Archive: 2003

Over 70,000 people attended the Dave Matthews Band free concert in central park Wednesday night, and although rumors spread across the net this week of various special guests, only one inevitably emerged. Midway through the two-hour set, Warren Haynes joined the band for Neil Young’s “Cortez The Killer” and DMB’s “Jimi Thing.”
Proceeds were donated to building music programs in city schools

Bob Dylan – leading man. Sounds quite natural at the Newport Folk Festival
or Madison Square Garden, but on the silver screen? Well, Dylan comes
forth with his recent troubadour/mustachioed look, as Jack Fate, a jailed rock star turned folk legend, who returns to the stage for an ambitious benefit concert in Masked and Anonymous.

As eclectic as the festival itself, a two-disc CD release and a DVD commemorating this year’s second Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, Tenn., will showcase everyone from the Dead and Emmylou Harris to Sonic Youth and the Polyphonic Spree. The audio set “Live From Bonnaroo” and the DVD “270 Miles From Graceland – Bonnaroo 2003” will be issued Oct. 21 via Sanctuary.
John Alagia (John Mayer, Keller Williams) produced the 23-track CD compilation. It includes such highlights from the June 13-15 event as the Dead’s “Sugar Magnolia,” Warren Haynes’ “The Real Thing,” James Brown’s “I Feel Good” and Ben Harper’s cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.”
“For all my previous films, I was the main cinematographer,” Clinch says in a statement, recalling such features as “Pleasure & Pain,” his 2002 Harper documentary. “For shooting something of this magnitude — four stages, 80,000 people — I hired cinematographers who I could trust to translate the feeling I was trying to capture… a classic hand-held documentary style combined with adventurous framing and point of view.”
The film will receive a theatrical premiere Oct. 8 at New York’s Ziegfeld Theater.

Source Billboard.com.

Bruce Springsteen’s 1975 breakthrough album “Born To Run” (Columbia) ranks No. 1 on the most popular albums list in Zagat Survey’s first Music Guide.
Best known for its surveys of restaurants, hotels and other leisure pursuits in major cities, Zagat queried more than 10,000 listeners to create a list of the 1,000 top albums of all time, as well as dozens of other tallies across more than 20 genres and eight decades of music.
Four albums by the Beatles, two by U2, another by Springsteen and releases by Miles Davis and Pink Floyd round out Zagat’s top 10 most popular albums.
“Born To Run,” which peaked at No. 3 and spent 110 weeks on Billboard’s album chart, is also on top of the rock and classic rock lists and No. 5 on Zagat’s overall quality tally. Springsteen & the E Street Band rank eighth on the list of most influential artists, which is led by the Beatles.
Davis’ 1959 release “Kind of Blue” (Columbia/Legacy), No. 6 on the most popular list, is the No. 1 album for overall quality and the top jazz album.
The top hip-hop album is Public Enemy’s 1988 classic “It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back” (Def Jam). The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1972 set “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” leads country albums, Massive Attack’s “Protection” ranks as the favorite electronica set and Howlin’ Wolf’s “Moanin’ in the Moonlight” is at the front of the blues class.
“We knew this survey would be especially challenging since musical taste is so personal and top picks of all time stir passionate arguments,” publishers Tim and Nina Zagat said in a statement. “To our delight, participants showcased their tastes with a depth of knowledge that stands up to the most critical musical ear — these are people who know chapter and verse on their preferred genres and they avidly shared memories and associations that their favorite recordings evoke.”
The Zagat survey found that fans listen to music 24 hours each week, more than five of which is conducted on computers and MP3 players. Participants spend an average $343 per year on music to stock an average collection of 516 titles; 53 percent download music from the Internet and 55 percent burn their own CDs.
Source CNN.com.

Aterna/jam band O.A.R. will be hitting the college circuit this fall. Following the university run, O.A.R. will step things up and headline a string of dates at larger venues, including a two-night stand at NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom. O.A.R will also be opening for 311 on two nights in November in Providence, RI and State College, PA. The band just wrapped a stint aboard the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour where they shared the stage with N.E.R.D., Robert Randolph & The Family Band, and The Roots. In addition to rocking the mic, O.A.R. have seen the single “Hey Girl” from their major label debut, In Between Now And Then, hit the Top 40 chart.
Source Pollstar.com.

When “Headbangers Ball” returned to TV sets earlier this summer, metal fans rejoiced. Now, MTV2 – the show’s new home – is putting a little more icing on the cake and sending three bands out on the road to give some headbanging lessons in person. Killswitch Engage, Lamb Of God, and Shadows Fall will rotate and co-headline the MTV2 Headbangers Ball tour, which explodes onto stages starting October 28 in Canada. Confirmed dates stretch into the beginning of December and more are expected to be added. Opening act Unearth will perform for the first leg of the tour, with God Forbid tackling the second part.
Fans can study up on their current metal by catching “Headbangers Ball” as it airs on MTV2 every Saturday night at 10 p.m. EST, or by picking up the MTV2 Headbangers Ball album.
Source Pollstar.com.

A DVD commemorating the closing of the famed San Francisco venue

If you ever find yourself in the twin city vicinity, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Walker Art Center are both a must-see. Featuring work from masters past and present including Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, and Claes Oldenberg, there is never a dull moment within these artistic confines.

According to a vague message posted on drummer Frankie Banali’s website, the 80s metal band Quiet Riot have apparently called it quits, although a DVD is still slated for release next month.
“There may be many of you who have questions as to the breakup of QUIET RIOT. There is nothing more I wish to add at this time other than I am disappointed that the band no longer exists. Beyond that, unless in the future I am given reason to make further comments, there is nothing further for me to say on this subject as I believe it to be inappropriate. I’d also like to add that it is my understanding that the QUIET RIOT DVD will still be released on October 7, 2003. Thank you for understanding.”
Source frankiebanali.com.

Instant Live and Coca Cola have teamed up with moe. to present the band’s fall tour. Now, all fans will have the chance at the end of each show to purchase soundboard CDs and walk away with them minutes later. Fans may note that this will not effect their regular taping policy, and know the band is excited to be the first to try this technology on a full-fledged tour.
Please check the tour page for participating shows.

The Disco Biscuits are bringing their New Year

The Flaming Lips will release a seven song EP called Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell on November 18th. It will be their second EP released this year following Flight Test, which featured Beck, Radiohead and Kylie Minogue covers.
The EP will include remixes of “Ego Tripping” and “Do You Realize?” as well as four new tracks including “A Chance at Christmas (Say It Isn’t So).”
Source Rollingstone.com.

Wilco will be appearing with Sonic Youth on the new PBS show “Soundstage” this weekend. Sonic Youth’s performance will deliver the usual part rock, part free-form noise, part avant-garde punk delivery, featuring a new song “Sympathy for the Strawberry.” Following Sonic Youth, Chicago-based Wilco will take the stage with their blend of idiosyncratic pop sounds from their most recent album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Highlights include “War on War” and “Jesus.”
Check your local listings or go to wilcoworld.net for further details.

Widespread Panic has announced plans for a two-night New Years run in Atlanta to close out the year before going on a previously announced indefinite hiatus. Claiming to be the only time fans can see the band in 2004, tickets are sure to go quickly.
All info can be found at the band’s website.

A Perfect Circle, whose second album, Thirteenth Step, arrived in stores Tuesday (September 16), has announced its fall North American tour. The current lineup which features Tool singer Maynard James Keenan, ex-Marilyn Manson bassist Jeordie White (a.k.a. Twiggy Ramirez) and former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, made its live debut this past summer on a short club tour and some Lollapalooza dates.
October 31 – San Antonio, TX – Freeman ColiseumNovember 1 – Houston, TX – Reliant ArenaNovember 2 – New Orleans, LA – Voodoo FestivalNovember 4 – Pensacola, FL – Bay Front AuditoriumNovember 5 – Birmingham, AL – Boutwell AuditoriumNovember 7 – Tampa, FL – USF SundomeNovember 8 – Pompano Beach, FL – Pompano Beach AmphitheatreNovember 9 – Jacksonville, FL – Moran TheatreNovember 11 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock LiveNovember 13 – Knoxville, TN – ColiseumNovember 14 – Memphis, TN – Mid-South ColiseumNovember 15 – Nashville, TN – Municipal Auditorium
Source launch.com.

Phish will play a four-show run beginning Thanksgiving weekend, culminating in a 20th Anniversary performance at Boston’s FleetCenter on December 2.
The Boston show comes twenty years to the day of Phish’s first performance, at an ROTC dance on the campus of the University of Vermont. While the exact date has been the subject of some dispute over the years, carbon dating, diligent research and a little common sense confirmed that December 2, 1983 was indeed the date of the band’s first show.
At the end of December, Phish returns to Florida for a four-night run at American Airlines Arena in Miami, including a three-set New Year’s Eve show. The shows are the band’s first performances in Florida since their millennium festival at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in 1999.
ticket info can be found at [url]http://www.phishtickets.rlc.net

Political singer/songwriters Steve Earle and Billy Bragg will join ex-Rage Against The Machine/current Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello next month for the Tell Us the Truth tour. Timed to coincide with the start of the 2004 presidential race, the three-week tour of U.S. clubs is slated to kick off in early November. Due to scheduling conflicts, Earle won’t join the others until Nov. 11.
Before extending to the Northeast, the tour — which will also feature Lester Chambers of the Chambers Brothers — will dip into Florida in time for the forthcoming World Trade Organization meetings in Miami, Earle tells Billboard.com. According to Earle, Morello, famed for his innovations and often unusual technique on the electric guitar, will be playing acoustic sets.
Earle says the tour is looking, quite simply, for more honesty and accountability from the mass media in their coverage of elections and the wars in Afghanistan and, especially, Iraq.
Source Billboard.com.

The Republican-led U.S. Senate on Tuesday defied Bush administration opposition and voted to rescind new regulations allowing large media companies to grow even bigger.
The Senate approved, 55-40, a resolution that would roll back the Federal Communications Commission (news – web sites) rules allowing television networks to own more local stations and permitting conglomerates to own a newspaper, television stations and radio outlets in a single market.
The measure faces a tougher battle in the U.S. House of Representatives and a threat of a veto by President Bush if it reaches his desk.
The Republican-led FCC narrowly adopted the new rules in June, which would allow television networks to own local stations that collectively reach 45 percent of the national audience, up from 35 percent.
The new rules permit one company to own a newspaper, a television station and several radio stations in a single market, lifting a decades-old ban on cross-ownership. A company would also be permitted to own two local television stations in more local markets.
The regulations were drawn up under the leadership of FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who argued the relaxed limits were necessary to reflect the proliferation of cable, satellite television and the Internet offerings as well as preserve over-the-air broadcast television.
Television networks like Viacom Inc.’s CBS and News Corp.’s Fox contended they need to acquire more local stations to better compete against cable and satellite television services.
Critics, ranging from the National Rifle Association to Consumers Union as well as Democrats and Republicans in Congress, charged that the rules would narrow the choices of viewpoints and cut local news coverage.
Source CNN.com.

Stephen King, brand-name writer, master of the horror story and e-book pioneer, is receiving this year’s honorary National Book Award for lifetime achievement medal for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters. The prize, worth $10,000, was announced Monday by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization that sponsors the awards.
“This is probably the most exciting thing to happen to me in my career as a writer since the sale of my first book in 1973,” King said in a statement issued by the foundation.
“I’ll return the cash award to the National Book Foundation for the support of their many educational and literary outreach programs for children and youth across the country; the Medal I will keep and treasure for the rest of my life.”
King, who turns 56 next Sunday, will be presented the award at the annual National Book Awards ceremony, on November 19.
Source cnn.com.

David Bowie has announced US dates for his upcoming winter tour They follow Bowie’s U.K. arena outing and will continue through the new year Macy Gray is slated to accompany Bowie as a special guest on the North American leg. Additional shows are forthcoming.
The trek, titled A Reality Tour, is expected to include 17 countries over an anticipated seven months. Currently, Bowie is wowing fans in Europe on the arena outing, a marked change to his tour plans in recent years. The US portion begins December 6th in Atlantic City and includes shows at Boston’s Fleet Center and New York’s Madison Square Garden.
For a full list of the tour schedule visit Pollstar.com.