Chrissie Hynde Brings First Solo Tour to Beacon Theatre on Nov. 5th

Chrissie Hynde's first solo disc, Stockholm, came out in June 10th and Chrissie and her new band Will Travel are doing a run of shows this Fall, which includes a stop at the Beacon Theatre on Nov. 5th.  Tickets for this show range from $39.50 - $75.00.

Tickets for the full Fall Tour go on sale Sept. 12th and pre-sale access is available through Chrissie Hynde's mailing list.

Stockholm was recorded at Ingrid Studios in Stockholm with Björn Yttling (bassist from Peter Bjorn and John) who both produced the disc and co-wrote most of the songs with Hynde. Interestingly, both John McEnroe and Neil Young guest on this new disc.

Hynde gave a recent interview with Louder Than War where she goes into depth about the impetus behind her first solo disc. Snippets from this interview are below:

Louder Than War: It’s your first solo album but in many ways the Pretenders have felt like a solo band for a long time, were they just a flag of convenience?

Chrissie Hynde: ‘I always said the Pretenders is a band. I was getting fucked off with having to defend the name of the band over the years. I was never a solo artist and never wanted to be a solo artist. I like being in a band. That’s what I do. What’s in a name? interestingly this solo album has been more of a collaboration than my last Pretenders stuff- it’s lot more of a collaboration.’

Louder Than War: Is this solo album a deliberate move away from Pretenders?

Chrissie Hynde:‘Yeah you could say that the Pretenders is a tired brand or whatever but who gives a fuck. I like to tour but I have to figure out how to do this- like I said Bjorn said go in with my friend Joakim and I thought ‘yeah ok he’s trying to get rid of me! so I went with Joakim and wrote some songs and then Bjorn came down out of the blue as we were just finishing this song and he walked in and we said listen to this and he was mmmm that’s good- so then he wanted me back! so anyway Bjork finished the album because he could see that this album was the most rock n roll thing he’s ever done.'

Links:
Chrissie Hynde

Yes (band) Will Play Three Complete Albums At Show At Beacon Theatre on April 9th

I have such the aversion to 'tribute bands' that I cringed when Yes replaced vocalist Benoît David (who fronted the Yes tribute band Close to the Edge) with Jon Davison (who fronted the Yes tribute band Roundabout). It equally seems like a bad idea that Yes is going out next year and playing three albums back-to-back that 2/5 - 3/5 of the current lineup played on. I would have loved to have seen Yes do something adventurous like play through albums like Time and a Word, Tales from Topographic Oceans, Drama or Open Your Eyes but, unfortunately, it looks like Yes wants to play it safe but...this moves the band somewhere between Moody Blues (who last released an album in 2003) and tribute band territory.

Legendary progressive rock band, Yes, today announced its upcoming North American tour, kicking off March 2013 in West Wendover, NV and wrapping up May 2013 in Detroit, MI. On this tour, fans can look forward to a totally new and unique Yes experience; the band, for the first time in its storied history, will perform three of its most popular albums in their entireties, The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, and Going for the One. Due to performance time limits in several venues, Yes will perform two albums, The Yes Album and Close to the Edge, in their entireties.

Performing three of rock’s most renowned albums will see Yes members, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, and Jon Davison, playing Yes staples that have dramatically influenced rock music over the last four decades. Fans will enjoy long time favorites, including "Yours is No Disgrace," "I’ve Seen All Good People," "Starship Trooper," "Close to the Edge," "And You And I," "Going for the One," "Wondrous Stories," "Awaken," and more, in a completely unique format. Moreover, Yes will perform all tracks in the order they appear on their corresponding studio albums.

"These albums we all easily agreed on—they are complete works in themselves. And several of the songs have rarely been performed live," says Yes guitarist, Steve Howe. "I believe the one song we’ve never performed in concert is ‘A Venture’ from The Yes Album," states Yes co-founder and bassist, Chris Squire. Yes drummer, Alan White goes on to say, "This is a great opportunity to show the growth of Yes throughout different eras, and to once again enjoy the great memories of those times, as well as create brand new ones. We’re looking forward to performing these albums. It’s going to be fun for us, and we think our fans will love it as well."

Tickets for the Beacon Theatre go on sale Dec. 14th and ticket prices range from $39.50 - $125 (or $53.25 - $143.60 after TicketMaster fees). (Update: I was curious to see what sort of tickets were left and the Beacon/TicketMaster website shows no tickets available, at any price - I'd be shocked if the show sold out that quickly so I'm wondering if it was canceled).

For anyone who wants to see what the current lineup looks like - here is a live video from a tour stop over the summer.



Links:
Yes

Mason Jennings Plays Three Shows in NYC in April

Minneapolis' Mason Jennings plays three shows in the area in support of his major label debut Boneclouds. This is an impressive CD so I am expecting Jennings' live show to be equally strong.


Here are the upcoming shows:

April 13 - Beacon Theatre (Supporting Guster)
April 18 - Luna Lounge, Brooklyn
April 21 - Gramercy Theatre, Manhattan