Iconic singer/songwriter Neil Young has announced that he will follow up his four-show stand at Carnegie Hall early next year with four more aimed at clamping down on oil pipelines and production in his native Canada.
Dubbed the “Honor The Treaties” concerts, Young says that the shows slated for Toronto (Jan. 12), Winnipeg (Jan. 16), Regina (Jan. 17) and Calgary (Jan. 19) will help to raise legal defense funds for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) in upholding Treaty 8—the last and largest land agreement between First Nations and the government of Canada aimed at protecting the people of the land from oil companies and others “obstructing their traditional lands and rights.”
Tix are onsale now at livenation.com and limited to four per person.
Shamu you: In other news, even the most casual observers of the SeaWorld Orlando website (http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando) may have noticed something decidedly fishy going on with the park’s planned Bands, Brews and BBQ series. It started with the snowballing losses of what would appear to be the most important “B” in the equation—bands cancelling one after another. It culminated with all dates and acts for said series summarily yanked from the website entirely.
While SeaWorld initially claimed that Willie Nelson’s performance was nixed due to “scheduling conflicts,” the 80-year-old crooner went on CNN the following day to set the record straight.
“I don’t agree with the way they treat their animals,” he explained, referring to the fact that—like many since its July, 2013 release—he had viewed some of the grisly footage in the controversial documentary Blackfish. “It wasn’t a hard deal for me.”
Canadian rockers Barenaked Ladies followed suit in a much more direct fashion.
“We watch movies too, ya know!” the band declared in a joint statement. “This is a complicated issue, and we don’t claim to understand all of it, but we don’t feel comfortable proceeding with the gig at this time.”
Next up, “Barracuda” creators Heart pulled the plug on their SeaWorld show, explaining to fans via their website, “The SeaWorld show was planned long ago. Had we known, we would have said ‘No’ then. We said No today. Love you all.”
And although Joan Jett was never even on the “Brew” bill as a performer, the veteran rocker has also now chimed in after learning that her anthemic “I Love Rock And Roll” is the official entrance song for the Shamu show.
“I’m among the millions who saw Blackfish and am sickened that my music was blasted without my permission at sound-sensitive marine mammals,” Jett wrote in a letter to SeaWorld President Jim Atchinson. “These intelligent and feeling creatures communicate by sonar and are driven crazy in the tiny tanks in which they are confined.”
Closer to home, singer/six-stringer Bill Kirchen rides into town Friday, Dec. 19 with his Honky Tonk Holiday Show—and new CD, Seeds and Stems—in tow. Best known for his work with Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Kirchen says his latest sonic labor of love could have just as easily been dubbed “Why I Love This Job,” as he got to “write and co-write most of the songs, sing ’em, play a whole mess of guitar and record with some of [his] favorite musicians on the planet.”
Tix are $15 in advance, $18 at the door for this 7 p.m. Iron Horse show. Rocky Roberts & Friends get the opening nod.
The following evening, Dec. 20, Signature Sounds and The River 93.9 present Joan Holliday’s Holiday Hootenanny, featuring the Sweetback Sisters, at Northampton’s Academy of Music. For tix, times and more info, kindly point your browser to academyofmusictheatre.com.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
