Live4MusiC

 If you’ve read the review in the papers, you’d know I said the Corinne Bailey Rae show was sweet and sublime. But you know they say a picture paints a thousand words, right? So here’s my 7,000-word take.

It’s been a little more than 24 hours and I’m still reeling from Broken Social Scene’s rockin’ concert at the Esplanade. Fans got every penny they paid for as the band played on for almost two-and-a-half hours. I ended up with a backache – not that I’m complaining.

What a well-coordinated circus it was as they conjured up their wall of sound live. It was a great bunch of old and new material – I especially liked it when they mellowed down to tender pieces like Anthems For A Seventeen Year-old Girl and Lover’s Spit.

Spontaneous jams and riffs were interspersed throughout the show, giving audiences something they could never recreate on their iPod. The live mix was especially commendable. The guitars and other various instruments were intricately layered and made for quite the stereophonic sound experience.

This made it easy to swallow the instances of ear-splitting feedback. But hey, this is BSS we’re talking about, it’s a rock concert not a concerto session, so a little unwelcome twang or two is pretty much expected.

(week starting 12th July)

Rock & Pop

• Orianthi - Believe II
• Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
• Eliza Doolittle - Eliza Doolittle
• Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of The Soul
• The Like - Release Me
• OST - Step Up 3D
• OCR - December Rain
  
  Jazz & Classical
• Tom Jones - Praise & Blame
  
  Dance & Urban
• Incognito - Transatlantic RPM
  
  Asian Pop
• Ayaka Hirahara - My Classics 2
• After School - Bang
• Orange Caramel - 1st Mini Album
• Jacky Cheung 張學友 - Private Corner Mini Concert

The Crazy Elephant pub in Clarke Quay is best known for its blues-rock music. So you’d be forgiven if you were one of those who turned up on Saturday night expecting to see regular musicians like John Chee jamming it up, but instead found guitarist Rosli Mansor playing songs from his latest instrumental album, Deeper Than Purple.

Here’s the thing about instrumental performances though: Most of the time it’s a case of “you either get it or you don’t”. Thankfully, in Rosli’s case, that didn’t apply. It seemed that everybody, from fans to tourists, were tapped into what was happening on the stage. Even couple of the Crazy Elephant staff were heard commenting about the gig. And you’ve got to be something if the wait staff can give you time of day – even if it is for 15 seconds. Well, at least that’s what it seemed like.

Tom Jones has revealed that his new album 'Praise And Blame' is ahead of Eminem's 'Recovery' in the UK albums chart today (July 27) – and has said he'd like to collaborate with him.

The Welsh singer's spokesperson revealed that the album is currently outselling 'Recovery' and is in the provisional Number One slot after being released yesterday (July 26).

"I couldn't be more proud of this album and I'm really blown away by the response from everyone," Jonessaid. "It's great to be top of the charts with Eminem, maybe next time we could be top together."

If Jones' album stays at the top spot on Sunday he will, at 70, become the oldest male musician to have a UK Number One album. The current holder is Bob Dylan, who hit the top spot last year aged 67 with'Together Through Life'.

- NME 

What’s more important than being rich? Everyone knowing that you’re rich.

New Jersey rocker Bon Jovi is apparently upset that he failed to make it onto the 2010 Forbes magazine top celebrity lists, reports TheSilverTongueOnline.com.

According to a report in the NY Post, "Jon kicked up a huge fuss and got his people to complain. He couldn’t understand why he didn’t make the musicians list since Bon Jovi has been touring nonstop since February. Their contemporaries U2 and Bruce Springsteen were on the list. Even Britney Spears was No. 5, and she hasn’t done anything this year."

A Forbes rep confirmed the report stating, "Forbes estimated each act’s earnings between June 2009 and June 2010 and included revenue streams such as concert dates, merchandise sales, licensing fees, music sales, and publishing royalties. Bon Jovi didn’t tour for eight of those months."

But a rep for Bon Jovi denied the report, calling it "ridiculous" and pointing out that the band took an eight-month break from touring, so there was no expectation that they would rank on this year’s list.

"Next year, different story — their current tour is No. 1 in North America right now and No. 2 worldwide."

U2 was the top earner with an estimated $130 million worldwide. They were followed byAC/DC with $114 million and Beyoncé Knowles with $87 million. Springsteen came in fourth with $70 million.

In other news, Bon Jovi have slammed a former tour manager after he published photos from 1985 of singer Jon Bon Jovi, then 22, in bed with topless women.

Rich Bozzett has used the explicit photos, revealed by TMZ, in a book which he says tells the background story of his life on the road.

In Sex, Drugs And Bon Jovi, Bozzett tells how the pictures were taken with the intention of using them as promo shots. But the band quickly had a change of heart, fearing the photos would damage their image.

Read more at this location. 

Linkin Park has set a September 14 release date for its new album, "A Thousand Suns" (Machine Shop Recordings/Warner Bros.). The CD is co-produced by Rick Rubin (U2, Johnny Cash) and Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda, who last joined forces to produce Linkin Park's 2007 release, "Minutes To Midnight".

"A Thousand Suns" track listing:

01. The Requiem
02. The Radiance
03. Burning In The Skies
04. Empty Spaces
05. When They Come For Me
06. Robot Boy
07. Jornada Del Muerto
08. Waiting For The End
09. Blackout
10. Wretches And Kings
11. Wisdom, Justice, And Love
12. Iridescent
13. Fallout
14. The Catalyst
15. The Messenger

Check out the "A Thousand Suns" cover artwork here.

The band also announced that the first single from the new album will be "The Catalyst", which debuts on radio worldwide on August 2 and will also be featured on the band's MySpace Music profile. Prior to the song's release, the band and MySpace are teaming up for "Linkin Park, Featuring You," a unique promotion that gives fans a first-of-its-kind opportunity to collaborate with Linkin Park to produce their own song based on some of the tracks from the forthcoming single.

A winner will be chosen by Linkin Park and their submission will either be included on the band's new album or the winner will be invited to perform with the band on a song on the upcoming record.

Fans can go to MySpace.com to download audio stems from "The Catalyst". Fans will be encouraged to adjust the stems and also record and produce their own additional tracks. Fans can use their own music production software to create their song and then upload it to the band via their MySpace page. Once each new version is submitted, the track will be shared in an embeddable player, which anyone can access to rate and comment, as well as click through to record their own tracks.

Read more at Blabbermouth.net.

Someone wise once said that if you want to learn anything, learn from the best. So, if you're interested in putting on a show, take a few tips from Jay Chou. 

He's arguably the hottest ticket in Chinese pop at the moment, with tickets to all three shows which took place over the weekend at the Singapore Indoor Stadium sold out in less than two hours. And his show on Friday was proof of why the singer - who celebrates his 10th anniversary in showbiz - is still on top of his game.

Jay didn't put on a concert as much as an entire multi-media production. Here are lessons to learn from the man.


#1: Always project a wow factor.

In his case, the stage set was anchored by a huge LED wall, which looked like U2's Popmart back wall, complete with similar arch. The holographic image of Jay projected inside a plexi-glass pyramid was a great show-opener, too.


#2: Clothes maketh the man.

Maketh him look good, that is. Okay, it's true that some of the costumes Jay wore were questionable, but at least you kept your eyes on him - even if your mind was wondering if that bejewelled necklace wasn't too girly.


#3: Bigger is always better.

More dancers, big stage props, more pyrotechnics, bigger band. No complaints here.


#4: Always engage the audience.

Jay often replaced place names in his songs with "Singapore", which naturally drew loads of cheers. Crowds love that stuff. He even jumped down from the stage to shake hands with fans. 


#5: Guest stars are welcome. Well, mostly.

Label mate Cindy Yen popped up - quite literally, she appeared on a riser playing the piano - as well as The Drifters, a duo that Jay himself put together. Unfortunately, for the duo, only Darren Drifter sounded any good and seemed to be having fun. The other bloke looked way too nervous and stiff. 


#6: And always make sure you show off your musicality. 

Jay showed how well he could beat box, play the piano and even do some fancy finger tapping on the acoustic guitar. Seriously, say what you like about him, this guy's got talent. 

There you have it. Jay Chou's 6-Step Guide To Putting On A Great Gig. Anybody want to book the Indoor Stadium?

- Christopher Toh 

As the man who transformed and reinvented the face of Chinese music, Jay Chou celebrated his tenth year in showbiz with a rousing concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last night

 

No sizzling dance routine with Jolin Tsai at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last night, but Jay Chou thrills the local crowd -- all the same -- with his slick dance moves and captivating presence.

The multi-hyphenate and multiple award-winning Taiwanese performer kicked off the Singapore leg of his The Era World Tour 2010 last night to a sold-out show jam-packed with overzealous ardent fans.

Starting with lively tunes such as, 'Dragon Rider', 'The Era', and 'Snake Dance', Jay made his grand entrance with much aplomb, wearing a silver outfit with an ornate shoulder piece decorated by silver tassels. 

The 31-year-old revisited many hit-songs from his older albums -- much to the delight of concertgoers and older fans -- thanking them for being with him the past 10 years." Reassuring them, he said that he "won't fall that easily because I'm Jay Chou" and asked fans to "walk another 10 more years" with him.

It was a particularly poignant moment when they played a montage of his early beginnings and journey to stardom, showcasing his hardships and efforts behind the glitzy title of being 'King of Mandopop'. 

If anything, Jay most certainly did raise and set the standards for Mandopop concerts in Singapore with his visually-stimulating and mind-blowing graphics, adeptly interweaving the use of such technology throughout his concert. 

It was an aesthetically-pleasing immersive experience which transported the Asian superstar from one dimension to another -- with the adroit use of dramatic 3D graphics -- going from wistful falling autumn leaves in one second to melancholic flurries of snow in winter.

With two more remaining shows in Singapore, avid fans and local concertgoers are in for a treat. One can expect nothing but the best from the reigning King of Mandopop. 

- XinMSN

Joe Cole is not the only new arrival at Liverpool with former Simply Red guitarist Sylvan Richardson joining the club as their new masseur.

Richardson was part of the legendary soul group's original line-up in 1985 but quit two years later having become disillusioned with the music industry.

He is currently with Liverpool for pre-season training in Switzerland.

"They have been giving me a lot of stick," said Richardson. "Especially [assistant manager] Sammy Lee."

Richardson's arrival at Anfield is surely not going to go unnoticed by his former Simply Red band-mate Mick Hucknall, who is a supporter of Liverpool's Premier League rivals Manchester United.