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Nugent then said each NRA member should try to enroll 10 new members over the next year and associate only with other members.
"Let's next year sit here and say, 'Holy smokes, the NRA has 40 million members now,'" he said. "No one is allowed at our barbecues unless they are an NRA member. Do that in your life."
Nice Nuge, promote exclusivity. Why don't you trot out the white-hooded robes while you're at it.
Nugent then sang and played a guitar painted with red and white stripes for the crowd at Houston's convention center. He drew the most cheers when he told gun owners they should never give up their right to bear arms and should use their guns to protect themselves if needed.
"Remember the Alamo! Shoot 'em!" he screamed to applause. "To show you how radical I am, I want carjackers dead. I want rapists dead. I want burglars dead. I want child molesters dead. I want the bad guys dead. No court case. No parole. No early release. I want 'em dead. Get a gun and when they attack you, shoot 'em."
At first, I couldn't help but laugh. I mean, Nugent's loudmouth is downright funny on the surface. It almost sounds like a "Saturday Night Live" skit or something.
But then, when you look at it even closer, the comments are incredibly irresponsible and dangerous.
Granted, he was speaking to gun owners - who are usually adults in this country - but what happens when a precocious teenager hears the Motor City Mad Man spew this kind of nonsense?
I'll tell you, that kid says to himself, "I don't remember who said it, but I saw it on the news, or read it online and it sounds really cool to have guns and be able to shoot people with them."
Which is the most horrid part of all. Nugent is promoting homicide. That's right. He's saying shoot the bad guys. And by actually using the term "bad guys," he's leaving that to open interpretation by vigilante types.
Who are the bad guys? Is it the guy selling drugs on your street corner? Or is it the bully at school who calls you a dweeb when he passes you in the hallway?
With the constant rise of violence in unordinary places like school and ballfields, it was totally irresponsible for Nugent to say what he did.
If nothing else he didn't further the agenda of the NRA, he set it back a few hundred years. But at least when he did it, he put a smile on my face.
Hot tickets set to go on sale
* The Eagles were contenders, so almost everyone in Philadelphia watched this legend during halftime of the Super Bowl, and now fans will be able to get a larger dose of one of the most popular musicians ever.
Coming to the Wachovia Center on Sept. 22 is living legend Paul McCartney, the fourth-stop on a 27-city tour for the former Beatle.
No official information as to ticket availability for the Philly show yet, but tickets are starting to go on sale around the country between Saturday and Tuesday. It appears tickets will range in price from $49 for the nosebleeds to $250 for the floor.
* Alanis Morissette will launch her first acoustic tour June 7 in Toronto, going on a multi-city trek that includes a stop in the Philadelphia area on June 14.
The venue is still to be announced, which means tickets have yet to go on sale, but that's the news according to Pollstar.
Billed as the Jagged Little Pill Acoustic Tour, the 27-date Live @ VH1.Com Presents jaunt coincides with the June 13 release of "Jagged Little Pill (Acoustic)." The "Maverick" album is a new acoustic studio version of the seven-time Grammy award-winner's breakthrough 1995 release on its 10th anniversary.
In an agreement between Starbucks Hear Music and Maverick Records, the album will be sold exclusively in Starbucks Co.-operated stores in North America and via www.starbucks.com/hearmusic beginning June 13 - 10 years to the day of the original recording's release - and throughout the six weeks of the tour, after which it will also be sold at traditional retail outlets.
For the upcoming dates, the singer, songwriter and musician will be backed by her current touring band. Tickets for the Jagged Little Pill Acoustic Tour begin going on sale today in other North American cities.
"I am having so much fun playing these newly interpreted songs, some of them with different harmonic tracks altogether," said Morissette.
Neil Diamond fan surfaces
* Just when I thought I'd never hear from my friends in the Neil Diamond fan club again after last year's Final Four in my quirky March Music Madness competition, I got this e-mail:
Hi Anthony,
I was one of the fans who took part in your "March Madness" last year. I had told you I would let you know should Neil start touring again. I've just found your e-mail address (hope it's still good), and you might already know this, but just in case.
Neil is going to be touring the USA starting July 25. He will be playing in Philadelphia on Aug. 12 at the Wachovia Center. The tickets go on sale May 9.
Hope you can make the show! - Nancy.
Well Nancy, I checked out your info, and it is indeed correct. Neil is coming, which means I need to make good on a bet with the legion of Neil fans.
I promised them all that if he reached the Final Four and ever came back to Philadelphia, I'd go to a Neil concert with them to find out what he fuss was about.
I guess I have to make good. As we get closer to the show in August, let me know if you're going to the show, and we'll do a whole big tribute to Neil.
I just hope you all provide some good eats in the parking lot for the pre-concert tailgate.
Kennedys blened in World Cafe mix
* Despite their name, they don't play Celtic music. Despite their acoustic guitars, they don't play folk. Instead, The Kennedys blend acoustic pop with grass roots rock and appeal to a singer-songwriter set as well to make one unique sound. The duo will appear at World Café Live in the University City section of Philadelphia Thursday night. Tickets are still available for the 7:30 p.m. show and cost only $15.
* Philadelphia-based jam band Lotus will play tonight at the North Star Bar in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia. Lotus is a jazz-funk-electronica fusion whose popularity is growing by leaps and bounds. They released a CD last fall titled "Nomad," their first in a studio setting. They went on a nationwide tour earlier this year, and sold out shows in places like New York City and as far away as Boulder, Colo. Tickets are still available for the 10 p.m. show and run only $10.
* If you're down the shore this weekend, it's a good time to catch a rock concert. Saturday will find two stellar shows at two of Atlantic City's best concert venues. Rock legend Bob Dylan will be joined by Amos Lee and Merle Haggard for a classic show at the Borgata, while alt-punk superstars Green Day play the same night at the Taj Mahal with My Chemical Romance as their opener. Tickets are available for both shows. ($97 and $137 at the Borgata; $35 at the Taj).
* The Keswick Theatre in Glenside will be a real hot spot next week with two big performers and three big shows. First up will be singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, who will play two shows - both Monday and Tuesday - with the effervescent and humorous one-man punk band Hamell on Trial as an opening act. Then, on Wednesday, in support of his recently released CD "Ronan" (currently No. 2 on Billboard's Classical Crossover Chart), Irish tenor Ronan Tynan takes the stage. You can still grab ducats to all shows. Tickets are $35 and $45 for Tynan and $35.50 for DiFranco.
'I Walk Alone' with band in hand
And the results are...
* Last week I asked you to tell me what song best represents you and should be played at home plate when you come to bat - much like the Phillies - who pick their own music for when they step into the batter's box. This one generated a lot of good responses, too many to reprint here, but here are my faves.
Nick from Greenwich, Conn. said he would play Green Day's "I Walk Alone," not because he's a solitary kind of guy, but because he leads his Sunday softball team in walks. Justin from Marple said he would play "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen because it was a song that always made him laugh, and it would settle his nerves before facing a pitcher.
Alison from Springfield picked "Birdhouse in your Soul" by They Might Be Giants for no other reason than it is the quirkiest song she knows, and she's quirky.
But the best reply came from Jack from Folcroft: "Even with the benefit of years and years to improve my baseball accomplishments in my mind, I have to admit that I was in the good-field-no-hit mode of, let's say, Bobby Wine. So in the interest of truth and honesty, I think players should play the music that tells the real story.
For me, that would be: 'Dead Man's Curve,' by Jan and Dean, 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot' by Pat Benatar or 'Wipeout' by The Ventures. There, I feel better. Honesty is the best policy.
By the way, Do you think we can get them to play Joe Cocker's 'You Are So Beautiful, (Thome)' at the Phils games?"
Just Wondering...
* Here's something that could be a little fun. Short and sweet question, What should Britney Spears and Kevin Federline name their child and why? If you want to give multiple entries, one for a girl and one for a boy, that's fine, too. Send your replies to asanfilippo@delcotimes.com.
