Summer Gets Rocking With `Rockstock '94'

Concert preview

"Rockstock '94" with Tool, Candlebox, Paw, Failure and Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies; 3 p.m. tomorrow, Kitsap Bowl, Bremerton; sold out. -----------------------------------------------------------------

You can tell it's summer when outdoor concerts start to bloom.

It all starts this weekend, with "Rockstock '94" at the Kitsap Bowl tomorrow, Traffic at the Gorge tomorrow night, and Soundgarden at the Kitsap Bowl on Sunday.

"Rockstock" might be the wildest of them all, with five intense bands in a show that's likely to last six hours.

Tool is the official headliner, but the most exciting act for local fans might be Candlebox, the next-big-thing band from Seattle headed by star-in-the making Kevin Martin. The MTV-friendly group, whose "You" and the current "Far Behind" get mucho airplay, was the first to sign with Madonna's Maverick label last year. The band's debut "Candlebox" album went gold last month.

Tool is a testosterone-driven L.A. band whose latest MTV video is an animated clip called "Prison Sex," about the consequences of child molestation. Its previous video was for the song "Sober," about the pros and cons of same.

Paw is from Lawrence, Kan., but sometimes is lumped into the Seattle grunge movement because of its blend of metal/punk and pop/folk-rock. Its songs, as heard on its A&M debut album "Dragline," often start with metallic intensity, then mellow to melodic, confessional folk. The lyrics tap into dark emotions of fear, distrust and lust.

Failure, a threesome from L.A. whose sophomore album on Slash is "Magnified," also plays music that lands somewhere between metal and melodic. The songwriting on "Magnified" is more pop-oriented than on the band's first disc, "Comfort," which had more of an improvisational feel.

Limiting parking will be available for "Rockstock" and for the Soundgarden show Sunday at the Kitsap Bowl. Signs near the site will direct drivers to parking, which costs $5.

Round-trip bus shuttles will be available both days, at $4 a person. Shuttles will meet the 11:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Seattle-Bremerton ferries, arriving about 12:45 and 2:30 p.m., both days. Shuttles will carry ticket-holders back to the ferry dock after the shows. Be sure to save your ticket!

Remember, this is a holiday weekend. If you choose to drive onto the ferry, be prepared for a wait up to two hours. It's best to walk on. One-way fare for car and driver from Seattle to Bremerton is $7.10. Passenger and walk-on fares are $3.50. Return trips are free for walk-ons.

To drive to the Kitsap Bowl at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds from Seattle, take Interstate 5 south to the Washington 16 West/Bremerton exit, travel west on Washington 16 to the Washington 3 North junction, then follow the signs to East Bremerton/Silverdale/Kitsap County Fairgrounds.