Concert Dates, Concert Tour News, Artist Information

New Live Set from ZZ Top

On October 20 Eagle Rock will release the aptly titled ZZ Top concert DVD Double Down Live, which will feature performances from 1980 and 2008. According to guitarist Billy Gibbons, the Definitely Then half of the double disc boasts a 22-song performance from the 1980 Deguello tour, filmed at the Gurgahalle in Essen, Germany for the TV show Rockpalast, while the second disc (called Almost Now) shows footage from scattered dates in 2008, such as shows in Las Vegas and San Francisco. Gibbons told Billboard.com of the set, “(The DVD) shows that one thing’s for sure—we’ve maintained our propensity not only to play loud but have a good time kind of bouncing around the deck. With only three guys in the band there’s plenty of room to create havoc and raise a little sand. That’s what we’ve always done.”

ZZ Top’s tour with Aerosmith was cancelled subsequent to Steven Tyler’s fall on stage on August 5 but the band is continuing on with its own headlining dates. ZZ Top will play dates into late October, playing in North America, the Netherlands, the U.K. and Singapore. After their road trip, Gibbons says ZZ Top plans on entering the recording studio with producer Rick Rubin and maybe even the Black Keys.

Get all your ZZ Top tickets at StubHub.

Tim McGraw Sets the Record Straight About Concert Dos and Donts

Country singer Tim McGraw wants every fan to have a blast at his lively concerts, but there are certain things that are just plain unacceptable.  The musician was quoted on Pollstar.com as saying: “It’s all about enjoying yourself and not messing with other people’s fun.  And I certainly don’t think you should be abusive to women.  I think that’s No. 1 right there.”  In the past, McGraw has thrown out rowdy and disruptive fans from at least a couple of his concerts in the past year and a half.  At one particular show, McGraw stops in his tracks during the tune “Indian Outlaw,” calls his security and literally pulls a guy up onstage by his shirt so the disruptive fan can be hauled away.  Lesson learned: don’t mess with McGraw.

In other McGraw-related news, the singer has a brand new cologne on the market called “Southern Blend,” which is marketed to the true Southern gentlemen.  See this gentleman live onstage by going to Stubhub and getting your own pair of Tim McGraw tickets today!

Thom Yorke may be releasing a 12”

Radiohead is awash with rumors right now. A fan could be forgiven for believing the band is building up to something, in fact. We’ve had two songs released, with rumors of an EP and that frontman Thom York will supposedly contribute a track to the second Twilight movie, New Moon. The songs are real enough, but so far, none of the rumors have held water. Maybe that’ will change.
Pitchfork is reporting a new rumor which is floating around out in the Internet that says Yorke will be releasing a 12” sometime late in September. The very limited edition pressing will include a mere 8,000 copies world-wide. The two songs you can expect to hear on it will be titled “Apart By Horses” and “The Hollow Earth.” Again, it would be very surprising of these rumors turned out to have something to them, but stranger things have happened—especially with Radiohead. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that the band will head out on tour in the West. They’ve played a few shoes in Europe this year, but no formal tours have been announced. When and if they are, look for concert tickets on StubHub.com.

Nirvana at Reading gets a remaster

In 1992, Nirvana played an epic show at the Reading Festival. At the time, rumors swirled that the band was going to break up, and that Kurt Cobain was in such poor health that he could die. So as a bit of a gag for fans, Kurt was pushed out on stage in a wheelchair, wearing what appeared to be a hospital gown and a shock of white hair. After struggling to lift himself out of his chair, he collapsed backward. Then the show went on—and it turned out to be one of the best shows the band ever gave.
If you’ve never had the chance to see the show, or you’ve gotten sick of watching the bad bootlegs on YouTube, then there’s some good news for you over at Pitchfork. Apparently tape of the show is going to get remastered and re-released on DVD and CD. This could end up being one of the most popular releases from the band in time, if you consider that their other live record, from their MTV Unplugged performance, is considered a classic collection of songs.
In any case, while you can’t see Nirvana live anymore, you can see their contemporaries. Get concert tickets to see many of the bands of the nineties whenever they’re on tour.

ABC Special to Feature Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney and Sugarland

ABC will broadcast highlights from the CMA Music Festival, which took place earlier this summer, on Monday (August 31), featuring performances by some of country’s brightest shining stars, such as Taylor Swift, Sugarland, Bard Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Kid Rock, Reba McEntire and more. CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock will air from 8-11pm EDT and will feature offstage moments with the country artists in addition to musical performances. This year’s edition of the CMA Music Festival was the sixth year the Country Music Association’s four-day music extravaganza has been taped for network TV.

According to the Country Music Association, attendance at the June festival averages a whopping 56,000 per day, which is up from 52,000 duirng the 2008 installation of the CMA Festival. The CMA Music Festival started in 1972 and was called Fan Fair back then. In addition to seeing performances by the biggest names in country, CMA Festival is known for allowing fans to meet their favorite country singers as well.

Get your Concert tickets to see your favorite country stars live at StubHub. 

Natalie Cole to Appear at the Bowl

The incredible Natalie Cole is going to return to the stage next month, after undergoing a kidney transplant.  She will close out the 2009 Jazz Series on Sept. 9 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.  She is planning to revisit hits from her extensive catalog, including her 1975 Grammy Award-winning debut, “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love),” Inseparable,” “Our Love,” “Pink Cadillac” and “Miss You Like Crazy.”  Last April on Larry King Live, Cole revealed that both of her kidneys had failed because of contracting Hepatitis C.  She underwent surgery on May 18, just a few hours before the death of her sister, Carol from cancer.

Fans of Natalie Cole will not want to miss this extraordinary opportunity to see the acclaimed songstress live onstage.  Stake out a spot at her upcoming show as well as many other concerts by going to Stubhub and obtaining your own pair of Natalie Cole tickets.

Bob Dylan’s Christmas album is coming

When Bob Dylan did a Victoria’s Secret commercial a while back, people started writing eulogies to the spirit of the ‘60s—which was a pretty silly thing to do. The Dylan commercial wasn’t that bad, and in any case, you still have the man’s music to listen to. If you found truth and beauty there before, the world hasn’t crumbled: The lyrics are still the same. But it’s the nature of hardcore music fans to overreact, so naturally they did the same thing when they found out earlier this year that Bob Dylan was going to be releasing a Christmas album. Hand-wringing and ire followed.
But it’s actually an interesting idea. Let the guy take a crack at it and see what he comes up with. If it’s cheesy, decry it for being cheesy. Based on the cover art, which Pitchfork posted recently, it doesn’t look that bad and Dylan seems to know the right tone to strike. Christmas in the Heart, as it’s called, will feature lots of the usual holiday standards, from “Little Drummer Boy” to “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Whether you get the album or not, you definitely want to get concert tickets to see the guy on this latest tour. You never know when he’ll tour again.

What goes into picking ATP’s lineup? Flaming Lips has the answers

In case you haven’t heard, this year’s All Tomorrow’s Parties music festival is being curated by the Flaming Lips. That means they’re picking the lineup, and in a recent interview with Pitchfork, they said they even encouraged the bands to do some different things, just to keep the festival interesting. White-suited madman Wayne Coyne actually came up with some ideas that ATP’s organizers probably wouldn’t have let fly: “When people ask me what I would like to do, I remember telling somebody, not seriously, but just thinking of “Anything is possible” sort of ideas. I thought, “Why don’t we get Muhammad Ali, and we let all the audience come up on stage and punch him in the stomach, one at a time?” Wouldn’t you love to do that?”
The festival won’t let you punch Muhammad Ali, but Wayne did convince one band, Oneida, to bring audience members into their performance, which they did in lieu of his suggestion to cover Yes’ The Fragile. That was probably a wiser idea (nothing against Yes, but you don’t know how many fans will be out there). Anyways, sounds like a fun time—get concert tickets early.

Old folks give their take on Radiohead

“Once you got into it a little bit, it sounded like an intro to a movie. They might want to think about that. As far as listening pleasure? I really don’t think so.” Those are the thoughts from Ann, one of several senior citizens who form the trio known as “Breakfast at Sulimay’s.” The online series brings three older listeners together to hear some of the hottest alternative rock songs in the scene and each give their own opinions on them. Naturally, a majority of the time they find the songs pretty dull or unlistenable.
Stereogum has a post up about a recent episode where they gave their thoughts on Radiohead’s latest release, “These Are My Twisted Words.” The information that’s provided to the trio is incorrect, of course—they tell us that it’s off an EP called Wall of Ice and that the song was previously released under the name “Harry Patch.” But whatever—what the episode is worth watching for is the reactions. Joe has one of the best, saying it’s one of the best songs he’s heard since he started doing this, and gives big props to Phil Selway, who probably doesn’t get big props very often from critics (though he certainly deserves it).
In any case, there’s still hope that Radiohead will tour in this hemisphere, so keep checking StubHub.com for concert tickets.

New Who album coming out!

Young rock stars of today should learn from the example of Pete “Hope I die before I get old” Townsend—what what you say when you’re young. Townsend is still recording and touring, and what’s more, it seems like the Who isn’t planning on going anywhere anytime soon, even if it’s members are all over the hill. In fact, Townsend and Roger Daltry are apparently planning to release a new Who record (with some other musicians, we presume). Pitchfork has the scoop: “Even though their 2006 comeback album Endless Wire was generally ignored and Daltrey is embarking on a solo tour this fall, Townshend has plans to work as the Who again. According to a blog post on the band’s official site, the guitarist and songwriter is currently putting together a musical called Floss that’s apparently “in the style of Tommy and Quadrophenia” and “intended for outdoor performance, or arenas.”
Floss will hit stages across the country, but several of it’s songs will also appear on a new Who record that is due to be released in 2010. It’ll be awesome to see what they cook up, and even more awesome to be able to get concert tickets and see these icons live!