Tonight, Marshall Chapman will be in town promoting her new book They Came To Nashville as well as her new record, Big Lonesome which is dedicated to the late, great Mr. Tim Krekel, once a member of Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band and a hell of a songwriter in his own right. Tomorrow night is a benefit for Chip Robinson, formerly of the seminal hardcore honky tonk band The Backsliders. Chip was recently injured in a bicycle accident up in New York and, like so many musicians, doesn't have health insurance. So, like so many times before, the local music community is rallying around one of their own to help a fellow fallen musician out. I'm not sure how often this happens in other music oriented communities but it's one of many reasons I moved to Raleigh a couple of years ago.

Like I said, whatever helps move copy and sells records. Do you genuinely believe these folks hate one another? And if so, why on earth would Daltrey want to work with Page? Oasis and the Black Crowes were portrayed as bitter rivalries in the press, so why do you think they toured together?

I haven't been particularly moved by the new song either. I also didn't care a whole lot for the majority of Brighter Than Creation's Dark but I don't think the album was bad, they just went in a direction musically that I simply am not into. The same holds true for "Used To Be A Cop". Yeah, a lot of Patterson's songs sound a lot alike but so do John Prine's (as well as a lot of other artists). I don't think that's a sign of a lack of creativity, a huge part of it is that's just their signature sound. Prine has been playing the same three chords throughout his career, it's what he does with those chords and lyrics that make him unique. I don't think Patterson is any different. I also won't judge the entire album on just this one song (or "The Thanksgiving Filter" which will be out as a single b/w "Used To Be A Cop" this Friday for Record Store Day). As far as their live show, I can't say I've ever been bored by the Drive-By Truckers live. If anything, that's their one strong suit. I've never seen them give less than 100% in concert, even on an off night. And yes, just like any band with a reputation as a kick ass live act, they do have off nights. When you play as often as they do, it sorta comes with the territory. In regards to the new material vs. the old, I also prefer Gangstabilly and Pizza Deliverance to a lot of their newer stuff but if they continued to mine those same themes they'd be accused of growing stagnant. While I may not be completely onboard with their newer material, I think they're far from stagnant. The Wig He Made Her Wear from The Big To-Do is classic Truckers, singing about the underbelly of society that no one else sings about.

The best experience I've had with fanclub presales is through R.E.M.'s fanclub. Presales through their fanclub didn't actually start up until the internet had taken hold so I believe the first one was for the Up tour in '99. I'd gotten decent seats to shows (theirs and otherwise) through the luck of the draw before but the fanclub guaranteed seats within the first four rows (though this wasn't always the case for some fans). For the last several tours I've had front row seats. Some artists charge an outrageous amount to be in their fanclub but not R.E.M. Their annual membership fee is $10 and has never gone up since it was started in the early 80s. That alone makes it worth the $10 a year to be in the fanclub but that's only one incentive, they sent out a holiday single every year at Christmastime as well as periodical newsletters, though the newsletters have been made nearly obsolete by the availability of news on the innerwebz. No, I'm not. That's too far to travel from my area, especially considering I have tickets to the Raleigh show (not to mention the price of the tickets themselves).

The Who were bitter over Zeppelin's success? I guess that explains why Roger Daltrey has expressed an interest in working with Page. For the most part these "rivalries" were for the benefit of the press only. They helped move copy and increased record sales. To this day some believe the Stones and the Beatles were at each other's throats when the truth is, they were actually friends. Don't believe everything the press throws at you.

In the past, any presale info was passed out by the artist, not the venue. I scored a ticket for the Raleigh show today and saw there were several "presales". Not sure how fans were supposed to even know about those. I joined Plant's mailing list via his website and still haven't not received any confirmation of it. Same thing happened with the Plant/Krauss tour (never received a presale code), I got it from some of the kind folks here.

I personally like the Beatles more than Led Zeppelin.

How are people getting these presale codes? There was a big fiasco here (NC) last Spring when Wilco did two presales; one for the general public and one for members of Wilco's fanclub. None were really primo seats so it kind of defeated the purpose of having a presale. What started as a way for the diehard fans to have access to the best seats in the house has become yet another ill-fated marketing strategy for Ticketmaster/Live Nation. So, yes a lot of the time it is better to wait for the actual on sale date.

Hard to go wrong with Van the Man, I'll give it an 8.7.

From here. I was supposed to receive it from the Plant/Krauss site but it never got sent out. Tix go on sale here Friday for the Raleigh show, does anyone know if there's a presale? I joined Plant's mailing list through his website but have received nothing.

So, there are those that actually believe grasphinx should have been allowed to continue to derail each and every thread she participated in here? I have no knowledge of her past history here but that kind of behavior would have gotten her banned eventually anyway, new user or previously banned poster or not.

The outsider art of the late Howard Finster graces the cover of both of these records. He apparently collaborated with Michael Stipe of R.E.M. for the cover of Reckoning.

As a fan of The Cure, I enjoyed Porl's contributions to the Page & Plant tour. At least the show I saw (Atlanta).

I had no idea who she was, nor was I aware of any of her past incarnations. Then again, I don't recall "goading" her either. I did however, recall calling her on what I saw as outright bullshit. Quite frankly you don't come off exactly as mentally unchallenged yourself. It's these type of posters that run longstanding and potential new members of the forum away. That is, the ones that haven't already fled old fashioned message boards such as this for Facebook.

I got great seats for the last tour via the presale with no problem.

I equate tribute bands to being the rock n' roll equivalent of a blow-up doll. What I find particularly baffling are tribute bands for artists that still actively tour such as A1A (Jimmy Buffett) and the Dave Matthews Tribute Band. There's also a Widespread Panic tribute band.

^ 2.7 Then again, Air is really not my sort of thing when it comes to music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaMLb9FI1cQ

I wasn't referring to the rings masking any sort of arthritis, I was referring to the speculation in this thread as well as that one.

Bob Dylan switched to piano several years back due to arthritis but is still known to pick up the guitar on occasion.

Except Chinese Democracy actually did come out. Speaking of which, I recently read that what's left of G n' R is planning a follow up to it. Perhaps Page wil tour before it comes out.

Zoso used to play in this area (Eastern NC) pretty frequently and by all reports they were quite good. That said, I have no desire to see an imitation of a band no matter how good they may (or may not) be. I'd rather see these tribute bands channel their energy into something original.

Opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one and most of 'em stink. That said, I know of at least one person who's not a fan of this song. They don't particularly care for Plant's style of delivery. I could see where it might be a bit grating but it's never stopped my enjoyment of the song.

It's pure speculation, like the recent comments in the Photos section about some rings on Page's finger.

This song isn't on an album yet but is destined to be on the next one from Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit. They did it during their recent show at The Casbah in Durham, NC.