Pitchfork: Franz, Stripes, Stooges to Play Big Day Out

Franz, Stripes, Stooges to Play Big Day Out

One hemisphere's autumnal depression is another hemisphere's vernal reawakening. As we northernites hunker in our bunkers for the long gray seasons, down under they're swapping their thermal underpants for sunscreen. And it wouldn't be an Antipodean summer without the Big Day Out festival tour, which is like the original Lollapalooza, but with a pouch, a ruddy complexion, an enormous appetite for beer, and really good bands. (Say "Beg Die At" and sound just like a native!)

The 2006 edition is still four months away, but the just-announced lineup joins "sunshine" and "newborn koalas" on the list of Reasons For Aussies and New Zealanders To Celebrate The Coming Of Spring. Brace yourself: Iggy & the Stooges, the White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, Sleater-Kinney, the Mars Volta, Kings of Leon, the Magic Numbers, the Living End, Soulwax / 2ManyDJs, AFI, the Living End, Gerling, and Dei Hamo will play all six dates, while different casts of Aussie and Kiwi bands will play the shows in their respective homelands. Franz Ferdiand tourmates Cut Copy, Vines-related project Youth Group, recent 4AD signees Wolf & Cub and Go! Team tourmates the Grates will all rep for Australia.

If anybody out there wants to help a poor, underprivileged Yankee stave off another attack of seasonal affective disorder, tickets go on sale this Friday, October 14. I come from a land... OK, we all know where this is going:

01-20 Auckland, New Zealand - Ericsson Stadium
01-22 Gold Coast, Australia - Parklands
01-26 Sydney, Australia - Sydney Showground
01-29 Melbourne, Australia - Princes Park
02-03 Adelaide, Australia - Royal Adelaide Showground
02-05 Perth, Australia - Claremont Showgrounds