The perfect band for Carb Day 2011 is the Nashville-based funk band Here Come The Mummies. Why? There are a few reasons:
-No one who attends a show goes away dissatisfied. People generally end up dancing their arses off, or at least trying.
-Thousands of fans follow the band, attending concerts with the undying devotion of deadheads when Jerry Garcia was breathing.
-The ladies love ‘em (and they love the ladies, too). That broadens the demos a bit.
-Their most active fan base is right there in the Midwest. They sell out show after show.
-They are staples on the Indy-based and nationally syndicated Bob & Tom show.
-Their primary schtick is having a good time after being dead. That ought to appeal to cart ‘fans’ still attempting to live in the last century. The bandaged band might help bridge that particular stupidity gap while ensuring EVERYONE has a great time.
It is a no-brainer. Want thousands of additional new fans through the gates? Want them to spend lots of money and have a fantastic time? Book Here Come The Mummies for Carb Day.
Defender of IndyCar 
well..I can’t see I.M.S attracting any band of greater notoriety.
Kevin Fowler!
Oh, my. I’ve seen The Mummies with a few buddies a couple of times when they’ve played The Vogue the night after the 500. They are awesome. Not a mainstream, household name band like what IMS usually tries to get for Carb Day, but they would be fantastic. I’ll co-sign on this idea.
I’m a fan of the Mummies but I highly doubt they would bring in the crowd IMS wants for Carb Day. A large part of that crowd is there just for the concert and “party” atmosphere. Personally, I think they’ve done a pretty good job the last few years getting mainstream, relevant acts (while ZZ Top isn’t exactly current they are a big name act). I think the Mummies would be better suited for one of the qualifying days (like George Clinton, Eddie Money and Everclear of years past).
A few acts I think would be prefect are the Foo Fighters or Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Neither are too “big” and both would draw a wide range of fans (unlike someone like Weezer which would be considered “nerd rock” or Katy Perry who would draw mainly teens.) The Chilli Peppers have cooled off as they’ve gotten older and the Foo Fighters are just a good old fashioned rock show. I think both acts would draw the kind of young, prospective fans IndyCar is trying to attract. Your thoughts?
Editors Note: Unless it was current and mainstream (IMS won’t spend the money) I’m going with practical. Here Come The Mummies would do the trick.
I’m willing to bet Miller Lite shells out a good chunk of the money for Carb Day (Miller Lite Carb Day). I like the Mummies but they won’t bring in casual fans since they aren’t mainstream enough.
I think Pole Day would be a better date, assuming they can land a more popular name for Carb Day.
.38 Special would be a great group to perform..
I think alice in chains would be a great Carb Day concert for 2011.
I think the original poster’s love for HCTM is skewing his/her objectivity. Although HCTM are entertaining and have a dedicated following, the Carb Day headliner needs to be an act that could play (or at one point could have played) a venue that holds 15k; HCTM normally plays The Vogue.
I think they key is to get a band that is high-energy as opposed to THE biggest name. I say this only because I still hear about the Kid Rock Carb Day show from people who truly dislike Kid Rock.
Carb day 2011 should be one great band to draw the crowd as KID Rock did a few yrs back.
Love the mummies , just dont think the young adults would pack the party as in the past.
Picking the right band will determine if this carb day 2011 will be memorable as past events have been.
The Carb Day concert typically features bands past their prime that can still deliver. Also, IMS usually pursues acts that appeal to a wider audience. For those reasons, I would not be surprised if they pursued The Doobie Brothers. The band is tourning the US in May and have May 27th wide open on their concert calendar. Whoops, I see they are already playing Indianapolis during the Sept Rib America Festival. Playing the same town twice in five months is not too likely.
I LOVE the Mummies!!! But I can’t imagine that they would be too comfortable playing outside on a hot Indiana day in their costumes!! They’d “re-die” of heat exhaustion. :0)
What? The Mummies… Now don’t get me wrong I love the Mummies and would love to see them have a big break out performance like carb day, but lets think about this. It’s carb day and we are talking about Indianapolis not Boston or Portland. Most people don’t know good music. We can deal with ZZ top or even a Midwest band that is fastly on the rise like, Cage the Elephants. I could see the Mummies playing on a side stage, but not on the Miller lite stage. Just keeping it real.