The summer concert season has officially kicked into high gear. Over the course of the next two months I have plans to see 14 bands, and that doesn't include shows I may decide to see that I haven't gotten tickets for yet.

The season started for me this past Monday evening when Jay, my concert-going patner-in-crime, and I went to see the Metric show at the Newport. Broken Social Scene is turning out to be a sort of reverse supergroup, as their members go their separate ways and continue to put out amazing work and gain in popularity. Metric is one such affiliated group, as well as Feist, Do Make Say Think, and The Weakerthans. Metric's latest album, Fantasies, is solid but it was nothing compared to seeing them live in concert. They stepped onto the stage and really went 100% until the end of the encore. Lots of energy, and they hit pretty much every song I wanted to hear.

That Monday evening concert was followed up with a Tuesday evening trip to Zanesville for the Muskingum County Fair where we took in a performance by the Beach Boys. Yes, those Beach Boys. Truth be told, I wasn't too excited about it, but January had an extra ticket and I'm not really one to turn down fair food. So while I did have to suffer through Help Me Rhonda, I was treated to fried veggies and funnel cake. Here's a quick video I was able to take.

The next stop in my musical marathon is local radio station CD101's Summerfest concert this coming Saturday. Every year, at least for the past several years, CD101 puts on a big summer concert with some really decent up-and-coming bands for only $5. I haven't had the chance to go up until this year, but I'm really looking forward to this Saturday when I'll get to see Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Matt and Kim, and Band of Skulls at the outdoor LC Pavillion. As if that weren't enough, I was fortunate enough to get tickets to see Company of Thieves, who will also be playing the festival, in CD101's big room before the festival starts. January and I saw Von Iva in the Big Room back in January, and it's really cool to see these musicians in such a small, private setting. Just you, the band, and about 30 other folks.

I also thought I would put together a mix of some of the artists that will be playing at Summerfest this year. Most of them are getting some good airplay on CD101, but I also put in some tracks that haven't been played on the air to give you a better idea of what to expect. The show is officially sold out, but if you are able to track down some tickets on Craigslist -- or even on Twitter -- you would be wise to do so.