phish

Music News You Can Use: Ticket Broker Woes

Friday, February 6th, 2009

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Big Bruce and big broker mending … Ticketmaster issued a apology to Bruce Springsteen Wednesday after a ticket distribution fiasco for the singer’s Working on a Dream tour was followed by an onslaught of disappointed fans who couldn’t purchase tickets and, well, an unhappy post-Superbowl Springsteen. In an open apology letter sent to Bruce and his tour team, Ticketmaster Entertainment CEO Irving Azoff says that they were trying to “do the right thing for the fans by providing more choices” but “clearly missed the mark.”

Ticketmaster ain’t the only one … Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s potential partner in ticket sales, has issued a pledge of improvements after Phish fans encountered problems while purchasing the long-awaited reunion tour tickets on Live Nation’s new system. In response to the numerous complaints, a less sympathetic CEO, Nathan Hubbard of Live Nation Ticketing said, “When you have 10 million requests from your ticketing system and only 20,000 seats, there’s going to be a line.” Tsk tsk.

Speaking of Phish and Springsteen … They are both headlining this year’s Bonnaroo Music Festival, alongside the E Street Band. The Manchester, Tennessee festival will be held June 11-14, and will also feature appearances from the Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, Snoop Dogg, MGMT and, gasp, guitar phenoms Rodrigo y Gabriela. Tickets go on sale February 7, and will offer a pretty sweet payment plan of five $50 payments.

Not all festivals may be faring well … Miami’s Langerado Music Festival, which features artists Death Cab For Cutie, Snoop Dogg, Dashboard Confessional, and Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, has been cancelled due to “sluggish ticket sales,” according to the festival’s organizers. Though the three day pass costs a relatively decent $150, promoters say that it is the economy that has slowed sales to a meager 30 tickets per day. Tickets will be refunded within the next seven days, they say.

Music News You Can Use: New Year, Same Ol’ Hype

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

Who’s performing at the Grammys? No surprise here… As if the ‘08 hype wasn’t enough for them, the headlining acts for this year’s Grammy Awards include the Jonas Brothers, Lil’ Wayne, Coldplay, and Kenny Chesney. The ceremony, which has been bitterly dissed in the past in Kanye-esque fashion, will be airing live from Los Angeles on CBS February 8th.

Speaking of which, West in the nude, anyone?… In an effort to pull another empty publicity stunt, Kanye wants to decrease his fan base by posing naked but only after working out for two months. West says in a Vibe interview that having less fans provides more “freedom,” and by revealing his all, he will be breaking “every rule and mentality of hip-hop, of black culture, of American culture.” Just like every (sampled) hit you’ve had, Kanye?

Your iTunes gift cards may be worth more, maybe… Apple Inc. has announced that most songs available on iTunes will go for 69 cents a track, 30 cents cheaper than years past. But the new price comes with more than one catch: songs that are deemed “popular” will be marked up for $1.29, while other songs will be bundled with exclusives and videos, resulted in a hiked price overall. Hmm, your mind games aren’t fooling us, Mr. Jobs (we still send you our best).

Something smells a little Phishy… After an accidental leakage through concert promoter Live Nation, popular jam band Phish have confirmed that they are reuniting for a summer tour, their first in five years. The tour starts June 4 at Wantagh, NY, and ends June 21 at East Troy, WI. Tickets go on sale to the public January 30 at 10 a.m. ET.

Music News You Can Use: Detour Fest, Crazy Comebacks, and Mixtape Madness

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

LA’s third annual Detour Festival is this Saturday, and the lineup looks delish! Come downtown to see a hodgepodge of over thirty indie and electro artists, including The Mars Volta, Gogol Bordello, Shiny Toy Guns and Cut Copy. The fest is from noon to midnight, best believe I’ll be there the whole time! For set times, a map, and tickets, go here. Also, check back with P+P Monday for my review of the all-day event.

Comebacks galore! Brit boys Oasis have issued new tour dates and are streaming their forthcoming album Dig Out Your Soul here. Also, Phish reunion rumors are confirmed; they have announced three shows in Hampton, Va. and will be announcing more shortly. Chris Cornell is collaborating with Timbaland for his upcoming album, Scream (bizaare, indeed). And finally, this one takes the cake: UK punk pioneers The Clash have a self-written biography coming out, which is less than a reunion, but more than I can ask for (yay!).

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