Soundgarden announces summer tour, Forum date in July

Grunge-era titans Soundgarden announced the first dates of a summer tour Wednesday evening, and with them an appearance at the Forum in Inglewood on July 22 (a fan-club presale starts Monday). Though the band's reunion was recently described by guitarist Kim Thayil as the result of a Twitter-based misunderstanding, Soundgarden's appearance at Lollapalooza last year was well-received, and the group has been in the studio recently with plans to record.

While results can -- to put it charitably -- vary in these kinds of reunions, one has to give the band credit for at least giving a new album a shot. Recent tours by the Pixies and Pavement amounted to little more than well-earned victory laps, and Soundgarden has the potential to pick up where it left off with a heavy yet intricate sound that holds up better than most of its '90s contemporaries. The band's recently released "Live on I-5" was a reminder of the power Soundgarden could summon onstage, and footage from last year's Lollapalooza finds the group sounding almost shockingly none the worse for wear.

Video after the jump.

Thursday night: Good Charlotte to perform free show at Universal CityWalk

Good Charlotte will play a free show Thursday, Nov. 4, at Universal CityWalk as part of a new monthly series of free shows called “Plugged In” that the shopping-dining complex is staging.

The pop-punk band just released its fifth studio album, “Cardiology,” on Tuesday.  Unlike some short-form promo in-store appearances, the “Plugged In” series promises full sets of 75 to 90 minutes from the featured performer. The shows began last month with Provo, Utah, dance-punk band Neon Trees.

The Universal City show is one of a string of appearances Good Charlotte is making this week in conjunction with the release of “Cardiology,” including “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Monday, “Chelsea Lately” on Tuesday and “Lopez Tonight” on Friday.

-- Randy Lewis 

Photo: Good Charlotte's Joel Madden, left, and Benjie Madden. Credit: Tracey Nearmy / EPA

Angel City Jazz Festival gets bigger, smaller

In only its second year, L.A.'s own Angel City Jazz Festival was one of the highlights of 2009, with a two-day blend of rich, forward-thinking jazz at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater last Labor Day Weekend. Yet this is a tough time for music festivals, and despite the overwhelming feeling that a beautiful musical tradition was coming into its own, it was easy to wonder if the brainchild of longtime local promoter Rocco Somazzi and Cryptogramophone Records' Jeff Gauthier could sustain itself after such an auspicious leap.

Luckily for jazz fans, the festival is not only continuing, it seems to be growing. Though the actual "festival" component at the Ford has been scaled back to a single day on Sunday, Oct. 3 (with performances by the Ravi Coltrane / Ralph Alessi Quintet, Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet and others), the festival overall has expanded to a full week, with shows planned across the city.

Partnering with Cryptogramophone and the L.A. County Arts Commission as well as REDCAT, L.A. Film Forum and the still-itinerant Jazz Bakery, the events planned for Oct. 2-8 indicate that the festival's taste for adventure remains undiminished. Among the highlights include avant-garde bassist Henry Grimes in a group with Wadada Leo Smith and Alex Cline at REDCAT, the John Abercrombie Quartet at the Musician's Institute Theater and an event at LACMA's Bing Theater celebrating the release of "Dirty Baby," a book that chronicles the meeting of the music of Nels Cline with the poetry of David Breskin and the art of Ed Ruscha.

Tickets are available separately here, as well as a five-night pass to every show for $75. Full details of the lineup after the jump.

Long Beach Blues Festival goes on hiatus; Blues Bash planned instead

Citing a tough economic climate, local jazz and blues standard-bearers KKJZ-FM (88.1) has announced that the long-running Long Beach Blues Festival will be going on hiatus this year, breaking a Labor Day tradition that lasted 30 years.

On the bright side for blues fans, the Long Beach-based public radio station announced it will be carrying on the spirit of the festival with the KJAZZ Blues Bash, to be held at the festival's traditional home -- the Cal State Long Beach campus. Scheduled for Sept. 4 at the university's Carpenter Center, the Blues Bash will offer a free outdoor fair featuring food and local music, culminating with a ticketed concert that evening featuring Keb' Mo', Guitar Shorty and Jon Cleary. Ticket details and further information about the lineup are still to be announced.

First staged in 1980 (back when KKJZ was known as KLON), the Long Beach Blues Festival spanned all three days of Labor Day weekend from 1996-2000 and held to a two-day format since 2001. In its long run,  it's offered a lush buffet of blues, roots music and R&B that included multiple performances by legends such as B.B. King, John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley, as well as more rock-oriented acts such as the Black Crowes and Los Lobos.

While news of the hiatus is certainly troubling, KKJZ station manager Stephanie Levine remains committed to the festival's future. “The Blues Festival hiatus was a tough decision,” Levine said in a statement. “But, we will continue to work toward bringing back the festival in all its glory.”

-- Chris Barton

Photo: B.B. King performing in Memphis, Tenn.,  in 2005. Credit: Lisa Poole / Associated Press

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Power 106 schedules show the same day as Rock the Bells

Power 106 FM announced its Powerhouse '09 show this week with performances by Jay-Z, Pitbull featuring Lil' Jon, Sean Paul, Flo Rida, Kid Cudi, LMFAO, Fareast Movement, Ya Boy, New Boyz ("You're a jerk!") and the ubiquitous promise of "special surprise guests!" Tickets went on sale Wednesday for the Honda Center bash.

One problem: It's on Aug. 8. So what, you say? Well, that's the same day as Rock the Bells at the San Manuel Amphitheatre, which currently promises the hip-hop tidings of Nas and Damian Marley, the Roots, Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, KRS-One, the Rza and several others.

So what exactly is Power 106 trying to do? Force the hip-hop fan base into a Sophie's Choice? Granted, there are plenty of ways in which these audiences can split. The soul-space drums of Questlove may not be the Pitbull man's cup of tea, but it does seem like Power 106 is turning the screws on its listeners.

Not so, says Jimmy Steal, the vice president of programming at Emmis Communications, Power 106's parent company. He gave Pop & Hiss the following statement when we politely asked him, "Whaddya doing, Mr. Steal (if that is your real name)?"

“With the top-notch talent that Powerhouse consistently brings to the L.A.-area comes inevitable scheduling challenges. Finding one night where high-level artists such as these and an [available] major arena... is rare. Plus, given that Los Angeles is the nation’s focal point for live entertainment, there unfortunately are occasions where performers with similar fan bases are playing different venues on the same night. Rock The Bells and Powerhouse are both great events, with diverse bills that have something to offer all area hip-hop fans. Because of that, and the Southland’s huge population, we think that both will be huge successes.”

Fine, fair enough. Sometimes these double bookings can't be avoided. We've also asked the Rock the Bells promoters for a response and will post accordingly. But, in the meantime, is anyone planning on selling their Rock the Bells ticket to go to Powerhouse '09? Anyone with ambitious plans to go to both -- somehow, some way?

--Margaret Wappler

Photo credit: Jay-Z performing at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on July 3 by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

For Corey Feldman, the show -- and music --- goes on

Corey Feldman -- Michael Jackson’s longtime friend, at least before they were estranged in 2001 -- is grieving over Jackson's death but says he is going ahead as scheduled with an eco-themed concert with his Pink Floyd-esque band Truth Movement at Universal City’s CityWalk at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Feldman, who continues to be a family friend of the Jacksons, appeared on the "Larry King Live" and "Today" shows Thursday and Friday to talk about the singer's passing, and took to his blogto express his thoughts. “As Michael taught me a long time ago, the show must go on,” Feldman wrote. “[Saturday’s show] will be a hard one to get through. But I will brave it and do the only thing I know how to do … perform.”

Jermaine and LaToya Jackson were scheduled to attend, but that now obviously appears unlikely. Feldman and Truth Movement will perform songs from their 2008 CD, “Technology Analogy,” and are pushing to take live music shows “off the grid,” through self-sustainable energy and alternative fuels instead of electricity.

"It’s a good concept and a positive message,” Feldman says. “The problem is we haven’t figured out the technology 100%.”

-- Nicholas White

Photo: Corey Feldman. Credit: Nancy Pastor / For The Times

Van Morrison brings 'Astral Weeks Live' back to L.A.

Van Morrison’s 40-year anniversary live performances of his 1968 landmark album “Astral Weeks” have been accorded special event status in the various cities he’s visited since the world premiere concerts last fall at the Hollywood Bowl.

Among the old friends and admirers who turned out to catch “Astral Weeks” live at Royal Albert Hall recently in London were Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) and Eric Clapton. Morrison and Clapton, despite a friendship going back 40 years, reportedly never had been photographed together before they paused for this shot.

Morrison brings “Astral Weeks” back to Southern California for three more performances May 7-9, this time indoors at the Orpheum Theater downtown, and a new block of orchestra seats for those dates are being released Friday.

While in L.A., the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member is scheduled to  make an appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on Wednesday leading up to the May 19 release of the “Astral Weeks Live” DVD from the Bowl shows of which he described shortly after as “pure magic for me….It was more than I could have hoped for.”

-- Randy Lewis

Photo credit: Listen to the Lions Films

Esperanza Spalding, Wayne Shorter top Playboy Jazz Fest lineup

Start considering your Hollywood Bowl boxed-lunch options, L.A.'s own jazz-themed Coachella (albeit with far more hospitable weather) is coming.

Past years have generally offered a combination of performers from the genre's considerable past,  pop-jazz favorites and the occasional left-field pick (Ozomatli, anyone?), and this year's lineup is no exception.

Among the can't-miss picks for this year's fest should be young bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding, a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" led by drummer Jimmy Cobb and second-day headliner Wayne Shorter, who, if he reprises the freewheeling explorations of his date at Disney Hall in January, should offer a welcome shift in mood and spirit from the gentle horror of soprano sax-smith Kenny G.

From outside the world of jazz, R&B house-on-fire Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and King Sunny Ade's "juju music" should keep everyone from getting too settled into their seats up on the lawn.

Tickets for the shows go on sale this Saturday.

Gird thy loins: John Zorn headed West

As heard from one of the kindly clerks at Amoeba Records this weekend -- and confirmed on John Zorn's MySpace page (remember those?) on top of various blogs and message boards -- the ever-unpredictable saxophonist and downtown NYC fixture will venture out of the 212 and into the Pacific Time Zone for a run of shows next month.

Sadly, you're probably more likely to see Gila monsters rain on the Chinese Theatre than see Zorn perform in L.A. (though it has been hailing here of late), but he will be kicking up his heels at Yoshi's in San Francisco from March 10-15 in various configurations, joined by fellow merry pranksters such as Trevor  Dunn, Mark Ribot, Joey Baron and many more.

Tickets are available for $20-50 a pop at Yoshi's website for enterprising and eager-to-travel fans of jazz and experimental music, with packages available for the full run of early or late shows for a neat $200. We won't be joining in on the fun, as much as it pains us to admit (curse this recession!), but if you do end up dropping the coin to bask in Zorn's mad genius, do check back with us early and often.

Full rundown after the jump, plus a video of Zorn's Bar Kokhba ensemble burning a room down in Warsaw as well as footage of the man's nitrous-burning, serpentine tone with Electric Masada.

How much does it cost to get from Burbank to SFO again?

-- Chris Barton

Photo from John Zorn's MySpace page.

50 Cent will headline Bamboozle Left. It's the best idea he's had in years.

Today, we learned that this year's installment of Bamboozle Left, the weekend-long blowout of Orange County mall emo in a parking lot (I've been!), has an unexpected headliner. Mr. Curtis Jackson, who apparently has some time to kill while waiting for his perpetually delayed "Before I Self Destruct" album to become even more relevantly titled, will head up the Saturday show opposite a gaggle of the usual suspects for these sorts of things, including P&H faves Brokencyde, who I simply must see live before the year is out.

While the jokes about this pairing will come fast and easy, this seemingly absurd booking has a strong chance of actually being a pretty fantastic way to close out the weekend and a useful move for Mr. Jackson. Here's why: