It's been less than a month since DJ AM and former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker walked away from a jet crash that claimed the lives of four others. Two skin-graft surgeries later, AM (born Adam Goldstein) was back to work last night, manning the decks for Jay-Z's concert marking the reopening of the Hollywood Palladium.
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Posted 9/22/08 12:28 pm EST by Gil Kaufman in Concerts
As usual, the lineup for this year's Bridge School Benefit concert — which raises money for the school co-founded by Neil Young and his wife, Pegi, for children with severe physical disabilities and speech impediments — reads like an awesomely random sampling from the musical phone book.
The 22nd annual event will be held October 25 and 26 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, and will feature sets from Young, Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, Cat Power and Jack Johnson, as well as one-day drop-ins from the Smashing Pumpkins, Norah Jones, ZZ Top and, um, Josh Groban, according to Billboard.com. Most artists play all-acoustic sets, and Young traditionally opens and closes each day, with some help from his friends, of course. Wilco and Death Cab are currently on tour with Young.
Posted 7/28/08 5:38 pm EST by MTV News in Behind The Scenes, Concerts, Interviews, John Norris, mccarren park pool, the-ting-tings
By Megan Warner
There's nothing like standing under a giant metal stage during a lightning storm — it gets the heart rate up.
But when fellow producers Sarah Muller, Daniela Capistrano and myself headed out with John Norris to interview the Ting Tings, the duo seemed unfazed by the whole we-might-get-electrocuted-out-here thing.
"I think it's dramatic," said Ting Tings frontwoman Katie White, noting that being from England, they are pretty used to the rain. "Maybe the pool will fill up!"
Mother Nature didn’t make things easy for anyone at the at the Jelly NYC Pool Party. I had to balance the wireless mic adapter at a certain angle to avoid static, and to keep both the camera and talent dry, we built a dome of umbrellas. But the wind wasn't having it. A sudden gust took John's umbrella (which he referred to as a small lightning rod) out of the picture, and he had to wrestle it back as it flipped inside out.
Find out how we survived the storm and watch footage of the show after the jump!
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Posted 7/23/08 4:43 pm EST by MTV News in Concerts, tour, Video
By Matt Elias
It seems like every time I catch up with Maroon 5 they're about to head out on tour, and the situation was no different last week. Band members Adam Levine and James Valentine were kind enough to give us a few minutes of their time while prepping for their North American jaunt with Counting Crows.
Marooned in a studio near Los Angeles, the guys rehearsed on a fully rigged stage (exactly how it will appear on tour) complete with TONS of lasers — and you can never have too many lasers, as James pointed out. "I want to have them shoot out of my guitar!" he said.
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Posted 7/18/08 12:14 pm EST by Gil Kaufman in Concerts
We've all done it. You crush up to the front of the line at the merch booth of your favorite band at the local arena and gasp at the prices for the $40 T-shirts and $150 hoodies. What's a poor, dedicated fan to do? Buy some crappy bootleg shirt outside the stadium from a shady dude with a ragged cardboard box of knock-offs that look like the real thing, only blurrier and printed on shirts that feel like they're made out of shredded bamboo?
Turns out some of the quality control inside the stadiums on Coldplay's current tour wasn't so hot either. The band has decided to voluntarily yank some of the merchandise from sale after they reportedly felt it was not up to their U2-aspiring standards.
According to the NME, singer Chris Martin announced the decision as the band was gearing up to kick off their 67-date world tour on Tuesday is Los Angeles.
"We were in the dressing room in L.A. looking at some of the stuff and much of it — especially some of the T-shirts — looked terrible," Martin said. "We put so much work into our music. The same quality control has to extend to stuff being sold at our shows, and we made that clear. It has to be a no crap zone."
Posted 7/11/08 5:12 pm EST by Lindsey Thomas in Concerts, Music
Yesterday, a group of us headed to Brooklyn to watch more than 80 girls wail on guitar, terrorize the drums and scream their rock-lovin' hearts out. And when I say "girls," I don't just mean "females." We're talking 8- to 18-year-olds who've spent the week at the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls.
The camp, now in its fourth year, takes over an empty high school, fills the classrooms with instruments (drum kits, bass guitars — even turntables!) and lets its campers go wild. In addition to giving the girls the confidence needed to rock out, counselors also teach workshops like songwriting, self-defense and T-shirt silk-screening.
The girls will show off their new skills Saturday at a special concert at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. We'll show you footage from that and our rock-filled day at camp in the upcoming weeks. In the meantime, check out more photos of LOL — just one of the young bands ready to rock your face off — after the jump.
Posted 7/10/08 11:35 am EST by MTV News in Britney Spears, Concerts, For The Record, Madonna, tour
· On Wednesday, cameras finally rolled on Britney Spears' video shoot for Madonna's tour. In the clip, Brit, clad in a gray hoodie, walks into an elevator and nervously paces as it begins its ascent. She then kicks and smacks the elevator walls, screams into the camera and pulls down her hood to yell, "It's Britney, bitch."
· Nobody here is trying to tell Amy Winehouse how to live her life. But does it really make sense for the troubled "Rehab" singer to be launching her own club night at London's Camden Monarch on Thursday (July 10)? Love the name, though: "Snakehips at the Monarch."
· Vanessa Hudgens has finally revealed who leaked those nude photos of her last year: "stupid people."
· Here's the rehearsal footage of the Flaming Lips practicing their cover of the Who's "Tommy" in preparation for Saturday's VH1 Rock Honors concert (airing July 17). All we can say is: fish-eye lens, lots of smoke, a strobing gong, alien helium vocals and some kind of silver tassel rah-rah drum stick being waved around by singer Wayne Coyne. Have we mentioned how much we love the Lips?
· After the free Bon Jovi All-Star Concert in Central Park on Saturday, Sheryl Crow, 3 Doors Down and Josh Groban are getting in on the musical action at the All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium on July 15.
Posted 7/1/08 11:07 pm EST by MTV News in Concerts
By Matt Elias
Sunday night marked a momentous day in the U.K. as the Police played their last-ever show there — and MTV News was there to cover it all. London’s Hyde Park was the location, and fans packed shoulder-to-shoulder to catch their last glimpse of the trio, who were Sunday’s headliners at the Hard Rock Calling music festival.
Eric Clapton headlined Saturday night’s show, with Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, KT Tunstall, Jason Mraz and Starsailor rounding out the festival’s bill. Fans were treated to gorgeous, rain-free weather on both days, and were treated to a special Saturday night performance when Clapton encored with special guests Mayer and Crow on “Crossroads.”
Of course all the talk backstage was about the Police playing their last U.K. show and about Eric Clapton, since both have had a strong influence on the bands that took the stage before them. Check out photos from the show, and watch our full wrap-up below:
You can also check out my show reviews from both days of the festival over at You R Here.
Posted 6/30/08 3:38 pm EST by MTV News in Concerts, Festivals
By Megan Warner
Nothing says summertime like rock music and dodgeball in a giant outdoor bathtub.
At least that's what I saw yesterday, when I accompanied fellow digital producer Sarah Muller and shooter Brendan Kennedy to the first aptly named Pool Party of the season in Brooklyn, New York.
The show, featuring the Hold Steady and the Loved Ones, was a success — if a wet one, and not because of anything related to pools. Fans seemed unfazed by the nearly tropical storm and stuck around for the Hold Steady's set. (Check out my pics here!) Led by frontman Craig Finn's flailing arm gestures and Tad Kubler's wailing guitar solos, this band had what it took to make everyone forget the gloomy weather. Of course, the steady (ahem) flow of beer helped people forget too. Read More...
Posted 6/27/08 5:23 pm EST by MTV News in Concerts, Radiohead
There's nothing better in the summer than going to an outdoor festival and enjoying live music under the stars, but jacked-up gas prices could put an end to that warm-weather tradition.
Higher prices at the pump mean less spending money -- so is that going to keep you from seeing your favorite act onstage this summer?