The magazine business is a tough racket these days. Consequently, publishers are always on the lookout for a new gimmick that will boost sales. The latest? Octogenarian Martha Stewart will be the oldest model ever to grace the cover of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. What she’s wearing is not nearly as skimpy as has become customary for the swimsuit (or lack thereof) issue, but, according to Martha, plenty of Pilates and dieting were involved in getting her in magazine-cover shape. Evidently, her pal Snoop Dogg stayed away during Stewart’s SI prep. Munchies, you know.

Ticket Alert
This just in: Stevie Nicks has added some dates to her recently announced tour, and Houston is on the list. Nicks, her top hat and her scarves will be at Toyota Center on Saturday, August 12, with tickets on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Face-tatted rapper Post Malone has just announced a show at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Tuesday, August 8, in support of his forthcoming album Austin. The presales start today, with the general ticket sale on Friday. Incidentally, Malone’s Texas roots are showing in the name of the tour: “If Ya’ll Weren’t Here, I’d Be Crying.”

Tickets for a double bill featuring mega-shredder Yngwie Malmsteen and former Deep Purple / Trapeze vocalist / bassist Glenn Hughes are on sale for a gig at the House of Blues on Friday, September 1. Malmsteen promises a “greatest hits” show, while Hughes is celebrating (just a tad early, whatevs) the 50th anniversary of Deep Purple’s Burn, which was released in 1974.

50 Cent’s “The Final Lap” tour, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the album Get Rich or Die Tryin’, will make a stop at Toyota Center on Thursday, August 24. Tickets are on sale now for the show, which will also feature Busta Rhymes and Jeremih.

Concerts This Week
Springing from the trailblazing industrial band Ministry, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult has been producing danceable, satirical music and offending people for a variety of reasons since 1987. For those who dare, the Kult will be at the House of Blues tonight. Also this evening, the Violent Femmes will perform their 1983 self-titled debut album in its entirety at the White Oak Music Hall. On Thursday, latter-day prog rockers Coheed and Cambria are at the House of Blues as part of the "Neverender: No World for the Waking Mind" tour. And don’t forget the Dave Matthews Band on Friday at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, if you want to get your jam on.
They Might Be Giants is not your standard rock and roll band. Like their spiritual forebears Steely Dan, TMBG is a collective of musicians surrounding a two-man brain trust (in this case, John Flansburgh and John Linnell) that can at times get high-concept and borderline surreal. Example: During the 1980s, the two Johns endured a forced respite from performing live due to a broken wrist on the part of Flansburgh. Rather than remain idle during their absence from the stage, the guys launched Dial-a-Song by recording music into an answering machine and advertising the phone number in New York publications including the Village Voice. Due to the unreliable nature of the technology, Dial-a-Song was sometimes functioning, sometimes not, generating the slogan, “Always busy, often broken.” TMBG will crank up the weirdness on Saturday at the House of Blues.
It's time again for Luba Dvorak’s Brooklyn Twang festival at the Continental Club. The shindig has grown into an annual event over the past three years and features musicians who fit into the “Brooklyn twang” vibe, which Dvorak has described to Houston Press music scribe Gladys Fuentes as “Honky tonk, just sloppier. It’s got the New York swagger, and it's a little rough around the edges.” Participating artists include Dvorak and the Brooklyn Twang, Johnny Falstaff, Mike Stinson, Bonnie Whitmore and The Sad Girls, KALO, Western Bling, Charlie and The Regrets, The Repeat Offenders and Snit's Dog & Pony Show. The music starts at 1 p.m. in the Continental Club’s backyard and continues until 10 p.m.