Search Results for: so what music festival

There’s something a little different about Black Sabbath’s performance at Ozzfest nowadays, and if you blink you might miss it. Two images of George W. Bush, shown during Sabbath’s performance of the metal classic “War Pigs,” have been removed from the video montage that accompanies the song, which usually kicks off the band’s headlining set. One image that juxtaposed Bush and Adolf Hitler was captioned “Same sh-, different a-hole,” while the second superimposed a round, red clown nose on the president, along with the words “White House Clown.” The edit comes days after Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, who claimed he… Read more »

When it comes to concert tours, the good times are not rolling this summer. Major acts like Britney Spears, Marc Anthony and Christina Aguilera, as well as large-scale festivals like Lollapalooza, all pulled the plug on their tours before they even started. In some cases personal problems, like Spears’ knee injury, were to blame. Anthony said he called off his tour to focus on production of his next album. Industry insiders, however, point to a much bigger issue: falling ticket sales. “People aren’t buying tickets,” said Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of Pollstar, the concert industry trade magazine. “For whatever… Read more »

What a week for Perry Farrell. Just days after his beloved Lollapalooza summer concert tour got canned due to poor ticket sales comes news his three Jane’s Addiction bandmates have joined forces with another singer to form a new group. The on-again, off-again Addiction had reunited last year to record the album Hypersonic, the band’s first since 1990’s Ritual de lo Habitual. But a statement from Jane’s Addiction guitarist (and Carmen Electra sidekick) Dave Navarro says that the band is officially off again and that he, bassist Chris Chaney and drummer Stephen Perkins have moved on with Skycycle vocalist Steve… Read more »

A month after promoters declared the concert industry healthier than ever, big summer tours such as Ozzfest, Fleetwood Mac, the Dead and Lollapalooza have run into a concrete wall of slow sales. “Ticket sales are mixed, and in some cases they appear to be substantially off from the past,” says Alex Hodges, executive vice president of House of Blues Concerts, one of the three major U.S. promotion companies. The summer’s success stories so far are big-buzz superstar events such as Prince and Madonna, plus low-cost packages including the long-running Warped Tour, Alanis Morissette/Barenaked Ladies and No Doubt/Blink-182. Also, the three-day… Read more »

Whisps of fake fog spilled from the stage and dissipated into a light breeze rolling in from the Atlantic Ocean as 7,000 satisfied fans shuffled toward Nathan’s Hot Dogs, the Wonder Wheel or the D-train. So ended the beginning of the end for Phish, who performed Thursday and Friday at Coney Island’s baseball stadium beside the sea, KeySpan Park. The shows launched the band’s farewell tour, which will culminate August 14 and 15 at a festival in Phish’s home state of Vermont. But fans didn’t let any sadness show at these gigs: Even when the sky opened up and drenched… Read more »

Ray Charles, the Grammy-winning crooner who blended gospel and blues in such crowd-pleasers as “What’d I Say” and ballads like “Georgia on My Mind,” died Thursday, a spokesman said. He was 73. Charles died at his Beverly Hills home surrounded by family and friends, said spokesman Jerry Digney. Charles’ last public appearance was alongside Clint Eastwood on April 30, when the city of Los Angeles designated the singer’s studios, built 40 years ago in central Los Angeles, as a historic landmark. Blind by age 7 and an orphan at 15, Charles spent his life shattering any notion of musical boundaries… Read more »

With a new album dropping in June and a summer concert schedule in place, all seemed normal enough in the Phish camp as this week began. But the group shocked fans Tuesday with the announcement that it will break up following a two-day festival in Coventry, Vermont, on August 14-15. Frontman/guitarist Trey Anastasio wrote on the band’s Web site, “We all love and respect Phish and the Phish audience far too much to stand by and allow it to drag on beyond the point of vibrancy and health. We don’t want to become caricatures of ourselves or, worse yet, a… Read more »

Given the huge success of 2002’s Sticks and Stones, the members of New Found Glory aren’t expecting to top their previous high mark with Catalyst, which drops Tuesday. At the same time, they’re not letting its first single, “All Downhill From Here” dictate their future, either. “I try not to think ahead because I don’t want to jinx anything,” singer Jordan Pundik said. “I just want to let it ride out and see what happens.” Sticks and Stones, NFG’s third and most successful album so far, sold more than 91,000 copies in its first week and entered the Billboard albums… Read more »

O.A.R. will hit the road with Dave Matthews Band June 17 in Maryland Heights, MO, followed by festivals and headline amphitheatre tour dates. If ever there were two bands meant to tour together, O.A.R. and DMB surely fit that bill. Much like DMB, O.A.R. tours constantly and has created a network of incredibly loyal supporters. The band was just named #39 on Pollstar’s Top Tours for First Quarter 2004. O.A.R. follows only two spots behind Dave Matthews and Friends, who came in at #37. As well, O.A.R. landed on the chart above heavy hitters Evanescence, Ludacris, and the proverbial road… Read more »

The Foo Fighters will replace Guns N’ Roses in the May 30 headlining slot at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon. Guns N’ Roses last month pulled out of its planned performance at the event, citing the departure of guitarist Buckethead. The performance would have made GNR the first act to perform three times at the festival. Buckethead is already in the midst of a solo tour opening for Particle. Rock in Rio will stretch over two weekends, May 28-30 and June 4-6 in the Portuguese city’s Bela Vista Parque. The Foo Fighters will top a “World Stage” bill… Read more »