Some news stories make headlines. Some news is way too controversial to touch. And some news just makes you go, "OMG!" or "WTF!" This installment of Thank God It's Thursday plucks some recent press releases (left mostly intact) that might make you say one of the above, or possibly, "Swear you'll never, ever do this again."
DETROIT ROCK BAND, THE HIGH STRUNG, TRAVELING TO GITMO TO PLAY FOR MILITARY FAMILIES
On Monday, May 18th, The High Strung launched the Monday/Wednesday/Friday Project. This is an on-going free content project by the Detroit rock band, designed as a means to give music to the people, a means to stay creative, to deliver on behalf of a larger than life body of work, to share with their fans a boat-load of music. As The High Strung travels the nation, playing small bars, large rock clubs, public schools, libraries, even Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, they will be posting songs for the public to share and love, stream and download. For free!
As an extension of their now 5-years running, groundbreaking rock 'n' roll library tour, The High Strung has been formally invited to play Guantanamo Bay at a community recreation center and a public library. The trip takes place from July 28 - August 1, and the band is still unclear as to how exactly they will travel there. "There is not even public commercial transportation," drummer Derek Berk explains. "We'll be flying from a base in Jacksonville, (Florida), but we don't know what we're flying on." Berk continues to be mystified by the unexpected invitation. "There's just regular families down there. I never would imagine it like that, just people living their lives, going to the library, watching rock bands play shows." He further explains that in great contradiction to what we typically learn about this place, the band will likely have the opportunity to scuba dive or jet ski. "The whole experience is a chance of a lifetime for all sorts of reasons." Berk admits, "It's as much a shock to us as anyone else."
Stateside, the band continues to be prolific on every front, not just as the hardest touring band in the country, but continuing its incredible output of songs. Tune in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to http://thehighstrung.tumblr.com to find out what the band is giving away. Posts will detail where the band is on tour, what they are eating, where they are sleeping, and who they are sleeping with. The origins of these songs will vary, some will be recorded in the van. Some of these songs are demo versions of songs that eventually found their way onto High Strung albums. Some are songs that The High Strung's bass player sings on, others are solo efforts from frontman, Josh Malerman. Others are just too strange to find a place for them, or are long lost High Strung favorites.
The High Strung's latest album, Ode To The Inverse Of The Dude, was released on April 21st by Park The Van Records. It was produced by David Newfeld (Broken Social Scence, Los Campesinons! Super Furry Animals), and it's the band's most ambitious recording to date.
THE HIGH STRUNG MAY & JUNE ITINERARY:
May 18 - Kennewick, WA @ Red Room Concert and Coffee House
May 19 - Plumber, ID @ Plumber Middle School
May 20 - Fernwood, ID @ Fernwood Elementary School
May 21 - St Maries, ID @ Heyburn Elementary School
May 22 - Bend, OR @ Players
May 23 - Portland, OR @ Barbati's Pan
May 25 - Sacramento, CA @ Ligis Pizza and Fun Garden w/Shrouded Strangers
May 26 - San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock w/Shrouded Strangers
May 27 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place w/Shrouded Strangers
May 28 - Los Angeles, CA @ Silver Lake Lounge w/Shrouded Strangers
May 29 - Tucson, AZ @ Plush
May 30 - Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space w/ What Laura Says
Jun 2 - Albuquerque, NM @ Burt's Tiki Lounge
Jun 4 - Norman, OK @ Deli w/The Mean Spirits
Jun 5 - Austin, Texas @ EMO's
Jun 6 - Lafayette, LA @ Artmosphere
Jun 9 - Little Rock, AR @ White Water Tavern w/The Peekers
Jun 11 - Hattiesburg, MS Thirsty Hippo w/The Peekers & Floating Action (PTV Showcase)
Jun 12 - New Orleans, LA @ Marigny Theater w/The Peekers, Floating Action & Generationals (PTV Showcase)
Jun 15 - Charleston, SC @ U.S. Air Force Base
Jun 16 - Charlottesville, VA @ The Box w/Donny Hue & The Colors
Jun 17 - Harrisonburg, VA @ Clementine w/Donny Hue & The Colors
Jun 18 - Delmar, DE @ Delmar Public Library
Jun 18 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie w/War On Drugs, Donny Hue, Capitol Years
Jun 19 - Washington DC @ Black Cat w/Donny Hue & The Colors, Bellman Barker
Jun 23 - Cockysville, MD @ Cockeysville Library: Baltimore County Library
Jun 23 - Baltimore, MD @ Essex Library: Baltimore County Library
Jun 24 - Baltimore, MD @ Arbutus Library: Baltimore County Library
Jun 25 - Baltimore, MD @ North Point Library: Baltimore County Library
Jun 25 - Baltimore, MD @ North Point Library: Baltimore County Library
Jun 26 - Baltimore, MD @ Lansdowne Library: Baltimore County Library
Jun 29 - Horseheads, NY @ Horseheads Free Library
Jun 29 - Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
Jun 30 - Canandaigua, NY @ Wood Library, Battle Creek, MI
BEYONCÉ OFFERING FANS $20 TICKETS FOR HER NORTH AMERICAN CONCERTS
FINAL 1,000 SPECIALLY-PRICED SEATS PER SHOW BEING MADE AVAILABLE ON FRIDAY, MAY 29
In order to make her concerts affordable to all of her fans, pop culture superstar Beyoncé set aside 2,000 seats for each of her North American shows for the special-value price of $20. The final 1,000 specially-priced $20 tickets for each of Beyoncé's North American concerts will be made available to the public on Friday, May 29. The last 1,000 (per show) specially-priced tickets for Beyoncé's North American concert tour are being made available through Ticketmaster. All of the concerts on Beyoncé's North American itinerary will have 1,000 specially-priced tickets made available with the exception of the artist's four-night residency at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas.
Currently playing to sold-out arenas throughout Europe, Beyoncé's "I AM..." World Tour is shaping up as one of 2009's hottest concert attractions. The artist kicked off the European leg of her world tour in late April with an electrifying sold-out performance in Zagreb, Croatia, where more than 17,500 ecstatic fans--the largest single audience for an international artist in Croatian concert history--danced, sang-along and partied with the iconic superstar during a history-making two-hour show. Her first of four sold-out shows at London's 20,000-seat O2 Arena, Europe's largest in-door concert venue, inspired telegraph.co.uk to headline its review: "Beyoncé Knowles raised the bar for what can be done in an arena show at the O2."
Thierry Mugler, world-renowned designer, is serving as creative advisor and costume designer on Beyoncé's "I AM..." world tour. He has designed 71 new costumes for the event, highlighted by his bold signature look. The "I AM..." world tour production showcases the music and film superstar like you've never seen her. Beyoncé's extraordinary all-female band joins her again to perform musical hits, classics, and surprises in a newly-created high-tech state-of-the-art concert environment. Winners of Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" Video Dance contest will see themselves on-screen during one of the centerpiece sections of the "I AM..." extravaganza.
Beyoncé is bringing her 2009 "I AM..." World Tour to North America this summer with a series of full-length concerts beginning at New York's Madison Square Garden in June and ending with a four-night residency at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas July 30-August 2. Overwhelming demand for premium packages and general tickets for the shows have made the "I AM..." tour one of the fastest selling concert events of the year. A second Madison Square Garden concert date has been added in New York City on June 22.
Additionally, Beyoncé is co-sponsoring food drives along her tour itinerary as part of the Show Your Helping Hand™ initiative, a national hunger relief campaign created by General Mills' Hamburger Helper® in partnership with Beyoncé and her Survivor Foundation. The campaign goal is to help Feeding America deliver more than 3.5 million meals to local food banks. Consumers can get involved in the effort by submitting codes on specially marked boxes of Hamburger Helper®, by donating non-perishable food items at Beyoncé's concerts in select cities across the U.S., or by donating money at www.showyourhelpinghand.com. Please visit www.showyourhelpinghand.com for more information.
BEYONCÉ'S "I AM..." JUNE NORTH AMERICAN CONCERT DATES:
Jun 21 - New York City @ Madison Square Garden
Jun 22 - New York City @ Madison Square Garden
Jun 23 - Baltimore, MD @ First Mariner Arena
Jun 24 - Washington DC @ Verizon Center
Jun 26 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
Jun 27 - Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum Complex
Jun 29 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
SPOLETO 52 - FESTIVAL DEI 2 MONDI
The "Festival dei 2 Mondi," founded by Maestro composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958, has been and still is one of the most prestigious and innovative cultural international rendezvous. At its 52nd edition, the Festival opens on June 26, 2009, with Puccini's opera "Gianni Schicchi" offering a prestigious direction by Woody Allen, ending July 12 with its traditional Final Concert. This year, Artistic Director Giorgio Ferrara is very pleased to announce that Alessandra Ferri, formerly the principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, will serve as Director of Dance for the Festival dei Due Mondi.
Thus Spoleto, this year as in the past, becomes a huge stage hosting some of the most significant international names of the theatrical, musical, and dance landscape. This year's program includes the work of Woody Allen, Robert Wilson, worldwide famous choreographers Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, and Wayne McGregor, and the highly anticipated return of Pina Bausch and her Tanztheater Wuppertal after 40 years of absence from the festival.
This year's festival promises to be something really worth seeing--it opens with Woody Allen's production of Gianni Schicchi. Ex-ABT principal ballerina Alessandra Ferri is heading up the Festival's dance component, which will feature Pina Bausch's "Bamboo Blues," being performed for the first time ever in Italy. The theater program has some real gems, including Robert Wilson in his first public performance in over 10 years, starring in and directing Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape." The program is available on the official website of the Festival, www.festivaldispoleto.com, and presents rich and exciting events not to be missed by the audience that every year crowds the alleys of Spoleto during the warm summer evenings.