Destroy Your Sweaters

In the distant past, sun dances were performed to ensure a productive crop season. So perhaps we should have had SunFest a little earlier and maybe all the tomato plants wouldn’t have died. But alas, this festival has nothing to do with Ra or any other sun god. It’s just an excuse to hear music played outside while holding plastic cups of beer in a crowd that reeks of BO and sunscreen.

SunFest is held in downtown West Palm Beach on the stretch from Flagler Drive to Lakeview Avenue. Luckily, this year’s music lineup boasts a handful of acts actually worth the drive. The first highlight of the five-day festival, which begins this Wednesday, is the 9 p.m. Weezer performance on the Bank of America stage. Sure, the band’s recent albums have bombed, and it’s been regulated to touring with, cringe, Blink-182. But fans are still crazed about the Blue Album and its hits “Buddy Holly” and “Say It Ain’t So.” Some of that mid-’90s brilliance might still shine, right?

The following night, you’ll have to decide between stoic, bearded rockers ZZ Top and psych-rockers the Flaming Lips. On May 2, you can fit in an afternoon performance of Nas before spending an evening with the kooky B-52’s.
Wed., April 28, 2010