With Summer upon us, music fans everywhere are packing their cars and getting ready to attend one or more outdoor festivals. Seeing these concerts as being a youth driven industry, game companies everywhere have done what they can to buddy with the bands, promoters, roadies, and groupies. This year has Microsoft sponsoring the return of the hugely popular alterna-fest Lollapalooza. Show promoters hope to attract gamers to the Xbox's online functions by allowing concert goers a chance to play with their favorite rockers. Not to be outdone, Sony is sponsoring the all day punk-a-thon, the Warped Tour, a long-running festival that has brought much head damage to fans of three chord melodies. But then there's Nintendo, who missed the boat on those festivals, but managed to find a way of sharing some of the spot light. Nintendo is taking their upcoming GameCube and GameBoy Advance titles on tour with a few bands I haven't even heard of, like Evanescence. Below we have attempted to bring you a collection of useful hints about each of these concerts, so you can see which is best for you and your musical tastes. -Cyril Lachel Microsoft Xbox and Lollapalooza Sony PlayStation 2 and the Warped Tour Nintendo and the Nintendo Fusion Tour What it is ... After six years on hiatus, Lollapalooza is back with a new attitude, a new sponsor, and a more hard rock/alternative bands than you can shake a stick at. The longest running punk-rock festival tour is back one more time with familiar long standing punk bands that have taken part more than once before. A small intimate setting with a top 40 band and Nintendo products. While more bands may sign on, for now Evanescence is the only band on the line up. What You'll Hear ... A lot of alternative rock, including tunes from Audioslave, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age, Jurassic 5, and influential rockers Jane's Addiction. A number of punk bands, all ready to prove they are more than three chord wonders, including Pennywise, Rancid, Less than Jake, and heavy rocker Andrew W.K. According to the website, this festival will feature "one of the hottest bands in the country". Too bad the band is Evanescence. What You'll See ... A lot of literature about ways of getting involved with political, environmental, and social ways given to teenage head-bangers either looking for a joint or a comdom. Wandering around the festival you'll come across a great deal of skateboarding and bad attitudes. I'm not sure. I've never actually met an Evanescence fan. I can only assume their reaction will be similar to mine after I saw what Nintendo had to offer at E3: "Is that all there is?" What You'll Play ... Tony Hawk's Underground, Soul Calibur 2, Project Gotham Racing 2, True Crime: Streets of L.A., and many more Xbox titles. Jak II, Downhill Domination, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, and whole bunch of sports games, and much, much more. Nintendo is ready to take their E3 line up on the road. So expect the new Mario Kart, Pikmin, and Wario games ... in other words, nothing exciting. What You'll Need ... A hackey sack, water bottle, and used Sebadoh t-shirt. Event creator Perry Farrell would probably want you to bring a cell phone or PDA, but that's a bit much. A leather jacket, spiked choker, and a Misfits t-shirt. Don't forget the suntan lotion, unless you hit the mosh pit, then a sunburn is the least of your worries. I don't know what you would take to an Evanescence concert, but I can pretty much assume you won't need to bring your GameBoy Advance SP. How much will it cost you ... Auburn, Washington - $69.99 for pit "seating", and $53.50 for everything else. San Francisco, California - $28.00 for a General Admission ticket. Minneapolis, Minnesota - $20.75 for a reserved seating ticket. Most likely debate ... Tool and Audioslave vs. A Perfect Circle, Soundgarden, and Rage Against the Machine. New Punk (Sum 41, Less than Jake, etc.) vs. Old Punk (Black Flag, Sex Pistols, etc.) Nintendo's 2003 line up vs. Nintendo's 2002 line up ... and why it's hanging out with this band. Least likely debate ... Backstreet Boys and *Nsync vs. Leanne Rhimes and Whitney Houston There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, we went to war for oil vs. I love President Bush PlayStation 2 vs. Xbox Who else can we blame ... Al Gore, for inventing the internet, because everything at Lolla is connected to technology! Oh, go ahead and blame Verizon Wireless and MTV2, too. Vans, Subway, Kraft, Spin Magazine, and 37 other brand names. Without a doubt, the Warped tour will be one giant commercial break. Blender, Yahoo, Circuit City, and that's about it. Unless you count the games at the show, there is very little advertising going on.