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Waits goes paperless

Ticketmaster is rolling out its new Paperless Ticket technology Friday (May 16) and El Paso is one of the first dozen cities to try it.

The system makes its debut when tickets for all 13 shows on Tom Waits' 12-city "Glitter and Doom" tour go on sale Friday.

Tickets for the June 20 show at El Paso's lovely Plaza Theatre are $80, plus fees, and will be available starting at 1 p.m. Friday.

Don't be surprised if they sell out and at least half of the sales come from out of the area. Waits doesn't tour much, doesn't play that many shows when he does tour and fans of his theatrical performances will travel from all around to see him, sort of like Springsteen fans.

That's why on-sale times are being staggered in various markets Friday, to make it easier for the faithful to snap up the precious ducats.

Here's how it works:

* You can buy no more than two tickets and you can only get them online via ticketmaster.com and by phone, 544-8444

* You can only pay with a credit card, and you'll need that same card and a government-issued ID when you go to the show that night.

* Instead of printing out your tickets or picking them up at the box office, you'll have your card scanned at the show and, once your purchase is confirmed, your tickets will be printed out on the spot and handed to you.

Stuart Ross, Waits' longtime booking agent, said the drastic measures are being used to eliminate scalping as much as possible. He said earlier this week that one such site, also known as a reseller, was charging $2,500 for floor seats it didn't even have.

Ticketmaster spokesman Albert Lopez said the Waits tour is just the first of many in which the system will be rolled out over the next 12 to 18 months.

Read more about it in today's El Paso Times (a full version of the story is also posted on this site).

Concert update: Liars, Lovett, Hold Steady, Newsboys

OK, so we don't have a big amphitheater for the big summer tours, but we've got some decent shows rolling in for the hot weather season.
Some updates:
* Fresh off the first leg of Radiohead's U.S. tour, which ends Sunday in Dallas (and, hopefully, I'll be there), LA's Liars will make a pit stop in EP on their way home. They'll play Club 101 at 8 p.m. (7 door) May 21. Colour Music opens. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 day of show, on sale at All That Music & Video, Headstand, the Time Capsule, the Was Museum, Red Zone and Solara in Juarez and frontgatetickets.com.
* Tickets for Lyle Lovett's Aug. 8 show at the Plaza will go on sale at 10 a.m. June 14 at the box and Ticketmaster. They'll sell for $37.50 and $57.50, plus service charges. If you've never seen Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, you don't know what you're missing.
* Brooklyn's much-hyped The Hold Steady will hold court Aug. 3 at Club 101. The Loved Ones open. No ticket info yet.
* Christian rockers Newsboys headline the first night of the four-day Oneighty Youth Summer Conference at the Abundant Life Faith Center megachurch. The gig's at 7 p.m. June 23. The conference, workshops and all, runs June 24-26. Call the church at 532-8543 or check out their site, alfc.com for more info.

Plaza books Tom Waits show

Tom Waits — he of the gruff, gravelly voice and highly theatrical yet stripped down performances — will give his first El Paso performance when his just-announced "Glitter and Doom" tour comes to the Plaza Theatre at 9 p.m. June 20.

Waits is one of pop music's more unusual artists. He's a bit of an acquired taste, especially because of his unique voice (he once sued when an advertiser tried to use a soundalike), but the enduring songwriter, singer and actor has a very devoted following and a rep for putting on stripped down, edge-of-your-seat performances (I know, I've seen him twice).

"This is very cool. We've been working on this for two years," said the Plaza's Wendy Garrett. "It's neat and wonderful. He sells out everywhere he plays. I hope El Paso follows suit."

Ticket prices and the on-sale date probably won't be announced until Friday.

Waits announced the tour via his web site, tomwaits.com, Monday morning. The "press conference" was actually another bit of theater, in which he explained that the 13-show tour's routing — it begins in Phoenix June 17-18, with stops June 22 in Houston and June 23 in Dallas before ending July 5 in Atlanta — roughly follows the shape of the constellation Hydra.

He responded to questions, only to end the conference by pulling a stylus from a vinyl album as the camera panned an empty room.

'Time' well spent for Sleepercar

Just caught Sleepercar's performance of "Wasting My Time" on Leno. Not bad. There's a wonderful dynamic tension in the three-guitar approach (the quintet was expanded to six pieces), and Jim Ward's posse did a nice job overcoming some early jitters to kick out the jams by song's end.

Biggest complaint: the Sparta frontman's vocals were either a little weak, or it got buried in the mix under the driving, guitar-heavy arrangement.

Either way it's good exposure for the El Paso band, which just released its debut album "West Texas" and plays music that borders country and rock in a very contemporary way. Bet they'll have some traffic on their Myspace site tonight (myspace.com/sleepercarwesttexas).

Nice work guys.

EP rock remembers

Bob Seger once told us that rock 'n' roll never forgets.

His words should come true Saturday as some of the leading lights of El Paso's early rock scene convene for a panel discussion from noon-2 p.m. at the El Paso Museum of History, 510 N. Stanton.

The "Rock & Roll Roundtable" will feature discussions and a q-and-a with former Bobby Fuller Four drummer Dalton Powell, Rod Crosby of the Intruders fame, Doug Neal and others.

George Reynoso, owner of All That Music & Video, will moderate the free talk.

Should be a good one if you want to relive the old days or learn about them. And you never know who might show up.

The panel discussion is part of the "El Paso Rock & Roll: Take One" exhibit at the museum.

Development director and exhibit curator Jim Murphy said that interest in the display, which features instruments, records, photos and other mementos of the '50s and '60s, has led organizers to extend its run to May 31 and possibly longer.

The exhibit, which opened March 22, originally was scheduled to close May 18.

Details: 351-3588, elpasotexas.gov/history/

'Prairie Home' going strong

There was a rumor going around this week that the May 31 live broadcast of public radio's "A Prairie Home Companion" at NMSU's Pan Am Center had been canceled.

Not true says Bobbie Welch, the venue's booking and marketing person.

In fact, ticket sales have been going so well that they've opened up more seating for sale in the upper arena sections.

There were a few hundred tickets left in the top ($50) price tier, while all the $35 seats have sold out. There are still a few thousand tickets at $25.

"If people wnat the better seats, they should definitely get them soon," she said.

The live broadcast, which starts at 3:45 p.m. that day, is part of the Garrison Keillor-hosted show's so-called "Rhubarb Tour."

Info: panam.nmsu.edu; 575.646.1420; ticketmaster.com, 544.8444, 575.532.2060.

Upcoming shows: Santana, Lovett

Carlos Santana will return to El Paso for a Sept. 26 concert at the Don Haskins Center.

His son Salvador Santana will open the show.

Tickets will go on sale May 17. A detailed announcement should be coming in the next few days.

Meanwhile, Lyle Lovett has an Aug. 8 show at the Plaza Theatre, according to pollstar.com.

No ticket info yet.

Lucky 13 for the Cure?

The Cure is taking a creative approach to hyping its new album, due Sept. 13. The group's 13th album may not have a title (the possibilities are obvious), but the band will roll out a series of four monthly, two-song singles beginning May 13 with "The Only One" and "NY Trip."

The June 13 single is "Freakshow," with "All Kinds of Stuff," followed by two more digital and physical singles on the 13th of July and August (titles TBA).

It's their first album in four years. The current lineup is led, as always, by the mascara-loving Robert Smith, who has brought back prodigal son guitarist Porl Thompson for a third go-round. The lineup's rounded out by bassist Simon Gallup and drummer Jason Cooper.

They kick of a North American tour May 9 in DC. The tour plays Dallas' American Airlines Center on June 6, the Austin Music Hall on June 8 and Houston's Toyota Center on June 9 (but not El Paso).

RZA gets "Digi" with it

Wu-Tang maestro RZA, in the guise of Bobby Digital, has recruited some pretty interesting guest for his new album, "Digi Snacks," due in July on KOCH.

Guests include George Harrison's son, Dhani Harrison, Red Hot Chili Peppers' guitarist John Frusciante, System of a Down's Shavo Odadjian and Stone Ground, the "future-soul group," as the CD press announcement calls them, who'll back him on a summer tour that opens June 10 at Warehouse Live in Houston, followed by shows June 11 at Emo's in Austin and June 12 at Dallas' Palladium Ballroom (but, alas, no EP stop).

He calls it "more of a performance album," promising the material will come to life onstage.

Check out myspace.com/rza for more info.

Local Boys Make Good Part II: Sleepercar

Don't forget to check out El Paso's very own Sleepercar at 10:30 tonight (well, closer to 11:30) on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Former At the Drive-in and current Sparta frontman Jim Ward's latest project is a five-man band makes music that falls somewhere between alt-rock and alt-country. It's neither and it's both. But it's pretty listenable stuff. Kinda grows on you.

The idea, hatched during the last ATDI tour, has grown into a full-fledged band, complete with steel guitar. They're touring in support of their first album, "West Texas," released April 22 on Dine Alone Records. It's easier to find online (iTunes added it April 29) than at retail, but the Best Buy on Sunland Park is stocking it.

The band's on tour through at least June 20. Hopefully they'll wrap it up with a local redux.

Check 'em out at myspace.com/sleepercarwesttexas.

Let me know what you think of the four songs on there. Like 'em better than Sparta, or should Jim shave the beard and go back to rocking?