This
year's Street Scene is loaded with top talent. Instead of us telling you
what we think is cool (okay, we will -- but that's later on), we decided
to ask some of our friends to tell us who they're looking forward to seeing.
They picked 'em, we wrote about 'em.
The Incredible Moses Leroy -- Pop Musician/Face on Gap Billboards
1. Doug E. Fresh
2. Black Crowes
3. Whodini
If you went to high school dances in 1985, you'll no doubt remember a ubiquitous dance floor fave, marked annoyingly and/or unforgettably (you choose) by one oft-sung-along refrain: "Six minutes/six minutes/six minutes, Doug E. Fresh you're on. .. huh-huh-on/huh-huh on/huh-uh-uh-uh-huh huh-huh on!" Born Doug E. Davis, New York's Doug E. Fresh is quintessential Old School, the O.G. Human Beatbox (with apologies, and sympathies, to the Fat Boys, of course). But after "The Show (Oh, My God)" and a string of rap/pop hits, Doug E. all but disappeared from the radar, his airplay limited to weddings and Gen X-nostalgia mix tapes. But Fresh is back, on an indie label, and ready to live up to the promise of his last major release, 1988's The World's Greatest Entertainer. (Performs 9/7, 10:10pm, Time Warner Roadrunner Stage) -- Will K. Shilling
Steve Poltz -- Singer/Songwriter/The Reason Jewel's Albums Sold Millions
1. X
2. James Brown
3. Rufus Wainwright
When John Doe brought his girlfriend Exene Cervenka to one of the band's first rehearsals in 1979, others in the then-nascent L.A. punk band winced. Guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer D.J. Bonebrake were less than impressed with the zebra-maned goth chick with wet-kitten pipes and quirky poems. Zoom said the rookie singer had potential, but he didn't want to wait two years for her to develop. But, according to Zoom, it was two years before anyone noticed X, anyway. The rest -- as chronicled on albums like Los Angeles, Wild Gift, and Under the Big Black Sun -- is alternative rock history of the highest order. Doe and Cervenka's (now Cervenkova) improbable harmonies, Zoom's spitfire psychobilly guitar, and Bonebrake's Big Drum polyrhythms are as close to Art as the punk rock form ever gets. (Performs 9/7, 9:35pm, Best Buy Stage) -- W.K.S.