Brand New out, 30 Seconds to Mars in at this year's B.O.M.B. Fest

B.O.M.B. Fest is officially going to be like Warped Tour mixed with All Points West.

Brand New recently dropped out of this year's B.O.M.B. Fest due to family obligations, which could be good news or bad news for you, since their replacement is 30 Seconds to Mars.

I found out about this change through another blog and some talk this weekend, but I wanted to wait until B.O.M.B. Fest officially announced it to make a post. Then this morning, I got an email from the ticketing website saying that my tickets could be refunded because of the band change. Here's the message from the friendly guys at B.O.M.B. Fest:

"We're excited to announce 30 Seconds to Mars will co-headline with Lupe Fiasco at the 2010 B.O.M.B. Fest. 30 Seconds to Mars stepped in after an unfortunate family obligations led Brand New to pull out of this year's festival. We hope you are as excited as the rest of the northeast music community to see 30 Seconds to Mars join the show. For more information read more here - http://www.bringourmusicback.org/30-Seconds-to-Mars-joins-Lupe-Fiasco"

It's totally cool that they're refunding tickets, by the way. I know there are people who go to festivals for one band, and they sometimes can't return their tickets if their band cancels. So that was really nice.

And I say B.O.M.B. Fest is going to be like Warped Tour mixed with All Points West because it's close to home (Warped Tour usually stops in a spot easy for us CT folk to get to), and the line-up is like if you blended the two. I actually saw 30 Seconds to Mars at Warped Tour in Fitchburg, Mass. back in summer 2006. I remember it vividly because when I was stuck in traffic on my way there, there was a 30 Seconds to Mars car near me - this girl seriously had the band name painted huge on her car, all the band member bobbleheads on her dashboard, stickers and 30 Seconds to Mars attire. I recall my friend saying, "Hey, I think that girl really likes 30 Seconds to Mars." (If you're reading this, girl with the 30 Seconds to Mars car, I appreciate your fandom.) So add that with the other acts like Of Montreal and Girl Talk - bands you would see at an indie hipster festival like All Points West, and you've got yourself a pretty fun combo. I'm pretty excited. It'll be like high school (I was even in a Girl Scout troop in Durham in high school) mixed with college (We listened to Girl Talk non-stop my senior year.)

Just in case you didn't see my last post on B.O.M.B. Fest, it goes down Sunday, May 30 on the Durham Fairgrounds. Tickets are $50 plus fees and can be purchased online at http://www.bombfest.com/. According to the website, you have 27 days left to purchase tickets! You can also buy them for no fees at Redscroll Records in Wallingford.

I've embedded "The Kill" above because I really liked that song in 2006 when it was big, and when 30 Seconds to Mars played Warped Tour. I also enjoy playing it on Rock Band.

MGMT coming to Mountain Park - 8/11

I've never been to Mountain Park before, but this summer I'm going twice in less than a month. For two of my favorite bands!

As you may know from an older post, The Flaming Lips are going to be there July 24, and that's pretty incredible because they never come around this area.

And now it gets better - MGMT is going to be there August 11!

That's a Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Mountain Park, which is located off Mountain Park Access Road on Route 5 in Holyoke, MA. Tickets are $30 plus fees and can be purchased here: http://www.nbotickets.com/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=241.

And here's how the Mountain Park website describes the band:

MGMT is blowing up. Their new album “Congratulations” debuted at #2 on last week’s Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. They appeared on Saturday Night Live this past weekend and are booked for Letterman on May 11th. The electro-pop duo (Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden) and their band from Brooklyn (though drummer Will Berman is a Northampton native) rapidly rose from college-radio mainstay to Grammy-nominated international sensation, blowing up huge after the release of their 2007 major debut, "Oracular Spectacular, " named by Rolling Stone as the 18th best album of the decade, and best album of 2008 by NME magazine.

And we're seeing them for $30? Wow! I have a feeling this might sell out because the only other performances MGMT had planned for my area were Bamboozle, which was this weekend, and a festival in Burlington, VT for Aug. 12. (Both are pretty far and part of festivals, and that has a different feel.)

Check out the rest of Mountain Park's show schedule here: http://www.iheg.com/mountain_park_main.asp

Also, if you bought "Congratulations" and still aren't sure about scratching off the cover, I had a post on that too: MGMT Congratulations - It's OK to scratch off the cover!

(Photo from boston.com)

100 Posts! /Check out B.O.M.B. Fest!

Just noticed when I signed in today that I hit 100 posts with my last one. Wow!

Thanks for reading, everyone. Garrett said he wanted to contribute to my blog, but I don't think that makes sense for one called "The Freesia Fix," so I might start a new one in the near future. We'll see where our collaboration goes.

In the meantime, I got my B.O.M.B. Fest and Lady Gaga tickets in the mail this week!

If you haven't heard of B.O.M.B. Fest, it's May 30 at the Durham Fairgrounds, and it's for a good cause. The line-up includes Lupe Fiasco, Of Montreal, Girl Talk, Brand New, Mute Math, Ra Ra Riot, Jay Electronica, Cool Kids and many more bands including one of our local favorites, M.T. Bearington. Definitely check this festival out: http://www.bombfest.com/

You have 33 days left to buy tickets, which are $50 plus fees and well worth it. I saw Of Montreal last year at Toad's Place, and the show was incredible. They're one of my favorite bands to begin with, but they really put on a fun show - complete with crazy guys in stretch suits rolling around and doing stunts and lots of wacky costumes. I've also seen Girl Talk twice, and it's always a party when he comes around. I'd pay $50 to see two of the bands listed, but it's an all-day festival with a lot of bands. It starts at noon and goes 'til 10 p.m. that night, and there's going to be bunch of vendors and a Ferris wheel!

Another bonus: This is pretty much in my backyard. So all you CT friends who ever thought we don't get many good shows (myself included), this is a pretty great exception. I can't wait.

Justified freak out: Lady Gaga tickets go on sale Monday!

I'm kicking myself for not buying tickets to the canceled Lady Gaga show at the Oakdale.

I wanted to go, but I didn't get around to buying tickets, and at the time, I couldn't think of anyone to go with. Now that I've realized that everyone loves Lady Gaga, my friends and I have the dire task of getting tickets to the Sept. 16 show at the XL Center in Hartford as soon as they go on sale on Monday, April 19 at 10 a.m.

I'm scared.

Everyone who purchased tickets to the canceled show received a personal password to get tickets before they go on sale to the general public Monday. So that's a good chunk of tickets already gone. AND Lady Gaga has been selling out like crazy everywhere. She sold out three, not one or two, but THREE shows in less than an hour at Madison Square Garden - an arena bigger than the XL Center, which is only holding one show.

SO, we're going to sit at our computers all morning, cross our fingers, hit refresh at 10 a.m. and hope for the best.

(Note: I embedded "Telephone" above because it's awesome.)

Seeing the Flaming Lips for the first time in three years!

And it should be amazing. Just got our tickets Friday to their July 24 show with Stardeath and White Dwarfs at Mountain Park in Holyoke, Mass. Tickets are $37.50 plus fees and can be purchased here: http://www.iheg.com/mountain_park_main.asp

Here's where I've seen the Lips before: New York City, Boston and Madrid. Those shows were in 2006 and 2007. It's like they never come to Connecticut. Even so, Lips shows are totally worth the extra travel. The shows are huge productions and just awesome. Worth the extra drive, even if it is a pain. This show's on a Saturday, so the extra drive won't be too much of a hassle. (No, I didn't go all the way to Madrid just to see them - I was studying abroad that summer, and they were at an awesome festival.)

Another cool point: They're performing Dark Side of the Moon in full at Bonnaroo, and their cover CD is selling right now, so we should get some tracks off that. Enjoy the video above.

Absolutely beautiful: "Happy Birthday Lady Gaga Biggest Fan Made Video Ever"

RT @ladygaga http://bit.ly/9fZ67S i've never cried so hard in 24 years, from pure joy and unconditional love. Tears still streaming

In honor of Lady Gaga's 24th birthday today, fan and director Ryan James Yezak put together an amazing video compilation of birthday wishes, Gaga appreciation, teeth and Gaga clips. It's absolutely beautiful. There's so much love, and her fans are basically thanking her for showing them that they can be themselves. In Yezak's explanation for why he wanted to put together this video, he said it was "because no other artist has inspired me more over the past year than Lady Gaga." I watched the video after Gaga posted the link above on Twitter, and if I were her, I would have cried too.

There's definitely a reason why her fans love her. Gaga also thanked everyone for the messages and other videos on Twitter. I love that she linked the above one. And speaking of Lady Gaga, there's finally a set date for a Connecticut appearance on Sept. 16 at the XL Center in Hartford. Ticket info's not released yet, that I know of, and I just know that those who have tickets to her canceled show will have first dibs. I don't have those first dibs, so I will be out the lookout. This post can also be the first of more to come in the ticket watch.

Tom Petty tickets on sale today!

(Photo from livenation.com)

Got my tickets Friday through a River 105.9 presale, but tickets for the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Crosby, Stills and Nash Aug. 17 show at the Meadows went on sale officially just a few minutes ago.

Went with lawn seats because they're fun and affordable, but the ticket prices range from $29 for lawn to $119 for closer seats. I saw Tom Petty with Steve Winwood a few summers ago, and it was awesome. This is sure to be just as awesome. I know someone who paid $50 to see part of Crosby, Stills and Nash, so this is quite the deal. Also, with a purchased ticket, you get a download of Tom Petty's new album, and after the show, they're releasing downloads of eight live songs.

The show is Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Meadows, or Comcast Theater, in Hartford.

I had a quick review from the last show here: Summer Concert Reviews