Working For The Weekend …

While our daily slav, er, journalists are out on their usual weekend benders, our weekend staffers want you to know they only get paid if you read the following items:

Mesopotamians On The Road – They Might Be Giants head out again with a bag full of their wacked out tunes.

Triumph Reunion Tops Sweden Rock Lineup – The Canadian power trio tops a lineup that includes Judas Priest, Def Leppard and Whitesnake.

Gettin’ Familar With Matt Costa – The So-Cal singer/songwriter hits the road behind his latest, Unfamilar Faces.

This Club Rocks! – Canadian post-punks Tokyo Police Club get ready for another banner year.

Next week’s HotStar is comedian Brian Regan

Here & There …

Is the album dead? Dot com billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says it is – Blog Maverick

Recording Academy circulating petition among members to urge Writers Guild to grant waiver for Grammy Awards – Associated Press

Rumors about EMI’s owners making a bid for U.K. label Chrysalis credited for sudden rise in the label’s stock – BBC News

The best gig in town? Professional musicians for “captive audiences” at Nashville International Airport – Associated Press

Jukeboxes keep on rockin’ in the 21st century – The Times Online

Getting up to speed on Queensryche – Wyoming Tribune-Eagle

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

Chris Rock takes his no-holds-barred comedy to Houston on March 29 and will visit Oakland for a two-night stand in April; Dream Theater tours South America in March; Melissa Ferrick adds shows in Florida cities Orlando and St. Augustine; Peter Mulvey plays Northampton, MA, February 24, Chicago, March 8 and Milwaukee on August 11 and “Second City Touring Company” beef up their 2008 calendar with new shows for NJ, PA, WI, NY, MD, OH, MO, IL, FL and TX.

During the day we also updated the schedules for Rush, Jonathan Richman, A Wilhelm Scream, Keith Urban, Bassnectar, T.G. Sheppard, The Aquabats, Seven Mary Three, Vince Neil, Michelle Shocked, Jason Mraz, Tokyo Police Club, The Cult, Eels, Jason Isbell, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Joan Baez, Taylor Dayne, Rihanna, The Subdudes, Ween plus more artists and bands than we can possibly recall, if only because our doctor changed our medication.

And we can hear those happy hour haggis & ale bargain prices at Groundskeeper Willie’s Bog & Tavern calling our name, so it must be quittin’ time at the ol’ Pollstar.com concert corral. Have a great weekend and we’ll look for your face looking at us come Monday. Happy trails!