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February 26, 2010
Classic Favorites Announce Summer Tours
It’s that time of year. Rock stars, promoters, managers and roadies start to prep for that next road trip, while fans hope it will bring their favorite act to a city near them.
It’s been eight years since Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers released their last studio album, but that drought is set to end with the release of Mojo. The album is due sometime this spring, along with the kickoff of a tour that one might expect to coincide with the release date of the album.
Petty’s tour begins in Raleigh, NC on May 6 and is scheduled to wrap up on August 27 in Saratoga Springs, NY. The tour will be supported by other acts, including Joe Cocker, Drive-By Truckers, ZZ Top, and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Another classic rocker gearing up for a busy summer schedule is the Steve Miller Band. The man well known for such FM radio classics as “Fly Like an Eagle” and “Jet Airliner” is set to ease into the new tour with a single date next Tuesday in Nashville, and won’t resume until May 21st when they roll into Henderson, NV. The tour will continue through the end of July.
In addition to the tour, a new album is planned for release, although a firm date has not been announced yet. Some material from the new album, which was recorded at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch, will be showcased during the tour. No title has been announced for the new album yet.
We’ve been hearing stories from Aerosmith over the past few weeks suggesting that the band was coming back to life after a tumultuous period that had many fans wondering if the group would ever reappear with veteran frontman Steven Tyler again.
Well, it seems as if the boys are all back in one another’s good graces and Tyler will be rejoining his long-time mates for some road work across the pond. A recent announcement by Tyler states that he is back with the group and that Aerosmith will be “coming your way and rocking your world.”
It’s unclear when Aerosmith will be rocking audiences here in the United States again, since the only dates announced so far are for performances in Europe. The 11-date tour, entitled the “Cocked, Locked and Ready to Rock” tour hits Sweden on June 10, and winds its way down into Italy for the final show on July 3rd. Perhaps the boys want to be home in time to set off some fireworks and enjoy some July 4th celebrating.
September 28, 2009
AC/DC Tour Delayed Due To Singer’s Medical Troubles
It’s a story that is beginning to sound all too familiar. An aging rocker’s medical issues have put a stop to a tour by a big-named rock act – although this time it is expected to be a relatively short break, although some unlucky AC/DC fans are probably wondering when the show they have tickets to will actually happen.
Vocalist Brian Johnson, who at age 61, is still doing an admirable job of belting out the group’s signature hard rock catalog is set to be recovering from an unspecified medical procedure that will take the band off the road until October 16th, when they plan to resume to tour in Washington, D.C.
The unexpected break will result in the cancellation of six tour dates which include Phoenix, Las Vegas, Louisville, Kansas City, Des Moines and Milwaukee. Those dates will be rescheduled, but it’s too early to know exactly what the new dates will be.
Johnson has been quoted recently regarding the possibility of his retirement from AC/DC. Referring to himself as the “the old dog in the regiment,” Johnson is not sure he will be able to keep rocking with AC/DC for much longer.
The current tour, which has had the band on the road for nearly a year has got to be a pretty draining experience even for rockers who are much younger than Johnson. Although fans see him on stage holding his own with the group, it’s likely that he devotes a lot of time to keeping himself fit and capable of delivering the kind of performance AC/DC fans expect.
Fans holding tickets for the Washington, D.C. show are likely keeping their fingers crossed while hoping that Johnson recovers in time to resume on schedule, but as we all know, the healing process does not always respect the schedule.
April 15, 2009
The Chicken Takes Flight
It looks as though the chicken whose landing we reported recently is now preparing to take flight for the very first time. Newly-minted “supergroup” Chickenfoot has recently announced dates for their first live performances, which will give a little taste of the new group to a small number of potential fans across North America.
For those who have not taken advantage of the opportunity to check out some of the tracks these guys have been laying down, there are now three available on their official website. They started with a couple of tracks called “Down The Drain” and “Soap on A Rope” last month and on the 13th of this month they added “Oh Yeah” to the list.
Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of Sammy Hagar, but I did like Van Halen’s sound when he was fronting for them, and I think he’s sounding pretty good with this new group also. I guess I was just never that crazy about Hagar’s 
material was a solo artist, although it’s hard not to have at least a little fondness for a song with a title like “I can’t drive 55.”
I’m going through my typical routine of listening to a new track about 10 times right now as I check out “Oh Yeah.” I’ve learned through the years that I need a few “takes” to really decide if I like a song or not. I’m a slow learner.
Whether this new track resonates with me or not, there’s no question about the fact that these guys are anything but amateurs. Yeah, that’s pretty obvious, I know, but maybe what I am really trying to say is that these guys can rock. I’m really liking the sound of Satriani’s playing and the sound he coaxes out of his set-up.
Chad Smith is a good solid drummer, although I have heard anything from him yet that really blows me away, but to be fair, I am not familiar with any Red Hot Chili Peppers material, so he may have some great chops I just have not heard yet.
Michael Anthony, sounds, well, like a good bass player. I guess when you decide to take up the bass, you know your chances of logging the lion’s share of spotlight time are slim, with the exception of someone like Geddy Lee or other bassists that also happen to be frontmen. At any rate, Anthony’s playing sounds like a good fit and there’s no question in my mind about his abilities as a bass player.
So, after listening to “Oh Yeah” a bunch of times, I’ve decided I like it. It goes without saying that everyone will inevitably draw their own conclusions, but I think classic rock fans should give these guys a chance. I’m not jumping up and down here over these guys – not yet anyway – but I think what I have heard so far sounds pretty good and I’m certainly going to be checking out their other material as soon as its available.
Check out Chickenfoot’s tracks online at their official website.
Chickenfoot’s debut live show is set to rock the following venues:
May 14 – El Corazon – Seattle, WA
May 15 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC, Canada
May 17 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
May 19 – The Roxy Theatre – West Hollywood, CA
May 22 – Park West – Chicago, IL
May 24 – The Mod Club Theatre – Toronto, ON, Canada
May 26 – Middle East Upstairs – Cambridge, MA
May 28 – The Fillmore NY Irving Plaza – New York, NY
May 29 – Theatre of The Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
October 2, 2008
AC/DC To Extend ‘Black Ice World Tour’ Into 2009
Press Release:
September 30, 2008, New York NY – AC/DC extend their trek across North America by adding sixteen more shows to their Black Ice World Tour. Newly added dates begin on December 20, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and wrap up on January 31, 2009 in Nashville, TN. The tour kicks off on October 28, 2008 in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Tickets for the Houston, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, and Cleveland concerts go on sale October 4 at 10:00 a.m. Tickets for the Toronto concert go on sale October 10 at 10:00 a.m. Tickets for the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Omaha, Fargo, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, Tulsa, and Nashville concerts go on sale October 11 at 10:00 a.m. Tickets for the Little Rock and Memphis concerts go on sale October 18 at 10:00 a.m.
18 Black Ice World Tour concerts sold out in record time when tickets went on sale for the initial round of on-sales, with shows being added in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oakland due to unprecedented fan demand.
Tickets to AC/DC’s Black Ice World Tour are available through Ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone, Ticketmaster retail outlets, or at ACDC.com. Specific market on sale dates and times are listed at Ticketmaster.com’s AC/DC page. Fans ordering tickets through Ticketmaster.com will have an exclusive opportunity to pre-order AC/DC’s Black Ice album in connection with their ticket purchase.
The worldwide tour – the band’s first since 2001 – promotes Black Ice, AC/DC’s latest studio album. Black Ice will be released on October 20th and sold in the US exclusively at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and www.acdc.com. The album is currently available for pre-order at www.walmart.com and www.acdc.com.
Additional appearances throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia, will be announced shortly.
The new Black Ice tour dates are as follows:
Dec 20, 2008 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Bank Atlantic Center
Dec 21, 2008 Tampa,FL St. Pete Times Forum
Jan 05, 2009 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
Jan 07, 2009 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena
Jan 09, 2009 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre
Jan 11, 2009 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena
Jan 13, 2009 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
Jan 15, 2009 Omaha, NE Qwest Center Omaha
Jan 17, 2009 Fargo, ND Fargodome
Jan 19, 2009 Minneapolis, MN Xcel Energy Center
Jan 21, 2009 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
Jan 23, 2009 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Jan 26, 2009 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
Jan 28, 2009 Little Rock, AR ALLTELL Arena
Jan 30, 2009 Memphis, TN FedEx Forum
Jan 31, 2009 Nashville, TN Sommet Center
March 18, 2008
Van Halen Announces New Concert Dates
So far there has been no change in the plans that have Van Halen resuming their tour on April 19 in Las Vegas.
As VH fans are aware, the tour was suspended recently due to unspecified medical problems that Eddie Van Halen was dealing with. There has been no word on what the problem is or the results of the extensive testing he was reportedly undergoing.
In addition to the Las Vegas show on April 19, the other dates for the tour have been released and are shown below. Tickets for the shows that were postponed should be honored on the new dates.
April 19 Las Vegas, NV at Mandalay Bay Events Center
April 22 Cincinnati, MI at U.S. Bank Arena
April 24 Dallas ,TX at American Airlines Center
April 26 St Louis, MO at Scottrade Center
April 28 Milwaukee, WI at Bradley Center
April 30 Pittsburgh, PA at Mellon Arena
May 02 Charlottesville, VA at John Paul Jones Arena
May 05 Raleigh, NC at RBC Center
May 07 Columbus, OH at Schottenstein Center
May 09 Atlantic City, NJ at Boardwalk Hall
May 11 Duluth, GA at Gwinnett Arena
May 13 East Rutherford, NJ at Izod Center
May 15 Baltimore, MD at 1st Mariner Arena
May 18 Hershey, PA at Giant Center
May 20 Uncasville, CT at Mohegan Sun Arena
May 23 New York, NY at Madison Square Garden
May 25 Providence, RI at Dunkin Donuts Center
May 28 Manchester, NH at Verizon Wireless Arena
May 30 Chicago, IL at Allstate Arena
June 2 Grand Rapids, MI at Van Andel Arena
