If you want to see one of the biggest badass people alive, grab a ticket to a Tom Waits show next to you. Now people, now!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 Phoenix, AZ US -Orpheum @ 8:00 PM
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Phoenix, AZ US - Orpheum @ 8:00 PM
Friday, June 20, 2008 El Paso, TX US - Plaza Theatre @ 8:00 PM
Sunday, June 22, 2008 Houston, TX US - Jones Hall @ 8:00 PM
Monday, June 23, 2008 Dallas, TX US - Palladium @ 8:00 PM
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Tulsa, OK US - Brady Theatre @ 8:00 PM
Thursday, June 26, 2008 St Louis, MO US - Fox Theatre @ 8:00 PM
Saturday, June 28, 2008 Columbus, OH US - Ohio Theatre @ 8:00 PM
Sunday, June 29, 2008 Knoxville, TN US - Civic Auditorium @ 9:00 PM
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 Jacksonville, FL US - Moran Theatre @ 9:00 PM
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 Mobile, AL US - Saenger Theatre @ 8:00 PM
Thursday, July 3, 2008 Birmingham, AL US - Alabama Theatre @ 8:00 PM
Saturday, July 5, 2008 Atlanta, GA US - Fox Theatre @ 8:00 PM

To celebrate their forthcoming Canada tour, the southern cal’ hard rockers Queens of the Stone Age, are set to release a “Limited Tour Edition” of last year’s ZME top 10 albums Era Vulgaris. The track will feature some awesome live versions of Era Vulgaris songs, as well as some of the band’s pre-Vulgaris songs. There’s one catch to it though: it’s only available in Canada upon its release on April 15. I guess it’s a good time as any for those Canadian jokes, ufff.

The QOTSA rarity will feature two 2 discs, on one CD there’s the 11-track original Vulgaris album, bolstered by a Richard File remix of the title track, a live acoustic version of the album’s “Make It Wit Chu”, and covers of Brian Eno’s “Needle in the Camel’s Eye”, Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”, and their unlikely take on Elliott Smith’s “Christian Brothers”. On the second disc you can find nine various QOTSA songs recorded live at Amsterdam’s Paradiso.

Currently the band is in New Zealand,  prepping for a short Australian leg of their tour, where they’ll make a few appearances in the V Fest as well. Soon after they’ll leave the aussie desert and head for more chilly plains, in Canada, when they’ll kick off their first show in late April. Bellow Era Vulgaris - tour edition tracklist and tour dates:

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Surprise, surprise. Jack White and The Raconteurs just went all maverick on us and just announced that they’ll release a new album and that no later then next week ! I mean Jack pulled some pretty wacky stunts in the past, the whole Meg White sister-wife thingy being the first to come to mind, but this just might top all of them.

The news came out last night, as the band announced their new record “Consolers of the Lonely,” their eagerly anticipated sophomore album, will come out on March 25 (next Tuesday).

“The reason we are announcing this release one week ahead of time is because of retail pre-ordering and stocking, information about this album’s imminent release was bound to come to light and could be confusing to fans. Also in the event that the record leaks, we didn’t want this method of release to be seen as a REACTION to such a leak. It’s not. The actual worst thing about a leak is the usual poor sound quality, akin to watching a movie on a wristwatch instead of in a theater. Which for the album’s creators is a bit of a letdown, but again, it is completely up to the listener.

A bit out of the sudden if you ask me, considering they’ve lost months of regular pre-release promotional work, but I’m sure Jack and co. know best. Actually because the whole hype that usually follows shocking news, such as this, the band could actually be better off any promotional work. More in last night’s press release:

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Earlier today master guitarist Jimmy Page stated for journalists in Tokyo that, after performing a show to remember at last month’s O2 benefit concert, he’s ready to take [tag]Led Zeppelin[/tag] on tour, but no sooner then September.

“The amount of work we put into O2 was what you would normally put into a world tour anyway,” Page, 64, said of the intense rehearsing the band did for the Dec. 10 concert at London’s O2 Arena.

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Last year Northern Irish hard rock band The Answer finally managed to gain some exposure, after receiving some much deserved critical acclaim for their 2006 debut “Rise,” after a year prior to this they were named best new band of the year. Their sound strikes me as a blend of Led Zeppelin and Whitesnake, borrowing the best treats from each band. Although their first and latest single “Under The Sky” was released over a year ago, I just managed to come across it a few days, which says a lot about the band’s promotion; it’s really a shame that such a great song doesn’t get to delight as many listeners as it should. So without further ado, here’s the video for rocking Under The Sky.

Photo by Matthew Field
As previously reported the Californian super group [tag]Queens of the Stone Age[/tag] was set to play a gig in the cold deeps of a German salt mine. The concert took place, in front of a small and intimate crowd, on November 20, where the band played live 700 meters underground. The initial press release reported that the band was going to play a never before performed live track, but haven’t heart any news of that being true, frankly I’m a big fan and I can say they’ve played almost all their songs live; excluding B sides though. Hope I get the setlist soon, I’ll keep your posted if so. If you’re a bit familiar then watch the bellow TV report, from a German local television program, that features some parts of the show, a mini interview with Josh (it’s subbed) and a salt mine presentation.

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Artist name: Sebastian Bach
Album name: Angel Down
Label: MRV
Gender: Rock
Release date: November 20, 2007
ZMErating: 10/10
Website: http://www.sebastianbach.com

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What happened to [tag]Sebastian Bach[/tag] is a bit unfair. He emerged with Skid Row to be one of the last true stars of the heavy music just before the pre-Nirvana hard-rock era. With his look and charisma but above that with his voice he managed to make it big fast. But just as they were at the top grunge and alternative rock were the big thing and overnight, Bach found himself suddenly obsolete. After that they released “Subhuman Race,” (1995) but it unfortunately underperformed. And after that he was fired from the band. Makes you think what other band members Bolan and Snake were thinking.

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Artist name: The Goo Goo Dolls
Album name: Greatest Hits Volume One: The Singles
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Gender: Post Grunge/Pop/Hard rock
Release date: November 13, 2007
ZMErating: 10/10
Website: http://www.googoodolls.com

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The Goos are loved by both mainstream listeners and true rock listeners which is something very hard to achieve. But few people know that this release is a milestone for the band as they have been together for 21-years, and this is their first greatest hits album. But it has music just from the latest 12 years.
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The Palm Desert based [tag]Queens of the Stone Age[/tag] are back with a video, for their third single “Make It Wit Chu;” a sensual and sexual video, for a very passionate blues-like song. For those of you who are familiar with the Desert Sessions, then you probably know that the song has been featured for years ago, on the Vol. 9 of the “never ending mixtape,” as Josh Homme likes to call them. The video was shot in the beautiful Joshua Tree, and also shows the legendary Rancho De La Luna, where the Desert Sessions are recorded. All in all it’s a pretty and simple video, like only the Queens know how to.

Artist name: Avenged Sevenfold
Album name: Avenged Sevenfold
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Gender: Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
Release date: October 30, 2007
ZMErating: 2/10
Website: http://www.avengedsevenfold.com

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This is really confusing, unexplainable for any matter. Let me try to shed some light: what started out as promising metalcore venture, after gradually tasting mainstream success [tag]Avenged Sevenfold[/tag] has morphed into a hard-rock/punk/nu-metal act almost overnight. Their third album City Of Evil, was that particular transition point, drifting the band away from their previous metalcore material, to more radio friendly territory. I had really high hopes for a returning to the roots forth album, in the form of their just recently released self titled. Usually a band releases a album under the band’s name on it’s debut, but when a band titles its record by its own name after previously releasing LPs, it’s safe to say that they’re looking for a sound redefinition, a rebirth if you wish. That’s partly true with Avenged Sevenfold and its self titled release as well.
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