Clapton 2011 dates

Eric Clapton announces his initial 2011 North America dates detailing a West Coast run beginning late February and running into March. There could very well be more dates to come as the artist's "plate" is empty until his Euro tour kicks off in May.


Here they are:


Saturday, Feb 26 Seattle, WA Key Arena
Monday, Feb 28 Portland, OR Rose Garden Arena
Wednesday, March 2 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion
Thursday, March 3 Sacramento, CA ARCO Arena
Saturday, March 5 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
Sunday, March 6 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center
Tuesday, March 8 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheater at Universal CityWalk
Wednesday, March 9 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheater at Universal CityWalk

Member Review: Ozzy Osbourne

Member 2By4 sent this to us:

Ozzy Osbourne, the 61-year-old former Black Sabbath frontman, reality TV star and Rock 'n' Roll's Prince of Darkness, showed off his funny side several times throughout his rambunctious two-hour concert.

But nothing beat the show's opening video montage, which placed Osbourne in scenes from various popular TV shows and movies, including Avatar, Jersey Shore, Twilight and Iron Man 2.

He even appeared as Beyonce in Lady Gaga's hit video, Telephone. Just so you know, Osbourne makes one butt-ugly woman.

It was a hilarious few minutes, which had the fans who took in the concert in stitches and screaming their approval.

But opening with such a bang meant Osbourne had a lot to live up to, and fortunately, Osbourne and his band were able to deliver.
  
Although it's difficult to pinpoint his true pinnacle moment (Osbourne has been lucky enough to enjoy several career resurgences over the years) the plain fact is Osbourne's best days are behind him.

He's still an entertaining figure - yelling obscenities at the audience, hopping frantically in one spot, that maniacal laugh - but after years of hardcore substance abuse (which he has since kicked), Osbourne moves as elegantly as an arthritic 92-year-old pensioner.

"Let the madness begin," declared Osbourne as he launched into his 1983 hit Bark at the Moon. Osbourne's voice sounded a little strained, but still good for his age and questionable mental health.

Though never professionally trained, Osbourne possesses an impressive vocal range and distinctive style.

That unmistakable helium-esque tone was still intact, even if he did have trouble hitting all the right notes.

One of the interesting things about Osbourne's career is that he's never really gone out of style. One could argue, he's never really been in style, but that's a whole other debate.

His popularity has never waned with hardcore fans, for whom Ozzy is the everyman hero (in black eyeliner.) His appeal crosses generations as shown by the age-diverse turnout.

Those who probably bought Black Sabbath's self-titled debut in 1970 were joined by teenagers and twentysomethings introduced to the metal guru by his MTV reality show, The Osbournes.

But no matter the age, everyone in the crowd happily stood and sang along to Osbourne's better known numbers such as Mr. Crowley, Suicide Solution and Black Sabbath favourites, Fairies Wear Boots and War Pigs.

Even newer tracks like Let Me Hear You Scream from his latest album, Scream, were greeted warmly.

Lead guitarist Gus G has the added pressure of being compared to some stellar musicians who have come before him in Ozzy's band - namely Zakk Wylde and the late Randy Rhoads.

But Gus G, who played guitar in the Greek metal band Firewind before joining Osbourne's group, held his own with some blistering solos and electrifying riffs.

The rest of the band - keyboardist/guitarist Adam Wakeman, bassist Rob 'Blasko' Nicholson and drummer Tommy Clufetos - were no slouches either and picked up the slack the few times Osbourne's vocals faltered.

Although this was hardly a show-of-the-year candidate, we all had a lot of fun.

I'd never watched a show from backstage before. It's really awesome since you get to see a lot more of what's really going on. Thank you so much BPD.

You're most welcome, 2By4. Glad you NJoyed.

We're starting to receive a lot of new dates for 2011. Act early to get backstage for your favorite shows.

Keith Urban Announces Huge 2011 Tour

Keith Urban is set to return to the road next summer, along with special guests, with a U.S. tour that will debut in Mobile, Alabama on June 16th, 2011.  “Get Closer 2011 World Tour” will have an all-new stage production that will feature Keith’s uniquely hard-charging, captivating live performances; concert events that critics have hailed as “one of the best reasons in the world to attend a live concert”. 

“Get Closer 2011 World Tour” will not only include songs from Keith’s catalogue of hits, including “Better Life”, “You’ll Think Of Me”, “Days Go By”, “Somebody Like You” and “Sweet Thing”, but will feature the debut of music from his just released sixth CD release Get Closer, including his latest “Put You In A Song”.  He recorded the album after losing most of the music equipment he owned to last spring’s flood, which caused more than $2 billion in damages in Nashville alone.

Through the years Keith’s spontaneity and captivating stage presence have resulted in one-of-a-kind concert experiences.  Whether closing his shows with a thru-the-audience trek to a waiting taxi cab outside the arena or signing and giving away a guitar while performing atop a seat back somewhere in the stands, Keith has given his audiences what one critic described as ‘a show which you’d be hard-pressed to top in country – or rock”. 

  Get Closer follows two previous consecutive Billboard country and pop #1 albums, as well as five previous CDs, all of which have been certified platinum or multi-platinum.

Earlier this year Urban picked up the best male video of the year award at the 2010 CMT Music Awards. He was also recognized as the favorite male artist at the People’s Choice Awards.

Here's the full venue list to date:

Thu 06/16/11         Mobile, AL     Mobile Civic Center    

Fri 06/17/11         Jacksonville, FL     Jacksonville Veterans Mem. Arena    

Sat 06/18/11         Tampa, FL     St. Pete Times Forum    

Thu 06/23/11         Columbia, SC     Colonial Life Arena    

Fri 06/24/11         Charlotte, NC     Time Warner Cable Arena    

Sat 06/25/11         Raleigh, NC     RBC Center    

Wed 06/29/11         St. Louis, MO     Scottrade Center    

Thu 06/30/11         Moline, IL     i wireless Center    

Thu 07/07/11         Hershey, PA     GIANT Center    

Fri 07/08/11         Boston, MA     TD Garden    

Sat 07/09/11         Uncasville, CT     Mohegan Sun Arena    

Thu 07/14/11         Newark, NJ     Prudential Center    

Fri 07/15/11         Philadelphia, PA     Wells Fargo Center    

Sat 07/16/11         Albany, NY     Times Union Center    

Tue 07/19/11         Columbus, OH     Nationwide Arena    

Thu 07/21/11         Cleveland, OH     Quicken Loans Arena    

Fri 07/22/11         Grand Rapids, MI     Van Andel Arena    

Sat 07/23/11         Auburn Hills, MI     The Palace Of Auburn Hills    

Thu 07/28/11         Washington, DC     Verizon Center    

Fri 07/29/11         Toledo, OH     The Huntington Center    

Sun 07/31/11         Fort Wayne, IN     Allen County War Mem. Coliseum    

Thu 08/04/11         Duluth, GA     The Arena At Gwinnett Center    

Sat 08/06/11         Nashville, TN     Bridgestone Arena    

Thu 08/11/11         Cincinnati, OH     U.S. Bank Arena    

Fri 08/12/11         Knoxville, TN     Thompson-Boling Arena    

Sat 08/13/11         Augusta, GA     James Brown Arena    

Thu 08/18/11         Tulsa, OK     BOK Center    

Fri 08/19/11         Kansas City, MO     Sprint Center    

Sat 08/20/11         Omaha, NE     Qwest Center Omaha    

Thu 08/25/11         Jonesboro, AR     ASU Convocation Center    

Fri 08/26/11         Tupelo, MS     BancorpSouth Arena    

Sat 08/27/11         Lafayette, LA     Cajundome    

Sun 08/28/11         Dallas, TX     American Airlines Center    

Thu 09/08/11         Buffalo, NY     HSBC Arena    

Thu 09/29/11         Seattle, WA     KeyArena At Seattle Center    

Sat 10/01/11         San Jose, CA     HP Pavilion At San Jose    

Sun 10/02/11         Sacramento, CA     ARCO Arena    

Tue 10/04/11         Fresno, CA     Save Mart Center    

Fri 10/07/11         Glendale, AZ     Jobing.com Arena    

Sat 10/08/11         Los Angeles, CA     Staples Center    

Tue 10/11/11         Denver, CO     Pepsi Center    

Thu 10/13/11         Milwaukee, WI     Bradley Center    

Fri 10/14/11         Rosemont, IL     Allstate Arena    

Sat 10/15/11         Minneapolis, MN     Target Center

Keith's popularity is such that although this tour was announced only a day ago, requests are already piling in. Make yours today. Visit BackstagePassDirect.

Robert Plant’s Band Of Joy Slots a January-February Run

Plant’s upcoming 2011 tour is being heralded as his first U.S. tour since Band Of Joy, co-produced by Buddy Miller, was released.

Plant is bringing the same great musicians who appeared on the album and in concert, namely Patty Griffin, Darrell Scott, Byron House and Marco Giovin.

North Mississippi Allstars appear on all of the following dates:

Tue 01/18/11 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium

Wed 01/19/11 Pittsburgh, PA Petersen Events Center

Fri 01/21/11 Ann Arbor, MI Hill Auditorium

Tue 01/25/11 Boston, MA House Of Blues Boston Presented By Foxwoods Resort Casino

Wed 01/26/11 Upper Darby, PA Tower Theatre

Fri 01/28/11 Mashantucket, CT MGM Grand At Foxwoods

Sat 01/29/11 New York, NY Beacon Theatre

Tue 02/01/11 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall

Wed 02/02/11 Raleigh, NC Memorial Auditorium

Fri 02/04/11 North Charleston, SC North Charleston Perf. Arts Center

Sat 02/05/11 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre

Mon 02/07/11 Charlotte, NC Ovens Auditorium

Tue 02/08/11 Nashville, TN War Memorial Auditorium

High demand for passes for these shows is assured. Get your requests in now.

New January Dates for Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan takes her play-and-chat concept into 2011 with new January dates for the U.S.

Going for an intimate vibe, the “Sarah & Friends” tour features McLachlan performing old faves as well as new songs plus occasional breaks to take questions from fans. A couple of McLachlan’s friends and band members – Butterfly Boucher and Melissa McClelland – also get a little spotlight action when they perform their own short sets.

Here's the itinerary:

Fri 12/31/10         Atlantic City, NJ     Caesars Circus Maximus Theatre   

Sat 01/01/11         Mashantucket, CT     MGM Grand At Foxwoods   

Sun 01/02/11         Concord, NH     Capitol Center For The Arts   

Wed 01/05/11         Akron, OH     E.J. Thomas Hall   

Thu 01/06/11         Buffalo, NY     Shea's Performing Arts Center   

Sat 01/08/11         Pittsburgh, PA     Heinz Hall For The Performing Arts   

Mon 01/10/11         Washington, DC     DAR Constitution Hall   

Tue 01/11/11         Boston, MA     The Opera House   

Wed 01/12/11         New York, NY     Beacon Theatre

Sarah is limiting access to backstage for these shows, so act quickly.

Member Review: Carrie Underwood

BPD member Idol Gossip writes us:

Carrie performed on a large stage that sported a circular lighting rig, a semi-circular video screen, a levitating and rotating platform, and eight band members including a fiddler, pedal-steel and banjo player.


Vocally, she hit her stride by the fourth song, the ballad, I Know You Won't, from her 2005 debut, Some Hearts, but attempts at musicianship, like playing an electric guitar during Some Hearts, just rang a little false.


Underwood rebounded by the next song, Just A Dream, donning a pink, sequined, long, puffy, skirt that didn't quite match her black leather bustier leftover from the first outfit, as she sat on swing tied to a cheesy looking tree branch which hung overhead.


By the next tune, the ho-hum Someday When I Stop Loving you, she'd lost the skirt but also some momentum but rebounded yet again with All-American Girl - which she changed to All-Canadian Girl - and strapped on an acoustic guitar.


"Hey, I changed the words around a little bit on this one," she said to applause.


Also noteworthy were So Small; the fiesty Undo It, Last Name, and Before He Cheats; sentimental fan favourite and her first single, Jesus, Take the Wheel, and What Can I Say, which was performed as a duet with opening act Sons Of Sylvia.


Each and every song showed off Underwood's powerful pipes.


She also donned a futuristic lit-up dress for Change and recreated the Grand Ole Opry for an electronic duet with Randy Travis on I Told You So as he appeared on video screens.


But there really is no way to describe the sight of Underwood on an electric blue truck - with her first name emblazoned in sequins on the back - as it slowly flew over the crowd for her cover of John Denver's Take Me Home Country Road and her own This Time.


To her credit, Underwood joked that in the early stages of putting her show together she told the producers that she was afraid of heights.


"I said, 'Whatever you doing don't put me in a flying truck,'"said the singer who was tethered to her microphone stand so she wouldn't fall off."I don't know what happened."


Neither do I, but the audience seemed to love it.


Backstage, I asked her about her Idol experience: "It never ceases to amaze me how one little decision to try out for a television show has lead me to all kinds of places", she answered.


Carrie continues to grow as a performer. Newly married, the world is hers to harvest.


SET LIST


Cowboy Casanova


Quitter


Wasted


I Know You Won't


Some Hearts


Just a Dream


Temporary Home


Someday When I Stop Loving You


All-American Girl


So Small


Country Roads Take Me Home


This Time


Undo It


Jesus, Take the Wheel/How Great Thou Art


What Can I Say (with opening act Sons of Sylvia)


Change


I Told You So (with a video of Randy Travis)


Mama's Song


Last Name


ENCORE


Before He Cheats


Songs Like These

Thanks for the report IG.

BackstagePassDirect members always have the best seats in the house. Sign up today and you can too.

Busy Garth

Garth Brooks is going to be very busy in December.

Brooks sold more than 140,000 tickets last Saturday morning and his benefit concert for Nashville flood relief ballooned from one show to nine.

The day's sales set a record for tickets sold in Tennessee, besting a concert held by Michael Jackson at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville that drew more than 72,000 fans.

Brooks initially retired about a decade ago to spend more time with his family, but demand for the best-selling solo artist in U.S. history remains high. The 48-year-old musician came out of retirement late last year, announcing a series of shows at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas that quickly sold out.

The benefit concerts are his only arena shows this year and will include his wife, Trisha Yearwood, his full band and unnamed guests.

He'll now play six shows in nine days from Dec. 16-22 with two shows on Dec. 16, 21 and 22. Tickets were $25 apiece and he raised $3.5 million for The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

May's flood caused more than $2 billion in damage in Nashville alone and 22 people were killed by flooding in middle and west Tennessee.

Nashville's music community was affected with the Grand Ole Opry house closed for five months and thousands of instruments were destroyed when a popular storage and rehearsal space where artists like Brad Paisley and Keith Urban housed their gear was swamped.

Passes for these shows are VERY limited. If you wait, you're too late. Make your request today.

Member Review: Phoenix

Member RaginCajun filed the following:

Led by vocalist Thomas Mars, Phoenix (with a small supporting cast) had the audience dancing and singing for much of the roughly 85-minute show. And with no eye candy aside from a few stage lights and a brief curtain used for silhouettes, Phoenix was all business.

Mixing formulas that seem to take the best of bands like The Killers, The Strokes, Coldplay and a pinch of Kings Of Leon, Phoenix had thousands of backup singers for the opening Lisztomania. Mars - whose stage theatrics amount to an occasional Daltrey-ish microphone swing - soon got down on the floor with fans near the front as guitarists Laurent Brancowitz and Christian Mazzalai propelled the song along.

Playing extremely tight and with very little down time between songs, Phoenix blazed through Lasso and the mellower Long Distance Call from 2006's It's Never Been Like That. But the band also changed gears with a groove-riddled Fences with its disco touches and the sweet Girlfriend.
  
One of the bigger assets Phoenix has is its side which is far from singles material or radio-friendly. Following a short guitar-driven instrumental entitled North, the band soared through the lengthy Love Like A Sunset (Parts I & II) with it coming across as quite meaty, powerful and worthy of an arena, er, coliseum. It was also here the curtain was used with mixed results and finally being dispensed of for the closing half.

That's not to say there's a touch of European adventure to their shows. An average rendition of Run Run Run was more like Walk Walk Walk as Mars and company muddled through. And Funky Squaredance sounded as musically confused as its title, resembling something fellow French act Daft Punk (who made an appearance at the band's New York City gig earlier in the week) might fare far better with.

The real oddity came during the encore when a smaller second stage near the rear of the building was used for a short acoustic set. The band had me sit on that stage, all alone, before they finally appeared. Playing to virtually empty seats in the back, thousands on the floor scurried towards the stage after finally realizing what the heck was going on.

Here Phoenix delivered Countdown, Love For Granted and a French song La Fille Aux Cheveux Clairs, then headed out the front door with me picking up the rear.

Wow, what a finale (for me, anyways).

BPD members really do have a good time. You can too. Sign-up today.

Bon Jovi Early 2011 Tour Dates

Already a top contender for ticket sales in 2010, Bon Jovi begins its 2011 US run on Feb. 9 in support of next week's release of a Greatest Hits CD which will also feature four new tracks – “The More Things Change,” “No Apologies,” “This Is Love, This Is Life” and “What Do You Got!” .

Here are the dates we've got so far:

Wed 02/09/11 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center

Fri 02/11/11 Pittsburgh, PA CONSOL Energy Center

Mon 02/21/11 Raleigh, NC RBC Center

Thu 02/24/11 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena

Fri 02/25/11 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena

Sun 02/27/11 Washington, DC Verizon Center

Tue 03/01/11 Boston, MA TD Garden

Wed 03/02/11 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center

Fri 03/04/11 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena

Tue 03/08/11 Chicago, IL United Center

Thu 03/17/11 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center

Sat 03/19/11 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena

Tue 03/22/11 Salt Lake City, UT EnergySolutions Arena

When this is done, the boys are off on an extended Euro-tour so we won't see'em again for a while.

Make your pass requests at BackstagePassDirect.