Pullen My Blog

Tom Russell update: Letterman appearance pushed back

El Paso's own Tom Russell will perform Oct. 2 on the Letterman show, not Oct. 1 as originally announced. Don't know why it was pushed back. Larry David will be among the guests Friday night.

Russell is touring his superb new album, "Blood and Candle Smoke," including a Nov. 7 show at the Rio Grande Theatre in Las Cruces. Tickets are $25 at the theater.

 

Concert update: David Cook, TSO, Tiesto, Cirque X2, Haunted Q, Devil Wears Prada, Murder FM and much more

Season 7 "American Idol" winner (and fellow lefty) David Cook will bring his "Declaration" tour to Club 101 on Nov. 4.

Cook is touring in support of his self-titled album, released Nov. 18 last year.

The Script will open.

Tickets for the 8:30 p.m. show are $28.50 in advance, $30 day of show, on sale Oct. 2 at the club and ticketbully.com. Other outlets will be announced by this weekend.

Meanwhile, thought I should remind you that tickets for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's annual area stop, their first in Las Cruces after years in El Paso, will be at 4 and 8 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Pan Am Center. Tickets — $25, $39.50, $49.50 and $59.50 — go on sale at 10 a.m. Oct. 3 at the box office, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

In other news (not all concert stuff):

•Pollstar is listing a Tiesto show Nov. 7 at Cohen Stadium, though there's nothing on the El Paso Diablos web site about it. 

It is listed on his web site, tiesto.com. In fact, he's selling tickets there — $30 GA and $55 VIP.

•Rain and lightning washed out the Sept. 19 Fabulous Thunderbirds show at the McKelligon Canyon Amphitheater after about half an hour. Promoters will refund tickets at the point of purchase through Dec. 31.

•Strong ticket sales (and, no doubt, the cancellation of the Oct. 11 show in Beaumont) have prompted promoters to add another performance of "Cirque Dreams Illumination" at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Plaza Theatre, the opener of its popular Broadway series. The earlier announced show is at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15

Tickets are $30, $45 and $48.50 and are on sale now at the box, Ticketmaster, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

•KLAQ's "Haunted Warehouse," 1323 Lee Trevino (near I-10), returns Oct. 2 and will be open daily at 6 p.m. through Oct. 31. This year's theme: "Devil's Prison," with rooms such as "Vamps & Tramps," "Hells Kitchen" and "Devil's Daughter Torture Chamber." Sounds sinfully good. Tickets are $10 for 12 and older, $8 for under 12, with discounts aplenty. You can get discount coupons at 7-Eleven/Fina stores in EP and Pic Quik in Cruces. Go to klaq.com for more details.

•Metal bands The Devil Wears Prada and All That Remains are co-headlining a fall tour that comes to Club 101 at 8 p.m. Dec. 13. Story of the Year and Haste the Day are also on the bill. Tickets are $21 in advance, $23 day of show, on sale Oct. 2 at the club and Ticketbully, plus this weekend at outlets to be announced.

•Norman Matthews' Murder FM, which recently signed to Glasstone Records, will headline a release party for its new CD, "Anthems for the Used," on Nov. 11 at 101. Years of Cold and Bash will open. Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are $8 in advance, $10 day of show, on sale Oct. 2 at the club and Ticketbully. The band recently was featured on MTV UK (community.mtv.co.uk) and got a "blip" in Revolver magazine recently.

•Wonder if Brian Johnson's recent "medical procedure," which forced AC/DC to postpone a half dozen shows, will help or hurt that rumored Nov. 15 "Black Ice" tour stop at the Don Haskins Center. Expect the makeup dates and possibly others to be announced very soon. One of the affected dates was in Phoenix, so routing could be on our side.

The band will release two- and three-CD versions of "Studio & Live Rarities" and the "Family Jewels 3" DVD on Nov. 10.

•Pharrell Williams' N.E.R.D., MTV Video Music Awards band leader Wale and Hova protege J. Cole will open for Jay-Z's 24-city college tour, including the Nov. 20 show at the Don Haskins Center, according to reports on Pollstar and MTV.com.

•KLAQ's Courtney Nelson passed along the list of local groups confirmed for the station's third annual LocoFest Oct. 10 at Cohen Stadium.

They are: Ashes of Angels, Bash, Dexima, Exit 116, The Known, Miranda Burning, Moon Kids, Murder FM, Plague of the Empire, Sindrain, Twilight Symphony, Voyeur and Xit Wounds, with a couple more pending. One of them will be chosen by the Black Crowes to open their Oct. 20 show at the Coliseum.

•19-year-old pianist Haochen Zhang, who tied for the gold medal at this year's Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, headlines the next El Paso Symphony Orchestra concerts at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23-24 at the Plaza Theatre. He'll perform Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, op. 23. Sarah Ioannides conducts.

Tickets are $11-$37 ($6 and $8 for students), on sale at the box office, the symphony office in the Abraham Chavez Theatre and epso.org.

Zhang also will perform an intimate recital at the home of Judy and Chuck Kohlhaas, 821 Rim Road, at noon Oct. 24. Tickets are $100 (lunch included). Call 532.3776 for reservations.

•Jazz singer Rosana Eckert, a former El Pasoan, returns for an 8 p.m. Oct. 29 show at Lancer's East. It's presented by the JazzElPasoConnection. Admission is $15 at the door (cash only). She'll be touting new CD "Small Hotel."

•Electro rockers Anything Box return for an 8 p.m. Nov. 14 show at 101. Tickets are $15, on sale at the club and Ticketbully.

•The date of "One Tree Hill" star Kate Voegele's show at Take II has moved from Oct. 27 to Oct. 28. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 day of show, at the club and Ticketbully. Green River Ordinance opens.

•Can't see U2 Oct. 12 in Dallas or Oct. 14 in Houston? Well, you can see tribute band Mysterious Ways at 8 p.m. Oct. 17 at 101. Tickets are $10 at the club and Ticketbully.

•Tejano legends Ruben Ramos and Sonny Ozuna team up at 8 p.m. Oct. 16 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. Tickets are $35, on sale at Ticketmaster, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

•Pepe Aguilar, fresh off a tour with Miguel Antonio Solis that played El Paso, headlines the Las Cruces Mariachi Festival at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at NMSU's Pan Am Center. Tickets are $37-$97, on sale at the box office, Ticketmaster, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

•Opener news: Foxy Shazam will open for The Sounds when they return Oct. 14 to Club 101 ($17 advance, $20 door at the club and Ticketbully); Halestorm and Adelita's Way have been announced as openers for Chevelle's Oct. 26 show at 101, but I got a press release from Universal Motown announcing newcomers the After Midnight Project as the tour's opener ($25 advance, $27 day of show, at the club and Ticketbully); Hot AC and Triple A Radio up-and-comer Eric Hutchinson will open for Kelly Clarkson's fall tour, including her Dec. 3 show at Pan Am Center.

Also:

•Frontera Bugalu, Fuga! frontman Kiko Rodriguez's Latin dance music side project, plays El Pisto Food & Drink, 212 W. Overland, at 9 p.m. Oct. 3. Zeqe Pena and Birth D*F*X open. It's free. There also will be a "pachuco" best-dressed competition.

•KCOS is previewing "The Chicano Wave," one hour of former El Pasoan John Valadez's "Latin Music U.S.A." documentary, at 2 p.m. Oct. 3 at the El Paso Public Library. It's free. It traces Mexican-American musicians from Texas, California and the Southwest and includes music by Los Lobos, Selena and Little Joe. Radio La Chusma's Ernesto Tinajero will perform. The series airs at 8 p.m. Oct. 12 and 19 on KCOS.

•The Big Band on the Rio Grande will dip into the Stan Kenton songbook for its performance from 2-5 p.m. Oct. 4 on the plaza in Old Mesilla, part of the Mesilla Jazz Happening. It's free.

•El Pasoan April Correia is organizing the Music Unite Festival, which will be at 8 p.m. Oct. 9 at Hotrods and Wheels. It will feature a variety of musical styles, including metal band The Red Queen Effect, punk's Dorian Gray, rap's Demitrius Parks, reggae's BloodShot Bandits, acoustic singer Randy Vegas, alternative rockers Moon Kids, electronica's Dozal Brothers and hip-hop's Marv 76. Cost is only $3.

"It's a music festival that celebrates ... how all genres of music are beautiful and strong in their own way," she says. She'll also have DJs spinning in between sets.

•Nuevo Sol, Guitar Slim, the Kat Crosby Band, Highway 28, Frank Zona and Urban Edge and Austin Jimmy Murphy play the La Vina Harvest Festival Oct. 10-11 at La Union. More than 20 wines will be available for tasting. Hours are noon-7 p.m. Admission is $10, which includes a souvenir glass and your choice of six glasses of wine or a bottle of the vino. It's $5 for kids 12-20, free for under 12 (but they don't get a glass or wine).

•KVIA is bringing the U.S. Army Field Band and Soldier's Chorus to Magoffin Auditorium at 7 p.m. Oct. 16. It's free, but tickets are required. You can pick them up at the station.

•Local sax player Richard Acosta, 73, was injured in a fall and confined to a wheelchair. Local bands Little Mike and the Blue Kings and Raw Deal are teaming up for an oldies benefit dance from 5-9 p.m. Oct. 18 at VFW Post 8782 (Tigua Post), 691 N. Carolina. Admission is $10. Info: 593.0262, 562.8192.

•The reunited River City Band plays a Halloween weekend show at 8 p.m. Oct. 30 in the Signature Ballroom of Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino. They'll have karaoke, too. Tickets are $20, on sale at All That Music & Video and the track.

•A new production company called Kinetic Factory is hosting the Zombeats Festival on Halloween night in the parking lot of Los Gallegos, 8848 Gateway East. It'll include a "massive" LED wall, zombie go-go dancers and the turntable stylings of DJs Eddie Gardea, Danny Moldonado, Dramon, Eduardo Parra, Mike David and Paulo. It starts at 9 p.m and goes until 3.

Tickets are $10 GA, $25 VIP (21 and older), on sale at the restaurant, the Headstand, HB Electronics, Los Gallegos at 4400 N. Mesa and online at zombeatsfestival.com. Info: 888.730.8954.

The trade mag's also listing a Dec. 10 Take II show by young Texas blues guitar slinger Johnny Cooper.

E.T. phone McKelligon? CVB books free 'Movies in the Canyon' for October

The Convention and Visitors Bureau is getting into the free movie biz.

The CVB, which owns that inflatable screen rolled out for this year's Plaza Classic Film Festival, will set it up on the McKelligon Canyon Amphitheatre stage each weekend in October for free movies, including "Ghostbusters," a John Hughes tribute Oct. 16-17 and a special Halloween night double feature of "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" and "The Shining."

The idea for the "Movies in the Canyon" series, which debuts Oct. 2, evolved from a discussion about a "night at the drive-in" idea that came up after the screen was purchased for the film festival, according to Bill Blaziek, general manager of the EPCVB, which took over management of the 1,500-seat amphitheater two years ago.

"We hurried to get approvals," he said, noting that the expenses were nominal.

"The price is right," he said. "We're going after families. It's an affordable night out for them."

He said the series should be attractive particularly to families in the Northeast and on Fort Bliss, but I'll bet it'll generate traffic from all over town. People love their freebies here.

Blaziek said the CVB is saving money on copyright and other charges by not advertising the titles in print. But the schedule is on its web site, moviesinthecanyon.com, or by calling 534-0675.

He said the movie series is another way to put butts in the amphitheater seats — the summer saw the extension of the "Viva! El Paso" season by two weeks, the new Jazz on the Rocks series and scattered events, such as last Saturday's "Rockin the Rock: World Music Festival." That ties in with the CVB's other mission — improving the quality of life around here.

"The first benefit is to the resident," he said.

Admission is free. Pop corn, snacks and beverages will be for sale in the pavilion.

Here's the schedule (titles subject to change):

Oct. 2 — "An American Tale," 7 p.m.

Oct. 2 — "Ghostbusters," 9:30 p.m

Oct. 3 — "Peter Pan," 7 p.m.

Oct. 3 — "National Lampoon's Vacation," 9:30 p.m.

Oct. 9 — "The Karate Kid," 7 p.m.

Oct. 9 — "Beetlejuice," 9:30 p.m.

Oct. 16 — "Sixteen Candles," 7 p.m.

Oct. 16 — "The Breakfast Club," 9:30 p.m.

Oct. 17 — "Uncle Buck," 7 p.m.

Oct. 17 — "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," 9:30 p.m.

Oct. 23 — "October Sky," 7 p.m.

Oct. 23 — "Back to the Future," 9:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 — "Rudy," 7 p.m.

Oct. 24 — "Grease," 9:30 p.m.

Oct. 30 — "Shrek," 7 p.m.

Oct. 30 — "Poltergeist," 9:30 p.m

Oct. 31 — "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," 7 p.m.

Oct. 31 — "The Shining," 9:30 p.m.

Concert update: 'Scheduling conflict' kills Anjelah Johnson concert

Just got word that comedian Anjelah Johnson's Oct. 3 show at the Plaza Theatre was canceled due to "scheduling conflicts." Maybe. More than likely the show wasn't selling. Johnson may be a Latina comic, but she's not a big name and name recognition sells around here. I don't know how many tickets they had to sell to break even, but they obviously didn't come close enough with less than a week to go.

For those of you who did buy tickets, refunds are available at the point of purchase.

As a special added blog bonus today, I'm offering you the story that I wrote up just last night to advance the concert. This was going to run in the Friday, Oct. 2 Tiempo. And just think: it's costing you nothing!

By Doug Pullen

El Paso Times

EL PASO — YouTube, that bastion of embarrassing superstar miscues and average folks' idiosyncracies, can be a career maker. It certainly hasn't hurt comedian Anjelah Johnson.

"YouTube changed my life," she says.

How so? Just check out "Nail Salon," the San Jose native and former Oakland Raiders cheerleader's knowing, hilarious spin on a routine encounter with an Asian manicurist. The 27-year-old Johnson, who prides herself on telling true-to-life stories and creating true-to-life characters, is still getting her petite hands around just how popular the clip has been on the Web site, where it's been viewed more than 13 million times.

"That resonated with so many people not only in California and the United States," she said by phone from Los Angeles, "but all over the world. I get messages from people in Australia, Europe, the Philippines. People get it. They understand it. The accent is so familiar. The story is something every woman who's ever gone to get their nails done can relate to."

That's a quality the fast-emerging comic strives for. Johnson, the middle of five kids whose parents are of Mexican and American Indian descent, likes to take inspiration from her own experiences. "It's very observational," she says of her comedy. "I share a lot of stories that have happened to me in life, a lot of relatable issues. I definitely like to do a lot of characters in my act, stuff about family and growing up."

Her act, which was filmed recently for a forthcoming Comedy Central special, is "very much like my life story. It grows and evolves," said Johnson, who calls herself "a storyteller."

Her story is pretty unusual. Johnson's first big-time performing experience was as an Oakland Raiderette. She was good enough at it to earn Rookie of the Year honors from the Raiders' cheerleaders, who, she admits, didn't have much to cheer, though rooting for the lowly losers "gives me a lot to write about."

Johnson is surprisingly new to the stand-up comedy gig, but is headlining clubs and small theaters only five years into her new line of work. "Comedy wasn't something I pursued, comedy pursued me," says the comedian, who relies on her faith to guide her. 

"I can't explain how these doors opened for me," she says. "There are comedians who've been doing it for years and years and are just waiting for their big break. Really, I'm just being obedient (to God) and walking it every day."

Johnson's fledgling career got a couple of boosts in 2007. One was a small role opposite Gabrielle Union in "The Box," the other was a short but impactful stint on Fox's "MADtv." She only appeared in four episodes before being let go in that strike-threatened 2007-08 season, but her portrayal of the nail salon lady and Bon Qui Qui, the ghetto King Burger clerk, provided plenty of fodder for YouTube acolytes. She also got an ALMA Award nomination for her short-lived stint on the show.

"It was such a blessing being on the show for a short amount of time, a blessing in disguise because I was able to get the experience and the exposure and it was like a catapult for me," she said, though she's not sure if she got the ax as part of a budget cut or the writers strike that was looming.

While some might argue that her good looks helped open some of those doors, Johnson says being photogenic tends to make audiences skeptical, especially in the male-dominated world of stand-up comedy. "I remember when I first started there were obstacles. I had hoops to jump through. Because I'm not overweight an don't look funny, they automatically judge me, 'How can she be funny?' The first 10 minutes of my act are me trying to prove myself and they start listening to what I have to say."

People seeing her for the first time don't expect her to be funny. But Johnson tends to win them over with a sense of humor derived from her "jokester" dad and "silly" mom, not to mention her four siblings and her keen observational insights.

When it comes to career guidance, she looks up to the big comedy club owner in the sky for guidance as she maneuvers through a career that's branching into movies, including roles in this year's forthcoming Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel and next year's "The Wedding Project."

"(People) don't expect you to be funny. They expect you to be raunchy and dirty," she says. "They don't know what they're going to get when they get me. I don't believe that I have to play a man's game, play it the way he does. I'm so blessed to do things the way I want to do them, the way I feel comfortable. I haven't had to compromise who I am to get where I am. I stayed true to myself, my values, my core. It's proved beneficial to stick to who you are."

Concert semi-review: Koh enthralls in EPSO season opener

I am in no way qualified to review the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. Or any orchestra for that matter. So I'm not going to, but I will give you my untrained response to the 79th season-opening concert I saw Saturday night (actually, it was the second of two) at the Plaza Theatre.

I've spent the entirety of my career focusing on what I guess you could call non-serious music, or pop music and everything not classical or opera. Call it an occupational hazard (hey, I was a music critic in the Detroit market for nearly 20 years, so I've got an excuse). 

There's a lot more I don't know about this music than I know. My bad.

Focusing on pop and rock and R&B and rap and everything but classical and opera has deprived me of the pleasures of these musics. It's deprived me of moments like the one I experienced Saturday when guest artist Jennifer Koh, an up-and-coming NYC violinist known for her superlative technique and intense performances, all but created sparks with that Strad she's borrowing.

Like I said, I don't have the technical knowledge to know how well she played Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, D Major, op. 35. I don't know if her bowing technique was nonpareil, or if her pizzicato was particularly plucky. But drawing from my long experience with rock and other musics, I can say that she is the classical equivalent of a lead guitarist who threads his way through a song with such force and command that the rest of the band, or, in this case, the 78 members of the orchestra, have to keep up with the fiddler and the one violin concerto the Russian romantic wrote.

She was a joy to watch, all punkish with her short-cut helmet of jet black hair, all feminine in her sky blue evening gown, the black-clad orchestra and its besuited maestra, Sarah Ioaniddes, as her backdrop. It was impressive how quickly Koh could zone in and reach that heightened plane that so many of the great soloists, whether they're Isaac Stern or Jimmy Page, seem to attain when they are in the moment.

Koh was fascinating to watch. She'd close her eyes, move ever so slightly to the music, then, when it was time to bow up and do her thing, she'd just nail it with the intensity of a guitar god. She's not a show off mind you, not one of those musicians who masks mediocrity with a lot of grandiose posturing and moves designed to distract you from their averageness. No, Koh stands in place, those warm eyes firmly shut, and lets the music flow through her, occasionally bending back when a particularly fierce run bolted out of her like some plugged in, wired up rock musician.

It was a sight, and sound, to behold. At least for this untrained ear. Conductor Ioannides wisely played second fiddle to the guest star, muting her own theatrics so Koh could do her thing every so intensely yet subtly.

Talk about a fast half hour.

Can't say the same for the second half, in which the maestra and the orchestra tackled Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5, B-flat major, op. 100. It was a difficult, sometimes dissonant piece to this untrained ear, a work Ioannides, loved and loathed for her more contemporary bent, called a "masterpiece."

I watched the second half of the program from the mezzanine (I sat with my old boss at the long-gone, lamented Herald-Post, Betty Ligon) and got a better perspective of the intensity of Ioannides' performance and the focused way with which the orchestra responded. The conductor is all animation and focus, a woman of many moods and touches, from stern and heavy to light and mousy in a good way. She does what it takes.

I also got to see and hear first-hand the kind of grumbling I've heard about the conductor since before I got here last year — the graying traditionalists, like my outspoken mom (who dropped her season tickets after the '07-'08 season) don't like this so-called "new music." They don't like the "noise." They like the traditional classics, like Beethoven and Bach.

But this program was called "Russian Spectacular," showcasing two very different Russian composers from different periods of time. But I heard one guy grumble something unhappy about "20th century music" during one dissonant passage. I watched a couple in front of me sit stiffly. She occasionally looked at him as if to say, 'You don't like this either, do you?.'"

And in their defense there were times when the composer's World War II-era ode eschewed the traditionalist's staple, melody, to better illustrate the sense of conflict inherent in the piece, only to come off as noisy and, occasionally, dull.

Again, I have an untrained ear, but I swear there were times when the strings sounded off, the cellos couldn't quite hit those tough high notes and even the woodwinds sounded a little flat at one point. Is that an orchestra incapable of mastering this stuff, a conductor incapable of commandeering the material or just difficult music that trips up the best of them?

Don't know. I do know that the audience around me on the floor during Koh's segment seemed a lot more enthralled than the one that sat in the mezzanine — prime territory for those who want to see the whole ensemble, not just the people up front, which is what the lower floor is relegated to — during the Prokofiev.

Britney's EP tour director says she had a blast

Steve Dixon, the 1982 Coronado High grad who is Britney Spears' tour director, said the former teen pop queen and her 45-member cast weren't just pasting on those smiles during Monday's sold-out show at the Don Haskins Center.

The venue was the smallest on her current "Circus" tour, and the lavish show is designed for much larger arenas. But sometimes small is good.

"The lights were so bright they could see the audience. They all had a blast. She was having a blast. It was the first time they could see the audience," Dixon said Monday. "She was really having fun."

The venue's relatively small size made for a more intimate experience for fans, too. But the pressure was on Dixon's 212-member crew to squeeze all that gear into the arena, where the three-ring stage all but filled the floor area.

Dixon, who was responsible for having the tour routed to his hometown, laughed that he insisted all along to his staff that the show would fit into the Don. 

"The whole production team has been telling me since December, when we decided to do this production, that it won't fit. I ignored them and said we'd make it fit. I told them (after we got here) that I'm really sorry for making you do this," he said, laughing. "I took the staff to Avila's the night before (the show). I told them that was a thank you."

Spears didn't spend the night in town, Dixon said. Stars of her magnitude often base out of a city, then fly to gigs in the region, before moving on to the next base. But she did get some local flavor, munching on some Avila's Mexican food for dinner while her two sons played nearby in his production office.

Dixon's worked on every Britney tour going back to the first one in 1999. He said the singer is definitely back.

Dixon, 45, also met with his mentor, Barbara Hubbard, and bought some Tony Lama boots. "I hadn't bought Tony Lamas in 25 years," he said. "The staff wnated some. I bought some and had the boxes sitting around. My staff got there and were completely jealous."

The newly recorded single "3" shipped to radio this week. It's from her forthcoming "The Singles Collection," due in two configurations on Nov. 24.

Update concert update: Kiss tix revised, Gloria Trevi, secret RevCo, Ozomatli, Tesh, Steven Curtis

It's Sept. 23. Happy Bisexuality Day everybody!

Just wanted to get your attention because we've got a lot of concert news to get to.

Kiss tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 26, with the Kiss Army presale starting today.

Tickets for their Dec. 2 "Kiss Alive 35" tour stop at the Don Haskins Center are $19.50, $39.50, $80 and $130. That does not appear to include special, higher-priced VIP packages, which include a ticket in the first 12 rows and goodies such as a tour t-shirt, poster and program. Those can run several hundred dollars.

The band, which kicks off the tour Sept. 25-26 in Detroit Rock City's Cobo Arena (where "Kiss Alive" was recorded), includes founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, who produced their new album, "Sonic Boom" (due Oct. 6), on-again off-again drummer Eric Singer and newest member Tommy Thayer, the Black 'n' Blue guitarist and former Simmons gofer, who joined in 2002.

Tickets will be available at the University Ticket Center, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

The Kiss Army presale is from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 23, followed by the Eventful presale (10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sept. 24), openers Buckcherry's presale (10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sept. 25) and a VIP presale (prices to be announced) from 10 a.m. Sept. 26-10 p.m. Nov. 18.

In other concert news:

•Controversial and formerly incarcerated Mexican pop princess Gloria Trevi headlines the Coliseum at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 30. The provocative singer, who has spent time in prison even though charges eventually were dropped, is still working her 2007 album, "Una Rosa Blu."

Tickets are $45, $55 and $65, on sale at the box office, Ticketmasters, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

•Al Jourgensen's Revolting Cocks, aka RevCo, will do a "secret" show to mark singer Josh Bradford's 32nd birthday at 9 p.m. Sept. 30 at Uncle Al's favorite hangout, Uncle Paulie's. Tickets are $10, on sale at the door. The group's current LuBriCaTor tour, its first headlining tour in over 20 years, started here Sept. 10. Though tourmates Jim Rose, Blownload and Left Spine Down will be in attendance, they are not scheduled to perform. Happy birthday, Josh. He's a nice guy. "We are having a socks and t-shirt drive for Josh for his birthday," Al's wife and manager Angie says, "so bring a pair of black dress socks or a t-shirt (size M) for our birthday boy!"

•Ozomatli and Flogging Molly's Nathen Maxwell team up for a 9 p.m. Nov. 19 show at Peoria Nightclub. Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door, on sale Sept. 25 at Good Time stores.

•Tickets for beautiful music man and former "Entertainment Tonight" anchor John Tesh's Nov. 11 show at Magoffin Auditorium are $12-$65 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 25 at the University Ticket Center, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

•Tickets for Christian pop-rocker Steven Curtis Chapman's Nov. 12 show at the Plaza will range from $45-$100 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Oct. 10.

•Local guitar duo La Vienta is reuniting for an Oct. 10 show, part of JazzElPaso Connection's Jazz at the Philanthropy series. Tickest for the Philanthropy Theatre show are $25, on sale at the Plaza Theatre box office, Ticketmasters, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000.

•KLAQ DJ and PD Courtney Nelson says 106 bands entered for a chance to get one of 15 slots for the station's third annual LocoFest Oct. 10 at Cohen Stadium. It will feature Cavo and Sick Puppies, whose single "You're Going Down" is No. 1 on the Mediabase & BDS active rock charts. One of those 15 local bands will be picked to open for the Black Crowes Oct. 20 at the Coliseum. The winner will be announced Oct. 14.

•The Eli Young Band plays the Southern New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo in Las Cruces at 10 p.m. Oct. 2. Tornillo's The Iveys will open. Fair admission is free for 5 and under, $8 for kids 6-12 and $10 for everyone else. The fair runs Sept. 30-Oct. 4.

•Ballroom Marfa is bringing much buzzed about singer and songwriter Bon Iver to Marfa's Crowley Theater at 8 .m. Oct. 1. Tickets are $2, on sale at the door or frontgatetickets.com.

•Nashville inger-songwriter Tia McGriff will play a house concert at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at the home of Kay and Walt White. Suggested artist contribution is $15 per person. Call 241.9630 or 204.1241 if you want to go.

•Oh What a Night, a Frankie Valli and Four Seasons tribute act, headlines a show at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino's Signature Showroom. Tickets are $16. Call the track at 575.874.5200 for more info.

•All of the $5 tickets to the Oct. 29 premiere of locally made "Border Lords 2" have sold out. Meanwhile, filmmakers Mark Love and Billy Townes plan to roll out $5 tickets for another "BL2" premiere, this one at the Fountain Theatre on Nov. 21.

•Townes, by the way, will play the JazzElPasoConnection's Oct. 8 Jazz on the Rocks season finale at 8 p.m Oct. 8. He'll be joined by vocalist Tony Mac. Tickets for the McKelligon Canyon show are $9 at the Plaza Theatre box, Ticketmasters, ticketmaster.com, 800-745-3000 and the box office night of show.

Concert review: Britney Spears makes a spectacle of herself at Don (in a good way)

One doesn't go to a Britney Spears concert for the music. Or the singing. You go for the spectacle.

You should have gone Monday night.

Talk about sensory overload.

Her "The Circus Starring Britney Spears," which packed the Don Haskins Center with nearly 12,000 people, is by far the recovering pop star's most lavish extravaganza yet, trotting out acrobats, gymnasts, circus clowns, musicians and a cadre of well-chiseled dancers on an ingenious stage set that simulates a freakish three-ring throwdown, complete with one big and two smaller, adjoining stages that filled the arena floor and looked like giant bullseyes.

The image is appropriate. Spears either sees herself as a victim of prowling paparazzi  and a media infatuated with her every destructive move, seemingly unaware or unwilling to admit that those addicted to the spotlight often bring a lot of that bad voodoo on themselves.

"Circus" is Spears' reclamation tour, her stab at not only making a lot of money and resurrecting her once-sagging career, but a chance to dazzle her fans and reshape her battered image. Let's face it, before dad Jamie Spears took over her career last year, the former teen pop princess was on the road to nowhere.

He's got her back on track, supporting "Circus," a decent album of club-infused techno pop, with a lavish, over-the-top show that packs more costume changes, choreography and edgy beats-per-minute dance thump into 100 minutes than you're likely to see anywhere, much less El Paso, a sizable city that rarely hosts a top-grossing tour of the year like this one.

The fans couldn't have appeared happier. The largely young, largely female crowd seemed to eat it all up, saving its most enthusiastic applause for the final "Electro Circ" third of the show, when Spears, her invisible band (including former El Pasoan Johnny Najera on guitar) and cadre of dancers worked up some drastically reworked, clubbier versions of "I'm a Slave 4 U," "Toxic," one of her best hits, and "... Baby One More Time," her first hit.

The stage, created in part by El Paso's Steve Dixon (her tour director), is just the right vehicle for an over-the-big-top artist it three surfaces give Spears, who deserves a medal for dancing so well on high heels throughout the show, plenty of room with which to work the room while showcasing what she does best — dance.

The show's got a lot of eye-popping razzle dazzle and high-speed, high-flexibility dance moves, including a fun, lightly Bollywood version of  "Me Against the Music." 

Spears was largely muted through the show, rarely addressing the crowd. But she takes some serious chances, focusing mostly on material from her last two albums, not the lot of them, and serving up drastically reworked versions of her most familiar songs. 

She also stopped the proceedings long enough to thank the cheering crowd and offer up a rare live vocal on "Everytime," a ballad she butchered four years ago on her last tour, but nailed Monday night.

The show started on time and worked like clockwork Monday. Kristiana DeBarge got the crowd going with a very brief, two-song set that included her club hit "Goodbye," followed by 2007 "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks, a big-voiced singer who's still growing into the performer's role, but is a much more confident and powerful singer than she used to be.

Spears may not sing live much in the show, a blessing for those of us who appreciate a good voice like Sparks', but it's obvious that she's growing comfortable in her 27-year-old skin. Like I said before, you don't go to one of her shows for the singing. You go for the spectacle, and on Monday night she delivered big time.

Concert update: Celtic Woman, Fab T-birds, Ernie Watts, Busdriver

Some more concert news has rolled in since we last met.

To wit:

•Tickets for Celtic Woman's Nov. 14 show at the Plaza — part of its Broadway series — go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 21. They're $33, $53 and $63, and will be available at the Plaza box, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and 800.745.3000. The show is part of the second leg of the made-for-TV vocal and violin quintet's "Isle of Hope" tour, which runs Oct. 7-Nov. 22. It will include staples, such as "Danny Boy," and their versions of hit songs like Sting's "Fields of Gold" and a new song, "O, America!"

•Two Ton Live's Morris "Mo" Pittle is offering a $3 break on tickets for his Fabulous Thunderbirds show at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 in McKelligon Canyon Amphitheater. Use the word "fabulous" when buying from the Plaza Theatre box office or at the door, or by ordering at ticketmaster.com or 800.745.3000.

•Jazz sax man Ernie Watts, who plays the Plaza at 8 tonight and Las Cruces' Rio Grande Theatre at 8 p.m. Sept. 19, will stop by Dennis Woo's "Morning Jazz" show on KTEP (88.5 FM). He'll go on the show at 11 a.m. today.

•Rappers Busdriver and Abstract Rude return to the Sun City for an 18-and-over show at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 30 at Black Market. Busdriver is touting new CD "Jhelli Beam. "He has an electronic sensibility to his rap," says promoter Kris Johnson, referring to the rapper's use of a laptop and other tech that allows him to peel off his rhymes to a high bpm rate. 

Local acts Tone of the Cosmos, Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots, Secret Levels and DJ Bless 1 open the show. Doors open at 7:30. Tix are $ in advance (at the club and All That Music & Video), $10 day of show.

Another concert update: Sugar Ray goes sour

Monday's Sugar Ray acoustic concert at Club 101 is off.

The show originally was scheduled for June 23, but was postponed.

No explanation was given for the cancellation, which was confirmed by promoter Jerry Kidd.

The band's itinerary on Pollstar indicates they're playing Ventura, CA on Sept. 20 and Tucson on Sept. 22. No El Paso date is listed.

Contact the club at 544-2101 about refunds.