Concert Notes: Cheap Trick in Brooklyn Tonight, Black Eyed Peas Reschedule Central Park Show, & More

Tickets for Wild Flag at Bowery Ballroom on Oct. 18th are on sale now. Above, the band plays "Future Crimes" at South by Southwest 2011.

There's still plenty of punch left in the free summer concert season, and a slate of good shows for September and beyond is already shaping up. Here's what's happening with some selected shows:

* Cheap Trick in Coney Island at the Seaside Summer Concert series, tonight, 7:30 p.m. The Seaside site lists the opening act as Mickey Leigh's New Yorkestra, but I've seen another opening act mentioned elsewhere. West 21st Street and Surf Avenue, next to the Brooklyn Cyclones' baseball stadium.

* The Black Eyed Peas Central Park concert has been rescheduled for Sept. 30th. As you'll remember, their June show was cancelled before it started by heavy rain, high winds, and lightning. As before, the "Concert 4 NYC" will benefit the Robin Hood Fund. The site has info on how to attend if you won or bought tickets for the June show. You can also buy tickets for the Sept. 30th show (expensive, but it benefits the charity). 7 p.m., the Great Lawn, Central Park.

* Wild Flag tickets for Bowery Ballroom on Oct. 18th went on sale yesterday. If you're a fan of female-powered indie rock, you'll want to see the all-woman "supergroup" in October (especially if, like me, you missed their recent show at the Williamsburg Waterfront with Sonic Youth).

Wild Flag is also playing Maxwell's in Hoboken on Oct. 16th; get tickets here.The Oct. 15th show at Bell House is sold out.

The band consists of two-thirds of Sleater-Kinney (Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss), Mary Timony (Helium and her solo work), and Rebecca Cole (The Minders). Tickets will sell fast for Wild Flag, which drops its self-titled debut album Sept. 13th. (Pre-order "Wild Flag"at Amazon.com.)

* The Union County Music Festival in Clark, NJ will be held the weekend of Sept. 16th through 18th. I was impressed with the lineup at this free festival last year, and this year's has a fun roster of artists, too, including Blondie, Neon Trees, Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea, Southside Johnny, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, The Smithereens, Paul Rodgers, and Toad the Wet Sprocket. I'll have more info on this festival in a forthcoming post.

What shows are you looking forward to seeing this weekend? Leave your comments below!

Spoon, Robert Randolph, The Zombies, Suzanne Vega, & More Rock the Union County Music Fest (PHOTOS)

The Union County Music Fest in Clark, NJ has got to be one of the best-kept secrets in the NYC area as far as free music festivals go. As I wrote the other day, the 2010 UC Music Fest this past weekend had a great lineup, and I caught Sunday's show with Spoon, Robert Randolph, The Zombies, Nils Lofgren, Suzanne Vega, and more.

One surprisingly good act was the first one I saw Sunday, the Nils Lofgren "acoustic duo." I've long been a fan of Lofgren (above), but wondered if a two-man acoustic lineup could convey the power of his more rocking tunes.

Not to worry: Lofgren's guitar playing and voice did the songs justice, and his sideman (whose name I didn't catch) did a fine job not only on keyboard but on percussion: tap dancing on a wooden platform. Nils also took a couple turns hoofing it on the boards (who knew Lofgren could tap dance?)

I've seen Suzanne Vega (above) in concert more than almost any other performer, and part of the reason is because she never disappoints. Her UC Music Fest set with longtime collaborators Mike Visceglia (bass) and Gerry Leonard (guitar) was no exception.

It showed her range from moving stories in spare acoustic arrangements in several songs from her first album, "Suzanne Vega" (which came out 25 years ago), to the bossa nova of "Caramel," the industrial sounds of "Blood Makes Noise," and her collaboration with Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse, "The Man Who Played God."

The Zombies (above), that influential rock band from the 1960s, are still around? I had no idea until I saw them on the Music Fest's lineup. They're celebrating their 50th anniversary and are even working on a new album (due in 2011). They put on a good set of original Zombies songs and tunes the band recorded, as well as songs by keyboardist Rod Argent's group, Argent (including the hits "Hold Your Head Up" and "God Gave Rock and Roll to You.")

New Jersey's own Robert Randolph (above) and the Family Band got the crowd moving and shaking off the chill of the cool, wet afternoon. Randolph said it was good to be back home, and to know that the Giants won that afternoon. Yes indeed.

Austin's Spoon was back in the tri-state area to close the festival (above: Rob Pope and Britt Daniel). This was the band most people came to see (though Robert Randolph had a good-sized crowd, too). Spoon played a one-hour-plus set that included many of the same tunes as their recent sets at Madison Square Garden (opening for Arcade Fire), with an emphasis on their latest album "Transference" and its predecessor "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga."

The Music Fest featured a smaller stage for up-and-coming acts, and I liked the one band I saw: Brooklyn's A Million Years (three of four members above). (Unlike many Brooklyn bands, most of these actually grew up in the borough). They've been playing together for many years, it seems, and it showed. They had a solid, tight sound as they played tunes from their debut album "Mischief Maker," including the catchy title tune.

A Million Years will be playing a couple of gigs at next month's CMJ in New York and a show with Jesse Malin in the East Village.

The Union County Music Fest offered an amazing lineup for a free show, and getting in and out of the even was surprisingly hassle free. This is an event I'll definitely put on my calendar for next year.

FREE NJ Music Fest Has Spoon, OK Go, Train, Soul Asylum, & More

How did I miss this before? The Union County Music Fest in Northern New Jersey, which has a great lineup of free music, is going on this week, and has been taking place for several years. The event, which also includes amusement park rides, circus sideshows, plenty of food, and a 5K race, actually started on Wednesday, but the main musical event is this weekend, and features quite a roster of talent old and new.

Here's who'll be appearing this weekend:

Saturday, Sept. 11:
8:30 p.m. - Train
7:00 - OK Go
5:30 - The Bravery
4:00 - Jesse Malin & the St. Marks Social
2:30 - Soul Asylum
1:00 - Mike Peters & Friends
12:00 - Willie Nile
11:00 a.m. - 61 North

Sunday, Sept. 12:
7:30 p.m. - Spoon
6:00 - Robert Randolph & the Family Band
4:30 - The Zombies
3:00 - Suzanne Vega
1:00 - Nils Lofgren acoustic duo
12:00 - Nicole Atkins & the Sea

You can learn more about the Union County Music Fest at its website or their Facebook page. Oak Ridge Park in the town of Clark. You can get there by mass transit by taking a NJ Transit train to the Rahway station and taking a shuttle bus to the Music Fest.

The weather sounds great for Saturday and maybe a bit rainy Sunday, but I'll try to make it both days. Looking forward to chomping down some funnel cakes and those mozzarella-and-corn cake things.