Concert Dates, Concert Tour News, Artist Information

Shakira Talks ‘She Wolf’ Lyrics

Colombian songstress Shakira recently sat down with MTV News to talk about her chart-topping album She Wolf, revealing that the often off-kilter lyrics are a result of trying to make songs rhyme! One song on She Wolf, “Long Time,” for example, features the lyrics, “I’m so happy I should get sued,” which the singer says made sense because of the tracks rhyme scheme more than anything else. “Maybe it rhymed. It’s hard to explain your own lyrics, you know,” shrugged Shakira.

The singer explained more about the lyrics in She Wolf saying, “This album has been written from a very feminine perspective. I think maybe because I feel more like a woman today … I guess this album contains a lot of the emotions that a woman experiments when you’re in love or out of love—jealousy, fantasies, daydreams. I even spoke a little about friends of mine—girlfriends of mine—that I see struggling with their own romantic lives … how hard it is for girls to find the right guy.” Read more about Shakira’s lyrics, such as how she name checks Matt Damon in the song “Men in This Town,” at MTV.com. 

Get your Shakira tickets at StubHub.

Slayer Update

Slayer fans may be disappointed that heavy metal outfit Slayer was forced to postpone its European tour (originally scheduled to begin this week in the U.K.). But there is a little silver lining to the announcement. The band recently announced shows in the U.S.A. and also rescheduled dates for the U.K., Europe and Canada. “American Carnage,” set to feature both Slayer and Megadeth, is set to begin on Jan. 18 in Seattle at the WaMu Theatre. Other dates on their list include Portland at the Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 19 and San Francisco at the Cow Palace on Jan. 21, as well as other stops in El Paso, Nashville, Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit. “Canadian Carnage” will feature stops in Quebec City, London, Toronto, Montreal, Moncton and Halifax. Be sure to check out there website for their rescheduled U.K. run!

Ready for some real heavy metal carnage? Get your Slayer tickets today from StubHub!

Nick Cave/Warren Ellis score to be released

In the past few years, the names of Nick Cave and longtime Bad Seed Warren Ellis have been cropping up in music credits almost as often as they have on albums. The crown prince of everything dark and dour has worked on the scores to films like The Proposition and The Assassination of Jesse James (By the Coward Robert Ford)—even making a cameo appearance in the latter movie. Cave’s latest film work is the score to the bleak, post-apocalyptic The Road, an adaptation of a Robert McCormac novel. It’s about plagues, murder, cannibalism and the relationships between fathers and sons. Kind of typical Nick Cave fare.

Pitchfork reports that apparently the score will be released as a record in the near future, which should excite soundtrack aficionados, who will be able to enjoy the film’s haunting music at their leisure. Nov. 23 is the digital release date; the physical release follows on Jan. 12. No word yet if the two musicians will be doing a live tour of some sort to promote the record, but it would be awesome, so let’s keep our fingers crossed to see concert tickets on StubHub.

King Khan and BBQ arrested for drugs

For garage rock lovers, Indian-Canadian King Khan and his cohort, BBQ, represent some of the craziest, most sweat-drenched rock and roll around. There sound has attracted a lot of buzz in indie circles by blending punk and doo-wop, with the end result being a kind of madcap version of ‘50s pop and soul on speed. And according to a Pitchfork blog post, while speed isn’t on the menu, other drugs certainly are.

The two rockers recently had to cancel a show after getting arrested, along with their tour manager, for possession of controlled substances. There was a litany of blog posts and news stories about the arrests, and though there are few details available, it looks like some of the controlled substances in question may have allegedly been magic mushrooms. The band got out on bail while their touring manager remained behind bars in the Christian County Jail. Hm—Christian County, Kansas. Doesn’t sound like a place to get caught with a controlled substance of any kind.

In any case, the band’s live show is phenomenal, so hopefully they get their troubles, legal and otherwise, sorted out soon. When they get back on the road, buy some concert tickets on StubHub.

Dan Deacon throws out his back, cancels shows

Pitchfork is reporting that Dan Deacon, that bearded, bouncy ball of energy, has apparently badly injured his back. No one is exactly sure what happened, but it’s not entirely surprising. The guy gets very, very physical during his live performances, and it’s easy to imagine the repetitive stress on his body would lead to some sort of injury. An injury caused by “acute sciata,” whatever that is.

The end result, sadly, is that Deacon will have to cancel a number of the last shows on his tour, effectively ending it early. It’s a real shame, because few people throw a show quite as fun as he does, but if it means he’s living for yet another tour, then we’re all in favor of it. Let’s hope the guy gets better soon and isn’t in much discomfort.

When he does tour, he tends to stay on the east coast, but hopefully with his increasing popularity, he’ll be able to tour further than ever before, and you’ll see even more concert tickets being sold at StubHub. That will make Deacon fans all over pretty happy.

Take the Pixies Home With You…Sort Of…

Okay, so you can’t take the entire band home with you…but soon you will be able to purchase a recording of their Doolittle live act, which is currently being featured on stages around the country.  The group officially hit the road on Nov. 8 and have been attracting legions of fans to all of their performances.  The recordings are mixed and mastered every night for a truly unique concert experience.  An outfit called Abbey Road has been recording each show since the group started their trek.  For more information about these special limited edition CDs, be sure to visit Doolittlelive.com.

The Pixies are causing a sensation as they travel around the country delivering up tunes from their Doolittle album.  Be sure to catch them live by going to StubHub and getting Pixies tickets, if you can, and if not, you can always opt for a cool CD.

Sunn O))) and other experimental bands gather in Poland

The AV Club occasionally does reviews of unique events or shows around the country that give people a taste of music outside of the mainstream. But staff writer Andy Battaglia really outdoes himself with an article about Krakow, Poland’s Unsound Festival, a music festival specializing in experimental music that has been going on in Poland since 2003. Everything from indie-rock, classical, electronica and even a punky version of traditional Jewish folk songs were all represented at this bizarre and eclectic show. It was spread over several days, and besides the unique bands that Battaglia got to check out, you get a very real sense of what it’s like to visit Poland, where ancient castles and gargoyles stand next to communist-era city blocks. Its sounds amazing, and beautiful, and the perfect place to host a festival like this.

The stars of the night were Sunn O))), a doom-metal band known for doing long sets full of frightening ambient sound and croaked vocals. They’re famous for showing up to their shows dressed in “grim robes,” but the photo Battaglia provides shows the frontman wrapped up like a mummy with branches growing out of him. It’s definitely otherworldly. Check out the review, and if you see concert tickets on sale for Sunn O))) at StubHub, make sure you get them.

And bring earplugs.

Another New Single from Chris Brown

Chris Brown unveiled the third single off his forthcoming album, Graffiti, yesterday (Nov. 12). Brown tweeted about the ballad, titled “Sing Like Me,” saying that it is “for all the ladies,” reports MTV.com, which describes the track as “an R. Kelly-esque slow jam that finds the singer grabbing about his skills with females over a classic 808 drum-machine beat and Asian-sounding strings.” “Sing Like Me” starts off with the lyrics, “Soon as I step out the whip, they spot me / Girls snapping pictures like the paparazzi / So many different type of women I’m into / And I can’t take ‘em all with me is my only issue” and features the chorus “I gotta girl singin’ like me.”

Chris Brown kicks off his “fan appreciation” tour in Houston, Texas on Sunday (Nov. 15). He has already released two singles off Graffiti, the club song “I Can Transform Ya” and another ballad titled “Crawl.” Interestingly enough, Brown’s singles are competing for radio time with three new tracks from his ex-girlfriend Rihanna, who recently dropped three new singles from her forthcoming new album, Rated R. Brown discussed the February altercation with Rihanna on BET’s 106 & Park yesterday and will debut the video for “Crawl” on The Wendy Williams Show later today (Nov. 13).

Get your Chris Brown tickets at StubHub.

Crystal Castles plays to giant crowd at music festival

Brooklyn Vegan has photos and some text about the Fun Fun Fun Fest, a music festival in Austin that brought out a pretty diverse lineup of bands, including electro-punk duo Crystal Castles, which has become known for amazing live shows that are often packed with drama. The band’s pint-sized frontwoman, Alice Glass, is a dynamo. On stage, she bounces around, screeches into the mic and practically explodes on stage—and the crowd eats it up. There are videos online of Alice getting a little too excited and having to be held back by security lest she throw heavy music gear into the crowd. That didn’t happen this time, though Brooklyn Vegan quotes a blogger as saying she might have tried to stab someone with a strobe light several times.

There are a lot of photos from the show, and a handful of grainy YouTube videos as well, which should give you an idea of what it’s like to be at a Crystal Castles concert. It’s loud and energetic, that’s for sure. If you see them on tour, make sure you get concert tickets at StubHub.

The Who are playing the Super Bowl next year

According to Spinner, mod-rockers The Who are the next band expected to take the stage of the Super Bowl halftime show. It’s a major score for the Super Bowl, which has been on a roll in the past few years, netting some major talent, including Bruce Springsteen this year, Tom Petty the year before and Prince in 2007. But having one of the biggest rock bands of the ‘60s taking the musical lead should earn them some extra viewers at home.

Spinner notes that the Super Bowl performance has changed quite a bit, with 2004’s Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson show being a milestone of sorts. The “wardrobe malfunction” that occurred resulted in a lot of angry viewers calling in to vent their frustration with the lack of judgment. As a result, the Super Bowl has since gone with “safe” veteran acts—meaning much more predictable. They’ve been able to count on bands that will deliver a really great show without any surprise nudity. With Prince now much more conservative than in the past, that includes him as well.

In any case, if you’re looking for concert tickets to see any of those acts outside of the Super Bowl, then head on over to StubHub.