I was at Hell’s Kitchen recently when someone marveled at how I’d been at the News Tribune “forever” – since she was in middle school, actually. Which made me feel old, in case you’re wondering. But it has been 10 years and change. And over the last couple, I’ve sometimes wondered if I could hold this gig down for as long as former Seattle Times critic Pat MacDonald, a guy who sat next to me at concerts for years.

He started at the Times the year I was born (nope, not sayin’) and kept going till he retired just a few years back. Obviously, I love music, but could I see myself doing this for half as long? Could I see myself hauling my gear up and down that steep hill at Sasquatch festival or going anywhere near the mosh pit at Mayhem Fest when AARP eligible?
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After a long hiatus, System of a Down is back. The popular prog-metal band will launch its forthcoming U.S. tour on May 13 at KeyArena, Live Nation announced. Gogol Bordello will open. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday with prices ranging from $29.50 to $65. You’ll be able to find tickets here.

Josh Groban will bring his Straight to You Tour to Seattle’s KeyArena on Aug. 27, Live Nation announced today. Tickets to see the singer – “O Holy Night,” “Believe” and other operatic, adult contemporary hits – will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with most tickets going for $52 to $92. Find more info here.

Larry the Cable Guy will “get errrrrr done” at the Puyallup Fair this year. (OK, I know. “Get r’ done.” Total cliché at this point. “Lord, I apologize.” OK, that, too.)

The sleeveless, catch phrase spouting comedian – born Daniel Whitney – will headline the Puyallup Fair & Events Center at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 24, organizers announced. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday with prices ranging from $25 to $50.

Find more info on this year’s lineup, which also includes Chicago with Tacoma Sympony on Sept. 13, and Amy …

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Big Wheel Stunt Show will unleash their new album “Cheetah Milque” on Tacoma Saturday night with a CD release party at the New Frontier Lounge. We’ll have a related story on one of Tacoma’s most talented rock bands in Friday’s GO section.

But in the meantime I thought I’d share this interview from last week at the Frontier. And if you hit the “more” button you can also check out several performance videos I shot with my little Kodiak point-and-shoot last Saturday at Supernova downtown. These boys rock!

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Last fall, we reported that country superstar Taylor Swift had blocked out a September date in the Seattle-Tacoma market. The Tacoma Dome’s web site now says that Swift – known for “Tim McGraw,” “Tears on My Guitar” and other hits – will perform there at 7 p.m. on Sept. 7. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, with prices ranging from $25 to $69.50, and you’ll be able to find them here.

Paddy Moloney has spent the past five decades popularizing traditional Irish music around the world with The Chieftans, and tonight is his group’s first appearance in Olympia. The fun starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, and recently the Grammy Award winning artist checked in to let us know what to expect tonight.

Click here to listen.

Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks will bring their Heart & Soul tour to Seattle’s KeyArena on April 23, promoter AEG Worldwide announced today. Their tour will kick off in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on March 20. Stewart will be out in support of his hits collection “The Best of … The Great American Songbook” while Nicks will preview material from her forthcoming “In: Your Dreams” CD, which is due on May 3.

Tickets for the Seattle show will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Feb. 28 with prices ranging from $92 …

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So I’m not sure exactly who Lyon Pride Music had playing at Jazzbones Sunday night when Long Beach Rehab headlined. That is, it was, indeed, a band called Long Beach Rehab. But the group was billed as a celebrity tribute act featuring Bad Brains singer H.R. and Q-Ball from LBC Sublime. Through word of mouth, that somehow turned into the actual Eric “Q-Ball” Wilson from Sublime.

I can tell you for sure that H.R. was nowhere to be seen at the Boneyard, unless he was secretly hiding out in the kitchen. I believe …

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Backstage Bar & Grill will have its grand opening on Friday, manager Joy Hutt tells us. The new, 6,800-square-foot rock club has been under construction at 6409 Sixth Ave., the space formerly occupied by Game On Sports Grille.

Hutt has described the aesthetic as Hard Rock Café meets “Coyote Ugly,” with live music, girls in chaps dancing girls and rock memorabilia décor. Among the venue’s first big shows is a March 1 date with Lynch Mob, the band formed by Dokken guitarist George Lynch.