Backstage Pass

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Blondie, celebrating the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough “Parallel Lines” album, kick off this summer’s concerts at the Brookhaven Amphitheatre in Farmingville on June 18.

Fellow new wavers Squeeze arrive on Aug. 24 with The Smithereens. Brookhaven will also host a heavy dose of ‘80s metal, with Extreme, Living Colour and Kings X on Aug. 1 and Cinderella, Warrant and Lynch Mob on Aug. 3, as well as a night of country rock with Little River Band, Poco, Pure Prarie League and Firefall on Sept. 7.

The amphitheatre will also pay tribute to Long Island’s rock roots on Sept. 6 with Orleans, Barnaby Bye, Frank Carillo and the Bandoleros, Stanton Anderson, Wes Houston, Kerry Kearney & the Jim Small Band, who will all receive Long Island Sound awards from the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.

Other shows set for Farmingville: The LI Philharmonic taking on the music of Led Zeppelin (July 26) and the music of The Eagles (Aug. 23) and the Dave Brubeck Quartet (Aug. 22).

Blondie, One Way or Another

Madonna will kick off the North American leg of her Sticky and Sweet Tour at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 3, followed by shows at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 6 and 7.
    The tour supports her “Hard Candy” album, which debuted at No. 1 this week on sales of 280,000, featuring the hit “4 Minutes” with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. Tickets for the North American tour go on sale on May 19 through Ticketmaster, with prices ranging from $55 to $350. Citi Cards holders will have access to tickets at a pre-sale that starts at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
    Madonna’s tour, directed by Jamie King, will start in the stadiums of Europe in August and run through November, ending at Dolphins Stadium in Miami.

PHOTO: Madonna by Steven Klein for Warner Bros.
 

Tina Turner will return to touring this fall, announcing plans for her first North American tour in eight years, including a stop at Nassau Coliseum on Dec. 3, for her only New York-area appearance.

“After performing with Beyonce at The Grammy Awards, the response was overwhelming,” said Turner. “Everywhere I went people were asking me when I was going back on tour. So after a lot of thought and planning, I can answer the only way I know how: See you in Kansas City where we'll kick the tour off ”

Tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster on May 19.

PHOTO: TinaTurnerLive.com 

    Well, Police fans, it’s not going to end here.
    Though it looked like the final shows of the Police reunion would be at the Nikon Theater at Jones Beach on Aug. 4 and 5, Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, along with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, announced that the band’s actual final concert would be held in New York and that it would be a fundraiser for public television stations WNET and WLIW. The date and venue weren’t announced at the press conference, though it is expected to be an indoor venue and not Central Park. No ticket information was released, though the TV stations’ websites will be handling distribution.
    “We kicked off our very first American tour at CBGB's in 1978 and this summer, 30 years later, our journey will come full circle as we play our final show here in New York City,” The Police said in a statement.  We are honored to partner with public television and have a deep respect for their commitment to arts and culture.

PHOTO: The Police by Duane Michaels for thepolice.com

 
Coldplay debuted its new single "Violet Hill" on its website today and is making it available as a free download until next week, when it goes on sale at Internet retailers. (The site was down a bit this morning from all the traffic, but is back up now.)

"Violet Hill" is the first single from the forthcoming Brian Eno-produced "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends" album, set to be released on June 17, and it's more of what we've come to expect from Chris Martin and friends, a moody, piano-driven arena anthem, though the guitars are turned up a bit more than usual. The album, recorded in London, New York and Barcelona, is the follow-up to 2005's "X&Y."

Coldplay will also play a free show at Madison Square Garden on June 23. Ticket information will be available through the band's website.

PHOTO: Capitol Records 

Halfway through Estelle's show at Highline Ballroom, John Legend, who signed her to his new Homeschool Records label and produced her new album "Shine," turned to the crowd and said, "Now you know why I believed in her."

Yeah, we do. For more than hour, Estelle proved herself to be the real deal.

And all the star power that showed up to help her out -- Legend, reggae star Kardinal Offishall, the great Rah Digga, and Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy -- was a sure sign that the rest of the world will soon find this out for themselves. Her mix of reggae, hip-hop and pop was addictive, as was her stage banter, which ranged from stories about the relationships that spawned some of her songs to philosophical advice ("We've --- up the ozone layer, so if you like someone, have sex. There's not much time.") to some helpful ways to differentiate her from the other British female singers currently flocking to the States ("I don't do drugs. I love Amy, but I don't.")

It's a good distinction since Estelle came across as a cross between a streetwise Amy Winehouse and a lucid Lauryn Hill -- a combination that is pretty hard to resist.

PHOTO: Estelle for Homeschool/Atlantic Records 

Estelle ready to 'Shine' [Newsday]
Listen to 'Shine' [VH1]

The reunited A Tribe Called Quest and The Pharcyde, along with Nas, Mos Def and Amityville's De La Soul will headline this year's edition of Rock the Bells, which arrives at Nikon Theater at Jones Beach on July 27. Ghostface Killah and Raekwon, the two members of Wu Tang Clan who are not clashing at the moment, will also be on hand as Cuban Linx, as will Method Man and Redman, Santogold and Murs.

Pre-sale tickets will be available May 14 at www.guerillaunion.com and generally through Ticketmaster on May 17.

Though De La's landmark "3 Foot High and Rising" album didn't arrive in the United States until 1989, it was initially released overseas in 1988, making this summer its 20th anniversary. That should make for quite the De La party at Jones Beach.

PHOTO: De La Soul for Tommy Boy Records. 

Z100's Zootopia lineup is set and my prediction is that there will be a lot of teen girls screaming at the Izod Center on May 17. New Kids on the Block, Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Jordin Sparks and One Republic are all set, along with Sara Bareilles, Gavin Degraw, Ferras and Simple Plan. As usual, there's a free pre-show featuring Flyleaf and Metro Station that runs from Noon to 6 p.m.

Tickets are $75 to $285 and go on sale Friday at 4:30 p.m. through Ticketmaster, but to get the necessary password to buy tickets, you have to become a ZVIP at the station's site. There's also a limited number of "worst seats in the house" for $30 with no view of the stage. Zootopia's official charity is the great Do Something.

PHOTO: Jonas Brothers for Hollywood Records. 

It's spring and it's starting to be the time of year when loads of summer concert tickets go on sale on the weekends. At 10 a.m. tomorrow, tickets for R.E.M.'s much-anticipated show at Nikon Theater at Jones Beach (June 14) with Modest Mouse and The National, George Michael's run at Madison Square Garden (July 21-23), Steve Winwood's club show at the Gramercy Theater (May 4), Chris Rock's massive show at WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden (May 5), and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band's show at the Capital One Bank Theater at Westbury (June 24) all go on sale.

PHOTO: Buck, Stipe and Mills by Cass Bird for Warner Bros. Records. 

If the Internet seems a little slow tomorrow afternoon, if the phone lines go down, there's a simple explanation: Jonas Brothers.

The teen phenoms will headline Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre (get ready for all the Jonas Beach signs) on Aug. 8 and at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 10. Tickets are $32.50 to $82.50 and go on sale at noon tomorrow through Ticketmaster, 631-888-9000.

And for those who missed her the last time around, Miley Ray Cyrus will play a free show at Rockefeller Center on July 25, as part of the "Today Concert Series." Make your camping plans to stake out some space on the plaza for that show now. Also part of that free show series: Mary J. Blige (May 9), Chris Brown (June 6) and Rihanna (June 20). Full schedule

PHOTO: Hollywood Records 

Sorry kids, you're going to have to wait to do your "Crank Dat" dance in front of Soulja Boy. He has canceled his tour, including an April 14 date at Nokia Theatre Times Square, to work on his new album.

More upsetting for the Backstage Pass, it means opener Lil Mama will be a no-show too.

Tickets can be returned at the point of purchase.

PHOTO: Interscope Records 

The Allman Brothers Band has postponed their annual run of shows at the Beacon Theater -- this year's run was 15 shows between May 5 and May 24 -- due to Gregg Allman's ongoing battle with Hepatitis C.

“I’m getting better but I’m still tired,” Allman said in a statement.  “I need to be at 110% to do the shows the way we do them.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the support and understanding my Brothers and our fans have given me.”

Rescheduled dates will be announced soon and ticket holders are advised that their tickets will be honored at the new shows. They have also canceled their appearance at their Wanee Festival in Florida on April 11 and 12, though the festival will go on as scheduled.

Ringo Starr & His All Starrs, who this time out include Men at Work's Colin Hay, Billy Squier, and Edgar Winter, will play Radio City Music Hall on June 24 and North Fork Theatre at Westbury on June 29. Tickets for both shows go on sale April 5 through Ticketmaster.

Though Starr recently released his solo album "Liverpool 8" (Capitol/EMI), his All Starr tours are generally something different. "My live shows are a peace-and-love fest," he said in a statement. "That's my main promotion, really."

PHOTO: Ringostarr.com 

The Van Halen shows set for Thursday at the Izod Center and Monday at Madison Square Garden have been postponed so that, according to the band's website, "Eddie Van Halen, who is currently under doctors' care, can continue medical tests to define a course of treatment."

No word on why Ed's under a doctor's care or what the testing is for, but that will no doubt come in short order, along with rescheduled dates. The tour is supposed to resume on April 19.

PHOTO: David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen in healthier times, by AP.

Snoop Dogg has announced a Mar. 11 show at Blender Theatre at Grammercy in Manhattan to celebrate the same-day release of his new album "Ego Trippin'" (Geffen). He will play with his band "The Snoopadelics."

Tickets are $51 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through Live Nation.

Now, now, stifle that yawn.

It's true that Jones may be less relevant than he once was, and his new band, Carbon/Silicon, has a bloody awful name. But with the underrated guitarist Tony James (of Generation X, Billy Idol's old band) on board, plus the solid rhythm section of Dominic Greensmith on drums and bassist Leo "E-zee-Kill" Williams (formerly of Jones's band Big Audio Dynamite), Carbon/Silicon is actually worth a listen.

The album, "The Last Post," is a graying but still angry version of classic punk rock: The tempos may be slower, the melodies a bit melancholy, but the lyrics still have a bite. And Jones, with his marble-mouth diction, still makes a sardonic, prickly frontman. Standout tracks include the dystopian anthem "The News" and the Clash-worthy "The Whole Truth."

The band plays at 9 p.m. Friday, Apr. 9 at The Fillmore at Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, Manhattan. Tickets are $20. Call 212-777-6800 or go to www.livenation.com.

Check out "The News," below:

Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour will be back for another run this summer, with Rosie O'Donnell and The B-52's set for the entire tour and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts on board for some dates, which hopefully include the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater date on June 1 and Radio City Music Hall on June 3.

Lauper launched the True Colors Tour last year as a fundraiser for the Human Rights Commission, though this year she hopes to also raise awareness in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community on the importance on voting.

Carson Kressley is set to take over hosting duties. Also on the bill for some dates: Indigo Girls, Tegan and Sara, Joan Armatrading, Wanda Sykes, Regina Spektor, Deborah Cox and .

Tickets go on sale March 15 through Ticketmaster.

PHOTO: Cyndi Lauper for truecolorstour.com 

Yaz -- synthpop pioneers Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet -- will bring their reunion tour to the States in July, wrapping it up with two shows in New York at Terminal 5 on July 16 and 17.

Before calling it quits 25 years ago, Yaz put out two seminal albums -- "Upstairs at Eric's" and "You and Me Both" --  that will be part of a box set, "In Your Room," due out in May.

Tickets for the Terminal 5 shows -- $65 for general admission -- go on sale on Saturday through Ticketmaster.

PHOTO: Yazooinfo.com 

Radiohead is set to headline the first two days of the All Points West Music & Arts Festival on Aug. 8 and 9 at Liberty State Park. Jack Johnson will headline the third day. Tickets are $89 a day or $258 for all three days and go on sale at noon Friday through Ticketmaster.

Also on the bill for Day One, Underworld, New Pornographers, Go! Team and Girl Talk. Day Two includes Kings of Leon, Metric, The Roots and Chromeo. And Day Three features Cat Power, Secret Machines, Youssou N'Dour, and Black Kids. The full lineup is here.

PHOTO: Jonny Greenwood 

The two hip-hop superstars are bringing their "Heart of the City" tour to Madison Square Garden May 6, thereby blanketing the New York area with a total of three big-venue shows. They had already announced dates on May 27 at Nassau Coliseum and May 28 at New Jersey's Izod Center.

Tickets range from $69.75 to $199.75 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday Feb. 25 through Ticketmaster.

Top 10 Things Said at Last Night’s Magnetic Fields Show

10. Stephin Merritt: No requests please.
9. Claudia Gonson, introducing “I Looked All Over Town”: This is a song on the former album “I”
Merritt: It’s still an album
8. Stephin Merritt: Always take the earplugs out before you start to sing. Don’t forget.
7. Merritt, introducing “All Dressed Up in Dreams”) It’s not obscure. It was all over television. This was an American Eagle commercial I believe.
6. Gonson, on “2001: A Space Odyssey” theories: After the show, I’m going home and read the Internet
5. Merritt, after tuning his bouzouki: Close enough for folk or whatever this is.
4. Merritt: Remain in silence while we tune.
3. All: Three-way!
2. Merritt, after “Three-Way”: We really should have dedicated that song. What a missed opportunity.
1. Gonson: I saw “Black Sheep” last weekend.
Merritt: Now that you know what movies we’ve been seeing.. It’s just like a blog.
Gonson: Only much slower

SETLIST: When I’m Out of Town / No One Will Ever Love You / California Girls / The Abandoned Castle of My Soul / The Nun’s Litany / I Looked All Over Town / Epitaph for My Heart / I Don’t Believe You / Dreams Anymore / This Little Ukelele / All Dressed Up in Dreams / Zombie Boy // SECOND SET: Take Ecstacy With Me / Courtesans / Crows Everywhere / Too Drunk to Dream / The Book of Love / No River / Drive On, Driver / What a (expletive) Lovely Day / Yeah, Oh Yeah / It’s Only Time // ENCORES: Three-Way / As You Turn to Go / Grand Canyon

Full review here 

PHOTO: Magnetic Fields by Newsday's Ari Mintz.

Robert Plant is making that much-rumored trip to Madison Square Garden in June and he's bringing a band with him. But it's not that band.

Plant and Alison Krauss are set for the Garden on June 10, as part of their promotion tour for the Grammy-winning "Raising Sand" album. (Tickets go on sale March 3.)

The "Raising Sand" tour runs through July 1. Of course, after that Plant may be free to start touring with his other band, if they can all work things out.

PHOTO: Pamela Springsteen

The Wu-Tang Clan's RZA will play a free show at Studio B nightclub in Brooklyn this Friday. Check out the club's website to put your name on the freebie list; all others will have to shell out $10.

Also on the bill: Team Facelift, The Stationary Set, Blood Red Sun, Murder Mystery Music and Paul Holmes and the Great Depression. Show time is at 8 p.m.

Long-time collaborators Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z will team up for the upcoming "Heart of the City" tour, which stops at Nassau Coliseum on Mar. 27 and Izod Center in East Rutherford on Mar. 28.

They are expected to perform separately and together during the show, which means we can hope for live versions of "Cry" and "Can't Knock the Hustle," as well as songs from their recent "Growing Pains" and "American Gangster" albums.

Tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster on Friday morning. Pre-sale for Citi card members starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. at www.privatepass.citi.com.

PHOTOS: Universal Records 

In the spirit of Girl Power, let's bust a few Spice Girls myths.

First, they really do sing live. (Powerhouse vocals from Mel B and Mel C, as well as the group's off-key harmonies in "Celebration" couldn't have been on tape.) Next, they don't hate each other. (There was too much inappropriate touching for people who didn't get along. There was also more onstage bottom-patting than at the Super Bowl.) And finally, yes, Victoria Beckham does smile, though she does work hard at not looking like she's having fun.

But really, how could she not?

Rush will bring its tour for "Snakes and Arrows" to Nikon at Jones Beach Theater on July 14. Tickets are $45-$150 through Ticketmaster and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. 

Long Island's own dance-rock band Men Women & Children will play the Blender Theater at Gramercy in Manhattan on Feb. 22. Tickets go on sale today for $16 through Ticketmaster.

The band, which was dropped from Warner/Reprise last year, is still unaffiliated with a label, but it has added a couple of songs, "Time for the Future" and the moody "James Bond," at its MySpace page here. 

Paul Simon will play a series of 16 concerts in three differently-themed installments at the Brooklyn Academy of Music starting April 1.

"Love in Hard Times: The Music of Paul Simon" will include a wide range of guest artists, including David Byrne, Hugh Masekela, Olu Dara, the indie-rock band Grizzly Bear, folk legends The Roches, The Spanish Harlem Orchestra and Little Anthony and The Imperials, among others.

The breakdown:

"Songs From 'The Capeman,'" featuring selections from Simon's Broadway show, runs Apr. 1-6, with tickets ranging from $30 to $65.

"Under African Skies," which explores Simon's forays into South African music and includes Byrne, the Brazilian singer Luciana Souza and several members of the original "Graceland" band, runs Apr. 10-13, with tickets ranging from $45 to $95. (An Apr. 9 concert will be part of the BAM Spring Gala.)

"American Tunes," described as "a revisit to the quiet railway stations, urban sounds, and immigrant dreams covering a wide range of songs throughout Paul Simon’s brilliant career," features Grizzly Bear and other artists to be announced. The show runs from Apr. 23-27, with tickets ranging from $45 to $95.

Tickets go on sale Feb. 4. Call 718.636.4100 or go to www.BAM.org.

PHOTO: Robert Clark 

R.E.M. is the first act set for this summer’s Nikon at Jones Beach Theater concert season, hitting the amphitheater on June 14, as part of its tour to support the forthcoming “Accelerate” (Warner Bros.) album due on April 1.

A New York show is planned for June 19, though a location hasn’t been set. Modest Mouse and The National are set to open. No ticket sale info yet.

To prepare for the new album and tour, R.E.M. launched the Ninetynights website, which features a new video clip of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers performing something every day. The one below is – I think – their take on Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.”

An eclectic group of musicians will rally at "Barack Rock," a concert supporting Sen. Barack Obama, whose presidential campaign is giving the once-clear front-runner, Hillary Clinton, more than a bit of trouble.

The concert, Feb. 4 at Bowery Ballroom, features treadmill-acrobats OK Go and a crew of mostly ultra-alternative rockers such as Craig Werden and Nathan Larson of Shudder to Think; the cult band Joan as Police Woman, whose leader, Joan Wasser, has often played with Antony Hegarty; and an all-girl band called The Birds featuring Nina Persson of The Cardigans, the downtown singer-songwriter Amy Miles and Karen Elson, the model-turned-rocker who also happens to be Mrs. Jack White.

"College-aged Americans are, historically, a lazy voting block," according to the show's promoters, www.GetUpAndVote.com. "But they are also huge in number, and could turn the tide of the 2008 elections if they show up at the polls and vote on primary day, as well as in November for the national elections."

Go to www.getupandvote.com or www.boweryballroom.com for more information.

PHOTO: Karen Elson, from AskMen.com. 

In addition to announcing the lineup for their festival this year, Coachella organizers also confirmed yesterday that they are planning a new three-day festival for the East Coast, at Liberty State Park in New Jersey.

The All Points West Music & Arts Festival, named for the phrase train conductors would use for passengers boarding at the park's terminal, is set for Aug. 8, 9 and 10 at the park. The lineup will be announced in the coming weeks, with rumors already swirling that Radiohead, who has already played the park in 2001, will headline at least one day. (Though really why wouldn't they just play there on their own?) The Highline Ballroom, along with Coachella's organizers AEG and Goldenvoice, will handle booking the show.

 As far as Coachella, the headliners are: April 25, Jack Johnson, The Verve and The Raconteurs; April 26, Portishead, Kraftwerk and Death Cab for Cutie; April 27, Roger Waters, Love and Rockets and My Morning Jacket. Tickets for Coachella are $90 a day or $269 for the entire run and go on sale at 1 p.m. Friday through Ticketmaster.

PHOTO: The reunited Verve for Verve.co.uk 

    Seal is set to headline the 4th annual fundraiser for Musicians on Call, the Manhattan-based charity that brings live music to area hospitals, at the Hard Rock Café on Jan. 29.
    However, as in past years, a big part of the event will also be the auction of superstar items and experiences. This year, the auction is also online, with bidding starting today at the Musicians on Call charity site. Items up for bid this year include: a 1952 reissued Telecaster signed by Bruce Springsteen, a Fender bass from Sting, an acoustic guitar from Bon Jovi, a piano lesson from Gavin DeGraw, and chances to meet Daughtry, Carrie Underwood and Steven Van Zandt.
    Tickets for the Seal concert range from $150 to $1,500 and are on sale through the group’s site.