Work is underway on replacing the staging and rigging system at Grant County’s Gorge Amphitheatre, parent company Live Nation announced today.

“The old stage has been a recognizable part of the unique backdrop at the Gorge for many years,” read a statement in today’s announcement from Danny Wilde, Senior Vice President for Live Nation Venues in the Pacific Northwest. “But the needs of the modern touring production have outgrown the old guy, so it is time to replace it with a new system that will ensure Live Nation is able to continue to bring the biggest and the best …

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Just got off the phone with rapper-actor Ludacris, who will open for the Black Eyed Peas when they headline the Tacoma Dome on April 10. And among the thing he said he’d be doing after the tour winds down in April is starring in “The Fast and the Furious 5,” presumably reprising his role as street race organizer Tej. “I just got the call,” he told me.

Meanwhile, Luda – born Chris Bridges – remains focused on the music, with the BEP tour and his new “Battle of the Sexes” set to drop …

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Broadway Center is surveying patrons regarding what sorts of acts should be booked for their 2010-11 season. Among the musical acts they’re apparently considering: Dashboard Confessional, Ozomatli, Nanci Griffith Los Lonely Boys, Dwight Yoakum, the Ralph Stanley, Blind Boys of Alabama, Taj Mahal and Roseanne Cash.

Oh, and did I mention comedians John Cleese and Margaret Cho? Sweet! You can add your two cents here.

“The Long Road Out of Eden” winds through Seattle. Classic rockers, the Eagles, will headline KeyArena on May 13, promoter Live Nation announced.

Advance tickets for the Seattle stop will be available to American Express Cardmembers from 10 a.m. Monday (Feb. 22) through Feb. 28. They will go on sale to the general public beginning at 10 a.m. on March 1. VIP package info is available here. Prices have not yet been announced.

The Eagles – best known for “Hotel California,” “Seven Bridges Road” and other smash hits – will kick off their tour …

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Some weird YouTube stream of consciousness took me to this, and I had to post.

Ha! Old Gary Numan footage is brilliant!

Pavement, Public Enemy, Massive Attack, My Morning Jacket, Ween, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Kid Cudi, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Band of Horses and more are parts of the lineup announced at a launch party last night for the Gorge Amphitheatre’s Sasquatch! Festival, which is scheduled for May 29 to 31 at the Gorge Amphitheatre near Quincy.

Tickets are $70 per day beginning 10 a.m. Saturday (Feb. 20), $80 after May 24 and $86 the day of show, and they’ll be available through Ticketmaster or the festival site.

Check out all of the bands that have been …

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Today, organizers released the lineup for the third annual Gray Sky Blues Music Festival, which will take place after at the Harmon Brewery, the Swiss Tavern, Cutter’s Point Coffee, Indochine Asian Restaurant, Urban xChange and Stonegate Pizza after the Grand Floral Daffodil Parade on April 10.

This year’s headliner will be 2007 International Blue Challenge winner Sean Carney from Columbus, Ohio.

Gray Sky Blues Music Festival
2010 lineup

The Swiss Pub
$10 cover charge starts at 3:30 PM ($8 for blues society/association members)

The Blues Mongols (1p.m.)
The Chester Dennis Jones Band (2:30 p.m)

…

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And I give you local classic trio Big Wheel Stunt Show, the artists formerly known as Big Wheel Stunt Squad. I shot these clips over the weekend at the New Frontier Lounge. And is is just me, or is that Evan Nagle guy pretty sick on guitar? Click and judge for yourself.

Oh, and did I mention they’ll be at the Cake Room in Tacoma Friday night?

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He’s “the poet laureate of soul,” creator of the “Quiet Storm” – not to mention one of the most accomplished hit makers of the last half century. Who better to get Tacoma couples in a Valentine’s state of mind than William “Smokey” Robinson?

The Motown legend headlined a joyful two-hour set at the Emerald Queen Casino tonight, and in the process demonstrated to a packed house that his voice is still silky after all these years. And a few days shy of 70, Robinson still has a few gyrations left in those creaky, ol’ hips. He …

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This footage sat unedited on my hard drive longer than planned. But maybe I was just saving it as a Valentine’s Day gift to all you Alice fans out there. Enjoy!

P.S. In a related matter, the band announced details for a “Your Decision” comic contest this weekend, details here.