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Tags: Opera Travel / Williamsburg / Brooklyn / Concert Travel / Culture Travel / → All Tags

Dust Off Your Top Hats and Capes: The Opera is Coming to Brooklyn

Everybody likes to make fun of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with its insufferably ironic scenesters and their asymmetrical haircuts, but it's still one of the best neighborhoods in New York to find bold new ideas in music and art. Case in point: the 'burg will host the borough's first opera in years this November when OperaOggiNY stages a performance of Franco Leoni's one-act verisimo opera L'Oracolo. The company is renovating the 600-seat McCaddin Memorial Hall Theater on Berry Street between South 2nd and South 3rd Streets, and will welcome city opera buffs to its grand opening performances on November 6, 7, and 8. Admission is only $20, which seems like a bargain for a "real" opera, and there are dozens of great bars and restaurants nearby - Dressler comes to mind - where patrons can discuss the tenor's register over drinks and snacks. It will be interesting to see what kind of crowd is drawn to these classical performances in the midst of hipsterville.

[Photo: nag-brooklyn.org]

Related Stories:
· OperaOggiNY [Official Site]
· OperaOggiNy to re-open McCaddin Memorial Hall Theater on Berry Street [nag-brooklyn.org]
· Opera Comes to the Burg [Gothamist]
· Opera Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Pyramids / Archaeological Tourism / Archaeology / Opera Travel / Concert Travel / → All Tags

Placido Domingo's Smooth Moves Calm Chichen Itza Kerfuffle

A concert by Spanish tenor Placido Domingo went off without a hitch last night at Mexico's Chichen Itza archaeological site, silencing for the moment a controversy about whether the ancient Mayan ruins are an appropriate venue for such a modern spectacle. Prior to the event, a union of archaeologists pressed prosecutors to file criminal charges against the concert's organizers, saying that the event violated a law that states the ruins must be preserved for educational purposes.

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Tags: Concert Travel / Paul McCartney / → All Tags

Paranoid Travel: McCartney Visits Israel with a Little Help From His 5,000 Friends

Talk about an entourage! Paul McCartney played his first ever show in Israel last night to a crowd of 50,000--not including the 5,000 security guards he hired to guard Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park for the show.

Sir Paul opened the show with "Hello Goodbye" after a full day of visits to a local music school (where his attempt to play the violin made children merry) and Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. Of course, with 5,000 guards, he probably had a very large presence in the country, from which The Beatles were disinvited in 1965.

That beefed-up security probably made him feel safer, but it had to attract a lot of attention when McCartney was in Israel. Who is better to travel with: 5,000 security personnel or a few well-placed ninjas?

Related Stories:
· Fab McCartney Wows Israel [The Jerusalem Post]
· Sir Paul McCartney Shacks up at Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv [HC]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Bruce's MidEast Soundbites]

Tags: Celeb Travel / Concert Travel / Hollywood Palladium / Jay-Z / → All Tags

Concert Travel: Hollywood Palladium Turns Up The Volume

L.A. concertgoers, rejoice! The Hollywood Palladium, once host to both the Rat Pack and the Grammy Awards, will reopen this fall with a gala concert by the 2008 equivalent of Frank Sinatra, Jay-Z.

The Palladium has been closed for repairs since being purchased by Live Nation in April 2007. Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke at the Palladium despite a bomb threat and artists from The Rolling Stones to the Red Hot Chili Peppers have performed there. But for us, it'll always be known as the backdrop to this scene from "Almost Famous" starring Kate Hudson:

Tickets for the Jay-Z show go on sale September 5.

Related Stories:
· 2007: Live Nation Inks Palladium Deal [Billboard.com]
· Jay-Z To Open Renovated Hollywood Palladium [Billboard]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Jay-Z performing at Glastonbury 2008: dannynorth]

Tags: Celeb Travel / Democratic National Convention / Sheryl Crow / Concert Travel / → All Tags

Celeb DNC Travel: Sheryl Feels Inspired

Long before Barack Obama was a senator, Sheryl Crow sang "A Change Will Do You Good." But the singer insists she's not just jumping on the Democratic hype train--the presidential candidate has reached directly into her soul.

"We are finally inspired by the words that he's saying," Crow told the crowd when she performed Sunday night at the Red Rocks Ampitheatre.

Dave Matthews and the alt-country act Sugarland also performed at the kickoff concert along with John Legend, who debuted a new campaign song called "If You're Out There."

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· Delta's "Legend"ary Grammys Flight [Jaunted]
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[Photo: ICYDK]

Tags: Concert Travel / Summer Travel / Feist / Music Travel / Videos / → All Tags

Concert Travel: Feist Goes to Sesame Street

Winsome pop singer Feist recently taped an appearance on America's favorite street, singing a slightly modified version of her Grammy-nominated single "1234."

The Canadian singer, first name Leslie, is jetting off this summer to a lot of other places that aren't (sadly) imaginary.

Tomorrow night she performs in Park City, Utah, and is hitting Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Diego, California, over the weekend before an outdoor show in Vancouver.

Related Stories:
· Music Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· More Videos [Jaunted]

Tags: Live Music / Reunion Tours / Concert Travel / Music Travel / Van Halen / → All Tags

Adventures of Link: "Fair Warning" on Van Halen

Don't panic rock fans! It's true that Van Halen has postponed reunion shows in Dallas, Cincinnati, Raleigh and Baltimore. But the tour isn't cancelled, it's just been delayed so Eddie can get some medical tests.

For now, hold on to those tickets; they'll be honored at rescheduled shows. And if your worried about something like this ruining your music travel getaway, check out these travel insurance tips from Peter Greenberg.

Related Stories:
· Van Halen Tour Dates Postponed [Official Site]
· Van Halen Tour Unhinged [TMZ]
· Van Halen Tour Not Cancelled [Billboard]
· Van Halen Reunion Tour Coming Soon [Jaunted]
· Music Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Live Music / Reunion Tours / Concert Travel / O2 Arena / → All Tags

Led Zeppelin One Time Reunion Gig Set For London

Rock legends Led Zeppelin are set to announce a one time comeback concert today, nearly three decades after breaking up. Of course Plant and Page have joined forces a number of times over the years to mixed reviews. However, this gig, slated for November at London's 02 Arena will include Page, Plant, and John Paul Jones -- Jason Bonham, son of John, will be on drums completing the quartet.

The group split in 1980 after the death of drummer John Bonham and have performed only a scant few reunion gigs, last taking the stage 12 years ago at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

London's O2 Arena is part of the Millennium Dome on the Greenwich Peninsula, in South East London, and holds up to 23,000. Tickets will no doubt go fast, and it looks like the O2 arena web site is already down due to heavy traffic, so make your travel arrangements soon.

Related Stories:
·   Live Music [Jaunted]
·   Led Zeppelin set for reunion gig in London [Reuters]
·   Led Zeppelin [Official Site]
·   London Hotel Reviews [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Nicobobinus]

Tags: Live Music / Reunion Tours / Concert Travel / → All Tags

Van Halen Reunion Tour Coming This Fall

Van Halen announced their 25-date North American tour, which was postponed back in March when Eddie entered rehab, is on for this fall. The always loquacious, sometimes lead singer, David Lee Roth said the reunion could lead to a world tour and a new album. Let's just wait and see how the current band, comprised of three Van Halens and a Roth, works together on the road this fall before proclaiming world tours and dropping albums.

The tour will start in Charlotte, at Bobcats Arena, and mid-size arenas will be the norm for this tour -- think anywhere an NBA team plays. The tour concludes in early December with three dates in Canada.

If you are planning to travel to see the reconstructed Van Halen, you should know original bassist Michael Anthony has been replaced by Van Halen's 16-year-old son, Wolfgang. We are guessing that means you will be able to see the Frankenstrat guitar, but not the Jack Danies bass.

Related Stories:
·   Live Music [Jaunted]
·   Van Halen Tour Dates [Official Site]

[Photo: Incase Design]

Tags: Music Festivals / Concert Travel / → All Tags

Summer Music Festivals: Can I Get A Hallelujah?

This weekend, thousands will congregate in downtown Chicago's Millennium Park to celebrate the music whose roots date back to the collision of slave spirituals, ragtime, blues, and jazz.

Thomas A. Dorsey first coined the term -- gospel -- in 1926, and the music has incited religious fervor and pleased eardrums ever since. The 2007 Chicago Gospel Music Festival features more than 50 acts on three stages.

Performers include acclaimed choirs, ministers, and family groups from across the country, including the Chicago Mass Choir. Oh, and it's free. Amen to that.

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· Chicago Travel Stories [Jaunted]
· Music Festivals [Jaunted]

Tags: Celeb Travel / Concert Travel / → All Tags

Police Reunion Tour Puts On The Red Light

Sending out an SOS! British trio The Police hit the road Monday night for their first world tour in 23 years, which kicked off in Vancouver, B.C. The concert began with a gong and ended with several encores, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, who seemed surprised that people under 50 have discovered the Police since their last road show. (Call it the magic of iTunes -- or one's parents playing "Every Breath You Take: The Classics" on cassette.)

Check out the full list of Police tour stops this summer, including Bonnaroo, at VH1.com. If your city's shows are sold out, consider a road trip: Time Out New York did a little math and found it's cheaper to see Gordon and the boys in Hershey, PA than in NYC -- even with hotel and car rental.

[Photo: kk+]

Related Stories:
· Hotels in Hershey, PA [HotelChatter]
· The Police open their world tour in arresting fashion [Seattle PI]