There are 21st birthday parties to remember, and then there are 21st birthday parties to forget, which face it are most of them. I do remember I started at a bar on College Park, Maryland at 3 p.m. on my birthday, but can’t remember much past 9 p.m., though I do think I wound up at the ninth hole of the University of Maryland golf course.
And I’m not sure what I did there, but it probably wasn’t a good thing.
Anyway, the 21st birthday party Matador is throwing in Las Vegas this October is one of those 21st you wouldn’t want to miss. The three-night musical fete features concerts by Pavement, Sonic Youth, Belle & Sebastian, Guided By Voices, New Pornographers, Spoon, Ted Leo, Superchunk and a bunch of other great bands. When I first saw it, my jaw dropped, it’s almost too perfect a show for an aging indie fan like myself.
Plus it’s in Vegas, which just makes it too much to pass up.
While I’ve never been a huge Pavement fan (perhaps because I haven’t spent much time listening to their music, plus I hate that Cut Your Hair song), Sonic Youth is one of the all-time greats that everyone should see (they have influenced so many bands). The festival has to be stellar for New Pornographers to be on the second tier, and Ted Leo and Superchunk are simply indie legends.
I have to find a way to get out there for this, but it may be a difficult task. Alas, I am 21 no more.
