There was one truth apparent while walking through the merchandise area one hour after the doors opened at the Starland Ballroom last Wednesday evening: the crowd was ready for all that was to come.
What’s one way to ensure your mega music festival is well attended in the middle of a recession? Book a reunited Phish. The jam band’s legions of ardent followers sell out arenas in minutes, so with little difficulty they will flood the Tennessee fields of the Bonnaroo Music Festival, which begins Thursday and runs through Sunday. In its eighth year, Bonnaroo – arguably the country’s biggest festival – will have a distinctive Phish flavor. Oh, and a guy named Bruce Springsteen is playing, too. With that lineup, organizers expect that tickets to sell without a hitch along the way, in… Read more »
On the first day of the Bamboozle only one group of unlikely special guest superstars could outshine much-adored headliners Fall Out Boy. Still riding a two-year wave of rediscovery, arena-rock diehards Journey appeared as the secret performers for a four-song set. Or “Journey” as it turned out – the group was really a stellar Long Island cover band called Evolution. Blasting out “Separate Ways,” “Faithfully,” “Any Way You Want It” and “Don’t Stop Believing,” Evolution cued a wildly mixed audience reaction, with some fans literally shrieking or running towards the stage and others angrily storming away en masse. But even… Read more »
NEW YORK —- The 82nd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade wound its way through Manhattan streets under sunny skies on Thursday, as thousands of marchers carried giant balloons past throngs of holiday revelers cheering them along the route. Quincy Kersbergen of Wyckoff, N.J., found a prime viewing spot – perched on a police barricade near the beginning of the parade – and proclaimed herself a big fan of a giant dog balloon. “This is just fantastic!” the 11-year-old Kersbergen said. “So amazing to be here in person! I’m just so excited about today!” New to the revelry this year were… Read more »
It may have been Super Bowl weekend, but the big event for thousands of mostly tween-age girls had nothing to do with football. Instead, all eyes at the Gibson Amphitheatre were focused on three relative rookies known as the Jonas Brothers, who played three sold-out shows there this weekend. After selling out their first show at the 6,000-seat theater in a two minutes — the fastest sellout in the venue’s 36-year history — the Jonas Brothers added two more shows that also sold out. Not quite as impressive as Garth Brooks’ recent five shows in two days at Staples Center,… Read more »
Reunited rock trio Crowded House will tour North America for the first time in more than 10 years, beginning August 4 in Northampton, Mass. The tour runs through mid-September and includes a previously announced appearance at Seattle’s annual Bumbershoot festival on September 1. The tour will promote the Neil Finn-led band’s forthcoming album “Time on Earth,” to be released July 10 via Dave Matthews’ ATO label. The group, with new drummer Matt Sherrod subbing for the late Paul Hester, played the Coachella festival in southern California last month. Here are Crowded House’s tour dates: August 4: Northampton, Mass. (Calvin Theatre)… Read more »
The urge to merge within both the recording and satellite radio industries this week reflects how tough it is to compete profitably within the evolving digital media market. Struggling satellite radio operators XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. announced a proposed $4.9 billion merger and Warner Music Group Corp. this week said it had approached Britain’s EMI Group Plc about a possible takeover bid in the latest twist in a seven-year mating saga between the two. The deals are seen as defensive reactions to an increasingly complicated digital entertainment market. “Both these potential deals in the… Read more »
REM frontman Michael Stipe was joined by bassist Mike Mills over the weekend for a surprise appearance at live music venue the Zodiac. Both rock stars took to the intimate stage Sunday night (Jan 7) to perform a two-track encore following a set by the Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3. In front of an ecstatic crowd, Stipe and Mills played “Electrolite” and a brand new, unreleased track. Earlier in the night, a sell-out crowd had seen REM guitarist Peter Buck and Minus 5 members Scott McCaughey & Bill Rieflin playing in Robin Hichcock’s alternative pop outfit. Robyn Hitchcock &… Read more »
SYDNEY, Australia – The drummer from 1980s Australian rock band Crowded House hanged himself in a park in southern Australia, an emergency services spokeswoman said Monday. Paul Hester, 46, went missing on Friday. His body was found Saturday in a park near his home in the southern city of Melbourne, said Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokeswoman Liraje Memishi. Hester played in several small bands before joining the New Zealand group Split Enz in 1983. He and Split Enz singer Neil Finn formed Crowded House in 1985 with bass player Nick Seymour. Crowded House was one of Australia’s most successful bands in… Read more »
