Tonight - GODSMACK in St. Paul, GREEN JELLY in Mankato, First Day of Rockfest and Moonjam Jam

Today kicks off an early start to a big concert weekend! First, Godsmack has scheduled a headlining show between some festival dates tonight at Myth in St. Paul with support from Saint Caine. Tickets are still available for $42 at the door - doors are at 6:30 and it's an all ages show.

Comic metal band Green Jellÿ tonight makes the first of two area appearances at the What's Up Lounge in Mankato. This is a 21+ show that starts around 10:00, and it's $10 at the door.

Obey the Cowgod!! Green Jellÿ performing January 31, 2000 in San Diego.

The annual four-day Rock Fest in Cadott, Wisconsin starts at 3:30 today with a lineup of Three Days Grace, Seether, Halestorm, All That Remains, and Aranda. Tickets and camping passes are still available at the gate, with prices varying according to the number of days and type of ticket.

Further North in Walker, Minnesota, the Moondance Jam main stage starts today at 3:00 with Mötley Crüe, Cheap Trick, Buckcherry, Shooting Star, and the mighty Cain. As with Rock Fest, all tickets and camping passes are available at the gate.

Moondance Jam Kicks Off Tonight

Now in its 22nd year, Moondance Jam in Walker, Minnesota kicks off this year's festivities tonight, Wednesday, July 17 with the "Pre Jam Party" featuring cover band Hairball, The Fabulous Armadillos, and Transit Authority. Moondance Jam has always focused on classic rock bands, and I've always appreciated how they always seem to book some fantastic, lesser-known bands from the 70s, and all bands get long sets (there's two hours scheduled between every band). This year is no exception with the inclusion of Minneapolis' cult legends Cain, Shooting Star, and Sweet. I'd love see to most of the bands playing, but this style of festival show has several things that I hate: (1) it's an outdoor show, (2) the location is far from civilization, and (3) I don't want to camp or stay in a crappy motel. In addition to the main stage bands listed below, there are four side stages that feature additional acts. If you're a classic rock fan and you have three or four days to commit, Moondance Jam is well worth your time.

Click on the photo to see more pictures of Cain performing at their first reunion show on September 17, 2010 at their induction into the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame (27).

Moondance Jam Main Stage Schedule:

Thursday, July 18
3:00 Cain
5:00 Shooting Star
7:00 Buckcherry
9:00 Cheap Trick
11:00 Mötley Crue

Friday, July 19
3:00 Sweet
5:00 Johnny Rivers
7:00 Blue Öyster Cult
9:00 Bachman & Turner
11:00 Slash

Saturday, July 20
3:00 The Atomic Punks
5:00 Head East
7:00 Halestorm
9:00 Theory Of A Deadman
11:00 The Offspring

In Concert This Week - August 23, 2012

For once in a long time it seems there’s not an overload of concerts this week, but there’s some good ones!

Tonight, Thursday, August 23, local nü-metal crew Blue Felix plays a free show at Neisen’s in Savage.

It’s been a while since Canada’s Into Eternity has visited, but they are back with new singer Amanda Kiernan (who has replaced Stu Block, now the singer of Iced Earth) at Station 4 in St. Paul on Friday, August 24 with support from locals Cold Colours, Climactic, and Northsky.

Saturday, August 25 is an awesome night of death metal at Station 4 in St. Paul as Canadian heavyweights Kataklysm headline an impressive bill with Origin, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Vital Remains, and Rose Funeral. Origin leveled Station 4 back on May 17 (review with pictures here), so don’t miss then this time!

Click photo to see more pictures of Origin (56).

I’ve never counted the number of times Poison frontman/celebrity Bret Michaels plays solo dates here in a year, but it’s a lot. He’s back again for a solo acoustic show at The Pourhouse in Minneapolis on Sunday, August 26. Bret is performing as part of the Breathe Easy Music Fest II, also featuring the Tim Mahoney Band, Cole Allen Band, Crankshaft And The Gear Grinders, Saving Starz, BKS, and Clifton Wales, which is a benefit event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. According to a great article in the Stillwater Patch, this festival was originally scheduled for last month outdoors at the home of organizer Rob Olson in Lake Elmo but was cancelled after he mistakenly killed his 40,000 square foot lawn with a grass-killing herbicide! Not only did The Pourhouse offer the venue free of charge for the event, but Scott’s (the lawn care company) offered to restore Olson’s lawn for next summer’s festival and provided the money to book Bret Michaels.

Christian metalcore outfit Mychildren Mybride play an all ages show on Tuesday, August 28 at The Garage in Burnsville with Betrayal, Lions Lions, and Famous Last Words.

If you’re willing to suffer the parking and crowd at the Minnesota State Fair, Kiss and Mötley Crüe have sold-out co-headlining concert at the State Fair Grandstand in St. Paul on Wednesday, August 29. Support will come from England’s The Treatment.