At the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre box office before the triple threat concert of Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, a sign noted that the two big screens on the side of the main stage would not be used.

Vanity? Age? It was probably 68-year-old Dylan’s request since he wasn’t allowing professional photos either.

But fans didn’t come to stare at Dylan’s jowls or Nelson’s crow’s feet. They came for the music.

Nelson opened the evening just after 6 p.m. before a giant Texas flag. Already, a vast majority of the crowd was in their seats. With only an hour, he squeezed in about 20 songs, wasting no time on small talk, save for a stray “thank you.”

The audience sang along to the classics such as the always rollicking “On the Road Again,” the enduring “Crazy,” and the still beautiful “Always on My Mind.” Naturally, the crowd vibed on his take of “Georgia on My Mind.” His backing band kept things spare; his drummer used a single snare drum. The focal was always on his …

Continue reading Always on our minds — Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp at Verizon Wireless 7/30/09 »

July 31: Actor Don Murray is 80. Actor Geoffrey Lewis is 74. Actress Susan Flannery (”Bold and the Beautiful”) is 66. Singer Lobo is 66. Singer Gary Lewis of Gary Lewis and the Playboys is 64. Singer Bob Welch is 63. Actor Michael Biehn is 53. Singer-guitarist Daniel Ash (Love and Rockets, Bauhaus) is 52.Drummer Bill Berry (R.E.M.) is 51. Actor Wesley Snipes is 47. Country singer Chad Brock is 46. Musician Fatboy Slim is 46. Guitarist Jim Corr of The Corrs is 45. “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling is 44. Actor Dean Cain (”Lois and Clark”) is 43. Actor Robert Telfer (”Saved By The Bell”) is 32. Country singer Zac Brown is 31. Actor B.J. Novak (”The Office”) is 30.

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Here’s a great deal for fans of country star Dierks Bentley . You can see him for free at one of the best venues in town: the Tabernacle downtown August 18.

Thank Samsung and AT&T, who are sponsoring the concert. How do you get free tix? Well, it’s first come first serve so go over to the samsungsummerkrush.com to sign up. You can print out your ticket there.

The concert doors open at 7:30 p.m. Though this ticket does not mean you are guaranteed entry, you should have no problem if you get there early enough. The tickets are under your name and are not transferable. Each ticket does admit two people. If enough people sign up, Samsung will shut off access so do so early if you want to go.

Bentley, 33, has five albums out and 12 hit singles including seven No. 1’s. His best known songs include “Come a Little Closer,” “What Was I Thinkin’ “, “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go),” and the most recent hit “Sideways.” The Phoenix native is married and had his first child last …

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A comedy show starring Atlanta native Bruce Bruce and Nephew Tommy has been cancelled at Philips Arena Sept. 12. There is no new date set. You can get full refunds at point of purchase.

The press release today does not say why the show was nixed.

Bruce Bruce’s official Web site and his MySpace page offer no information either. The show is not listed on his site.

Continue reading Bruce Bruce Sept. 12 show cancelled at Philips Arena »

July 30: Actor Richard Johnson is 82. Actor Edd “Kookie” Byrnes is 76. Blues guitarist Buddy Guy is 73. Movie director Peter Bogdanovich is 70. Singer Paul Anka is 68. Jazz saxophonist David Sanborn is 64.Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger is 62. Actor Jean Reno (”The Da Vinci Code,” “Godzilla”) is 61. Blues singer Otis Taylor is 61. Actor Ken Olin is 55. Actress Delta Burke is 53. Singer-songwriter Kate Bush is 51.Country singer Neal McCoy is 51. Actor Laurence Fishburne is 48. Actress Lisa Kudrow (”Friends”) is 46. Country guitarist Dwayne O’Brien of Little Texas is 45. Actress Vivica A. Fox is 45. Actor Terry Crews(”Everybody Hates Chris“) is 41. Director Christopher Nolan (”Memento,” “Insomnia”) is 39. Actor Tom Green is 38. Drummer Brad Hargreaves of Third Eye Blind is 38. Actress Christine Taylor (”The Brady Bunch Movie”) is 38. Comedian Dean Edwards (”Saturday Night Live“) is 36. Actress Hilary Swank is 35. Actress Jaime Pressly (”My Name Is Earl,” “Not Another Teen Movie“) is …

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July 29: Actor Robert Horton (”Wagon Train”) is 85. Actor David Warner (”Titanic”) is 68. Keyboardist Neal Doughty of REO Speedwagon is 63. Singer-bassist Geddy Lee of Rush is 56. Documentary maker Ken Burns is 56. Singer Patti Scialfa with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is 56. Actress Alexandra Paul(”Baywatch”) is 46. Country singer Martina McBride is 43. Drummer Chris Gorman (Belly) is 42. Actor Tim Omundson (”Psych”) is 40. Actor Wil Wheaton is 37. Singer Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men is 36. Actor Stephen Dorff is 36. Country singer James Otto is 36. Actor Josh Radnor (”How I Met Your Mother”) is 35. Musician Danger Mouse of Gnarls Barkley is 32. Actress Allison Mack (”Smallville”) is 27

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Harry Potter. The Twilight series. Halo 3. Thomas Pynchon.

What do these four have in common? They all have had midnight release parties.

Pynchon’s fans may not be swooning teenage girls or pale-skinned gamers, but they may be just anxious enough to show up at the crack of midnight August 4 to purchase Pynchon’s new stoner-noir detective novel “Inherent Vice.”

At least that’s what Frank Reiss, the owner of A Cappella Books in Little Five Points hopes. The bookstore tried a release party the last time Pynchon wrote a novel in 2006 but did so with minimal planning. Weiss is promoting this one with a little more advance notice.

“We’re even going to have a band,” reiss said. (In fact, the Roswell band Schwarzkommando cites Pynchon’s works in its lyrics.) “We’re going to use social networking. We can better touch base with people who have that particular obsession.”

He’s not expecting a big Potter-like frenzy: “I’m hoping a couple of dozen people show up.”

Pynchon is a …

Continue reading A Cappella Books opening at midnight for Thomas Pynchon (not Harry Potter) »

July 28: Actor Darryl Hickman is 78. Cartoonist Jim Davis (”Garfield”) is 64. Actress Linda Kelsey (”Lou Grant”) is 63. Singer Jonathan Edwards is 63. Actress Sally Struthers is 61. Actress Georgia Engel (”The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Coach”) is 61. Drummer Simon Kirke of Bad Company is 60. Guitarist Steve Morse of Deep Purple is 55. Bassist Marc Perlman of The Jayhawks is 48. Actor Michael Hayden (”Murder One”) is 46. Actress Lori Loughlin (”90210,” “Full House”) is 45. Actress Elizabeth Berkley (”Showgirls,” “Saved By The Bell”) is 37. Singer Afroman is 35. Drummer Todd Anderson of Heartland is 34. Singer Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach is 33. Rapper Soulja Boy is 19.

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July 27: TV producer Norman Lear is 87. Singer Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows is 80. Actor Jerry Van Dyke (”Coach”) is 78. Actor John Pleshette (”Knots Landing“) is 67. Singer Bobbie Gentry is 65. Actress-director Betty Thomas (”Hill Street Blues”) is 61. Singer Maureen McGovern is 60. Actress Roxanne Hart(”Chicago Hope“) is 57. Guitarist Duncan Cameron (Sawyer Brown) is 53. Comedian Carol Leifer is 53.Country singer Stacy Dean Campbell is 42. Singer Juliana Hatfield is 42. Actor Julian McMahon (”Profiler”) is 41. Comedian Maya Rudolph (”Saturday Night Live“) is 37. Drummer Abe Cunningham of Deftones is 36.Singer Pete Yorn is 35. Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers (”The Tudors”) is 32.

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July 26: Actress Marjorie Lord (”Make Room For Daddy”) is 91. Movie director Blake Edwards is 87. Actor James Best (”The Dukes of Hazzard”) is 83. Singer Dobie Gray is 69. Singer Darlene Love is 68. Singer Brenton Wood is 68. Singer Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones is 66. Actress Helen Mirren is 64. Drummer Roger Taylor of Queen is 60. Actress Susan George is 59. Actor Kevin Spacey is 50. Singer Gary Cherone (Extreme, Van Halen) is 48. Actress Sandra Bullock is 45. Singer Jim Lindberg of Pennywise is 44. Actor Jeremy Piven is 44.Singer Wayne Wonder is 43. Actor Cress Williams (”Close to Home”) is 39. Host Chris Harrison of “The Bachelor” is 38. Actress Kate Beckinsale (”The Aviator,” “Pearl Harbor”) is 36. Drummer Dan Konopka of OK Go is 35.

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