Your ticket to summer’s hottest shows

Summer is finally here.

There’s so much to look forward to every summer, and this summer is… Summer is finally here.

There’s so much to look forward to every summer, and this summer is no different. The next couple of months are jam-packed with big-name concerts, music festivals, local street festivals and the family fun of local fairs.

Along with all of the big-ticket shows that will come through town, there are some inexpensive things to check out in the city as well. Every Sunday and Wednesday during the summer, there are free film showings on Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park, and there’s always a chance to take a dip in one of the public pools that the city has available.

But if you are up for spending a little dough, there are more than enough opportunities to burn a hole in that already-thin wallet.

So grab your shades, put on some sunblock, chow down on some cotton candy and drop some cash on a new tour shirt that will age with time as The Pitt News takes you along for the ride in our 2004 Summer Events Guide.

Big-name Tours

Every big-name act in the music industry goes on tour. They have to in order to make money. But sometimes it gets to a point where they should really consider calling it quits. Regardless of how old the band may be, even if it had its biggest hit in the ’80s and is all but washed up, people will continue to go to its big-name concerts. Why? Because some of the acts can still rock.

KISS and Poison

July 4

Post-Gazette Pavilion

Long ago, in a mythical time known as the ’70s, it was possible for men to wear makeup and still rock.

And thousands flocked to see Kiss — the gods of hard rock, hard partying and cosmetic non-disclosure. “You wanted the best; you got the best!” they screamed, clad in costumes fit for a glam-death Kabuki ensemble, with live performances akin to a circus in Hell: scorching indoor pyrotechnics, exploding instruments and the blood-spurting antics of the elephant-tongued Gene Simmons.

Things have changed, though, and the brand of live spectacle that Kiss once popularized has since been rerouted for use by tamer, less-rocking patrons, like the people who coordinate Super Bowl halftime shows and boy-band tours. But while Kiss has seen a decline in mainstream popularity in the past 20 or so years, a lucrative merchandise empire and the loyal “Kiss Army” of fans have kept the phenomenon alive with varying degrees of popular notability.

Judging by the venues the band will be playing on this “Rock the Nation” tour — large, outdoor amphitheaters — Kiss must truly rock again as it rolls into Pittsburgh for a very special Fourth of July performance. Some of its shows are selling out, and the band has even added five new dates in August. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Poison, the ones who brought us “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” will be the opening act.

Together, they’ll deliver a night of entertainment sure to satisfy your longing for the days when music not only made you bang your head, it burned your eyes and splattered you with fake blood.

Sure, it’ll be nostalgic. But it’ll still rock.

-Jon Check, Contributing Editor

Sting and Annie Lennox

July 10

Post-Gazette Pavilion

Some artists, like fine wines, grow better with age. Others just don’t know when to quit. Sting, master of Grammy-winning albums and tantric sex, would probably take either description as a compliment.

The former Police bassist and front man is joined by Annie Lennox, one half of the new-wave duo the Eurythmics, at the Post-Gazette Pavilion July 10.

Sting has been a mononymous fixture in the music world since the Police dominated the pop charts in the late 1970s and early ’80s, with hits such as “Every Breath You Take,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” and “Roxanne.” Since going solo, the bassist-cum-actor has scored Top 40 hits with “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You,” “Fields of Gold” and “All This Time.”

The Eurythmics enjoyed great glam-pop success at about the same time as the Police. After going solo, Lennox continued to take over pop charts with smashes like “Walking on Broken Glass.”

But what, an inquiring mind might ask, do these two ’80s icons have in common? A younger generation might know their songs as someone else’s.

“Every Breath You Take” was later sampled by Sean — then “Puff Daddy” — Combs, who was several name changes away from his current incarnation as P. Diddy — as a memorial to the late Notorious B.I.G. And Lennox’s act recorded “Sweet Dreams” more than a decade before industrial music magnate Marilyn Manson covered it in a heavier form as a hit single.

-Greg Heller-LaBelle, Editor in Chief

Bryan Adams

August 13

Chevrolet Amphitheatre

Bryan Adams has been around since the early ’80s, and, if you ask him, he will tell you he is always at the height of his career. This eclectic and appealing artist channels many different sources to create his art; he can sing, write lyrics and one hell of a performance. This is only the surface of the depth that Bryan Adams brings to his music.

His first single, “Straight From the Heart,” released in 1983, was his claim to instant fame and respect. He then broke out several other chart-busters, such as “Straight” and “Cuts Like A Knife.” His notoriously long tour seasons circle the globe; in fact, one of his earlier tours lasted more than 270 days. This may account for his widespread fan base overseas. His favorite European destination, London, has seen more of him than any other city.

Adams has adapted to the changing music scene over the past few decades, but nonetheless he has seen his record sales dip. However, his impressive cover of Prince’s “I Do It For You” kept him forceful in the industry throughout the ’90s. The artist has explored songwriting for other artists, like with “Tears Are Not Enough” by Canadian group Northern Lights. This ode to end world famine triggered Adam’s altruistic side. He has performed emotional and energy-charged sets at Amnesty International Tours and also has performed at benefits commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Adams will be playing at the Chevrolet Amphitheater at Station Square. He will perform here this summer on August 13. Tickets are on sale now.

-John Nigro, staff writer