311 Unity Tour 2009

Nick Hexum plays on the 2008 311 tour. / 311.com

311 recently announced a Midwest / West Coast summer tour to follow their spring tour. The spring tour begins April 15 in Tuscon, Ariz., and finishes May 16 in Nashville. The Summer Unity Tour will pick up on June 3 in Bakersfield, Calif., and continue through July 12 with a closing show in Irvine, Calif., for a total of 47 dates in three months. 

The tour will include such venues as Red Rocks in Golden, Colo., The University of Iowa Fieldhouse, The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC, The Austin Music Hall in Austin, Texas and The Saratoga Performing Arts Center, to name a few. 311 will headline with a variety of opening acts including Ziggy Marley, Full Service, Red Jumpsuit Aparatus, Passafire, The Urgency, Blue Island Tribe, The Movement and The 88, with others to be announced. Check out 311.com for details.

No Doubt's Entire Digital Catalog: Free With Online Ticket Purchase

No Doubt, who recently announced a 2009 tour, will be giving away a digital copy of their entire discography to anyone who buys a top price level ticket (priced greater than $42.50) online for most dates on No Doubt's upcoming Summer tour, according to a statement on the band's Wbesite dated March 2, 2009.

"Since the band is heading back to the road, we wanted to find a cool way to get people listening to our music and stoke them with a great deal at the same time.  With this download its easy for fans to get psyched up to hear our music live once again and that rocks," No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont said.

This download includes more than 80 songs from the band's seven studio albums:

• The Singles 1992-2003 (2003)
  
• Everything In Time (B-Sides, Rarities, Remixes) (2003)
  
• Rock Steady (2001)
  
• Return Of Saturn (2000)
  
• Tragic Kingdom (1995)
  
• The Beacon Street Collection (1995)
  
• No Doubt (1992)
  

Also included is "Stand And Deliver" (originally by Adam And The Ants) - No Doubt's newest recording, only available with the download offer.  

The 2009 No Doubt Summer Tour is the first tour since the band co-headlined with Blink 182 in 2004. The Sounds, Janelle Monae and Bedouin Soundclash will open for No Doubt on select dates. 

Tour dates:

May 2, 2009 Atlantic City, NJ

May 3, 2009 East Rutherford, NJ

May 16, 2009 Las Vegas, NV

May 19, 2009 Fresno, CA

May 20, 2009 Bakersfield, CA

May 22, 2009 San Diego, CA

May 23, 2009 Phoenix, AZ

May 25, 2009 Salt Lake City, UT

May 27, 2009 Denver, CO

May 28, 2009 Albuquerque, NM

May 30, 2009 Dallas, TX

May 31, 2009 Houston, TX

Jun 2, 2009 Tampa, FL

Jun 3, 2009 West Palm Beach, FL

Jun 5, 2009 Atlanta, GA

Jun 6, 2009 Charlotte, NC

Jun 8, 2009 Raleigh, NC

Jun 10, 2009 Virginia Beach, VA

Jun 11, 2009 Philadelphia, PA

Jun 13, 2009 Pittsburgh, PA

Jun 14, 2009 Washington, DC

Jun 16, 2009 Toronto, CAN

Jun 17, 2009 Montreal, CAN

Jun 19, 2009 Darien Center, NY

Jun 20, 2009 Boston, MA

Jun 24, 2009 Uncasville, CT

Jun 26, 2009 Holmdel, NJ

Jun 27, 2009 Wantagh, NY

Jun 29, 2009 Cleveland, OH

Jun 30, 2009 London, ON, CAN

Jul 2, 2009 Milwaukee, WI

Jul 3, 2009 Detroit, MI

Jul 5, 2009 Saint Paul, MN

Jul 6, 2009 Kansas City, MO

Jul 8, 2009 St. Louis, MO

Jul 10, 2009 Indianapolis, IN

Jul 11, 2009 Chicago, IL

Jul 13, 2009 Winnipeg, CAN

Jul 15, 2009 Calgary, CAN

Jul 16, 2009 Edmonton, AB, CAN

Jul 18, 2009 Vancouver, CAN

Jul 19, 2009 Seattle, WA

Jul 21, 2009 Concord, CA

Jul 24, 2009 Sacramento, CA

Jul 25, 2009 Mountain View, CA

Jul 27, 2009 Universal City, CA

Jul 28, 2009 Universal City, CA

Jul 31, 2009 Irvine, CA

Aug 1, 2009 Irvine, CA

Aug 2, 2009 Irvine, CA

PHISH set to blow the top off: the Mothership, Internet bandwith, USA

With Phish's reunion shows upon us, Friday through Sunday in Hampton, Va., the band's enoroumous weight and very entheustiac fanbase will culminate in an event that will rock musical history for years to come and test the city of Hampton and Internet bandwith everywhere.

Because of the high-profile nature of these shows, many ticketless fans will likely be outside the venue and hanging out on the streets of Hampton, a city of nearly 150,000 on the ocean. With the number of fans a Phish show can draw and the relatively low number of tickets sold for the small venue, it seems the influx of Phishheads washing up on the beach in Virginia is inevitable.

A similar influx was witnessed in 1996, when Phish played four nights at Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Golden, Colo. With Red Rocks being a premiere destination for bands of all types and seemed to be a favorite of the Phish crowd, the band sold out each night and the extra fans who didn't get a ticket spilled out onto the streets of Golden. One fan was hit by a truck and injured and there were fights and a police presence.

Phish Guitarist Trey Anastasio looks back on the Red Rocks situation with anger, sadness and resignation, according to the Phish Archive.

"Yes a kid did get hit by a car and I feel terrible about that," he said. "I always feel terrible if anybody gets hurt in any way at one of our concerts. But when you get that many people together, somebody is going to get hurt."

Phish posted a statement regarding this subject on their Website today, Friday, March 6, 2009.

"As most of you are probably aware, all three upcoming Hampton Coliseum shows are completely sold-out. If you don't have tickets to a particular show, we ask that you please refrain from going to the venue in hopes of getting one. Even if no ticketless fans show up, sold-out Phish shows in communities like Hampton are high-impact events that strain the normal daily flow. Add ticketless fans to the equation and the situation can quickly become overwhelming to the

local community. Thanks in advance for respecting the Phish scene."

Photograph by JWGammon

Another reason there may be more ticketless fans than ususal is because when tickets went on sale for these three shows, the Ticketmaster system was overwhelmed and sent many fans away with repeated error messages. This phenomon also happened during the summer tour tickets sale and has helped to prompt talks of a Ticketmaster/Livenation merger.

The Internet is being threatened again, as countless fans are buzzing about the shows and ready to download them when they come available. Phish.com is offering free, professionally-recorded Mp3 downloads of the reunion shows within 24 hours of each performance. Phish.com has a redesigned splash page that will list the sets live as they happen.

If you don't want to be spoiled, however, and want to get quality downloads of the shows ASAP, check out the No Spoilers Hampton Downloads on Mr. Miner's Phish Page. This page will offer two files to download -- set I and set II available in two formats. To take advantage of the crazy amount of traffic this will likely produce, download using the torrent link, which downloads the file from a network of users and speeds up as more users join in on the download/upload. Here are instructions on downloading a torrent file.

We've seen the Phish scene do some amazing things over the years; turning abandoned aircraft bases into the largest city in the state, lining a Vermont highway with cars as fans walked miles to a festival when mud prohibited their cars, and participating in the world's largest nude photo shoot. Let's hope the gravity of this event and the subsequent summer tour goes off without a

hitch and there aren't too many problems resulting from displaced fans. I can't say I would be able to resist the parking lot scene and dreams of a miracle if I lived anywhere near Hampton.

Photo by Rickvug

The line of cars on the highway in Coventry, Vt. before Phish's *final* shows in August of 2004.

Oak Ridge Boys join SXSW Fest Lineup

AUSTIN, TEXAS – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and Festival, scheduled for Wednesday, March 18 - 22, 2009, in Austin, Texas, announced this week that the Oak Ridge Boys will be playing this year's festival.

Through decades of mainstream success, the Oak Ridge Boys continue to reinvent themselves, meeting the challenges of the changing nature of the music industry. As their era of radio dominance wound down, they forged unique marketing partnerships and sought out innovative concert bookings.

The Oak Ridge Boys play more than 170 dates a year and are annually among the top grossing acts in country music. Their multi-platinum 1981 hit recording of "Elvira" started a chain of more hits with sales exceeding 30 million.

The Oak Ridge Boys will sit down for a SXSW Interview on Thursday March 19 at 3:30 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center. The group will expound upon their experience, offer advice to new artists, answer audience questions, and possibly offer an a cappella song or two. For the first 200 registrants, there will be a giveaway of free Oak Ridge Boys Blu-Blocker Magnum sunglasses. For more information on the Oak Ridge Boys, visit www.oakridgeboys.com.

The South By Southwest Music and Media Conference takes place March 18 - 22, 2009, at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. The previously announced Quincy Jones' keynote anchors four days of panels, interviews, workshops, peer meetings and the trade show exhibition covering a wide variety of topics, addressing the concerns and interests of musicians, executives and music lovers. Daytime events flow into the world-renowned music festival, which showcases over 1,800 acts on stages throughout downtown Austin.

For more information on SXSW or to register for the conference, please access the website at www.sxsw.com or e-mail sxsw@sxsw.com.

Bands Still Rocking and Touring in 2009

2009 is shaping up to be another year that will feature many nostalgic bands (and members of bands) that were big in their heydays in the 1960s and 7os, and still rocking hard and selling out arenas in their golden years. 

Paul McCartney will be appearing for three dates this summer, April 4 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, April 17 at Empire Polo Field in Indio in Calif., and April 19 at The Joint in Las Vegas. 

The Dead will be playing 22 shows beginning April 12 in Greensboro, NC, and ending up May 16 at The Gorge in Washington. The 2009 lineup will feature original Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, along with guitarist Warren Haynes and Ratdog keyboard player Jeff Chimenti. Both Haynes and Chimenti are also veterans of the 2004 Dead Wave that Flag tour, according to the band's website. 

I was lucky enough to see The Dead on their 2004 tour and also Phil Lesh and Friends at the 10,000 Lakes Festival in 2006. The true spirit of the Grateful Dead rings out loud and clear and the band rocks the choruses while also carrying out beautiful and spaced-out jams. Tickets for this tour are pricey, but The Dead will not disappoint. 

Elton John is currently on a tour that is scheduled to go until Aug. 1. Sir Elton will be joined by Billy Joel on part of the tour, and Elton will play some shows solo, including a concert at the University of Wyoming to benefit Matthew Shephard, a gay man who was murdered near Laramie in 1998. 

Other Bands still touring or returning to the tour circuit (some older than others) are Eric Clapton, Metallica, Phish, Fleetwood Mac, Joe Cocker, Ani DiFranco, Buddy Guy, The Who, Madonna, KISS, Radiohead, Dave Matthews, Jimmy Buffett, The Eagles, Peter Gabriel, Iron Maiden, the Allman Brothers and U2. 

Michael Jackson will be playing 10 nights at the O2 Arena in London in what he said will be his final "farewell shows."

Nine Inch Nails will tour with Jane's Addiction in what will be a raging flame for NIN's final performances, according to band founder and frontman Trent Reznor.