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The music world continues to line up in support of the presumptive democratic presidential ticket topped by Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The dynamic duo who have been barnstorming the country for the past two week since Harris swiftly swapped in to replace President Biden in their bid to deny former President Donald Trump a second term have been getting a boost from a series of music- and celebrity-oriented online fundraisers.
Over the past two weeks a series of cash-cow Zoom fundraisers by “Women for Harris,” a celebrity-studded “White dudes for Harris,” “Latino men for Harris,” “Comics for Harris,” “Cat ladies for Harris,” “VCs for Harris,” as well as Tuesday’s (August 13) “Deadheads for Harris” have raised tens of million; there is also an upcoming (August 27) Zoom organized by Swifties4Kamala.
Now Hoboken, N.J.’s finest, indie pop power trio Yo La Tengo, are making it personal. As in offering to play a private show at the location of your choice to raise funds for the democratic ticket that has injected a dose of joy and energy into a campaign that was seen by many as a grim choice between a struggling sitting president and a divisive former one.
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“In 40 years of touring, Yo La Tengo have brought their music to a wide array of venues: clubs of all sizes, festival stages, minor league baseball stadiums, festival side-stages, an amusement park, the odd pavilion, and a zoo, as well as the occasional empty room, including once by design (see Hanukkah 2020),” the band wrote in a pitch to superfans.
“They have, however, performed only a small handful of ‘house shows.’ Until now!,” they added. “Yo La Tengo would like to announce their availability for a series of intimate acoustic concerts for individuals willing to make a sizable donation to the Harris / Walz U.S. presidential ticket.”
Proposals for the shows will be prioritized by the band based on the amount of the intended contribution, location and trio’s availability, with the bidder in charge of corralling an audience. No filming will be allowed at the shows, though non-performance photos are allowed.
“The other details are up to you, Mx. Big $pender,” they said. “Bring Georgia [Hubley, drums/vocals], Ira [Kaplan, vocals/guitar], and James [McNew, bass/vocals] to your backyard for a quiet get-together with your closest friends! Book them in your living room, basement, barn, or local VFW hall for an audience of people you’ve never met in your life! The logistics are (mostly) your problem, but if you’re willing to spend big to support the Democratic ticket in 2024, Yo La Tengo will come to you.”
Interested fans can fill out a form here, with the band noting that it would be helpful, but not mandatory, for the proposed events to line up with the group’s upcoming tour dates.
Rapper, singer, producer, songwriter, Grammy winner, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Songwriters Hall of Fame member. Missy Elliott has racked up so many accolades since she burst once the scene in 1997 with her classic debut Supa Dupa Fly that it’s a bit of a shock when you hear that her current concert tour is her first headlining trek, ever. She’s opened tours before (even one for Michael Jackson) and co-headlined treks (alongside Beyoncé and Alicia Keys, no less), but Out of This World: The Missy Elliott Experience is her first headlining solo tour.
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Not that she’s alone. The tour boasts performances from Timbaland, Ciara and Busta Rhymes, with the latter two artists delivering substantial 45-minute-ish sets that feel like events unto themselves. And on Monday (Aug. 12) night, when the tour rolled into Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, some surprise guests — including Lil’ Kim and LL COOL J — popped by to help NYC pop off.
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But make no mistake: This is a Missy Elliott production. From the fashion-forward fits to the UFO imagery to the brilliantly off-kilter choreography, this feels like the spotlight tour Missy Elliott has been waiting decades to deliver. Thanks to a 25-plus-song setlist stacked with Hot 100 hits, Missy soars, whether floating above the crowd during “Gossip Folks,” spitting “She’s a Bitch” while an impossibly large cape flutters behind her or rapping “Get Ur Freak On” as her dancers climb around a rope fence. A rope fence… why? Why not! Missy’s aesthetic, both sonically and visually, has always been to get weirder (and more wonderful) than her competitors, and her iconoclastic freak flag is flying high and mighty on this tour.
Unlike some game-changing MCs, Missy has never been afraid to share the limelight, and her tour gives ample shine to her openers and guests. Lil’ Kim had the arena shrieking when she emerged from beneath the stage to rap her 2003 hit “The Jump Off”; Timbaland joined Missy to bump “Up Jumps Da Boogie”; Busta joined her to trade verses on “Touch It”; and Ciara was front and center for the show-closing “Lose Control” (at which point most of the audience did just that). Speaking of Ciara, the energized R&B diva brought out some special guests of her own: Lady London and Lola Brooke joined her for “Da Girls,” while WNBA mascot Ellie the Elephant of the New York Liberty came out to throw down for a moment, proving that a Brooklyn dancer in an animal outfit can out-breakdance some breakers at the Olympic level.
Busta Rhymes – whose rapid-fire, dexterous flow remains unmatched — shared his spotlight, too, welcoming to the stage (at various points) his children, Flipmode Squad’s Rah Digga and his childhood hero LL COOL J to rap Craig Mack’s “Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)” live for the first time ever. “History was made tonight!” Busta crowed.
The Flatbush MC also took a moment to speak on the importance of nurturing and encouraging the next generation of hip-hop as opposed to trying to keep others down to stay on top. That’s a philosophy which has seemingly helped guide Missy Elliott over the course of her three-decade career. And as this stacked tour proves, one blazing star doesn’t diminish another’s shine — it simply makes for a more breathtaking constellation.
Foo Fighters closed a two-date stand at Los Angeles’ BMO Stadium on Sunday night with a nearly three-hour set that would have threatened to blow the roof off the venue if it had one. From the high-octane opener “The Teacher” (which is typically part of the encore) to standard closer “Everlong,” Dave Grohl and bandmates […]
Blackbird Presents is set to honor legendary guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of The Band, Robbie Robertson, with their new concert Life is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson, set for Oct. 17 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
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Feting the late Robertson will be performers including Trey Anastasio, Ryan Bingham, Mike Campbell, Eric Church, Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, Warren Haynes, Bruce Hornsby, Jim James, Jamey Johnson, Noah Kahan, Daniel Lanois, Taj Mahal, Van Morrison, Margo Price, Robert Randolph, Nathaniel Rateliff, Allison Russell, Mavis Staples, Benmont Tench, Don Was, Bobby Weir and Lucinda Williams.
Robertson died in August 2023 at age 80. His songwriting credits include “The Weight,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” and “Up on Cripple Creek.” When The Band’s 1976 farewell concert “The Last Waltz” was captured on film by Martin Scorsese (and included performances from artists including Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Joni Mitchell), Robertson formed a strong bond with Scorsese. Robertson worked as a composer, music supervisor and music producer on many Scorsese films, including Raging Bull, Gangs of New York, Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street and most recently, Killers of the Flower Moon. Robertson is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and a recipient of a lifetime achievement honor at the Grammys.
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Scorsese, along with Jared Levine and Keith Wortman, will serve as an executive producer of Life Is a Carnival. Live Nation will serve as the event promoter for the concert. A portion of all proceeds from the event will be donated to The Woodland Cultural Centre, which funds and operates arts, history and education programs on the Sixth Nations Reserve in Canada.
Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, Aug. 2 at 10 a.m. PT through Ticketmaster.
Rita Ora was forced to cancel her planned appearance at the Campus Fesztivál in Hungary over the weekend due to a doctor’s order to rest. The “Praising You” singer revealed to fans on Saturday (July 27) that she would be unable to perform at the event that night due to an unspecified illness. In a […]
Metro Boomin will perform a special “Metro Boomin and Friends” concert in his St. Louis hometown at the end of this month, Live Nation announced Friday (July 19). The homecoming show is set for July 29 at St. Louis’ The Pageant, just one night before he and Future embark on their We Trust You Tour, […]
Foo Fighters had to cut their Wednesday night (July 17) show at Citi Field in New York short due to severe weather in the area. “We are so disappointed that we were unable to play our full set for tonight’s fantastic crowd at Citi Field,” the group wrote on X.
“But the safety of our fans, the crew and everyone working in the stadium comes first, so when it was determined that there was no safe way to continue the show in this dangerous weather, we had no choice but to call it a night.” According to fan clips on social media and setlist.fm, the band played 13 songs out of what is typically a 20+ song set, warning fans about the incoming weather before “Learn To Fly” and then bailing after the intro to “Everlong.”
During the talk-up intro to “Learn to Fly,” singer/guitarist Dave Grohl took a moment to address the crowd, telling them, “there’s some lightning and s–t like that,” before promising that the band will play “as much as we can until someone says it’s not safe for you.”
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In another video on X, Grohl can be heard asking the capacity crowd if the band should play “one more” song, before deciding, “all right, here’s what we’er gonna do. We’re gonna do one more. That’s it. We’re gonna do one more, we’re gonna wait this f–kin’ s–t out… if we can come back you f–kin’ know we will, right?” The band then launched into the instantly recognizable strummy intro to their 1997 The Colour and the Shape anthem “Everlong” as fans shouted with glee before Grohl was forced to call it a day.
Citi Field posted a message to X at 10:30 p.m. announcing, “unfortunately due to the continued presence of lightning in the area, tonight’s show has concluded. Please exit the venue and have a safe night.”
In their statement, the band added, “We’re grateful for every second we were able to play for you and looking forward to seeing you again — maybe as soon as Friday!” The foos are slated to play Citi Field again on Friday (July 19). Their Everything or Nothing At All tour will then continue to Boston’s Fenway Park on Sunday (July 21), Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, PA on July 23 and Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, OH on July 25.
See the Foo Fighters’ statement and watch the “Everlong” intro bit below.
Dave Grohl and @foofighters were absolutely ON FIRE AND ROCKING @CitiField tonight until a crazy storm came passing through, having to cut the show short. They handled the situation so cool and so professionally, As disappointing as it was to have a shortened show, nothing but… pic.twitter.com/Qd1GeTXwZ0— Spring-Nuts (@SpringNuts_) July 18, 2024
However big a Swiftie you think you are, you have nothing on comedian Nikki Glaser. The stand-up and roast dais veteran revealed to fill-in Jimmy Kimmel Live! host and fellow joke slinger Kumail Nanjiani on Thursday night (July 11) that not only has she seen Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour show 17 times over the past 15 months, but she has also never once taken a bathroom break during all that time.
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In fact, Glaser said she had just returned from her latest hop over to Europe the day before after attending her latest Eras show. “I was on break from tour and I was seeing Taylor Swift. That’s what I do with my free time,” Glaser told Nanjiani about her latest jaunt in which she five shows in 10 days. “Europe just happened to be there while she was there,” Glaser joked.
The self-proclaimed Swiftie explained that when she has weekends off from her own Alive and Unwell tour she flies wherever she needs to for a “Florida!!!” fix. “I’m like a divorced dad doing his best to see daughter… she has no idea who I am but I’m just the biggest fan.” Glaser has no idea if Swift even knows who she is, though she suspects Taylor might since the Roast of Tom Brady star talks about her favorite singer all the time.
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Trying to keep up, Nanjiani noted that he’s also a Swiftie, though he’s only seen the tour once, “like a normal person,” holding up a pic of himself at a show in which he rocks several friendship bracelets. Nanjiani said he gets why Glaser is obsessed by the positive vibe at the shows, but looked shocked at the 17-gig figure as the audience let out a gasp at the gaudy figure.
“I know, I know! I’m addicted,” Glaser, 40, said, unapologetically describing the “surge of dopamine” she gets from the concerts. “For me it’s either that or cocaine and luckily I can afford both,” she quipped. Glaser said she realizes her show count is “excessive” and can’t explain her fascination, other than to note that when the tour was first announced she was determined to go to every show.
Realizing that might be weird, she decided to go to just two or three until her boyfriend reminded her that she works so hard and loves Taylor so much that he encouraged Glaser to go to as many shows as possible.
If you’ve gotten this far and none of this blows your mind, peep this: Glaser said despite the sometimes nearly four-hour show length, she prides herself on “never once” going to the bathroom during the more than 60 hours she’s logged at the concerts. “For whatever reason my body is just like, ‘you’re not gonna do that like right now… it’s probably what her body does during it,” Glaser speculated. “I don’t think she has time to go so I kind of like set my rhythms to hers.”
When Nanjiani asked if at some point Glaser might tap the breaks, the comedian said she, in fact, plans to see more Eras Tour shows. “I thought it might happen but it hasn’t yet at 17,” she said of tapping out. “I just feel like this is a time where I just have to see someone who is one of the best performers who’s ever lived,” she explained, comparing seeing Swift to the modern-day equivalent of having attended a Beatles show.
“I want to just see it as much as possible, it’s the thing that makes me happiest in the world,” she said. Glaser also mentioned that her dad does not like the Beatles comparison, then cued up a clip of her pops “crying like a baby” at an Eras show she took him to in Europe. Nanjiani then lightly roasted Glaser for her obsession, busting out some research on the other things she could have done with those 60+ hours, including: getting a helicopter pilot’s license, watched all five seasons of Breaking Bad and get CPR certification 30 times.
Watch Glaser talk Eras Tour on Kimmel below.
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BLACKPINK in your area — and a theater near you! The superstar girl group unveiled the trailer on Tuesday (July 9) for their upcoming concert film celebrating their eighth anniversary, BLACKPINK WORLD TOUR [BORN PINK] IN CINEMAS, which is set to hit screens worldwide on July 31. In the 30-second clip, the girls are seen dominating global stages, executing flawless […]
A small brush fire near the Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA on Saturday (July 6) near the end of a show by ODESZA was sparked by on-stage pyrotechnics. Fox News 13 in Seattle reported that the Grant County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the blaze broke out in a small area near the venue during the […]