The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Montreal jazz fest welcomes eclectic cast Posted: 25 Jun 2011 02:21 AM PDT  A woman walks past a photo of legendary jazz artist Miles Davis displayed in the exhibition 'We Want Miles' : Miles Davis vs Jazz, at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal in this file photo of April 29, 2010. Montreal's jazz festival this year promises an eclectic cast of performers ranging from Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck to Robert Plant and Prince. – Reuters pic The festival officially opens today with an open-air show from French soul singer Ben l'Oncle Soul. He was preceded yesterday evening by a sold out performance by Prince, who asked to perform late night concerts at the last minute and took the stage at 11.30pm on Friday and also today at the 2,000-seat Metropolis. Plant also performed a sold-out concert yesterday, which is a national holiday for Francophone province Quebec. The festival, the 32nd of its kind, will feature some 500 performances, around 350 of them free, and will run until July 4. Known for taking a broad view of the genre, the festival this year will welcome Diana Krall, Oliver Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater – for an homage to jazz legend Billie Holliday – all in traditional indoor venues. But it will also feature American guitarist Marc Ribot, known for his ethereal strumming, who will give three performances, including a highly anticipated one with Los Cubanos Postizos. Tunisian oudist Anouar Brahem, with melodies inspired by Sufi Islam, will also perform with his short-necked lute on three occasions. The B-52s will headline a "grand closing event" on July 4. – AFP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Crowds brave rain, mud to see U2’s Glastonbury debut Posted: 24 Jun 2011 08:25 PM PDT PILTON (England), June 25 — A hundred thousand people braved rain, cold and mud to see Irish rockers U2 at Glastonbury yesterday in their first appearance at the famous music festival. The band had been due to play a headline slot on the main Pyramid stage a year ago, but lead singer Bono hurt his back putting their debut on hold. There was a small protest as promised against U2's decision several years ago to switch its operations from Ireland to the Netherlands for tax purposes.  Bono, lead singer of U2, performs with The Edge (left) and Larry Mullins (right) at the Glastonbury Festival on June 24, 2011. — Reuters pic "I'm sorry to have called in sick last year," Bono told the crowd, his dark glasses covered in rain drops. "This is a very, very great occasion for us — we don't do this very often." U2 is in the middle of a record-breaking world tour, but rarely performs at festivals and has never played Glastonbury. A pressure group called Arts Uncut had aimed to embarrass Bono and the band by highlighting their tax status, and a large white balloon covered with the words "U Pay Tax 2?" was held above the crowd. One man wore a T-shirt saying "Bono Pay Your Tax," but the gestures were barely noticed by the majority of onlookers. Critics say Bono, a leading anti-poverty campaigner, should be prepared to pay full taxes in his homeland, particularly at a time of major financial difficulty. Others argue it is the band's right to pay taxes legally wherever they wish, and that Bono works harder than most to highlight issues like poverty and disease. "It's his money, he can do what he wants with it," said Freddie Cowan of British indie band The Vaccines who were performing at Glastonbury. Earlier in the day, Radiohead was the "surprise" guest on the distant Park stage where it played songs from new album "King of Limbs" and other recent music. Blues guitar legend B.B. King warmed up the Pyramid crowd on a cool, damp afternoon with classics including "Every Day I Have the Blues." "I wanna shake my booty, but I'm a little old and a little cold," the 85-year-old called out to the crowd as he took a seat to perform with his band. Most of the Glastonbury crowd that will peak at around 175,000 people, wore rubber rainboots to cope with fields of deep, cloying mud. Bales of hay were dropped over the worst-affected areas to make walking easier, but persistent rain yesterday meant the mudbath returned. The other headline acts are Coldplay today and Beyonce with the closing show tomorrow, following in the footsteps of her husband Jay-Z who won over the Glastonbury doubters with a rousing set in 2008. Visitors have a bewildering choice of entertainment, with hundreds of bands performing across the 900-acre site. Pop pundits have singled out Tinie Tempah, Plan B, Paul Simon, Primal Scream, Mumford & Sons, The Chemical Brothers, White Lies, Queens of the Stone Age, Cee Lo Green and Ke$ha as ones to watch. Turned into a giant camping site most years, Britain's most famous music festival is now in its fifth decade. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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