Here & There …

Paul McCartney denies media reports claiming he had heart surgery – Associated Press

Huh? Neil Diamond playing Glastonbury??? So says London’s Times – The Times Online

Power failure gives blues festival promoters the blues – Detroit Free Press

You’ve heard of blues cruises and jam band cruises? How about dance cruises? – The Dallas Morning News

Q&A with matchbox twenty’s Rob Thomas – Cleveland Plain Dealer

Swallowed fishbone causes star opera tenor to cancel performances – Associated Press

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

This time the new dates for Eels are in the U.S and Canada. Late March and April is the timeframe for shows in Philalelphia, Washington, DC, NYC, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, Boulder, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Smashing Pumpkins add New Zealand dates. Today’s update for Billy Corgan and company include March 20 in Wellington, 22 in Auckland and 24 in Christchurch.

Tristan Prettyman adds dates on both coasts as she plans Seattle for March 25 and Jacksonville, FL, for April 18. Other new show listings include Nashville on April 15 and Decatur, GA, on April 20.

And we have new Blue Oyster Cult dates for you today. Like April 26 in Laughlin, NV, August 1 in Aurora, IL, and September 1 in Indianapolis, IN.

During the past couple of hours we also updated the schedules for Bob Schneider, Blood Sweat & Tears w/ Chuck Negron, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, B-Side Players, Dan Whitaker & The Shinebenders, Doug MacLeod, Matt Scannell (Of Vertical Horizon), Sammy Kershaw, Tea Leaf Green, Wolf Eyes and This Is Hell.

But that’s only the first half of our day! New show dates are arriving at the Pollstar campus via e-mail, snail mail, truck, train, messenger, hovercraft, telegraph, telephone and telepath. Check out the latest concert info in Your Latest Update, scheduled for around 3 pm (PST), from Pollstar.com.

This Day In Music History … (from Associated Press)

In 1969, Iron Butterfly refused to perform at a concert in New York after being upstaged by the opening act, Led Zeppelin.

In 1978, saxophonist Greg Herbert of Blood Sweat & Tears died of an accidental drug overdose in Amsterdam during the band’s European tour. He was 30.

In 1985, Barbara Cowsill, mother of the group The Cowsills, died in Arizona.

In 1989, Playboy hit newsstands with nude photos of La Toya Jackson.

In 1993, Michael Jackson and 35-hundred children performed during halftime at the Super Bowl. He sang a variety of his hits, including “Heal The World.” The game began with country star Garth Brooks singing the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Actress Marlee Matlin rendered the song in sign language.