Concert Reviews
Take Action Tour energizes Pontiac
Not even the high winds or below-freezing temperatures were enough to deter fans from catching the pop-rock-heavy Take Action Tour last Wednesday in Michigan.
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Not even the high winds or below-freezing temperatures were enough to deter fans from catching the pop-rock-heavy Take Action Tour last Wednesday in Michigan.
NEW YORK – J.D. Salinger, the legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose “The Catcher in the Rye” shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned, has died. He was 91.
While the Red Hot Chili Peppers slumbered, the band’s members have been keeping busy these last couple of years, what with drummer Chad Smith joining all-star group Chickenfoot, frontman Anthony Kiedis developing a series for HBO and bassist Flea enrolling at USC to study music theory. But things are about to change in Pepperland. Smith recently told Billboard the band would reconvene in the studio this fall, and Keidis and Flea confirm to Rolling Stone they are indeed ready to rock again. “We’ve decided to write some songs,” Kiedis told us at a benefit for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music,… Read more »
Sting has confirmed plans to return this fall with a new solo album titled If On a Winter’s Night… The October 27th album, inspired by what Sting calls his favorite season, will feature two original compositions along with carols, lullabies and traditional songs from the British Isles. “The theme of winter is rich in inspiration and material,” Sting said. “By filtering all of these disparate styles into one album I hope we have created something refreshing and new.” The two Sting songs on the disc are called “Lullaby for an Anxious Child” and “The Hounds of Winter,” and both have… Read more »
President Barack Obama’s promises of change are falling short for one core Democratic constituency: gays and lesbians, whose leaders say Obama’s administration is not keeping up with the times. Gay rights campaigners, most of them Democrats who supported Obama in November, have begun to voice their public frustration with Obama’s inaction, small jokes at their community’s expense and deafening silence on what they see as the signal civil rights issue of this era. His campaign promises to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and the military ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers have not been fulfilled. And the news,… Read more »
Taking Back Sunday gave its fourth LP a fitting title: New Again. For frontman Adam Lazarra, the addition of guitarist Matt Fazzi last spring has given the five-piece a wildly fresh perspective. Bassist Matt Rubano agrees that the band is embracing a new genre with its new release. “The idea that we’ve really embraced on this record is that it’s up to us to decide what Taking Back Sunday sounds like,” bassist Matt Rubano said. “We always want to be redefining what that means, and there’s stuff on this record I think in the past we would have stayed away… Read more »
Last year the Brooklyn-based quartet Grizzly Bear went on the road for a two-week East Coast tour as the opening act for Radiohead. This time around, the indie rock band is aiming just as high — hoping to arrange a collaboration with none other than rapper Snoop Dogg. Grizzly Bear singer-songwriter Ed Droste “has actually been using Twitter to stalk Snoop,” said the group’s Daniel Rossen, a singer-songwriter and guitarist. “We’re both going to be at Bonnaroo, the Tennessee music festival, and although there will be a bunch of people there and the chances of us actually seeing Snoop are… Read more »
Travis Barker said he’s “thankful to be alive” after the plane crash in Columbia, South Carolina, last month that killed four people and seriously injured him and DJ AM. The former Blink-182 drummer opens up about the accident in the new issue of Us Weekly. “I hate planes,” he said. “My biggest fear ever is to be involved in a plane crash, so when that happened … well, I’m just thankful to be alive! I’m just grateful to be here at all.” Barker then choked up a bit, the mag said. Barker left a hospital in Georgia last week and… Read more »
Federal regulators formally approved the merger of the nation’s only two satellite radio operators Friday, ending a 16-month-long drama closely watched by Washington and Wall Street. Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.’s $3.3 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will mean 18 million-plus subscribers will be able to receive programming from both services. Executives say it will mean huge cost savings that will lead to a first-ever profit for the relatively nascent industry. The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to approve the buyout, with the tiebreaker coming Friday night from Republican commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate. Tate had insisted that… Read more »
Just about every week, there’s speculation on how Miley Cyrus will transition into adulthood. This week, MSNBC’s Scoop decided to go with a promiscuous role in an R-rated movie, where “you’d be seeing a lot more of Cyrus than what appeared in the Vanity Fair photos.” Ooh, naughty! However, Miles called B.S. on this report in her own lovable way on Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS-FM morning show. The actress, who sometimes goes by Hannah Montana, said, “I’m not even allowed to see R-rated movies!” Oh, Miley, so funny. In other words, “Yeah, FALSE!” Now that we’ve got that mess settled, let’s… Read more »
