September 2006

R.E.M. will perform three songs with original drummer Bill Berry to celebrate its induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, to be held Sept. 16 in Atlanta. Berry has only played three times with his longtime colleagues since exiting the band in 1997, most prominently at the October 2005 wedding of R.E.M. guitar tech Dewitt Burton.

At that performance, the foursome played a seven-song set of classic early material, including “Sitting Still,” “Radio Free Europe” and “Wolves, Lower.” In April, Berry joined vocalist Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills to perform R.E.M.’s “Country Feedback” at an Athens, Ga., show by Buck’s side band, the Minus 5.

While the group rehearses for the Hall of Fame ceremony, it is “considering recording something for a yet-to-be-announced charitable project,” according to a post from manager Bertis Downs on R.E.M.’s Web site.

Following the induction, R.E.M. will end a year-long hiatus and hit the studio to begin work on the follow-up to 2004’s critically maligned “Around the Sun.”

Source billboard.com.

For the first time in 30 years, Bob Dylan tops The Billboard 200 with “Modern Times.” Not only is it the legendary songwriter’s first album to reach the throne since “Desire” in 1976, it’s also his highest debuting album and his best sales week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. The Columbia set moved 192,000 copies in the United States in its first week.

“Modern Times” is Dylan’s third consecutive top 10 studio set, following 1997’s “Time Out of Mind” and 2001’s “Love & Theft.” Aside from “Desire” and “Modern Times,” only two other Dylan albums assumed the plateau on the chart: 1974’s “Planet Waves” and the 1975 classic “Blood on the Tracks.”

Source billboard.com.

Barely a week after longtime keyboard player Ed Harsch left the band for “personal reasons,” today Black Crowes fans were notified via a posting on the band’s official message board that another longtime member, guitarist Marc Ford, would also be leaving.

To the fans:

Yesterday, The Black Crowes were notified by Marc Ford

Indie-rockers Art Brut and We Are Scientists are set to link up for a co-headlining tour of North American clubs that launches Sept. 18 in North Carolina and runs for more than a month.

The UK’s Art Brut continue to tour behind their critically acclaimed debut set, “Bang Bang Rock and Roll,” which was issued overseas last year. A US version of the set, which contains three bonus tracks, was released in June.

Brooklyn-based We Are Scientists issued their debut album for Virgin, “With Love and Squalor,” in January. The set was recorded last spring with producer Ariel Rechtshaid (Foreign Born, Dirty Little Secret) and followed three self-released EPs.

September 2006
18 – Carborro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
19 – Atlanta, GA – The Roxy
20 – Orlando, FL – The Social
21 – Miami, FL – Studio A
22 – Tallahassee, FL – Club Downunder
23 – New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jack’s
24 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
25 – Austin, TX – Emo’s
26 – Dallas, TX – Gypsy Tea Room
28 – Phoenix, AZ – Brickhouse Theatre
29 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
30 – Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theatre

October 2006
2 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
4 – Eugene, OR – WOW Hall
5 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
6 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom
7 – Seattle, WA – Neumo’s Crystal Ball
9 – Salt Lake City, UT – In the Venue
10 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theatre
11 – Lawrence, KS – The Granada
12 – Chicago, IL – Metro
13 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
14 – Toronto, Ontario – Opera House
15 – Montreal, Quebec – La Tulipe
16 – Cambridge, MA – Middle East
17 – Washington, DC – Black Cat
18 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
19 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
20 – Philadelphia, PA – Starlight Ballroom
21 – Ithaca, NY – Cornell University

Ziggy Marley, eldest son of late reggae legend Bob Marley, sets out this fall on a headlining tour behind his sophomore solo effort, “Love is My Religion.”
Marley has mapped out an ambitious itinerary that gets underway on the West Coast in mid-October and touches down in more than three-dozen cities throughout the US by the time it wraps up in early December. Tickets for most shows will hit the box office in early September. Details are included below.

October 2006
14 – Cabazon, CA – Key Club at Morongo Casino (on sale 9/9)
15 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore (on sale 9/10)
17 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues (on sale 9/9)
19 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst (on sale 9/5)
20 – Santa Margarita, CA – Pozo Saloon (on sale 9/9)
21 – Medford, OR – Main One Center for the Arts (on sale 9/8)
23 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom (on sale tba)
24 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom (on sale 9/9)
25 – Seattle, WA – Showbox (on sale 9/9)
27 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot (on sale 9/8)
28 – Telluride, CO – Telluride Conference Center (on sale tba)
29 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre (on sale 9/9)
30 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater (on sale 9/9)

November 2006
3 – Minneapolis, MN – The Quest (on sale 9/9)
4 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theater (on sale 9/9)
5 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues (on sale 9/9)
8 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club (on sale 9/7)
9 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza (on sale 9/8)
10 – Providence, RI – Lupo