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On the way: Everclear

They'll be at the Midland theater on Jan. 26, a Tuesday. Above, "My Sexual LIfe" (f-bomb alert). The music is all '90s but the slide show screams "Dazed and Confused."

DMB edges Celine in the race for tour gold

Pollstar has posted the Top 50 Tours for the years 2000-09, and at the top of the heap stands the Dave Matthews Band, which grossed more than $529 million after selling more than 11 million tickets in 10 years. Celine Dion finished second, $522 million, but did it the more efficient way: by making most of her fans hit the road to Las Vegas to see her. She earned her half-billion dollars on sales of 4 million tickets. Another note: Paul McCartney answered the question  'Why we do it on the road?': He grossed almost $250 million on sales of 1.4 million tix. Here's a PDF of the list.

Review: Vedera

Photos by Susan Pfannmuller/Special to The Star

If there's a band out there whose career trajectory exemplifies the rewards and vagaries of big-label existence, it's Kansas City's own Vedera, who are property of Epic Records.

Tonight: Get local

If you've seen/heard Organic Proof or any of the Quixotic live performances, you know what a dynamic drummer and spectacular performer Brandon Draper is. Tonight (12-19) he unveils his latest project, Free Band Radio, at Crosstown Station, 1522 McGee.

List-omania: The year in music, in words and photos

 
All photos by Todd Zimmer. They constitute some of his favorite live shows of 2009. Above: Cody Wyoming in the re-creation of "This Is Spinal Tap."

The end-of-year /best-music lists used to be an exercise in consensus-building: from a vast list of lists, certain albums emerged as the unofficial best records of any given year. Not any more. Not only are more records being made than ever, but more listeners have access to them, which means (a) no one has time to listen to everything and (b) even the most devout music fan can overlook some of the better music.

On the way | Doobie Brothers and Chicago

Pollstar says they're coming to Starlight this summer -- July 18, a Sunday. No official word, but it's also on the Doobs' Web site. We'll update with ticket info as we get it.

Canceled: Charlie Daniels Band

It's about time. We hadn't had one in a couple weeks: The Friday night show at the Independence Events Center is off. And if you were planning on following the bus to the next gig in Allen, Texas, on Saturday, make new plans. That one's toast, too.

U2 tops '09 tour list: $7M per show

Billboard just posted the Top 25 tours for 2009, and U2's 44-stop stadium tour is on top. It grossed almost $312 million, an average of $7 million per show. Madonna's was No. 2: $222 million for 46 shows ($4.8 million). Also noteworthy are the numbers of sellouts -- or not. Both U2 and Madonna sold out all shows. Some of the other numbers are surprising: Springsteen, who is No. 3 on the list, sold out 42 of 72 shows. His per-show attendance is high -- nearly 25,000 -- but those numbers are skewed by his stadium shows. And BTW: 19 of the 25 shows on the list either came to the Sprint Center or were scheduled to.

AC/DC tickets: On sale Saturday

The rescheduled date is April 11 at Sprint Center. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Price: $89.50.

Meet your Hall of Fame inductees

 
The Class of 2010: Abba, Genesis, the Hollies, the Stooges and Jimmy Cliff. Let the not-giving-a-shite begin. (But I'll be looking forward to the Springsteen/E Street jam on "Dancing Queen" at the HoF concert.)