Green Day make triumphant post-rehab return at SXSW

“Welcome back!” Billie Joe Armstrong shouted to a capacity crowd — but he might as well have been talking about himself. A massively energetic Armstrong led Green Day in a triumphant live performance return at SXSW music festival in Austin on Friday night. The evening marked the first major performance by the band since he had an infamous onstage meltdown during the iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas last September and subsequently entered rehab. Taking the stage at the Austin City Limits Live venue to Ennio Morricone’s “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” theme, the trio (along with backing musicians) slammed through about two dozen songs, a collection of old favorites (such as “Welcome to Paradise,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “Know Your Enemy” and “Jesus of Suburbia”) and newer tunes (“Stay the Night,” “Stop When the Red Lights Flash”), plus a medley smattering of covers (The Beatles’ “Hey Jude,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”). Armstrong, arms frequently raised and waiting, soaked up the outpouring of fan love in like he needed every last ounce of it, calling the night a “celebration.” He was focused and playful, more than once pulling audience members out of the crowd to join the onstage fun and shooting water, toilet paper, and t-shirts into the crowd using a variety of projectile toys. Though the singer isn’t doing media interviews during the festival, the show seemed designed to telegraph a media message of its own: We’re back, we’re okay, and we still rock. At one point, a roadie abruptly took Armstrong’s failing mircophone away to switch it out. The singer laughed. “I wasn’t even on drugs!” It was a funny poke at the elephant that, while maybe not in the room given the waves of fan adoration, was at least in the vicinity. (FYI for Green Day completists, the festival also hosted screenings for two Green Day documentaries: Broadway Idiot, which chronicles the making of the band’s Broadway musical American Idiot, and Cuatro! which follows the recording of the band’s three new albums, Uno!, Dos! and Tre!, all released all within a few months last fall.) “South by Southwest, the greatest rock bands in the world!” Armstrong said of his festival host. “And a lot of other ones too!” Last night, at least, Green Day was one of the former. 

News Source: -  music-mix

Heidi Klum's Cleavage-Baring Oscars Dress: "I Actually Closed It a Lot"

Remember Heidi Klum's breasts at Elton John's Oscars party? They were just so...exposed? 

Well, it turns out that the Project Runway host actually stitched up the, er, neckline of her gold Julien Macdonald gown "about 3, 4 inches" before heading out. "I loved this designer and I loved this dress because it was very form-fitting," Klum told E! News today at the Heidi Klum for New Balance launch at Lady Foot Locker in Culver City, Calif. But, it turns out the fashion-boundary-pushing model still has a few boundaries. 

Check out a pic of Heidi Klum in action as a judge on America's Got Talent 

 "To be honest, the slit was, like, all the way down to my belly button," the mother of four added, gesturing in that direction. "I actually closed it a lot!" Klum protested when we told her that, yes, we were indeed familiar with the cut of her dress. "I was kind of worried that, if I would have left it like this, that, you know, an accident might have happened." So, what Klum went out in was the altered, more modest version? "It was from here to here," she said, pointing to a few inches of pretend fabric. "I closed that up. But it needed it. I don't know if the designer was happy about that, but it was a little bit too open."

News Source: -  eonline

Carole King Musical 'Beautiful' to Hit Broadway

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Douglas McGrath will pen the book for the show, which aims for a spring 2014 opening. 

NEW YORK -- The story of singer-songwriter Carole King's life and career will be told on Broadway in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing have announced a spring 2014 opening for the show. With a book by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Douglas McGrath (Bullets Over Broadway), the bio-musical will feature songs written by King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. 

STORY: Billie Joe Armstrong Boards New Theater Project 

Beautiful will track King from her roots in Brooklyn through her work as a songwriter for hire in the Brill Building and her marriage and creative partnership with Goffin, spawning their first No. 1 hit, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," when King was just 18. After pumping out hits for a string of top acts in the 1960s, King launched her solo singing career, winning multiple Grammys with her classic 1971 album, Tapestry. “What's so great about this for me is that musicals were a major influence on my songwriting," said King in a statement. "In fact, when Gerry and I first met, we made a bargain that I would write music for the Broadway show he wanted to write if he wrote lyrics for my rock 'n roll songs. The songs took off, and the show idea never came to fruition. Now that our songs have merged with a Broadway show, we've come full circle."

News Source: -  hollywoodreporter