2003

A film chronicling last fall’s star-studded George Harrison tribute at London’s Royal Albert Hall will open Oct. 3 in select U.S. cities. Filmed in high definition and recorded in 5.1 surround sound, “A Concert for George” will be released worldwide on DVD in November, distributed internationally via ArenaPlex LLC.
Legendary guitarist Eric Clapton served as the music director for the event, which featured appearances by Harrison’s surviving Beatles bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as friends Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Joe Brown, Anoushka Shankar and Billy Preston. Among the Harrison songs they performed were “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “I Want To Tell You,” “Inner Light,” “Give Me Love,” “Taxman,” “I Need You” and “For You Blue.”
The event also saw members of Monty Python re-enacting some of Harrison’s favorite skits. Harrison financed and served as an executive producer of the comedy troupe’s second feature film, 1979’s “Life of Brian.”
The theatrical engagement will open in New York, Los Angeles and other select U.S. cities to be determined.
Source Billboard.com.

The day after Dave Matthews’ releases his RCA solo debut, “Some Devil,” the Dave Matthews Band will play a benefit show in New York’s Central Park that is expected to draw upwards of 100,000 people. F
America Online is sponsoring the show and is using it to hype the newest version of its software, AOL 9.0. The concert, which RCA will tape for an immediate DVD and CD release, will be held on the park’s Great Lawn and will raise funds for the AOL Concert for the Schools! program, which will benefit The Fund for Public Schools of New York City and the Music Resource Center in DMB’s homebase of Charlottesville, Va.
Tickets are free and can be obtained through AOL and DMB’s official fan association, the Warehouse. Donations of at least $25 are requested and all seats are general admission. The band is also offering Warehouse/fan club members “preferred viewing section passes,” which includes access to a backstage barbecue picnic and an exclusive viewing area on the Great Lawn
“Some Devil,” which features guest appearances from regular Matthews collaborator Tim Reynolds and Phish’s Trey Anastasio, will kickstart a busy season for Matthews-related releases. According to a source, a CD/DVD of the Central Park show will be released in November, followed early next year by a three-DVD/six-CD collection taped at the band’s three-night September 2002 stand at the Gorge in George, Wash.
Source Billboard.com.

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel unveiled plans for their first major concert tour since 1983, due to kick off Oct. 18 at the Palace of Auburn Hills outside Detroit. The trek, dubbed Old Friends, will run through mid-December and will visit around 30 markets. Tickets for some shows will go on sale Monday (Sept. 15).
Shows will find the legendary folk/rock duo performing both acoustically and with a full backing band, which will include drummer Jim Keltner and guitarist Mark Stewart, who played on Simon’s 2000 Warner Bros. album “You’re the One.”
“We’d like to stay as true to the spirit of the Simon & Garfunkel period and our work in the ’60s and early ’70s as we can,” Simon said. “If not note-for-note, then certainly we don’t intend to reimagine that work. We’re going to try to capture it as it was and not alter it.”
Although the bulk of the set lists will be drawn from “the body of the five albums we produced,” according to Simon, a handful of songs from the artists’ respective solo careers will be featured. Simon said he had always imagined his 1977 hit “Slip Slidin’ Away” as a Simon & Garfunkel song, while Garfunkel has frequently included Simon’s “American Tune” in his solo performances.
The pair embarked on a short tour in 1994, but remained apart for the rest of the decade amid reports that relations between the two artists were strained. But after being presented earlier this year with a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys — which they opened with a rendition of “The Sounds of Silence” — the seeds were planted for a full-scale reunion.
For a full list of cities vistit Billboard.com.

Phish bassist Mike Gordon has announced his first-ever solo tour, a 9-date run in support of his solo debut Inside In, released last month on Ropeadope Records. Kicking-off October 5 at the Fillmore in San Francisco, the tour will stop at 8 cities, playing theatre and clubs in major markets throughout the United States before concluding on October 16 at New York’s Irving Plaza.
Marking his first outing as bandleader, the tour will feature a seven piece all-star group handpicked by Gordon that is as eclectic in its instrumentation as it is in personnel. Comprised of longtime Phish collaborators James Harvey on keyboards and Gordon Stone on pedal steel and banjo, as well as trombonist Josh Roseman (Dave Holland, Charlie Hunter), guitarist Scott Murawski (Max Creek), tap dancer and vocalist Jeannie Hill, vocalist and flutist Julee Avallone and drummer Doug Belote (Anders Osborne, Tony Furtado), the band will perform songs from Inside In as well as other material from within and without.
Tourdates:
10/5 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA10/7 – Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO10/8 – Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO10/10 – Vic Theatre – Chicago, IL10/11 – Bogarts – Cincinnati, OH10/13 – Theatre of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA10/14 – Toad’s Place – New Haven, CT10/15 – Avalon – Boston, MA10/16 – Irving Plaza – New York, NY
Guitarist Kaki King will support all dates.
Specific ticket sales information for all shows is available from Phish.com

The Flaming Lips are in the bag of acts slated to open for the Chili Peppers’ fall outing. The Lips hop onboard October 8-21, while Mike “Uncle Punkrock” Watt & The Secondmen stay on through the 27th. French Toast support September 16-25 and Queens Of The Stone Age appear 18-25.
It’ll be the fourth round of dates for the Peppers’ seemingly never-ending tour. The outing, which began last June has already seen the band play South America, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and Europe in support of their latest album, By The Way.
Source: Pollstar

Singer-songwriter and music legend Warren Zevon passed away on Sunday,September 7 at the age of 56. Zevon had survived 9 months longer than doctors had anticipated. Instead of retreating from the world, he bestowed upon it one final gift — a masterpiece of an album titled The Wind.
Zevon had written many terrific songs over the years and, of course, will always be remembered for “Werewolves of London” and “Excitable Boy.” His dark humor filled his tales with caustic sarcasm, but he also had a softer side, one that was frequently overlooked. It’s this side of Zevon that makes The Wind resonate so fully.
Source: musicbox-online.com