TimmyB

I paid $25 for a lifetime membership into Prince's NPG Music club with the ability to buy tickets through them.

I got 2 second row floor seats via the club for Prince in Toronto. Now THAT's how it's done!

I can't argue with that. Prince did it a lot better than U2.

I will say this though, the demand for a U2 ticket far surpass the demand for a Prince ticket. It is a lot harder for U2 to please all there fans when it comes to presale tickets than Prince.

That being said when it comes to the price of Princes fan club membership and it being a lifetime membership that is far better than U2's $40 one year membership.

Of course we are all entitled to our opinions. And for that I apologize for my previous remarks.

I do agree with you to an extent, that if you buy a $40US membership it should guarantee you advance tickets. But this U2 told everbody up front that it would only guarantee people the opportunity. So people complaining about not getting the tickets they wanted or any tickets at all are ignorant of the facts that were given to them.

I think this whole U2 presale problem as I said before has everything to do with supply and demand. U2 can not please everybody, if they performed stadiums in every major city around the world there would still be people outside wanting to get in.

I hope I get a pair of tickets when the Toronto presale goes on sale. If I don't I hope I get tickets during the general onsale. If I don't I might post it here or on www.u2.com that I didn't get tickets. But I won't expect sympathy because that's life, and I'm going into it with my eyes wide open.

Maybe I've been reading about U2 members complain about this whole scenario too much and I should take a break all together.

Once again number2 I apologize.

fu©king sellouts.. that band is all about fortune and fame these days... $40 just for an opportunity??? come on... I wouldn't go to that show with a free ticket just out of principle... disgusting.

Hey that's great number2! One less person I have to worry about going to U2 this year.

Read the last paragraph for information on Neil Young recently recording something outside of his Broken Arrow ranch.

from www.billboard.com

Billboard Bits: Junos

Rock legend Neil Young will give a rare awards show performance at Canada's Juno Awards, to be held April 3 at the MTS Center in Winnipeg. Young was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1982 and has earned three Juno awards during his nearly 40-year career.

Also set to appear perform is 2005 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees the Tragically Hip. Nominations will be announced Feb. 7 for the Junos, which will air live nationwide on the CTV network.

In related news, Young has recently logged time at Shangri-La Studios in Los Angeles. A spokesperson had no details on the nature of the sessions, which are thought to be yielding Young's follow-up to the 2003 Reprise album "Greendale."

-- Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter

Very sad news. May you rest in peace Jim Capaldi.

Traffic was an amazing group.

Since I'm one of those U2 fans involved, as I'm waiting patiently for tour announcements for Toronto or at least the area and I paide $40US for their membership. Also since I've had the week off work and have been reading nearly everything on the subject on www.u2.com from the News section to the messageboard.

I feel I have a handle on what has happened with the whole scenario with the presale problem with U2.

First off supply and demand is an issue. U2 are more popular now than they have been for their last two tours. Their new website had more hits on it in two months than their previous website had and the older website ran for a decade.

Also U2's latest album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" sold more copies in its first two months of release than what their previous effort "All That You Can't Leave Behind" sold in a year.

A problem that U2 ran into for this presale was that there were way too many fans attempting to get a limited amount of presale tickets for each show.

Which brings me to my second point of why this issue of U2 fans being disappointed about what happened this week with the presale.

Ignorance. U2 fans were told upfront that joining the U2 fan club membership would give them the opportunity to get tickets through a presale, it never guaranteed them anything. Too many people joined the site without reading all the information given to them.

In all my readings on the messageboard on u2.com I have also found that way too many people don't even know what a ticket limit means, how to order online, what an advance and/or same day wristband policy is and more things too numerous to mention.

U2 and ticketmaster might be having some difficulties with what is going on with the presale, but the fans are having difficulty with what is going on with reality.

Do we get Carson in Ottawa? If so, can someone tape the three nights for me? I go to bed really early now, 'cause of my new job...

Carson Daly is on after Conan O'Brien on NBC, so yes you do get it in Ottawa.

I can't wait to see Sir Paul McCartney again!

from www.billboard.com

Edited By Jonathan Cohen. January 26, 2005, 5:20 PM ET

McCartney Nailing Down North American Tour

Sir Paul McCartney will take advantage of media focus surrounding his halftime performance at Super Bowl XXXIX on Feb. 6 to announce his upcoming tour of North America, sources tell Billboard.com. The Beatles legend will play 38 North American cities beginning Sept. 16 in Miami and running until the end of November.

Tickets are expected to go on sale the last week in February. McCartney last visited North American in 2002 as part of a world tour that grossed more than $126 million and drew nearly one million fans.

McCartney is working on a new album for Capitol but no timetable has been set for its release. As previously reported, the artist has collaborated with producer Nigel Godrich (Beck, Radiohead) and multi-instrumentalist Jason Falkner on the set, which will be his first studio album since 2001's "Driving Rain."

The touring landscape will be relatively crowded with superstars this fall, as U2 will be on the second U.S. leg of its Vertigo tour, and the Rolling Stones also are believed to have an outing in the works.

-- Ray Waddell, Nashville

KING CRIMSON "Discipline" (1981 Virgin/EMI)

That's too bad I'll be at the Sting "Broken Music Tour" at the John Labatt Centre on Saturday April 23rd.

Typically held in Toronto, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences started taking the Junos on the road in 2002 with a jaunt to St. John's, Nfld.

Hamilton hosted the Juno's for several years in a row not too long ago didn't they? I went the first year --- saw Moist, and saw Buffy St. Marie get inducted into the Hall of Fame, weeeooooh!

Don't you know? Hamilton is apart of the GTA. It's only seventy kilometres away!

Tim, are you seriously thining of flying to Winnipeg just to see Neil play one song? That's pretty hard-core.

Hey RayRay,

I just checked for flights and the cheapest out to Winnipeg from YYZ is under $240. But with hotels expedia.ca has the trip over $700, plus tickets, transportation in the city, food, etc. I'm doubt I'll go to Winnipeg to see Neil Young perform one song. Rachael would kill me!

Though if before February 12, Neil Young announces a concert over that weekend in Winnipeg to coincide with the Junos, I'm there!

March 7th is now marked on my calender, thanks Wilco!

from www.rollingstone.com

B-sides are born

Photo by Danny Clinch

Wilco Enhance "Ghost"

Band to offer free bonus tracks via Web site

Wilco are offering free bonus tracks to people who have purchased their A Ghost Is Born CD. On March 7th, Ghost outtakes "Panthers" and "Kicking Television," along with live versions of "Handshake Drugs," "The Late Greats" and "At Least That's What You Said," will be available for download at wilcoworld.net. Visitors must insert a copy of the CD into their computers to gain access to the downloads.

The following day, the band will release a double-LP vinyl edition of A Ghost Is Born, featuring new art work and album cover, as well as a limited-edition vinyl version of 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

Wilco will be touring the U.S. through February before heading to Europe in March.

Wilco U.S. tour dates:

2/8: Champaign, IL, Foellinger Auditorium

2/9: Columbus, OH, Wexner Center

2/11: Cincinnati, Taft Theater

2/12: Memphis, Orpheum Theater

2/13: Birmingham, Alabama Theater

2/15: Orlando, House of Blues

2/16: Tampa, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center

2/17: Pompano Beach, FL, Pompano Beach Ampitheater

2/18: Savannah, GA, Savannah College of Art and Design

2/19: Myrtle Beach, SC, House of Blues

2/21: Charlotte, Ovens Auditorium

2/23-24: Washington DC, 9:30 Club

2/25: Cleveland, House of Blues

2/26: Kalamazoo, MI, State Theater

JESSICA ROBERTSON

(Posted Jan 26, 2005)

I'm looking forward to seeing Robert Plant again!

from www.billboard.com

Edited By Jonathan Cohen. January 26, 2005, 3:30 PM ET

Plant Feeling 'Mighty' With Strange Sensation

Robert Plant will release his first album for Sanctuary, "Mighty Rearranger," on April 25 in the U.K. Credited to Plant and his current band the Strange Sensation, it's his first studio work since 2002's "Dreamland." The first U.K. single from the riff-laden 12-track set is "Shine It All Around," due for commercial release on April 18.

North American release plans are not yet finalized, according to a Sanctuary spokesperson.

The album was written in Snowdonia in Wales and Solsbury Hill in Somerset, England, with the Strange Sensation, which consists of guitarist Justin Adams, drummer Clive Deamer, pianist John Baggott, Skin Tyson (once of '90s U.K. rock act Cast) and bassist Billy Fuller.

In conjunction with his previously announced keynote address and performance at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, on March 17, Plant has scheduled four additional dates in the area.

The former Led Zeppelin frontman will also perform at a tsunami relief benefit on Feb. 19 in Bristol, England, alongside Massive Attack, the Coral and Portishead, who will be playing their first live show since 1997.

Here are Robert Plant's tour dates:

Feb. 19: Bristol, England (Academy, w/ Massive Attack, the Coral, Portishead)

March 11: Tulsa, Okla. (Cain's Ballroom)

March 13: Oklahoma City (Bricktown Events Center)

March 14: Dallas (Gypsy Room)

March 17: Austin, Texas (South by Southwest Music Festival)

March 19: Biloxi, Miss. (Beau Rivage Casino)

I can't believe but I'm thinking about flying to the Junos to see Neil Young perform one song at the Juno awards?

I'm going to check for flight prices right now.

At least I have a little over two weeks to decide the Juno awards do not go on sale until Saturday February 12, 2005 via ticketmaster.

from www.ctv.ca

Neil Young to perform at Junos in Winnipeg

Canadian Press

WINNIPEG — Rocker Neil Young is making good on his promise to attend the Juno Awards in the Prairie city where he spent part of his childhood.

The famously reclusive Toronto-born singer confirmed Wednesday that he will perform at the April 3 show.

He last attended a Juno ceremony in 1982 when he was inducted into the Music Hall of Fame.

"I'm not really big on awards shows,'' he told the Winnipeg Free Press in March 2004.

Young went on to say a Winnipeg edition of the Junos was "long overdue,'' adding he'd only show his face at the ceremony if it was held in the Manitoba capital.

"It should have been there 10 years ago,'' said the publicity-shy Young, one of the city's most successful musical exports.

The Tragically Hip were also announced as performers. The quintet, from Kingston, Ont., will be inducted into the Music Hall of Fame that evening.

Nominees will be revealed Feb. 7.

Airing live on CTV, the show will be hosted by Corner Gas comedian Brent Butt from Winnipeg's MTS Centre.

Typically held in Toronto, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences started taking the Junos on the road in 2002 with a jaunt to St. John's, Nfld. The awards have since been handed out in Ottawa and Edmonton. The 2006 festivities will be held in Halifax.

Cool!

from www.billboard.com

Edited By Jonathan Cohen. January 24, 2005, 4:30 PM ET

Dylan Lauded For 'Chronicles'

Long considered rock'n'roll's poet laureate, Bob Dylan can now add literary laurels to his list of honors. The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) has named Dylan's "Chronicles: Volume I" one of five nominees for best biography/autobiography.

The nod places Dylan alongside such luminaries as past bio winners Sylvia Nasar ("A Beautiful Mind"), Frank McCourt ("Angela's Ashes") and Philip Roth ("Patrimony: A True Story") and fellow 2005 bio nominees Ron Chernow ("Alexander Hamilton"); Stephen Greenblatt ("Will in the World"); John Guy ("Queen of Scots"); and Mark Stevens & Annalyn Swan ("De Kooning: An American Master").

"That is just great, great news," Dylan scholar Sean Wilentz said when told of the nomination. "The book is so good, so spot-on. How many music autobiographies are there that are any good?" Wilentz, a professor of history at Princeton University, is up for a Grammy this year for best album notes for Dylan's "Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall," the sixth album in the "Bootleg Series."

"Chronicles: Volume I" traces Dylan's life from his 1961 arrival in Greenwich Village through a creative and commercial slump during the '70s, to his comeback in the late '80s. The book, to be followed by two more volumes, is as distinctive as his lyrics and as eccentric as his persona. (He writes more of a Louisiana shopkeeper named Sun Pie, who has served as his philosophical muse, than he does his encounters with the Beatles, who get barely a mention. He is, his bio reveals, a fan of Ice-T and Mickey Rourke.)

Wilentz could not recall Dylan ever being nominated for a literary award. But "he does recognize these things," the professor said. "He keeps his Oscar [for the song "Things Have Changed," from the 2000 film "The Wonder Boys"] on one of the amps at every concert."

The NBCC Awards ceremony will be held Feb. 25 at the New School in New York. Asked to speculate on whether Dylan might attend, Wilentz said, "God knows. You never know with Dylan. The question is: Will you recognize him? He may well be there with a wig on."

Since its publication by Simon & Schuster in October, "Chronicles" has sold more than 312,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan. It is No. 5 on the bio/autobio bestsellers list for the week ending Jan. 16, having sold nearly 4,300 copies that week.

-- Chuck Shelton, The Book Standard

go see them in Norway.

That's in Ireland, isn't it? I mean, depending on who you ask...

WTF says that's in Ireland? I'd like to ask them so I can have a good laugh.

BTW I've never seen fans so upset about this first leg tour announcement that U2 just made on their official website!

People are so mad that their are no dates in their area that they are calling for blood since they all paid $40 US to do the pre-sale. Ah, this society has no patience anymore. U2 even said that this is only the first leg and more dates would be announced, but that's not good enough for these people. I'm being thoroughly entertained to be sure.

Thanks MarcO, but I think I'll wait until those 30 North American dates in the fall are announced.

from www.billboard.com

Edited By Jonathan Cohen. January 24, 2005, 11:00 AM ET

U2 Announces Tour Plans Through August

As exclusively revealed here Friday, U2 will kick off its 2005 Vertigo tour March 28 in San Diego. Sixteen North American dates are on tap so far for the first leg of the tour, which will wrap May 26 in Boston. Tickets for some shows begin going on sale Saturday (Jan. 29), but paid subscribers to U2's Web site can take advantage of an exclusive pre-sale beginning tomorrow.

The band has also confirmed 24 European summer dates, beginning June 10 in Brussels and concluding Aug. 14 in Lisbon. Although a routing has not yet been confirmed, U2 will return to North America for another 30-date leg in the fall.

As on the 2001 Elevation tour, the arena floor will be general admission for about 1,700-1,800 seats, depending on the building. And, like Elevation, the tour will feature unique production elements.

"This tour will be not unlike the last production in that the lowest priced tickets will be on the floor," says U2 manager Paul McGuinness. "The best seats are the cheapest, and we want people to get excited." He adds that details on distribution of floor tickets will be forthcoming. "Some will be on sale, some will be radio contest winners," he says.

The Beta Band (Never got their due and now they are gone)

Big Star (On every rock critic list [that matters] of best underrated bands)

J.J. Cale (A lot of great artists have covered Cale's songs. Why? Because they are great songs)

Calexico (Joey Burns and John Convertino play with every underrated artist, like Vic Chesnutt, Lisa Germano and Howie Gelb of Giant Sand)

The Flying Burrito Brothers (Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman at their best)

Guster (Of new bands out there right now, Guster are writing the best melodies. They are a cross between the Beach Boys and Talking Heads)

The Jayhawks (Altnerative country rock pioneers. They were the light to the darkness of Uncle Tupelo)

King Crimson (Two words, Robert Fripp)

Poco (Had members from Buffalo Springfield and two bassists in Poco were stolen by the Eagles)

Uncle Tupelo (Spawned into Wilco and Son Volt, enough said)

I guess other than those on the board from Vancouver, BC we are all going to have to wait until the second leg of the U2 'Vertigo' Tour to see them.

I'm surprised there are not Toronto and/or Montreal dates, let alone Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and/or Detroit! All of which I would have been willing to attend.

Now I'm debating on getting tickets for MSG in NYC. Oh what to do, what to do?

But I heard you thought moe.sucked. Why the change of heart? ::

Hey moe.ron,

If you are speaking to me I love moe. I've seen them eleven times and have all of their albums and a few of their shows on CD.

Who told you that anyway?

If you're not speaking to me disregard the above post.

lookin' forward to this new Beck disc... the guy is amazing at everything he does.

I too enjoy all of the music that Beck gives to us fans. What artist on the planet has released such diversity as "Odelay" to "Mutations" to "Midnite Vultures" to "Sea Change" and now with "Guero?" Nobody.

Beck does have a pattern to his album releases which I find interesting. Rocking "Odelay." Laid back "Mutations." Rocking "Midnite Vultures." Laid back "Sea Change." And now rocking again with "Guero."

from www.billboard.com THIS DAY IN MUSIC for January 22, 2005.

2003 - Minneapolis alt-country mainstays the Jayhawks are forced to cancel a 13-date tour of the U.S. and a pair of shows in the U.K. when frontman Gary Louris is visits his doctor and is found to be suffering from pericarditis. Louris is sent by ambulance to a Minneapolis hospital.

I remember when this happened as I was going to see the Jayhawks in Buffalo, but it was canceled because of Gary's illness.

I hope that doesn't happen for this show in Ann Arbor, MI on February 22, 2005.

Isn't anyone else interested in this show?

Great job dimafleck!

It looks like it's going to be a great benefit concert. I wish I had the opportunity to even try for this show, but I must pick my battles wisely, it's going to be a busy year.

from www.billboard.com

Edited By Jonathan Cohen. January 21, 2005, 12:00 AM ET

U2 World Tour To Kick Off In San Diego

U2 will kick off its 2005 world tour March 28 at the San Diego Sports Arena, Billboard can exclusively reveal. Kings Of Leon will open the first leg of the trek, tickets for which will begin going on sale Jan. 29. The tour, named Vertigo after the first single from U2's new Interscope album, "How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," will be officially announced Monday (Jan. 24).

"One of the great privileges of working with U2 is you get to go on the road with them," longtime manager Paul McGuinness tells Billboard. "We are, I suppose, that rarest of things: a major touring attraction that is still having number one records all over the world after 25 years."

Even though its kick-off is still two months away, Vertigo will likely be the top-grossing trek of 2005. Conservative estimates put the tour's gross potential at $225-$250 million from as many as 110 shows.

The first North American leg will run for two months and wrap in Boston in late May. Afterward, the tour will hit some 30 European stadiums, beginning June 10 in Brussels. The band will stay in Europe through mid-August, then return to North America for another run of 30 arena dates.

Ticket prices will average $90, including $49.50 on the low end and $165 on the high end. On the 2001 Elevation tour in support of the album "All That You Can't Leave Behind," the range was $45-$135.

As on that trek, the arena floor will be general admission for about 1,700-1,800 seats, depending on the building. And, like Elevation, the tour will feature unique production elements.

"This tour will be not unlike the last production in that the lowest priced tickets will be on the floor," says McGuinness. "The best seats are the cheapest, and we want people to get excited." He adds that details on distribution of floor tickets will be forthcoming. "Some will be on sale, some will be radio contest winners," McGuinness says.

It is possible some shows will be available as digital downloads. "We're exploring technology where it might be possible to download the show you've just seen," says McGuinness. "We've been talking to iTunes and the folks at Apple, with whom we have a great relationship, but it's not quite there yet. We're certainly looking at it."

A tour DVD is also likely. "We always do that," McGuinness says, "but that will come towards the latter end of the tour."

As reported yesterday, U2 is among the first acts confirmed to perform at the Grammys on Feb. 13 in Los Angeles. The group is nominated for three awards, including best rock song and best short form music video for "Vertigo."

-- Ray Waddell, Nashville