Vegoose 2006

Vegoose - Young and Beautiful

Vegoose 2006! Rock n' Roll Roundup in Sin City!

Those crazy Bonnaroo organizers are at it again. Get ready for the second annual Vegoose extravaganza. Now I love me my rock n' roll, and last year, when Vegas finally got in the rock festival game, I was ecstatic. The question was, would the event be big enough to warrant a second year. Thankfully, the answer is YES!

The Boneman and I were lucky enough to catch the very first Vegoose festival. And in fact, our ugly mugs even graced the cover page of the Las Vegas Journal.

Vegoose 2005 attracted a massive crowd. Some were there to groove to the stylings of jam oriented bands like Dave Matthews Band, Phil Lesh, and Widespread Panic, while others (such as myself) were there for more indie rock fare (i.e. Sleater-Kinney, Beck, Spoon, and my personal favorite, the masterful Arcade Fire).

I go to concerts as often as I can, and during my lifetime, I've got to be pushing in the neighborhood of 1000 shows (dating back to my first concert experience way back in 1983–The Thompson Twins–uh oh! Did I just shoot my credibility to hell? Hey! The Twins were all the rage back then.) In recent years, I've become particularly fond of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, CA. I've hit that increasingly popular event for the last five years. Why bring up Coachella in a Vegoose piece? Well, if you're a fan of Coachella, then chances are you'll dig Vegoose too. In fact, in many ways, I prefer Sin City's fest. It's less crowded and the line-up is set up in way where I don't feel like I'm going to have to sacrifice seeing one band to catch another. With all due respect to Coachella (which I will continue to attend), Vegoose is a far less daunting experience, and in a way, this greatly benefits one's enjoyment of the festivities.

As was the case with Vegoose 2005, the 2006 festival boasts an eclectic array of talent. This year's line-up includes amazing jam bands, top notch indie acts, and some of the strongest hip hop acts the industry has to offer.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Black Crowes, The Roots, Jurassic 5, Jenny Lewis, Gomez, Built To Spill, The Zutons, The Raconteurs, Cat Power etc. These are just a few of the bands I can't wait to see, and that's not even half the line-up. It's going to be a brilliant rock n' roll spectacle.

Vegoose 2006 essentially runs on Saturday, October 28th and Sunday, October 29th , at the Sam Boyd Arena, but the entire extravaganza runs from Oct. 27th-Oct. 30th, and consists of night-time shows in various venues across Las Vegas.

If you're a rock fan, it's imperative that you try out Vegoose at least once in your life. It's that cool. For all information on Vegoose 2006 including set times and ticket prices, log on to Vegoose.com.

VEGOOSE 2006 LINE-UP!

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Killers, The Mars Volta, The Keller Williams Incident, The Black Crowes, The Raconteurs, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Medeski, Martin & Wood with Maceo Parker, Cat Power, Jurassic 5, Praxis, Yonder Mountain String Band, Gomez, Dr. Octagon, The Zutons, Widespread Panic, Phil and Trey, Fiona Apple, Ben Folds, The Roots, Mickey Hart, G. Love and Special Sauce, Galactic, Built to Spill, Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins, Guster, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses, Jamie Lidell, and Yard Dogs Road Show. More artists to be added.