Sorry it's taken awhile to post; technical snafus knocked out all blogging at Times Publishing Company for most of last week.
Now that we're back up, we have lots of news to pass along.
First, the Music as a Weapon tour with Disturbed, Killswitch Engage, Lacuna Coil, and Chimaira will play Erie's Tullio Arena on April 20.
This is more than a concert, though. The tour also features tattoo artists, video games, and extreme sports demonstrations as well. It'll be an all-day event, with doors opening at 2 p.m.
No ticket price has been announced yet but according to the Music as a Weapon web site, they will go on sale on Feb. 14.
For more details, visit musicasaweapon4.com.

Pollstar lists Brad Paisley as a headliner at the Crawford County Fair on Aug. 27; the fair itself has yet to confirm that. Pollstar also lists Ashton Shepard for the Erie County Fair in Wattsburg next September, which would be highly cool. She's fantastic. She opened in Erie last year for Sugarland.

You had to love Springssteen and the E Street Band's spirited, infectious performance at the Super Bowl on Sunday. The Boss made the most of his 12 minutes, squeezing out four songs: three classics, and a gpspel-infused "Workin' on a Dream," the title track of his just-released CD.
The performance should pump up his upcoming U.S. tour, as well. You got a feel for the celebratory, communal/revival feel that courses through their concerts.. Springsteen's voice isn't what it used to be but his passion still burns. He generously shared the spotlight, too, with Clarence Clemons and Little Stevie.

Here's good news for music fans who bought anything on I.R.S. Records back in the late 1970s and 1980s. The label was one of the mightiest for new wave and post-punk bands but its catalogue has been largely unavailable since it folded.
Now Capitol/EMI has obtained the rights to put many of those out-of-print titles online starting Feb. 10. The campaign includes albums as well as select tracks from such artists as the Fleshtones, Wall of Voodoo,Dada, Lords of the New Church, Concrete Blonde, the Bears, Oingo Boingo, Belinda Carlisle, Timbuk 3, Three O'Clock, Hunters & Collectors, the DBs, Gary Numan, Beat Rodeo, Let's Active, Reckless Sleepers, and Tom Verlaine, among others.
New titles will roll out each week through March 17 on major digital service providers. They will be DRM-free, as well.