BETTER SHED THAN DEAD

If it's almost summer, it must time for a big rock & roll show to pitch a tent in a town near you. Among the first big tours lined up for the coming months are the fourth annual Ozzfest touring festival, the Van's Warped Tour and yet another leg in the Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band caravan.

This year's Ozzfest, the metal extravaganza presented by Ozzy Osbourne and wife/manager Sharon and produced by SFX Entertainment, kicks off July 2 at Mars Music Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Joining Ozzy on the bill will be Godsmack, Pantera, Monster Magnet, Static-X, P.O.D., Incubus, Queens Of The Stone Age and Methods Of Mayhem.

The second stage will feature Ministry, Kittie, Taproot, Primer 55, Pitchshifter, the Deadlights, Disturbed, Crazy Town, Pump Jack, Slaves On Dope and Shuvel.

Other bands performing on various dates include NOFX, Snapcase, Suicide Machines, Hot Water Music, and veteran punk act T.S.O.L.

The Vans Warped Tour will be back again this summer, with Green Day, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Long Beach Dub Allstars, Jurassic 5 and others in tow.

The 38-date jaunt kicks off June 24 in Phoenix and runs throughout the summer, concluding Aug. 6 in El Paso, Texas. Shows will be held primarily in fairgrounds or the parking lots of major arenas.

Meanwhile, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band have added stops in Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Atlanta to their tour itinerary for late May and early June. The new dates come on the heels of an announcement that Springsteen and band will play in Southern California in May.

Tickets for the shows at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and Philips Arena in Atlanta, and for a previously scheduled show at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Calif., are scheduled to go on sale Saturday (4/1).

Springsteen and band are scheduled to end their tour withten shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden between June 12 and July 1. Tickets will be available at exorbitant prices from a friendly broker near you.