News …

First-ever Pemberton Festival thrills Vancouver concert fans. – The Vancouver Sun / Canada.com

The self-destructive paradox that is Amy Winehouse. – The Times Online

Music critics embracing the mainstream. And you thought it was only your imagination. – Los Angeles Times (registration may be required)

College students get their revenge on publishers as text books appear on file-sharing networks – The New York Times (registration may be required)

Should artists’ significant others be seen but not heard? – The Guardian U.K.

Meat Loaf on Meat Loaf – “”Every time I thought about the prospect of not being able to sing, it would break my heart. I am not ashamed to say I cried my eyes out.” – The People U.K.

Views …

Kylie Minogue in London – “Serene and exalted, Kylie sailed through the first of seven nights at the O2 Arena with a firm, but slightly distanced poise.” – The Times Online U.K.

Vans Warped Tour in Uniondale, NY – “Over the years the Warped Tour has become a staging ground for discussions about punk inclusion. But given the range – or, perhaps, the lack of focus – of its current incarnation, what’s evident is that punk may well encompass whoever’s willing to show up and be counted.” – The New York Times (registration may be required)

Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band in Reno – ” … Friday’s concert-goers essentially got six mini rock shows for the price of one, the set list peppered with classic rock hits spanning from the late ’60s to the mid-’80s.” – Reno Gazette-Journal

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at Giants Stadium – “It was a freewheeling show that had no musical boundaries and the set list wasn’t set in stone; Springsteen was open to suggestions from fans who wrote requests on cardboard placards.” – New York Post

Judas Priest in Edmonton, Alberta – “Halford strode about the multi-level stage, looking suitably sinister and saying fittingly evil things.” – Edmonton Sun

Brooks & Dunn in West Palm Beach – ” … chose a set list that was pretty much what you’d hope for: Party songs like “Rock My World (Little Country Girl),” “You Can Take the Girl Out of the Honky Tonk,” “Hillbilly Deluxe.” – West Palm Beach Post

Kenny Chesney in Foxboro, Massachusetts – “Chesney and his ample band kept the well-marinated throng in a state of overstimulated frenzy.” – Boston Herald / The Edge

They Say It’s Their Birthday … (Or so says Associated Press)

Rick Wright (Pink Floyd) is 65

Jonathan Edwards is 62

Simon Kirke (Bad Company) is 59

Steve Morse (Deep Purple) is 54

Afroman is 34

Todd Anderson (Heartland) is 33

Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach) is 32