As you may have noticed on the blog, we’re pretty pissed off that no one has offered to give us free passes to Coachella OR SXSW. That’s just rude. And mean.

Because the world of concerts is against us, I’m planning to invade SXSW with only a bottle of whiskey and my wits as ammo. Who’s with me? You know you want to…

In honor of my insane(but awesome) plan, I want to know if any of our readers (and I’m speaking to all five of you) has ever infiltrated a concert/festival/bar-b-q and lived to tell the tale. Or if you have any tips in crashing such things. That would be welcome information as well.

And if you haven’t, offer up an insane idea of how to get into a show for free.

In Arizona, there was a certain venue (and I won’t say which one) that would allow people in for free after the headliner had played 2-3 songs. So if you didn’t mind missing the beginning, you were welcomed to crash (and this was a decent place that got acts like Snow Patrol, Jurassic 5, Death Cab for Cutie and…I think I may have said too much).

As for the insane idea, and this only pertains to an outdoor festival, I would use a slip’n slide and slide my way to concert-watching freedom.

There’s been a lot hype lately for the South By Southwest music festival. We’re keeping up the excitement at 52 Shows with a special Reader Request contest. Leave a comment and you could win a free copy of the SXSW Live 2007 DVD compilation!

There was official word that Lou Reed will be the keynote speaker for the festival. It came out that REM will attempt to recharge their fanbase with a showcase. Now we know that Daryl Hall will be a featured guest speaker. We’re still holding out hope that Oates makes an appearance.

And then of course there’s plenty of the band lineup announcements/rumors floating around the interwebs…

It seems like everyone and their cousin is picking up a guitar and taking a stage at some point during SXSW. Let’s face it, there’s no way you could possibly see every band. But dreaming about your fantasy concert lineup is all you can do for the next few months.

So how about it — whether you’re going or not, who do you want to see? Tell us your fantasy SXSW concert lineup in the comments and you could win a DVD.

On Monday morning we’ll pick one commenter at random to win a free copy of last year’s SXSW Live 2007 DVD. The disc features footage of last year’s concerts from bands like The Bravery, Peter Bjorn & John, Polyphonic Spree, and Stars of Track and Field. Be sure to enter your email address in the comment form to enter. Comments must be entered by midnight on Sunday 1/20/08 to be eligible for the contest.

2007 certainly wasn’t a boom year for the music industry.

Concert ticket sales were down. The top selling album was a Christmas record by Josh Groban. The number two record… Disney’s High School Musical soundtrack. Rolling Stone’s year-end issue read like a eulogy for the biz by both the artists and the critics. Shit is bleak right now.

But around the corner from every bust, there’s a boom waiting in the wings. And we’ve got high hopes for 2008.

Here are some of our predictions for music in 2008:

• Radiohead will release their next album as a series of ringtones. They’ll let you know the price after you download.
• Garth Brooks will launch the Low Places comeback tour, rocking out in Walmart parking lots across the country.
• Apple will form its own music label and start signing artists directly. You will immediately be able to rent new tracks for a modest weekly fee.
• Nirvana jumps on the recent reunion bandwagon and release a new record featuring Frances Bean on vocals.
• Jay-Z expands his conquest for global domination stepping into a new role as chairman for the AARP.
• The top album of 2008 will be made by a some 14 year old kid with zero musical talent screwing around on a laptop Guitar Hero.

So what are your music predictions for ‘08? Speak your mind in the comments.

New Year’s Eve is a crazy time, filled with alcohol, end-of-the-year hookups with loose men and women, and violence of all types. It’s also a time for song and while FOX showed clips of various bands in NYC, I was privy to the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, a group from Cambridge, Massachusetts that enjoy the use of costumes and horns.

Oh yea, it’s just as weird and disorienting as you think, especially after a Red Bull and a bottle of wine. Needless to say, we left and went on a hunt for Chinese food so that we could watch the fireworks from our hotel room window (oh yea, we were big time).

Did you see a weird band over New Years? Tell us so we can warn the masses. I’m still not sure what kind of music RSE create…I just know it was crazy enough to make me walk away.

And if you just got drunk and screamed at strangers as if they were your mortal enemies, we want to hear about that too.

In a year that saw one of the best-selling concerts in the land as Hannah Montana (or was it the best-selling concert? I don’t care) and the reunions of The Police and Led Zeppelin, the year was full of madness.

At 52 Shows, we don’t try to see every concert in the world (I can’t even see every concert in my town). Instead, we strive to see the bands we love or shows we’re curious about (had I not ventured out on a cold February night, I never would have experienced the awesome badass-ness of The Black Angels and Scott never would have had a so-so night at the Middle East Club in Cambridge).

So in that effort, we’re asking for your favorite concerts of the year. Doesn’t matter if you saw one or 20. Tell us something that moved you and why.

Here’s mine: Kings of Leon. As I wrote in my review of the show, the Kings brought forth a buffet of rock that had the swagger, element of danger and line of loose whores dancing in the aisle that you want at a show.

They also put out one of the best albums of the year in Because of the Times, which continues in heavy rotation in my iPod.

It was so inspiring that I even bought a $40 t-shirt from them, something I swore I would never do because no T-shirt is worth that much. And yet, somehow, this one is. I’m such a hypocrite.

So, with the final reader request of the year at our feet, what concert/show set your hair on fire, gave you that extra buzz and turned you on?

See you on the other side friends. Get for some exciting shit happening around here in 08. Don’t know what exciting shit is? Then you’ve never lived.

Ever since their successful one-night gig, people (mainly bloggers) have been trying to start rumors of the band embarking on a world tour. So far, those rumors have been squashed. But that won’t stop us from speculating about what could be the best concert ever.

So, to let the band know just how passionate we feel, here are 21 things I would do to convince the band to tour:

1. Stop throwing candy at trees (I should also stop stealing it from babies, but one step at a time)

2. Refrain from looking at porn on the Internet

3. Agree to see one sappy movie a month with my girlfriend (she wants to see “P.S. I Love You” this weekend…ugh)

4. Defend Britney (and now her sister!) Spears’ life choices

5. Read every word of The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand in a week (have you read it? Then you know it’s impossible)

6. Stop silent-but-deadly farting in the movie theater (I know. I’m a dick)

7. Contribute to Fred Thompson’s presidential failure campaign

8. Do 10 somersaults in a row down a hallway after drinking 2 milkshakes

9. Buy the entire Zep discography and give it away

10. Wear a little black dress with stilettos in a bar on a Friday night (I’m a dude, that’s why)

11. Paint someone’s house for free…whether they wanted it painted or not

12. Date your mom

13. Stop making inappropriate comments/gestures/e-cards for your sister (even though she totally digs it)

14. Open an erotic bakery like this one

15. Throwing water on a fire rather than away

16. Spend $200 at the crappy strip club in town during the 4 a.m. skank shift

17. Buy an iPhone…for someone else

18. Watch Jimmy Fallon’s stand-up without heckling or throwing poisoned fruit at him

19. Actively pursue the autographs of reality TV stars (although technically this means I can go after Mr. T and Flava Flav)

20. Watch “2 Girls 1 Cup” over and over again while eating refried beans (If you don’t know what that is, you’re lucky)

21. Stop pissing on toilet seats in public bathrooms

There you have it. Now what are you prepared to offer to the gods of Rock?

I hate the holidays too. Not so much the caring and the giving part, just the shopping and listening to mindless holiday swill on the radio (there’s a station in Boston that has been playing Christmas music since Thanksgiving…and they wonder why suicide rates go up this time of year).

But thanks to John Denver and his song “Please Daddy Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas,” I can make it through the holidays. Above is a video of Harold Hutchins performing the song at The Junction Jamboree in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky.

Is there a song that gets you through? And do you have epic live video of someone performing it? If anyone can find “A Christmas Without Weed,” I would forever be indebted to you.

Movie theaters have been home to summer blockbusters, Academy Award winners and horny teenagers in the back, high on Sour Patch Kids and Ritalin, finding interesting ways to have non-sex with each other.

But a new kind of beast is infiltrating the hallowed, darken rooms of movie theaters across the country, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

Earlier this year Garth Brooks broadcasted one of his concerts live in selected movie theaters around the country. And just today I read that Celine Dion with screen her new concert DVD in theaters for a one-night only event (shame on you if you want more info on that).

The trend was also reported last year by MSNBC and seems to be gaining steam.

The advantages? The sound quality is better. You can see the band. You don’t have to stare at the fat ass crack creeping out of the person’s pants in front of you.

The disadvantages? You weren’t there.

So sound off. Is there an instance where this could be a good thing or is it pure evil?

(and sorry to get serious with this one…we’ll be back to our brand of silliness next week.)

Super Fan #1: This person is near the front, eyes locked on stage and ready to scream and howl once their favorite band of all time hits the stage. If it’s guy, and it most likely will be, he’ll have no regard for personal space, feel completely at ease screaming “I love you guys!” and will sing all the songs, word for word, with his eyes closed. If it’s a girl, she may cry, flail her arms, and fall down a couple of times.

The Drunk Guy: Yea, it’s always a guy and somehow he’s louder than the band. He’s also the guy yelling “Freebird!” at the hip-hop show.

Wallflowers:  One foot will be up against the wall, both hands will be in their super tight jean pocket and their head will be bobbing slowly and rhythmically to the music. Every once in a while, they may clap…but they’ll never move from that wall until the show is over.

The Non-Fans:  They go to a show because they know it’s popular to like the band, but have no clue who they are. They are usually dressed in a trendy fashion and, if it’s a couple, they’ll be making out the entire time, so much so that you have no choice but to openly mock them.

One-Song Bettys:  They come in pairs and they are usually very cute. They are on the fringe of the crowd, hands folded in front of them, eyes wide and hoping against hope that the one song they know from the band will be the next one played. And when it isn’t, all you’ll hear is “Oh, I can’t WAIT till they play…”

You got anymore?

Thanksgiving is upon us and I’m looking forward to an entire day of eating (remember, if you starve yourself till dinner, you can’t eat as much), football games and an epic Guitar Hero III tournament.

Oh that’s right. I’m a dick. I got a Nintendo Wii and Guitar Hero III a couple of weeks ago and have been obsessed ever since.

The game has also resurrected my undying love for epic rock star moves, namely the finger point into the crowd, the fist in the air, playing your guitar in between your legs with boxer shorts on.

All of this happens in my living room now as I press three color-coded buttons to produce songs from The Rolling Stones, Weezer and Foghat.

Epic rock moves have been with us since biblical times and have only grown since then.

For me, whenever Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin”” comes on and it gets to the part where Steve Perry sings “Somewhere in the niiiiiiiggghhhhhtt!” I point to the sky and wail. Somehow, I know Jesus is pointing back at me and saying “Right on brother.”

I know you have them. So when do you break out the epic rock move and during what song?

And BTW: Happy Thanksgiving, from all of us at 52 Shows and William S. Burroughs.