Photos by Robert Massie of O.A.R. with Pepper and The Southland, Tower City Amphitheater, Cleveland, OH
Plans fails to pick things up a notch in the rock department where Transatlanticism teased us in believing DCFC would be the next great experimental guitar band. There is a load of keyboard sap and wish washy ballads to deal that makes Plans a rather soft affair.
Maybe next time instead of recording in New England in the dead of winter, these west-coasters should stay in overcast Seattle and stick with a familiar formula. The true Death Cab sound is still here at times, but at the end Plans leaves you asking, “what is all the fuss about?”
It began, fittingly enough, with jazz from New Orleans natives Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis. But “A Concert for Hurricane Relief,” a heartfelt and dignified benefit aired on NBC and other networks last night (Sept. 2), took an unexpected turn thanks to the outspoken rapper Kanye West.
Appearing two-thirds through the program, he claimed “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” and said America is set up “to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible.”
The show, simulcast from New York on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and Pax, was aired live to the East Coast, enabling the Grammy-winning rapper’s outburst to go out uncensored. There was a several-second tape delay, but the person in charge “was instructed to listen for a curse word, and didn’t realize [West] had gone off-script,” said an NBC spokesperson.
West’s comment about the president was cut from NBC’s West Coast airing, which showed three hours later on tape.
Comedian Mike Myers was paired with West for a 90-second segment that began with Myers speaking of Katrina’s devastation. Then, to Myers’ evident surprise, West began a rant by saying, “I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they’re looting. See a white family, it says they’re looking for food.”
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Pearl Jam will visit South America for the first time later this year. Area fans have been clamoring for the band to tour the region for years, having collected thousands of signatures on a petition that was sent to band’s representatives. At deadline, eight shows were confirmed, beginning Nov. 22 in Santiago, Chile.
The group will also visit Buenos Aires and four cities in Brazil, as well as play two Mexico shows in Monterrey and Mexico City. The only show that is already on-sale is the Nov. 25 stop in Buenos Aires. Information about fan club ticketing is available on Pearl Jam’s Web site.
Last night (Sept. 1), the veteran Seattle outfit kicked off its fall tour in George, Wash., with a 36-song show split into acoustic and electric sets. The trek continues to Vancouver tonight and will wrap Oct. 3 in Philadelphia.
As previously reported, Pearl Jam has also launched its own digital download site for authorized bootlegs of shows from the tour.
Here are Pearl Jam’s South American tour dates:
Nov. 22: Santiago, Chile (venue TBA)
Nov. 25: Buenos Aires (Boca Juniors)
Nov. 28: Porto Alegre, Brazil (venue TBA)
Nov. 30: Curitiba, Brazil (venue TBA)
Dec. 2: Sao Paulo, Brazil (venue TBA)
Dec. 4: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (venue TBA)
Dec. 7: Monterrey, Mexico (venue TBA)
Dec. 9: Mexico City (venue TBA)
Source billboard.com.
A host of top acts have joined the bill for Saturday’s (Sept. 10) “ReAct Now: Music & Relief” special, which, as previously reported, will air live on MTV, VH1 and CMT and raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Among the new additions are the Rolling Stones, Kanye West, Paul McCartney, Kelly Clarkson, Audioslave and Neil Young.
Live or taped performances will also be included from Alan Jackson, Staind, Melissa Etheridge, Motley Crue, Dashboard Confessional, Good Charlotte, Maroon 5, John Mayer, Common, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock and the Goo Goo Dolls.
Among the performers that have strong connections to areas devastated by Katrina are Nine Inch Nails leader Trent Reznor, 3 Doors Down, the Neville Brothers and rappers Lil’ Wayne and Baby.
“ReAct Now” is already confirmed to feature participation from Green Day, Usher, Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews Band, Rob Thomas, Ludacris, Gretchen Wilson, John Mellencamp and Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington.
Source: billboard
Big Star vocalist/guitarist Alex Chilton has been rescued from New Orleans, according to the group’s longtime producer, Terry Manning. Chilton’s specific whereabouts at this point are unknown, but several friends report that he is now safe after having waited several days to evacuate his New Orleans home.
Source: billboard
A four-disc DVD set of the nine international concerts held on July 2nd as part of Live 8, an initiative organized by Bob Geldof to pressure the G8 to address extreme poverty in Africa, will be released on November 8th. A “generous” royalty from sales of the package — which features performances from artists ranging from Paul McCartney’s duet with U2’s Bono on “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” to Pink Floyd’s reunion — will go to the Band Aid Trust for African relief.
The first three discs focus on the shows at London’s Hyde Park and at Philadelphia’s Museum of Art, with highlights from the events in Paris, Rome, Berlin, Tokyo, Moscow, Toronto and Johannesburg. In addition to the McCartney/Bono concert opener, duets include McCartney and George Michael, Stevie Wonder and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, and Coldplay and Richard Ashcroft.
The third disc closes with the entire Hyde Park lineup performing the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” The final disc features a behind-the-scenes documentary of the London show, Pink Floyd’s reunion rehearsal and other extras.
Source: RollingStone
