NEWS
People: Van Halen postpones concerts to avoid burnout
By Ann Tatko-Peterson
Contra Costa Timesmercurynews.com
Van Halen is burned out, but no need for immediate alarm. The band has enough energy left for 13 more shows.
Then, that’s it.
At least for now.
Van Halen announced it will postpone 31 tour dates after the June 26 concert in New Orleans. The Bay Area stops — June 3 at Oakland’s Oracle Arena and June 5 at San Jose’s HP Pavilion — are safe. August shows in Sacramento and Fresno are not.Sources told TMZ that band members felt the scheduled tour was “too much, too fast.” They thought they were “losing their focus.”
Wait, it gets better.
A source says the band needs time to “recharge their engines.” Apparently, rockers can’t spend 18 months writing and recording an album (“A Different Kind of Truth”), filming a video (“Tattoo”) and performing a concert schedule of their choosing without needing a battery reboot.
Then again, it’s not all about fatigue.
“They want to make sure their concerts are not a routine,” another source says. “They want every performance to be special.”
Boy, those sources sure are busy trying to diffuse pesky rumors that circulated earlier Friday about Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth feuding (again!).
“The band is arguing like mad,” a source told Rolling Stone. “They are fighting.”
You’ll have to forgive folks for buying into those rumors. It’s not exactly as if Van Halen has a pristine track record.
A falling out with guitarist Eddie Van Halen prompted Roth to
leave in 1985. Throughout his career, Eddie Van Halen has battled alcoholism and cancer. During a 2007-2008 tour, several concerts were postponed because Eddie Van Halen was reportedly ill.
Original Article: http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_20657816/people-van-halen-postpones-concerts-avoid-burnout
Queen Movie Due To Start Filming
The forthcoming Freddie Mercury biopic is due to start filming shortly following the completion of the script.
Brian May revealed the news via Queen Online:
“Work is now fully under way for the much-vaunted feature film on the life of Freddie. Peter Morgan has delivered a first draft of the movie, which everyone is very excited about, and Sacha Baron Cohen is chomping at the bit to get into the role, in a way which certainly would delight Freddie!
“The whole team now working on preparing for a shoot later this year, and a release in the late Autumn of 2012. We are also laying the foundations for WWRY THE MOVIE, and again, we already have a great script for it from Ben.”
In terms of other Queen news, it seems that 2011 will be a busy one for May and Roger Taylor.
“Roger and I will be working together on new WWRY theatre projects, too, beginning with the imminent launch of the show in Norway next month. And we have a couple of interesting new buns in the studio oven, about which more soon. I will be doing some selected UK dates bringing ‘Anthems’ to life with Kerry Ellis in concert halls, including the Albert Hall in May. But Roger and I keep an ever-open door for ideas for Queen, the band, which, somehow, refuses to lie down!”
