jimblr.com

– My wife (every time we watch an Eagles concert DVD)
I’m not big on concerts anymore. In fact, the only concerts I’ve attended in the past dozen years or so have been elementary school productions (turns out, they frown upon stage diving).
There aren’t many recording artists now I would invest the time, money or hassle to witness live. The Eagles are among the few I consider worth the investment.
We missed the Eagles “Farewell” tour a few years ago (not for lack of trying). So, about five months ago, when the Eagles announced their schedule for their “Long Road Out of Eden” tour, we were surprised to learn Atlanta was their first, and only, U.S. date listed — one night, at a brand new venue, in a northern suburb of Atlanta (avoiding downtown is ALWAYS a plus).
Now, knowing when they’ll be here doesn’t necessarily equate to obtaining tickets — especially since the new amphitheater in Alpharetta only seats 12,000 (the population of metro Atlanta is over 5 million — that’s a 416:1 ticket ratio). However, the night before tickets officially went on sale, my wife stumbled upon an “All Access” Web site that guarantees tickets within 20 rows of the stage (for a price that would make even an oil tycoon cringe). Given our previous failures at obtaining tickets via conventional routes, this option certainly had its appeal, so I bought them. (The catch: we had no idea where our seats were, and we wouldn’t know until the day of the show. What’s an expensive ticket without a little adventure, eh?)
A few days before the concert, someone from our group called ahead to see if tailgating is permitted. She was told, “Heavens no! This is Alpharetta.” So we kept the grills and coolers at home. But when we pulled into the parking lot of the new “Verizon Wireless Amphitheater at Encore Park” (now there’s a mouthful), which is nestled in an office park (uncongested by residential cross-streets), we discovered dozens of folks tailgating – right in front of the cops!

ajc.com

Jazz still a big hit!
By Kurt Reynolds
Even while the talk-show calling fraternity complained of hard times and the increased cost of living, thousands of St Lucians and visitors headed towards the Pigeon Island National Landmark last weekend for the main events on this year’s jazz calendar. Locals appeared still comfortably able to meet the $175 price-tag at the gate. Say nothing of the long lines at the Cable and Wireless double bubble tent.
As record numbers were set, St Lucians proved that they weren’t about to let imminent food crises keep them from having a good time . . . and then some. The mood at the park was erotic. Yeah you read right—erotic! Albeit that some of the lovers seemed to be enjoying their only day free from their parents’ watch a bit too much.
Women walked past barely clothed, couples kissed in the blazing sun and others shook what their momma gave them, to the sultry sounds of salsa; the old-school tunes of Dionne Warwick and the good-ole-baby-making-music of Anita Baker. Everyone wanted a piece of the jazz action. And a good seat was enough to make the attorney general pull rank on a swearing security officer stationed near the mixing booth. The AG insisted that he “must get a good view.”
The weather was perfect for plenty of women to leave a few extra garbs at home. Although, some would have been better left covered up! Ah, but who am I to complain? Some like it big, some like it small and others like it even though it doesn’t belong to them. Which is why police had to break up some fisticuffs. By all reports, Friday was best in terms of a good musical performance. Air Supply had the audience singing along to every tune. Many thought Michael Bolton should have performed before the group, because his was not the climatic performance they hoped for.

stluciastar.com

Salvador Perez strummed the guitar chords to “Cielito Lindo” the other night and sang the lilting Mexican love song with a handful of other Latino immigrants sitting in the second-floor foyer of the Centro del Pueblo on Valencia Street. The sound swelled with feeling.
“Music is a form of release,” said Perez, 27, a San Francisco day laborer from Chiapas, Mexico, who stands on Cesar Chavez Street, or in front of Home Depot, hoping someone will hire him to dig ditches or pour concrete or do other manual labor.
Every Thursday evening, he and other laborers and domestic workers show up at Centro del Pueblo to rehearse with El Coro Jornalero, or the Day Laborer’s Choir. It was put together by the immigrant advocacy organization La Raza Centro Legal with a $32,000 grant from the San Francisco Art Commission’s Community Arts and Education Program, which funds arts activities and street festivals throughout the city’s ethnically diverse neighborhoods.
Originally called the Neighborhood Arts Program, the community arts program - a national trailblazer in nurturing art in places outside the circles of high culture - is celebrating its 40th anniversary with performances and gabfests around town during the next two weeks. The events feature everyone from lesbian comedienne Marga Gomez to poet Diane Di Prima, Danza Azteca Xitlalli and the Brown Bombers Cheer and Dance Team.
El Coro Jornalero began as an informal group that sang at labor events. The city grant has allowed it to formally organize under the tutelage of Ricardo Torres, a sharp local choral director and rock ‘n’ roller who leads the 10-member Coro Obrero (Worker’s Choir) and plays clubs and on the street with his band Amnesia.
“People like to sing and play to express their feelings,” said Torres, 29, a Mexico City native with a long black ponytail and braided goatee. “It’s almost like therapy.”

sfgate.com

No less a harbinger of ‘what’s hot’ than Perez Hilton who has predicted that L.A.-based singer/songwriter Katy Perry will be “one of the breakout stars of the summer” when Capitol Records releases her debut album, One of the Boys, on June 17th. Perry will also join the traveling rock circus that is the 2008 Vans Warped Tour, for the entire trek this summer.
One of the Boys is a sharp and witty pop-rock gem filled with candid tales of neurotic ex-boyfriends (”Hot N Cold,” “Ur So Gay”, “Mannequin”), crazy road trips with friends (”Waking Up in Vegas”), and figuring out who you are along the way (first single “I Kissed A Girl,” “Fingerprints”). While the album displays Perry’s feisty, girl-power swagger, it also reveals her more vulnerable side on such regretful ballads as “Lost,” “I’m Still Breathing,” and “Thinking of You.”
“I think people can appreciate a songwriter who shows different sides, and this album has many different colors,” Perry says. “I can write my share of angry break-up songs but I wanted to balance it out with fun, summertime songs. But there are also sad songs about loss and making the wrong decisions. It’s been blood, sweat, and tears making this record. I’ve put everything into it and I feel like it’s my baby. When people listen to it, I hope they will understand where I’m coming from as a person.”
To showcase her sharp, observational lyrics and big, charismatic voice, Perry worked with a host of noted producers and collaborators, including Greg Wells (Mika, Natasha Bedingfield), Glen Ballard (No Doubt, Alanis Morrisette), Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dr. Luke (Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne), Max Martin (Leona Lewis, Robyn), Sam Hollander & Dave Katz (Gym Class Heroes, Boys Like Girls) and Butch Walker (Pink, The Donnas). “You can’t get better than these guys,” Perry says. “I feel like the luckiest bitch in town right now.”

ultimate-guitar.com

JACK JOHNSON is far from home again, away from Oahu’s North Shore, where he grew up. He still leads a quiet, idyllic life there with his family, writing songs of hope and introspection, a low-maintenance platinum-selling rock star who lives where the pavement is scarce and the TV is rarely on.
But for a few days, Johnson, who on Friday will headline opening day at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, is in Los Angeles, swiveling in a chair at the offices of his Brushfire Records label and thinking a lot about getting back. He’s been surfing in Hawaii since he was 5. It’s not a hobby for Johnson; hitting the waves is as much a part of his daily existence as a morning cup of coffee is for others. “It’s something I’ll always do,” he says casually.
But surfing is not what he chooses to sing about. His newest album, “Sleep Through the Static,” is another smooth collection of organic, understated songs inspired by parenthood, romance and bad news from across the planet. In February it debuted at No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s top 200 chart, and it has already sold more than 1 million copies in the U.S. alone.
Songwriting is a personal and natural process, he says, and not about working to stay relevant to another generation of young fans.
“I’m not going to try to be something I’m not,” Johnson says. “As you get older, I think it’s a bad thing to try to keep writing songs about what a 21-year-old is going to relate to. It’s important to keep writing songs that have to do with what you’re going through in life at that point. Otherwise, you’re not writing what’s true to yourself.”
At 32, his tanned face still shows the scars of a teenage surfing accident on the hard corral near his home. His words come out in a gentle rush, and he offers to share his bowl of fruit and frozen yogurt. A recent Rolling Stone cover story called him “the world’s mellowest superstar,” and it fits.

latimes.com

Comprehensive listings for galleries, plays, music, and other happenings in the area.
APRIL VACATION WEEK EVENTS
Easton: Children’s author and concert, Ames Free Library, 53 Main St. April 25, 11 a.m.-noon, children’s entertainer Wayne Potash performs a blend of folk, bluegrass, pop, and blues music from his recordings “Yodel for a Fish” and “Don’t Forget the Donut.” Free. 508-238-2000.
Norwell: South Shore Natural Science Center, 48 Jacobs Lane. The center has a nature store and six walking trails; interactive indoor exhibits include the EcoZone, which incorporates animals in a re-creation of their natural habitat. Every Saturday at 10 a.m., feed an animal Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. April 24-25, 9:30 a.m.-noon, Vacation Week Ecolympics! for grades K-2. Explore the “champions” of nature through hands-on activities and outdoor explorations in the Science Center woods or at Jacobs Pond. April 24, Plant Power; April 25, Great Forces of Nature Our Wonderful Earth; April 24-25, 9:30 a.m.-noon, “Earth Day, Every Day,” programs for ages 3 1/2-5; April 24, “Volcanoes, Lava and Rocks, Oh, My!” April 25, “Who Needs Dirt?” Drop-in Vacation Week Programs for grades 3-5, 9:30 a.m.-noon: April 25, “It’s Arbor Day, so Hug a Tree!” learn why trees are important and how to tell the difference between a maple and an oak. $35 per child per day. Vine Hall gallery: Through May 17, “Hedda - A Retrospective,” tribute to local artist who painted subjects and landscapes in varied mediums, many of which included the Jacobs Farm area. Also on display are paintings never seen, photographs by her son, Andrew Zona, and wood pieces by nephew Richard Friberg. The center also features a nature preschool and function room. $5, $3 children older than 2. 781-659-2559, ssnsc.org.
Plymouth: Plimoth Plantation comes alive during vacation week when activities for children and adults are free with admission. Programs include: Colonial games, working with rare-breed animals, building a monarch butterfly way station, working with deerskin, and more. April 24-25, 8-9 a.m., “A Morning With Rare Breed Animals,” help with morning chores and see the care and training of the exhibit animals and agriculture in the 1627 English village. April 24-25, 1 p.m., “Game On - Colonial Style!” play 17th-century games with museum staff, at Colonial Education Site. $10 fee. Ages 5 and up. April 24, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., “Fish and Fun,” an opportunity to experience traditional Native fun. Tickets: plantation only $24, $19 seniors, $14 ages 6-12; with tour of Mayflower $28, $22 seniors and students, $18 ages 6-12, free age 6 and younger. Mayflower II only: $10, $7 seniors and students, $7 ages 6-12. 508-746-1622, plimoth.org.

boston.com

When Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” began previews on Broadway in 1971, Ted Neeley, barely a week after his 28th birthday, took up the roles of a leper and a reporter. He also was the understudy for Jesus of Nazareth, a role that would become his signature for the next 37 years.
“You’d think that by now I’d be sick of it,” Neeley said with a laugh. “You know, it’s interesting because being involved with this as long as I have is absolutely magnificent. I have no negatives about it whatsoever. I am so happy that I have something that I can do that people appreciate like this as much as they do, for this long. There are many things I have done, yes, that I am proud of, but none of them has been anywhere near as successful as this.”
Neeley was cast as Jesus of Nazareth for the 1973 Norman Jewison film version of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and toured with the musical throughout the 1990s.
“(The show itself) keeps me fresh. The music is just amazing. There’s always something that happens on a semi-regular basis that gives us a new shot of adrenaline and makes it feel great,” Neeley said. “Not to mention the fact that the audiences every night go nuts about what we are doing. I don’t know what it is, but it’s good.”
The current tour of “Superstar,” coming to The Forum Sunday for two performances, has a more minimalist set than audiences raised on “Miss Saigon” or “Phantom of the Opera” may be accustomed to, and for a reason that has nothing to do with budgets or the rigors of the road.
“This show, from the very beginning, has the music as the basic premise. It’s not about bells and whistles. … That’s why (Jewison) chose to go to Israel (to film the movie), so he could just use the desert and not have to do all kinds of crazy stuff.

pressconnects.com

From its modest roots in the South Bronx in the 1970s, hip-hop culture has become an international, multi-billion-dollar phenomenon. Originally a tool for social expression, rap music opened a window onto inner-city ethnicity, fashion and politics. Its primal, mesmerizing beat was hard-edged and male-dominated. Yet long before commercialism poisoned its lyrics with violence, drugs and misogyny, it had a social consciousness.
`EL PROYECTO’ (`THE PROJECT’)
What: A conference to reunite Cuban underground hip-hop artists and the global hip-hop movement featuring performance, discourse and film.
Where: Lehigh University - University Center (Packer Hall), 29 Trembley Drive, and Zoellner Arts Center, 420 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem, Pa.
When: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday
By the 1990s, that consciousness started incubating in an unlikely place: Cuba. During the island’s economic downturn, many social restrictions were relaxed, including prohibitions on makeshift TV and radio antennas on the roofs of buildings. Especially in Havana, Cuba’s youth began hearing signals from New York via Miami. Even if they didn’t understand all the English lyrics, they instantly identified with old-school videos like The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” or Queen Latifah’s early rap.
“They had an immediate connection with the music,” says Tanya Saunders, a pre-doctoral fellow in Africana Studies at Lehigh University. “Cuba is a revolutionary country and its youth have been taught to be socially critical. They wanted to know what this music was, and where it came from. They started learning its history, its ties to disenfranchised and marginalized blacks and Latinos in New York.”
Saunders, who graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in sociology, has put together a two-day conference of lectures, films and concerts Friday and Saturday at Lehigh that will provide the first international platform to unite the Cuban underground hip-hop movement with global hip-hop. “El Proyecto” (”The Project”) will explore the social and political impact of Cuban underground hip-hop worldwide and feature performances by leading international artists from Canada, the United States and Finland.

popmatters.com

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winnipegsun.com

Their album will be the soundtrack of 2008. Meet MGMT. Interview by Ed Power
Ben Goldwasser is chatting about heroin. “So much music that we really love was made by bands that were really open about their habit,” muses MGMT’s frontman, between spoonfuls of apple crumble. “We’ve never tried heroin but there’s something about music created by artists that do heroin that’s really so appealing to us. Heroin has influenced so many great bands, yet it’s a really taboo subject.”
It’s a blustery morning in Dublin and MGMT, an uber-buzzy sci-fi-funk duo from Brooklyn, have repaired to a tapas bar for a meet ‘n’ greet with the local press. In a few hours, Goldwasser and partner Andrew VanWyngarden will play a hugely anticipated Irish debut — a show that has sold out twice already, prompting an upgrade from the 300-capacity Whelan’s to the 1,000-plus Academy. Having just tumbled off a plane, the pair is thrilled, if a tad surprised, to learn they’re bone fide hitmakers in Ireland, where, notwithstanding a torrent of drug references, the single Time To Pretend, a day-glo blast of retro pop, has become ubiquitous on the airwaves. (MGMT, by the way, is pronounced “M-G-M-T” rather than “management”.)
“It’s kind of crazy you know,” says Goldwasser, a frizzy-haired twentysomething who, in the same heartbeat, projects wry detachment and youthful ebullience. “We’ve never done any press here yet, our album is only just out here. I guess people are just hearing us on the radio. It feels like a real organic thing. It’s the way we want people to get into our music — without someone telling them to get into it.”
Things haven’t proceeded quite as smoothly back in the United States (MGMT formed at a Connecticut university and are now resident in Brooklyn’s hipster motherlode of Greenpoint). Selected as iTunes “Single Of The Week”, Time To Pretend kicked up a medium level fire-storm on account of its explicit, albeit tongue-in-cheek, references to cocaine and heroin binges (sample lyric: “Let’s make some music, make some money, find some models for wives/ I’ll move to Paris, shoot some heroin, and f**k with the stars/ You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars”).

independent.ie