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September 4, 2009
New Rush Album And Tour On Tap For Next Year?
We’ve heard subtle hints coming from Rush’s two most vocal members for a while now about the possibility of the group getting back to work soon. From all appearances, it seems that both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are starting to get a little antsy and would like to begin work on some new material.
Drummer Neil Peart, who just recently became a father again, might be a different story. After a major life event like that, he may want to stick around home for a while and settle into the new routine. Lee and Lifeson will probably talk him into returning to work before too long, however.
Recent word by way of NoiseCreep.com suggests that the group may resume work soon and if all goes well, come up with a new album to showcase on a tour next summer.
The group seemed extraordinarily pleased with the finished product after working with producer Nick Raskulinecz on their last album, Snakes & Arrows. I think Nick calls the office once a week just to make sure we’re still planning on getting back to work at some point,” according to guitarist Alex Lifeson.
The Snakes & Arrows tour was particularly grueling for Rush, with a total of 120 shows performed at venues around the world. The group decided that a year off would be a good break after spending so much time on the road. Although there are no formal commitments coming from them about when they will get back to work, Lifeson reports he has been doing some writing and hopes he will get together with Lee and Peart in the near future to start planning their next album.
Although it’s too early for Rush fans to start planning for a tour next summer, it’s obvious that Rush is not finished yet. It’s a pretty safe bet that they will be releasing a new album again. The only question is: “When?”
July 15, 2009
Strong Start For ‘Supergroup’ Chickenfoot
Things appear to be going well for Chickenfoot. Despite some early boasting on the part of frontman Sammy Hagar, the group seems to be shying away from referring to themselves as a “supergroup.” Surely, some fans disagree, and just as certain, there are those that consider the new group anything but “super.”
Like so many other things, whether or not Chickenfoot is a good band is a matter of opinion. Just about every rock fan has his or her own ideas regarding topics such as “best rock band in the world” and the like. There’s no question that the guys in Chickenfoot can play. Whether the stuff they play is good and whether or not they have good chemistry will be decided by those that decide to take a listen.
Speaking of which, I wonder if Eddie Van Halen has had a chance to hear the group yet. Last we heard from EVH was they he doesn’t listen to anything, which seems a little strange, but I suppose you never know.
Opinions aside, the statistics indicate that there may be a bright future for Chickenfoot. Their debut album sits at number 21 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, which isn’t too bad. They are even stronger on the Billboard Indie Albums chart, occupying the number 2 position.
The group is a little over two weeks away from launching their North American tour which they will start with a show at Citadel Hill in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From there they will do one more show in Canada at The Sound Academy in Toronto before heading south for a bunch of dates in the U.S. The tour will wrap on September 27th at The Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
The group’s first tour of smaller venues was reported to have sold out quickly, so it will be interesting to see if this group can fill the seats at some larger venues.
April 7, 2009
AC/DC Announces Plans For Late Summer U.S. Tour
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AC/DC’S BLACK ICE WORLD TOUR RETURNS TO THE U.S. THIS SUMMER
Tour Kicks Off on July 28 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA
April 6, 2009, New York NY – AC/DC’s highly successful Black Ice World Tour returns to the U.S. on July 28 in Foxborough, MA at Gillette Stadium (see below for full itinerary). AC/DC kicked off their Black Ice World Tour in late October 2008, crisscrossing North America and Europe garnering raves from critics along the way. The Black Ice World Tour was given the ‘Major Tour of the Year’ award at the 20th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards.
Tickets for the Foxborough, East Rutherford, Detroit, Grand Rapids and Tacoma shows go on sale Saturday April 11, 2009. Tickets for the San Jose concert go on sale Sunday April 12. Tickets for the San Diego concert go on sale Saturday April 18. Tickets for the Los Angeles concert go on sale Saturday April 25. Tickets will be available via Ticketmaster and the band’s website, www.acdc.com
Released globally on October 20, 2008, Black Ice has been certified Double Platinum in the U.S. Black Ice is AC/DC’s first new album in over eight years and its evident the band is still an incredible force in rock.
The video for the album’s latest single, “Anything Goes,” was filmed at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France on February 27th and is streaming now at www.aol.com.
On October 26th, 2008 AC/DC played their first show in 5 years. Dedicated fans from all over the world traveled to the small industrial town of Wilkes-Barre, PA to be there. A few select fans were chosen to be featured in this documentary. Their stories reflect the commitment and passion of what it means to be a true AC/DC fan over the years. The documentary can be seen now at ACDCFannation.com
Black Ice made history debuting at #1 on album charts in 29 countries and also has the distinction of being Columbia Records’ biggest debut album (since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data in 1991). Black Ice has been certified Multi Platinum in eighteen countries, including the US, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Italy, Argentina and the Czech Republic.
Additionally, Black Ice has achieved Platinum status in five countries (including the UK and Spain) and Gold status in four countries (The Netherlands, Poland and Brazil). With over 6.5 million copies of Black Ice shipped worldwide, combined with over 5.5 million in catalog sold last year, AC/DC have surpassed The Beatles as the #1 selling catalog artist in the US for 2008.
In the US, Black Ice is being sold exclusively at Walmart, Sam’s Club, and www.acdc.com.
Upcoming shows in the Black Ice North American tour include:
July 28 – Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium
July 31 -E. Rutherford, NJ – Giants Stadium
August 16 – Detroit, MI – Palace of Auburn Hills
August 18 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
August 30 -Tacoma, WA -Tacoma Dome
September 2 – San Jose, CA – HP Pavillion
September 4 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center
September 6 – San Diego, CA – Sports Arena
Additional concerts will be announced shortly.
February 26, 2009
More Details on Def Leppard Summer Tour
As reported here earlier, Def Leppard plans to hit the road for a U.S. tour this summer with hard rockers Poison. Now we are hearing that the duo will become a trio with the addition of Cheap Trick to the ticket. Fans may recall that Cheap Trick teamed with Heart and Journey last year for a summer tour that stretched into October.
This summer’s tour will start off on June 23rd in Camden, NJ and wind up on September 7th in San Bernardino, CA for a total of forty dates.
"We’re going out with three bands, which limits the amount of time we can play to about 90 minutes," Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliot revealed to Billboard. “When you do your greatest hits and some new material or extra stuff you might throw in, you have got to push and shove and clamp down. No big long speeches from moi. You have to do the AC/DC thing and just bang through everything.”
Tickets for the show, which is being produced by LiveNation, will go on sale March 6th at the LiveNation website.
The show is expected to last about four hours and is being described as an “interactive concert experience,” which will include the use of Bluetooth transmissions for appropriately-equipped attendees who will be able to receive the text messages before and during the show. Other interactive features are also planned.
Although there will probably be other classic acts hitting the road this summer, Elliot says “We’re gonna be touring with some new friends and some old friends and can guarantee it will be the Rock Tour of the summer.” I’m sure the fans and critics will be anxious to see if the show lives up to that bold claim.
January 15, 2008
Def Leppard And Whitesnake Team For U.K. Tour
Classic rockers Def Leppard and Whitesnake have recently revealed their plans for a tour of the United Kingdom this summer.
After a very successful tour in the U.S. last year, Def Leppard is set to rock their fans closer to home this time and get a little assist from Whitesnake along the way.
Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale makes no secret of the fact that he is anxious to get himself back on stage in front of a live crowd. “I can’t wait to get back on stage. After being in the studio for most of 2007, I am most definitely ready to let off some steam. The front row should definitely be prepared!”, he said recently.
Both groups are planning to release a new album this year. It will be the first new album from Whitesnake in more than 10 years.
The current plans have these shows scheduled as follows:
June 17 at SECC, Glasgow
June 18 at NEC, Birmingham
June 20 at MEN Arena, Manchester
June 23 at Sheffield Arena, Sheffield
June 24 at Newcastle Arena, Newcastle
June 26 at Wembley, London
Tickets are set to go on sale January 18.
For more, head on over to ThisIsNorthScotland.
