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Welcome to the Family Arena  |
| May 14, 2008 |
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| Family Arena Welcomes Kenny Loggins |
Sunday, August 17
Prices: $69 (Gold Circle)
$52 (Floor & 100 Level Sidelines)
$46 (200 Level Sidelines)
$36 (100 & 200 Level End Zone)
Tickets On Sale Thursday, May 8 @ 10am
There are certain welcoming voices in popular music that can be identified as soon as a song starts – they’re immediately familiar musical touchstones, inextricably part of our collective pop culture soundtrack. Singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins possesses such a voice, and for over three decades it’s been inviting listeners in to experience music that reaches the heart and the senses with disarming candor, authentic emotion and rich lyrical and melodic resonance. From Loggins & Messina classics like “Danny’s Song” to signature solo tracks including “Celebrate Me Home” and the GRAMMY®-winning “This Is It,” Kenny Loggins’ expansive body of work speaks volumes with its warmth and directness.
In a creative journey that’s encompassed over three decades of hit singles and more than twelve albums exceeding platinum status, one of the earliest highlights in Loggins’ career – besides a stint as guitarist for psychedelic rockers the Electric Prunes – was a publishing deal that placed four of his songs on a 1970 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band LP including the Billboard-charting “House At Pooh Corner.” In commenting on the now-classic song in his liner notes for the 2002 compilation The Essential Kenny Loggins, Rolling Stone editor David Wild noted, “Right there, at the start of his impressive life in music, Loggins managed to write a song about childhood that somehow continues to speak to us at any age.” The timeless track became a hit for Loggins himself when it landed on Loggins & Messina’s 1972 debut LP Sittin’ In, which also introduced “Danny’s Song;” both tunes remain cornerstones of the Kenny Loggins songbook.
Other solo highlights include 1982’s High Adventure, boasting two major hits, “Don’t Fight It” (a duet with Steve Perry) and “Heart To Heart.” 1991’s Leap Of Faith begat “Conviction Of The Heart,” a masterpiece that Loggins performed with a 25-voice choir and 6-piece percussion ensemble at the 1993 Earth Day concert at the Hollywood Bowl, a star-studded event also featuring Paul McCartney. Al Gore has called the song “the unofficial anthem of the environmental movement.”
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Kenny Loggins also reigned as one of the most successful movie theme song composers of his era, with massive hits including “I'm Alright” (Caddyshack), “Danger Zone” (Top Gun), “Nobody's Fool” (Caddyshack II) and the Oscar-nominated “Footloose” (Footloose) and “For The First Time” (One Fine Day). Parallel to that, Loggins continued to release expressive, thought-provoking albums including, in addition to those already mentioned, Vox Humana, Back to Avalon, The Unimaginable Life and It’s
About Time. December, a Christmas album, has become a contemporary holiday classic, and two beloved albums for children of all ages, Return To Pooh Corner and More Songs From Pooh Corner, are universally appealing, described – knowingly – by Loggins, a father of five, simply as, “music to make and enjoy children by.”
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| Weird Al Yankovic Comes To The Family Arena |
Friday, August 8
$48.75 (Gold Circle)
$38.75 (Floor)
$31.25 (100 Level)
$23.75 (200 Level)
Tickets On Sale Friday, May 9 @ 10am
“Weird Al” Yankovic, the undisputed king of pop culture parody, has sold more comedy recordings than any other artist in history. In a career spanning nearly three decades, he has amassed 28 Gold and Platinum albums, 7 Gold and Platinum-certified home videos and 3 Grammy Awards (with 9 nominations).
Yankovic’s 12th studio album Straight Outta Lynwood (Way Moby/Volcano) is a DualDisc release brimming with special features. The DVD side contains six brand new Weird Al music videos produced by some of the world’s top animators, including Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Bill Plympton, “Ren & Stimpy” creator John Kricfalusi, acclaimed media artist Jim Blashfield, the creative team behind Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim show “Robot Chicken” and popular Internet animators Thomas Lee and David C. Lovelace. The package also features a 9-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, as well as PCM Stereo, 5.1 Surround Sound and karaoke/instrumental versions of the entire album.
Straight Outta Lynwood debuted at #10 on the Billboard charts, making it Al’s highest charting album to date.
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| Boston And Styx |
$78 (Gold Circle), $55, $47 and $38
Tickets On-Sale NOW
The legendary bands BOSTON and STYX return to the St. Louis area Friday, July 25.
BOSTON
BOSTON will be bringing two new recruits on tour this year. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Michael Sweet, veteran Stryper frontman will both sing and trade riffs with Gary and Tom on guitar. Unexpected phenomenon Tommy DeCarlo, the fan that posted his BOSTON covers on his myspace.com page and ended up on stage, will also be belting out the classics that skyrocketed the band to worldwide fame.
Many remember where they were when they first heard “More Than a Feeling” or “Hitch a Ride” on the airwaves back in 1976. BOSTON’s self-titled first album has sold over 17 million copies to date, and was the highest selling debut of all time. It remains a rock classic, and has seen a resurgence in sales after it was remastered by Scholz, along with their second album, “Don’t Look Back,” in 2006. “Amanda,” off 1986’s Third Stage, shot to the top of the charts and held a record-breaking stay at #1, in spite of being the only hit single that year not accompanied by a TV video.
With over 30 million albums sold worldwide, hits like “Peace of Mind,” “Smokin',” and “Rock and Roll Band” are still as ubiquitous on rock and roll radio as they were when they were new. Coinciding with the summer tour is a fully re- mastered Greatest Hits CD (Sony Legacy.) Lead-off singles from all five BOSTON albums will be included, as well as new photos from throughout the years and liner notes written by Tom Scholz.
BOSTON will be performing many of their classics, including some fan favorites that have not been on the set lists for many years.
STYX
Spawned from a suburban Chicago basement in the early ‘70s, Styx would eventually transform into the virtual arena rock prototype by the late '70s and early '80s, due to a fondness for big rockers and soaring power ballads.
Early on, Styx's music reflected such then-current prog rockers as Emerson, Lake & Palmer and the Moody Blues, as evidenced by such releases as 1972's self-titled debut, 1973's Styx II, 1974's The Serpent Is Rising, and 1975's Man of Miracles. While the albums (as well as non-stop touring) helped the group to build a substantial following locally, Styx failed to break through to the mainstream, until a track originally from their second album, "Lady" started to get substantial airplay in late '74 on the Chicago radio station WLS-FM. The song was soon issued as a single nationwide, and quickly shot to number six on the singles chart, as Styx II was certified gold. By this time, however, the group had grown disenchanted with their record label and opted to sign on with A&M for their fifth release overall, 1975's Equinox (their former label would issue countless compilations over the years, culled from tracks off their early releases). On the eve of the tour in support of the album, original guitarist John Curulewski abruptly left the band, and was replaced by Tommy Shaw. Shaw proved to be the missing piece of the puzzle for Styx, as most of their subsequent releases throughout the late '70s earned at least platinum certification (1976's Crystal Ball, 1977's The Grand Illusion, 1978's Pieces of Eight, and 1979's Cornerstone), and spawned such hit singles and classic rock radio standards as "Come Sail Away," "Renegade," "Blue Collar Man" and "Fooling Yourself.”
The band decided that their first release of the '80s would be a concept album, 1981's Paradise Theater, which was loosely based on the rise and fall of a once-beautiful theater (which was supposedly used as a metaphor for the state of the U.S. at the time -- the Iranian hostage situation, the Cold War, Reagan, etc.). Paradise Theater became Styx's biggest hit of their career (selling over three million copies in a three-year period), as they became one of the U.S. top rock acts due to such big hit singles as "Too Much Time on My Hands". It also marked the first time in history that a band released four consecutive triple-platinum albums.
A career-encompassing live album, Caught in the Act, was issued in 1984, before Styx went on hiatus, and the majority of its members pursued solo projects throughout the remainder of the decade. A re-recording of their early hit, "Lady" (titled "Lady" '95"), for a Greatest Hits compilation, finally united Shaw with his former Styx band mates, which led to a full-on reunion tour in 1996. But drummer John Panozzo fell seriously ill at the time (due to a long struggle with alcoholism), which prevented him from joining the proceedings -- as he passed away in July of the same year. Although grief-stricken, Styx persevered with new drummer Todd Sucherman taking the place of Panozzo, as the Styx reunion tour became a surprise sold-out success, resulting in the release of a live album/video, 1997's "Return to Paradise," while a whole new generation of rock fans were introduced to the grandiose sounds of Styx via a humorous car ad which used the track "Mr. Roboto," as well as songs used in such TV shows as South Park and Freaks & Geeks.
Following 1999’s release of Brave New World, momentum snowballed. STYX, now Tommy Shaw, James “JY” Young, Lawrence Gowan, Todd Sucherman and Ricky Phillips (along with the occasional surprise appearance by original bassist Chuck Panozzo), have performed more live since ’99 than all of the previous years of its career combined. Two Super-Bowl appearances, Pollstar Box Office chart-topping tours with Def Leppard, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Bad Company (to name only a few), two more studio albums and no end in sight, STYX continues to conquer the planet, one venue at a time.
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