Although our visiting friends Frances and Ivan scared many artists away from coming to South Florida on their perspective tour dates, the storm has cleared and the show must go on. Here are a list of tours I feel are definitely worth going to:
September:
23
Usher, with opening acts Kanye West & Christina Milian on the ‘Truth’ tour at the American Airlines Arena. If Usher’s album sales, sold-out tour dates and VMA performance are any indication, this is probably the hottest tour of the summer/fall season. With a two hour live set, Usher will prove why he is the self-proclaimed “Ultimate Entertainer.”
28
Incubus at the Office Depot Center in Sunrise, FL. I would give a reason to attend, but do I really need to?
October:
3
Angie Stone & Anthony Hamilton at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts CTR Morsani Hall in Tampa, FL. These two artists are worth the two-and-a-half hour drive because these they prove what sangin’ is all about.
9
Titled the ‘The Hip-Hop Explosion,’ Twista, Jadakiss & D.O.D. (Do Or Die) will perform at the University of Miami’s Convocation Center. The only real incentive to attend this tour is the fact that it takes place right on campus…but is that really an incentive?
18
Beastie Boys at the Office Depot Center in Sunrise, FL. The tour is designed to promote their latest album, To The 5 Boroughs, and impose their anti-Bush views upon the audience. Beware Bush supporters.
23
Seagram’s Gin Live Tour featuring Cee-lo, Tweet, Teedra Moses, and comedian Dante Carter held at Opium Garden. Aside from the comedian, this is probably one of the tours I’m most excited about attending. The tour will be the first time the “Most Underrated Artist of 2002” Tweet will perform material from her sophomore album It’s Me Again, expected to release early 2005. The fact that the tour is sponsored by an alcohol company and that it’s held at Opium means you have to be 21 and up… but then again, nobody here at UM is really younger than 21.
For more information on the tours listed and more, go to www.ticketmaster.com.
Marcus Washington can be contacted at m.washington2@umiami.edu.