INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Coldplay, Eminem top VWMC lineup

This year’s schedule for the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville includes two of the most high-profile acts on the road this summer, Eminem and Coldplay, as well as the usual lineup of established stars and newcomers. Country singer Reba McEntire will kick off the outdoor amphitheater’s season on May 13. Eminem will be in town on July 7 and Coldplay on Aug. 12.

VWMC held its first show in 1989, when the venue was called Deer Creek. The telecommunications firm Verizon purchased naming rights to the venue in 2001.

For more information on the shows, as well as alternate directions to the venue, visit verizonwirelessmusiccenter.com.

Here is Sunshine Concerts’ announced schedule for the 2005 season. More shows will be added throughout the season. For ticket information, call 317-239-5151 or visit tm.com.

MAY

Reba McEntire/Brad Paisley
Special Guest: Terri Clark
Friday, May 13, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $53.75 Pavilion & $29 Lawn
On-sale: Now

The season kicks off with three of the biggest names in contemporary country music. Besides hosting her own sitcom, McEntire has been one of the most consistently popular entertainers in the genre. Paisley is the C&W traditionalist with a knack for radio hits and a reputation for strong performances.

Fun Fact: During a recent radio interview, Clark removed her bra and auctioned it off for charity.

X-103’s MayDay with 3 Doors Down
Special Guests: Shinedown, Crossfade, No Address
Saturday, May 28, 4 p.m.
Tickets: $29 - $39 Pavilion & $19 Lawn
On-sale: Now

3 Doors Down leads the charge at the annual marathon radio showcase. Expect other big names to be added to the bill prior to the show date.

Fun Fact: Seventeen Days, 3 Doors Down’s most recent album, debuted at No. 1 on the charts and went platinum within a week of its release earlier this year.

JUNE

Dave Matthews Band
Special Guests: Yonder Mountain String Band (June 12) and Robert Randolph and the Family Band (June 13)
Sunday, June 12 & Monday, June 13, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $56.50 Pavilion & $39 Lawn
On-sale: Now
Camping available

The endlessly popular and ceaselessly touring Matthews usually plays two shows at VWMC each year, and this is no exception. It’s regularly one of the hottest tickets every season; scalpers can usually name their price.

Fun Fact: Matthews’ official description of his sound is “a combination of the Grateful Dead, Paul Simon and Sting.”

John Mellencamp & John Fogerty
Saturday, June 25
Ticket info TBA
On-sale: Saturday, April 30 @ 10 a.m.

Two rock and roll legends take a back-to-basics approach for what will certainly be a hard-rocking show. Fogerty, already a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, hasn’t toured in eras; Mellencamp is riding a creative high these days, having shed the need to produce hit singles to pay the bills.

Fun Fact: Fogerty was once sued for plagiarizing himself. The owner of the copyright to the Creedence song “Run Through The Jungle” claimed Fogerty ripped off the song for his solo hit “The Old Man Down The Road.”

JULY

Santana
Special Guests: Los Lonely Boys, Salvador Santana Band
Friday, July 1, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $46.50, $38.50 Pavilion & $20 Lawn
On-sale: Now

One of the hardest-working men in show business, Santana’s shows are celebrations of his nearly 40 years of music. Expect plenty of long guitar solos and little, if any, stage patter other than “Thank you.”

Fun Fact: After 30 years in the music business with no Grammys, Santana took home eight in one night in 2000 for his album Supernatural.

Eminem: Anger Management Tour
Special Guests: Ludacris, Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz, D-12
Thursday, July 7
Ticket info TBA
On-sale: Saturday, April 23 @ 11 a.m.

The world’s most popular rapper is bringing a full entourage for this tour, including labelmates D-12 and the kings of crunk, Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz. Don’t expect the Detroit native to invite fellow rapper Ron Artest to open the show, though.

Fun fact: Eminem recently admitted in an interview that he tears up when he sees videos featuring his daughter.

Toby Keith
Special Guests: Lee Ann Womack, Shooter Jennings
Saturday, July 16, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $60.25 Pavilion & $25.25 Lawn
On-sale: Saturday, April 23 @ 10 a.m.

The flag-waving, ass-kicking country singer has had a string of patriotically themed hit songs since Sept. 11 and has earned the wrath of the Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen and others. The millions of people who buy his CDs presumably don’t care.

Fun fact: Keith is one of the artists featured on President George W. Bush’s iPod, according to a recent New York Times report.

Avril Lavigne
Special Guest: Butch Walker
Monday, July 18, 7 p.m. $46 (Lower Pavilion) $38 (Upper Pavilion)
On-sale: Now

The former angry teen has glammed up her image a bit and has assumed more artistic control over her music, pleasing her maturing fans and even winning praise from critics who derided her brand of mall-punk chic.

Fun fact: Lavigne told an interviewer she’d be willing to take on any of her teen-pop rivals in a fistfight.

Vans Warped Tour
Featuring: The Offspring, Senses Fail, The Starting Line, Dropki
Wednesday, July 20, noon
Tickets: $27 (advance) & $29 (day of show)
On-sale: Now

Skates, punks, skate punks, shoes, extreme sports, pretty girls, beer, sunshine. Rock and roll doesn’t get any more basic and extreme than this.

Fun fact: Exactly 54 companies, including Trojan Condoms, MasterCard and Elle Girl magazine, are listed as corporate sponsors for this year’s Warped Tour.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Thursday, July 21, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $58, $45 Pavilion & $28 Lawn
On-sale: Now

Like the Boss reuniting the E Street Band for a highly profitable tour, Petty has reorganized the Heartbreakers after a brief foray as a solo artist. Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of their first album.

Fun fact: Petty has voiced characters on both The Simpsons and King of the Hill. He recently began hosting a show on XM Radio.

James Taylor
Tuesday, July 26, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $69.50, $49.50 Pavilion & $23 Lawn
On-sale: Now

The master of ’70s mellow rock has aged into a popular touring artist with decades of songs and stories. The show does, however, attract a different sort of groupie than the Eminem tour will.

Fun fact: George Harrison “borrowed” the line “Something in the way she moves” from Taylor, whose debut album on Apple Records contained a song of the same name.

Widespread Panic
Wednesday, July 27
Tickets: $35 Pavilion & $23 Lawn
On-sale: Saturday, April 30 @ noon
Camping available

Twenty years of nearly non-stop touring (they took a hiatus in 2004, their first since forming in 1985) has made this band into one of the most successful jam bands in existence, despite the fact their music is more to the rock side than their jazzier competitors.

Fun fact: Widespread Panic will be the headliner this June at Bonnaroo, the world-famous hippiefest held in Tennessee.

OzzFest — 10th Anniversary
Featuring: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Rob Zombie, Killswitch Engage, Mudvayne, Shadows Fall, Black Label Society and many more.
Sunday, July 31, 10 a.m.
Tickets: $75.50, $63.50 Pavilion & $30.50 Lawn
On-sale: Saturday, May 7 @ noon

Has it really been 10 years since we first got drunk and passed out on the lawn at our first Ozzfest? It must be. This year, the Ozzman has reunited Sabbath again, brought Iron Maiden out of retirement and hired super-hot newcomers such as Shadows Fall and KSE to help with the younger demographic.

Fun fact: According to a British press report, Osbourne approached both Eminem and Ashlee Simpson to play Ozzfest this year. They each passed.

AUGUST

Coldplay
Friday, Aug. 12, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $69, $49 Pavilion & $34 Lawn
On-sale: Saturday, June 4 @ 10 a.m.

In the season’s biggest surprise, the moody Brits will stop here on their international tour. With their new album, X&Y, scheduled for release in June, amidst high expectations from media and fans alike, this should be one of the highest-profile events of the year.

Fun fact: The band had written 40 songs for potential inclusion on the new album. All of them were scrapped and new material was written for the disc. Many of the unwanted tracks have found their way into bootleggers’ hands.

Earth Wind and Fire/Chicago
Tuesday, Aug. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $63.25, $43.25 Pavilion & $23.25 Lawn
On-sale: Saturday, April 23 @ noon

Tens of thousands of people love their music, which absolutely dominated the charts and radio in its time, and are willing to pay premium prices to see them performed live. Who are you to judge?

Fun fact: Both groups hail from Chicago, but only EW&F are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2000.

Kenny Chesney
Special guest: Gretchen Wilson
Friday, Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $63.75 Pavilion & $31.75
Lawn On-sale: Saturday, May 14 @ 10 a.m.

The laid-back singer/songwriter is known for his hit albums No Shirt No Shoes No Problem and When The Sun Goes Down. Guest Wilson’s first single, “Redneck Woman,” topped the country charts in 2004.

Fun fact: Wilson’s bio reads like a country song: Born in a trailer park off I-70 to a teen-age mother, she quit school after the eighth grade and was performing in bar bands before the age of 20.

Jack Johnson
Special Guests: Matt Costa, ALO
Monday, Aug. 29, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $35 Pavilion & $23 Lawn — all seats general admission
On-sale: Now
Camping available

Before becoming a rock star, Johnson was a professional surfer. After hooking up with friends such as G. Love and Ben Harper, he landed a record deal and gained massive MTV popularity.

Fun fact: Johnson also writes and directs his own films.

Jimmy Buffett
Wednesday, Aug. 31, 8 p.m.
Sold Out
Camping available

The mayor of Margaritaville is the country’s top-grossing touring act, or near it, every single year, and 2005 will be no exception. The show is already sold out, so unless you have your tickets in hand, or you’re willing to pay a super-premium price, forget about it.

Fun fact: In addition to being an owner of a chain of restaurants, Buffett is also a novelist with three books in print.

OCTOBER

Brooks and Dunn
Special Guests: Big and Rich, The Warren Brothers
Saturday, Oct. 1, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $52.75 Pavilion & $28 Lawn
On-sale: Saturday, June 18 @ 10 a.m.

Brooks and Dunn try to provide the most value for each show. Their concerts are events, in the same way Ozzfest is an event. This year, they’re touring with Big and Rich, who’ve been at the top of the country charts all year, and the Warren Brothers, who look to do the same this year.

Fun fact: In a classic mismatch of performer and audience, Big and Rich played during halftime of this year’s NBA All-Star Game, causing TNT’s Charles Barkley to quip that the band had stolen their name from him.

To be announced

X-FEST 2005