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Home > Atlanta Music Scene > Archives > 2008 > March > 10
Monday, March 10, 2008
Van Halen in Gwinnett postponed again
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s off again.
The Van Halen gig at Gwinnett Arena that was rescheduled for March 19 has been postponed for a second time. In fact, the band’s entire schedule through April 15 has been scrapped for the moment.
According to a statement from the band’s publicist, “seventeen concert dates on the Van Halen tour are being rescheduled so that Eddie Van Halen, who is currently under doctors’ care, can continue medical tests to define a course of treatment. The tour will resume on April 19th.”
The press release goes on to state that ticket holders can retain their tickets and they’ll be honored at the future dates, but refunds will be available at point of purchase.
Stevie Nicks plans concert in Alpharetta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park continues its parade of classic rockers with the announcement of Stevie Nicks’ June 10 concert.
The pop soloist and one-time Fleetwood Mac frontwoman swings her now-five-date 2008 tour through Alpharetta. 
Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday at Ticketmaster outlets.
Known for her work with the on-again, off-again Fleetwood Mac, Nicks’ solo ventures during the ’80s helped to fortify an already impressive musical resume she had with the band.
The Mac album “Rumors” and her first solo project “Bella Donna” made her a star. And singles like “Gypsy,” (Watch video) from Fleetwood Mac’s 1982 “Mirage” LP, or singular tunes “Stand Back” (Watch Video) and “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (Watch video) helped cement her place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Nicks joins the list of throwback artists either making comebacks with recent albums (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers or The Eagles) or reviving old material (Rod Stewart) at the open-air venue (CHECK SHOW DATES).
Owned and operated by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the $35 million outdoor amphitheater will seat 12,000 in a mixture of open lawn space, reserved seating and tables.
In addition to the bevy of rock acts, ASO will fill out the bill with a number of performances, beginning with the venue’s opening concert on May 10.
For tickets, contact Ticketmaster at 404-249-6400 or www.ticketmaster.com.
Vampire Weekend at The Earl
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Vampire Weekend — one of the fastest-rising, freshest bands around — took the stage at The Earl in East Atlanta Sunday night, and one woman in her 20s near the stage said softly, “They’re, like, 12.”
Actually the four members of Vampire Weekend are 23 and 24, just out of Columbia University in New York, where they were playing frat parties not long ago. With one self-made CD and a boost from the indie music blogosphere, they have blown up at what Spin magazine calls “the new speed of buzz,” in its March cover story that annointed them “The Year’s Best New Band.”
That cover led to a last-minute booking on “Saturday Night Live” and then straight to Atlanta to open their national tour as opening act for the Walkmen at the small but hip club, the kind of place where everyone clustered around the stage sports an iPhone, Chuck Taylors or both.
For the uninitiated, Vampire Weekend’s music is much friendlier than their name would imply. Their debut CD is filled with jangly African guitar rhythms coupled with a driving beat, insanely catchy melodies and clever lyrics about college life and growing up privileged. They’re like Paul Simon’s talented kids remixing “Graceland.”
“When the show was first announced in January, they weren’t that big at all,” said Crystal Rodgers, a barista in Virginia-Highland, who staked out a spot right in front of the tiny stage. “Now they’re everywhere. Their music instantly puts you in a good mood.”
Jordan Parker of Vinings was one of several fans who didn’t care about the headliners, just the opening act. “I don’t even know who the Walkmen are,” he said. “I’m just here for Vampire Weekend. You get such a better experience up close with just a few hundred people. They’ll never do a club like this again.”
Even though it’s unusual to be on “SNL” one night and an opening act in a bar’s back room the next, the band seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. Lead singer Ezra Koenig wore a navy cardigan with a duck motif, the kind of sweater your dad would wear; he’s working out some kind of anti-rock star persona, and he’s so sweet and eager to please that it’s a blast to watch. Rubber-kneed, he bounced on tiptoes for the high notes in “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.” The set closer, “Oxford Comma,” which sounds a little like the old folk tune “Wimoweh” re-written by an English major, had all four Vampires shouting along.
For now they’re unspoiled and only on the radar of a select few. “It’ll be interesting,” said Rodgers, “to see what happens when the kids and MTV find out about ‘em.”
T.I.’s Last Appearance On Stage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hold on now - don’t let that headline alarm you.
Last we heard, the Atlanta artist born Clifford Harris Jr. (above), better known as rapper-actor T.I., was still and, well, as well as can be expected when you’re at your lakefront estate on house arrest, facing charges of trying to buy machine guns and awaiting the birth of his fourth son.
This post is about the DVD fellow AJCer Jill Vejnoska (a.k.a. Mariah) so graciously left on our desk some weeks before it hits stores: BET’s Hip Hop Awards 2007.
Now you may be saying to yourself, “So what? I’ve already seen that show at least half of the zillion times it’s been replayed on TV. Why would I buy it?”
Well clearly the folks putting this out are betting you’ll plunk down $19.99 on one thing you could not have seen in those zillion replays, no matter how many carrots you’ve been eating: Footage of T.I.’s rehearsals shortly before he was arrested blocks away from the Atlanta Civic Center on the aforementioned gun charges.
So is it worth it? Mmmmm, you know, you can’t help but look especially hard at him, and wonder what’s going on behind the wraparound sun glasses, and underneath the wool cap he’s wearing. (He surely doesn’t look out of the ordinary, nor is he acting the anxious way one might expect someone to act who is allegedly about to buy guns and silencers.)
You can’t help but listen a little closer during the performances of “Hurt” and “You Know What It Is” when he says things like “I ain’t scared of the law”, “I’ve got an AK and you don’t” and “I still keep that thang, right up under my shirt” - again, considering what happened after the rehearsals.
And at the same time you can’t help but still be engaged by what is- even at a rehearsal, even with all that’s unfortunate surrounding T.I. now - an electric performance.
Would you be willing to plunk down a 20 to see it March 18? Where do you think T.I. ranks in terms of performers? And do you believe his recent troubles have hurt or helped him as a recording artist?
