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:

Arthur Russell movie makes it back to L.A.

For those who missed last year's OutFest screening of "Wild Combination," the tender and revelatory documentary on the experimental singer-songwriter Arthur Russell (and one of our favorite pop moments of last year), you'll get another crack at seeing it early next week. Amoeba Records will host a free outdoor screening at Space 15 Twenty (it's just up the block on Cahuenga Boulevard) on Monday at 8 p.m. Director Matt Wolf will be fielding questions; afterward, you should promptly get thee to Amoeba and pick up the recently released DVD of the film or some of Russell's albums. Newcomers should try last year's compilation of his rare acoustic-guitar work, "Love Is Overtaking Me," which reins in Russell's avant-garde disco and ambient impulses to showcase his haunting, uncanny baritone in a new light.   

-- August Brown

M83 gets the L.A. Phil treatment

If you've ever imagined how that wicked drum intro to M83's "Don't Save Us From the Flames" would sound on a timpani, save March 7 as date night with your favorite Molly Ringwald doppelgänger. The woozy French electronica band is ganging up with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Hall for a dual-headlining set that will feature M83's first live performances with an orchestra. 

Knitting Factory is just giving it away to anyone these days

Hey there, you perpetually broke L.A. ska, hardcore and backpack rap kids! If you get thee to the Knitting Factory in Hollywood on Monday at 6 p.m., you can get an early taste of what the Obama administration has for the rest of America: free stuff just for showing up! The plucky club is offering gratis pairs of tickets to a whole slurry of its forthcoming shows, and more than a few are worth a Red Line trip: the Adolescents, P.O.S., Tim Barry of Avail and a Mike Park/Kevin Seconds/Jesse Michaels triple bill among them (where you can plead with Michaels to think about an Operation Ivy reunion).

'Snow in Los Angeles' is a weather phenomenon and a new all-ages indie fest

Recent meteorological events may have sucked the irony out of the name "Snow in Los Angeles," an all-ages music festival debuting Sunday. But we can't imagine a better way to pre-game for the holidays than catching the Mae Shi, Daedelus, Rumspringa and Busdriver with a pack of super-rad teenagers like the four kids in the Tape, the aspiring concert promotion collective that curated the festival and whose music blog is already better than yours. Imagine if the F Yeah Fest's Sean Carlson had a bunch of 14- to 16-year-old interns who commandeered the Echoplex for the gnarliest living room show ever, and you get the idea.

"We actually try and hide our ages to be taken more seriously," said MacKlin Casnoff, one of the Tape's founders, all of whom met at NoHo's Oakwood School. "I figure [being young] is a good thing, it gives us exposure, but sometimes we'll show up at shows and ask for our press passes and they'll look at us like 'Are you serious?' "