Metro Pulse- Entertainment- Midwest
 
April 11th- April 18th 2011

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Editorial regarding a serious Constitutional question in our democracy.

We are not normally inclined to delve into politics, but because we cherish the first amendment and our precious right of free speech, and because I am a patriot who is SO grateful to be born and raised in these democratic United States , I felt compelled to share my thoughts on the birthplace/citizenship controversy regarding our homegrown 44th president.

Being a Chicagoan and a White Sox fan , I am in common with this particular president like no other. After hearing the incessant chorus of complaints from the Donald Trump camp regarding the lack of proof regarding the proof of citizenship clarifying his right to the Presidency, I believe Mr.Trump, as well as a host of others , has a real point here. It appears that a substantial amount of our population believes there is NO birth certificate to prove he was born in the United States and the murky origins of the President's past obscure more sinister unrevealed underpinnings.

These suspicions are amplified by the documented fact of Obama's father being a radical Muslim and the President's middle name of Hussein used to address him at his inauguration.

The Constitution is clear as the Liberty Bell in it's clarification of this point and I quote from Article 2 Section 1 of this document that is a major part of the foundation of our democracy.

"No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of the President."

This being said, it is my understanding that the newly elected governor of Hawaii, a Democrat who replaced a lady Republican, has stated that he CANNOT by law release the disputed 1959 Obama Hawaiian birth certificate WITHOUT the President's explicit permission. It has been reported that Mr. Trump has hired private detectives to search for the phantom birth certificate, but if the President refuses to give permission for its release, and the Governor can't release it without this permission, then what is the point?

Given the MAJOR universal upheaval in the Middle East as we speak , with no less than 10 countries in turmoil, not to mention the budget fiasco, this lack of clarity from the President on this issue sends ABSOLUTELY the wrong message about the validity of these questions, questions that permeate to the heart of his ascending the Presidency. It seems to me that the President needs to give permission to access the birth certificate and be done with it, unless there is no birth certificate in the first place. It is disconcerting to this reporter that we are even dealing with and wasting time on this issue when the solution is so so simple, RELEASE THE CERTIFICATE for All to see. The way this is being handled makes me VERY uneasy given the simple solution available so let us hope the President soon puts it to rest properly. It is also bothering to me that I have seen no one in the press ask this simple request of the President at news conferences since this issue surfaced over 2 years ago, that is why have you not authorized the release of this document?

Of course, maybe he is planning a release party to squelch his critics in the near future, but this behavior certainly fuels the concept of an IMPERIAL presidency.

Maybe I should mutate into a political reporter because I sure know how to ask questions and get answers.

Back to the Music and Entertainment Beat

The US Air Guitar Championships are coming to Chicago. I know this is a peripheral subject in the music and entertainment realm, but in our never ending quest to offer the common man entry into storied and historic events thru concise information, it DOES fit the bill, ESPECIALLY if you are a frustrated musician.

May 12th is the opening date of the regional finals with this first event being held at the Double Door right here in Chicago. The Regional's, which are spread across the country in 16 cities thru July 15th, end in the CHAMPIONSHIP being held here in Chicago on July 23rd at the Metro.

Tickets are $20.00 plus service charges for the regional's and $30.00 plus service charges for the final Championship event, cool T-shirts are available with the tickets for a pre show price of $15.00.

They (the shirts) look pretty cool, go to USairguitar.com for complete nationwide list of regional locations and more info, the site DOES advise that if you are a contestant with GROUPIES, they MUST have a ticket to enter, which totally destroys the rock and roll feel of the event, then again what do I know? Must be the tongue action and flailing about that draws the groupies, my question is what happens to drummers and organ players, no air competition for them?

Seems like air discrimination to me.

And, how do you tell the difference between a bass player and lead guitarist in this competition?

I am sure the groupies know, they are playing their chords, Right? (?).

The Cars have announced their first tour in 25 years to support their NEW release "Move Like This" and are playing the Riveria Theatre on May 18th, by the time you read this , tickets will already be on sale.

Our Chicago sports teams are rolling as we progress into spring with the Bulls atop the Eastern division for the FIRST TIME since the Jordan era, The White Sox won their home opener but of course the Cubs didn't and as of this writing the Blackhawks need 1 point to get into the playoffs with 1 regular season game left. What a ball bust if the defending Stanley Cup champions can't even get into the playoffs the following season. They play the Detroit Red Wings at the United Center on April 10th as their FINAL regular season game.

Speaking of the White Sox, check out the NEW Bronzeville train station at 35th Street and the expressway by the Cell that is really really nice for the fans coming and going to the ballpark as well as travelers going to the Illinois Institute of Technology. The warming centers on the platform are a welcome addition in this land of ice and snow . The only problem is that $11.7 million facility designed by noted architects Skidmore Owings seems to reflect the cost cutting mentality behind it by excluding an elegant steel railing in it's VERY functional design. Because the ITT campus is adjacent to the station and is a palace of glass and steel in it's Ludwig Miles van der Rohe design, the austere appearance of the station sticks out like a sore thumb. This is described by Metra as value engineering and the agency spokesperson noted that NO OTHER station has stainless steel railings. Oh well. Sigh.

Speaking of the South Side, as we first reported last month before ANYONE else, the Dave Mathews "Caravan" tour is indeed playing at the new Lakeside festival grounds located between 79th and 87th streets on the South Shore along Lake Michigan in a 3 day festival spanning July 8, 9 and 10. Tickets are $195.00 for the 3 days plus service charges and will feature a host of bands. The onsale date is 10 AM on April 15th. The property is on the site of a decommissioned US Steel plant and features an unlikely partnership of Live Nation and local promoter Jam Productions in this venture. The headliners will perform each night and a list of all the bands and other info can be found on DMBcaravan.com. Notable acts dialed in for this performance over the 3 days include David Gray, O.A.R., Ray LaMontagne, and The Flaming Lips playing Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, among MANY others. For the record, the parcel of land that this festival is being held on is one of the biggest empty parcels of land left in the city.

Jerry Michaelson, one of the principals in Jam, was one of the promoters who testified on Capitol Hill a few years back on his fear and apprehension of the Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger and who recently sued Live Nation/ Ticketmaster to get out of his contract of selling tickets thru their system because of the proprietary information that his competitor Live Nation could obtain on his operations from his use of the Ticketmaster system.

Now he is in a co- venture with them with this Dave Mathews concert.

Money makes strange bedfellows eh?

Rock and Roll school Dept. A recent USA Today article highlights the tale of classic rockers who are teaching classes at prominent universities on the intricacies of being successful in the music industry. Todd Rundgren, John Fogerty, and Steve Miller, among others, are described in the article as wanting to share their experiences with the new generation, and chide them on the hard work and dedication it takes to be successful and alert them to the pitfalls of the industry.

U2 is going to be the holder of the record for the biggest dollar grossing tour ever after the weekend of April 10th. The band is in Brazil on it's 360 tour and stands to pass the gross of the 2007 Rolling Stones Big Bang tour , which stood at an astounding 558 million dollars and held the record until now. Ironically, the previous record BEFORE THAT was also held by the Stones for their 1994 Voodoo Lounge tour.

Seeing as U2 is still playing dates in the US thru July 30th of this year to make up for the postponed dates from last year when lead singer Bono reportedly hurt his back (they are here at Solider Field on July 5th) the projected gross by the official end of the tour will surpass US $ 700 million dollars.

Did you know Phil Collins of Genesis got a taste of Beatlemania in 1964 in England when he played the part of a screaming teenager in a scene of the movie "Hard Days Night" ? And, that Phil Collins is perhaps the biggest collector in the world of "Alamo" fort and associated memorabilia from 1848 in Texas?

Sadly, it is reported that Collins has a problem holding things with his hands, a result of the years of drumming he did and a damaged vertebrae in his neck and he has told friends that he is done with music forever. Shouldn't be a problem financially for him as it is reported he has a net worth of over $200 million US dollars, even after 3 wives. He currently resides with his 2 sons in a little town in Switzerland.

His bandmate in Genesis for a while, one Peter Gabriel, is playing the UC on June 20th and tickets, priced at $175.00 will already be on sale by the time you read this for his "New Blood" release. This face price seems a little high in this day and age as we have been preaching this point as the summer onsales roll on, Kid Rock with guest Sheryl Crow play the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre on August 19th at a face price of $79.00 FOR BOTH. That's more like it.

No Buffalo Springfield ticket onsale information at press time. This is a very anticipated reunion as the band first played together last October at Neil Young's Bridge benefit in San Francisco at the Shoreline Amphitheatre for the FIRST time since 1968, at an event started by Young in 1986 to fund a school for underdeveloped and mentally challenged children, of which Young sadly has a son in this category. One should be conscious of the benevolence of Neil Young, he is also a founding member of Farm -Aid and is an active spokesman in other areas also in his attempts to better the planet, it has been said, to who much has been given, much is expected and Neil Young has my respect for all of his charitable efforts, not to mention the fact we share a mutual HATE of hog farms, the primitive way that Smithfield foods, among others, pollutes our environment by raising hogs in massive complexes that allow for their manure to be stored in outdoor pits, fouling the nearby countryside for MILES with the Stench of hog manure and gases, and allowing for the soils in the immediate area to be compromised. I DO NOT eat pork or ANY pork related products to this day because of this barbaric and environmentally damaging practice, think Samuel Jackson in the movie "Pulp Fiction", when he said he won't eat an animal that lives in its own feces, makes sense to me.

The beautiful Chicago Theatre is celebrating it's 90th anniversary this year, go to THE ChicagoTheatre.com for special deals offered in conjunction with this event or to chase.com/promos as the bank is their official sponsor and also has access to deals and one time unannounced promotions available only on their respective sites on any given day.

The 20th Anniversary of Lollapalooza is Aug 5-7 at Grant Park and the early bird ticket sales offered were snapped up in a heartbeat, $185.00 for the 3 day pass as opposed to the regular $225.00, a healthy sign indeed for the upcoming summer season. Other on sales to be announced soon on Lollapalooza.com, on April 26th a comprehensive list of acts will be revealed.

Dr John, newly inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is playing the Bonnaroo Music Festival June 9-12 and will play his 1974 release "Destively Bonnaroo" with the group "The Meters" in it's entirety to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the festival named after his release. Not sure WHICH day he is playing it though. Wow, I didn't know that, see what you learn reading Metro Pulse.

http://www.groopease.com from LA is launching a daily deals service that sells discounted digital albums from independent artists, 2 or 3 deals a week at 75 percent off retail. Check it out for a refreshing new outlook on new music for a deal.


Till the next time   MD
Michael .E. Dehn
metropulseinc@hotmail.com