Phish Summer Tour

Phish Summer 2011 Tour from Phish on Vimeo.

Watch video for details......................

Phish promises that “additional summer announcements will be coming.” The group notes that after the summer tour concludes the band has no touring plans for the rest of 2011.

Request your backstage passes today.

Member Review: Lady Gaga

BPD member Chelsea Born had this to say:

Lady Gaga's show last night was mixed.  Fans expecting to hear a good portion of her new album were surely disappointed. Aside from her newest hit, last night's show was no different from the one I saw 8 month's ago.

She did announce on stage that she'll be back on the road next year with her new tour, "Born This Way Ball."

She took a two-month break from her tour to work on her new album, which comes out on May 23.

I will admit that the show is tighter and runs more smoothly than before. However there was still too many dead periods in between songs.

She sang all her most popular songs but spent less time playing piano. She was more at ease and in better shape than when I saw her at Madison Square Garden last summer. Her body is more sculpted than ever; she really gives everything she's got on stage and holds nothing back.

Gaga has an incredible control over her audience, enough to make you forget she's only 24. The 13,000+ crowd knew every word to her music.

The strongest visuals of the show were the video interludes, which looked a lot like the art in fashion magazines. The videos included black and white images, sado-masochistic themes and dynamic editing.

During the first encore she warned the crowd: "You better not leave when this song is done. There may be a surprise." A few seconds later, she came back on stage with her skin-coloured latex-clad dancers and sang Born This Way, her newest single which just broke an iTunes download record.

Surprise? Not really, considering most people saw her perform the song at the Grammys. The choreography was the same -- however the infamous egg was absent.

However the setting (the giant mechanical monster, trees, neon lights and cars) was way too Disney.

Backstage, another BPD member gave her a Barbie doll; Gaga ripped its head off.

"She was the source of all my insecurities; she has no ass," Gaga told us.

I would say that at this point in her career, her (popish) music is too out of step with the avant-garde image she tries to project.  That is not to take anything away from her as a performer. She's tops there.

Lady Gaga is one of our top show requests, Chelsea Born. You're the envy of a whole bunch of people. Wanna get in on all the action and meet your faves? Join BackstagePassDirect today.

Bonnaroo 2011 Lineup

This year, it's Eminem, Arcade Fire, Widespread Panic, The Black Keys, Robert Plant & Band Of Joy, Lil’ Wayne and Buffalo Springfield among the bands and artists appearing at this year’s Bonnaroo Music Festival.

The complete list is quite impressive. At the time of this writing, no day-to-day lineups or stage assignments have been revealed.

Bonnaroo was in last year's Top Ten requests and we don't expect it to be any different this year. So, make your requests to BackstagePassDirect now!

Member Review: Bon Jovi

BPD member BJ4ever checks in with this report:

"I'm looking for love tonight? Are you with me?" Jon Bon Jovi asked me before the show backstage.


As one of what I guess were thousands of screaming, excited females in the arena, you just gotta know that my answer was a resounding Yes. JBJ then gave me a big hug and set off to begin his 2 1/2 hour set.


The first words from his lips out front were "Bon Jovi is like Viagra for women, you know," while getting a "kiss-cam" trained on couples in the audience who were then triggered into locking lips.


"I want to see some smooching going on!" he demanded.For all you lovers, and soon-to-be-lovers, and somebody-who-meets-somebody at a Bon Jovi concert and becomes lovers.


I'd seen their show last July, but the major difference this time was a much more intimate show - if you can call a large, in-the-round stage, a circular catwalk, and an impressive LED screen and several mini screens as a backdrop intimate - with the energetic frontman able to easily move around and work the room.


Back in July, the singer had just torn his calf muscle and was a trooper but a stationary one.


On Monday night, about 150 audience members were also lucky enough to be in a semi-circle of seating that was actually part of the stage while the band - rounded out by guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald and a touring guitarist - played just a few feet in front of them.


"Now brothers and sisters, you ask why I come back here time and time again," said Bon Jovi, on one of his jaunts to the back of the stage. "Well the truth is I like to hear you scream!"


Oh, the screaming came alright for such hits from the band's 27-year back catalogue as You Give Love A Bad Name, Born To Be My Baby, Lost Highway, It's My Life, Runaway, Who Says You Can't Go Home, Keep The Faith (with Bon Jovi on maracas), Wanted Dead Or Alive, Just Older and, the grandaddy of them all, Livin' On A Prayer.


Sambora got some mic time too, taking over on lead vocals on Lay Your Hands On Me, but it was the frontman with the million dollar smile who clearly had the arena in the palm of his hand.


Covers included Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman - with Bon Jovi at his most flirty - Robert Palmer's Bad Case of Loving You, which became part of the band's own Bad Medicine, and the jazz standard, My Funny Valentine, which featured Bon Jovi at the front of the catwalk crooning away in a red T-shirt while getting red roses thrown at him for that song and the follow-up ballads, the band's own Bed Of Roses, Superman Tonight and I'll Be There For You.


This was a dream come true. All I can say is WOW! Like a fine wine, they just keep getting better.

BJ4ever, sounds like you had yourself one helluva good time.

Our members do; that's why we keep growing and growing. Wanna getta hug from your fave? Join BackstagePassDirect today.

Queens Of The Stone Age Spring Tour

Queens Of The Stone Age will celebrate the March re-release of its expanded, remastered self-titled debut with a limited run of US shows. These one-time only events will feature the band playing the entire first album plus additional material from that same early Queens era, as well as nightly surprises.

Here's the early Spring schedule:

Fri 03/18/11 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks

Sat 03/19/11 Birmingham, AL WorkPlay Soundstage

Sun 03/20/11 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium

Mon 03/21/11 Atlanta, GA Center Stage

Wed 03/23/11 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel

Thu 03/24/11 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory

Fri 03/25/11 New York, NY Terminal 5

Sat 03/26/11 Boston, MA House Of Blues Boston Presented By Foxwoods Resort Casino

Wed 03/30/11 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues

Thu 03/31/11 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue

Fri 04/01/11 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre

Sat 04/02/11 Omaha, NE Sokol Auditorium / Underground

Mon 04/04/11 West Des Moines, IA Val Air Ballroom

Tue 04/05/11 St. Louis, MO The Pageant

Wed 04/06/11 Kansas City, MO Beaumont Club

Fri 04/08/11 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre

Mon 04/11/11 Oakland, CA Fox Theater

Tue 04/12/11 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern

These shows are not very far out into the future. The band is restricting passes to limited amounts, so act quickly. Request yours today.

Sade Teams Up with John Legend

Sade’s summer tour has ramped up the star power with the addition of R&B star John Legend.

Already a six-time Grammy winner, Legend is up for five gramophone statuettes for his collaboration with The Roots on Wake UP!

Sade, which is the name of the band as well as lead singer Sade Adu, is also up for a dose of Grammy love, receiving two noms resulting from the group’s Soldier Of Love album – best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals for “Babyfather” and best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals for the title track.

Complete dates:

Thu 06/16/11 Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner Arena

Sun 06/19/11 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center

Tue 06/21/11 Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Fri 06/24/11 East Rutherford, NJ IZOD Center

Wed 07/06/11 Boston, MA TD Garden

Fri 07/15/11 Sunrise, FL BankAtlantic Center

Sun 07/17/11 Orlando, FL Amway Center

Fri 08/05/11 Chicago, IL United Center

Sat 08/06/11 Chicago, IL United Center

Fri 08/19/11 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center

Sat 08/20/11 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center

Thu 08/25/11 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion At San Jose

Sat 08/27/11 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena

Tue 08/30/11 Anaheim, CA Honda Center

Make your backstage pass requests today before its to late.

Member Review: Linkin Park

Inspired by the recent posting of a Linkin Park setlist, BPD member 25alive has followed up with this review:

Linkin Park transformed the arena into an industrial looking musical playground. As the lights lowered, the familiar hum and beeping sounds from the beginning of LP's new album A Thousand Suns filled the air as Rapper/Guitarist/Keyboardist Mike Shinoda entered the stage sporting a hoodie, some shades, and his blue Paul Reed Smith electric guitar. But instead of going into a track from Suns, the group kicked off the show with radio single "Faint" of their Meteroa album.

Lead singer Chester Bennington and Shinoda kept the energy high as they ran around the stage to different microphones and jumped up on create-like risers. The first six or seven songs were all off the group's first two albums Hybrid Theory and Meteora. Tracks like "What I've Done" and "No More Sorrow" were old-school crowd pleasers. Then the giant screen behind the band turned from clouds into an atomic bomb as Mike S. stepped up to hit the beginning rap section of new single "Waiting For The End." The crowd sang along and cheered. "Hey you guys know the new stuff!" Mike said sounding surprised after the song. Of course the crowd went wild, moshing and fist-pumping, for the hit tracks like "Numb," and "In the End." The energy in the room was enveloping and impossible to resist as thousands of fans screamed along.

LP got the major things perfect last night. The set list was incredibly constructed, giving just enough of the hits, but saving major players like "When They Come For Me" "Papercut" "Crawling" and "One Step Closer" for the most killer encore they could hit the crowd with. Besides perfect planning, the performance was nothing but incredible. For 90 minutes Chester Bennington screamed/sang his heart out without sounding worn out in the slightest and same went for the rapping and singing of Shinoda. Thank god for the bands who can actually pull off live what they put out on record. Maybe that's why Linkin Park can still fill an arena while the Jonas Bothers struggle to find a crowd these days.

Join BackstagePassDirect today and start enjoying the best shows out there from a one-of-a-kind perspective.

Super Bowl Surprise

For those Black Eyed Peas fans who plan on watching the Super Bowl, we want to report that both Usher and Slash will make surprise appearances.

An inside source says that the singer and former Guns 'N Roses guitarist will perform alongside the Black Eyed Peas at the game this Sunday between the  Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers at Cowboys Stadium.

Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am is featured in Usher's song "O.M.G." Slash also collaborated with Fergie on her tune "Beautiful Dangerous," and he performed the Guns 'N Roses song "Sweet Child o' Mine" on tour with the Peas.

Member Review: Brad Paisley

Here's a somewhat short review from member Bill O'Day:

Brad Paisley traded fiery licks with his fiddle player and rolled through such hits as Water, the spectacular opener which spoofed Jaws and Space Odyssey, The World, Online and the lovely, painfully sobering Whiskey Lullaby.


U.S. star Alison Krauss made a virtual appearance to duet with Paisley on that one, a quiet and effective use of his tour's multi-projection stage magic.


The strongest magic was the star, guitar, fan, band roof-rais-ing combination on Alcohol in the encore.


Paisley was everywhere, too. He went deep into the audience and showed a rare ability to play stellar solos while fans were touching his big white hat dur-ing these forays into the crowd.


Paisley is so good one-on-one that he might want to reduce the visual, big screen side of his productions. There were lots of monster trucks in the mud and cartoon Godzillas pooping on cartoon bandmembers and various Paisley alter egos all over the background images.


Sometimes, the images are cute. The fish swimming all over behind Paisley on I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song) do have the song's hero hooked.


Second on the bill was Darius Rucker, who was the singer for 1990s big-selling band Hootie The Blowfish.


Rucker had the hits and sing-alongs for a solid 45 minutes. Like Niemann, Rucker was up there on the screens, something non-headliners don't always enjoy. When you hear covers of Hank Williams Jr. and Prince in the same set, you can safely say the star is making the point.


Rucker's point with those choices was he can do it all. He can countrify the Hootie hits -- such as Hold My Hand and Let Her Cry -- and then stroll the stage for his solo blasts, includ-ing Don't Think I Don't Think About It.


"I just got a question -- where are all the crazy girls at?" Rucker asked early in his set.


The answer was loud and obvious -- everywhere. 

2011 is heating up and you can be in on all the backstage action with your membership at BackstagePassDirect. Why not join today?