Hey, by now you probably heard rocker Chris Daughtry of "American Idol" fame, and his band, will play the Warrner Theatre on Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Now we have ticket details. Cost will be $29.75, plus a $2 handling fee. They will go on sale Aug. 10 at Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 452-4857 or 456-7070, and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets for this figure to go pretty quickly, considering his "Idol" fame, and that he's racked up huge hits with "Home" and "It's Not Over." He also sports the year's top-selling CD.

You already know about Celebrate Erie's mainstage lineup with Bacon Brothers, Emerson Drive, 1964, Romantics, and Bennie & the Jets, a tribute act. I've been critical of that; and it still doesn't thrill me.
That said, CE has done a good job of incorporating local talent, both at the Taste of Erie stage and the Local Stage, which will feature top vote-getters for the RockErie Music Awards.

That means, throughout CelebrateErie, you can check out Pipeyard, Mas Nova, Super No. 7, Matty B and the Dirty Pickles, Pegasus Unicorn, Misery Bay, Waiting for Never, Eastave, Abbey Road, Next of Kin, Earthquakers, the Jungle, Spooner, and a whole bunch more. Never before has CE featured so much local talent, so the event truly lives up to its name by showcasing our best artists.

Taste of Erie stage will also include Mambo, Small Town Rollers, Gem City Jazz Ensemble, and Tri This.

Meanwhile, CE also secured Dave Matthews Band tribute band One Sweet World for a Sunday afternoon spot.

Check the Aug. 9 Showcase for the complete lineup, as well as previews of 1964 the Tribute and the Bacon Brothers.

Times have shifted a bit for Roar on the Shore's Aug. 11 concert at LIberty Park. Look for Man's Room Band at 4:30 p.m., followed by Rick and Roadhouse Rockers at 6:30 p.m., and Edgar Winter at 8:30 p.m.

Make sure you check out the Erie Art Museum's Blues & Jazz festival on Saturday and Sunday at Frontier Park. It's always a blast. I'm especially psyched for the 1-2 punch of Lil' Ed and the Imperals at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and then Junior Brown at 8 p.m. I spoke with Jake Banta of Jake's Blues -- who's playing 8 Great Tuesdays on Augl 14 -- and he raved about Junior's guitar playing. He's seen him before.

Tickets for Daughtry's Erie concert on Oct. 1 at the Warner Theater went on sale today. They are selling "very, very well," according to a well-placed civic center source. They'll likely be gone within a few days, so you better move fast if you hope to score one.

A local club owner is looking into booking the Zappa Plays Zappa show that we nearly had in July at the Warner. Slow advance sales scuttled that date. But the local owner noted that the show is playing Buffalo's Town Ballroom, a relatively intimate venue. If they can do it there, why not here -- especially since drummer Joe Travers is an Erie native and vaultmeister for the Zappa estate. He'd not only love to play his hometown, but especially play Zappa music.

Let's hope this works out.

Make sure you check Thursday's Showcase for the final schedule for the RockErie Music Awards stage. It's packed with local artists -- possibly more than have ever played CelebrateErie before.
The cool thing is you can check them out outside -- not in a stuffy, smoke-flled bar -- and get a feel for a wide range of bands. Maybe you'll discover a few new favorites and start following them. That's the general idea -- expose our wealth of musical talent.

Speaking of next week's Showcase, look for interviews with Trace Adkins and Lynryd Skynyrd, who are both playing the Crawford County Fair, as well as CelebrateErie-bound artists the Romantics and Emerson Drive.

Guess what showed up in the mail this week? An advance copy of Pat Monahan's first solo CD, "Last of Seven," that's what. WIth the weekend ahead, I plan on diving in. Look for first impressions in the next blog, though a full review must wait until September, when the CD is released.

Billboard magazine reports that Led Zeppelin is mulling over tour offers for 2008. Maybe Plant & Page noted how much money the Police are raking in. Imagine what a Zep reunion would do -- this one with Plant, Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham, son of the late, immensely great John Bonham.
Then again, Zep has fielded these offers before and turned them all down. Plus, Plant has his own CD coming out, with Alison Krauss of all people. My guess: This tour never happens.

What a jammed-up weekend. We've got "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" followed by Joseph Allen Popp's Weirdo Theater tonight at Art Museum annex, Kipp Elbaum's birthday bash at Beer Mug on Saturday, Killerinas plus Angry Wigs on Sunday at Trance, and the whole Roar on the Shore motorcycle rally Fri/Sat over at LIberty Park, with a stellar Edgar Winter/Rick and Roadhouse Rockers/Man's Room Band lineup on Saturday.

Then, on Tuesday, we get the return of Jake's Blues and the Jungle over at 8 Great Tuesdays. Don't overlook Guitar Zack who opens; he toured Europe with Steve Vai, and is just 20 years old.

See you somewhere.

Shore Fire Media announced Thursday that the first Bruce Springsteen and E Street studio CD in five years will appear on Oct. 2.
It's called "Magic." According to Jon Landau, Springsteen's manager, this one's very much a rock and roll CD, unlike his past two efforts -- "The Seeger Sessions" and subdued, folky "Devils & Dust." Clarence Clemons is reportedly featured pretty prominently.
"'Magic' is a high energy rock CD," Landua said, in the release. " It's light on its feet, incredibly well played by Bruce and the members of the E Street Band, and, as always, has plenty to say. It's also immensely entertaining."
Brendan O'Brien produced; he' also work on "The Rising." Of course, he's also worked extensively with Train.

A full-blown Springsteen & E Street Band tour is all but guaranteed; that'll likely start after the CD is released.

Looks like Erie will welcome back Trans-Siberian Orchestra for another year. TSO has become the most popular holiday tour in the world; last year's show sold out. This time, for the first time, we'll get TSO after Christmas. TSO lists a Jan. 3 date on its web site.

I don't think the late date will hurt; we're lucky TSO still includes Erie because it sells out larger venues in larger cities and can pretty much play wherever it wants. It's cool that TSO chooses to stay loyal to the audience it has cultivated here. That's not only how you win over fans but keep them.

No word yet on when tickets will go on sale.

If you haven't heard by now -- where've ya, been -- Cheektowaga? -- CelebrateErie starts tomorrow. Even if tribute bands or Bacon Brothers don't thrill you, get out and support your favorite local bands and restaurants.

Erie's two movie festivals are both planning to bring in special musical guests.
First up: The Great Lake Independent Film Festival will welcome Guns n' Roses keyboard player Dizzy Reed. He'll attend the event and also perform on Sept. 29 at the Roadhouse Theatre.

Reed joined GNR in 1990, in time to play on the band's monster "Use Your Illusion" albums. as well as the covers' album "The Spaghetti Incident?" He still tours when GNR hits the road, and will be featured on the long-delayed "Chinese Democracy" CD.

Show details are yet to be announced. The Great Lakes Film Festival will be held Sept. 27-30 at the Roadhouse.The film lineup is posted at www.greatlakesfilmfest.com.

Not to be outdone, the Eerie Horror Film Festival will welcome legendary horror-rock band the Misfits on Oct. 11 at the Cellblock. It'll be one of the first dates on the band's 30th anniversary tour. The band includes original members Jerry Only (bass), Robo (drums), plus Dez Cadena (guitar, formerly of Black Flag.) This ought to be a wild, crazy show: Misfits influenced scores of bands over the years, from Metallica to My Chemical Romance. George Romero directed the video of their song, "Scream."

Their Erie appearance will bring screams of joy from longtime fans. Look for ticket information soon.

Trance's end of summer bash on Sept. 2 has lost the Telefonics but gained the Angry Wigs, the band that plays music from "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Mas Nova, Letters to the Dead, Dirt McGurtt, Phantasm, Matty B and the Dirty Pickles, Spooner, Moving in Stereo, Killerinas, Bob Bearfield, and Jake Johns also play.
Acoustic acts will play first, likely outside on the Trance deck. Look for an outdoor cookout in the afternoon. Music will start at 1 p.m. and this will be an all ages show. Advance tickets are $5, available in the martini bar at Trance, 1607 Raspberry St., or online at www.myspace.com/masnova

Looks like Pat Monahan won't play Erie on the first leg of his solo tour; the itinerary was unveiled earlier this week. He will play Cleveland's House of Blues on Oct. 20, however.

"Last of Seven," Monahan's solo CD, is due out on Sept. 18. First impression: It's way more eclectic than Train, with gospel flourishes, intimate piano ballads, a little soul struttin', and some high-powered, up-tempo albeit slicker songs. Graham Nash helps turn "Cowboys & Indians" into a CSNY-sounding track. Richie Sambora plays guitar on "Someday," which could follow soaring first single "Her Eyes" -- a tribute to his current girlfriend -- up the charts. Brandi Carlisle and Monahan sound fantastic singing together on the pensive ballad "Pirate on the Run."

Look for a full-length review on the Pop Etc. page on Sept. 17.

After canceling her summer arena tour, Kelly Clarkson is downsizing by playing smaller venues, including one within driving distance.
Clarkson will perform Oct. 26 at the Seneca Events Center at Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Tickets, all priced at $45, go on sale today at noon at Ticketmaster.

Also, the Bob Dylan/Elvis Costello tour has expanded to include a Pittsburgh date on Oct. 11 -- a Thursday night. They'll play at the Petersen Events Center. Tickets go on sale Sept. 8.

And, in case you missed it, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will play two area shows. They'll be at Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena on Nov. 14; tickets go on sale Sept. 14. They'll play Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena on Nov. 4. Those tickets go on sale Sept. 15.