HOT: Half-Hearted “Giveaway”
Those who’ve bought tickets through Ticketmaster over the past decade-plus were probably excited to see that they had been “gifted” free vouchers for tickets to upcoming concerts. The giveaway was the result of a lawsuit settlement in which Ticketmaster was accused of attaching deceptive fees to sales. What could’ve been a good PR move in light of the company’s reputation was tainted when fans began to notice the limited (and often weak) shows for which the ticket vouchers were good — most of the quality concerts either sold out of their allotment of vouchers quickly or weren’t made available. (More tickets will reportedly be made available later this summer.) Some couldn’t even find any concerts in their state. On the bright side — if you love tribute bands, you were in heaven, as tickets to shows by seemingly every tribute act in the country were readily available.
WARM: Zappa Family Drama Continues
After threats from his father’s family trust (led by his brother) over the use of his family name, Dweezil Zappa was forced to change the name of his longtime touring tribute to his father Frank’s music, Zappa Plays Zappa. Initially, he was going to tour as Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa, but now he says he’ll just be billed as Dweezil Zappa, though he’s hitting back bitingly at his bro with the upcoming tour’s cumbersome title: 50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants – The Cease and Desist Tour.
COLD: Stars and Swears
Adele received some breathless attention from the British tabloids after her performance at the U.K.’s Glastonbury festival, with publications dedicating entire articles to how many times the Pop star cursed on stage (33 times, if you’re curious). As annoying as that is, 50 Cent got it worse for his expletive exploits. The rapper was arrested for saying “motherfucker” on stage during a concert in the Caribbean, where using profanity in public is a misdemeanor. The MC reportedly went to court, paid a small fine and then got the fuck out of there.