The preliminary lineup for The CMJ/Rock Hall Music Fest came out today: Pixies, Digable Planets, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks,Futureheads, High Speed Kings, Misfits,Powerman 5000, Keoki, Frankie Bones, Spoon, The Clientele, Red Wanting Blue, Mushroomhead, Mindless Self Indulgence,Chuck Prophet, From First to Last, Emanuel, Halifax, H is Legend, A.P. showcase, Nashville Pussy, Paybacks, Lucky Artist Booking Showcase featuring: El Pus, Whole Wheat Bread, Streetlight Manifesto, June and special guests Gym Class Heroes. More to come, I'm sure. Looking forward to catching The Futureheads to see what the fuss is about and seeing the Pixies again. I distinctly remember flouncing about the first time I saw them in 1990, willing them to hurry up and get off the stage so I could see The Cure. Never seen the Misfits or Nashville Pussy and the Paybacks are always a good time. I am wondering if this lineup is really worth my traipsing halfway across the country for but the plane tickets are bought, the hotel is booked. So Cyndemouse and I are off to see the middle part of the country. After many years of vacationing on the edges in San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, New Orleans, Boston and Florida, 2005 is looking like a journey to the center of the country with stops in Cleveland, Indianapolis, Chicago and possibly Detroit. I should probably get off my duff and write some travel pieces this year. THe more travel packages I sell, the more I could travel. Also looking forward to the 5th annual Siren Fest which is slated for July 16. Lineup should be available in a few weeks. I ran fifteen blocks down South Street in Philly on Saturday to the Theater of the Living Arts box office to secure a pair of tickets to The Doves and Mercury Rev on May 21. Got shut out for the Bowery Ballroom show and I was NOT letting that happen again. Big sigh of relief. I'm psyched about Mercury Rev and getting more into The Doves as The Last Broadcast finds a prominent position in the disc changer alongside Tepid Peppermint Wonderland: A Retrospective by Brian Jonestown Massacre which I am convinced I am eating a hole into the disc that is proportionate to the ulcer boring into my stomach. We planned a trifecta of reasons to go to Philly, buy those tickets at the box office to avoid the ridiculous Ticketmaster handling charges, get haircuts at Le Bomb Chele and see the Psychedelic Furs play the Trocadero. Haircuts did not happen due to our waiting until the morning to make the appointments which has always worked in the past. Machele's scissors must be snipping at the speed of light over there. Next time we'll plan ahead. A quick dinner at Panang had steam coming out of poor Sweets' ears. Cyndemouse and I sort of hazed him into the Chinatown experience with a wallop of Malaysian spice. Afterwards, an attempt to find soothing ice cream in a Chinese neighborhood was futile so we headed over to the Troc. Missed the opener and caught the second act, The Shore. Sweets and I weren't into it but Cyndemouse drew comparisons to Richard Ashcroft and happily cornered the drummer after the show to dish about it. All these reunion shows lately have me leary and I wasn't sure if we were headed toward disappointment. The crowd was a mix of older people who looked as if they don't get out as much anymore. A pair of women wearing ponchos and heels off to our left were like in tears of joy hopping up and down screaming along to Pretty in Pink. Richard Butler looked well preserved and exceptional limber in a la-la-la-la kind of way to the Mouse who he seemed to share long flirtatious glances with throughout the set. They ran through almost all their great songs shifting back and forth from the sneering Talk Talk Talk era to the introspective Midnight to Midnight phase. I was happy. I didn't jump and down and scream like a girl- too much but it was great to see one of my favorite bands live, even if it's a good 25 years later than I would have liked. 1979 would have been such a hot year for shows. Too bad I was... yeah, like, I'm going to admit to how old I really am.