On June 6th, as Bo Diddley was laid to rest and sent off with a full gospel band playing his hit “Hey”, Rolling Stones woodpecker-esq guitarist Ronnie Wood paid tribute to him, saying that everybody in the industry wanted to play like Bo.

“He’d lay down a monstrous locomotive beat; someone said it was like the devil moving furniture - and it would become the core ingredient of the song. Combine all that with Bo’s knowledge of the Deep South and Chicago blues and it’s clear why we all wanted to play like him.”

Ronnie considers himself to have been a dear friend of the late, great Bo. I wonder if Mr. Diddley (that sounds so silly, doesn’t it?) knew how many musicians he had influenced along the way. Astounding, isn’t it?

Source, Photo: PR Photos

Rumors are that Paul McCartney will perform in Israel on September 18th or September 25th. The venue will either be the HaYarkoon Park in Tel Aviv or the Ramat Gan Stadium.

If McCartney plays in Israel this year, it would be 43 years after the Israeli government banned the Beatles from playing in the Holy Land.

Israel has many Beatles fans! You can’t even listen to the radio over there without constantly hearing Beatles songs. It would be cool if he actually goes there!

Photo Source: PR Photos

Poor Ronnie! The musical woodpecker look-alike put one of his paintings up for grabs on ebay but withdrew the offer after it failed to fetch even half the asking price! Talk about Ouchie! The fine piece of art featured Ronnie in all his rock and roll glory alongside another woodpecker of sorts, Rod Stewart. The reserve price was only $2,600, which for something like this really doesn’t seem that outrageous to me. If only I had some spare cash laying around I might have thrown in my bid. I’ve seen his paintings and they are stunning. Keep trying Ronnie, there’s somebody out there with alot of cash and alot of good taste!

Source, Photo: PR Photos

Joseph-Beth Booksellers is hosting a signing with Sir Paul McCartney’s brother, Mike McCartney on Friday, June 27th 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Mike will discuss and sign copies of his book that features his unique perspective on Liverpool life as part of his visit to celebrate the opening of his photography exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

Copies of several other McCartney books, (adult and children’s titles) will also be available in limited quantity for the avid collector.

How cool - I wish I could go to this - I’d love to see his photography exhibit!

Source, Photo Source

The loudest applause at the wedding this past weekend of Ronnie Wood’s daughter was not for the bride and groom. Oh no, that honor went to none other than the father of the bride himself, Ronnie, and his bandmate, the ever-so-fashionable Keith Richards. While daddy Ronnie wore the traditional tuxedo, Keith made the scene in his usual pirate attire, much to the crowd’s (who was waiting to catch a glimpse of anybody having anything to do with the Stones), delight.  Those gathered cheered wildly as both Keith and Ronnie arrived for the event. I myself would have loved to see Keith “dressed up”, whatever his version of dressed up is. I love that guy!

Source, Photo Credit: PR Photos

Alright, ok…one more post about witch face and I promise I’m done for today. She’s got a new boyfriend, can you believe that? Apparently she met this dude while vacationing in Tenerife with Beatrice (poor baby). His name is Jamie and he sounds like a real “keeper”. According to him…

“I’m under strict instructions not to talk about this. But I guess you already know it all then. Just be nice about me.”

I think he sees dollar signs and big boobs in his future. Oh yeah, dig this…the ex-Mrs. McCartney is going around telling people that his body is so much fitter than Paul’s. What an ass, eh? With each passing day I am more and more disgusted by this creature.

Source, Photo: PR Photos

What the hell is wrong with Donald Trump? (besides the obvious, that is) The man with the golden hair is reportedly after the woman with the ugly face to appear on his dumb ass reality show “Celebrity Apprentice” but “it” only wants to make a “guest appearance” (gag me). A source for the show sez…

“Donald (Trump) really likes her, so he was into the idea. But I don’t think she wants to do the show full time, so she may just appear as a surprise guest on an episode to run one of the tasks. She’s figuring it all out.”

Would somebody pleases tell me what the hell this creepy lady has to offer? She is just plain nasty and I really don’t think anybody cares to see her or hear what she has to say. F*uck off already Heather!

Source, Photo Credit: PR Photos

Last night, four of the Blog Meanies traveled to Darien Lake Performing Arts Center outside of Buffalo, NY to see Tom Petty and the Heatbreakers in concert. To say that the band blew us completely away is an understatement. Although the concert venue left alot to be desired, and the concert stopped twice because of a rainstorm, the fans were obviously enjoying every minute of this amazing show. The guys opened with “You Wreck Me”, followed by “Listen to Her Heart”. Each song got better and better and better, if that were possible. Petty’s voice was in top form, his guitar playing was stunning (same goes for guitarist Michael Campbell…unbelievable!), and his between song banter, although kept to a minimum and barely understandable at times because of the interference from the storm, was fun and upbeat. He and the band were loving every minute of it. Now, about that storm…during the sixth song of the concert, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, lightning, thunder, and rain blew in and cut out the power. Of course, everyone was stunned into silence, but the concert resumed in less than a minute only to have the same thing happen later on during “Saving Grace”. Tom reassured us that if it happened again, they would stop everything for several minutes, plug into the generator system, and carry on. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, and the rest of the concert went on without a hitch. Some of the other highlights were ” End of the Line”, “Runnin’ Down a Dream”, “Breakdown”, and my personal favorite “American Girl”. Two hours of superb music by the legendary Tom Petty and his band made for an unforgettable night, and I, for one, hope he keeps on rocking for a long, long, time to come.

Last night, Ringo Starr was supposed to play at Bethel Woods in upstate New York. We made the over 3 hours trip there to find out that the show got canceled. They sent out emails at 2:32 PM the day of the show, notifying us that the show was canceled:

(June, 21, 2008) BETHEL, NY – Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band have been forced to cancel tonight’s concert at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, due to a transportation and equipment breakdown at the United States border. The performance will not be rescheduled.

Tickets purchased online or by phone will be refunded automatically. Ticket holders who purchased through a Ticketmaster retail location or the Bethel Woods Box Office must request refund by returning the ticket to the point of purchase in person.

Bethel Woods, the concert promoter Live Nation and Ringo Starr apologize to ticketholders for the inconvenience.

I only checked my emails once we arrived to Bethel Woods and we saw the sign that the show got canceled.

If the reason is like they say, transportation and equipment, don’t you think that they knew about it earlier in the day? After all, they probably tried to cross the border with the equipment earlier to set up everything at Bethel Woods. Which is over 5 hours away from Niagara Falls.

Then, the people at the venue told us that 2 of the guys in the band (Colin Hay and another guy) didn’t have the right documents to cross the border. If that was the case, would they be able to cross the border for tonight’s show? Getting a visa takes time!

Another possibility is that the event didn’t sell that well and they decided it is better just to cancel it. Which also explains why it is not going to be rescheduled.

Few hours later, at 5:57 PM, I received another email:

Hello, this is Ticketmaster Customer Service with an important alert for your upcoming event. RINGO STARR AND HIS ALL STARR BAND, scheduled at BETHEL WOODS CENTER FOR ARTS on SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 2008, at 8:00 PM, has been cancelled.

Your credit card will automatically be credited the ticket price and convenience charges, and should post to your account within 7 to 10 business days. Please note, the $3.00 per order processing fee and any ticketFast or UPS delivery charges are non-refundable.

If you have any questions, please contact us online at:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/h/asktm.html

Thank you for using Ticketmaster. We appreciate your business!

Why do I need to pay the TicketMonster Fees? I think that whoever made the mistake and didn’t get the right documents for the equipment, or whoever didn’t make sure the band members have visas should pay for that.

What a let down it is! I was really looking forward seeing Ringo at Bethel Woods.

Thursday and Friday nights were the first two nights of Ringo’s new All Starr Band tour, premiering in Niagara Falls, Ontario. This Blog Meanie was lucky enough to be in the Friday night show there, and I have to say it was a fab show! The band this time around consists of Colin Hay, Billy Squier, Hamish Stuart, Edgar Winter, Gary Wright and Gregg Bissonette on drums. Ringo and the guys played for over 2 hours, and from start to finish it was just fantastic! Beatles songs were played (Boys, What Goes On, I Wanna Be Your Man), Edgar Winter did his thing with Frankenstein and Free Ride, Colin Hay’s Who Can It Be Now and Down Under, Billy Squier completely ROCKED the joint with The Stroke and Lonely Is The Night, Hamish Stuart performed Pick Up The Pieces from his AWB days and Gary Wright was amazing doing Dream Weaver and Love Is Alive. Even though the crowd was a little too subdued and Billy Squier did have to encourage everyone to join in the fun, this Meanie did her thing and rocked and danced till the last note was played. Ringo even flashed me a peace sign when I yelled out “Ringo” between songs! Tonight the show moves on to Bethel, New York (the scene of Woodstock) and then onto Radio City Music Hall and various other cities throughout the USA. If you don’t have tickets yet, I hope reading about the show moves you to want to experience it for yourself. You will not be disappointed!

I love you Ringo!