By Mike Breen

Looking at the big concerts that are swinging through Riverbend this year, it's hard to tell that this is the last summer of the millennium. Journey, Foreigner, the J. Geils Band, The Scorpions, Santana and Poison (Poison?!) are all making the rounds in the sheds this year, alongside a plethora of teen acts (Brandy, 'N Sync, 98 Degrees), who, really, are generic enough that they could have arisen in just about any era.

In the '80s, who would have though that by the year 2000, nothing in music would have really changed that much? Lollapalooza kicked off an interesting tour trend, sending out varied packages of new artists who made the future of big, live shows seem exciting. There was talk of large Electronica tours in its wake and Lolla founder Perry Farrell had an endless stream of ideas of where to take the concept of outdoor shows.

But, like any original idea in music, the summer package tour became bastardized. Big money could be made . . . with a bill that was commercial enough. Lilith Fair, the most successful, has always seemed like a long advertisement for whatever Sarah MacLachlan was working on, and Ozzfest is always headlined by founder Ozzy Osbourne, who hasn't done anything relevant on record in the past decade or so.

Of course, Lilith Fair has provided lesser-known acts on the second stage (plus, their attempts at being more inclusive have led to the amicable booking of more R&B; and Country artists), and Ozzfest does a remarkable job of packaging together fringe Metal acts who would never get to play the big outdoor arenas. Still, with the astronomical rise in ticket prices, in a couple of years these events inevitably will be forced to rally around the most bankable headliners. Sarah MacLachlan has already announced this will likely be the last year of Lilith, wisely going out on top before they had to resort to booking Celine Dion to stay alive.

And just look at Lollapalooza. After vowing to return this year, organizers ran into the same problem: To get venues and even other artists on board, they were forced to secure one commercially viable act to headline before they could even get started. After a no from Bush, the tour has packed it in for this year, once again vowing to return next year. Yeah, right -- with Ricky Martin headlining?

This year we get the first All That Music & More Fest, a package tour sponsored by children's cable network Nickelodeon. The tour -- featuring 98 Degrees and several other teen-oriented acts -- is the ultimate parody of the once-hopeful package tour. And in its shamelessness, it is brilliant. With teen music accounting for a huge chunk of the music business' change, the organizers of Kiddie-palooza are blatantly keying in on the cash and not hiding behind the facade of presenting musical diversity or some other noble ambition.

It's all about money on the summer tour scene -- you don't think Peter Wolf really wanted to rejoin the J. Geils Band, did you? Money is what makes these tours run, earns them their rosters and production costs, and keeps them in business year after year. The sad, apparent lesson learned by Lollapalooza is that, without pinpoint focus on money, an adventurous summer tour on a large scale can't happen. But then the something like the annual Vans Warped Tour (not coming to Cincinnati) comes along, sporting a slew of independent, underground Punk, Ska and Swing acts, and it's a consistent success. It's hard to tell whether it's fear of losing or the anticipation of gaining lots of money that is holding back other promoters from even attempting something creative.

So within this year's Summer Music issue you will find our annual look at the upside of the upcoming summer music scene. We've talked with some of the old familiar faces returning to town (Todd Rundgren, Charlie Daniels) as well as some artists just getting started (Lilith-bound Sinead Lohan and local Jazz act the Cobra Ensemble). And, to get our share of the teen music booty, we even have a couple of pieces on the new teen sensations (fans should ignore the condescending tone).

Capping it all off is an interview with Dayton's Guided By Voices, whose new album, Do the Collapse, is their first major bid for commercial acclaim. The band is already legendary in the underground world of Indie Rock, so the move to a bigger label and higher production values reeks of begging for a bigger payday. That is, until you listen to the record, a blissfully resilient Pop album that lives up to the legacy, proving that the prospect of financial gain doesn't always have to kill the artistic muse.

E-mail Mike Breen

Spill It (May 20, 1999)
Uncle Woody's Celebrates 25 Years and Promises to Keep Going (May 13, 1999)
Spill It (May 13, 1999)
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Daniels' Boon
Country visionary Charlie Daniels stands at the brink of his sixth decade of work and influence

A Whole New Groove
Todd Rundgren on why the future of music distribution doesn't include the music industry

Nothing Compares to Sinead
On the eve of her appearance at Lilith Fair, Sinead Lohan talks about avoiding pitfalls others have succembed to

Sells Like Teen Spirit
How Teen Pop will eat itself and give way to the next music revolution

2wice as Hard
Will "keeping it real" be enough to push hot new boy band 2wice Shy into the ranks of 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys?

Out of Bounds
COBRA Ensemble finds a local audience for its progressive, improvisational sound

Liquid Summer
The music to drink to on those long summer nights

Ozomatli Crew
The Los Angeles-based 10-member political dance collective known as Ozomatli has a message in the groove