a rock concert with the heady concepts of a "thinking" theatre piece.  After watching the project finally come to life, I couldn't imagine a show doing it any better.

    -Tucker