So, through no doing of my own, I have just obtained tickets to all three days of Lollapalooza here in Chicago.

It's something like 140 bands over eight stages or some crazyness like that.

Frankly, my festival going days are over - but I have no other plans so - what the hell.

I have started plotting a schedule (Stars, Be Your Own Pet, Built to Spill, Wilco, Calexico...) but my days are by no means filled. I would love suggestions if you feel like looking at the ridiculously packed schedule. I would like to see some stuff I haven't seen before. All recs welcome.

Sidenote: Split Lip has added a few more states and dates to their August tour - Oklahoma, Colorado, etc. check their web site for details if you are interested. Also - Katefate - they have announced that Kirk's-health-willing, they are headlining Stage 5 on Saturday night for Winfield. Just like old times.

Very cool on seeing Tom live. Duke Robillard, eh? Gotta be a bluesier sound than Ribot's latin-inflected textures.

Maybe you need a lawn chair for this festival outing, tina. Or possibly a harness and a lot of helium balloons. You can float lazily through the whole thing and rig up a gerbil feeder full of margarita.

Have any of you been getting the Under Review series of DVDs?

I got The Velvet Underground Under Review and it was excellent. Lots of fantastic clips of early shows, very knowledgeable discussion by people like Joe Harvard (who wrote the 33 1/3 book on them, and is a musician and takes you through Lou's licks), and Christgau. Interview with Mo and one the engineers.

I just saw one on Kate Bush that intrigues me, and the Captain Beefheart also looks cool. Anyway, I can recommend the VU one to any fan of the band. They just take it chronologically and go over each album individually and in thoughtful detail with lots of interesting insider bits.

I've heard the Beefheart one isn't as good, David.

I would like to see some stuff I haven't seen before. All recs welcome.

The only band I can recommend, that you may not have already heard of, is Maneshevitz (day 3, 1pm, at AMD). The singer sounds like Tom Verlaine but is short and stocky, and the band are more rockin' like the Hold Steady.

I've heard the Beefheart one isn't as good, David.

Have you seen the VU one?

The Amoeba reviewers like the Kate Bush one, so I expect it's got a fair amount of interesting bits that are floating out among collectors but would probably not get an official release.

I would like to see some stuff I haven't seen before. All recs welcome.

Sonic Youth if you haven't before and it doesn't conflict.

Oh and the Hold Steady for sure.

Death Cab for Cutie!!! So forlorn and and medodic.

a gerbil feeder full of margarita

Why wait? I might just do this tonight....

Maneshevitz (day 3, 1pm, at AMD). The singer sounds like Tom Verlaine but is short and stocky, and the band are more rockin' like the Hold Steady.

I actually have seen them! They opened for the Mountain Goats in Lawrence once. I shall pencil them in - they are worth seeing again.

Sonic Youth if you haven't before and it doesn't conflict.

Sonic Youth I have seen. I was debating between them and Blackalicious. Hmmmmm....And the Hold Steady are a definite.

Death Cab I like more than Ween - but Ween seems like a better live act for reasons I can't quite express. Never seen either.

I am stressing over Kanye or Manu Chao? Oh lord, will my diamond shoes ever fit right?

So forlorn and and medodic.

I like them but thought they were kind of boring live. I only saw them in a big arena type place with suck ass sound though. Not really the right venue for their style of music I think.

but Ween seems like a better live act for reasons I can't quite express.

They are supposed to be very good live. Dean's quite the guitar wizard.

Ween it is then! Though I agree, Robin, Death Cab are the forlorniest.