Kiss

Hello fans....

Well, there's lots of rumours about concerts in Regina this week, huh? I won't tip my hand -- I'm not in a position to tell anybody anything because, well, I just don't know. But the good thing is that it appears we'll be blessed with some good concerts this summer.

Now, do you think Kiss could come to Regina? Anything is possible -- when I was told a couple of years ago that the Rolling Stones would perform at Taylor Field, I didn't believe it. But look at what happened.

Kiss has an interesting campaign to book concerts in cities where fans contribute to a campaign to get the band to include you on its upcoming tour. There's also talk of a new Kiss album.

To read more, here's a a link ...

http://eventful.com/performers/kiss-/P0-001-000062428-9/competitions

I am a huge Kiss fan -- when I was a kid, I had Kiss posters plastered all over my bedroom walls, and I was such a fan that I didn't understand how any band would dare go on stage without makeup.

Luckily, Kiss reunited, put the makeup on and toured like crazy - and I got to see the whole extravaganza - once in Ottawa in the mid-90s and again in 2000 in Toronto. They were great shows, especially since Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were on board.

It appears the current Kiss lineup features Tommy Thayer in Ace's role, and Eric Singer back where Peter ought to be. Thayer and Singer are great musicians, but still.

I'm sure this modern-day version of Kiss puts on a fine show -- but, unfortunately, since I can head to the afterlife knowing I've seen the original Kiss, I will likely pass on an opportunity to see the current lineup (pictured).

However, for those who want to see "the greatest band in the world," or at least half of the band, here's your chance.

See you later.

A

I've had it with Ticketmaster

Hello friends...

I apologize for taking too long to get this blog rolling again.

If you hadn't heard about Joel Plaskett's show at The Distrikt next month, consider yourself told - one of Canada's best singer-songwriters is performing May 8. I am still listening to his new three-CD offering, so stay tuned to Saturday's Leader-Post for my review.

In the meantime, I wanted to let you know that I officially think that Ticketmaster sucks. First, I had a helluva time with the site - it kept crashing and/or refusing to accept my credit card information when I tried to buy a couple of Plaskett tickets this week.

So I called the 1-800 number, and was given a couple of different stories about whether I could actually buy them over the phone. One fella gave me another number to call so I could buy them over the phone -- but when I called it, I was told that I could only buy them online. Sure seemed like a lot of trouble.

Anyway, I re-booted my computer and that seemed to do the trick. However, I was stunned at all the charges. We expect a "fee" of some sort, but what I paid seemed outrageous.

I got two tickets at $15 each, and I was charged $4.50 for each ticket for a handling fee. Then, I was charged another $3 delivery fee, even though I chose to pick up the tickets. I'll let you do the math, but the notion that only a portion of what I'm paying is winding up in Plastkett's pocket is a sad thing indeed.

I don't have any grand ideas about loosening Ticketmaster's grip on the ticket industry, but I'd like to hear them - and I'd be happy to support competition to Ticketmaster.

That's it for now -- I need to get to work on reasearching the next Matte's Metal Minute. If you haven't heard, my contribution to Grindhouse, the heavy metal show on The Wolf is becoming more and more fun since it began a few months ago. Last Friday's metal newscast was as close to flawless as I'll ever get. Stay stuned to the upcoming Friday night show (11 p.m.) ... and I may even have an interview or two share in the coming weeks.

Stay real.

A.