Live Entertainment Blog

The Phantom of the Opera US tour, as staged by the Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Theatre Company, Inc., has been touring for almost 16 years so far and is still playing to packed houses all over the country.  After celebrating its anniversary last December in Chicago, the producers and actors are still pleased with how well the piece is received in all parts of the country.  Of course, Phantom has been a fan favorite pretty much since the beginning of its production, not only as a touring work, but as a show on Broadway, in London and in Toronto.  The CD has sold many copies over the years as well.  73 cities have shown Phantom on their stages over the years of the US Tour, and everyone involved expects to have a long run ahead of them!  For future show dates and locations, click here.

Even though Britney was planning to spend Christmas with her sons, Britney’s ex-husband wants to deprive the pop singer of her visitation privileges. So instead of a lovely Christmas morning, Brit is likely to be having a child custody battle. Let’s hope that everything will end up fine for Brit and she as, any other mother, will be able to spend time with her kids and present them lovely Christmas presents.

“American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson has sold over sixteen million records, had 3 Number 1 singles, won 2 Grammy Awards, and earned fans all over the world. It seems that Bill Gates is one of them. Amber Trillo said she spotted the local billionaire front and center in a Paramount Theatre balcony for Kelly’s concert yesterday and snapped a shot of him.

The College of the Arts presents a Christmas show that aims at raising money for the Cancer Association of Namibia. The concert is entitled “Christmas Memories.” It will take place tonight in the Eros Dutch Reformed Church. Sponsored by Bank Windhoek the concert concludes with 3 works performed by the Windhoek Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Sonja Majewski. The orchestra will play Adeste Fideles by J.F. Wade, Sanctus by Gounod featuring Hermien Coetzee, and Silent Night by Gruber.

Annie Lennox, Alicia Keys, and Melissa Etheridge are set to play a Nobel Peace Prize concert that will honor former United States Vice President Al Gore as well as other Nobel laureates. The concert will take place on December 11 honoring representatives from the UN‘ climate change panel, who were also awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in order to increase awareness about the problem of global warming.

The famous actor Tommy Lee Jones will co-host the Nobel Peace Prize concert for former Vice President Al Gore and representatives from the United Nations’ climate change panel. The concert in honor of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates, which is held every year, draws world names in music and film as performers. The show is broadcast in many countries around the world. Tommy Lee Jones’ co-host will be announced later.

Last week there was a police sting at an Ozzy Osbourne concert in Fargo, North Dakota. The sting took place on October 29 at the Fargodome, the city’s main arena. It was masterminded by county sheriff Paul D. Local. The sheriff used the fake moniker PDL Productions planning Ozzy Osbourne pre-show concert party by offering the very same perks that were included in Osbourne’s official VIP tour packages that included 2 tickets to forty unsuspecting citizens. The latter, had received the PDL invites by mail. As soon as the “winners” showed up, they were promptly arrested on various outstanding warrants. County sheriff Paul D. Local quickly held a televised press conference in order to congratulate himself on success of the sting operation.

The only problem was that Ozzy Osbourne was not notified of the planned scheme. In a statement he said with angrily that instead of holding a press conference to pat himself [sheriff], he should be apologizing to Ozzy for using his name in connection with the arrests. The artist also added that it insulted him and his audience, and it showed how lazy that particular sheriff was when it came to doing his job.

Over the past two decades or so, law enforcement has used similar sting operations across the United States, and the tactic was glorified in the 1989 Al Pacino/Ellen Barkin movie entitled “Sea of Love.”

Ozzy Osbourne believes that Sheriff Laney went out of his way to tarnish his reputation by implying that he somehow attracted a criminal element, which was certainly not true. The musician said it was obvious to him that the sheriff had an agenda and was just trying to make a name for himself on Ozzy’s back.

Hannah Montana is kicking off her new tour, entitled Best of Both Worlds. The tour will end only in January 2008 so you have you chance to see her live. Tickets for the tour are sold out in minutes, due to it being undeniably one of the greatest television shows on the Disney Channel, quickly becoming a popular hit since its initial airing in spring 2006. Its international popularity is due in large part to Miley Cyrus’s charm and musical talent.

Led Zeppelin’s concert that was originally scheduled for the end of November, has been postponed for 2 weeks after the band’s guitarist Jimmy Page broke a finger. The gig, at the O2 Arena was originally scheduled for November 26 but will now be held on December 10. Jimmy Page injured his finger last weekend and he was advised not to play guitar for a couple of weeks. Page himself said he was disappointed the band was forced to postpone the concert. The musicians said that all tickets for the November 26 show would be valid for the rescheduled show.

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.