The ticketing and venue monster that is Live Nation kicked off a week of $20.00 cheap seat offers for the summer tour season with a FREE concert at Irving Plaza in Manhattan last night.

The advertised lineup included country favorite Jason Aldean, Foreigner with Jason Bonham, Nickelback with Daughtry and the Roots. The show started pretty promptly at 7 o’clock and was hosted by a young gal from the Today Show.

Jason Aldean started the night off with a three song acoustic set with his band fousing on new material. After a short break where stagehands hustled equipment through the crowd to make room for an eight piece Foreigner band who kicked the evening into gear with “Feels Like the First Time”, “Jukebox Hero” (without the inflatable jukebox from their heyday headlining Madison Square Garden), and “Hotblooded”, which the Nickleback singer kiddingly said would be stuck in his head for awhile. Nickleback proved to be a dynamic arena ready act with Daughtry joining in for a popular tune about wanting to be a rock star.

The Gull and I skipped out before the Roots hit the stage but it was a successful early Monday night of rock and roll and the price was right- free is for me.

Tonight is yet another unusual night of music at City Winery for The Music of Jimmy Webb Rehearsal Show for the Carnegie Hall date tomorrow. I really do not know what to expect for this one but a Rolling Stone article reviewing Webb’s autobiography detailed his hanging out with John Lennon and Harry Nilsson during the infamous “lost weekend” and intrigued me enough to make me want to check out what this guy, who wrote tons of hits for other people, is all about.

MacArthur Park

Up, Up and Away

Rock on!

GQ