Ticketmaster Loses $1 Billion in Last Quarter of 2008; Finally, Some Bad Economic News we Can All Revel In!

By Brom on

For the past six months, we’ve been hit with worsening economic news week after week. Whether it's unemployment, manufacturing output, or GDP growth, business news has been like watching a car crash in slow-motion and we’re still witnessing crumpling metal, shattering glass, and the painful screeching of tires on tarmac. Nevertheless, in the midst of this ugly, shocking scene, there is a bright spot: Ticketmaster lost $1 billion in the last quarter of 2008 -- heehee!

The company’s share price has fallen from $20, when it spun off from IAC/InterActiveCorp, to March 19's price of $4.09. Consequently, Ticketmaster had to take an impairment charge to account for its falling share price, resulting in this billion dollar loss. Additionally, the organization’s fourth-quarter revenue was down 4% from the previous year, thanks to the struggling economy, Live Nation’s launch of its own ticketing platform in January, and a dearth of high-profile tours compared to the same period a year prior.

For a company who screws the artists, their fans, uses personal information aggressively, and wants to monopolize the entire market for tours and events with Live Nation, forgive me if I don’t look on in glee at this particular economic car crash. The gnashing of bodywork is oh so sweet!

RIP: Eddie Bo, New Orleans-style pianist and singer

By Shane Mack on 03-24-2009

From YouTube:

From Billboard:

New Orleans blues singer-pianist Eddie Bo, who worked with musicians such as Irma Thomas and Art Neville, has died of a heart attack. He was 79.

His death was confirmed Friday by his close friend and booking agent, Karen Hamilton.

Hamilton said Eddie Bo, whose real name was Edwin Joseph Bocage, had a "sudden, massive heart attack" while out of town Wednesday. She said he "went very quickly, very peacefully."

Bocage was an accomplished keyboardist-pianist with a career spanning more than five decades. Hamilton said he counted Professor Longhair as one of his biggest inspirations.

- Eddie Bo official website
- Eddie Bo Wikipedia entry

Dinosaur Jr.’s Jagjaguwar Debut Farm Coming in June, Offer Free 7-Inch to Ticket-Purchasing Fans

By Mango Starr on 03-24-2009

As we reported recently (TMT News), Dinosaur Jr. have signed to Jagjaguwar for their new LP. Details were scant at the time, but details ain't scant anymore. On June 23, Jagjaguwar will release Farm, the band's fifth LP with the original lineup of J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph. The album was produced by Mascis and recorded in his Bisquiteen studio in Amherst, MA.

Having just played some shows at SXSW (TMT Review), Dinosaur Jr. are set to embark on a month-long tour beginning next week. Sure, you could just wait for DJ fanatics to upload shitty videos to YouTube (and then watch a sexy Brad Pitt montage!!), but if you purchase tickets to these shows, you will also get either a digital download code or a tour-only 7-inch for "I Don't Wanna Go There" (b/w "Tarpit"). Hmmm: the 7-inch is made of petroleum, but the download code doesn't quite have the cool currency that vinyl does. ARGH! Life is so hard! I should just end it now.

Farm tracklisting:

1. Pieces
2. I Want You To Know
3. Ocean In The Way
4. Plans
5. Your Weather
6. Over It
7. Friends
8. Said The People
9. There’s No Here
10. See You
11. I Don’t Wanna Go There
12. Imagination Blind

Dinosaur Jr. tourdates:
04.01.09 - Milford, CT - Daniel Street
04.02.09 - Providence, RI - Club Hell
04.03.09 - Portland, ME - The Station
04.04.09 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
04.06.09 - Buffalo, NY - The Town Ballroom
04.07.09 - State College, PA- Lulu's
04.08.09 - Akron, OH - Musica
04.09.09 - East Lansing, MI - The Small Planet
04.10.09 - Bloomington, IN - Bluebird Nightclub
04.11.09 - Dekalb, IL - Otto's Nightclub
04.13.09 - Chattanooga, TN - Rhythm and Brews
04.14.09 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall
04.15.09 - Baton Rouge, LA - The Varsity Theatre
04.16.09 - Little Rock, AR - Revolution Music Room
04.17.09 - Fayetteville, AR - George's Majestic Lounge
04.18.09 - Oxford, MS - Proud Larry's
04.20.09 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
04.21.09 - Sky City - Augusta, GA
04.22.09 - Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
04.23.09 - Tallahassee, FL - The Moon
04.24.09 - Jacksonville Beach, FL - Freebird Live
04.25.09 - Charleston, SC - The Music Farm
04.26.09 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
04.27.09 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
04.29.09 - Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre
04.30.09 - Richmond, VA - Toad's Place Richmond
05.01.09 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon Club
05.02.09 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar

New York Dolls (All Two of Them) Reunite with Todd Rundgren (All .38472 of Him) for New LP on ATCO Records

By Couscous on 03-24-2009

In 1973, Todd Rundgren scooped The New York Dolls out of a Bowery slumgutter and into the Record Plant Recording Studio to create the band's legendary debut album -- now, 36 years later, he's doing it again, only this time the phrase "peeling off a plastic-covered La-Z-Boy in Sarasota" might better apply.

This time around, two remaining Dolls David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain (bassist Arthur Kane died of leukemia shortly after the band reformed in 2006), as well as new models Steve Conte, Sami Yaffa, and Brian Delaney, flew to Kauai to Rundgren's Utopia Sound Studio to record the band's second album since reforming (fourth overall). The album is kitschily titled ’Cause I Sez So, and its 12 new tracks include a remade version of the band's classic song "Trash," originally written by Johansen and Sylvain. After releasing the album on May 5, the band plans to tour in support (dates TBA).

’Cause I Sez So tracklist:

1. ’Cause I Sez So
2. Muddy Bones
3. Better Than
4. Lonely So long
5. My World
6. Ridiculous
7. Temptation To Exist
8. Making Rain
9. Drowning
10. Nobody Got No Bizness
11.Trash
12. Exorcism Of Despair

Mos Def, Superstar Actor and Part-Time Musician, to Release The Ecstatic in June

By Scott Lauer on 03-23-2009

Fresh off his role in Be Kind Rewind and Cadillac Records (TMT Review), Mos Def is taking off his acting shoes and slipping into something a little more comfortable -- his rapping shoes. On June 9, Mos Def will drop The Ecstatic on Downtown Records, but what could Mos Def possibly be ecstatic about during these awful times? Well, other than the fact that this album -- his fifth major release -- will bring in some money... well, actually, that might be the only thing to be ecstatic about. You can get a preview of the new LP at his MySpace or download them via RCRD LBL or iTunes.

The Ecstatic is being released on the 10-year anniversary of Mos Def’s breakthrough album Black on Both Sides (TMT Review). More details about the album, as well as a tour supporting it, will be made available in the coming weeks.

Constantines Announce EP, Revive Tour-Naming Trend with “The Rolling Tundra Revue”

By Annapocalypse on 03-23-2009

Remember when every tour you saw had a name? Instead of the 17-year-old me telling everyone the next day at school that I saw Sparta, Glassjaw, Hot Water Music, and Dredg, I was just like “Dudes, I was totally at the SnoCore tour last night, and I talked to Daryl Palumbo for 10 minutes!” Try and get over your jealousy of me for a bit though, so we can discuss Constantines' decision to name their upcoming tour “The Rolling Tundra Revue.”

Now, “The Rolling Tundra Revue” may not roll off the tongue as easily as “SnoCore,” but I’ll forgive them for that, because they’ve also decided to release a new EP to celebrate their upcoming tour. The Too Slow For Love EP is available now from Arts&Crafts and is a companion EP to Constantines’ 2008 album, Kensington Heights (TMT Review), featuring alternate versions of four different tracks from the album.

Too Slow For Love tracklisting:

1. Young Lions (Stripped down version, originally from Shine A Light)
2. Shower of Stones (Stripped down version, originally from Kensington Heights)
3. Conductor (Stripped down version, originally from Tournament of Hearts)
4. Our Age (Stripped down version, originally from Kensington Heights)
5. Strange Birds (originally by Jon Langford & The Sadies)
6. Do What You Can Do (Stripped down version, originally from Kensington Heights)
7. I Will Not Sing A Hateful Song (Stripped down version, originally from Kensington Heights)

The Rolling Tundra Revue tour:
03.23.09 - Fredericton, New Brunswick - UNB - SUB Ballroom
03.25.09 - Quebec City, Quebec - Le Cercle
03.26.09 - Montreal, Quebec - Le National
03.27.09 - Peterborough, ON - The Montreal House
03.28.09 - Ottawa, ON - Bronson Centre
03.29.09 - Kingston, ON - Ale House
03.31.09 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
04.01.09 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
04.03.09 - London, ON - London Music Club
04.04.09 - Guelph, ON - River Run Centre
04.17.09 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Burton Cummings Theatre
04.18.09 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Burton Cummings Theatre
04.21.09 - Regina, Saskatchewan - Ridell Centre
04.22.09 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - The Odeon Events Centre
04.23.09 - Edmonton, Alberta - Winspear Centre
04.25.09 - Calgary, Alberta - MacEwan Ballroom
04.26.09 - Banff, Alberta - Wild Bill’s
04.27.09 - Kelowna, BC - Kelowna Community Theatre
04.28.09 - Nanaimo, BC - Vancouver Island University Theatre
04.30.09 - Victoria, BC - Element
05.01.09 - Vancouver, BC - The Commodore Ballroom
05.02.09 - Vancouver, BC - The Commodore Ballroom
05.04.09 - Whitehorse, Yukon - Yukon Arts Centre

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