Jay-Z Bringing His Blueprint 3 Tour To Denver

The New York Yankees win the World Series last night and the guy who made the Yankees cap more famous than the Yankees can will be coming to the Mile High in March, I believe it's the day I get back from SXSW.

LOS ANGELES, CA – November 5, 2009 – In the midst of his first college tour, promoting his latest #1 album The Blueprint 3 and his recently released video game sensation “DJ Hero: Renegade Edition,” the unstoppable JAY-Z confirms North American tour dates for 2010’s BP3 tour. The second leg of the Live Nation-produced tour will begin on February 22nd in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center with more dates to be announced soon. JAY-Z will be joined by Grammy-nominated rapper Young Jeezy who will open all dates on the tour. Tickets go on sale beginning November 13th at LiveNation.com in select markets.

JAY-Z’s BP3 North American tour will make a cross-country trek in 2010 stopping at arenas in major markets including Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta, Greensboro, Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh, St Louis, Indianapolis, Denver, San Jose, Los Angeles and more. Additional day of show and on sale information will be announced shortly for stops in East Rutherford, Uniondale, Atlantic City and Detroit.

Citi® cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning November 10th at 10am local time through Citi’s Private Pass® Program. For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com. Citi® cardmembers will also have access to VIP Ticket Packages that include VIP Lounge seats, personal concierge, a private pre-show VIP party and more.

“Jay-Z is the greatest rapper alive. Anyone who was in attendance at his sold-out KeyArena concert Saturday night can attest to that fact. Hova, Young Hov, Jigga, Hovito, whatever you call him Shawn Carter is on top of the rap game and there were no signs of him stepping down any time soon during his career-spanning two-hour show.”

Seattle Post Intelligencer (KeyArena Review), October 19, 2009

“In a performance that had the feel of a stadium show, thanks to the scope of the production and the magnitude of the star on stage, Jay-Z did something remarkable during his encore Friday night. Even more remarkable than the tight, full-band renditions of stunners like “Big Pimpin’” and “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” and more attention-getting than his flashy New York City skyline backdrop. He made individual members of the audience feel that they were as important as him, an entertainer with 11 No. 1 albums and an entrepreneur reportedly worth $150 million.” The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (Penn State Review), October 14, 2009

The current North American tour, a mix of 26 colleges and arenas, has featured sold out dates including Pennsylvania State’s Bryce Center, UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, Northern Kentucky University’s Bank of Kentucky, Eastern Michigan University’s Convocation Center, and the University of Massachusetts’ Mullins Center as well as, the KeyArena in Seattle, Kelowna British Columbia’s Prospera Place, Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center, Providence’s Dunkin’ Donuts Center and Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena.

For complete ticket, tour and on sale information visit LiveNation.com.

JAY-Z BP3 TOUR 2010

Previously announced dates:

Nov 07 Fresno, CA Fresno State University/Save Mart Center

Nov 08 Los Angeles UCLA/Pauley Pavilion

Nov 10 Austin, TX University of Texas at Austin/Frank Erwin Center

Nov 12 Champaign, IL University of Illinois/Assembly Hall

Newly announced dates:

Feb 22 Houston, TX Toyota Center

Feb 23 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center

Feb 25 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena

Feb 27 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena

Feb 28 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Complex

Mar 03 Washington, DC Verizon Center

Mar 07 Norfolk, VA Scope Arena

Mar 11 Boston, MA TD Garden

Mar 16 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena

Mar 19 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center

Mar 20 Indianapolis, IN Conseco Fieldhouse

Mar 22 Denver, CO Pepsi Center

Mar 24 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion

Mar 26 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center

*** More cities and dates to be announced soon.

U2 360 Tour Coming To Invesco

It has been 18 ago tomorrow that I witnessed the ZOO TV Tour back in El Paso, Texas, this should be a good one.

U2 -- arguably the world's most popular rock 'n' roll band -- will perform June 12 at Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High.

It is the Irish rockers' first outdoor show in Denver since they performed in 1997 at the old Mile High Stadium. U2 has played at the Pepsi Center on more recent tours.

Tickets for the Denver show are scheduled to go on sale Nov. 6, promoter Live Nation said Monday. Early tickets will be sold through the U2 fan club.

The full range of ticket prices was not announced, but Live Nation said 85 percent of the tickets will be priced at less than $95 plus service fees, general admission floor tickets will be $55 and at least 10,000 tickets per venue will be priced at $30.

U2 previously played a handful of U.S. dates on its current "U2 360°" tour.

The U.S. shows announced Monday begin June 6 in Anaheim, Calif., and conclude July 19 in New York, followed by several European dates. The Invesco date will be the second show of the series.

Several of the tour's dates previously placed on sale have been sellouts.

The tour features what is believed to be the largest set for any rock concert, including a 150-foot spider-like construction looming over the midfield stage and a massive system of video monitors encircling the stage.

Invesco Field -- home of the Denver Broncos -- was designed to accommodate rock concerts, although they have seldom been staged there, as the economics of the rock-concert business has shifted most major tours to smaller basketball and hockey arenas.

The first ticketed event ever held at Invesco Field was an Aug. 11, 2001, concert by the Eagles. (Denver Business Journal)

stellastarr* Coming To Denver

The last time I saw these guys was when they opened for Editors, I am loving the new album and looking forward to this show.

stellastarr* is headed back on the road this fall, crisscrossing the country and playing small club shows from Boston to LA, as well as New York's Bowery Ballroom, the site of many past renowned stellastarr* gigs. Stay tuned for news coming soon on a new single to be released in conjunction with these shows.

Tickets for these tour dates will all be on sale by Saturday, October 17th.

Check the full run of tour dates below:

Nov 16th || Orlando, FL || The Social
Nov 17th || Roswell, GA || Whirlyball
Nov 18th || Carrboro, NC || Local506
Nov 19th || Washington, DC || Rock ‘n' Roll Hotel
Dec 3rd || San Francisco, CA || Popscene*
Dec 5th || Los Angeles, CA || Spaceland
Dec 6th || San Diego, CA || Casbah
Dec 7th || Phoenix, AZ || Rhythm Room
Dec 9th || Denver, CO || Larimer Lounge
Dec 16th || NYC || Bowery Ballroom
Dec 18th || Boston, MA || Paradise

*- No advance sale in SF; all tickets will be available at the door

For more info, check MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/stellastarr
and PureVolume.com
http://www.purevolume.com/stellastarr

Tweet with stellastarr*:
http://www.twitter.com/stellastarrband

Photo: Phil Knott

Win Tickets to see Black Gold this Sunday...

Here is your chance to go see Black Gold this Sunday at Bender's here in the Mile High to win tickets simply follow me on Twitter and DM me the first person to do so wins the tickets easy enough....Winner will be chosen Thursday night.

We've all been there before - the inevitable breakdown. Black Gold, the new collaboration between Eric Ronick (Panic at the Disco, Ambulance Ltd.) and Than Luu(M. Ward, Rachel Yamagata), have, however, just made the breakdown sound much more appealing by creating a toe tapping tune to embody the experience. Check out brand new video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nExylRhxxcM

"Breakdown" can be found on the album "Rush" - available now in North America and the United Kingdom.

Black Gold are now touring the US with Austin-based rockers, Girl in a Coma.

Black Gold Tour Dates:

October 5 - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse
October 6 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
October 8 - Detroit, MI - The Cafe
October 9 - Indianapolis, IN - Radio Radio
October 10 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's Rock Club
October 10 - Chicago, IL - Rockhouse
October 11 - Saint Louis, MO - Firebird
October 15 - Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room
October 17 - Denver, CO - Benders 13th Avenue Tavern
October 19 - Salt Lake City, UT - Burt's Tiki Lounge
October 20 - Boise, ID - Neurolux
October 21 - Seattle, WA - Comet Tavern
October 22 - Portland, OR - Rotture
October 23 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord
October 25 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Crepe Place
October 27 - Santa Barbara, CA Muddy Waters Cafe
November 1 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
November 3 - Mesa, AZ - Hollywood Alley

http://www.blackgoldmusic.com

http://www.myspace.com/blackgold

The BLAKROC Sessions

This is probably the most anticipated album I am looking forward to this year(aside from the Thom Yorke and that Flea dude's side project)....be sure to checkout www.blakroc.com for more info and amazing photos by John Peets

Win A Pair Of Passes To See Sea Wolf This Friday

Win a pair of passes to catch Sea Wolf this Saturday at The Hi-Dive, just leave your name and e-mail in the comments section for your chance. You can also DM on Twitter for your chance follow @Robert_Castro

September has arrived and for LA music collective, Sea Wolf, this month will find them crossing the United States touring behind their love-struck sophomore record, White Water, White Bloom, out September 22nd courtesy of Dangerbird Records. Before all that, they have released lead single, "Wicked Blood". Interweaving momentous strings with Alex Church's signature blend of intricate story telling, it's a beautiful introduction to the new material.

Stream, "Wicked Blood" exclusively on their Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/seawolf

Sea Wolf's six-week tour with Sara Lov (http://www.myspace.com/saralov) also kicks off September 14th.

Tour Dates:
September
14 Santa Barbara, CA – Soho
15 Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar
16 Pomona, CA – The Glass House
17 Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour
18 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo’s 365 Club
21 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
22 Vancouver, BC – The Media Club
23 Seattle, WA – Sunset Tavern
25 Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue
26 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive
29 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
30 Milwaukee, WI – Mad Planet

October
1 Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
3 Indianapolis, IN – Radio Radio
4 Newport, KY– Southgate House
7 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center for the Arts
9 Toronto, ONT – Sneaky Dee’s
13 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
14 New York, NY – The Mercury Lounge
16 Brooklyn, NY – Union Hall
17 Philadelphia, PA – North Star Bar
18 Baltimore, MD – The Talking Head Club
19 Washington, DC – DC 9
24 Nashville, TN – Exit In
28 Austin, TX – Emo’s Jr.

Artist: Sea Wolf
Album: White Water, White Bloom
Label: Dangerbird Records
Release Date: September 22 2009

Pre-order the record via Dangerbird today (http://www.dangerbirdrecords.com/whitewaterwhitebloom)

Win A Pair Of Passes To See Pretty Lights October 3rd

How would you like to attend the Pretty Lights show on October 3rd at The Ogden. As you may have noticed we here at A Walking Disaster like giving stuff away to our loyal readers and here is your chance, simply answer the following question in the comments section with your name and e-mail, winner will be chosen on Friday. Who are the members of Pretty Lights? Simple enough.

Pretty Lights is the musical vision of the ultra-versatile Colorado based producer Derek Vincent Smith, accompanied in the live setting by drummer, Cory Eberhard. Together these two achieve a raw energy rarely reached in the realm of electronic music.

At a time when music lovers from almost all subcultures and genres are finding common ground in the basic form of bangin' beats, Pretty Lights is giving the people what they want; electro organic cutting-edge party rocking beats that fill venues with energy and emotion and send dance floors into frenzies. And the people are responding. Pretty Lights’ first two albums, Taking Up Your Precious Time and Filling Up The City Skies, have been downloaded over 300,000 times from PrettyLightsMusic.com, which equates to over 6.15 million track downloads. Additionally, since January 2009 Pretty Lights has sold out 33 shows including stops at Bowery Ballroom in New York, the Fox Theatre in Boulder, Georgia Theatre in Athens, and Subterranean, Congress, and The Metro in Chicago.

Pretty Lights returns with his new album, Passing By Behind Your Eyes, out October 6 and available for free download at PrettyLightsMusic.com.What makes Pretty Lights truly different though, is that these beats have serious soul. Passing By Behind Your Eyes continues to showcase juxtaposing collages of beautiful vintage samples against backdrops of futuristic synthesis and dirty broken beats, creating a sound that can snap your neck while simultaneously shedding your tears. The sound is not only getting around, it's spreading like a virus.

Passing By Behind Your Eyes is out October 6 and will be available for free download at www.prettylightsmusic.com

PRETTY LIGHTS ON TOUR

08.09.09 – The National – Richmond, VA **SOLD OUT**
9.02.09 – Lyric Theatre – Oxford, MS **SOLD OUT**
09.03.09 – The Sky Bar – Auburn, AL **SOLD OUT**
09.04.09 – Athens Arena – Bogart, GA **SOLD OUT**
09.05.09 – Belly Up – Aspen, CO **SOLD OUT**
09.12.09 – Trinumeral Festival – Horseshoe, NC
09.18.09 – Symbiosis Gathering – Groveland, CA
09.21.09 – Bama Theatre – Tuscaloosa, AL
09.23.09 – Rhythm &Brews – Chattanooga, TN
09.24.09 – Amos’ Southland – Charlotte, NC
09.26.09 – Diesel – Wilmington, NC
10.01.09 – Fox Theatre Boulder – Boulder, CO
10.02.09 – Aggie Theatre – Ft. Collins, CO
10.03.09 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
10.12.09 – Belly Up Tavern – Solana Beach, CA
10.14.09 – Key Club – West Hollywood, CA
10.15.09 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA
10.16.09 – Nocturnum – Eureka, CA
10.17.09 – Nectar Lounge – Seattle, WA
10.18.09 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR
10.21.09 – The Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN
10.22.09 – Miramar Theatre – Milwaukee, WI
10.23.09 – Park West – Chicago, IL
10.24.09 – Majestic Theatre – Madison, WI
10.25.09 – Bluebird Nightclub – Bloomington, IN
10.27.09 – Headliners Music Hall – Louisville, KY
10.28.09 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
10.29.09 – The Valarium – Knoxvile, TN
10.30.09 – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
10.31.09 – Ann Street Shed – Charleston, SC
11.03.09 – Crowbar – Tampa, FL
11.04.09 – Vagabond – Miami, FL
11.05.09 – Engine Room – Tallahassee, FL
11.07.09 – House of Blues – New Orleans, LA
11.10.09 – Granada Theater – Dallas, TX
11.11.09 – La Zona Rosa – Austin, TX
11.12.09 – George’s Majestic Lounge – Fayetteville, AR
11.13.09 – Newby’s – Memphis, TN
11.14.09 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
11.17.09 – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC
11.18.09 – 9:30 Club – Washington D.C.
11.19.09 – Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza – New York, NY
11.20.09 – The Note – West Chester, PA
11.21.09 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
01.03.09 – Jam Cruise 8 – Fort Lauderdale, FL

For more information on Pretty Lights, please visit:
www.prettylightsmusic.com
www.facebook.com/prettylights
www.twitter.com/theprettylights

www.myspace.com/prettylights

Metric Announce North American Tour

METRIC ANNOUNCES BRAND-NEW NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES IN SUPPORT OF SMASH HIT FANTASIES

BAND MAKES HISTORY BY SCORING THEIR FIRST
TOP 20 RADIO HIT WITHOUT A LABEL

Riding the wave of success of their latest album Fantasies, METRIC announces that they will hit the road for a fresh round of North American tour dates this fall, beginning on November 16th at Town Ballroom in Buffalo, NY.

METRIC stands out amongst a new breed of music acts that opts for a hands-on approach, as opposed to turning to established labels and large management companies to chart their destiny and develop fan relationships.

That success is punctuated by the fact that METRIC's debut single, "Help I'm Alive," has officially cracked the Top 20 Alternative charts on US commercial radio (Mediabase.) The single got something of an organic start as it was accidentally leaked online, picked up by The Hype Machine blog and then put on air by Seattle's KNDD last February.

METRIC is in solid, groundbreaking company with their self-released approach, joining Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam and a host of others who are going to market without the support of a traditional retail label. However, Metric sets itself apart by being the only one so far to actually "break" and begin to cross over in to the mainstream entirely on the basis of a self-released album. All of the other artists currently taking a similar path were previously well established, generally having had the backing of a major label in the initial stages of their career, which helped them sell millions of albums and establish a global fan base which has been instrumental in allowing them to do what they are doing today. METRIC, on the other hand, sold more albums within 8 weeks of releasing Fantasies than they did in the previous four years with their prior release, Live It Out... making this album their first major breakthrough success.

METRIC accomplished this feat with the help of a small but global operation coordinated by their two managers, operating out of their home in Montreal, Canada. The operation included direct-to-fan efforts, extensive online, radio, retail, video, tour, and synch licensing initiatives.

The first leg of METRIC's North American tour can be found below. More dates to be announced soon.

You can listen to Fantasies in its entirety and download the hit single "Help I'm Alive" at http://ilovemetric.com.


Tour dates for METRIC:

November 16, 2009 Buffalo, NY Town Ballroom

November 17, 2009 Portland, ME Portland City Music Hall

November 18, 2009 Hartford, CT Webster

November 19, 2009 Providence, RI Lupo's

November 20, 2009 Boston, MA House of Blues

November 21, 2009 Clifton Park, NY Northern Lights

November 23, 2009 Baltimore, MD Ram's Head Live!

November 24, 2009 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small's

November 25, 2009 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory

November 27, 2009 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theatre

November 28, 2009 Atlanta, GA Center Stage

November 30, 2009 Houston, TX Warehouse Live

December 1, 2009 Austin, TX La Zona Rosa

December 2, 2009 Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom

Monolith Music Festival Day 2 Recap:

Monolith….Day 1 …I’m going to let you finish but I just want to say that Day 2 is the best day of the festival......of all time.

After an awesome and wet day 1, the weather goods delivered a perfect day 2. Getting a chance to sleep in a bit and recover we headed out in hopes of catching some bands we had yet to see. The good folks at Flip Video were gracious enough to provide us a Flip Mino HD to catch some of the action this year, please check out their line of Flip cameras for your concert recording needs. Upon arriving at the venue we noticed that all the press photographers were on the Southern Comfort Stage, which stirred our curiosity a bit. We looked at our schedules and had come to the conclusion that Monotonix was the band we were not going to miss this year. After reading reviews and watching endless You Tube footage of past shows we knew we were in for a treat. Who really cares if you can understand a single lyric these guys sing it is their ball to the wall un-staged show that had people buzzing about one of the finest sets of the festival. They served up a hot plate of in your face no holds barred chaos. They stole beer from the audience, climbed on the audience, spit on the audience, and the crowd soaked it up. At one point (kids close your eyes) front man Levi Elvis took the microphone stuck it where the sun don’t shine and managed to continue the rest of his song. I won’t even go into their short shorts these guys were wearing, it was something straight out of the 80’s. One thing is for sure these crazy Israeli bastards sure know how to rock.

Next up was a trek down to the Esurance Main Stage to catch a band I have always wanted to see. I was expecting a little bit more from The Dandy Warhols and left quite unimpressed with their pretentious stage presence. It seemed as many in the crowd were expecting a more exciting set only to be left disappointed. Who knows maybe a later time slot would have benefited them.

I decided to stay at the main stage to catch another band I felt did not live up to the high expectations I had perceived. Maybe it was their “epic” Lollapalooza set that had me excited to see these guys. Now let me just say that the crowd quickly filled up the main stage for these guys. I guess when you are just punching buttons on a monitor you kind of lose that substance factor.

The next group to take center stage was the hip-hop slapstick duo of Red and Meth…for those of you not down with the slang that would be Redman and Method Man. The two exchanged lyrical barbs back and forth and hit the decent size crowd with a little hip hop flavor. With hits such as the fitting ”How High” the duo plugged their upcoming movie and soundtrack “How High 2”. As the hip hop world continues to embrace the new generation of artist leave it to these two to bring back a little nostalgia.

Day 2 seemed to bring up more bands that I wanted see, In fact taking the SoCo stage was a band that played last year to a much smaller crowd, it goes to show that if you market your band right and make good quality music it pays dividends, such was the case for Passion Pit, who had the whole upper level of Red Rocks shaking the ground…no they really had the ground shaking. With a their highly acclaimed album Manners in rotation almost everywhere the band delivered crowd favorites such as “Sleepyhead” and “Little Secrets”, to the supportive crowd.

After some re-shifting of bands from the SoCo Stage to the Esurance Main Stage all due to MSTRKRFT cancelling (rumblings from the crowd included that they snorted to much cocaine the night before), the main stage belonged to the Parisian boys known as Phoenix. Thomas Mars and crew took center stage where they so rightfully belonged in the first place to rock the crowd with a tight set and accompanied minimal light show that had the Red Rocks crowd singing word by word almost every song. These guys seem to be blowing up at just the right time.

The artist you were mostly likely to run into during the whole festival would probably have been the Canadian duo of Chromeo (who by the way were able to plug AWD in the video on this page). These guys where everywhere from the kickoff party Friday night to randomly catching sets from all the artist throughout day 1 and 2. What has to be one of the most famous stage props in the business, the mannequin legs holding up their keyboards and other instruments. The crowd chanted CHROME-O-OOOO, Chrome-O-OOOO, although I have been a big fan of their music, I had never seen them live and came to appreciate the live instruments used in their sets, by far one of the more underrated performances of the festival.

Last but not least the Sunday headliners hold a special place in my heart as they are originally from my hometown of El Paso, Texas. What started off as At The Drive In the early days of their careers has branched off into several factions, we had groups such as the dub-inspired Defacto, the alt-rock Sparta, which later became the country-alt-rock Sleeper Car and finally the prog-rock Mars Volta. All in all they all have become inter-wined between its members and very much the foundation for their current projects.The Mars Volta has a unique fan base to say the least you are either a fan or you are not, such was the case at Monolith as it clearly showed by the capacity of the venue. Nevertheless they put on a show that I consider one of the best at the beautiful, historic venue. With lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala commanding the stage and Omar Rodriquez-Lopez providing the soundtrack it was an experience never to be forgotten. A perfect way to end day 2 of the ever-growing festival, a big thanks to everybody involved in putting the festival together, organizers, staff, artist, fellow bloggers, writers, photographers......see you guys next year.

Monotonix

Monotonix

Courtney Taylor-Taylor of The Dandy Warhols

Zia McCabe of The Dandy Warhols

Method Man

Redman and Method Man

Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit

Thomas Mars of Phoenix

Chromeo

Chromeo

The Mars Volta

Cedrix Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

More Day 2 Pics Here: