Live Entertainment Blog

A concert in the United States by a popular R&B star Akon has been cancelled after part of the stage collapsed, injuring 3 people, who were building the set for the outdoor show, that was scheduled to be held at Emory University in Atlanta. The workers were taken to hospital after a canopy fell on top of them. Akon, who is famous for such hits as I Wanna Love You, Smack That, and Don’t Matter, then called off the gig, scheduled for tomorrow night.

The popular performer Gwen Stefani has vowed to help her native California State recover from the recent fires. The singer has decided to donate the profits from her recent gig to the victims of the wildfires. All proceeds from her gig in San Diego on October 30, 2007, will go to those suffering in the aftermath of the fires that began last week. Gwen Stefani also admitted she almost cancelled her concert after hearing thousands of residents had been evacuated.

Wednesday night Van Halen were giving a stunning concert at the Target Center.

A sold-out crowd of the band’s fans of more than fourteen thousand people used their wallets to declare that they did miss the original lineup of the veteran LL metal band that released a half-dozen mostly classic records before booting Roth at the height of the group’s success.

22 years on from that disappointing split, Roth and Eddie Van Halen figured out a way to make it work again.

As some early reports from the band’s tour suggested, David Lee Roth and Van Halen were both trim and grinning, with the latter spending the concert sans shirt, radiating a very healthy glow. David Lee Roth displayed little of the manic athleticism, the one that made him famous.

Much has been made about the decision of Van Halen to replace longtime bassist Michael Anthony with his sixteen-year-old son Wolfgang. However, during live performances the younger Van Halen proved to be a highly competent and charismatic musician.

Anthony was a great fun to watch, but apparently Eddie Van Halen had been trying to oust him as far back as 1998, which can be explained mainly because he remained pals with David Lee Roth’s “permed-and-jumpsuited” replacement, Sammy Hagar.

The absence of Anthony focused more attention on Eddie. It was his seemingly effortless flow of arena-rattling riffs that made the whole night performance. While Eddie Van Halen occasionally cut loose during the Hagar era, the material, which the pair wrote together never got close to replicating the hedonism of David Lee Roth numbers like “Panama“, “Everybody Wants Some,” and “Beautiful Girls.” It was in fact those compositions and another twenty-odd other such nuggets that made up the great 2-hour performance.

This week, the Johnstones are starting an extensive Canadian tour. The Johnstones’ video for his wonderful “Gone for a Long Time” has received serious play from MuchMusic. It helped draw attention to the revival of ska music in southern Ontario. The planned tour will give many newcomers a great chance to witness the group for the first time. The concerts start on October 24 in Edmonton, AB, and finish November 11 in Toronto, ON.

When the Black Eyed Peas come into town, you can be sure a great show is waiting for you as the musicians love to party. With more than 8 thousand screaming fans of all ages, who filled the Singapore Indoor Stadium Monday night, it was an awesome party. After Will.i.am, Taboo, Apl and Fergie trooped onstage to the sounds of Hey Mama, you knew that this was going to be a loud gig. For a couple of hours, the band ran through all their big hits at a fast pace, pausing a little bit only to introduce a song or to change the costumes.

Van Halen rockers are now in the middle of a successful outing with the band’s original frontman the legendary David Lee Roth. However, the musicians have postponed October’s originally scheduled tour stop in St. Louis. The concert that was planned October 28 at St. Louis’s Scottrade Center was postponed due to a “scheduling conflict,” according to the venue. The rescheduled date is not known yet, but all tickets for the original concert will be honored on the make-up date.

This Sunday, thousands of British Muslims gathered for a charity peace show dubbed “Muslim Live 8″ with the intention to raise cash for victims of long-running Darfur conflict in Sudan. The performance, starring a popular Islamic singer Sami Yusuf, was backed by the British government spearheading efforts in order to press the government of Sudan to stop violence in the western province. The event that took place at Wembley Arena in London was called A Concert for Peace in Darfur. It was also aimed to promote efforts to unite the community amid widespread suspicion of Islam in the United Kingdom. The profits from the concert will go to Islamic Relief in order to help fund its work in Darfur.

Some really big names in music and live entertainment can be expected in Namibia, when the World Peace Tour For Children show kicks off on April 22 next year in Windhoek. Andreas Bocelli, Kool and the Gang, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston or Beyoncé, and many others may sign up during next month to form part of the global initiative with the intention to raise funds and awareness about the plight of children worldwide.

Other big stars participating in the concert that were dropped by President of the WPT4C initiative, were Angeline Jolie, who will possibly act as the director of the event ceremonies, Richard Gere, Billy Joel, and Peabo Bryson. The latter performed Beauty and the Beast together with Celine Dion. Another big name involved with the event is Ron Alexenburg, who is known for his work with the Beatles.

The 12-hour musical event will also feature a number of Namibian artists, who will form part of the 1st three hours of the show. Before the concert, a popular Namibian band, Ongombe, will fly to LA, where the musicians will record an adapted version of Paul Simon’s Bridge Over Troubled Waters. This composition will be the Namibian ‘anthem’ for the concert.

President of the WPT4C initiative While Hildebrandt would not exactly say how much tickets to the event would cost. He also stated that some tickets would be sold at a reduced price in order to allow for disadvantaged people to attend the show. A huge screen will be set up outside the venue, where those who still could not enter, can also watch it and enjoy. All money raised from the event will go to still-to-be-selected charity organizations.

The popular country star Garth Brooks will simulcast the last night of a sold-out series of 9 shows in Kansas in over three hundred movie theaters across the country. Tickets to see the simulcast of November 14th performance will go on sale Friday. The November 14th performance will be aired through National CineMedia. A number of theatres will be broadcasting the concert in many states.

Bryan Adams was forced to cancel his shows in Israel because of security issues. The gigs aiming to promote peace in the Middle East, were to be held in Tel Aviv and Jericho on October 18. But security concerns led to the cancellation of gig in Jericho last week that was followed by the cancellation of the Tel Aviv show on Sunday. Concert organizers said that some extremist ideologists had threatened the participants in Jericho, and that they felt it was their responsibility not to play with their lives.