The trend of booking big-draw acts on video game-sponsored tours has reached a fever pitch. Even respectable hip-hop groups like A Tribe Called Quest have gotten in on the lucrative marketing action.
It’s a coup for companies like Sony and Nintendo, since the synergy of band and brand equals dollar signs for the clever executives behind the pixels. The band’s song appears in the video game, then the video game company sponsors the tour, encouraging attendees to play the game before checking out the music. And so on.
The latest band to hop on the wagon is Dayton, Ohio-bred emo-pop quintet Hawthorne Heights. Believe it or not, Nintendo’s Fusion Tour is now entering its fourth year on the circuit. Fans will get a sneak peek at the new Wii console and the portable DS Lite while enjoying the high-pitched guitar histrionics of their eyeliner-wearing heroes.
“Video games are as important to the pop culture landscape as music,” said a Nintendo executive in the press release. Yes, but is that a good thing?
Tickets for the Nov. 4 show, which also features Relient K, Emery, Plain White T’s and The Sleeping, go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday. ($22, Ticketmaster)
Jeff Beck has often suffered the reputation of the poor man’s Eric Clapton. While he’s not as talented a songwriter as Clapton, the virtuoso guitarist’s impressive scope and restless interests – not to mention his nearly four-decade career – ought to place him in the same ranks as Clapton and Jimmy Page. As an original member of The Yardbirds (and the Jeff Beck Group, which featured Rod Stewart), Beck was ahead of his time. Heavy metal? Jazz fusion? You name it. Beck will stop by the Lecture Hall at the Colorado Convention Center on Sept. 21. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday. ($45-$55, Ticketmaster)
Megadeth has yet to see the same success as Metallica, the influential act from which it sprang in 1983. Chances are it probably never will, but that probably suits leader Dave Mustaine just fine, as he has attained his own level of cult-metal renown. As Metallica veered from metal into heavy ballads, Megadeth stuck to its technical thrash guns, refusing to introduce mainstream elements to its punishingly precise songs. The band has endured life- threatening calamities and just released a greatest-hits album. Megadeth’s Gigantour, which features Lamb of God, Opeth and Arch Enemy, will visit Coors Amphitheatre on Sept. 16. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. ($20-$35, Ticketmaster)
Jazz Aspen Snowmass on Wednesday announced that Don Henley will replace John Mellencamp for the festival’s Sept. 3 date. Mellencamp canceled for “unspecified personal reasons,” and the festival was glad to welcome Henley. Tickets are on sale now. ($60, 866-527-8499 or jazzaspen.org)
