Do you remember the movie Airplane?

Remember the two gentlemen who spoke “Jive?” Remember the subtitles at the bottom that translated what they were saying? Remember whenever one of them would say a certain word, the subtitle always translated it as “Golly?”

Such fun.

It’s in this spirit I would like to remind you, one and all, that The Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nothin’ to Trifle With!

(And if you haven’t seen Airplane, get your golly together and watch the trifling thing.)

In Any Case, I’m giving away Tickets to see The Wu on Saturday, Jan 21st! Wanna Go?

Email your Full Legal Name as it appears on your Legal Driver’s Licence or State ID card to blacontests@gmail.com

Winners will be notified and will show said ID at the Will Call booth the night of the show to claim tickets. Protect your neck.

Wu-Tang Featuring All Original Members: RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa
Saturday January 21, 2012
Club Nokia
Los Angeles, California
Show time: 9:00pm
Door time: 8:00pm
Age: All Ages+

Step to the Wu.

Yeah, they’ve all been in other bands,  made lots of crazy career choices… but they’re running hot again and are touring with a mix of new music and serious hits.

If you’re a fan, and want to see them this Friday night, October 29th at the Nokia Theater, you’re in luck.  We’re giving away one pair of tickets to the best comment that captures the band’s style… and what they mean to you. Tell us why you love these guys and your ticket is on us!  Don’t hold back. Most captivating story wins.

And if you don’t win… but still want to catch a great show, you can grab tickets here.

Lead Eel Mark Oliver Everett, aka “E”, is an unlikely object for a crush, but I’m totally a fangirl. His plain-speaking lyrics contain so much emotion and heart, managing to do that for which every writer strives: containing as much meaning as possible in as simple a way as possible. As Emily Dickinson said, “For writers, a success prescription / Fewer words / More description.”

Eels albums are powerful, full of dark topics treated squarely-on. But the live shows are wild and animated, with the band rocking out & dancing onstage, an incongruous sight with bearded, sunglass-wearing dudes jumping around the stage, doing high kicks.

Wanna go? Of course you do! Leave a comment telling me your favorite Eels lyrics & a little bit about why you love ‘em. I’ll pick a couple lucky winners to go to the show tomorrow night. Be sure to fill out the email field on the comment-submit form correctly so I can get in touch with you.

Info on the show is here, thanks to Goldenvoice.

Scorpions

After 45 years (yes, 45!) the Scorpions have decided to lay down their guitars. Before they retire, however, they’ll be on a three-year farewell tour. The Get Your Sting And Blackout tour comes to southern California this week, and blogging.la has your tickets. Read on…

As I suspect is true of most hard rock fans my age (or perhaps a little younger,) the Scorpions first hit my radar with their Love At First Sting album in 1984. That was the album that featured the anthem “Rock You Like A Hurricane.” It was followed closely by 1985′s World Wide Live. Even now it’s hard to believe those records (yes, they were “records” back then) were released 25 years ago. Harder still to believe that Rudolf Shenker started this band in 1965.

Scorpions (with guests, Cinderella) are coming to the new(ish) Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario on Thursday, July 29, and we’ve got your tickets. Want to win a pair of tickets to the show courtesy of Goldenvoice and blogging.la? Just leave me a note in the comments below telling me your Scorpions story. Favorite song, why you desperately want to see them on this farewell tour, how you missed seeing them in high school because your mom wouldn’t let you camp out overnight at Music+Plus to get tickets. You get the idea.

Contest ends Wednesday at 9:00am, with winners notified via email. Keep a close eye on your inbox Wednesday morning, because I need you to reply to a question in that winning email by noon Wednesday. If I don’t hear from you, I have to pass the tickets on to the next winner. (Pro tip: Watch your inbox after noon too, just in case you’re the runner up. I’ll still need a quick response.)

Don’t want to take a chance on winning your way into the show? You can still purchase tickets here. I wouldn’t wait too long, though. The Scorpions show on Saturday night at the Nokia Theater at L.A. Live appears to already be sold out.

As has become my habit, I’ll start you off with my Scorpions story. Well, not mine actually…
In 1990, a friend who was working for Mercury Records was taking advantage of the “free meal on your birthday” deal at the Denny’s on Sunset Blvd. While “dining” (seriously, it’s Denny’s; the quotes around that word are deserved,) in walk the Scorpions, who were in Hollywood recording “Crazy World.” They recognized my friend, as they had just met her at the Mercury offices, and discovering it was her birthday, they all gathered round her table to sing “Happy Birthday.” The Scorpions. Singing “Happy Birthday.” At Denny’s. A happy birthday indeed.

Okay, now you.

In addition to fairly regular concert appearances around southern California and frequent work on Jay Leno’s show(s,) The Dan Band has appeared in movies such as Old School, Starsky & Hutch, and The Hangover.

They’re mostly known for performing covers of songs originally recorded by female artists, in their own unique style with a liberal application of NSFWoYC (Not Safe For Work or Young Children) language.

While good, the video clips linked above don’t really do justice to the live spectacle that is The Dan Band. Luckily, Dan and the boys will be returning to Club Nokia at LA Live this Friday, April 2 and thanks to our friends at Goldenvoice, I’ve got several pairs of tickets for you, dear readers.

Follow me past the jump to find out how to win your tickets, and see a live video clip of The Dan Band from a recent show at Club Nokia…

Want to join me at the show? Leave a note in the comments section with one or more of the following:
a.) your favorite Dan Band song/cover,
b.) song by a female artist or group that you’d like to see The Dan Band perform, and/or
c.) your favorite gender-opposite (female if you’re male, male if you’re female) song to sing at karaoke. Bonus points if you link to video of yourself singing said song.

I’ll start: I’d love to see The Dan Band perform Lady Gaga’s “Lovegame,” and I like to sing the Kiki Dee part of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” but only if I’ve got a solid partner for the Elton John part. No, you will never (ever) see video of said performance.

Leave your entry below. Winners will be chosen at my whim (or randomly if you all make it too hard to choose, as you usually do,) and notified via email. Don’t want to take a chance? You can purchase tickets here, but get them quick as The Dan Band usually sells out.

Three weeks after this year’s Grammy Awards show, The Dan Band played at Club Nokia. Here is their stunning recreation of Pink’s Grammy performance of “Glitter In The Air.”

Photo by Robbiework, used under Creative Commons.

Willie Nelson’s tour made its annual stop in Los Angeles last night. Willie and family, along with Austin favorites Asleep At The Wheel, played before a packed house at Club Nokia at the L.A. Live complex. The two bands are touring together in support of their recent album, Willie and The Wheel.

Asleep At The Wheel began the evening with their signature western swing. About half-way through their opening set, Nelson joined the band on stage to perform “Bring It On Down To My House,” as well as other numbers from the recent album and his classic, “Pancho & Lefty.”

After a short break and stage reset, Willie returned with his own band (with Ray Benson of AATW sitting in on guitar.) He started his set with “Whiskey River” and with only a couple of momentary breaks to introduce the band, he rolled through 25 other hits including “Crazy” (which he wrote for Patsy Cline,) “Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Me & Paul,” and “Beer For My Horses.” Not one to stand for the silliness of walking off only to be called back for an encore, when his set was finished he thanked the audience and waved goodbye as he left the stage.

Willie Nelson seems to tour incessantly and tirelessly, but at this show his 76 year old body seemed to be showing its age a bit. While still in great shape for a man of his years, Willie had a bit of a paunch evident beneath his tight t-shirt which hasn’t been noticeable in previous years. That aside, his voice is as strong as ever, his guitar picking seems to get even better with age, and there’s a gleam in his eye which suggests he’s not stopping any time soon. Nothing lasts forever, though, and this is a show you don’t want to miss. You should probably see Willie Nelson again (or for the first time) as soon as possible.

Willie Nelson and Asleep At The Wheel perform tonight at the Fred Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks.

Motörhead by Mark Marek Photography, used under Creative Commons.

Motörhead and special guest Reverend Horton Heat are coming to Club Nokia in downtown L.A. on Friday, October 9. Also on the bill are Nashville Pussy and Chelsea Girls. Best of all, LA MetBlogs has your tickets to the show.

Motörhead is one of my favorite hard rock bands. After 34 years on the road, Lemmy & co. still rock harder than most bands half their age. The influence they’ve had on rock & roll is undeniable. Ask any latter-day hard rock or speed metal band who taught them how to rock, and if they’re honest, the first name on the list will be Motörhead.

Here’s your chance to see these legends (and the other great acts on the bill) with Lucinda Michele & me!  Well, we’ll give you the tickets; whether you hang with us is up to you.

Tell me via comment below which band(s) you want to see and why. Or tell me about your favorite Motörhead song. Really, just tell me something that will convey how much you want, need, demand to be at this show. Winners will be chosen at my whim and notified via email, so make sure you enter yours correctly. Complete show info is here.

Bonus: My all-time favorite photo of Lemmy is here.

UPDATE: First, ticket winners have all been notified and confirmed. All the responses were great, and I wish I could take everyone to the show. If you didn’t win, buy tickets at the link above and meet us at the show. This is going to be an unforgettable concert!

Second, I just got off the telephone with Motorhead’s manager. He wanted to let everyone know that Motorhead will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live tomorrow (Thursday) night, so stay up late.

Finally, for those going to the show (which should be everyone,) doors open at 7:30pm, show starts at 8:00. Reverend Horton Heat goes on at 9:40, and Motorhead hits the stage at 11:00pm. Get there early to see Chelsea Girls and Nashville Pussy, and get ready for Motorhead to rock your ass off. Also, bring earplugs. Safety first.

See you at the show!

Click thru to read his opinion of this up-and-coming, and funny, musician.

Last night’s show was my second time seeing Eric Hutchinson, last summer I first discovered him when he opened for Missy Higgins in Boston. At the time I was very impressed with his energy, and his ability to interact with the crowd. At that show he did a “modern” sort of version of an old Cher song which was just amazing. Last night’s show at the el Ray was just as good as that first one I saw of his. Anya Marina opened for Eric, she was enthusiastic but not my cup of tea, but once Eric came out the show really got going. He played for almost an hour and a half, with a nice mix of the hits from his first cd, and a few new songs. Overall the show was great, but what still impresses me most is Eric’s personality that comes out on stage. He is very good at bantering and interacting with the audience. Last night for example he improvised a song about a couple who were making out in front of the stage. He really knows how to work a room and you get the sense that he is a really nice and genuine person. If I’m honest he is also a rather good looking man so I’m sure that that helps with the women in the audience (which as a point of observation the crowd was probably 75% female).

Eric is going to be on Conan tonight so he very well may take off in popularity after his Tonight Show performance.

Thanks Chris, and I’m thrilled you enjoyed the show!

And, dear reader, if YOU win a contest with us, please do write me with a follow-up review.

Also, he's easy on the eyes.

So, my day job is at a radio station, and Eric Hutchinson’s coming in tomorrow to play a little live show in our in-studio performance space–and the viewing is so full that we’ve all been told there’s no more room. That’s the buzz on this guy–this show will sell out, and he’ll be playing way bigger venues in the future. (Haven’t heard him yet? Listen here.)

Then, totally unrelated to my work, Goldenvoice gave Metblogs some tickets to his concert Thursday, to give away! Lucky you!

A mellow evening of piano- and melodic-driven singer-songwriteriness, for fans of The Fray, Dave Matthews Band, the aforementioned Mayer, Jason Mraz, or Jack Johnson.

More info on the show can be found here.

To win tickets just leave a comment telling me why you want to see the show. We’ll randomly pick a few winners.

Should be nuts (show info here).

With Agent Orange and Spider Problem opening for them, this show will be off the hook. You’ll kick yourself for not going.

I can hook you up if you leave a comment below telling me why you want to see the show. We’ll pick one lucky winner to go see these rock’n'roll survivors tear up the stage.