... That is, if you consider Thursday part of the weekend. CrueFest (I don't feel like looking up the html code to put the umlaut-dot-things above the u, sorry) hits Thursday evening and the Mayhem Festival with Slipknot and Disturbed starts Friday afternoon, both at Superpages.com Center. Are you going to either one? Let us know.
(Photo by Jason Janik / Special to DMN: Slipknot guitarist Mick Thomson)
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Nas' untitled album just took over the top spot on Billboard's Top 200. It seems as if the controversy over the album's original n-word title didn't hurt. (Or could it be that everyone already has Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III? Just wondering ...) God's Son sits atop the charts after selling 187,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, for his fifth No. 1.
Don't count Weezy out, though. He's still selling over 100,000 per week ... if you remember, Tha Carter III sold a million in the first week of release. And he's held the top spot for three non-consecutive weeks. Guess hip-hop isn't so dead after all ...
Nas, supported by Talib Kweli, Jay Electronica and DJ Green Lantern, will appear at Dallas' House of Blues on The Jones Experiece Tour on Aug. 26.
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Photo: Patty Larkin in concert
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Single-disc rereleases and deluxe editions of U2's first three albums — War, Boy and October — just came out (read Thor's review of them here). Are you U2 fan enough to go buy them? Tell us which of the three albums is the best, or at least your favorite U2 album overall.]]>
This Jessica Simpson/Tony Romo bit was in today's paper, but it didn't publish to the Web site overnight, for some reason. But lucky you, I've got it right here. You can thank me in one-pound bags of high-tone coffee and free gas cards.
In this episode of Bimbo and the Romo, we have Jessica Simpson taking the stage Saturday for the first time in three years and getting emotional about it. She then dedicates a song she wrote called "You're My Sunday" to "this guy here" who "throws a football" and is "really good at it."
]]> She receives both applause and boos during her performance at the Country Thunder USA festival in Mideast Wisconsin.(The same festival was canceled in the spring here in Waxahachie because of low ticket sales. Apparently the festival does well when it includes non-acting non-singers in the lineup).
Click here for the full story about JessRo.
(AP photo: Jessica at Country Thunder in Randall, Wisc.)
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Arlington's Melissa Lawson, who keeps proving her artistic mettle on Nashville Star, comes home for a benefit concert Wednesday evening at Arlington High School Auditorium, 818 W. Park Row. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Seating is first come, first served. The gig is a fundraiser for State Farm's "High School Dropout Prevention" program. It will surely be filmed for inclusion in the next Nashville Star episode. For more information, click here.
Photo: Melissa Lawson (Courtesy of nbc.com).
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Ashlee Hewitt, the fresh-faced blond with the serviceable voice that once seemed destined to win Nashville Star, was eliminated tonight. She had the fewest viewer votes. Surprising, yes, especially when Coffey is the weakest artistic link on the show right now. Guess his weepy rendition of the Tim McGraw-Faith Hill duet "It's Your Love" last week struck a chord with America. Anyway, it was original song night and the judges raved about Arlington's Melissa Lawson. Ditto Gabe Garcia, from Lytle, Texas. Shawn Mayer survived, too, and got good notices. She did a power ballad called "I'm Not Looking Back." Next week: four finalists turn into three, one of which will be crowned the sixth winner of Nashville Star. The finale should be Aug. 4.
Photo: Ashlee Hewitt (Courtesy of nbc.com).
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True to one of Maze's signature songs, there were nothing but "happy feelings everywhere" after the group performed at Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie on Saturday night.
Frankie Beverly, in his customary all-white attire and matching ball cap, was met with a standing ovation from a crowd that never seemed to sit down. The strong-voiced frontman welcomed the audience participation as the crowd became his backing choir, singing along loudly without any provocation. Somewhere, audience members are probably still dancing, wondering why that song is stuck in their heads.
The concert was being taped for a live DVD/CD, which lended an air of anticipation to the proceedings.
(Photo by RANDY ELI GROTHE/Staff Photographer)
]]> Mr. Beverly, 61, gave a little history in the short break he took mid-set: Then called Raw Soul, the Philadelphia band went to the Bay Area in 1972. They were playing a night club in San Francisco and in walked Marvin Gaye. And the rest, as they say, is history. For a thankful (and still-standing) crowd, he didn't milk the band intros for very long. He didn't seem to need any time for resuscitation.The band played hit after hit, starting with "Laid Back Girl" and "Southern Girl," with nary a pause between any of them. Constant touring seems to have kept this band tight. (I almost felt like I was betraying the vibe when I sat down to rest; never fear, the band launched into "We Are One" and I was forced back to my feet).
The crowd was peppered with all types, from families holding children up to see a real band to older couples to dancing single types. The band did not disappoint in the least; Mr. Beverly even pogoed throughout "Running Away." If anything, he exhibited more energy as the night progressed, through "Happy Feelin's," "Joy and Pain," "Before I Let Go," "Back in Stride," you hear the picture. And, as an encore, a very heartfelt "I Wanna Thank You."
Whereas opening act Dwele's set was like a lullaby, only lasting a little over 30 minutes, Mint Condition upped the ante, though the rumble of bass threatened to overpower lead singer Stokley Williams' silky voice and anything else you might have wanted to hear.
Mint Condition ended with "Pretty Brown Eyes," which the crowd had obviously been waiting for, reminded everyone to buy the new CD (E-Life), and got out of the way for the main event.
Overheard in the audience: "This is how you party." How right he was.
Notebook: To the usher who put us in the wong seats twice: Just so you know, it's hard to pay attention, much less take accurate notes, when you have to gather your things and waddle across the venue during a band's finale. You've got to know your house well enough to seat your patrons correctly. ... I apologize to fans who were at the K104 Summer Jam. I realize now that you might have very well been put in the wrong seats, causing a game of musical chairs that lasted throughout the night. ... A shoutout to Mint Condition guitarist Homer O'Dell, who by the end of the night had brought Prince's antics to mind more than once, once even crawling on the floor while playing. ... Mint Condition's newest CD was released in May. ... Dwele also has a new CD released this year, Sketches of a Man.
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Our Metro department got a tip that the Jonas Brothers family is moving to Westlake. Check out the story and documents here. We'll be on top of the details as they come.
The prospect of tween girls' favorite boy band becoming North Texas residents — exciting or annoying? Or are you simply indifferent, as long as it's not your street getting clogged with a bunch of drive-by swooning? Tell us what you think.
• More Jonas Brothers on the blog
(AP photo: Joe, Nick and Kevin)
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Yes, Tejano fans, as I reported here earlier this year, the Tejano Music Convention kicks off at the Dallas Convention Center Aug. 15 and runs through Aug. 17. There will be seminars, dance lessons, a fanfare and expo, classes teaching saxophone, accordion and trumpet, and of course concert performances from Jay Perez, Shelly Lares, the Hometown Boys, Ruben Ramos, Michael Salgado, Elida Reyna, Sunny Sauceda, Jaime y los Chamacos and many others. Check out www.tejanoticket.com for all the info you could possibly need.
Photo: Jay Perez at the Tejano Music Convention press conference last February (G.J. McCarthy/DMN).
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I'll be honest. Behind the scenes details don't interest me much. So I'd never heard of this Scott Storch character (former pianist for The Roots and producer of several pop and hip-hop hits, for those of you who didn't know, either) until embarrassing revelations about his bling-to-broke situation got plastered all over the Web recently. Check out the story, a few videos of his hits and other info here.
(AP photo: Storch with Paris Hilton in 2006)
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Tickets for "The Jones Experience," with Nas and special guests (can I get an amen?) Talib Kweli at the House of Blues, went on sale today at 10 a.m. The show is scheduled for Aug. 26, and tickets are $35 to $75. Also scheduled to perform are DJ Green Lantern and Jay Electronica.
DJ Green Lantern and Nas released a mixtape preceding Nas' new, untitled project. You know, the one with that word that caused a bit of an uproar. Need some incentive besides the invective used to originally title the album? Downloads are us.
(Peter Kramer/AP Photo)
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