September 2003

Chris Rock is bringing his whip-smart brand of comedy to theatres across North America this winter. Under the Black Ambition Tour, the comedian will laugh it up from mid-October well into the new year.There are a couple two-night engagements scheduled – one in New York City and another in Los Angeles. Additional dates are expected to be announced.
Aside from hosting various award shows, including this year’s MTV Video Awards, and doing a few one-off gigs, it’s been four long years since Rock last toured stages. In the in-between time, he’s been anything but lazy. He hosted the critically acclaimed “The Chris Rock Show” on HBO, has put out a couple comedy albums, won three Emmys and two Grammys, and has starred in several films.
For a full list of performance dates visit Pollstar.com.

San Francisco will once again be the site of the funkiest place in October when the third annual Funk Festival takes over from October 8-25. Celebrating all things funk, the event will feature music, art and film.
This year’s lineup boasts DJ Greyboy, The Headhunters, Grandmaster Flash, and Robert Walter’s 20th Congress. Various venues in and around San Francisco – including Bimbo’s 365 Club, the Elbo Room and the Great American Music Hall – host the concerts.
The San Francisco Funk Fest first descended on the bay city in 2001. Even though the event was held a couple months after September 11, it managed to attract upward of 3,000 people, laying the ground for the successive festivals.
Source Pollstar.com.

Singer Robert Palmer has died in Paris of a heart attack at the age of 54, his manager said. The British star, whose chart hits in the 1980s included “Addicted to Love,” suffered the attack in the early hours of Friday morning, Mick Cater said.
The Yorkshireman, who had lived in Switzerland for 16 years, was staying in the French capital with his partner, Mary Ambrose, after traveling from the United Kingdom where he had been recording a TV show.
Palmer was in several British rock bands before he hit the big time as a solo artist with singles that also included “Simply Irresistible” and “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On.”
Source cnn.com.

Pearl Jam is tossing plans to release a comprehensive DVD of its 2003 Riot Act tour in favor of spotlighting the band

Three Days,” a Jane’s Addiction documentary that played at various 1999 film festivals but was never officialy released, will be issued on DVD on Oct. 7.
The film, directed by Carter Smith and Kevin Ford, follows the band on and off stage during its 1997 tour in support of it’s album Kettle Whistle.

Metallica will bring in the New Year with a performance at the Joint In Las Vegas

Over 70,000 people attended the Dave Matthews Band free concert in central park Wednesday night, and although rumors spread across the net this week of various special guests, only one inevitably emerged. Midway through the two-hour set, Warren Haynes joined the band for Neil Young’s “Cortez The Killer” and DMB’s “Jimi Thing.”
Proceeds were donated to building music programs in city schools

Bruce Springsteen’s 1975 breakthrough album “Born To Run” (Columbia) ranks No. 1 on the most popular albums list in Zagat Survey’s first Music Guide.
Best known for its surveys of restaurants, hotels and other leisure pursuits in major cities, Zagat queried more than 10,000 listeners to create a list of the 1,000 top albums of all time, as well as dozens of other tallies across more than 20 genres and eight decades of music.
Four albums by the Beatles, two by U2, another by Springsteen and releases by Miles Davis and Pink Floyd round out Zagat’s top 10 most popular albums.
“Born To Run,” which peaked at No. 3 and spent 110 weeks on Billboard’s album chart, is also on top of the rock and classic rock lists and No. 5 on Zagat’s overall quality tally. Springsteen & the E Street Band rank eighth on the list of most influential artists, which is led by the Beatles.
Davis’ 1959 release “Kind of Blue” (Columbia/Legacy), No. 6 on the most popular list, is the No. 1 album for overall quality and the top jazz album.
The top hip-hop album is Public Enemy’s 1988 classic “It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back” (Def Jam). The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1972 set “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” leads country albums, Massive Attack’s “Protection” ranks as the favorite electronica set and Howlin’ Wolf’s “Moanin’ in the Moonlight” is at the front of the blues class.
“We knew this survey would be especially challenging since musical taste is so personal and top picks of all time stir passionate arguments,” publishers Tim and Nina Zagat said in a statement. “To our delight, participants showcased their tastes with a depth of knowledge that stands up to the most critical musical ear — these are people who know chapter and verse on their preferred genres and they avidly shared memories and associations that their favorite recordings evoke.”
The Zagat survey found that fans listen to music 24 hours each week, more than five of which is conducted on computers and MP3 players. Participants spend an average $343 per year on music to stock an average collection of 516 titles; 53 percent download music from the Internet and 55 percent burn their own CDs.
Source CNN.com.