Morningwood, Jet pump new life into Ribfest (all of you dino rock fans need to get a grip)

 

I'm getting some nasty email for this review, but no matter: Morningwood and JET killed at Ribfest, which was desperate for a hip musical makeover. PORKTACULAR, I SAY! 

Chantal Claret snapshot by Times photog Melissa Lyttle

Questions for David Cook?

 

American Idol champ David Cook is coming to St. Pete's illustrious Mahaffey Theater on Nov. 27. (TICKETS) I'll be there with a swollen post-Thanksgiving belly, trying to make pretty word magic. But before all that, I get to chat with Cook this Thursday. I've already been berated by coworkers hoping to get close to the 26-year-old singer, who is admittedly one cool dude under pressure. If you're also a fan, let's hear it:

QUESTIONS FOR DAVID COOK?
 

'Fearless' picks for tonight's CMA Awards

 

If Taylor Swift doesn't win Entertainer of the Year at tonight's CMAs (ABC, 8 p.m.), I'll streak the Dallas Bull. AVERT YOUR EYES!

Whither Eddie Money? Morningwood, Jet kick off Friday's Ribfest bacchanal in St. Pete

Morningwood |MTV Music

For years, the annual Ribfest pork orgy at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg has been soundtracked by a cavalcade of '70s and '80s acts. Think Eddie Money, Night Ranger, Asia, Pat Benatar. But lookee here, boys and girls: This year's beeftacular will be kicked off by the sexed-up art-pop of Morningwood (up there is the video for new song Sugarbaby) and the cocksure Aussie brigade of neo-Stonesian rockers JET. How cool is that?! Don't worry: George Thorogood and Blue Oyster Cult will be there Saturday. And everybody will get their country fix on Sunday with the Zac Brown Band and my pal Suite Caroline . But I'll be there Friday to cheer on the changes. Here's the full Ribfest schedule.

What do Celine Dion, Babs Streisand and the Tubes' terrifying Fee Waybill have in common?

They all help pay off David Foster's three ex-wives. How do I know this? Because while you were out gallavanting Friday, having the time of your young, fruitful lives, I was working.

The Stephen King Playlist

 

After four weeks of counting down the grisliest, ghouliest Halloween hits, I was ready to move on to a brighter, happier playlist. The Baby Feet Playlist, perhaps. Or maybe the Puffy Unicorn Stickers Playlist. But then I received the most awesome PR email in the history of PR emails. On Nov. 16, in a rare public appearance, Stephen King will speak at Sarasota’s Van Wezel Hall. You can go to http://www.vanwezel.org for tickets, and read all about it in the Critics Circle blog. But make sure to save a ticket for me. Along with Mark Twain and John Irving, King is my preferred man of letters, a populist with vampire fangs. It shouldn’t have taken late-career endorsements by The New Yorker and lit critics to confirm his standing, but the more the merrier, I guess. I always tell new King readers to start with Misery and Night Shift; save The Stand for the long, hot summer of your 16th year. Anyway, let’s celebrate the arrival of the macabre master, whose new novel, Under the Dome, will be published on Nov. 10. I used the Ramones’ Pet Sematary for our Halloween rundown, but here are 10 other cuts nodding to King novels. See ya in Sarasota, Constant Readers.

Christine Sixteen, Kiss
Talisman, the Guess Who
Miss Misery, Elliott Smith
Firestarter, the Prodigy
Tower of Song, Leonard Cohen
Carrie, Europe
Desperation Samba, Jimmy Buffett
Stand, R.E.M.
From a Buick 6, Bob Dylan
The Shining, Badly Drawn Boy

Review: Kiss at the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Oct. 21, 2009

 

Behold, the unfurled Loch Nessian tongue of Gene Simmons! If you want more, come lick it up RIGHT HERE. There's also a kickass photo gallery RIGHT HERE.

Photo by calm, cool, collected Times star Dirk Shadd

Taylor Swift to play St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa on March 4, 2010

 

Taylor Swift -- the sly Nashville siren who has the uncanny ability to make smart men do dumbass things (see West, Kanye and Schnitt, Todd "MJ") -- is bringing her superpowers to Tampa's St. Pete Times Forum on March 4, 2010. She'll be joined by BFF Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. Tickets go on sale Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. Go to ticketmaster.com for more info. In related Swift news, she'll host Saturday Night Live on Nov. 7. I'll bet you a fat wad of cash they get Kanye to appear, too. Oh, the hijinks that will ensue...

Hate Mail (sealed with a KISS)

 

Today's letter comes from a gentleman in Odessa, Fla. He wasn't a big fan of my interview with KISS. (READ) Oh well. At the very least, I really could use some divine mercy.

Mr. Daly:

It is shameful how music columnists such as yourself either naively or corruptly endorse the tired old act of knights in satan's service band.  It is hard to gauge the amount of corrupted children and adults left in the wake of these demons, and apparently, you are included. 

Yes, evil has been a force in many media outlets for many years, it is just so much easier in the form of dark rock and roll, which this vulgar group viciously displays.  How sad that you must promote this profane garbage to the readers of this paper.

May God have mercy on your soul.

Photo: Getty Images

David Cook coming to Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Nov. 27

THIS JUST IN! American Idol champ David Cook will play the lush Mahaffey Theater in downtown St. Petersburg on Nov. 27. Tickets go on sale Oct. 24 at noon. GO HERE.

This is a GREAT get for the Mahaffey and for the town, which needed good concert news after the temporary shuttering of Jannus Landing and a slow trickling of big names into the 'burg.