Gavin DeGraw is currently on tour promoting his new album, Sweeter. I recently had the chance to talk to Gavin about the tour and his new album. He is stopping in Cleveland at PlayhouseSquare with David Cook on November 6th. Tickets are available at PlayhouseSquare.com

Candis: You're currently on tour with David Cook and we're happy that you are stopping in Cleveland on November 6th. How is the tour going so far?
Gavin:So far so good. Two weeks now and two more weeks to go. In November we'll start to do holiday promos and the tour will end. We'll still be out on the road doing end of the year events.

Candis:What is your least favorite thing about touring?
Gavin: Not being able to get off the bus. Get to see a lot of the world but you can't stop wehenver you like. We have a timeline to stick to . Can't just open the door of the bus or I would start rolling down the street.

The Head and The Heart
were back in Cleveland Sunday night playing a sold out show at The Beachland Ballroom. The Indie Folk band was in Cleveland this past summer opening for The Decemberists. I had heard how good they were as an opening band and was thrilled when I found out they would be back to the Beachland. The Devil Whale and Thao with The Get Down Stay Down opened the show on Sunday night. Both bands were impressive. It's not often you get to see three great bands in one night.

The show was sold out and there were no tickets available at the door. It's great to see a band that was formed in 2009 see such rapid success from their 2009 self-released album titled The Head and The Heart.

The band rolled through songs off of their debut album. Fans sang along to 'Down in the Valley', 'Couer d'Alene', 'Cats and Dogs' and one of my personal favorites 'Ghosts'. During the performance of 'Lost in My Mind' members of The Devil Whale and one lucky fan joined the band on stage. There were so many people having fun.

Fleet Foxes performed at Masonic Auditorium in Cleveland on Wednesday night. Surprising there were still tickets available at the door. The opening act for the night was The Walkmen. While watching The Walkmen I noticed that a few members of Fleet Foxes were also enjoying the show. They blended in with the crowd, walking around the general admission area and then sitting in some open seats next to the stage.

When Fleet Foxes took the stage a little after nine, the Auditorium was almost completely full. The folk rock band opened the show with "The Plains / Bitter Dancer" which is almost six minutes long. The band played a nineteen song set list that included an encore of four songs, "Helplessness Blues" being the last song played. Fans also enjoyed "White Winter Hymnal", "Montezuma", "Grown Ocean" and "Bedouin Dress". It's hard to pick a favorite moment from the show, I enjoyed every second.

It's always great when a band sounds better live than expected. Fleet Foxes is definitely a band that is meant to play live shows. They seemed so comfortable on stage and each song sounded incredible. Wish I could see them again tonight.

Sara Bareilles is currently on the road with Sugarland. Throughout this tour Bareilles is also headlining her own shows in-between the scheduled Sugarland dates. She'll be stopping at the House of Blues in Cleveland on August 9th, with opening act Raining Jane. Joshua Radin will also be supporting Bareilles in select cities.

"Little Voice", Sara's debut album is certified platinum. Her sophomore album, Kaleidoscope Heart was released on September 7, 2010 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200. "King of Anything" received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Recently I got to speak with Sara while she took a short break from her busy tour schedule.

CH: Is there a difference in opening up for another artist and headlining your own show?
SB: Yes, when opening for another artist it's like being in someone else's house and I want to be respectful. "I ditch the swear words, I swear like a trucker." I'll play more obscure songs and want to make sure the performance packs a punch.

It has been a whirlwind three years for the Canadian heavy metal band Anvil. The group, which released their first album in 1981, became irrelevant in the music world after early success in their career until a documentary entitled "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" was released and what they described as the best work of their career "This Is Thirteen" started getting exposure throughout the media.

I caught up with lead singer Steve "Lips" Kudlow on the phone this afternoon and, predictably, he says the bands' fortunes have changed drastically since the critically acclaimed documentary hit movie theaters in 2008. Lips adds that a whole new generation of fans have taken an interest in checking them out live and has even spotted senior citizens in the audience after they were moved by viewing the movie which sees the band hit rock bottom but manages to persevere because of unwavering persistency.

Chucklefck is quickly becoming one of the most reliable sources for quality comedy shows in the Greater Cleveland area. This July, they're bringing in another comedic heavyweight to perform at Reddstone.

Neal Brennan, one of the men who created the stoner cult classic HALF BAKED and one of (if not THE BEST) sketch shows ever, Chappelle's Show, is coming to town. He also directed THE GOODS, starring Jeremy Piven http://www.livehardsellhard.com/

In addition to creating comedy gold on the big and small screen, Brennan has become a fantastic stand up comedian since he delved into performing himself during the hey-day of Chappelle's Show. He's performed stand up on Lopez Tonight & Late Night w. Jimmy Fallon and headlines clubs all over the country.

Chucklefck is very glad to be bringing Neal Brennan to perform in the upstairs lounge at Reddstone for ONE NIGHT ONLY, Monday July 18!

A capacity crowd crammed into the tiny Metro Concert Club in Chicago to get a glimpse of the post-Oasis career of Liam Gallagher and his bandmates from the from the former British supergroup last Saturday. The debut of Beady Eye on this side of the Atlantic, who feature all the components of Oasis expect for chief songwriter Noel Gallagher, went off without a hitch and if you closed your eyes wouldn't even have known elder Gallagher wasn't on stage.

The younger Gallagher, who wore a union jacket parka that covered his entire body, was in fine form vocally and showed the same charisma that earned him the title as the best frontman of all time from Q Magazine two years ago for his work in Oasis. The band itself still sticks with the retro-rock sound of its former group borrowing heavily from the likes of The Beatles, The Who, and other British rock from the Mid-60's and early 70's.

Shaquille O'Neal, through his company Shaq Entertainment, today announced the launch the first All-Star Comedy Jam tour. "I played with many All-stars on the court and laughed with these All-stars off the court," said Shaq. "I'm happy to present this hand-picked lineup as the first Shaq All-Star tour."

The tour kicks off Friday, September 9th in Memphis as part of the Southern Heritage Classic and will play in more than 20 U.S. cities this fall. This is the first new venture following Shaq's retirement from the NBA and is produced in association with AEG Live. Tickets go on-sale Friday, June 17 at 10am at www.aeglive.com.

The tour brings many of the hilarious comedians presented at Shaq's All-star Comedy Jams shot during NBA All-star Weekends over the last three years. These highly rated television specials have aired annually since 2009 and a new full hour special for tour host, DeRay Davis, will premier Friday, July 1st. The lineup may also include All-Star comedians such as Aries Spears; Corey Holcomb; Tommy Davidson; Capone; Gary Owen and Tony Roberts.

The tour will also be filmed live for a reality show called All-Star Comedy Jam Backstage Pass. The filming of the show will be produced and distributed by Codeblack Entertainment.

Last night CAKE performed at the Masonic Auditorium in Cleveland. The sold out show was scheduled to start at 8 p.m. with no opening act. It was almost 8:30 when CAKE appeared on stage. Fans were still filing into the auditorium at this time. The band seemed concerned fans might not have known there was no opening act for the night. Lead vocalist, John McCrea announced to the crowd they were opening up for themselves.

I've lived in Cleveland my entire life and have never been to the Masonic Auditorium. It is an amazing venue for a concert. It has the atmosphere of a large theater similar to the State theater at Playhouse Square but more intimate. There was standing room on the floor for ticket holders who purchased those tickets and inclined theater seating for all other fans.

On May 17th, CAKE will be in Cleveland performing at the Masonic Auditorium. Most of the shows on this tour have sold out so be sure to get tickets early.

CAKE has been writing, producing and performing their own music for twenty years now. The band began making music in the early nineties. In 1996 they became popular after releasing "The Distance" off of the album, "Fashion Nugget. John McCrea, lead singer/vocalist and trumpeter Vince DiFiore are two of the four founding members still with the band.

Continuing to thrive in the music business CAKE released their sixth studio album on January 11, 2011 titled "Showroom of Compassion".

“We still exist,” explains McCrea, “because we’ve always stayed outside of current trends. We’ve watched them inflate and deflate. We’ve never been invited to the party, so we’ve never had to leave the party whether the police arrived or not. It’s a sad and beautiful world.”

Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com.

General Admission Floor Standing - $42.00
Reserved Mezzanine - $35.00
General Admission Balcony - $28.00

Photo Credit: Robert McKnight