August 16, 2004

Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts is being treated for throat cancer, a spokesperson for the band said today (Aug. 14). The 63-year-old musician was diagnosed in June and has completed four weeks of a six-week course of radiotherapy at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital.

“He is expecting to make a full recovery and start work with the rest of the band later in the year,” the spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The spokesperson said Watt’s treatment had not interfered with any tour or recording plans for the Stones, who have been “relaxing between work commitments” following a world tour last year.

Known as the most laid-back member of the band he joined more than 40 years ago, Watts has also performed with a variety of jazz ensembles.

Source:billboard.com

Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland have confirmed their only US show of the year.

The pair, who are currently working on songs for their third album, will appear at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles (November 20).

The performance is part of ‘A Sounds Eclectic Evening’, a benefit for Los Angeles independent radio station KCRW.

More acts will be announced in the coming months, but Rilo Kiley have confirmed support.

Coldplay made their live US radio debut on the station in 2000.

Last year

Phish called it a career last night (Aug. 15) at the end of the second day of its weekend-long finale in Coventry, Vt. Before a crowd of more than 70,000 fans, the Vermont-based jam band wrapped things up with a rare performance of “The Curtain With,” which guitarist Trey Anastasio told the crowd he’d written in 1985 while living in a cabin in a neighboring town.

Yesterday’s three-set affair was understandably an emotional one. During the second set, both keyboardist Page McConnell and Anastasio broke down in tears while addressing the audience.

Set three was a surprisingly mellow affair, opening with “Fast Enough for You” and winding down with “Slave to the Traffic Light,” before a massive fireworks display was set off just outside the concert grounds at the Newport State Airport.

The quartet was on fire during the first set, offering definitive versions of “Mike’s Song,” “Weekapaug Groove,” “Chalkdust Torture” and “Possum,” among others. Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon brought their mothers, as well as longtime manager John Paluska, onstage to dance during the jam in “Wolfman’s Brother,”

Early arrivals to the festival awoke Saturday to the news that state police had begun turning away cars approaching the concert grounds. More than 20 miles of traffic backed up on I-91 and conditions at the mud-filled camping area deteriorated due to heavy rains.

In a move that echoed 1969’s Woodstock festival, thousands of fans abandoned their cars on the side of the highway and walked or hitchhiked to the concert site, an effort profusely praised by the band once it took the stage that evening.

After a tentative Saturday first set that featured such older staples as “Run Like an Antelope,” “Axilla,” “Sample in a Jar” and a closing cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire,” the band hit peak form during such second set stunners as “AC/DC Bag,” “David Bowie” and “Character Zero.”

The band seemed to mirror the fatigue of the crowd during its third set, fashioning strange, psychedelic jams out of “Stash” and “Free.” But a second wind gave life to a cover of the Who’s “Drowned” and an encore rendition of the smile-inducing “Harry Hood.”

The concerts were simulcast on XM Satellite Radio and in Regal Cinema movie theatres throughout the United States.

Source billboard.com.