Sports and Music Concert Blog

We just learned that Michael Jackson, the king of pop, has died in Los Angeles at age 50. NBC  News reports that he was found not breathing and was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, apparently from cardiac arrest.

Jackson was trying to revive his career by playing a series of concerts in London at the O2 Dome where the shows were already sold out.

Crowds are gathering at the UCLA Medical Center now. Was Jackson that unhealthy? He wasn't fat. He didn't smoke. He was only 50. So how could he have had a heart attack? What was he eating?!

Mark this as the beginning of the conspiracy theories and the Michael Jackson sightings, just like Elvis. And strangly, Jackson actually married Elvis' daughter.

The very unique Britney Spears is having one heck of a successful comeback tour, if that's an accurate term to describe her new concert tour called “The Circus Starring Britney Spears”.

In fact, it's been so successful that while she's performing to sell-out crowds in Europe she already planned and confirmed a new North American tour for August and September '09.

Britney has already played a her first arena run since 2004 earlier this year with "The Circus Tour Starring Spears" kicking off in New Orleans this past March in support her already platinum-selling album of the same name.

What's more, Britney's first leg of her 'Circus' '09 tour has ended up being the highest grossing tour of 2009 so far.

Britney's 'Circus' extravaganza concert is a delight for the senses. Expect to see unbelievable displays of dance, magic and theatrics, and of course music. The tour has almost 50 dancers, clowns, magicians and acrobats (almost like Cirque du Soleil) and a traveling staff of over 200.

The $50 million production will return to North American again with sixty tons of equipment in 34 trucks!

“The pop star…pulled out all the stops before a sell-out crowd of 16,400 to launch her much anticipated world tour,” states Reuters. Britney is currently touring Europe to raves reviews. “The Circus starring Britney Spears, the relentlessly high octane and superbly choreographed affair delighted 23,000 assembled fans” claims the UK’s Daily Mail, and The Financial Times stating “…with costume changes, a mini-magic show and blingy bicycles, the presentation was a feast for the eyes.”

“I’m so excited to bring The Circus back to North America. I’ve made some really cool changes to the show that I think my fans are really going to love. I also get to bring the show to some new cities we missed the first time around,” exclaims Britney.

Some cities earmarked for the 2nd leg of her tour include Philadelphia, Boston, Houston, TX. And Florida residents will get two chances to see Spears live, in both Miami and Orlando.

Also, New Yorkers will have two days of Britney at Madison Sqaure Garden on 8/24 and 8/25. Tickets for the second North American leg of Spears' tour go on sale June 19.

Yes!  Yes!  I know “All You Need Is Love” is a John song, but I thought it sounded better than “Let it Beet” or “The Long and Winding Rutabaga.”

All this vegetable talk is in regards to Sir Paul McCartney’s recent appeal for everyone to go meatless on Mondays. 

The ultimate goal of these meatless Mondays is to cut down on the amount of gaseous emissions from farm animals and thus slow down the effects of global warming.  Apparently farm animals “emit” more greenhouse gases than all the world’s cars combined—sounds like we need hybrid cows not hybrid cars.

While it sounds a little odd to ask people to give up their Whoppers in order to stop bovine flatulence, Sir Paul has been a vegetarian for decades.  Besides, this type of culinary activism certainly hasn’t hurt the sale of Paul McCartney tickets. 

This summer Paul is everywhere.

Just announced, the former Beatle is selling Paul McCartney New York tickets for an added third show.  This new date, the last of three Big Apple performances (July 17th and 18th), is scheduled for July 21st at the New York Mets’ new ballpark, Citi Field.

These dates continue McCartney’s tradition of performing at the Mets’ home stadium.  In 1965, the Beatles were the first music act to perform in the Mets’ former home, Shea Stadium. 

During Billy Joel’s “Last Play at Shea,” Sir Paul joined “Soused Billy” for one last sing-a-long before they tore the place down. 

Now, Paul McCartney will be the first music act to perform at the Mets’ new digs. 

While it’s definite that McCartney will open Shea (at least for musicians), rumors are swirling about Paul McCartney Boston tickets for two shows at venerated Fenway Park. 

The park’s management has filed for a license to host two concerts, both with pyrotechnics, for August 5th and 6th.  Those dates just happen to coincide with a Red Sox road trip. 

Insiders believe Fenway management is waiting to reveal McCartney’s first ever Fenway concerts until a June 22nd public hearing.

Fenway and Shea aren’t the only historic North American performances Sir Paul has on his schedule in 2009.  Paul McCartney Halifax tickets are on sale for a July 11th performance—his only concert in Canada in 2009. 

Sir Paul’s gig in Halifax overlaps the famous Tall Ships Nova Scotia Festival.  Promoters are expecting 60,000 fans to see McCartney rock the ‘Fax.

Even at 67, Sir Paul McCartney is still delighting fans with his legendary music and he’s still making rock and roll history.  And just like when he was a Beatle, he’s still trying to change the world, only now it’s one meatless day at a time.

Congratulations Los Angeles Lakers for defeating the Orlando Magic to win the '09 NBA Finals. And congrats to Kobe Bryant for winning the MVP.

A 16-0 run in the first half keyed the Lakers to a 99-86 win in Game 5 Sunday night, clinching the NBA Championship and the franchise's 15th title.

Of all the award shows broadcasted on television, the Tony Awards is by far the most welcomed.  For most Americans, it’s their only real glimpse into the world of Broadway.  It’s there one chance to see performances by the original casts, meet top actors and directors, and get caught up on everything that’s transpired over the past the year on the Great White Way.

That’s why the Tonys are the most relevant, poignant and entertaining of all the awards show. 

The 2008-2009 season, which the most recent Tony Awards celebrated, was the best in Broadway’s history.  From May 26th, 2008 to May 24th, 2009 Broadway shows grossed more than $943 million.  That’s up from the $937 million earned in the previous season.  This 0.6 percent increase in gross revenue comes despite lower attendance.  The past season hosted just 12.15 million fans down slightly from the 2007-2008 mark of 12.27 million. 

So a great season on the boards deserved a great awards show.  And that’s exactly what Broadway got last Sunday night on CBS.  Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, the 63rd Annual Tony Awards attracted 7.45 million viewers, a 19 percent increase from the previous year.

The likable and charming Harris, star of the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” was an excellent host.  He stayed out of the way and kept things moving.   While Harris held the shtick to a minimum, he did manage a very funny sushi-mercury poisoning joke aimed at former Speed-the-Plough actor Jeremy Piven.

The show began with a rousing number that featured performers from all the nominated musicals as well as Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Dolly Parton and Stockard Channing.

Stealing the spotlight during this robust opening was Rock of Ages’ Brett Michaels.  During the end of his appearance he hammed it up to the crowd so long that  missed his mark.  This resulted in Michaels’ face getting and up close and personal with a descending piece of scenery. 

Fortunately, Michaels is fine, although he did suffer a broken nose and a busted lip. After the show, his buffoonery was all anyone wanted to talk about.  Yet, despite producing a vintage YouTube moment, his accident wasn’t even mentioned during the rest of the broadcast, proving once and for all, the show must go on.

The over three hour extravaganza ended with Harris singing a recap of the night's big events set to the tune of “Tonight” from West Side Story. 

“This show could not be any gayer/if Liza was named mayor/and Elton John took flight.”

It was an enjoyable and unique way to close out the evening.  Especially since those types of numbers are usually done at the beginning of awards shows, not at the end.

Throughout the night, intersperse between awards presentations, were performances from all the nominated musicals, both revivals and originals. 

The nominated plays were represented by frustratingly short clips.  It would have been nice had they shown longer clips, especially of God of Carnage and The Norman Conquests, respective winners of Best Play and Best Revival of a Play.

The performance of the night went to Trent Kowalik doing the “Angry Dance” from Billy Elliot The Musical.  Kowalik would later win Best Actor in a Musical along with cohorts David Alaverez and Kiril Kulish (all three young men take turns playing the lead role of Billy). 

Composed by Sir Elton John, Billy Elliott would go on to win 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical.  After seeing Kowalik’s powerful performance there was little doubt that Billy Elliot was going home with some serious hardware. 

The most enjoyable performance of the evening went to Hair--finally those hippies got something right.  The “tribe” performed the song “Hair” and eventually invaded the audience with their hippy-dippy, flower power, love show.   The crowd loved it (needless to say Tony audiences aren’t stuffy like Oscar audiences).  Hair would go on to win the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

Throughout the night the show featured performances from three traveling Broadway musicals, Mamma Mia!, Legally Blonde, and Jersey Boys.  The Jersey Boys performance was the last musical number of the night and featured the five actors currently playing Frankie Valli in productions on Broadway, in Toronto, Chicago, Las Vegas and on the national tour.

While the show was plague with problems—Tituss Burgess had to use a microphone during his performance of “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” Carrie Fisher stumbled through an introduction of Next to Normal, a performer fell off the st, crew members were seen when they weren’t supposed to and the audio mix was consistently off—they didn’t at all detract from the fun.  In fact, knowing that anything can happen only added to the excitement.  It was like being at a Broadway show.

Jamie Foxx is one of today’s megastars that so many people never saw coming. Does anyone even remember that Jamie Foxx released a jazz-inspired album back in the mid 90s that went nowhere? Or how long this man had been acting before people finally took note of his skills when his turn as blind R&B legend Ray Charles won him an Academy Award?

Foxx is easily one of the most talented artists in the entertainment industry. He is a triple threat --- he can sing, he can act and he is pretty damn funny. 

In fact, a lot of people don’t even realize that this super slick R&B singer is actually a stand-up comedian. You can really see his talent in this area come through in some of his movie and TV appearances (“Booty Call” and “In Living Color”). 

His real name --- I didn’t even know this – is actually Eric Bishop. He changed it to Jamie when he started doing stand-up and realized that first preference was sometimes given to female comedians. He chose his last name, Foxx, in tribute to comedy legend Redd Foxx.

Jamie Foxx has apparently become so cool that he is even being considered to play the part of Frank Sinatra (yes, the white, “New York, New York,” rat pack Sinatra) in an upcoming Martin Scorsese biopic. Part of the pull to have Foxx play the part of Sinatra has to do with the parallels in their lives. 

Like Sinatra, Foxx has amazing vocal talent, exceptional acting prowess and has a rags-to-riches story that celebrates the fact that he has become such a success, despite the odds being stacked him. 

It seems as though there is hugely increased crossover appeal to today’s pack of prominent R&B singers. From Ne-Yo to Maxwell to Foxx, these guys are not just content to burn up the music charts with their success; they are moving into other areas of the entertainment industry with relative ease.

From dancing to acting and more, today’s R&B celebs are proving their multi-talented abilities and Foxx is leading the pack. He is a very bankable actor, with his turn in "The Soloist" spurring potential Oscar talk. 

He is respected by Hollywood as well as those that support him as a musical artist. He still tours, honing his stand-up skills as a comedian, doing shows around the country. Jamie Foxx stand-up comedy shows in Chicago and Jamie Foxx Las Vegas dates continue to pack fans in anytime he can work in a show.

He can easily converse with both Hollywood heavy hitters and today’s hottest rappers, while still managing to maintain an intimate connection with his fans, an attribute that has helped to make him so successful.

Steely Dan has always been one of the more interesting rock bands.  The cynical duo that comprises Steely Dan, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, cleverly fuse rock, pop, jazz, funk, and R& B with diabolically wry and witty lyrics.

As part of their Rent Party ’09 Tour, these 1970’s rock protagonists are scheduled to perform a series of very unique concerts in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. 

Spread out over several nights, Steely Dan will dedicate an entire concert to performing their classic albums Aja, Gaucho and The Royal Scam in their entirety.  After the band finishes an album, they will then close out their set by performing additional favorites.

For Steely Dan fans that might be a little “hazy” on the band’s discography, Aja (1977) is the album with the red and white ribbon on the cover that features the songs “Peg” and “Deacon Blues.”  Their darkest and most cynical opus, The Royal Scam (1976), features the hit songs “Kid Charlemagne” and “The Fez.”  Gaucho (1980), one of the first albums to be recorded digitally and the prime example of Becker and Fagen’s ruthless perfectionism, contains the classic “Hey Nineteen.” 

In addition to those shows, the band will also play a concert featuring a set list entirely determined by internet voting.  At the time of writing this article, the only city with voting enabled was Boston.  For fans attending shows in New York, L.A. and Chicago they should look for an email from Ticketmaster containing voting instructions.

On Steely Dan’s website it said only ticket holders could vote, but as a non-ticket holder, I was able to vote for the song “Bodhisattva” (in case you were wondering, “Dr. Wu” was the leading the tally).  You’re asked to select one song from a long list although it appears you can vote early and often.  Don’t worry, I won’t be stuffing the ballot box.

Steely Dan Boston tickets are available for the following dates:  July 22nd the band performs Aja; July 24th the band performs Gaucho; and July 25th the band performs their internet request show.  The band is not scheduled to perform The Royal Scam in Boston.

For New York City, Steely Dan Beacon Theatre tickets are available for the following dates: July 28th the band performs Aja; July 29th the band performs Gaucho; July 31st the band performs The Royal Scam; and August 1st the band performs their internet request show.

In Los Angels, Steely Dan tickets are available for the following dates:  August 21st the band performs Aja; August 22nd the band performs Gaucho; August 24th the band performs The Royal Scam and August 25th the band performs their internet request show.

Steely Dan Chicago tickets are available for the following dates:  August 31st the band performs Aja; September 1st the band performs Gaucho; September 3rd the band performs The Royal Scam and September 4th the band performs their internet request show.

This is a brilliant idea for a band like Steely Dan.  When their “records” were originally released (on vinyl no less) music fans still sat around their stereo and listened to entire albums from start to finish.  Nowadays, albums are immediately ripped into a media player and more than likely enjoyed via shuffle or random. 

While performing an entire album live is appreciated, the internet request shows seem like a gimmick.  Sure, there’s nothing better than going to a concert and hearing all of your favorite songs.  Sure, for a band like Steely Dan, with a large catalog of material and a cult-like following, it makes sense but interactivity is not always what it’s cracked up to be. 

After all, you buy Steely Dan concert tickets and then you have to choose their set list too?  You bought a ticket so they can entertain you.  You didn’t buy a ticket so they can put you to work.  Of course, I could be missing the point.  Voting for Steely Dan’s set list maybe the only way you can prevent them from playing “Reelin’ In The Years” for the umpteen time.

Besides these special concerts, Steely Dan is still in the midst of their Rent Party ’09 Tour which lasts until early September.  During late June and early July, the band will put Rent Party ‘09 on hold and venture to Europe for their Left Bank Holiday Tour. 

Like everyone else in the 90s, I was a huge fan of the NBC hit show “Seinfeld.” Before the show, I didn't really care for Jerry as a comedian. I thought, like many others, that his brand of humor was a little too dry and kind of on the corny side.

However, the show itself was funny as hell, with its whole "show about nothing" concept. I mean, probably more than Jerry himself, the cast of characters on that show were hilarious. Kramer. Elaine. George. Frank Costanza (“Serenity Now!”). Newman. The Soup Nazi. Kenny “Ovaltine” Bania. Sue Ellen “Braless” Mischke. There were so many more….too many to list here. And it seemed like the show helped Jerry to be a much better comedian as he still sticks to bringing humor to every day situations.

This is why I, like many Seinfeld fans, are excited to see how funny his new NBC show, “The Marriage Ref,” will be. Now, it is reality TV, which means that no matter what the subject matter, it's gonna be funny.

The people they usually find for these types of shows rival the characters from Seinfeld. They are all somewhat crazy, scarily neurotic and will do anything to provide some entertainment for the camera. The premise of this show will feature Jerry dispensing marital advice, with a twist, to real couples having marriage problems.

His advice is going to be real, sound and freakin' hilarious! This is going to be great. I could only wish to have Jerry Seinfeld as a marriage counselor during epic battles with my spouse. How could you even still be angry after one of his quips?!

Jerry manages to stay so funny because he pretty much stays on tour, always perfecting his comic material. No matter where he goes, Jerry Seinfeld tour tickets are a coveted buy.

Across the country, the story is always the same: Jerry Seinfeld Las Vegas tickets sell like hotcakes, as do Jerry Seinfeld Philadelphia tickets. Even across the border, Canadians can appreciate his brand of humor with Jerry Seinfeld Ottawa tickets going fast. This probably has a lot to do with the way the Jerry manages to make everyday situations seem so funny. This man could make getting up in the morning into some funny joke.

This is why, although most marital problems are decidedly unfunny, “The Marriage Ref” promises to make everyone sit back and have a laugh at the expense of every day life. We all go through it – we might as well sit back and let Jerry make us laugh about it.