More Elton in Canada?

Elton getting ready to announce more Canada dates...

A Captain Fantastic idea

Halifax could be in running for an Elton John indoor concert

By DAVENE JEFFREY Staff Reporter
Thu. Feb 28 - 5:12 AM

The Rocket Man could be touching down in Halifax this year.

Elton John is considering performing three or four concerts in Atlantic Canada, says concert promoter Riley O’Connor of Live Nation.

Mr. O’Connor told CTV News that Mr. John is looking at suitable locations in the Maritimes and Newfoundland.

Live Nation is promoting two shows in Ontario and several in the United States.

Mr. O’Connor says it’s not feasible for the legendary singer to play a single concert in the region. He says Mr. John prefers to play indoor venues.

Mr. O’Connor told CTV he’s interested in playing cities that are not "your typical triple-A five-star attractions." Nothing is finalized, but he says the concerts could happen any time before December.

He told the Sudbury Star a few days ago that September would be the most likely time.

Mr. John will play a sold-out concert this Sunday at a 6,000-seat venue in Sudbury, Ont. Ticket prices there range from $87.50 to $129.50

The 10,000-seat Metro Centre in Halifax is the largest indoor venue in Atlantic Canada. "I’d be happy to see him anywhere as long as it is in Halifax," said Coun. Dawn Sloane (Halifax Downtown).

Ms. Sloane could not confirm Mr. John’s promoters have been in touch with Halifax, but she’s heard rumours. "I had a call last week," she said. "We’re on the list now."

Ms. Sloane said Halifax can now draw "triple-A" acts and the acts know that fans here will shell out for the tickets.

About two weeks ago, Creative Entertainment Group confirmed it has a contract with Halifax to pursue big-name acts capable of filling the Halifax Commons, which has a capacity of 40,000. Creative Entertainment president Sharon Kim-Dion said only about a half-dozen acts on the planet can fill that kind of venue.

Creative Entertainment, based in Europe with offices in New York, has worked with Mr. John in the past, according to the company’s website.

According to eltonjohn.com, his North American tour begins today in Portland, Maine. So far, there are only two Canadian concert dates, Sudbury on Sunday and Kitchener on Monday.

He will be performing in the United States until June 22. His schedule includes two stints in Las Vegas from March 19 to April 6 and then June 3 to June 22.

From June 28 to July 13, Mr. John has several concerts scheduled in Europe and England. Then his date book appears to be wide open until a performance in France on Dec. 9.

Mayor Peter Kelly, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening, said this month that Halifax lost out in a bidding war for an Elton John show last year.

In November, Celine Dion backed out of a concert for this summer on the Commons, citing mixed public reaction.

"I believe that’s water under the bridge and we’re moving forward," Ms. Sloane said.

Indeed, a month after the Quebec-born singer cancelled her Halifax date, the city snagged Australian superstar Keith Urban, who will headline Country Rocks 2008, an eight-act concert on the Commons on Aug. 30.

( djeffrey@herald.ca)

Review: "Rock Of The Westies"

A terrific review of Elton's 1975 album Rock of the Westies from Crazy Water Community member rokitr;

I know this album isn't liked by many people here, but it remains a standout for me; being Elton's first and only real "rock & roll" album and remains his hardest rocking release to date. But it's not just about the "rock"....

As for Bernie's lyrics on this record, I don't get all the venom as the lyrics are clever, rhythmic and, in some cases, stunningly powerful.

Yet for all intents and purposes, the goal with "Rock Of The Westies" was to showcase Elton and Bernie's new band and to let loose with a rock & roll fervor that was evident on the stage during their debut performance on June 21, 1975 at Wembley (which can be heard on the Deluxe Edition of the "Captain Fantastic" album). The album was recorded in about a week's time following the Wembley show.

As Bernie told me in one of my interviews with him:
"Actually, 'Rock Of The Westies' is one of my favorite albums; I just love that record. I think we really achieved what we wanted to do at the time. We wanted to put a rock & roll band together, and that's what we did. We went to Caribou Studios in the Rockies (Colorado); it was a good place, it was a funky place, and it was basically a +$!%#%-up band [laughs].

"We were all at the high point there of abusing ourselves to the max. It was Jack Daniels and lines on the console, and somehow we got it done. I don't remember anything about the sessions, and I don't think anybody in that band will remember them either, but for some reason with that album, it paid off. Luckily, we're all still alive to tell the tale.

"What was happening at that time, and probably the reason we were flying so high, is that we had done everything. There was no mountain to scale or to conquer anymore. We had filled the biggest stadiums; there weren't any places that were bigger. We had seven consecutive Number One albums, and you can't go to anywhere else, except down. And at that time, Elton John farting would have sold, and that's intense pressure to be under because you suddenly realize that there's no other place to go but down.

"And that pressure and the slow long burnout of all the drink and drugs manifested itself in the next album, "Blue Moves," which was so introspective. But the 'Rock Of The Westies' period was a great time and, like I said, that's still one of my favorite albums."

There also seems to be people who just don't seem to get Bernie's lyrics on "Rock Of The Westies," that they're somehow not of any quality of all. I have to disagree as I think there's some very strong lyrical content; especially when realizing that they went into the album to write a rock & roll record.


Medley [Yell Help, Wednesday Night, Ugly]
Always hated the use of "Medley" in the title of the song, rather than the three separate lyrical concepts that Elton pulled together as an homage to his then-favorite band, Little Feat, who created a similar musical mosaic on "Tripe Face Boogie" from 1974's "Feats Don't Fail Me Now." Lyrically, it's also an interesting word-painting created by the bringing together of different songs; not unlike what the Beatles did with Lennon's medley on "Abbey Road" or what Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings did with the tying together of two separate songs on the Guess Who's major hit, "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" from 1970.

The lyrics effectively serve up a landscape of dispair and isolation--feelings that almost always lead to misguided acceptance of superstitions-and then the tying together of superstitious voodoo and New Orleans makes for an interesting travelogue of a fateful journey in search of the perfect ideal (in this case, the comfort of a mundane Wednesday Night).

Needless to say, the inventive music, band performance, and aggressive vocals from Elton makes for one of the most interesting (and definitely most original) songs in the entire Taupin/John catalog.


Dan Dare (Pilot Of The Future)
Bernie's tribute to Britain's famous 1950s comic book hero, Dan Dare. Pretty much unheard of in America-Dan Dare is the equivalent to America's Buck Rogers-there was a bit of confusion about this song at the time of its release in the States, but the stuttering bassline and another fine performance from the band (especially the excellent vocal interplay) has stood the test of time.

Lyrically, Bernie's words definitely appeal more to the English audience as he does an excellent job of painting a musical portrait of Dan Dare's cartoon universe. He also pulls a surprising climax by noting at the very end of the song that he in fact "liked The Mekon" (who is the equally famous alien creature who was Dan Dare's lifelong arch enemy). A nice Taupin-like twist.


Island Girl
A very clever lyric of a New York streetwalker from Jamaica wrapped around the poppiest melody Elton brought to the album. Some have mistakenly dubbed this lyric misogynistic or racist, when the lyrics only detail a black john who wants to save the "big girl, she's standing six foot three" from her white pimp ("the racket boss"), but ultimately the "cause is lost."

Bernie's touched on the ladies of the night before, such as with the classic and brilliant "Sweet Painted Lady" from "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."


Grow Some Funk Of Your Own
A witty rock & roll tale of a guy who gets into a scuffle over a girl in a border town. Elton's vocal is the perfect mix of humor ("oh, it hurt so much") and aggression that the lyrics call for; as the character finds himself alone in the battle as his friends leave him behind to deal with the situation on his own. Fortunately, for the protagonist, it was nothing more than dream.


I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)
Another one of Bernie's ode to America's Old West that he first did so well back on "Tumbleweed Connection." And while mapping the entire song to the little-known character of "Robert Ford" (the coward who shot his friend the outlaw Jesse James in the back) left some people a little mystified, those familiar with Ford's legacy could best feel the emotional impact that Taupin's lyrics bring to bare.

It's always difficult to put one's own shame and blame behind the destruction of a relationship into song, Bernie does it brilliantly on this album centerpiece.


Street Kids
Lyrically, Bernie talks of his teenage years, hanging out and seeing the juvenile delinquent gangs in those same "East End nights" he wrote about an album earlier in "Someone Saved My Life Tonight", and includes some outstanding cinematic lines-"I've been bottled and been brained" and "If you think you've seen gasoline burning in my eyes".

He also notes the insidious nature of street gang involvement, "I'd like to break away from the rut I'm in," only to fall back into the comfort of the only thing you know ("but beggars can't be choosers and I was born to sin").

The only real problem for me on this tank-blazing guitar rocker is that it just goes on too long. I've done a simple edit that brings it down to a much-more-compact four-and-a-half minutes, without losing any of Bernie's lyrics or Elton's muscular swagger.


Hard Luck Story
Written under Bernie and Elton's pseudonym Carte Blanche and Ann Orson (the same credit they used for "Don't Go Breaking My Heart")-and then recorded first by Kiki Dee as a single in 1974 (which Elton co-produced)-this tale of domestic turmoil in a blue-collar household is one of Taupin's most powerful lyrics about ups-and-downs of marriage. When temporary bitterness over one's lot in life comes screaming to the forefront of a troubled relationship. Bernie's lyrics really paint an amazing portrait of what goes on in those little houses down the street. Brilliant.


Feed Me
It's truly amazing that this incredibly powerful lyric was written a year before Bernie would climb out of the "Crazy Water" that was engulfing himself, Elton and the band at the end of the "Blue Moves" recording sessions. It was only then that Bernie split from Elton and took off to Mexico to "dry out, because I think we were all killing ourselves."

Interestingly enough, "Feed Me" gives some hints of where Bernie's head was a full year before. One of rock's most powerful lyrical examples of drug abuse written DURING that timeframe; not through hindsight, but when one finds himself in the midst of the insanity itself.

In the lyrics, Bernie feels the pull of addiction (needing to be fed), but was also well-aware of where their "life in the fast lane" was heading. Still, he wasn't ready or yet capable of walking away. Paranoia, sleeplessness, encroaching madness and hallucinations are all very much a part of a body and mind embroiled in a steady over-indulgence of drink and drugs, and no rock lyric has ever spelled out the pain, fear and isolation as well as Bernie does here.


Billy Bones & The White Bird
Bernie's love of characters comes through again with this song about Billy Bones, the fictional pirate in the literary classic, "Treasure Island." The mysterious seaman who happens upon a seaside village with a mysterious sea chest. While no one truly knows his real story, his drunken exploits and less-than-amicable antics actually turn him into a bit of a local legend. His equally mysterious death within a year only adds to his legend.

Bernie's lyrics push beyond the legend (in admittedly obscure fashion) and Billy Bones rides again on the "sea" (which Bernie beautifully describes as "the field these old jack tars have sown")….incidentally, for those without any knowledge of seamanship or ancient voyages, "jack tars" is an old british slang term for seaman or sailors.

While these are the most oblique lyrics on the album, they are engaging, fun wordplay that Bernie has always engaged in and Elton's melody is uplifted by the "kitchen sink" instrumentation and production. Hardly the album's highpoint, it's once again a thousand miles away from what went before.


Historical Overview
Overall, Bernie's use of literary, fictitious and historical characters throughout "Rock Of The Westies" is something that Bernie has done time and time again throughout his career. Whether through the characters in "Tumbleweed Connection" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," for some reason, it hasn't been recognized on this much under-valued and overlooked album.

If nothing else, "Rock Of The Westies" shows Elton and Bernie pulling out all the stops and not trying to copy any of their work that went before. It was a bold album then, and it remains within their illustrious catalog as their most adventureous and definitely their most straight-ahead rock & roll collection. It's almost their "White Album," where anything went and they followed their creative muse wherever it took them, relying on inspiration instead of stagnation and opening doors that most felt were closed to them. A marvelous mutt of an album that deserves far more praise than it gets around these parts.

He made the right choice...

Thank goodness...

Did Elton John Drop His Pants for Charity?

Sharon Stone sure knows how to get people to pay up.

She was a guest auctioneer at Elton John and David Furnish's Oscar gala benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation. And while coaxing one fella to bid $1 million for a 1971 Stingray Corvette donated by her family, Stone sneered, "Don't be a p--sy!"

Sir Elton joined Stone onstage to try to get even more money for it. "Elton and I will sing a duet," Stone joked.

Better yet, John announced, "I'll take my trousers off."

Also up for bid was a rare black-and-white print by the late photographer Helmut Newton. X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner bid first with $150,000. When bidding hit a high of $900,000, the auctioneer pleaded with Ratner to go for a million. "You have the money," the auctioneer said.

Ratner didn't bite.

Around 9:50, John started the night's performance with "The Bitch Is Back." Here's what else went down...

A maybe pregnant Minnie Driver moved closer to the stage, swaying back and forth with a male pal. If she's expecting, her Empire-waisted gown hid her bump well. (My gossip cohort Hollywood Party Girl reported earlier that when Driver was asked on the press line if she was going to be a mommy, she simply answered, "No comment.")

At about the same time, I saw conservative media baron Rupert Murdoch and his wife, Wendi Deng, checking out the Chopard jewels on display. One of the many gays at the bash told me, "God, I was so tempted to trip him."

John's performance continued with surprise duets, including Jack Shears of the Scissor Sisters and Mary J. Blige.

Sitting at the head table with Stone, designer Donna Karan was suddenly but playfully accosted by a man in a gold shirt and tight black pants. He jumped on a chair behind her and started dancing, and he ended up gyrating against the back of her head!

More stars, like Tom Wilkinson and Jeremy Piven, arrived around 10:30. And then came Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart. They were escorted to a spot not far from the stage, where they danced arm in arm to John and Blige singing "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues."

Heidi Klum was a late arrival, along with hubby Seal. She'd changed from the red John Galliano dress she wore to the show into a metallic minidress.

Then Prince made his entrance—with three women. They immediately took a seat on the couch, surrounded by four security guards.

The very last celeb I saw make it in was Best Actress winner Marion Cotillard. She and her friends were taken to the couch where Prince had been sitting and toasted with champagne. She had to have been in heaven, don't you think?

—Filed by Marc Malkin

"27 Jennifers" - My new favorite song!

"27 Jennifers" by Mike Doughty.

Elton raises $5 million with a little help from his friends

16th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Party Celebrating The Academy Awards Raises $5.1 Million

LOS ANGELES, Feb 25, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Sir Elton John and David Furnish hosted the 16th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) Academy Awards(R: 58.88, -2.21, -3.61%) Viewing party. The event was held on Sunday, February 24, 2008 at the Pacific Design Center and was co-sponsored by Chopard and VH1. EJAF's party to celebrate the Academy Awards(R: 58.88, -2.21, -3.61%) was one of the night's most attended parties and raised a record breaking $5.1 million.

The annual gala continues to be the leading fundraising event in Hollywood on Oscar night. This year's gala brought some exciting moments including a live performance by Sir Elton John with his entire band. Special guests Mary J. Blige and Jack Shears of Scissor Sisters added excitement to an important fundraising evening.

This year's guests included Hollywood luminaries such as: "Best Actress" Winner Marion Cotillard, "Best Supporting Actor" Nominee Tom Wilkinson, "Best Supporting Actress" Nominee Amy Adams, Ellen DeGegneres & Portia De Rossi, Sean Penn, Patricia Clarkson, Calista Flockhart & Harrison Ford, Josh Groban, Faye Dunaway, Sean Combs, Seal & Heidi Klum, Prince, Kate Beckinsale, Billy Joel, Courtney Love, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Petra Nemcova, Jeremy Piven, Roberto Cavalli, Minnie Driver, Simon Cowell, Herbie Hancock, Natasha Henstridge, Larry King, Erick McCormack, Jason Lewis, Johnny Lee Miller, Brett Ratner, Jason Retiman, Rupert Murdoch, Jennifer Coolidge, Russell Simmons, Cheryl Tiegs, John Waters and Ziyi Zhang among others.

As is tradition immediately following dinner, auctioneer Jamie Niven led the evening's live auction with some of the best items to date with proceeds benefiting the Elton John Aids Foundation. Items included, Chopard sunglasses custom-designed by Julianne Moore, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and Brooke Shields; George Condo's "The Laughing Comedian" 2007; 1974 vintage Corvette from Sharon Stone's personal collection; and the vacation package of a lifetime -- "Around the World in 80 Ways" -- to celebrate the 80th year of the Oscars.

Elton's Oscar Party

Elton John is the belle of the Academy Awards parties

By SOLVEJ SCHOU Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES—With Vanity Fair sitting one out this year, the belle of the Oscars balls was a piano playing, "Rocket Man" singing, silver tie wearing Elton John.

The singer's 16th annual viewing dinner and after-party benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation topped other bashes on Sunday with 750 guests and a bevy of A-list stars who sipped on cocktails and feasted on a four-course meal under the Pacific Design Center's red-draped tent before John himself took to the stage.

Vanity Fair's lavish, celebrity-drenched annual shindig, typically the peak party of Academy Awards night, was canceled weeks earlier before the end of the 100-day Hollywood writers strike.

Just before 10 p.m. Sunday, after greeting every table, John pounded out the first of 11 tunes, his first time in several years playing a full set with an entire band at his own party.

Wearing an ornate Yohji Yamamoto black suit and black-framed glasses, he pointed at the crowd, banged on his piano and even had the likes of Sean Penn moving along.

The crowd howled and clapped in approval when John broke out hits like "Rocket Man" and "Tiny Dancer."

One-time Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson, in a fitted cocktail dress, mouthed the words, her arms in the air. Calista Flockhart swayed next to her beau, Harrison Ford. Supermodel Petra Nemcova jumped on a few chairs and shimmied with joy. Faye Dunaway bopped her head. Stevie Wonder grinned, weaving his neck to the music.

Mary
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J. Blige dueted with John on one number, as did Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears, who wore a bright neon yellow-green suit, jumped on John's piano and did the twist.

Can't Get Over Getting Over Losing You

A rare and hard to find gem...

Grounds for Thought - John Jorgenson Quintet

Former band member extraordinaire John Jorgenson has a new project;

John Jorgenson and quintet heats up Grounds for Thought

By: Laura Lee Caracciolo
Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: Pulse

Most coffee houses limit themselves to espresso and the occasional donut. Some might add chess and CDs to the mix. Grounds For Thought offers all of this and much more.

The popular coffee shop and bookstore, located at 174 S Main St, has been putting on free live shows once a month for the past several years.

Grounds owner Kelly Wicks came up with the idea nearly 18 years ago but it wasn't until recently that he decided to bring free live music to the Bowling Green community on a regular basis.

Past shows have drawn in an average of 150 people, but last Friday the John Jorgenson Quintet played to an audience of over 200, according to Wicks.

"It was the biggest crowd we've had to date," Wicks said. "In December we had a crowd of 170, so people seem to be responding really well to what's going on."

The Quintet performed two one-hour sets of lively gypsy jazz to an all-ages crowd which included many regulars.

Wicks rearranged the book cases to accommodate around a hundred seats, but the venue was so packed that many enthusiastic audience members stood in the aisles and the back of the room.

The mostly instrumental music was fast-paced, animated and created a comfortable atmosphere. The result was a very involved crowd - shouting, cheering and clapping during songs and after.

Between numbers, Jorgenson, who has recorded and toured with artists such as Elton John, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, would explain his inspirations and reasons for writing certain songs.

Fans lingered when the show was over to speak to the band and support them by purchasing merchandise. The energy of the music continued even after the band stopped playing which is a good sign of a successful show.

Each month Wicks hopes to appeal to a variety of audiences by bringing in bands of different musical genres.

The next show at Grounds is on March 19 and features the Chicago-based jazz ensemble, Eddie Shaw and the Wolfgang.

For more information on upcoming shows check out the Grounds For Thought Web site at www.groundsforthought.com.

Didn't I suggest Elton release an EP?

That's "Extended Player" for those of you scratching your heads...From Billboard;

Mraz Rolling Out New Album With EPs


Jason Mraz

February 21, 2008, 1:25 PM ET
Katie Hasty, N.Y.

Jason Mraz isn't so much releasing his upcoming effort as he is rolling it out. "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things." will be available as trio of EPs, with each to hit shelves on different dates.

"We Sing" and "We Dance" will be released March 18 and April 15, respectively, while the third EP is merely bundled with the other two when the full-length debuts May 20. Purchased separately, the individual sets will come packaged with bonus alternate versions of the songs.

"We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things." features Mraz' new single "I'm Yours," which appeared originally as a demo on an EP that accompanied his last album, "Mr. A-Z." The track resonated with fans and bred more than 300 user-generated music videos online. Mraz also tapped fellow songwriters James Morrison and Colbie Caillat to contribute to the album.

Mraz will perform Feb. 28 for iTunes Live: London Sessions in England in support of the album. Additionally, he's in the midst of planning a North American tour and already has dates slated for Europe, Australia and Asia.

"We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things." is the follow-up to 2005's "Mr. A-Z," which debuted at No. 5 in 2005.

Elton and Mary J. Blige to duet at his Oscar party...

Mary J. Blige will join Elton John onstage for a duet at John's AIDS Foundation party Sunday after the Oscars.

John's annual Oscar party has raised more than $15 million over the past 15 years. Blige's AIDS-awareness efforts date to 2000, when she worked with MAC Cosmetics on its Viva Glam fund-raising campaign.

The "queen of hip-hop soul" has worked with John previously. He played piano on her single "Deep Inside." No word yet on what song the two will perform at the Oscar party.

SeeqPod - Sugar On The Floor

Pretty cool new music search engine called SeeqPod.com which finds and plays just about anything. Here is one of the best "B-sides" ever;

Sudbury scandal goes on...

That's why they call it the blues in Sudbury: Elton ticket flap angers some fans

18 minutes ago

SUDBURY, Ont. - Sorry seems to be the hardest word, after an Elton John ticket flap in Sudbury.

Local hoopla over an upcoming concert by the pop music legend turned to scandal when it was revealed that city councillors got first crack at buying tickets, resulting in an apology from the mayor. Local media coverage prompted accusations of unfairness, with some citizens vowing revenge at the polls.

"They raise our taxes, do almost half of the meetings in camera," one anonymous poster griped on the Sudbury Star website.

"These people have been voted in with our trust and when that trust is broken it's time to go. Where would you draw the line?"

John's hotly anticipated March 2 show - one of just two Canadian stops on a greatest hits tour - saw 6,000 seats sell out in less than an hour in the city of roughly 85,000.

But disappointment turned to anger for some empty-handed fans when the Sudbury Star reported that 100 advance tickets were made available to city councillors.

The ruckus forced Mayor John Rodriguez to issue an apology last week before a city council meeting.

"My decision to offer so many advance purchase tickets to council was rushed and not given sufficient consideration. For that I apologize," Rodriguez said in his address, adding that the practice was not so unusual.

"These tickets are not free: the cost is paid in full by the councillor. This same practice occurs in the City of Kitchener, where Elton John is also playing next month."

Rodriguez did not immediately return calls for comment Tuesday.

A spokesman for concert promoter Live Nation says it's common practice among most venues to let city officials have first dibs at tickets.

"Their practices are no different from all the other arenas I deal with in this country, whether it's privately owned or city owned," Riley O'Connor, chairman of Live Nation Canada, said from his Toronto office.

"I don't even know what the big deal is."

O'Connor said the Sudbury arena has sold an extra 1,200 seats for the pop star's show, including those located behind the stage and at the extreme sides. A typical front-of-stage set-up offers only 4,800 seats, he said.

"In fact there was more tickets available for this concert than any concert in the history of that arena, probably since 1978, April Wine," he said.

The manager of the Kitchener Auditorium says 61 advance tickets were sold to councillors in that city, plus another 382 advance tickets were made available to other city staff, venue suppliers, concert sponsors, and arena tenants like the minor hockey team.

"When somebody doesn't get access to something, I'm sure they're upset," manager Kim Kugler said from Kitchener.

"It does limit people's access but we try to make it as open and as available to people via (sales on the) Internet, phone, and in person."

Just over 6,500 tickets were sold in Kitchener, but Kugler said ongoing renovations to the auditorium could make more seats available for the March 3 concert.

John, whose hits include "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," "Bennie and the Jets," "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" and "Rocket Man," follows up the Ontario shows with a string of dates in Las Vegas.

-By Cassandra Szklarski in Toronto

Could Sudbury be cancelled?

Maybe...

Elton John concert in jeopardy over ticket grab

Posted By Denis St. Pierre

The raging controversy over city council's self-awarded "perk" of scores of Elton John concert tickets is now jeopardizing the concert's fate, according to city officials.

The Star has learned that city officials fear the public uproar over the ticket fiasco is causing so much concern for the event promoter, the March 2 Elton John concert could be cancelled.

Furthermore, city management also fears the controversy will damage Sudbury's chances at securing major acts in the future, The Star has learned.

Thousands of Elton John fans came away empty-handed earlier this month when tickets available to the public sold out within 45 minutes. The city's website received one million hits during that brief period from would-be ticket buyers.

One week later, The Star reported city council had jumped the queue and given itself first crack at more than 100 tickets, which prompted a deluge of public protest and anger. While councillors took an average of eight tickets, the actual numbers ranged from as few as two tickets to a whopping 22 purchased by one councillor, sources have told The Star.

The public furore has continued virtually unabated over the last week as several city councillors refuse to disclose how many concert tickets they obtained, while the municipal administration steadfastly refuses to divulge precisely how many tickets were available to the public.

All city council members were contacted Friday with regard to the latest startling revelation uncovered by The Star - that the controversy may be jeopardizing the Elton John concert as well as other major events in the future.

In an e-mail message sent to the mayor and councillors, the politicians were asked if they shared the concern that the ticket controversy is jeopardizing the Elton John concert and future events.

They also were asked if the disconcerting news might compel them to disclose how many concert tickets they purchased and what they have done with those tickets.

As of press time Friday night, none of the councillors responded to The Star's invitation for comment. There was one response sent from the city, indicating Ward 8 Coun. Ted Callaghan is away and not available for comment.

To date, the following council members have disclosed how many tickets they purchased: Mayor John Rodriguez (10), Ward 4 Coun. Evelyn Dutrisac (13), Ward 7 Coun. Russ Thompson (eight), Ward 8 Coun. Ted Callaghan (eight), Ward 3 Coun. Claude Berthiaume (seven), Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann (three), Ward 6 Coun. Andr‚ Rivest (two).

How about "Keyboard Hero: Elton John"

Well...they are about to release a Guitar Hero for Aerosmith so how long before a piano version is released?

New Guitar Hero gives sweet emotion to Aerosmith fans

By Scott Hillis 30 minutes ago

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Activision Inc on Friday unveiled a new "Guitar Hero" video game focusing on the rock band Aerosmith, taking the billion-dollar franchise in a new direction.
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Called "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," the new game will arrive in stores this summer, a surprise to many analysts and fans who had expected the next title to come out closer to the year-end holiday shopping season.

Aerosmith, known for hits such as "Dream On" and "Sweet Emotion," is the top-selling American rock band of all time, with sales of 66.5 million albums in the United States alone.

The game will feature about 30 Aerosmith songs as well as others from various acts that have opened for the band. The price has not yet been set.

"The premise is that it's going to cover the 30-plus years of the band, from high school all the way through the rock superstardom of today," Kai Huang, head of Activision's RedOctane unit, which guides development of the franchise, told Reuters in an interview.

In the "Guitar Hero" games, players try to press colored buttons on a guitar-shaped controller in time with notes cascading down the screen. If the notes are hit, the song plays properly, and the player earns points.

Since the original "Guitar Hero" was released in late 2005, the series has gone on to sell more than $1 billion. Depending on the version, a bundle including the game and a controller costs from $80-$100, while the stand-alone game costs $40-$60.

When Activision reported quarterly earnings last week, analysts grilled the company on its plans for the franchise, expressing concern that sales would slow this year because many players who bought earlier versions with guitars would opt to buy the lower-price stand-alone game disks.

Huang said Activision had not yet decided whether it would offer a special controller with the Aerosmith game.

NEW DIRECTION

The focus on a single band marks a new twist for the franchise, whose three main titles featured dozens of artists spanning classic rock, grunge, metal, punk and other rock subgenres. Last year, Activision also released "Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s" with songs from that decade.

"It's just a completely new way to interact with this music and with Aerosmith, and we think there's more opportunity to do that in the future," Huang said.

By spotlighting a single band, the company has also come up with a way to counter rival music game "Rock Band" from Viacom Inc unit MTV and Electronic Arts Inc, Activision's top competitor.

"Rock Band," which includes drums and a microphone as well as a guitar, each week has offered new songs that can be downloaded to consoles like Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 and Sony Corp's PlayStation 3.

The music industry is eyeing "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" as a way to revive flagging sales. "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero 3," both launched last fall, have together sold millions of songs at about $2 each via download.

Speaking of Aerosmith's willingness to work on the project, Huang said: "They recognize that it can deliver their music in an innovative and new way. It's a new distribution platform for them."

To recreate the sense of attending an Aerosmith concert, developers held motion-capture sessions with band members, including energetic frontman Steven Tyler and lead guitarist Joe Perry.

"As you play," Huang said, "you're going to be seeing Joe and Steven doing their moves onstage."

(Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Elton adds second show at Beasley

Elton John announces second WSU show

The Daily Evergreen

Beasley Coliseum announced today that Elton John will be performing a second show for Mom's Weekend. John was originally slated to perform on Saturday, April 12, but a second performance was added for April 13, after an enormous volume of phone calls and e-mails were sent to Beasley, according to the news release.

In contrast to the first time tickets were sold, a certain number for the second show have been reserved for students, according to an e-mail from Beasley Coliseum director Leo Udy. Students will be allowed to line up starting Sunday at 6 a.m. in front of the Beasley Coliseum ticket office. Randomly numbered wristbands will be distributed to the students in line from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Tickets will go on sale on Monday at 10 a.m., in the order of the numbers on the wristband. Tickets will be limited to four per student.

EJ ticket controversy continues...

Councillor bought up to 22 Elton John tickets

Posted By Denis St. Pierre

Greater Sudbury Ward 11 Coun. Janet Gasparini purchased between 16 and 22 tickets to next month's Elton John concert, making her the largest buyer in city council's Ticket Gate controversy.

Sources say Gasparini reserved 22 tickets for the once-in-a-lifetime concert, but may have ended up with as few as 16 tickets after providing as many as six to council colleagues.

Before the concert tickets went on sale to the public, councillors were allowed to jump the queue and buy eight tickets each. After some councillors opted not to purchase eight tickets, the leftovers were offered to the remaining politicians and Gasparini was the biggest buyer, sources say.

Gasparini, one of six councillors who have refused to disclose how many tickets they purchased, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Meanwhile, Mayor John Rodriguez says city council's ticket grab for the March 2 concert did not violate council's code of conduct. Nor does the raging controversy signal a need for a stricter rules, adds Rodriguez.

Several angry citizens have contacted The Star to suggest the ticket grab by the mayor and councillors does indeed violate the code of conduct, which is entrenched in a municipal bylaw. As a result, these critics say, the politicians should be forced to return the tickets.

Furthermore, some outraged citizens suggest council should adopt a stricter code of conduct - similar to what is in place in other cities - that would unequivocally prohibit the preferred ticket access council has given itself.

Council's code of conduct includes a section titled "acceptance of gifts," which dictates that the mayor and councillors "shall ... not accept a fee, gift or other benefit that is connected directly or indirectly with the performance of the duties of his/her office."

The mayor and councillors have emphasized that, although they were given first crack at scores of Elton John concert tickets, they had to buy the tickets, therefore they were not gifts.

Sorry!

This is quite the controversy up in Canada;

Mayor sorry for handling of Elton John concert tickets

Posted By Denis St. Pierre

Mayor John Rodriguez has taken responsibility for allowing city councillors to buy "so many" tickets for next month's Elton John concert.

"My decision to offer so many advance purchase tickets to council was rushed and not given sufficient consideration. For that I apologize," the mayor said at the outset of Wednesday night's city council meeting.

In a rare departure from normal procedure, the mayor read a prepared statement before beginning regular council business Wednesday.

The 365-word statement was a response to the public furore over the preferential treatment that allowed council first dibs on more than 100 tickets for the March 2 Elton John concert.

"I want to speak directly to the people of Greater Sudbury," Rodriguez said.

While he stated that council must learn from its "mistakes," the mayor also reiterated some of his positions on the controversy that have offended many city residents.

In particular, Rodriguez emphasized that councillors did not get any freebies, nor is council the only such group in the province to get first choice on tickets to exclusive events at municipal facilities. "These tickets are not free: the cost is paid in full by the councillor. This same practice occurs in the City of Kitchener, where Elton John is also playing next month," he said.

The mayor also maintained that "the practice of making tickets available to councillors and staff is a longstanding one" at the city. That assertion, particularly with regard to the actions taken by council with Elton John tickets, has been disputed by a former councillor, by a current councillor (in an off-the-record admission) and by a former advisor in the mayor's office.

In fact, Rodriguez noted last week that the opportunity provided to council for Elton John tickets was not offered to the politicians for the two recent, sold-out performances of Michael Buble.

The mayor also said in his statement Wednesday that he has directed city staff to prepare "an open and transparent policy to ensure that this type of debacle never happens again."

The Elton John concert should be a "very positive event for our city and our citizens," Rodriguez said.

Elton John Tour Dates from LiveDaily

The current tour schedule from LiveDaily.com;





February 2008
28 - Portland, ME - Cumberland County Civic Center

March 2008
2 - Sudbury, Ontario - Sudbury Arena
3 - Kitchener, Ontario - Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex
6 - Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Arena
10 - Newark, DE - Bob Carpenter Center
12 - Savannah, GA - Savannah Civic Center
14 - Pensacola, FL - Pensacola Civic Center
15 - Tallahassee, FL - Tallahassee Civic Center
16 - Gainesville, FL - Stephen O’Connell Center
19 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
21-22 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
24-26 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
28-29 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
31 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace

April 2008
1-2 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
4-6 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
11 - Missoula, MT - Adams Center
12 - Pullman, WA - Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum

June 2008
3-4 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
6-7 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
9-11 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
13-14 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
16-18 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
20-22 - Las Vegas, NV - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace

Aretha Franklin is not happy!

Frankly I though the same thing when Beyonce said that Tina Turner was "the queen" during her intro on the Grammys;

Franklin slams Beyonce Grammy intro

Tue Feb 12, 11:52 PM ET

LOS ANGELES - When Aretha Franklin is unhappy, she does not mince words. On Tuesday, the longtime Queen of Soul slammed Beyonce Knowles' intro to Tina Turner at Sunday's Grammy Awards, in which Knowles called Turner, not Franklin, "the queen."
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"I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyonce," Franklin said in a statement issued by her publicist. "However, I dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy."

E-mails to Knowles' publicist Yvette Noel-Schure and calls and e-mails to Recording Academy spokeswomen Jaime Sarachit and Barb Deghan were not immediately returned.

In the first few seconds of Knowles' intro to Turner's performance, she name-dropped Franklin and a long list of famed female singers. Then the "Crazy in Love" chanteuse focused on Turner.

"There is one legend who has the essence of all of those things: the glamour, the soul, the passion, the strength, the talent," said Knowles, strutting in hot pants. "Ladies and gentlemen. Stand on your feet and give it up for the queen."

At a party later that night, Knowles called Turner her "ultimate icon."

Still, Franklin ended her brief criticism on a gracious note, thanking the Grammys and the voting academy and saying, "love to Beyonce anyway."

Known for such hits as "Respect" and "Chain of Fools," Franklin tied with the Clark Sisters for best gospel performance trophy for her duet "Never Gonna Break My Faith" with Mary J. Blige.

Is this worthy of devastation?

An Elton John fan in Canada is devastated that she could not get tickets to see Elton on March 2 in Subury;

Elton John fan 'devastated'

Posted -59 sec ago

The entire sequence of events involving the Elton John ticket sales has become an atrocity of colossal proportions, frustrating many of his life long fans in the Northern Ontario area. The manner in which the tickets were sold was questionable to say the least and now, to learn that there were tickets sold to the mayor and city councillors before the website opened ... well, I shouldn't be surprised, but I am dismayed, as I'm sure many other fans are with this miscarriage.

I am a huge, life-long fan who stood in line at nine years old (1973) to buy an Elton John album on the day it was released. I have to wonder if these politicians knew as children that they would be politicians, and that they would never have to stand in line for anything. Ever. If they did think that, I guess they would have been right.

Not that being a huge fan for my entire life makes me any more privileged than anybody else to purchase tickets, but what is the reason behind the councillors and mayor buying tickets before they went on sale? There should be an even playing field for all of us, whether we are politicians or just the common voting public.

I am sure Sir Elton would be truly disappointed to learn exactly what happened here with the ticket sales. I have found tickets being scalped by so many people that had no intention of attending the concert, they only bought them to make a profit. If Elton John wanted anybody to make money off of his concerts, it would most certainly be a charity that helps children with AIDS, not scalpers' blatant profiteering for whatever personal expenses they may have. This is just one more thing about Elton John that any fan would know.

This entire ticket fiasco has been devastating to me and to think I will be sitting at home the night that Elton is playing the Sudbury arena is absolutely incomprehensible to me. Oh, yes, I could buy tickets for upwards of $600 apiece, but some of us cannot afford that. I am a single mom and I could never justify such an expense.

I have a feeling that when our mayor and city councillors are down at the Sudbury Arena on March 2 doing the Crocodile Rock, they really won't give a damn about those of us who aren't.

Janet Derks

Sudbury