Metro Pulse- Entertainment- Midwest
 
April 18th- April 25th 2011

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Watch for TicketPulse®.net and TicketTicker®.net coming soon.

We acknowledge Passover in respect to our Jewish friends, the holiday which starts at sundown Monday April 18th.

We also acknowledge the joyous celebration of Easter Sunday on April 24th to our Christian friends.

We also grudgingly acknowledge Monday April 18th is the final day to file your taxes to the IRS.

Wanna Howl at the Moon and fantasize being Elton John, Billy Joel AND Jerry Lee Lewis All in one?? Billed as the "World's Greatest Rock n Roll Dueling Piano Bar" the bar "Howl at the Moon" showcases locations in Chicago, Boston, Orlando and more, the perfect drinking spot for a frustrated musician who can play the keys. Go to www.Howlatthemoon.com for more information. In Chicago call 312 863 7427.

We do have a FULL MOON this week so you know.

Mayor elect Rahm Emanuel is a hard guy to get to know for the common man as he prepares to become the first newly elected mayor of Chicago in over 20 years. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that in a bid to collect donations prior to his May 16th inaugural, the mayor elect is requiring ONLY 25 grand to be a sponsor, 10 grand to be a supporter, and if you want to ONLY be his friend, cough up 5g buddy, CASH.

Or, as they would say on the street here in Chicago, 5 dimes to be my friend, 10 dimes to support me and 25 dimes to sponsor me.

Hey, that's a deal as President Obama held several fund raisers on the evening of April 14th here in Chicago to OFFICIALLY launch his reelection campaign, one, which was held at the exclusive MK restaurant in the west Loop, required 38 grand, yes, 38 thousand eight hundred dollars a head to attend. There were 50 people in attendance at this event, as reported by Crains Chicago business.

It is all relative in Chicago. Dig?

Prince opens up a residency in LA at the LA Forum on April 14th and will be there for 21 days. In a rare late night TV appearance on the Lopez Tonight Show featuring comedian George Lopez, Prince expounded on his ticket pricing philosophy. For these shows in LA, an astounding 85 percent of the house will be priced at $25.00 EACH admission, the fee charged at the door. As Prince so eloquently stated on the show, HE is now the Ticket master, a barb at the Live Nation/Ticketmaster conglomerate so known for gouging his fans. Remember, this is the guy that got SO disgusted with his record company (Warner Brothers) he changed his name to a SYMBOL awhile back.

I keep preaching about the prohibitive face prices charged by promoters and bands and how their sales are suffering in the primary and secondary markets because of it, in certain select instances (like multi band festivals) it appears that this lesson has hit home to promoters AND BANDS this summer, but we are chagrined at the exorbitant SERVICE CHARGES now being charged, a recent onsale for KID ROCK with special guest Sheryl Crow slated to play our stellar (NOT) Live Nation shed First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Illinois on Aug 19th had it's onsale on April 8th that had a reasonable face price of $79.00 but the service charges brought the individual ticket price at checkout to around $100.00 per, a 25 percent markup from the printed face price. Of course this includes parking.

I find it HARD to believe that this is a FAIR markup for Ticketmaster for the use of their ticketing services, but I realize everyone needs to generate revenue to survive so Read on……….

Speaking of Ticketmaster/Live Nation, they are reported to be in the running to purchase Warner Music Group, a major acquisition by a HEAVILY indebted company that, if executed, would give them a COMMANDING presence in the vertical and horizontal integration of the music industry.

A revealing article in the 4/1/11 NY Post details the following financials. The long term debt of Live Nation stands at $1.7 BILLION dollars and their stock has vacillated from a high of $16.70 last April 2010 to a low of $8.43 last August 2010. The stock has lost 12.5 percent of it's value over the last year, with the stock hovering around $10.00 per share recently.

The reported cash flow of Live Nation/Ticketmaster at the end of 2010 was $158 million dollars but this DOES NOT REFLECT the sobering fact that in the last year the company has seen $1.25 BILLION in stockholder value VANISH into thin air, and it would be IMPOSSIBLE to promote enough shows and make enough money in other ventures to make that up in the near future, IF EVER.

A major incentive spurring this potential foray into recorded music by Ticketmaster/ Live Nation is the pending sale of EMI, the iconic UK recording company that was home to the Beatles and Pink Floyd, that choked under an onerous deal done by Terra Firma Partners and the experienced UK deal maker Guy Hands that was partially financed by Citigroup/Citibank.

A lawsuit claiming fraud was filed by Terra Firma against Citigroup in regards to the terms of the deal, or in layman terms, the price paid by Terra Firma for EMI, some $8.4 BILLION DOLLARS, that was financed willingly by the bank to the tune of $5.5 BILLION dollars, that was SO wholly out of whack to the plummeting value of the asset at the time of the purchase in the last recession that the firm chose to choke on the terms and defaulted because of this perceived malfeasance for PROFIT by the bank by extending the credit at such a high premium price for the assumed value of the asset.

Terra Firma LOST the suit against Citigroup/Citibank and subsequently the bank has foreclosed on the deal and recently regained FULL ownership of EMI after writing off $3.5 BILLION dollars in the deal and is looking to merge it with who ever lands Warner Music to create a merged musical monster to compete with Universal Music and Sony in the global marketplace.

In addition to the synergies that could be realized by Ticketmaster/ Live Nation in controlling current acts Josh Groban, Bruno Mars and others in the current Warner fold and extending it to the touring and merchandising tangent, it would also consolidate and potentially significantly reduce their combined talent development expenses, as well as supplant and evolve the LIVE NATION concert ticketing and touring, artist management and merchandise revenue franchise into a higher margin business in recorded music. By comparison, Warner Music enjoyed a cash flow of $348 Million dollars in 2010, more than double the tortured Live Nation/Ticketmaster totals of the same period of $158 million dollars.

The wild card is if majority stockholder John Malone (20 percent) will support this venture thru his Liberty Media stake in Live Nation, it should be noted that his investment in Ticketmaster/Live Nation is the ONLY one he has EVER made that wasn't into a company with a HEALTHY cash flow and the verdict will be official by the beginning of May when the winning bid for Warner Music among MANY serious suitors will be revealed, stay tuned. The bids will be in the BILLIONS for WARNER MUSIC before it is said and done, so you know.

Doug Morris, the highly respected 72 year old FORMER head of Universal Music, who signed Justin Bieber AND Lady Gaga during his tenure of 15 years at the helm of Universal, recently agreed to join arch rival Sony Music effective July 1, 2011. He will be facing the winner of the Warner Music/EMI merger deal as will Lucian Grainge of Universal Music, who will replace Morris .

Speaking of EMI, they are coordinating an effort to support relief efforts in Japan. Dubbed the "EMI Family 4 Japan" campaign, all of their artists AND songwriters are contributing choice memorabilia for auction that will be matched in contributions from EMI if the EURO totals exceed one million euros, auction runs thru April 21st, go to stores.ebay.co.uk/EMI-Family-4-Japan for more information.

The bands and artists donating items for auction to this NEEDED cause include Coldplay, The Beatles, Arcade Fire, The Beach Boys, Katy Perry, The Chemical Brothers, Jeff Bridges, Norah Jones, Keith Urban, The Beastie Boys, Iron Maiden and MANY others, check it out as because it is a charity and you must pay shipping from the UK on items bought, it is a charitable write off on your taxes WITH DOCUMENTATION, so buy people, BUY.

Elvis to Elvis Dept.

Elvis Costello and the Imposters play the Chicago Theatre on May 15th.

And, in a surprising revelation, CKX, the NY based holding company that is run by industry veteran Robert Sillerman, the company that bought out Lisa Marie Presley to take control of Graceland with an 85 percent stake as well as the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley, BUT NOT THE MUSIC CATALOG (that is owned by RCA in a dumb deal done by Colonel Parker that SCREWED Elvis in the early 70's), is reporting a DROP in the overall revenue of Elvis Inc.

Attendance at Graceland dropped 4.4 percent to 518,940 from a year before total of 542,278, but memorabilia and merchandise sales inflated the gross income to $36 million dollars to offset a little of the loss of heads thru the door. The lucrative royalties and licensing business took a 5.4 percent hit, garnering $57.3 million dollars for fiscal year 2010.

These figures were reported in a regulatory filing required by the SEC for a public company . The company's idea for 2011 was to EXPAND the 13.5 acre Graceland complex with a $250 million dollar upgrade, which the filing indicates is on hold due to current economic conditions. Still, it is amazing that OVER A HALF MILLION PEOPLE still trek to Graceland every year to pay homage to the long lost and dead King of Rock and Roll, literally and figuratively.

I bet the Pharaohs in ancient Egypt didn't get that kind of traffic at the pyramids in their day.

CKX also owns The Fox TV hits "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance".

We mentioned in last week's Metro Pulse® about folk rock icon Bob Dylan touring the Far East for the first time this month, playing gigs in Beijing and Shanghai in China and at RMIT University in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam on April 10th. Reuters is reporting that Dylan was forced to submit his song set lists to BOTH the Chinese AND Vietnamese governments in advance for approval for the performances to proceed.

The Vietnamese show was held in a place that could hold 6,000 but only held half that amount, according to the Associated Press, and reflected the economics and demographics of that country. By playing in a university setting to students and patrons mostly UNDER 30, the memories of the 60's in Vietnam and Dylan's stature in it as a poet and activist were largely ignored, and the ticket price was more than most Vietnamese make in a month, surely a MAJOR factor in the lukewarm turnout.

The overwhelming realization to this reporter is the censorship that BOTH governments enacted on Dylan's performances is a poignant reminder to me of the cultural freedoms we Americans take for granted, and the next time you hear "Blowing in the Wind" on your local oldies or soft rock station, cherish the fact you CAN hear this flowing melody without a government so TOTALLY paranoid that you may take the lyrics espousing change LITERALLY and take to the streets and denying you the privilege of hearing the song SOLELY for that reason.

It is truly a SAD commentary on the mindset and FEAR in China and Vietnam that SUPERIOR American culture celebrating the universal language of music thru expressive song is regulated to this censorship by the authorities recalcitrant to embrace BASIC freedoms for their people and that their REPRESSIVE tactics employed only highlight the potential for this NEED for freedom to take root, hence the repression to crush it.

It has always been my belief that CONTROLLING BEHAVIORS mask SERIOUS weakness and are inherently flawed and negative, no matter what the application, personal or political. So there you have it.

For the record, Dylan DID play the songs "A Hard Rain 's Gonna Fall" and "Highway 61 Revisited" to a spirited sing a long at the Vietnam shows...

Discreet Dept. The 3 most unobtrusive personalities you have NEVER met were inducted into the newly created Chicago "Concierge Hall of Fame" recently.

Jon Winke from the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Paula Fortney from the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers and Sheryl Novak, president/concierge of Concierge & Event Services Worldwide were honored for their acumen in obtaining the "IMPOSSIBLE' for their clients, kudos to them. I am adding them to my rolodex, you should too.

Madonna, who is opening up a string of gyms around the world encompassing the concept of "Hard Candy", her aptly named CD release and recent tour moniker , has nothing on the smoking hot and recently married Katy Perry.

For those of you recently emerging from a winter hibernation in a cave of some sort, the lucky dude who scored the hopefully (for him) eternal horizontal duet with Perry is one UK actor Russell Brand, who recently released 2 movies ALMOST back to back "Arthur" and "Hop" of which "Arthur" tanked and "Hop' did very well at the movie box office, maybe because Brand only was featured in voice in the "Hop" cartoon animation?

Perry plays the suburban Chicago Allstate Arena in Rosemont Illinois on July 8th and promises a spectacle for her first arena trek, including the first "scented" tour. She claims to be developing a candy/bubblegum scent dubbed "Smell O Vision" that will be pumped into the arena to create the ambience and FEEL of a MAJOR Broadway production , complete with relaxing and motivating odors. Hope it meshes well with "other" smoke and scented products common to young arena audiences.

Britney Spears, who plays on the SAME night of July 8th at the downtown Chicago United Center but still has not announced an on sale date for tickets as of press time, is promoting her new release "Femme Fatale" with a strategic focus on the gay community in her marketing, traditionally a strong base of support for her. Spear's underdog status and up and down career pitfalls appear to mesh in spirit to gays who are seeking marriage and race equality and recognition and creates a common denominator that translates into support for her endeavors from them.

She was recently featured with Madonna on the Women We Love cover of the gay magazine "Out".

The reviews for the new Spears CD are mixed, but good overall, just nothing SPECTACULAR. Good thing for her she has been around for over a decade and shown she is capable of putting on a good show, seeing as she is managed by Front Line Management, the recently purchased and the wholly owned subsidiary of Live Nation, we will see what she chooses to charge for her tickets, primo seats and deluxe access packages thru the LIVE NATION Front Line owned "I Love All Access" service are rumored to run in the multi hundreds of dollars EACH .

The Chicago Bulls have retained home court advantage thru out the playoffs this year after finishing the regular season with an astounding 62 wins and only 20 losses, winning their last 9 games IN A ROW, the best overall record in the NBA. They won 21 of the last 23 games down the stretch and compiled an AMAZING 36 wins against only 5 losses at home, a record that they matched 4 other times in their storied history, each time with Michael Jordan led teams, and they won the championship EACH TIME. GO BULLS. They play Indiana in the opening round of the playoffs beginning at noon Saturday April 16th in Chicago. After being down MOST of the game, a last minute flourish gave The Bulls the win with "Korver" in the corner sinking a 3 pointer to seal the victory 104-98. Game 2 is Monday night in Chicago.

The Blackhawks, defending Stanley Cup Champions, slid into the playoffs by ONE point and, at press time, lost the first playoff game played in the first round to Vancouver 2-0, similar to last year's first game loss to the same team. The Hawks DO NOT have home ice advantage this time around, unlike last year's run.

And, in my opinion, the CANUCKS are a far better team this time around and had one of the best win loss records in the entire NHL this season. Plus they are PISSED OFF about last year's loss, always a major motivator. This point was brought home with the disturbing stat that the "hit" ratio was 47 to 21 in favor of the Canucks, meaning the Hawks were MANHANDLED in game 1. Yikes. Now they have lost Game 2, 4-3. Game 3 is Sunday night at United Center in Chicago, setting the stage for the Hawks to be swept at home in the first round if they don't tighten up.

The Dave Mathews "Caravan" festival rolls into the South Shore LakeSide festival grounds (described as 8555 S. Green Bay Rd - Chicago ) July 8, 9, and 10 as we first reported WEEKS AGO. Tickets are available thru the Live Nation subsidiary Music Today, NOT TICKETMASTER.

Go to DMBcaravan.com to buy tickets from "Tickets Today", a division of Music Today. Although this entity is billed as a Live Nation division, technically they are owned by Ticketmaster, who bought out Live Nation last year. You can also call 1 800 594 TIXX. It would appear that because of the pending litigation between one of the co promoters of this event, Jam, and Ticketmaster, it was decided to avoid using Ticketmaster DIRECTLY for this event, hence Tickets Today selling the seats with no box office sale, the tickets, which are priced as a 3 day pass at $195.00 plus service charges, should be available by the time you read this.

Lollapalooza announces the brunt of their schedule on April 26th, go to Lollapalooza.com for details. Full price 3 day tickets are $225.00 this year, all the early bird ticket deals at $185.00 sold out quickly.

The Pitchfork Music Festival completed its lineup this weekend , adding 15 bands and artists to the festival roster, including DJ Shadow, Superchunk, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Tune-Yards.

The festival runs July 15-17 in Union Park, right after the Dave Mathews "Caravan" festival July 8, 9 and 10 and a few weeks BEFORE Lollapalooza Aug 5 -7.

Tickets are $45.00 plus service charges and are available at: http://www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com.

The COMPLETE line up as announced is the following with artist listings by day

July 15: Animal Collective, Neko Case, Guided By Voices, Thurston Moore, Battles, James Blake, Das Racist, Curren$y, Tune-Yards, Gatekeeper, EMA.

July 16: Fleet Foxes, DJ Shadow, the Dismemberment Plan, Destroyer, No Age, Gang Gang Dance, Zola Jesus, Twin Shadow, Toro Y Moi, Cold Cave, OFF!, G-Side, Woods, Sun Airway, Julianna Barwick, Chrissy Murderbot.

July 17: TV on the Radio, Cut Copy, Deerhunter, Superchunk, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Odd Future, HEALTH, Kurt Vile, Yuck, the Fresh & Onlys, Radio Dept., Baths, Kylesa, Shabazz Palaces, Twin Sister, How to Dress Well, Wild Nothing, Darkstar

Have to wonder about a band named "Yuck" though. Maybe the "Baths" can clean them up?

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