It has been a few years since the Guinness Book of World Records crossed my mind. However, a news story concerning a record (for the tallest structure made of matches, an Eiffel Tower replica) that was disallowed (bespoke match sticks) and then reinstated (woo hoo!) caused me to harken back to a time when the Guinness book was something like a circus freak show between two covers. The world’s tallest man! The world’s shortest man! The most tattoos! The most cockroaches eaten! The deepest nasal insertion!
As with many things in this life, pesky concerns regarding ethics and safety have, to a degree, robbed us of our fun and, in this case, neutered a once-great publication. No more records whose pursuit might endanger people, like eating glass or bicycle parts, for instance. And what’s worse, as John Oliver explained to us on “This Week Tonight,” a large portion of the Guinness Book of World Records’ income is derived from working with companies in order to generate publicity for their products. What a scam. The world record for highest-grossing concert tour? Here’s a hint: the artist’s name rhymes with Sailor Rift.
Ticket Alert
Justin Timberlake’s public image isn’t the best these days, following an unflattering portrait in Britney Spears’ recent autobiography. And, given what is in the book, it probably didn’t help that his most recent single was “Selfish.” Nevertheless, Mr. “Cry Me a River” should still sell a few tickets when his tour pulls in to Toyota Center on Wednesday, December 4. Presales are up now, and the general ticket sale begins on Friday.
At this risk of insulting a lady by alluding to her age, I will point out that Bonnie Raitt has built a magnificent career over the past 50 years. All periods of Raitt’s musical journey are worth investigating, from her early exploration of the blues to collaborations with members of Little Feat to her platinum selling records from the ‘90s. Tickets are on sale now for Raitt’s performance at the Hobby Center on Wednesday, November 6.
And speaking of musicians that just don’t quit, Carlos Santana will be back on tour this summer, on a bill that also features fellow San Franciscan band Counting Crows. Since Santana has previously encountered some troubles dealing with summer temperatures onstage, it’s a good thing that he will be playing indoors, at Toyota Center, on Saturday, August 17. Tickets go on sale Friday morning.
Concerts This Week
The Eagles have announced that this will be the last roundup, and while I am generally suspicious of “farewell tours,” I will cut them a bit of slack since they have named this one after a Raymond Chandler novel (The Long Goodbye) with a wink regarding its duration. Tickets are pricey, but the show features a most generous helping of Eagles hits, plus several Joe Walsh solo tunes, all performed with exemplary musicianship.
And as a bonus, Steely Dan will open. Kind of appropriate, since both bands have taken good-natured jabs at each other in their lyrics (“Stabbed it with their steely knives” versus “Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening”). You can check in to Toyota Center on Friday, but (natch) you can never leave.
How to describe the music of the Gipsy Kings? Well, technically their style is referred to as rumba flamenco, a genre that, as you might imagine, combines Cuban rumba and Spanish flamenco. Significantly, “rumba” was initially another term for “party” in Cuba, and that’s what you get at a Gipsy Kings gig. That being the case, get ready to rumba on Saturday at the House of Blues.
Junior Brown has always marched to the beat of his own drum. Or, in this case, his own guit-steel, an instrument that is a mashup of a lap steel and an electric guitar. The influences are many in one of Brown’s shows, as he skips from honky-tonk to surf music to Hendrix, sometimes during the same song. Brown performs at Main Street Crossing on Monday, so keep an eye out for the “Highway Patrol” on your way to Tomball.
A double bill featuring Extreme and Living Colour might seem odd at first glance, if you were only familiar with Extreme’s adult contemporary ballad “More Than Words.” However, an examination of the album that spawned the hit (Pornograffitti) reveals a hard rocking band influenced by funk and post-Van Halen guitar theatrics. Which makes the guys in Living Colour perfect tour mates. Though not as well-known as some string slingers, Vernon Reid is renowned among guitar players, and nobody does intense and pissed off like vocalist Corey Glover (see “Cult of Personality”). It will get loud on Tuesday at the House of Blues.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
