It’s been 23 years since the Cars split, but the band is finally hinting at a reunion. On their official Facebook page, the band posted a photograph of the surviving members — singer Ric Ocasek, keyboardist Greg Hawkes, drummer David Robinson and guitarist Elliot Easton — gathered together in a Boston studio surrounded by their instruments. “I hate to be vague, but I really can’t say,” keyboardist Hawkes told the Boston Globe when asked whether the band was reuniting. “It’s a crazy world.” A rep for Ocasek did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment, but a link on the band’s Facebook to a story about the reunion rumors is accompanied with the following note: “Anyone in the mood for a reunion by the Cars?”

When RS caught up with Ocasek in Feburary, he said he was working on new material that was “a surprise.” He added that the new songs are “more mature, because I’m older now.” ”It’s hard to write songs these days, it’s hard to have hope,” he said.

Keep up with rock’s latest news in Random Notes.

The Cars, one of the most popular New Wave bands thanks to a string of hits that included “My Best Friend’s Girl,” “Just What I Needed” and “Let’s Go,” last recorded together for 1987′s Door to Door. While reunion rumors have popped up in the years that followed, any hope of a full-on Cars reunion was dashed when bassist-singer Benjamin Orr died of pancreatic cancer in 2000.

Since the band’s breakup, Ocasek has carved out a notable career as a producer, recording with everyone from Weezer to No Doubt to Guided by Voices. In 2005, Hawkes and Easton recruited Todd Rundgren to form the critically maligned New Cars, but that project hit the brakes in 2007.

SOURCE: pollstar.com

State investigators probing the death of Michael Jackson have decided not to file charges against seven doctors who treated him, authorities said Wednesday.

The doctors were part of an investigation by state Attorney General Jerry Brown’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, spokeswoman Christine Gasparac said.

One doctor whose name was not released has been referred to the California Medical Board for prescribing drugs to a Jackson alias, she said.

Candis Cohen, a board spokeswoman, declined to confirm the action, saying complaints and investigations were not public record.

Jackson’s personal doctor, Conrad Murray, has pleaded not guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter in the singer’s death. Authorities say Murray provided Jackson with a mix of sedatives, including a powerful anesthetic that killed him.

Murray was not among the seven doctors involved in the state investigation.

Los Angeles police who investigated the death had asked state and federal investigators to look into the prescribing practices of doctors who previously treated the 50-year-old pop star.

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency has also stopped investigating the actions of any other Jackson doctors, agency spokeswoman Sarah Pullen said.

“I am very disappointed,” said attorney Brian Oxman, who represents Michael Jackson’s father Joe Jackson in a wrongful death lawsuit against Murray. “The misuse of medications by Michael Jackson in the last years of his life was excessive and to fail to bring that to the public eye is ignoring reality.”

The state investigation included the search of a prescription drug database that tracks doctors who prescribe controlled substances. The database also monitors the quantity and recipients of those drugs.

Source: billboard.com

German prosecutors say the death toll from a crush at last weekend’s Love Parade techno festival has risen to 21 after a young woman died from her injuries.

Duisburg prosecutors’ spokesman Rolf Haferkamp said on Wednesday that the 25-year-old German woman died overnight in a hospital.
She was among those crushed at the festival in the western German city on Saturday.

More than 500 people also were injured in a stampede at a jammed tunnel that was the lone entrance to the festival grounds where thousands had gathered to party.

Struggling secondary ticket company Razorgator, which recently cut about 25 percent of its staff and restructured its business model, reportedly lost $3.5 million on underperforming World Cup ticket sales, which contributed to the layoffs.

The company announced the layoffs, which totaled about 30 employees, earlier in the month and said it would no longer sell its own ticket inventory, opting instead to turn into a ticket exchange similar to rivals StubHub, TicketsNow and TicketNetwork. At the time, Razorgator President and CEO Brendan Ross said the reorganization was necessary to help the company better focus on its core business of selling tickets through its exchange.

“By narrowing our focus, we’ll ensure that our talent and creative energy is focused on the activities where we are best positioned to grow and create value. I look forward to continuing to build a stronger Razorgator based on our most exciting, core assets,” Ross said in a statement.

But, the immediate reason behind the moves was unknown until now. According to a report by sports business journalist Darren Rovell of CNBC, the bet on buying thousands of World Cup tickets for resale did not pay off for Razorgator, and other ticket resellers, because several of the 64 matches in South Africa did not sell out. The announcement of Razorgator’s restructuring occurred just days after the World Cup concluded on July 11. See the video below.

Losses occur all the time in the secondary ticket market, in part because so many events initially fail to sell out, but a $3.5 million loss on one event is substantial, particularly for an already anxious company that slowly had been paring down staff for months. The loss helped lead to Razorgator jettisoning its Atlanta-based PrimeSport ticket and travel package business back to Sam Soni, who is currently running it.

When reached for comment today, July 27, Ross declined to comment on the World Cup, but sought to reassure brokers that the company was in a stronger fiscal position since making the moves. By becoming a commercial ticket exchange only, Razorgator assumes less risk, and also stops it from competing with its own broker clients on ticket sales.

“The important thing for brokers to know is that we’re selling tickets and paying brokers just as we have since 2001,” he told TicketNews.

INCLUDE FIRST EVER MADISON SQUARE GARDEN HEADLINE

This story updates a previous getpresales story which had incomplete North American Dates.
If and when regular presales are announced, I will alert you here.

New and Exclusive Video Material Live Now at Gorillaz Official Hulu Channel

http://www.hulu.com/gorillaz

announced the complete tour routing for the North American leg of their highly anticipated world tour

“Escape To Plastic Beach.” The North American tour will begin in Canada at Montreal’s Bell Centre on

October 3

Tickets go on sale to the public in select markets beginning August 6

fanclub, the Sub-Division, will benefit from a 48 hour exclusive pre-sale prior to tickets going on general

sale. To join Sub-Division go to www.gorillaz.com/subdivision.

The U.S. and Canada dates, promoted by Live Nation, will be followed by a series of ten shows across

Europe and the UK, as well as, seven shows across Australia and Asia.

Gorillaz co-creators Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett‘s new live experience encompassing material from

all three multi-platinum Gorillaz albums played its first ever show at this April’s Coachella festival,

absolutely slaying a crowd of 70,000 in the final headline slot of the weekend. Featuring Albarn, Mick

Jones and Paul Simonon of The Clash, Bobby Womack, Little Dragon, Bootie Brown, UK Hip Hop stars

Kano and Bashy and others as well as video animation, artwork, film and stage design by Hewlett,

Gorillaz have since played in front of more than 400,000 fans headlining Glastonbury, Roskilde in

Denmark and Benicassim Festival in Spain and will soon become the first Western band of their

magnitude to play in Syria when they play the ancient Citadel in Damascus on July 25th following a

headline slot at Byblos Festival, in Beirut, Lebanon.

Universal raves for the current Gorillaz live band have included the following:

rd with a 19 date stretch winding up on November 3rd at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.th at LiveNation.com. Gorillaz

and more were all real. Not that Albarn really needed any help commanding attention. He sang with real

thus far in NPR’s listeners poll, and first single/video “Stylo” setting the record for the most successful

YouTube Music Tuesday premiere ever, Gorillaz have followed up with an epic clip for “On Melancholy

Hill.” The narrative reveals the whereabouts of Gorillaz guitar slinger Noodle, making her first appearance

since her apparent demise in the “El Manana” video that capped the 2005-2006 Demon Days campaign,

and drummer Russel Hobbs, returning from MIA status transformed into a giant. “On Melancholy Hill” also

picks up immediately following the conclusion of the white knuckle chase captured in “Stylo,” with

Noodle’s Cyborg doppelganger, Murdoc and vocalist 2D headed to Plastic Beach by way of an undersea

odyssey featuring cameos from Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, Simonon and Jones, De La Soul and more. The

full back story of the various Gorillaz misadventures filling the gap between Demon Days and Plastic

Beach, the discovery of Point Nemo and construction of Murdoc’s new HQ, the formation of the current

Gorillaz live band and more are chronicled in Journey To Plastic Beach

http://www.hulu.com/watch/158164/gorillaz-journey-to-plastic-beach#s-p1-sr-i0. Journey To Plastic Beach

recently debuted alongside “Feel Good Inc.,” “DARE,” “Clint Eastwood” and other visual essentials from

the extensive Gorillaz videography at the band’s recently christened Hulu channel at

http://www.hulu.com/gorillaz

Plastic Beach was released March 9 in the U.S. on EMI’s Virgin Records. It immediately set two career

landmarks, selling more than 112,000 copies in its first week and entering the U.S. album chart at #2.

Both career highs, the sales number and chart position bested those of 2005′s double-platinum Demon

Days, which sold 107,000 in its debut week, entering the chart at #6.

Gorillaz a/k/a Murdoc Niccals, 2D, Noodle and Russel Hobbs were co-created by Albarn and Hewlett

over ten years ago, and unleashed on the world with their self-titled 2001 debut album, which has sold

nearly two million copies in the U.S. The band’s 2005 follow up, Demon Days, featured the Best Pop

Collaboration with Vocal Grammy winner “Feel Good Inc.” and sold in excess of two million copies in

America.

For further developments in the ongoing Gorillaz saga, check back hourly at the all new

http://gorillaz.com, follow the band’s own Murdoc Niccals at www.twitter.com/murdocgorillaz, or check out

the Gorillaz YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/gorillaz

NORTH AMERICAN ITINERARY

October 3 Montreal, QC Bell Centre On sale August 14

October 5 Wallingford, CT Oakdale Theatre On sale August 13

October 6 Boston, MA Agganis Arena On sale August 6

October 8 New York, NY Madison Square Garden On sale August 6

October 10 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center On sale August 6

October 11 Washington, DC Patriot Center On sale August 13

October 13 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre On sale August 6

October 14 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre On sale August 13

October 16 Chicago, IL UIC Pavilion On sale August 27

October 17 Minneapolis, MN Target Center On sale August 13

October 19 Houston, TX Toyota Center On sale August 6

October 20 Dallas, TX Verizon Theatre On sale August 13

October 22 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center On sale August 13

October 24 Denver, CO Wells Fargo Theatre On sale August 13

October 26 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre On sale August 6

October 27 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre On sale August 6

October 30 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena On sale August 6

November 2 Seattle, WA Key Arena On sale August 20

November 3 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena On sale August 13

Soundgarden has announced a Chicago show, marking the band’s first official gig in more than 13 years. 

Three days before headlining Lollapalooza 2010, Soundgarden will play the Vic Theatre in Chicago Thursday, Aug. 5.

Fans will have the chance to buy tickets through a drawing being held on the band’s website.

After logging in or signing up for Soundgarden’s official fan club, fans simply have to check the box to be included in the ticket drawing. Drawing registration will end Thursday, July 29 at midnight CDT.

Winners will then be randomly selected and emailed a unique ticket code the morning of Friday, July 30. Tickets will be available for purchase that day at 2 p.m. CDT.

SoundgardenWorld.com asks that fans only enter the drawing if they can realistically attend the show.

“For example, if you live in Slovenia and really, really, really want to go, but there’s no frickin’ way you’re flying all the way to Chicago for the show, don’t make it harder for someone who can attend by putting in a request.”

Once you figure out whether or not you can make it to the Vic Theatre Aug. 5, here are a few rules you should be aware of:

The show is an 18 and over gig so make sure and bring along your ID. All ticket sales are final. No exchanges, refunds or transfer of names for tickets will be offered. Tickets will only be sold in pairs. All tickets are paperless and will be available to pick up at will call the day of the show with your government issued photo identification.

Soundgarden formed in Seattle in 1984 with a lineup featuring Chris Cornell as lead singer and drummer, Kim Thayil on lead guitar and Hiro Yamamoto on bass. Two years later Matt Cameron joined the band as the group’s permanent drummer. Ben Shepherd then replaced Yahamoto in 1990.

The grunge rock band released its debut album, Ultramega OK, in 1988 followed by four more releases. After releasing 1996’s Down on the Upside and kicking off one last world tour, Soundgarden announced it was breaking up in April 1997. The band’s hits include the Grammy-award winning songs “Black Hole Sun” and “Spoonman.”

On New Year’s Eve 2009 Cornell announced through his Twitter page that Soundgarden was reuniting.

In April Soundgarden played the Showbox At The Market in Seattle under the pseudonym Nudedragons.

Click here for Soundgarden’s official website.

SOURCE: billboard.com

The death toll from a stampede at a “Love Parade” techno music festival in Germany rose to 19 on Sunday and police pursued an investigation into how the mass panic occurred.

Investigators and organizers scheduled a news conference for 1000 GMT on their findings so far regarding Saturday’s incident in an entrance tunnel to a former rail station in the west German city of Duisburg where the event was held.

“We are currently working with the organizers and collecting evidence in hopes of reconstructing the events, but it will be labor- and time-intensive,” police spokesman Christoph Gilles said by telephone on Sunday.

The festival drew about 1.4 million people from all over Europe, most in the 18-26 age bracket.

Police in the Ruhr industrial city said another festival-goer felled in the stampede died overnight, raising the toll to 19, with 342 people injured.

Duisburg police tried to close the tunnel entrance about a half an hour before the chaos broke out in the late afternoon on Saturday, but panic ensued nonetheless.

“Apparently some tried to enter the area by climbing a fence along a ramp and then fell,” the head of an emergency task force, Wolfgang Rabe, told ARD television late on Saturday.

“It is still a presumption at the moment, but this could have caused a panic,” he added.

The festival was not immediately canceled because authorities feared an abrupt halt could spark a second panic.

Music blared out after the stampede and people danced on, unaware of the unfolding tragedy nearby. Organizers finally called the event off in late evening hours after the deaths.

Rescue work was initially hampered by the huge crowds attending one of Europe’s biggest electronic music events in fine weather, officials said.

Three songs into their St. Louis concert Friday night, the Kings of Leon had to shut down the show on account of some unexpected accompaniment that CNN pins on “pooping pigeons.”

“Jared [Followill, the band's bassist] was hit several times during the first two songs,” said Andy Mendelsohn of Vector Management. “It’s not only disgusting – it’s a toxic health hazard. They really tried to hang in there.”

The dirty birds were reported to have been lurking in the rafters of the Missouri city’s Verizon Amphitheatre and launching their aerial attack during the band’s opening number, “Closer.” Followill, 23, got it in the face.

“I was hit by pigeons on each of the first three songs,” said the musician and self-professed germophobe. “We had 20 songs on the set list. By the end of the show, I would have been covered from head to toe.”

Nor did he feel safe gazing skyward to see who his attackers were – or how many of them.

“The last thing I was going to do was look up,” he said, “but if that was only a couple, we must have caught them right after a big Thanksgiving dinner.”

After the cancelation – and, presumably, a good, hot shower – the band said in a statement through its manager, “We want to apologize to our fans in St. Louis and will come back as soon as we can.” Added the band’s publicist, “No fans got pooped on as far as we know.”

Though comments were sought, CNN received no word on the matter from reps for the Verizon Amphitheatre or the concert promoter Live Nation.

EUROPEAN CITIES TICKETS
AUSTRALIAN CITIES TICKETS
NORTH AMERICAN CITIES TICKETS

After capturing headlines for their triumphant headline performance at Coachella and their domination of London’s Roundhouse, Gorillaz embark upon their first ever arena tour in Autumn 2010.

Tickets and presales have been announced for Europe. Two dates have been set for North America. When presales and ticket dates, and additional tour stops have been announced, I will list them here.

The big Gorillaz band, headed up by maestro Damon Albarn, will be performing songs from all 3 albums (Gorillaz, Demon Days and Plastic Beach) and will feature glorious animation, artwork and film footage created by the design impresario Jamie Hewlett himself. Featured Artists are yet to be announced but recent live Gorillaz shows have included performances by De La Soul, Roses Gabor, Bobby Womack, Little Dragon, Mos Def, Kano, Bashy and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

Murdoc comments: “This’ll be an all spectacular! When we started out with Gorillaz, it was just myself, Russel on drums, guitarist Noodle and our spikey-blue haired singer 2D. But now this phenomenon has morphed into something far, far greater than the four of us alone. We’ve got half the history of music up there on stage with us, so we need some serious extra backup! Orchestras, backing singers, horn sections, a Syrian ensemble. This is our Global Big Band moment! So I wouldnt miss this one for the world! A 5 Star line-up knocking out 5 Star songs. Its a 21st Century Busby Berkeley extravaganza! This tour is going to switch up how the entire ‘live entertainment’ game is played! Im polishing the thick end of my bass vigorously as we speak!”

Gorillaz 2010 Tour Dates:

MIDDLE EAST
07/25 – Damascus, SY @ The Citadel
NORTH AMERICA
10/03 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
10/08 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
EUROPE
11/11 – Dublin, IE @ O2 Arena
11/12 – Manchester, UK @ Evening News Arena
11/14 – London, UK @ O2 Arena
11/15 – Amsterdam, NL @ Heineken Music Hall
11/17 – Birmingham, UK @ NIA
11/18 – Brighton, UK @ Centre
11/21 – Berlin, DE @ Velodrom
11/22  – Antwerp, BE @ Lotto
11/23 – Paris, FR @ Zenith
AUSTRALIA
12/06 – Perth, AU @ Burswood Dome
12/08 – Adelaide, AU @ Entertainment Centre
12/11 – Melbourne, AU @ Rod Laver
12/16 – Sydney, AU @ Entertainment Centre
12/19 – Brisbane, AU @ Entertainment Centre
NEW ZEALAND
12/21 – Auckland, NZ @ Vector Arena
HONG KONG
Gorillaz will play Hong Kong (to be announced shortly)

Guns N’ Roses to Perform in South Dakota Next Month

UPDATE!!!:

DO NOT JOIN GETPRESALES FOR THIS PASSWORD AS THE PRESALE IS SOLD OUT!

M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, Pavement, T.I., and Ludacris are among the acts booked at this year’s Virgin Mobile FreeFest, a free music festival set for Sept. 25 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md.

Filling out the bill are Joan Jett, Thievery Corporation, Matt & Kim, Jimmy Eat World, the Temper Trap, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, and Yeasayer. The Dance Forrest area will feature Chromeo, Sleigh Bells, Die Antwoord, Modeselektor and Neon Indian.

Tickets to the 2010 Virgin Mobile FreeFest will be available to the public at ticketfly.com on July 24. Virgin Mobile customers and previous Virgin Mobile Festival ticket holders from the past four years will be invited via text and email to a private “free-sale” (much like a pre-sale, except free) to be held July 23. (note: I purchased these tickets last year, so I should be getting an email. I will post the presale code when I get it in the members area)

The announcement was made this morning by Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson on Virgin Mobile Live, the company’s new Internet music stream available on Virgin Mobile websites.

The festival is produced and promoted by D.C.-based promoter I.M.P. “Our objective is simple: to put on the best music out there,” says I.M.P. chairman Seth Hurwitz. “We don’t have to sell tickets. So what do you book, you book what you feel is the coolest show you can.”

Hurwitz says he was able to book most of the acts he wanted to for this year’s FreeFest. “There were [acts] we got to a little late, or that just didn’t want to do it for one reason or another,” he tells Billboard.biz. “There are acts that want too much money, of course, and we’re giving away the tickets, so there are limits on that. We wanted to put on a free show with great music, and because we don’t have to sell tickets, it becomes that pure. If you like putting on shows for people, it doesn’t get much better than this.”

This will be the fifth year that Virgin has sponsored a music festival in the D.C. market, all produced by I.M.P., with the first three being pay fests at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Track. While festivals in general are performing well this summer, Hurwitz admits he’s OK with not being faced with going on sale with a major festival in this economic environment. “That pressure sucked,” he says. “When we did it at Pimlico, it was a fantastic show, but it wasn’t an idyllic setting like Coachella or Lollapalooza, and it would suck to get up every day and look at the count to see if we’re any closer to breaking even.”

This year, The RE*Generation, Virgin Mobile’s charitable initiative to end youth homelessness, is encouraging fans to make a $5 donation and in return receive a 2010 Virgin Mobile FreeFest mix produced by DJ Rusko. The download will mash up select bands in the lineup to create a unique 20-minute mix. The DJ mix will be available for pre-order on Friday during the pre-sale with every $5 donated to youth homelessness.

source: pollstar.com

Jason Mraz TICKETS kicks off a fall outing in September, introducing new songs, playing old favorites and even squeezing in a free show.

The freebie is scheduled for the Mississippi State University Bulldog Bash in Starkville Sept. 24, smack-dab in the middle of a series of dates at performing arts centers, auditoriums and a couple arenas.

Mraz is also doing a couple of dates with the Dave Matthews Band – Sept. 17-18 at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

Got a question for the artist? Then connect with Ustream July 21 at 3 p.m. when Mraz does the live chat thing as he talks up the tour and tells fans what to expect on the fall road trip.

Presales for many of the newly announced gigs begin July 21. Check getpresales.com on the day of the presale.

Jason Mraz – Fall 2010 itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)

*w/Dave Matthews Band

The Academy is…. is still touring with KISS, but plan to fit in these headlining dates on off days.

Adam Siska says, “We will be playing a wide variety of our material at these shows, and we will be taking requests.  These shows will be the most intimate that we have ever done.  I am even considering playing with no shirt on!!!!

We can’t wait to see you there!”
Tickets will go on sale next week. Presales through http://santaslittlehelpers.com ($$)

08.08 Higher Ground – Burlington, VT
08.09 Empire Dine and Dance – Portland, ME
08.11 Pearl Street – Northhampton, MA
08.12 Lost Horizon – Syracuse, NY
08.22 Club Oasis – Louisville, KY
08.24 The Square Room – Knoxville, TN
09.04 The Loft – Madison, WI
09.05 The Blue Moose – Iowa City, IA
09.09 The Loft (at Harem Lounge) – Lansing, MI
09.15 Downtown Music – Little Rock, AR

You won’t find this info anywhere on the net yet. Not that the net is dying to release this info and it’s still unconfirmed, but….

Adam Lambert (ALL TICKETS) has added a date in Hawaii. Lambert will be playing the Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu on October 25 (and possibly a second show on the 26th). (hawaii tickets)

There should be a fanclub presale on Tue July 20th. There will be a venue preasale on Wed July 21th. Both passwords will be posted on getpresales.com.

As of Saturday July 17th this show has not been added to Ticketmaster.

UPDATE: It’s Official! The Hawaii dates (25th and 26th) have been added to the adamoffical site.

See all Adam Lambert tour dates below.

Denver, CO Paramount Theatre Sat Jul 17 / 10
Boise, ID Morrison Center Mon Jul 19 / 10
Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo Tue Jul 20 / 10
Portland, OR The Crystal Ballroom Wed Jul 21 / 10
San Francisco, CA The Warfield Fri Jul 23 / 10
Lincoln, CA Thunder Valley Casino Sat Jul 24 / 10
San Francisco, CA The Warfield Sun Jul 25 / 10
Costa Mesa, CA Pacific Amphitheatre (Orange County Fair) Tue Jul 27 / 10
Costa Mesa, CA Pacific Amphitheatre (Orange County Fair) Wed Jul 28 / 10
San Diego, CA Copley Symphony Hall Fri Jul 30 / 10
Las Vegas, NV The Beach @ Mandalay Bay Sat Jul 31 / 10
Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre Sun Aug 01 / 10
Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater Tue Aug 03 / 10
Lubbock, TX The Pavilion Wed Aug 04 / 10
Oklahoma City, OK Bricktown Events Center Fri Aug 06 / 10
Springfield, MO Hammons Hall Sat Aug 07 / 10
St. Louis, MO The Pageant Sun Aug 08 / 10
Erie, PA Warner Theatre Tue Aug 10 / 10
Upper Darby, PA Tower Theater Thu Aug 12 / 10
Bethlehem, PA Musikfest Fri Aug 13 / 10
Concord, NH Capitol Center for the Arts Mon Aug 16 / 10
Providence, RI Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel Tue Aug 17 / 10
Hyannis, MA Cape Cod Melody Tent Thu Aug 19 / 10
Cohasset, MA South Shore Music Circus Fri Aug 20 / 10
Hampton, NH Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom Sat Aug 21 / 10
Albany, NY Palace Theatre Mon Aug 23 / 10
Staten Island, NY St. George Theater Tue Aug 24 / 10
Roanoke, VA Roanoke Civic Center Thu Aug 26 / 10
Richmond, VA The National Fri Aug 27 / 10
Raleigh, NC Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts Sat Aug 28 / 10
Covington, KY Madison Theater Mon Aug 30 / 10
Indianapolis, IN Clowes Memorial Hall Tue Aug 31 / 10
Evansville, IN The Victory Theatre Wed Sep 01 / 10
Des Moines, IA Simon Estes Amphitheater Fri Sep 03 / 10
Rockford, IL On The Waterfront Sat Sep 04 / 10
Houston, TX Hobby Center Wed Sep 08 / 10
Thackerville, OK Winstar Casino Fri Sep 10 / 10
Tunica, MS Harrah’s Casino Sat Sep 11 / 10
Atlanta, GA Symphony Hall Tue Sep 14 / 10
Saint Petersburg, FL Tropicana Field Sat Sep 18 / 10
Puyallup, WA Puyallup Fair Tue Sep 21 / 10
Honolulu, HI Blaisdell Concert Hall Oct 25 /10

David Gilmour To Join Roger Waters On Lone ‘Wall’ Date
July 15, 2010 – Rock and Pop

By Monica Herrera
source: billboard.biz

After having performed together last weekend for just the second time since a bitter split in the early 1980s, Pink Floyd principals Roger Waters and David Gilmour are planning to collaborate again on stage at least once more.

The recent reunion and the upcoming appearance stem from the 2009 edition of the Hoping Foundation Benefit, which raises funds for young Palestinian refugees. According to a post on Waters’ Facebook page, Gilmour was at last year’s event only “as a supporter” but “was moved to perform an impromptu rendition” of George Gershin’s “Summertime.”

Afterward, Waters says Gilmour emailed him with a tongue-in-cheek offer for them to collaborate at the 2010 benefit on the Teddy Bears’ “To Know Him Is To Love Him,” in a nod to the pair’s famously rough-and-tumble relationship. Waters says he “loved” the idea, and the duo agreed to also round out their set with the Pink Floyd classics “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb.”

The only trouble: Gilmour began sending Waters “a number of very musical and eloquent demos of how we could do the song in two-part harmony.” Waters then got cold feet and told Gilmour performing the song in that fashion was “way outside my vocal comfort zone,” to his “eternal shame.”

According to Waters, Gilmour then made him a better offer. If Waters would agree to perform “To Know Him Is To Love Him” at the Hoping Foundation Benefit, Gilmour would guest on “Comfortably Numb” at a to-be-determined show on Waters’ upcoming tour featuring Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” being performed in its entirety.

“You could have knocked me down with a feather,” Waters says. “How f*cking cool! I was blown away. How could I refuse such an offer. I couldn’t, there was no way. Generosity trumped fear. And so explaining that I would probably be sh*te, but if he didn’t mind I didn’t, I agreed and the rest is history. We did it, and it was f*cking great. End of story. Or possibly beginning.”

The plan is for Gilmour’s appearance to be a surprise, adds Waters, whose The Wall tour begins Sept. 15 in Toronto and has been one of the top sellers in a disastrous summer for the U.S. concert business.

Waters and Gilmour, along with original Pink Floyd colleagues Nick Mason and Rick Wright, first reunited for the first time in more than 24 years at the Live 8 concert in London on July 2, 2005.

Alicia Keys, Jay-Z and Sade will join musical forces later this year for charity.

Keys has recruited Jay-Z and Sade to perform at her charity’s annual Black Ball on Sept. 30 at New York’s Hammerstein Ball. Keys will also hit the stage.

The foundation, Keep a Child Alive, is celebrating its seventh year. The organization assists children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India.

The 29-year-old Keys is expecting her first child with producer-rapper Swizz Beatz. She and Jay-Z teamed up last year for a hit song about New York called “Empire State of Mind.”

The charity didn’t know whether Sade’s band would accompany her to the ball. The 51-year-old singer and her group won a Grammy for their song, “Lovers Rock,” which was released in 2000.

Click here for the Keep A Child Alive website.

Category: Metal

DIR EN GREY TICKETS has announced a co-headlining tour with Apocalyptica that begins in Toronto on August 23 and concludes September 12 in Seattle, Washington. A presale will begin on July 16 (getpresales will have the presale info in the subscription area on the 16th), and tickets will go on sale to the general public at various points after the 16th (getpresales will have all onsale links on the homepage on the onsale date).

In January 2010, the band wrapped up two years of touring in support of 2008′s “Uroboros” by playing two sold out shows at Tokyo’s legendary Nippon Budokan arena and on June 22 Dir En Grey released a CD and DVD set from these shows, titled “UROBOROS -with the proof in the name of living…- AT NIPPON BUDOKAN.”

Here are the Dir En Grey and Apocalyptica co-headlining tour dates:

08/23 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
08/24 – New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre
08/26 – Boston, MA @ Royale
08/27 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live
08/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
08/30 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage
08/31 – St. Louis, MO@ Pageant
09/01 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
09/02 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave.
09/04 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
09/05 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
09/07 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
09/08 – Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia Live
09/10 – San Francisco, CA @ Grand Ballroom at Regency
09/11 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo

All data provided by The Broadway League

Comparison with Previous Week

 UPDATE: I have received the password for these shows. Passwords and links are NOW posted in the members area.

All presales begin Thur July 29th except for Toronto which begins Wed July 28th.

If you can’t find the code for free, please sign up for daily access by clicking the “daily access” paypal link above.

 
The So You Think You Can Dance season 7 Tour dates have just been announced.  TICKETS go on sale July 30th with a presale beginning as soon as the 22nd. Subscribe to getpresales.com on the 22nd to get the Utah presale password, then on the 28th and 29th for other presale passwords.

DATE CITY VENUE
Sep-19 New Orleans, LA Lakefront Arena
Sep-21 Houston, TX Reliant Arena
Sep-22 Grand Prairie, TX Verizon Theatre
Sep-24 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
Sep-25 St. Louis, MO Chaifetz Arena
Sep-27 Duluth, GA Arena at Gwinnett Center
Sep-29 Miami, FL American Airlines Arena
Sep-30 Orlando, FL Amway Arena
Oct-02 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena
Oct-03 Richmond, VA Richmond Coliseum
Oct-05 Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner Arena
Oct-06 Trenton, NJ Sun National Bank Center
Oct-07 New York City, NY Radio City Music Hall
Oct-09 Mashantucket CT * MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods
Oct-10 Manchester , NH Verizon Wireless Arena
Oct-11 Boston, MA Agganis Arena at Boston University
Oct-13 Rochester, NY BlueCross Arena
Oct-15 Long Island, NY Nassau Coliseum
Oct-16 Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk Hall
Oct-17 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Oct-19 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Oct-20 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena
Oct-22 Pittsburgh, PA CONSOL Energy Center
Oct-23 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
Oct-24 Columbus, OH * Schottenstein Center
Oct-26 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena
Oct-27 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
Oct-29 Rockford, IL Rockford’s MetroCentre
Oct-30 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
Nov-02 Broomfield, CO 1stBANK Center
Nov-04 West Valley City, UT Maverik Center
Nov-06 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
Nov-07 Portland, OR Rose Garden
Nov-09 Sacramento, CA ARCO Arena
Nov-10 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion at San Jose
Nov-12 Las Vegas, NV The Theater for the Performing Arts Center at Planet Hollywood
Nov-13 San Diego, CA San Diego Sports Arena
Nov-14 Ontario, CA Citizens Business Bank Arena
Nov-16 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center
Nov-17 Glendale, AZ jobing.com arena
* Mashantucket on sale at 9am and Columbus on sale at 11am

NOTE: Schedule subject to change

SOURCE: billboard.com

The Nashville Rising benefit concert led by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw has raised over $2.2 million for flood victims in middle Tennessee.

The total came from sold-out ticket sales, donations and sponsorships. It will be distributed through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Last month’s all-star concert included performances by Hill, McGraw, Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, LeAnn Rimes, Luke Bryan, Michael W. Smith, Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift, Toby Keith and ZZ Top.

Record rains the first two days of May caused over $2 billion in damage in Nashville alone. The water forced thousands from their homes, struck some of the city’s biggest landmarks and destroyed the gear of scores of musicians

Live Nation Entertainment announced today that the U2 360° tour dates TICKETS in the US, which were recently postponed due to Bono’s emergency back surgery, have all been rescheduled for Spring/Summer 2011 with all tickets being valid at the rescheduled performances.

The 2010 European tour, which has not been affected, begins as scheduled on August 6th in Turin.

U2’s manager Paul McGuinness thanked fans for their ongoing support, “We’re delighted the dates are rescheduled and in all the same venues we originally planned to play. It hasn’t been easy to accomplish this and I’d like to thank the managers of the many venues and sports teams across North America and Live Nation Global Touring for their help and cooperation in making this complex new plan possible. Above all we want to thank the U2 fans for bearing with us. They’re the best and the band wants to get back to where they belong, surrounded by their audience.”

The U2 360° Tour is produced by Live Nation Global Touring and sponsored in 2010 by BlackBerry.

The North American Tour rescheduled dates, are confirmed as follows:

May 21 Denver, CO Invesco Field (formerly June 12/10)
May 24 Salt Lake City, UT Rice Eccles Stadium (formerly June 3/10)

June 01 Edmonton, AB Commonwealth Stadium (formerly June 23/10)
June 04 Seattle, WA Qwest Field (formerly June 20/10)
June 07 Oakland, CA McAfee Coliseum (formerly June 20/10)
June 17 Anaheim, CA Angels Stadium (formerly June 6/10)
June 18 Anaheim, CA Angels Stadium (formerly June 7/10)
June 26 East Lansing, MI Spartan Stadium at MSU (formerly June 30/10)
June 29 Miami, FL *Sun Life Stadium
previously Dolphin Stadium (formerly July 9/10)

July 05 Chicago, IL Soldier Field (formerly July 6/10)
July 08 Montreal, QC Hippodrome (formerly July 16/10)
July 09 Montreal, QC Hippodrome (formerly July 17/10)
July 11 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre (formerly July 3/10)
July 14 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field (formerly July 12/10)
July 20 East Rutherford, NJ New Meadowlands Stadium (formerly July 19/10)
July 23 Minneapolis, MN TCF Bank Stadium (formerly June 27/10)

Tickets for the previously scheduled performances will be honoured at the door. Tickets for the rescheduled performances will be available at www.livenation.com and all usual outlets. Refunds if required available at point of purchase.

Additional dates and cities to be confirmed.

 Just in time for this week’s Ticket Summit, the legal and editorial teams at TicketNews have updated “Amusement and Sales Tax Laws as Applied to Ticket Resellers” and “Ticket Resale Laws” documents, which help ticket brokers navigate the legal seas around ticket resale in the U.S.

The exclusive, comprehensive booklets, which are updated biannually, offer brokers an insider’s perspective on the new and proposed legislative activity for every state, in addition to staying abreast of tax laws that could directly affect a reseller’s business.

Both documents will be sold at the registration desk throughout Ticket Summit, and they aim to make business easier, by providing an up-to-date reference that’s easy to understand.

“These documents are an important reference guide for anyone that wishes to obtain data regarding the secondary market for ticket resale,” Dustin Brighton, senior manager, Government Relations for eBay, told TicketNews. “It provides a lot of valuable information.”

The documents break down all pertinent laws involving ticket resale and taxes state-by-state, and they offer contact information for the government agencies that oversee those areas.

Over the past several years, a host of states have adopted new regulations governing ticket resale, as the Internet has opened the secondary market beyond their borders. And, various states and municipalities have looked at implementing new tax laws for resold tickets to help plug budgetary holes in government coffers.

“Laws change, and when they do, we provide important updates and inserts to keep the industry up-to-date,” said Dan Pullium, director of government relations for TicketNetwork. “New York is a prime example. Recent legislation there made unprecedented changes in paperless ticketing, and there’s an updated insert ready so everyone understands the new law.”

Pullium continued, “Legal issues can be confounding and hard to understand sometimes, and these easy-to-read documents shine a bright light on the tax and resale laws for each state so that you can focus on running your business

Fall Out Boy may not be back yet but Pete Wentz is, along with a brand new band.

“The takeover, the break is indeed over. As you may’ve read about over the last week, I’ve got a new band called Black Cards,” the bassist wrote in a post on his new website, blackcardsmusic.com.

Wentz explains that the band was inspired by a family vacation to Jamaica.

“When FOB went on hiatus, I wasn’t really sure what to do with myself. I know I wanted to keep traveling the world with my family. We had been to Jamaica recently. I spent a lot of time hanging around the beaches and I started to get inspired again by songs like ‘two sevens clash’ and ‘warriors.’ I’d never heard any of these songs but could imagine them having an everlasting imprint, like people would dance to this stuff forever. I could feel these songs really meant something. Not just in Jamaica but globally, crossing through culture and language.

“I started collaborating via email with my friend Sam, who I knew from working on [Gym Class Heroes’ 2006 album] As Cruel as School Children. He had been listening to a lot of old British stuff and we mashed that with the island vibe in the studio.”

Along with Wentz’ post, the Black Cards’ site includes snippets of two songs titled “Club Called Heaven” and “Beating In My Chest,” which both feature a female vocalist.

The bassist wrote that he wanted to work with a female vocalist because he “couldn’t imagine trying to replace [FOB singer/guitarist Patrick Stump]. Combine all this with my nonsense and ideas. Stuff I could never write or never had a perspective to write from in FOB.”

Wentz invites fans to check out the tunes, noting that “I know this won’t be for everyone but honestly it’s a chance for me to try something different.” He concludes the post by sending a shout out to his old bandmates, writing, “I remain Fall Out Boy’s #1 fan.”

MTV.com points out that the “Sam” Wentz references is Sam Hollander, who is one-half of the production duo known as S*A*M and Sluggo). The site also confirms that the female vocalist featured on the Black Cards tracks is “definitely not” the bassist’s wife, Ashlee Simpson.

In February Fall Out Boy members each separately announced the band was taking a break. After Wentz tweeted, “I can’t imagine playing in FOB again. Something would have to change in my head or my heart … not my wallet,” Stump told Spin, “I’m not in Fall Out Boy right now.”

On his personal blog Wentz added, “I don’t know the future of Fall Out Boy. It’s embarrassing to say one thing and then have the future dictate another. As far as I know Fall Out Boy is on break.”

ORIGINAL “CLASH OF THE TITANS” LINEUP OF SLAYER, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, TO TOUR AGAIN
Leg Two of “American Carnage Tour” Announced

Metalheads, rejoice: North America’s biggest thrash tour in 20 years is announced, as 1991′s original American “Clash of the Titans” lineup – Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax – will tour together once again on Leg Two of the “American Carnage Tour.” This trek kicks off September 24 at Superpages.com Center in Dallas, TX and will play 20 dates, including New York’s Nassau Coliseum, concluding at Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on October 21.

On Leg Two of American Carnage, Megadeth will continue to roar through its landmark 1990 album Rust in Peace from front to back, while Slayer will rip the roof off by performing its much-lauded Seasons in the Abyss album, which was also released in 1990. Anthrax recently welcomed back singer Joey Belladonna, who defined the band during its heyday, and now permanently back in the band, will be front-and-center.

A special pre-sale will launch this Wednesday, July 14 on TICKETMASTER. Presale Passwords and links will be posted on GETPRESALES.COM on the morning of the presales. The public on-sale will begin July 23 in most markets.

In the spirit of beating the recession, there will be pre-sale discounts on all tickets in most markets (see below for more details), and if that’s not enough, a limited amount of $10 tickets will be available in many cities.

Fans who purchase their tickets online at TICKETMASTER will receive a free download of the live audio track “War Ensemble,” set to be included on Slayer’s forthcoming, as yet unannounced, “Live Intrusion” DVD release. STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS

Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax will kick off the second leg of the “American Carnage Tour” on the heels of the historic “Big Four” Sonisphere Festival concerts they played with Metallica in seven European cities this summer. The dates marked the first time that these four bands – acknowledged as the most influential bands of the thrash genre – had shared a concert bill.

The original “Clash of the Titans” tour united the three forces of thrash metal for the entire summer of 1991, with then-little known Alice in Chains serving as the opener. This tour, which falls under the “American Carnage” banner, isn’t rewriting history, it’s writing a whole new chapter of head-banging history that is sure to delight fans new and old.

Megadeth and Slayer return to North America late this month to co-headline the east coast “Canadian Carnage Tour,” and then starting August 11, the first leg of the “American Carnage Tour” (dates below) with Testament as Special Guest. The tour was originally scheduled for a winter 2010 run, but was postponed when Slayer bassist/vocalist Tom Araya was forced to undergo neck surgery. But as is the case for anything good in life, this tour will be well worth the wait.

SEPTEMBER
24 Superpages.com Center, Dallas, TX*
25 AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX*
26 Verizon Wireless Theatre, Houston, TX*
28 Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, LA*
30 Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, TN

OCTOBER
1 The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Atlanta, GA*
2 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL
3 Bayfront Park Amphitheatre, Miami, FL*
5 Hampton Coliseum, Norfolk, VA
6 1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore, MD*
8 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, Long Island, NY*
9 Toyota Pavilion @ Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA*
10 LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH**
12 Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY
14 War Memorial Coliseum, Ft. Wayne, IN*
15 DeltaPlex, Grand Rapids, MI*
16 Eagles Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI**
19 E Center, Salt Lake City, UT
20 The Pearl, Las Vegas, NV
21 Gibson Amphitheatre, Hollywood, CA*

* $10 discount for tickets purchased during pre-sale
** $5 discount for tickets purchased during pre-sale

By Wayne Parry, Associated Press

Maybe he had “Something For The Pain,” but rocker Jon Bon Jovi was able to finish a concert in his home state of New Jersey despite tearing a calf muscle (:45 into video) toward the end of the show.

Bon Jovi injured himself during the band’s 2 1/2-hour concert at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford on Friday night. He then limped back on the stage for an encore, “Livin’ On A Prayer.”

A spokeswoman says the band does not anticipate canceling any dates on the rest of its summer stadium tour.

YouTube video shows the 48-year-old singer limping back and forth across the stage, occasionally flexing his foot as he assures the crowd he’s OK.

“I’m old, what can I tell you?” he says.

source: pollstar.com

Denver, Atlanta and Indianapolis drop off the schedule as the “Last Girl On Earth Tour” starring Rihanna and featuring special guest Ke$ha makes yet more changes to the routing.

It was only last week when promoter Live Nation, citing “production changes,” yanked the kick-off show originally scheduled for July 2 at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Wash., moving opening night to the Fourth of July in Vancouver, B.C.

Now three more shows have dropped off the schedule. Gone is the July 15 gig at the Comfort Dental Amphitheatre located near Denver in Englewood, Colo. Also off the books are July 28 in Atlanta at Philips Arena and Aug. 3 near Indianapolis at the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, Ind.

Although no reason has been given for nixing Noblesville and Atlanta, Live Nation posted a note on its website saying the Colorado date was dropped “due to a change in Rihanna’s schedule,” and that tickets would be refunded.

By CHRIS TALBOTT, AP and yahoonews

A slow economy and a glut of choices are turning the once ironclad summer tour season into something of a gamble.

The evidence is everywhere. The always bankable Eagles have canceled dates. Christina Aguilera shut down an entire tour before it got started. Rihanna just canceled her tour opener.

Add in what seems like a large number of injuries, illnesses and mysterious happenings that have led to sometimes legitimate cancelations — U2?s tour was postponed due to Bono’s back surgery — and at least outwardly it looks like summer tours are starting to see the strain the rest of the music industry has been experiencing.

Korn’s Jonathan Davis calls it “scary.”

“It’s just a sign of the times,” Davis said. “We’re in a bad place now financially, everybody, and I think people are cutting back. Hopefully when this goes away, whenever it does, then things will get better, but it doesn’t surprise me that people don’t have as much money to spend as they used to.”

Kevin Lyman, the brains behind The Warped Tour, the Mayhem Festival and the new Country Throwdown Tour, acknowledges he was sweating it last week. The always bankable Warped Tour, a 16-year-old traveling punk festival, was struggling to sell tickets for a Ventura, Calif., show and he was looking at a big loss.

He sold 80 percent of his tickets in the last week and ended up with a great turnout, but the struggles he’s had this summer — he canceled four Throwdown dates and is worrying about the bottom line more than he has since the late ’90s — have him thinking about the mistakes that have been made by the touring industry as a whole.

“Two years ago we were talking about the heyday of touring,” Lyman said. “A touring industry that’s been around 60 years now, in two years we screwed it up.”

Ozzy Osbourne believes the industry is tone deaf when it comes to the main problem — ticket prices. A premium seat with VIP privileges for a top act can go for more than $1,000. A mediocre seat at one of those shows might cost more than $400. Pollstar, the touring industry trade magazine and website, shows the average cost of a ticket in 2009 was $62.57 — up from $25.81 in 1996.

Osbourne, one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most bankable touring stars and the founder of Ozzfest, says “people are getting very greedy.”

“You can’t charge exorbitant ticket prices,” he said. “It’s crazy. You have to read the market.”

That market has appeared strong, running in the opposite direction of the economy the last few years. Pollstar estimated a record $4.6 billion in worldwide tour grosses in 2009 with a record 40.5 million tickets sold. Both figures were significant increases over 2008. The top 10 tours of 2009 grossed about $771.6 million with U2 taking $123 million.

An analysis of first-quarter ticket sales in 2010 by Pollstar showed the trend is continuing with gross revenue and sales up from last year.

Looking at those numbers, Pollstar editor in chief Gary Bongiovanni sees this summer as nothing more than business as usual in an industry that’s usually volatile.

Sure, ticket sales are down, but that’s to be expected and nothing disastrous, as some industry watchers have claimed. He points out that there are several in-demand tours that are doing just fine.

Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and James Taylor and Carole King aren’t having problems selling tickets, perhaps muscling in on the fans of Aguilera, The Jonas Brothers and The Eagles. That out-of-favor acts like Limp Bizkit canceled shouldn’t send folks watchers into a tizzy.

“I mean the Limp Bizkit tour was never one that really should’ve been booked in the first place,” Bongiovanni said. “It’s hard to say that business is bad because Limp Bizkit couldn’t sell tickets. I’m sorry, I don’t buy that.”

He did say that promoters need to get rid of the glut.

“We’re asking an awful lot of the public,” he said. “The acts that are really in demand today, fans are opening their wallets and buying tickets, and they’re buying the premium seats, too. But in a down economic market, it just means you aren’t going to do the kind of volume that you might expect and people are more selective.”

Those who make their living one ticket at a time think there’s more trouble ahead, though.

Lyman and others believe the cause of all these problems is simple. In an effort to shore up record sales that are bottoming out, artists and their managers and agents have turned to summer tours and the large amounts of guaranteed money now being offered upfront to prop up the revenue stream.

Instead of taking a year or two off between tours, acts always seem to be on the road — sometimes with nothing new to offer. The bigger the venue, the bigger the guarantee and the bigger the risk that a slow start to ticket sales will lead to cancellation.

In desperation, promoters have fallen back on the steep discount, cutting prices, nixing service fees and offering two-for-one deals. Lyman sees this as fool’s gold. Once ticket prices are cut, promoters rely on ancillary sales like beer and hot dogs. But he’s noticed in these tough economic times, fans will bolt a six pack in the parking lot because it’s cheaper than buying $7 beer all night.

“I’ve been saying it for a year now: We are going to train the public to wait for the discount,” he said. “Go out for a fair price at the beginning and people will grow into it. But now we’ve got a lot of damage to fix in this business.”

source: associated press and nbcactionnews.com

 
LAWRENCE, Kansas – Two former University of Kansas athletics officials tied to a $1 million ticket scalping scandal at the school have been charged as part of a federal probe into the scheme, according to court documents made public Wednesday.

Brandon Simmons, the university’s former assistant athletic director for sales and marketing, was charged with one count of misprision of a felony. Prosecutors allege he knew tickets were stolen from the university, concealed that fact and did not report it to authorities, according to a criminal information document filed in federal court in Topeka.

Jason Jeffries, the assistant director of ticket operations, was charged last week with the same felony, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Jeffries’ charges also were cited in a criminal information document, which is typically filed with the consent of the defendant and is commonly the first step toward entering a guilty plea. Both men are scheduled to appear in court next week.

Simmons, Jeffries and four other former university employees have been accused in an internal investigation of an alleged scheme to sell at least $1 million in basketball and football tickets to brokers. The university determined that thousands of tickets were used or sold by several school staffers for personal purposes.

Simmons’ attorney, Mark Bennett Jr., said his client hasn’t decided whether to plead guilty. He said Simmons cooperated with the university investigation, but it has “yet to be determined” whether he will cooperate with federal prosecutors.

Jeffries cooperated with investigations from the beginning because “he has nothing to hide,” said his attorney, Tom Haney. Jeffries is considering pleading guilty to the charge and is not accused of profiting from the alleged scheme, Haney said.

School officials are confident that any criminal charges will be handled appropriately, said University of Kansas Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony.

“The U.S. attorney is conducting a thorough investigation,” he said. “We continue to cooperate with that investigation.”

Simmons resigned from the university in April, and his attorney said he expects that more people will be charged.

Jim Cross, the spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, declined comment.

Details of the scam surfaced in May, when school officials disclosed that a report by a Wichita law firm was sent to federal investigators already looking into allegations of wrongdoing in the athletics department and the school’s athletics fundraising arm, the Williams Educational Fund.

The law firm’s investigation found five Kansas athletics staffers and a consultant — all of them no longer employed by the school — sold or used at least 17,609 men’s basketball tickets, 2,181 football tickets and a number of parking passes and other passes for personal purposes.

The report showed over $887,000 in basketball tickets and more than $122,000 worth of football tickets were involved.

Investigators were unable to determine what portion of the $1 million in tickets were sold directly to ticket brokers. Distribution of the tickets were disguised by department employees as complimentary and inventory tickets, or other categories with limited accountability.

Jeffries’s first court appearance is scheduled for July 14 in Wichita. The proceeding will allow him only to enter a not guilty plea, but a change-of-plea hearing is set to immediately follow before U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown.

Similar court appearances for Simmons are set for July 15 in Wichita.

—-

Associated Press Writer John Hanna contributed to this report from Topeka.
 

 
 Even as they were putting together one of the most impressive streaks in the history of American sports, the Atlanta Braves were a baseball punch line for their inability to draw sellout crowds to Turner Field for playoff games.

Despite winning 14 straight division titles from 1991 through 2005, the Braves have played to capacity just 16 times in 33 postseason contests since Turner Field (capacity: 49,831) opened in 1997. The Braves suffered the indignity of drawing less-than-full crowds to the final game of the season in 2001, when just 35,652 fans saw Atlanta fall to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game Five of the NL Championship Series, and in 2002, when 45,203 fans attended the winner-take-all Game Five of the NL Division Series against the San Francisco Giants.

This year, though, the Braves’ attendance has been no laughing matter. Through 40 home dates, the Braves are averaging more than 2,000 more fans per home game than a season ago at Turner Field, the fourth-best figure in Major League Baseball. They have drawn 30,000 or more fans in more than half of their last dozen home games into July after attracting at least 30,000 just nine times in their first 25 home games.

The Braves’ success on the field after four straight losing seasons—Atlanta ended play Thursday, July 8 with a three-game lead over the New York Mets in the NL East and a share of the NL’s best record with the San Diego Padres—is one reason for the surge at the gate, but there’s a certain sense of finality to the season that is luring people to Turner Field as well.

Legendary manager Bobby Cox, who is just the fourth manager in history to win 2,000 games with one team, is retiring at the end of the season, as is potential Hall of Fame closer Billy Wagner. Most notable of all is the likely impending retirement of third baseman Chipper Jones, a surefire Hall of Famer who has spent his entire 20-year professional career in the Braves organization and is the most popular player in franchise history. Jones, who has battled a spate of injuries in his mid-to-late 30s, seemed ready to retire immediately in mid-June but later said he wouldn’t make a decision until after the season.

In a way, the renewed interest in the Braves confirms one of the theories that floated when the franchise was playing to less-than-capacity playoff crowds: Atlanta fans felt no urgency to see a team that reached the postseason every year. But that’s no longer the case, now that the end of multiple careers—as well as a long-awaited return trip to the playoffs is in sight.

source: nbcsports.msnbc.com

UNCONFIMRED REPORTS  HAVE JAMES HEADED TO MIAMI

After more than two years of planning and preparing, of salary dumping and cap-carving trades and wishful thinking, the Knicks may well find out that it was still not enough to land LeBron James. According to multiple NBA sources, the two-time MVP Thursday night is expected to choose the Heat, where he would join fellow All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Ric Bucher apparently posted on Twitter that LeBron James was flying to Miami on Wednesday night to meet with Heat president Pat Riley. The post has been removed. Also, Alan Hahn of Newsday wrote on Twitter early Thursday morning that several sources are now putting LeBron James in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. We have speculated that the three have had a pact to play together for some time, and this report is from a fairly reliable source in Hahn and Newsday. That said, it’s still quite possible bad information is being floated around by different parties involved in the pursuit of LeBron. But the Heat suddenly look like a favorite again.

The news of the 10-11 NBA salary cap being at $58.044M creates additional cap room for James, Wade and Bosh to get closer to a maximum contract. James is scheduled to announce his final decision live on ESPN at 9:00 PM EST on Thursday. James met with the Knicks, Nets, Heat, Clippers, Cavaliers and Bulls in that order last week. The Heat only have Michael Beasley ($4.962M) and Mario Chalmers ($854k) under contract for the 10-11 season. Wade and Bosh stated their intention to sign with the Heat on Wednesday morning.

LOS ANGELES, CA (July 7, 2010) -

Nickelback, TICKETS who was named Billboard’s ‘Group of Decade’
and kicked off 2010 by performing at the Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics, is
showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. They have extended their Dark Horse World
Tour. The next leg of the tour, produced by Live Nation, will begin on September 14 in Nashville
and will run through October 30 in Las Vegas. Three Days Grace and Buckcherry will join
Nickelback on these dates. Tickets go on sale to the general public on July 17 at
LiveNation.com.
The “Dark Horse World Tour” has been a smashing success, as all previous legs have been
completely sold out. Since 2009, Nickelback has sold more than 1.6 million tickets and have
played more than 120 global shows.
“Our fans have been amazing all over the world from Japan to New Zealand, Australia, Dubai,
the UK and North America,” said Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger. “Our fans keep us going and we
are excited to play 25 more dates in the US with Three Days Grace and Buckcherry.”
The dates for the September-October leg of the “Dark Horse World Tour” are as follows:
Sept 14 – Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
Sept 15 – Allen County War Memorial Coliseum – Ft. Wayne, IN
Sept 17 – Consol Energy Center – Pittsburgh, PA
Sept 18 – Joe Louis Arena – Detroit, MI
Sept 21 – HSBC Arena – Buffalo, NY
Sept 22 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY
Sept 24 – Comcast Center for the Performing Arts – Mansfield, MA
Sept 25 – Hersheypark Stadium – Hershey, PA
Sept 28 – Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT
Sept 29 – Prudential Center – Newark, NJ
Oct 01 – Nationwide Arena – Columbus, OH
Oct 02 – Quicken Loans Arena – Cleveland, OH
Oct 08 – Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY
Oct 10 – Verizon Arena – Little Rock, AR
Oct 12 – New Orleans Arena – New Orleans, LA
Oct 15 – Cynthia W. Mitchell Pavilion – Spring, TX
Oct 16 – Ford Center – Oklahoma City, OK
Oct 18 – Pepsi Center – Denver, CO
Oct 20 – Energy Solution Arena – Salt Lake City, UT
Oct 22 – Honda Center – Anaheim, CA
Oct 23 – Arco Arena – Sacramento, CA
Oct 26 – Sleep Train Pavilion – Concord, CA
Oct 27 – Save Mart Center – Fresno, CA
Oct 29 – Cricket Wireless Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ
Oct 30 – MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV

About Nickelback:
Nickelback is one of the biggest rock bands in the world, with over 35 million albums sold. The
band’s latest album, Dark Horse, produced by the legendary Mutt Lange, debuted at number
two on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and has remained on the Top 200 for 50 weeks selling
over 2.4 million albums in the US alone.
Nickelback has enjoyed unprecedented success with their last album, All The Right Reasons,
which has been RIAA certified 8X platinum. The six singles from the album totaled 12 million
downloads and 6 million ringtones. Each of the five videos from All The Right Reasons has
reached #1 on VH1’s playlist: “Photograph,” “Savin’ Me,” “Far Away,” “If Everyone Cared” and
“Rockstar.” In 2006 Nickelback was awarded a World Music Award for “World’s Best Rock
Group,” a Billboard Touring Award for “Breakthrough Artist,” an American Music Award for
“Favorite Pop/Rock Album” and a People’s Choice Award for “Best Rock Group.”

What with the release of their latest studio record Night Work last week, the group have confirmed details of a 17-date jaunt, starting next month.

The first concert will be staged in Atlanta, GA on August 21, with the final show taking place in Vancouver, BC on September 16.

The Fire With Fire hitmakers will be joined by special guest Sammy Jo for the road trip.

Scissor Sisters August Tour:

8/21 – Atlanta, GA The Buckhead Theatre
8/23 – Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall
8/24 – New York, NY Terminal 5
8/27 – Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
8/28 – Boston, MA House of Blues
8/29 – Montreal, QC Metropolis
8/31 – Toronto, ON Sound Academy
9/2 – Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
9/3 – Milwaukee, WI The Rave
9/4 – Minneapolis, MN Epic Nightclub
9/6 – Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
9/10 – Las Vegas, NV The Pearl Concert Theatre
9/11 – Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium
9/12 – Oakland, CA Fox Theater
9/14 – Portland, OR Roseland Theatre
9/15 – Seattle, WA The Showbox SODO
9/16 – Vancouver, BC Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park