Cover Story: Music Midtown Critics’ Schedule

Friday

8:30-9 p.m. 23 JINX - More than likely three of the more popular boys in their high school class, fraternal twins Reid (guitar/vocals) and Blaze (drums) Bateh along with their friend William Brookshire play the type of rock you listen to when you’re 16 and a little angsty. Best Buy/99X Locals Only Stage. - Nikhil Swaminathan

8:30-9:15 p.m. CIARA - Atlanta’s own “First Lady of Crunk & B,” Ciara continues to excel when her whispery vocals (Aaliyah with a touch of Destiny’s Child) are paired with a slow grind (most often from ATLiens Lil Jon and Jazze Pha). Production makes it much of the time for Ciara, so listen to catch goodies like “Oh” and “1, 2 Step.” Coca-Cola/Verizon Wireless/Hot 107.9/Fox 5 Stage. - Tony Ware

8:45-9:45 p.m. LOU REED - Being a living legend must get frustrating, especially when after 30 years of admittedly spotty albums, all anyone wants to hear from Reed are Velvet Underground and early solo “hits” he recorded nearly four decades ago. Regardless, he’ll deliver them, and a smattering of other career highlights. Ford/Best Buy/96 Rock/UPN Atlanta Stage. - Hal Horowitz

9-10 p.m. INTERPOL - Good enough to go gold (almost, but not quite yet), put a little post-industrial neighborhood in Brooklyn on the map, and spawn several copycat bands, Interpol is the biggest indie band in the world, for now. Tonight, its melancholy post-punk will welcome nightfall. How appropriate. Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage. - NS

10-10:30 p.m. AVENGE VEGAS - The power trio’s sound is radio-friendly riot grrrl in the Kristen Hersh realm (see 50 Foot Wave), and it needs to make the most of this. Best Buy/99X Locals Only Stage. - NS

10-11:30 p.m. THE GAME - This year, Music Midtown can claim it got game. Or rather, the Game. He spits over beats from Dr. Dre, Enimem, Just Blaze, Kanye West and more, this is G-Funk ‘05 - which means stripped down, creeping like a chromed-out custom ride but equally ready to flip the switches and bounce, bounce. Coca-Cola/Verizon Wireless/Hot 107.9/Fox 5 Stage - TW

10-11:30 p.m. RAREFORM DJ CREW - Tim DeGroot and J-Sol have gained a following in Atlanta by dropping hip-house, future jazz and breaks, both dusty and digital. Comcast/WABE Cultural Stage. - TW

10:30 p.m.-midnight THE WHITE STRIPES - Since the Stripes’ last album, Jack White has been in an Academy Award-winning movie, dated Renee Zellweger, and beaten the shit out of a Von Bondie. So Get Behind Me Satan is a somewhat appropriate title for the new album. It continues the duo’s predilection for porch blues, screaming guitars and Jack’s clever wordplay. A true model of consistency. Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage. - NS

Saturday

3-3:45 p.m. THE WRIGHTS - Former Atlanta residents Adam and Shannon Wright start the Saturday marathon with their sweet and accessible country blend. Supporting their self-titled debut album, which is one of the best new releases so far this year, the couple celebrate their homecoming in a big way. Hooters/Kicks 101.5 Stage. - James Kelly

4:15-5:15 p.m. BLOC PARTY - South London’s Bloc Party is so achingly now in terms of post-punk indie rock. That also means the quartet is so achingly retro, recalling Gang of Four, the Fall, XTC and Bad Brains in the group’s taut, wiry yelping. And the drummer is so flipping brilliant, he makes bashing political parties into a sweat-streaked rave-up. Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage. - TW

4:15-5:15 p.m. TIFT MERRITT - OK, so she lost the Grammy for Best Country Album to Loretta Lynn. But Merritt is only marginally country, anyway, and with two great releases is already forging a distinctive soulful path that makes her far more attractive, edgy and innovative than the majority of big-hatted, Barbie-styled slackers on so-called Americana radio. Hooters/Kicks 101.5 Stage. - HH

5:15-5:45 p.m. GOOD FRIDAY EXPERIMENT - Local psych rock outfit Good Friday Experiment draws out weighty and cerebral journeys into rhythm and reverb-drenched washes of feedback. Drawing comparisons to everyone from Spirit to Spaceman 3, the group’s penchant for ’60s rock bliss lends more to punk-rock experimentalism than hippie love jams. Best Buy/99X Locals Only Stage. - Chad Radford

5:45-6:45 p.m. THE FEATURES - A buzz band for the last year or so, the band came up alongside the Killers, but have not garnered near as much notoriety. Maybe it’s because its sound is less stylized - think Animals rather than the Cure - and probably guaranteed to be around a lot longer, even if it’s a little under the radar. Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage. - NS

6-7:15 p.m. ROBERT RANDOLPH & THE FAMILY BAND - At even an hour and a quarter, Randolph is just getting warmed up when he kicks his energized gospel-blues rock into high gear. Taking the once lowly pedal steel guitar out of country music, into the church and center stage, he and the band deliver a ferociously sweaty set as explosive as it is righteous. Can we get an “Amen”? Ford/Best Buy/96 Rock/UPN Atlanta Stage. - HH

8-9:15 p.m. JOHN FOGERTY - His newest album didn’t excite the charts or his graying fans, but Fogerty knows what the crowd wants and he happily satisfies by enthusiastically diving into his fertile Creedence Clearwater catalog. It’s a sing-along good time, especially if you’re a boomer who remembers how good “Proud Mary” sounded blasting out of AM radio in 1969. Ford/Best Buy/96 Rock/UPN Atlanta Stage. - HH

8:45-10 p.m. THE KILLERS - Las Vegas quartet the Killers has one killer song, “Mr. Brightside.” It’s the brightest side on the Duran Duran descendant’s 2004 debut, Hot Fuss, a thoroughly melodic though somewhat uneven collection of stylized Brit/synth-pop fit for the inevitable indie-rock remake of any John Hughes movie. Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage. - TW

10-10:30 p.m. FIVE EIGHT - The Locals Only stage seems like a step down considering the band opened for R.E.M. But hey, this punked-up crew of over-the-hillers can rock harder than a lot of the kids they’re sharing the stage with. Oh, and they can wipe the floor with a few bands on the stage they’re facing, too. Best Buy/99X Locals Only Stage. - NS

10 p.m-midnight TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS - Known for his unpredictable but exhilarating performances where he is as likely to play covers and rarities mixed with a smattering of hits, Petty and his longtime band prove that experience and age can be assets for talented and dedicated rock and rollers. Ford/Best Buy/96 Rock/UPN Atlanta Stage. - HH

10:15-11:45 p.m. ALAN JACKSON - The Newnan native has forged one of the most successful and consistent careers in country music over the last 15 years by sticking to what he does best: straight-up honky-tonk, with just enough insightful social commentary to keep it honest and sincere. Expect all the big hits, and a good ol’ time for all y’all hillbillies. Hooters/Kicks 101.5 Stage. - JK

10:30 p.m. THE PIXIES - Bounding back from “the comeback of the year” last October, the Pixies return ... to the festival circuit. To witness Frank Black bellow “Where Is My Mind” over a sea of soccer moms and sloshed teens with glowing necklaces will only add a renewed sense of anxiety to the group’s omnipotence. Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage. - CRTBA p.m. COMMON - Anyone who appreciates a soulful, socially informed flow should catch Chicago-bred MC Common. Having just released an album, Be, with fellow Chicagoan Kanye West on production, Common drops catchy consciousness over West’s trademark chattering, sped-up samples. Coca-Cola/Verizon Wireless/Hot 107.9/Fox 5 Stage. - TWSunday

3-3:45 p.m. TEGAN AND SARA - Twins. Lesbians. Hmmmm. ... It’s the Proclaimers meets t.a.t.u., right? Umm, gross, and thankfully, not right. Tegan and Sara traffic in earnest pop and infectious hooks, not in ugly mugs with big glasses and scantily clad exotica. Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage. - NS

3-3:30 p.m. WHODINI - New York hip-hop-R&B trio Whodini’s mid-’80s hits might as well be the unofficial themes of festival: “Magic’s Wand” (like the festival poles we bring to Music Midtown), “Friends” (who we want with us at Music Midtown), “Freaks Come Out at Night” (what we get at Music Midtown). Biz Markie and MC Lyte follow with half-hour sets. Coca-Cola/Verizon Wireless/Hot 107.9/Fox 5 Stage - TW

3:45-4:15 p.m. DROPSONIC - For two years, we’ve heard about this Atlanta trio and its titanic hard-rocking sound going down the Rowdy Records path. The band holed up in Athens in early 2004 and a new record is about to drop this summer courtesy of the mercurial Dallas Austin. Best Buy/99X Locals Only Stage. - NS

4:15-5 p.m. COHEED & CAMBRIA - I heard angular emo group Coheed & Cambria on the radio, but thought it was Canadian prog-power trio Rush. But, I mean, “Limelight” rules, dude. Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage. - TW

4:30-5:30 p.m. JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS - She loves rock ­n’ roll and proves it on stage. Now in her mid-40s, she has a no-bullshit attitude that fits her iconic female hard-rocker status, which sets the standard for leather pants-clad women with guitars. Ford/Best Buy/96 Rock/UPN Atlanta Stage. - HH

6-7 p.m. DEF LEPPARD “Photograph,” “Rock of Ages,” “Rocket,” “Love Bites,” “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” “Hysteria,” “Let’s Get Rocked.” And you know every word. Ford/Best Buy/96 Rock/UPN Atlanta Stage. - TW

7:15-8:45 p.m. DEVO - Q: Are they not men? A: Apparently so. But in the ’70s, Devo shunned its flawed human forms to craft a disinfected and discomforting brand of electro-rock that resonates well into the new millennium. Thirty years later, the group’s human vessels show signs of age, but the music is as vibrant as ever. Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage. - CR

7:15-8:30 p.m. PUBLIC ENEMY - Chuck D., Flavor Flav and Professor Griff bumrush Music Midtown with politically charged punk/hip-hop realism. Joined by Atlanta-based DJ Lord, PE’s Reagan-era fury burns brightly in the age of W. as the group still parties for its right to fight. Coca-Cola/Verizon Wireless/Hot107.9/Fox 5 Stage. - CR