Butts were pinched, women became faint, some guys got lucky ;), a couple even got engaged...NO it was not the latest season of Big Brother, rather the Michael Buble show in Nashville, TN! And as if that was not enough, Nashville's own Blake Shelton stepped onstage with the Canadian-Italian Crooner himself to help him out with one of his biggest songs, "HOME"!!! I think everyone would agree that Mr. Buble provided EVERYTHING his fans have come to expect of this A+ entertainer!

Missy Higgins played an amazing set in a sold-out show in Los Angeles on Feb 26. Check out the amazing LA Times review here: http://www.calendarlive.com/music/pop/cl-et-higgins28feb28,0,3377975.sto...

My Chemical Romance will be touring the U.S. before hitting the studio to work on their follow-up to The Black Parade. Please check the band's website www.mychemicalromance.com for tour updates.

Fri/3-28 Tempe, AZ
Sat/3-29 Tuscon, AZ
Sun/3-30 Las Vegas, NV
Thu/4-3 San Francisco, CA
Sun/4-6 Irvine, CA BAMBOOZLE
Tue/4-8 Portland, OR
Fri/4-11 Salt Lake City, UT
Sun/4-13 Denver, CO
Tue/4-15 Kansas City, KS
Thu/4-17 Chicago, IL
Sat/4-19 Detroit, MI
Thu/4-24 New Orleans, LA
Fri/4-25 Baton Rouge, LA
Sat/4-26 Houston, TX
Sun/4-27 Dallas, TX
Mon/4-28 Austin, TX
Fri/5-2 Memphis, TN
*more to come

THEY MEAN IT, MAN!! Yorky punks, THE CRIBS will tour the US again this Spring. Going to SXSW? You can catch "the headline-grabbing Jarman brothers" on a couple occasions during the festival. Don't get to close, there may be blood. Dig the new video for "I'm A Realist," here...

Sat March 8 Mexico City MX Beat Festival
Tues March 11 Houston, TX The Engine Room
Wed March 12 Dallas, TX The Loft
Thurs March 13 Austin, TX SXSW
Fri March 14 Austin, TX SXSW
Sat March 15 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks
Mon March 17 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club
Wed March 19 Washington, DC Black Cat
Thurs March 20 Brooklyn, NY Williamsburg Hall
Fri March 21 Boston, MA Paradise
Sat March 22 Philadelphia, PA North Star
Sun March 23 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
Tues March 25 Chicago, IL Double Door
Wed March 26 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre
Fri March 28 Denver, CO Bluebird
Mon March 30 Seattle, WA Chop Suey
Wed April 2 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Thurs April 3 San Francisco, CA Pop Scene
Fri April 4 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre

While Yorkshire punx, THE CRIBS get ready to infest the US this Spring, they've decamped to a recording studio in Manchester with ex-Smiths and current Modest Mouse guitar hero Johnny Marr. With tons of tracks already written & recorded, who knows? An EP, full LP? We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, look for an new 4-track "I'm A Realist" digital EP available on iTunes Feb 26 and at all other digital retailers from March 4. Tour ONLY 7" vinyl will be available at shows ONLY with an exclusive remix of "I'm A Realist" by The Postal Service - True story!
Up next, Marr joins The Cribs live! wha? Yup! Check out the clip to "Our Bovine Public" here.

While your're waiting the for adorable Quin sisters to visit your town of their upcoming "Out Of Hibernation Tour" Spring 2008, check 'em out on everyone's favorite kid's show, Pancake Mountain.
Catch T&S on both Coachella and Bonnaroo festivals this year. Hey Rufus...

JOHNATHAN RICE TO HIT THE ROAD WITH MATT COSTA IN FEBRUARY

SINGER/SONGWRITER SUPPORTING LATEST ALBUM, FURTHER NORTH — OUT NOW ON REPRISE RECORDS

After completing three tours last fall with the likes of Rilo Kiley, The Good Life, and The Redwalls, singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice will hit the road once again in February for a series of support dates with fellow singer-songwriter Matt Costa.

The Los Angeles-based Rice has been touring in support of his second album Further North, which blends refined acoustic and electric guitar melodies with pulsing rhythms and piercing prose. The album has received rave reviews since its release by Reprise Records on September 11th, 2007. Giving it four stars, Blender said: “Sarcastic, not that hopeful, full of coyotes, wildfires, and wistful looks back at what might have been, this is an impressive set for anyone, let alone a 24-year-old with just one previous release.” Paste praised Further North’s mix of “country-folk and Heartland rock,” calling it a “largely live-in-the-studio affair with Rice presiding over an energetic mix that’s equal parts Tom Petty tunefulness and Uncle Tupelo guitar crunch.” USA Today called the album “eminently worth checking out,” while Performing Songwriter noted that “this young songwriter is only getting better at his game.”

Produced by Jason Lader, Farmer Dave Scher, and Rice himself, Further North is a musical step forward from its predecessor, Rice’s full-length debut Trouble is Real. That 2005 release earned him comparisons to such folk troubadours as Gram Parsons and Nick Drake, and landed him tours opening for R.E.M. and Wilco. Having grown up shuttling between Glasgow, Scotland, and Virginia, Rice invites the listener to see the cracked American Southwest through his eyes on Further North, resulting in lyrical observations that are shrewd yet sincere.

Avenged Sevenfold will join Iron Maiden on the road for European summer dates. Says A7X frontman M. Shadows, "I've seen Maiden play countless times and am continually blown away, not just by their live show, but also by the great records they continue to make. We have learned much from Iron Maiden and are honored to be sharing the stage with some of the greatest ICONS in rock music."
The dates on which Ax7 special guest with Maiden are as follows -
JUNE
Fri 27 ITA, Bologna Parco Nord Gods of Metal
Sun 29 BEL, Dessel Graspop
JULY
Tue 1 FRA, Paris Palais Omnisports de Bercy
We 2 FRA, Paris Palais Omnisports de Bercy
Sat 5 ENG, London Twickenham
We 16 SWE, Stockholm Stadium
Fri 18 FIN, Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Sat 19 FIN, Tampere Ratina Stadium
Tue 22 NOR, Trondheim Lerkendalstadium
Thu 24 NOR, Oslo Valle Hovin
Sat 26 SWE, Gothenburg Ullevi
Sun 27 DEN, Horsens Gods Bane Pladsen

Against Me! will playing 3 shows to benefit Harvest Of Hope - in between shows on the Foo Fighters tour.

Harvest Of Hope Benefit Show Dates:
January 15th in Gainesville, Florida at Common Grounds
January 18th at the 40 Watt in Athens, Georgia
January 24th in Little Rock, Arkansas at Juanita's

To learn more about Harvest Of Hope: http://www.harvestofhope.net

Check out Melee on the road in January:

January 17, Sacramento, CA, The Boardwalk
January 18, San Francisco, CA, Slims
January 19, Las Vegas, NV, Jillians Upstairs
January 20, Pomona, CA, The Glasshouse
January 22, Denver, CO, The Marquis Theater
January 23, Salt Lake City, UT, Kilby Court