Subject: Gibson Amphitheatre

• Shins-ing the Night Away: A Sounds Eclectic Evening

  [photo by Marc Goldstein] Making a classic SoCal newcomer mistake, I only gave myself 45 minutes to drive from Costa Mesa to Universal City's Gibson Amphitheatre, where influential public radio station KCRW was holding its sixth annual Sounds Eclectic concert; this year proceeds go to help convert its vast music library into digital form. After a stressful 100 minutes in my car (last time I take Mapquest's estimates at face value), I dashed out of the monstrous parking garage and through th

  April 16, 2007

• Rodrigo y Gabriela Cancel September Tour Dates

  Awesome Mexican folk-metal group Rodrigo y Gabriela have had to cancel the rest of their North American tour (which was going to hit the Grove of Anaheim Sept. 13) due to the latter's exhaustion. They hope to return to the road in October. You can read Rex Reason's feature in this week's OC Weekly here and my review of their live set at Gibson Amphitheatre earlier this year here. Full press release after the jump. Meanwhile, here's a video of them performing a song you thought you never nee

  September 7, 2007

• CANCELED: Velvet Revolver in Irvine

  Friday's VR show at the Verizon Wireless (Irvine Meadows) Amphitheater has been canceled due to ongoing fire-related health concerns. The show, with Alice in Chains and Sparta, was to be band's final U.S. gig before stops in Japan and Australia. A Live Nation rep said the show has been *tentatively* rescheduled for December 12 at the Gibson Amphitheater, meaning a trek up to Universal City for O.C. fans of Scott Weiland, Slash, and Co.

  October 25, 2007

• Yes to Complexly Rock Honda Center Aug. 20

  Set aside your negative bias toward Yes—and while you're at it, lose your knee-jerk hatred of prog rock. Yes fuckin' rock—albeit in a long-winded, redonkulously complex manner. And Chris Squire's bass playing? Completely slaughters Les Claypool's. Ask Squarepusher. He'll vouch for me. As those SoCal badboys the Mars Volta know, prog rock can be damned exhilarating, when done with just the right amount of excess, killer chops, trippy album artwork and a keenly rococo melodic sense—all of

  April 10, 2008

• Oh No! Yes Cancel 40th Anniversary Tour

  British prog-rock icons Yes have had to cancel their upcoming 26-city tour commemorating 40 years of incredibly long, complicated rockin'—including dates at Honda Center (Aug. 20) and Gibson Amphitheatre (Aug. 22)—due to singer Jon Anderson's health problems. “In the wake of my recent respiratory attack, doctors have advised me to spend the coming months resting and recovering,” the 63-year-old Anderson said in a press release. “Unfortunately, this means I won't be able to tour with

  June 4, 2008

• The Cure, The Killers, Death Cab for Cutie Announced for KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas

  It's radio station concert day! Apparently! KROQ has announced their lineup for day two (Dec. 14) of Almost Acoustic Christmas at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, and it is predictably pretty great: The Cure, The Killers, Death Cab for Cutie, Paramore, Franz Ferdinand (!), Scott Weiland, Snow Patrol and Vampire Weekend. In the spirit of "one of these things is not like the other things," I choose you, Scott Weiland! Stone Temple Pilots are already playing day one; I guess if you mana

  November 20, 2008

• Last Night: Smashing Pumpkins at the Gibson Amphitheater

  Last Night: Smashing Pumpkins at the Gibson Amphitheater, Universal City, Dec. 3, 2008.Better Than: Watching your friends play as Billy Corgan in Guitar Hero World Tour.Download: The video for G.L.O.W. on MySpace Music.Vocalist/guitarist Billy Corgan would exclaim "don't give up on us yet!" as The Smashing Pumpkins capped their successful two-night stand at the Gibson Amphitheatre, with a career-spanning two and a half hour set that delved into the past while gazing (everlastingly?) into the fut

  December 4, 2008

• Musical Advent Calendar: Death Cab for Cutie, 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)'

  At this point, who hasn't covered the Phil Spector co-written classic "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"? Mariah Carey sang it on her 1994 Merry Christmas album, U2 on the 1987 Christmas compilation A Very Special Christmas. Original singer Darlene Love performs the tune every year on "The Late Show with David Letterman;" even Smash Mouth has their own, no doubt terrible, version.But my favorite version is from 2004's Maybe This Christmas Tree--check out the awesome cover by Shag up in the corn

  December 12, 2008

• Incoming: No Doubt Add Yet Another OC Show, Katy Perry to Open

  (Yes, I could have used another No Doubt picture to illustrate this blog, but I'm using this Katy Perry pic instead. Deal with it. We need hits.) Waaay sold out. No Doubt has added yet another Verizon Wireless Amphitheater show--their fourth!--to their triumphant reunion tour, this one happening on August 4. The July 31, August 1 and August 2 shows are all already sold out (as are three shows at the Gibson Amphitheatre). Tickets for this one are on sale next Saturday (NEXT Saturday), April 4, at

  March 25, 2009

• New Reviews

  Guadalupe; The History Boys; Screamers; Unaccompanied Minors

  December 7, 2006

• No Doubt Triumphantly Return (to New Jersey)

  Arguably (?) the most famous band in Orange County history, No Doubt, played their first official show in about five years last night at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, headlining the second day of the Bamboozle Music Fest out there (not to be confused with the Bamboozle Left that took place in Irvine a month ago, natch).

  May 4, 2009

• Got Your Tickets to the Love Train Show?

  Well, if you do, you're SOL (that's shit outta luck for the squares) because the gig's been canceled. The full name of the event was "The Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia" and locally it was scheduled to hit the Honda Center July 12 and the Gibson Amphitheater July 10. Tickets can be refunded at point of purchase.Bummer.

  July 3, 2009

• 'Go Fest 2009' Set for Verizon, Live Nation Extends No Service Fee Wednesdays

  ​Country music in Orange County? It happens! Sometimes! Evidence: Go County 105 is bringing their "Go Fest 2009" to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine on October 3. Performers are set to include Brad Paisley (pictured), Dierks Bentley, Jimmy Wayne, Sarah Buxton, Zona Jones and Peter Brandon. As far as contemporary country goes, that's a pretty swell lineup.Tickets are $30.50-$120.50, and on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m.--though there are various ongoing presales, check those out here.

  August 19, 2009

• Tickets for LA Morrissey Show on Sale Saturday, Pomona Close Behind?

  Still so dreamy!​"I know it's gonna happen someday."It's been nearly a month since Morrissey tour dates throughout Southern California started popping up on fansites like Morrissey Solo, and official announcement of almost all of them (eventually) followed. There's Morrissey at the Fantasy Springs Resort Hotel & Casino on December 5, Morrissey at the "Majestic Ventura Theater" on December 11, and just announced yesterday evening, Morrissey at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City on De

  October 13, 2009

• Your Chance to Save Money on Train Tickets Finally Here

  Teehee, "Train tickets."​At the end of the month, October 27 to be exact, Train--you know, "Drops of Jupiter," "Meet Virginia" Train--will release their first new studio album in nearly four years, Save Me San Francisco (named after their city of origin). Just two days before that, Train will play the House of Blues in Anaheim, and that's just one of several shows that Live Nation, in their latest "buy concert tickets! please!" promotion, is offering for 2-for-1 this Wednesday. (We joke about

  October 12, 2009

• Santa Ana's Aushua Added to Next Month's 'LA 101'

  ​A festival-type show on a Tuesday? Hey, sure, why not? That's the day of LA 101, a concert put on by our sister paper, LA Weekly, up north at the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City.

  October 20, 2009