Sports and Music Concert Blog

American television has been nearly taken over by shows offering a chance for regular folks to make it big. With American Idol, America's Got Talent, and So You Think You Can Dance leading the fray, anyone with a penchant for the stage now believes they might just become famous. And some of them actually do, as many of the contestants and winners have become household names over the last few years.

Recognizing that star-making isn't their only task, these shows put a lot of effort into entertaining the audiences with elaborate production numbers and celebrity guests. They've also, in the cases of AI and SYTYCD, staged concert tours across the U.S. to further build their brands and fanbases.

This year is no different. The American Idols Live! summer tour is currently underway, although a few of the dates were canceled due to poor ticket sales, a phenomenon happening industry-wide this year. SYTYCD recently announced their fall itinerary and line-up.

The season seven contestants on the bill are Adechike, Ashley, Billy, Jose, Kent, Lauren, and Robert. Unfortunately, the wildly popular Alex Wong won't be on tour as he is recovering from surgery for an injury incurred a few weeks ago.

A number of All Stars will also be performing: Ade (season five), Allison (season two), Courtney (season four), Dominic (season three), Kathryn (season six), and Russell (season six).

Nigel Lythgoe, a judge and co-creator of the hit Fox show, boasted, "Now in its seventh season, we continue to marvel at the raw talent discovered on this unique show. We are so pleased to share this talent with thousands of fans across the country. It's also very exciting to be able to include All Stars on this tour."

The 40-date SYTYCD Tour kicks off in New Orleans on September 19 and makes its way across the land to Glendale, Ariz. on November 17. As with the 2009 slate, Toronto is the only Canadian city to host the dancers. Otherwise, coverage across the lower 48 is pretty even with every region getting a healthy dose to enjoy.

With a little bit of luck, slouching economic factors won't come into play and the tour can proceed as planned. Hopefully, everyone will be and stay healthy for the duration of the touring schedule, too. This season has been plagued with injuries with both Ashley and Billy suffering blows alongside Alex.

Of the show's routine requirements, Ashley said, “We’re going through a lot…[but] we don’t think about it being too much, because we have so much adrenaline pumping and we’re so excited [about] learning new routines that we really don’t realize if we’re injured or not.”

September 19 - New Orleans, LA - Lakefront Arena
September 21 - Houston, TX - Reliant Arena
September 22 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre
September 24 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
September 25 - St. Louis, MO - Chaifetz Arena
September 27 - Duluth, GA - Arena at Gwinnett Center
September 29 - Miami, FL - American Airlines Arena
September 30 - Orlando, FL - Amway Arena
October 2 - Charlotte, NC - Time Warner Cable Arena
October 3 - Richmond, VA - Richmond Coliseum
October 5 - Baltimore, MD - 1st Mariner Arena
October 6 - Trenton, NJ - Sun National Bank Center
October 7 - New York City, NY - Radio City Music Hall
October 9 - Mashantucket, CT - MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods
October 10 - Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Arena
October 11 - Boston, MA - Agganis Arena at Boston University
October 13 - Rochester, NY - BlueCross Arena
October 15 - Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum
October 16 - Atlantic City, NJ - Boardwalk Hall
October 17 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
October 19 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
October 20 - Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena
October 22 - Pittsburgh, PA - CONSOL Energy Center
October 23 - Louisville, KY - KFC Yum! Center
October 24 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
October 26 - Rosemont, IL - Allstate Arena
October 27 - Milwaukee, WI - Bradley Center
October 29 - Rockford, IL - Rockford's MetroCentre
October 30 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
November 2 - Broomfield, CO - 1stBANK Center
November 4 - West Valley City, UT - Maverik Center
November 6 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
November 7 - Portland, OR - Rose Garden
November 9 - Sacramento, CA - ARCO Arena
November 10 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion at San Jose
November 12 - Las Vegas, NV - The Theater for the Performing Arts Center at Planet Hollywood
November 13 - San Diego, CA - San Diego Sports Arena
November 14 - Ontario, CA - Citizens Business Bank Arena
November 16 - Los Angeles, CA - STAPLES Center
November 17 - Glendale, AZ - jobing.com arena

Jason Aldean has come a long way from his first-ever performance at Macon, Georgia's VFW Hall. This summer, he's playing all sorts of festivals, fairs, and special events such as the Sturgis Rally in front of throngs of adoring fans. Come fall, Aldean reinvigorates his Wide Open Tour of arenas.

Kicking things off on September 10, Aldean plays Corbin, Kentucky's Expo Center. Luke Bryan opens most of the shows on the 25-date trek. The 2010 Wide Open swing is a continuation of what started in 2009 — with 39 sold-out shows — and resulted in a live DVD release.

“We’ve had such a great year with some really big songs and our first big arena tour, and I’m just not ready to move on from it quite yet,” Aldean said in the statement. “All of us...my band, crew, Luke, and his guys...we’ve been having a blast out on the road together. I think the fans can feel that too. There are a few things to count on. The music will be loud, the beer will be cold, and college football will be on every TV backstage and in the parking lot."

Instead of Bryan, Uncle Kracker will be in the opening slot when Aldean hits Moline, Ill. on October 23. After that, Aldean's chart-topping buddy will be back on board for the remainder of the tour.

Although the fall tour covers a lot of ground, the Heartland gets a lot of love as Aldean goes to Oklahoma City and Springfield on his way to the South. Indiana and Texas both get a few opportunities to go Wide Open, too, though Texas is as far west as the routing goes.

Ending at home in Georgia, Aldean plays Columbus on November 18 and then goes Wide Open in Duluth as the last show of the run on November 20 at the Gwinnett Center. Aldean hops over to Birmingham in between on November 19.

“We’re gonna have some new music out there pretty soon — hopefully have the album out… somewhere around November possibly,” Aldean said. He’s “definitely workin’ on it, tryin’ to get in the studio whenever we have a day off, work on it a little bit and get it out before the end of the year.”

Although rumors have been circulating about the possibility of a rap influence on the as-yet-untitled new project, Aldean would like to assuage those concerns. He hasn't sold out his roots by any means.

"I don't know why all these nasty rumors about rap songs keep coming up,” Aldean offers. “It's not a rap song ... I never say never but I will say that I'm a country singer. I am definitely not a rapper. So if I was to do anything like that, it's not going to be Kanye West-style or anything."

Still, according to Aldean, the new album is not going to be business as usual: "It'll be aggressive and loud and is going to have some surprises," he says.

Roger Waters, The Wall Live Tour To Feature David Gilmour For One Night Only

It's not quite as good as how Ozzy Osbourne hired Randy Rhoads or the coin toss between Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival, but it's close.

The story of how Roger Waters got David Gilmour to make one surprise appearance on his upcoming The Wall Live Tour is a classic rock and roll tale.

Gilmour had asked Waters to sing Phil Spector's "To Know Him is to Love Him" at a charity event.  The song was a tongue-in-cheek homage to the duo's rocky relationship.

Waters liked the idea of the song but not the idea of singing it.  He instead offered to perform "Comfortably Numb" and "Wish You Were Here."

However, Gilmour was relentless.  He spent weeks trying to to convince Waters to sing the Spector song but to no avail.  Waters was just too afraid of what he might do to the classic pop number. 

With the charity event looming, Gilmour made one final attempt to secure the services of his former Pink Floyd bandmate.

Here's the final sales pitch as described by Waters:

"[Gilmour said] 'If you do "To Know Him Is To Love Him" for The Hoping Foundation Gig, I’ll come and do "‘C. Numb" on one of your Wall shows'.  Well!  You could have knocked me down with a feather.  How f***ing cool!  I was blown away.  How could I refuse such an offer.  I couldn’t, there was no way.  Generosity trumped fear.  And so explaining that I would probably be s***, but if he didn’t mind I didn’t, I agreed and the rest is history.  We did it, and it was f***ing great.  End of story."

Yes, that is F***ing great.  In fact, there aren't enough "*" to show just how great it is.  When Gilmour joins Waters on The Wall Live Tour it will be just the third time the two legends of rock have performed together since their bitter split in the early 1980's.

Basically, buying a ticket to see Roger Waters perform The Wall Live in concert is like entering the lottery.  That's because Gilmour has yet to announce which show he'll be performing. 

The North American leg of the Wall Live Tour launches Sept. 15 in Toronto (the first of three shows) and wraps Dec. 21 in Mexico City. 

After a three month break, Waters launches the European leg.  The string of concerts begins March 21 in Lisbon, Portugal.  The final Wall show, perhaps of all-time, is set for Düsseldorf, Germany on June 18.

Gilmour could appear at any of nearly 100 concerts.  Of course a few cities are more likely than others to witness the duo's reunion. 

Toronto is a good candidate as well as London, Gilmour's home town.  Waters' concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City also looks good.   Other strong possibilities include the Roger Waters show in Boston and the Roger Waters show in Philadelphia.

The internet seems convinced that the western quadrant of the United States, including Texas, is out.  If that's true, that means no chance of seeing Gilmour when Roger Waters plays the Hollywood Bowl or the Roger Waters show in Houston, Texas.

That also means no luck for those with tickets to see Rogers Waters in Las Vegas.

BSTLV predicts Gilmour will show up at the London concert—even someone as cool as Gilmour will take the path of least resistance when it comes to traveling.  Why fly to a show when you can drive?

When the Brooks & Dunn Last Rodeo Tour was announced for 2010, they probably didn't know that so many different kinds of dust would be kicked up around it.

First, there was an issue with megatickets – tickets from venues that entitle the purchaser to attend several different shows with one pass – being put on sale prior to the Brooks & Dunn fan club pre-sale dates.

That debacle caused quite a stir with long-time fans who joined the club in order to get good seats for the tour. One fan commented on the B&D website that “It is like the mafia is taking over the tickets for the best country acts. I hate the megaticket concept!”

Next up, a number of shows had to be postponed due to illness. It seems Ronnie Dunn needed to rest his voice for a spell: "Following my doctor's order, shutting up, getting well and comin' back asap!"

Stops in Virginia Beach and Bristow, VA were among the rescheduled performances, but the duo's festival appearances on June 29 in Milwaukee, WI, and July 8 in Ft. Loramie, OH had to be canceled.

Now that things are back on track and the tour is underway, a few new dates were added to the itinerary -- Oklahoma City, Little Rock, and Holmdel. With three shows already ticked off the calendar, this weekend Brooks & Dunn hit Minot for the North Dakota State Fair on July 23.

The Last Rodeo Tour keeps the pair mostly in the Heartland with a few jaunts out of that pocket. It's no surprise that towns like Omaha and Cheyenne are on the slate. However, most people don't necessarily think of Boston as a country music hot spot, but when Brooks & Dunn play the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Mass. on August 13, it'll be just that.

Opening acts vary throughout the trek. Gary Allan is on tap for most of the first string, through August 8. After that, Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, and Merle Haggard hop on to support a few shows each.

Announcing their retirement, B&D wrote: "After 20 years of making music and riding this trail together, we have agreed as a duo that it's time to call it a day. This ride has been everything and more than we could ever have dreamed.... We owe it all to you, the fans. If you hear rumors, don't believe them, it's just time.”

The last show of the Last Rodeo finds Brooks & Dunn in Nashville on September 2. It's a fitting place to end the era of the most successful duo in all of music history regardless of genre. And it's no doubt a fitting place for each of them to start anew.

However, if the Judds are any sort of harbinger, fans can take a bit of solace in the fact that a B&D reunion may very well happen at some point in the future.

James, Wade, Bosh Make Heat Instant Championship Contender

You can't tell by watching the toadying talking heads on ESPN but there are a lot of basketball fans very upset at LeBron James for signing with the Miami Heat and giving that franchise the big three of him, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

One person who showed nothing but disdain for James' decision was Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.  He wrote an open letter that was so scathing towards "The so-called King" that the league fined him $100,000. 

NBA Commissioner David Stern, while nowhere near the level of Gilbert's animosity, was critical of the way James made his announcement—during an hour-long program called "The Decision" that aired on ESPN.  Stern said he would have counseled the superstar to inform the Cavs of his decision before the television special.

Then of course there are the thousands of ravenous Heat fans in Miami.  The night James announced his decision to come to South Beach fans partied in the streets like the team had just won the NBA Championship.

Regardless of whether your feelings are similar to Gilbert's, the average basketball fan living in South Beach or somewhere in between, the deal has been done.  Every hoop fan has to come to terms with the fact that LeBron James will be selling Miami Heat tickets for years to come.

There's no sense in continuing to parse James' decision.  All that's left is for basketball fans to look forward to the 2010-11 NBA season and ask the one and only pertinent question: will the Miami Heat reach the NBA Finals?

Before answering that query, let's take a quick look at how the 2010-2011 Miami Heat team is shaping up.

Dwyane Wade resigned with the Heat on July 7.  Later that day, Chris Bosh (formerly of the Toronto Raptors) made his intentions known that he was coming to Miami. 

The following day, James changed the course of NBA history and announced his decision to relocate to South Beach and play with fellow superstars Wade and Bosh.

Eventually, both James and Bosh signed 6-year, $110 million contracts—both men could have signed more lucrative contracts with other teams.  In resigning with the Heat, Wade also took a "cut in pay."  His deal is worth a mere $107.5 million and it's also for 6 years.

The Heat now has a two-time NBA MVP (James), an NBA Finals MVP (Wade), and a guy that can give you 20-10 a night (Bosh).  All three demand a double team which will make defending the Heat a challenge for every team in the NBA.

The downside to obtaining three guys with a combined 17 NBA All-Star appearances (in just 21 combined seasons) is you don't have much money to pay for anyone else.

While that's true, the same reason Wade, James, and Bosh took "pay cuts" is also the same reason role players are agreeing to take less money to sign with the Heat—the possibility of winning an NBA championship.

The Heat has resigned Udonis Haslem and James Jones (the team had bought James out of his contract on June 30). 

Miami also added free agents Mike Miller (Washington Wizards) and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cleveland Cavaliers). 

Miller is a world-class three-point shooter.  He'll flourish standing on the three-point line waiting for Wade, James, or Bosh to pass out of the double team.

Haslem can rebound and score in the post while Jones is a three-point specialist like Miller.  Ilgauskas is 35 and battles nagging injuries, but when he's healthy and rested he's a good rebounder and shot blocker.

Other players expected to join the Heat are center Jamall Magloire, point guard Carlos Arroyo, and power forward Juwan Howard.

The Heat's roster also includes rookie center Dexter Pittman, veteran center Joel Anthony, and point guard Mario Chalmers.

Wade has played with Haslem for his entire career while James can say the same about Ilgauskas.  Meanwhile, Haslem and Miller are close friends and former Florida Gators.

Obviously, chemistry won't be a problem for the Heat especially when everyone is sacrificing money for the sole purpose of winning an NBA title.

Despite the lack of funds, the Heat is compiling a nice collection of talent to surround their really nice collection of talent.  That's important as even the Boston Celtics' "Big Three" needed help to win a title (see Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, and Glenn Davis).

Returning to the question of will they reach the NBA Finals, already Las Vegas bookmakers have the Heat as the odds on favorites to be both the Eastern Conference and the NBA champions.

Somewhere along the way if coach Erik Spoelstra appears to be over his head the mastermind behind the Heat's wheeling and dealing, Pat Riley, is waiting to take over.  Riley has won five titles as a head coach including one with the Heat.

The Orlando Magic, the aforementioned Celtics, and the revamped Chicago Bulls may disagree but it appears the only major roadblock standing in the Heat's way is injuries.  But then again every team in the NBA is susceptible to the injury bug.

Egos may rear their ugly heads and sink the Heat but not in the way you might think.  Scoring and getting shot attempts aren't as important as they used to be.  Thanks to a guy by the name of Michael Jordan, winning titles has become the preferred measuring stick of NBA greatness.  Therefore we don't anticipate Wade, James, or Bosh complaining about not getting enough touches.

However, it's easy to be unselfish when everything is going well.  It's much more difficult to endure a decrease in shot attempts when your team is losing.  Maybe the Heat won't suffer a swoon, but if they do it will be interesting to see how the "big three" react.

It will also be interesting to see how South Beach fans and James' naysayers respond if this team fails to win the ultimate prize.  A Heat season ending in failure will be much bigger news than a Heat season ending with the hoisting of the Larry O'Brien trophy.

And that may be the Heat's ultimate enemy—pressure.

In Cleveland, James had 11 excuses why he didn't win a title (his teammates).  Now that he's one third of a superstar trio he has no excuses (the same goes for Wade and Bosh).  This team isn't supposed to win one championship they are supposed to win several.  That's a lot of pressure for a team to handle, even a team with Heat's roster. 

How Sweet The Sound 2010: The Celebration Coming To Cities All Over America

It's time to get your "praise on."

How Sweet the Sound 2010 gets underway Sept. 9 in Houston, Texas.  The tour, which is scheduled to visit 14 U.S. cities, is not only a glorious night of gospel music and community building, but a nationwide search to find the best church choir in America.

This uplifting program began in 2007 in Memphis, Tennessee.  It was so successful that full-scale tours were launched in 2008 and 2009—both of which visited 11 markets.  This year the tour will travel to 14 of the nation's biggest cities including Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

How Sweet the Sound is an American Idol-like competition with a few notable differences (like no Simon Cowell).  Of course, that's to be expected since it's a live tour and not a weekly television spectacle. 

Any church choir consisting of 6 to 100 singers and affiliated with a religious organization possessing a tax-exempt ID number was eligible to compete.  To enter the contest, choirs had to submit a short performance video.   The choirs were restricted to singing songs from a playlist provided by contest organizers.

Beginning July 18, fans will vote online for their favorite choirs.  Fan voting will help decide which choirs will appear at the various tour stops (organizers call the 14-market itinerary "regionals").

At each tour stop, local choirs perform and are then judged by choir experts and leaders within the gospel music industry. 

The winning choir will be selected during the finale show which is scheduled to take place in Washington D.C. on Nov. 13.  At that event all the "regional winners" will perform one last time for the judges.  Along with the title of "Best Church Choir in America" comes $50,000 in cash and prizes.

Besides the choirs, professional gospel singers will also be on hand, most notably 11-time Grammy Award winner, CeCe Winans. 

Scheduled to join her at various stops are Byron Cage, James Fortune, Dorinda Clark Cole, Lonnie Hunter, Richard Smallwood, Maurette Brown, Kurt Carr, John P. Lee, Israel Houghton, Tamela Mann, and Dwight Stone.

Tickets for How Sweet the Sound 2010 are on sale now and are quite affordable.  You can get in to any venue for either $5 or $7.

By the way, the 2009 Best Church Choir in America went to the Atlanta West Pentecostal Church.

The tour is sponsored by Verizon.  So be prepared to be inundated with cell phone ads.

>>September 9 - How Sweet the Sound in Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
>>September 11 - How Sweet the Sound in Jacksonville, FL @ Veterans Memorial Arena
>>September 14 - How Sweet the Sound in Memphis, TN @ Fedex Forum
>>September 17 - How Sweet the Sound in Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
>>September 18 - How Sweet the Sound in Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
>>September 22 - How Sweet the Sound in Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
>>September 24 - How Sweet the Sound in Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
>>September 25 - How Sweet the Sound in Detroit, MI @ Joe Louis Arena
>>September 27 - How Sweet the Sound in Chicago, IL @ United Center
>>September 30 - How Sweet the Sound in Charlotte, NC @ Time Warner Cable Arena

>>October 2 - How Sweet the Sound in Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
>>October 5 - How Sweet the Sound in Saint Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
>>October 9 - How Sweet the Sound in Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
>>October 11 - How Sweet the Sound in Los Angeles @ Staples Center

With Broadway culling its inspiration from anywhere and everywhere these days, including Green Day's American Idiot album, the animated Lion King movie, and more, it is no wonder that a popular, dance-centric film like Billy Elliot would make the grade.

The independent British film about a young man in a working-class town who trades in boxing gloves for ballet shoes became a smash hit after its release in 2000. Awards rushed in and screenwriter Lee Hall saw the writing on the wall – Billy Elliot the Musical. And he did just that, penning the book and lyrics while bringing in Sir Elton John to handle the musical duties.

The movie's director, Stephen Daldry, and choreographer, Peter Darling, were also on board when the first staging of the musical opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London's West End in 2005.

With nine Laurence Olivier Award nominations and four wins, they had a success on their hands, in fact, "the greatest British musical I have ever seen," if you asked the Daily Telegraph. Five years and counting, London's Billy Elliot staging continues its successful run.

After London got going, the team headed Down Under to conquer Sydney and then Melbourne, and win seven Helpmann Awards. Soon enough, they had a Broadway staging in the works. It opened in late 2008 at the Imperial Theatre to more rave reviews and mounds of awards, including 10 Drama Desk Awards and 10 Tony Awards.

If critics are right, and the show is "so exhilarating that at times you feel like leaping" and "almost like being in love," then it's no wonder why it has enjoyed so much success. Though expensive to put on, the production recouped its investment in a mere 14 months. With those sorts of gangbuster numbers, a touring company was inevitable.

The first non-Broadway staging in the U.S. put Billy Elliot in Chicago at the Ford Center for Performing Arts earlier this year. Though producer Eric Fellner proclaimed the show "will be here until such time as Chicago says 'go away'.... We can only do one production at once," a second touring company was announced, complete with a bus-and-truck itinerary covering a number of cities.

Opening at the end of October in Durham, North Carolina, Billy Elliot will be at the Durham Performing Arts Center for about two weeks before moving on to Cleveland's State Theatre. At the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Billy Elliot runs from December 16, 2010 to January 9, 2011.

Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte hosts Billy Elliot in January before the company moves on to Tampa and Houston in February. Eventually, the run in Chicago will wind down and one or the other of the touring Billy Elliot companies will hit Tempe, Portland, and Dallas in 2011, as well.

No doubt more cities will be added to the slate as the tour progresses.

Lady Gaga Continues 'Monster Ball Tour' With Summer Leg

Lady Gaga is hurting teenagers!

No, this isn't the opinion of a bunch of smarty rock snobs and music geeks.  It's the opinion of the AAO.  You may know them better as the American Academy of Ophthalmology (eye doctors).

That's right, Lady Gaga is contributing to the eye pain of teenage girls all over the world. 

In her video for "Bad Romance," Lady Gaga is shown having "doe-eyes."  In other words, the colored part of the eye is larger than normal.

Apparently the effect is all the rage among today's young women but to achieve the look one needs to wear special contact lenses.  These lenses make the wearer's eyes look real big like the female characters in Japanese anime.

The lenses, which not only cover the iris but part of the whites of the eye, are being purchased on the internet because it's illegal in the U.S. to sell contact lenses without a prescription.  That includes cosmetic contact lenses.

The AAO recently released a statement warning parents and teen that anything you put on your eyeballs should be check out by a doctor first.  Using the "Gaga" contact lenses could result in inflammation and pain and may even lead to serious eye troubles like corneal abrasions (great band name) and blinding infections.

But here's the thing, Gaga only has the doe-eyed look for a few shots in the video and the effect wasn't created through contact lenses but through a computer.  Also, she didn't start the fad.  Young women in Japan, Singapore, and South Korea have been doing this for quite awhile (shocker, who would have ever thought women in Asia would want to look younger and endanger their health in the process). 

Of course it's easier to draw attention to an ailment if you can attach it to a big-time celebrity.  And right now who's bigger than Lady Gaga? 

It also doesn't help that there's a YouTube video called "Lady Gaga Bad Romance Look” which has been viewed nearly 10 million times.

This is not the first, nor will it be the last time Lady Gaga is embroiled in controversy.  Although it's unlikely she'll ever be mentioned in the same article as an optometrist ever again (bet Madonna never bothered to endangered people's eyesight before).

The irony of the situation is it's a good thing if you're a teenage girl and all you want to do after watching the video for "Bad Romance "is get doe-eyes.  The video, while visually stunning, is rather an adult piece of art.

This summer, fans of Lady Gaga, at least the ones that haven't gone blind, can see the pop star on her highly rated Monster Ball tour.

Lady Gaga is currently selling tickets for her tour's second North American leg.  The outing, which began in late June, is scheduled to last until Sept. 19 when she plays the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Her itinerary includes multi-night stands in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver, Edmonton, St. Paul, and Philadelphia.  When the leg is finally over, Lady Gaga will have played 43 shows in 31 markets.

After a couple weeks of recuperation, Lady Gaga returns to the road but this time in Europe—she resumes her Monster Ball Tour in Helsinki on Oct. 13 (the first of two shows in that city).  She has a slew of concerts planned for Europe including gigs in Paris, Vienna, Milan, and Madrid. 

Lady Gaga finishes touring for the year on Dec. 17 with a show at London's famed O2 Arena (the second of two concerts at that venue).

The theatrical and visually appealing Monster Ball Tour began way back in November of 2009 and is set to continue in 2011.  Lady Gaga has a handful of dates, mainly on the east coast, mapped out for February, March and April.

The sartorially inventive songstress is still supporting her 2008 debut album The Fame and 2009's follow up, The Fame Monster.  Her sophomore effort used songs originally intended for The Fame re-release and clocks in at just over 34 minutes.  The Fame Monster is a bit darker than its predecessor and features the track, "Bad Romance."

>>July 14 - Lady Gaga in Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
>>July 15 - Lady Gaga in Indianapolis, IN @ Conseco Fieldhouse
>>July 17 - Lady Gaga in St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
>>July 20 - Lady Gaga in Oklahoma City, OK @ Ford Center
>>July 22 - 23 - Lady Gaga in Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
>>July 25 - 26 - Lady Gaga in Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
>>July 28 - Lady Gaga in Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
>>July 31 - Lady Gaga in Phoenix, AZ @ U.S. Airways Center

>>August 3 - Lady Gaga in Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
>>August 11 - 12 - Lady Gaga in Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
>>August 13 - Lady Gaga in Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
>>August 16 - 17 - Lady Gaga in San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion at San Jose
>>August 19 - Lady Gaga in Portland, OR @ Rose Garden Arena
>>August 21 -Lady Gaga in Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
>>August 23 - 24 -Lady Gaga in Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place
>>August 26 - 27 - Lady Gaga in Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
>>August 30 - 31 -Lady Gaga in St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center

>>September 2 - Lady Gaga in Milwaukee, WI @ Bradley Center
>>September 4 - Lady Gaga in Auburn Hills, MI @ The Palace of Auburn Hills
>>September 5 - Lady Gaga in Pittsburgh, PA @ Consol Energy Center
>>September 7 - Lady Gaga in Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
>>September 8 - Lady Gaga in Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena
>>September 14 - 15 - Lady Gaga in Philadelphia, PA @ The Wachovia Center
>>September 16 - Lady Gaga in Hartford, CT @ XL Center
>>September 18 - Lady Gaga in Charlotte, NC @ Time Warner Cable Arena
>>September 19 - Lady Gaga in Raleigh, NC @ RBC Center

Out of the remnants of the Grateful Dead, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir have created Furthur. The idea sparked after the surviving Dead members joined forces for a Deadheads for Obama tour in 2008 and again in 2009 for a Dead tour. Lesh saw the writing on the wall and felt the magic in the air as he collaborated with Weir.

"The main thing about that Dead tour, though, was realizing how much I loved playing with Bobby. As we went through that tour," Lesh said, "it just got better, and better. And it turned out he felt the same way about playing with me. So we went out for dinner after that tour and said, ‘What are we waiting for? Let’s make a band.’’’

Bringing in guitarist Jeff Chimenti from Weir's band Ratdog, John Kladlecik of Grateful Dead tribute band Darkstar Orchestra, and drummer/percussionist Joe Russo, Furthur was ready to hit it. And, so, they have, playing shows round and about in modest venues last fall before ramping things up this summer, including at the All Good Music and Nateva festivals.

In addition to those festivals, East Coast fans have a few chances to catch a summer show. After All Good Music on July 9, Furthur hits Philadelphia on July 10 and 11. At the end of the month, Furthur plays New York City on July 28 and 29.

Bridgeport is also on tap for July 30 when Furthur rocks the Gathering of the Vibes festival. The only scheduled date in August, so far, is San Francisco's Outside Lands fest.

This fall, though, western Deadheads will have many more opportunities. Starting off in Eugene, Furthur has a number of dates on the itinerary.

Redmond, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Las Vegas all play host to the Weir/Lesh combo in mid-September. Ticket sales for Furthur's two Red Rocks shows have been so brisk, a third night was added. Fans just can't get enough, and neither can the musicians.

Because Furthur has only been together for about a year, that new-band smell is still fresh, at least for Lesh: "Maybe because we're not the Grateful Dead anymore, there aren't those expectations that inevitably rise when you've been playing together for years. To me, this is all very exciting."

Weir agrees: “Phil and I have been playing together for so long that if he shades something one way or the other, I know where he’s going. But the object really is to surprise each other, and that’s where the fun is. I think with John, there are more surprises than not, so I want to know him a little better so I know where he’s heading.”

Commenting on the intersection of past and present, Lesh adds, "There are points of similarities and many differences. There's more focus now. There don't seem to be any of the distractions to the actual making of the music."

Furthur's set list includes Dead classics and rare gems from the 1965 to 1995 years to keep the torch burning. Lesh says, “There’s still all this great stuff we rarely played like ‘Rosemary’ and ‘What’s Become of the Baby?’ that is fun to bring back. I think the word is getting out there: Don’t go expecting any particular songs, but what you’ll see will be very cool.’’

  

Serj Tankian's Busy September: 'Imperfect Harmonies' Drops, North American Tour Launches

Is it just me?

Am I the only person who rolls their eyes in disgust whenever they hear musicians speak about their music? 

Am I the only one who can't stand it when musicians pontificate and dissect their work?

I understand the creative process is personal, complex, and arduous.  I get all that, but do they have to explain their work like they're some bombastic art critic who just swallowed a thesaurus?

Take Serj Tankian for example.  He's the great frontman for System of the Down and in the last couple of years he's been one of music's most vibrant solo artists. 

Tankian released his first solo album, Elect the Dead, in 2007 and is set to release his second, Imperfect Harmonies, on Sept. 7, 2010. 

He's one of music's best and brightest, but not when it comes to describing his latest opus:

"Though there are live drums, bass, and some guitars, the driving aspects are electronic and orchestral. It's quite unique in its sound palette. This is, in essence, music that has sat in the vat and matured to a ripe sensation and is now ready to serve."

Now, I really enjoyed Elect the Dead and I can't wait for Imperfect Harmonies, but what in the heck is a "sound palette?"  And with all that talk of vats, ripeness, and serving is he making a casserole or an album?

Don't get me wrong. I'll be the first in line for Serj Tankian tickets when they go on sale, but I just don't really care to hear his fustian justifications of his music.

Tankian continues...

"I have been calling the music 'electro-orchestral-jazz-rock' because it has all of those aspects in prominence within the songs.  A few are more stripped down, but the majority of the songs have this huge wall of sound presented in a way I've never heard before. It's not common to have a song that is both electronic and orchestral since one is synthetic and the other organic, but I found a way of meshing a lot of these colors together."

The phrase that really sticks out for me is "I've never heard before."  Sorry Tankian, but you have heard it before.  Everything has been "heard" before.  There's nothing a musician can do that hasn't already been done.  To put it another way, everything sounds like something else.

Furthermore, these pompous explanations, whether by Tankian or another musician, are never accurate.  Instead of giving insight into a particular oeuvre they usually just set me up for disappointment.  It turns out that an artist's flowery and gushing imagery is nothing more than pretentious hype.

The other reason I get frustrated listening to, or reading, a musician's ostentatious interpretation of their work is I don't care what they think.  I care about what they do.

I would like to know what inspired Tankian to write the "Sky is Over" or "Baby" or the absolutely captivating "Empty Walls."

I would like to know how he got a particular sound or the challenges he overcame in the recording studio.  Now that's interesting.  It's far more insightful than an artist waxing philosophically about their muse and vision.

Ultimately, an artist's music should speak for itself.  And fortunately for fans, we'll be able to hear Tankian's music speak for itself this September.  That's not only when his new album drops but it's also when he goes on tour.

Tankian kicks off the North American leg of his Imperfect Harmonies World Tour Sept. 12 in Calgary, Alberta.  His schedule has him on the road until Oct. 9 in Miami Beach, Florida.  Right now the plan is for Tankian to visit 17 markets in the U.S. and Canada.

The actual commencement date for the Imperfect Harmonies Word Tour is Aug. 7 in Pori, Finland.   He'll be in the Old World through August.

While in Europe, Tankian will appear at a number of festivals including ARTmania, Terra Vibe, Pukkelpop, Leeds, and Reading.

Backing Tankian up will be his band FCC.  Unfortunately decorum prevents me for relaying what the initials "F-C-C" actually stand for.

>>September 12 - Calgary, AB @ Jack Singer Concert Hall
>>September 13 - Edmonton, AB @ Winspear Centre
>>September 15 - Vancouver, BC @ The Centre For Performing Arts
>>September 17 - San Francisco, CA @ Nob Hill Masonic Center
>>September 18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
>>September 20 - San Diego, CA @ Humphrey's
>>September 23 - Austin, TX @ The Backyard
>>September 25 - Detroit, MI @ Fox Theater
>>September 26 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
>>September 28 - Buffalo, NY @ Center for the Arts
>>September 29 - Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
>>September 30 - Montreal, QC @ St. Denis Theatre

>>October 2 - Philadelphia, PA @ Keswick Theatre
>>October 3 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
>>October 7 - Tampa, FL @ Mahaffey Theater
>>October 8 - Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live at Universal Studios
>>October 9 - Miami Beach, FL @ Fillmore Miami Beach

Stand-up comedian Daniel Tosh has his autumn plans all mapped out. The Tosh Tour Twenty Ten: A Comedy Central Live Event kicks off on September 24 in Tucson and covers 60 cities.

Prior to the September start, Tosh hits Reno on July 10 and Las Vegas for two nights, July 23 and 24. Once the fall trek gets underway, it doesn't stop until late November when Tosh plays Santa Rosa. In between, he'll basically do a big loop around the U.S.

After three performances in Arizona, Tosh lands in Albuquerque for one show and then conquers five different cities in Texas. From there, it's across the Southland and down into his home state of Florida, the place he credits with pushing him into comedy because it's "flat, hot and dumb." (He grew up in Titusville.) Tosh covers Jacksonville on October 15 before hitting Miami and Tampa.

Making his way up the East Coast, Tosh plays Greensboro on October 23, along with stops in Atlanta, Roanoke, and Louisville. Once he's in the Northeast, Tosh yucks it up in New Haven before hopping over to Amherst, Mass. and even up to Oreno, Maine.

Winding his way back down the coast and then through the Midwest, Tosh makes it to Spokane on November 18. It's all downhill from there.

Having burst onto the comedy scene in 2001 with an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Tosh never let up. He followed that with stints on The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live! before finding a home at Comedy Central.

It was on Comedy Central Presents that he broke through with his own 30-minute special in 2003. A few years later, they broadcast his stand-up special, Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious. He also hosted various other programs for the network, such as Live at Gotham.

Then came the notion of Tosh doing a full-on show. According to Tosh, the show had humble beginnings: “Comedy Central owed me money, and they didn't want to pay it to me without doing something in return. We had tried to do a couple shows that failed in concept, and so they sent me an email -- I saved the email -- and it was about four lines saying, 'Do a show about the internet. Make our website a little more relevant, but not like a talk show.' So, we did that... that's how the show came about. And it continues to morph into whatever we want it to be.”

And morph it does. These days, Tosh has a multi-level deal with Comedy Central that includes his television show (Tosh.0), a popular blog, the concert tour, and a comedy special that was filmed recently in San Francisco and is set to air on October 3. The performance will also be released on CD and DVD.

Tosh's wildly successful TV show just got re-upped for a third season. In it, he analyzes various aspects of the Internet. Viral videos and clips punctuate his commentary, as does a segment entitled “Web Redemption” in which the subjects of embarrassing videos have a chance to redeem themselves.