WILCO: Star Wars Free for 30 Days

 

Wilco fans, you have 30 days to download the band's new album, Star Wars, for free.

After the surprise release through WilcoWorld.net Thursday night, the band is now offering the free download through iTunes, Google Play and Amazon Digital through August 13th. Star Wars is also being streamed on YouTube and through other streaming services.

 

 

Star Wars will be available on CD on August 21st and vinyl on November 27th.

RADIOHEAD: Yorke Does First Solo Gig in 5 Years

 

Thom Yorke of Radiohead did his first solo concert in over five years Saturday night at the Latitude Festival in Southwold, England.

 

Yorke performed songs from his 2014 solo album Tomorrow's Modern Boxes live for the first time, as well as tracks from his solo debut ,The Eraser, and his side project Atoms for Peace. He also debuted two new untitled songs, which has Radiohead fans speculating that the tracks are ones the band has been working on for a new album.

 

Yorke also joined Portishead on stage during the festival to add vocals to their song "The Rip.”

 

ED SHEERAN, SNOW PATROL: Chase "Cars"

 

Ed Sheeran was joined by a couple of members of Snow Patrol during a surprise concert on Saturday.

 

Sheeran did an unnanounced set at the Latitude Festival in Southwold, England on Saturday and decided to break out a cover of Snow Patrol's big hit, "Chasing Cars." For some reason, members of that band were on hand, and Snow Patrolers Jonny Quinn and Nathan Connolly joined him for the performance. Check out a fan-shot video of it on YouTube.

 

FOO FIGHTERS: Rock Boston With Dave's Doctor

 

Dave Grohl did something nice Sunday for the orthopedic surgeon who operated on his broken leg.

 

Midway through Foo Fighters' set night at Fenway Park in Boston, Grohl invited Dr. Lew C. Schon onstage to lead the band in a cover of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army."

 

 

The Foos were later joined by another special guest, Godsmack singer Sully Erna, for a cover of Alice Cooper's "School's Out.”

U2: It's a Bono Jovi Couple of Days  

 

U2 and Jon Bon Jovi are not two musical icons that immediately come to mind when it comes to making the social rounds together, but that has been the case for the past few nights.

It started on Thursday when Bono, The Edge and Jon crashed a bachelorette party in East Hampton, New York. The three were dining at Moby's and were seated next to the table with all the pretty young ladies.

 

That was followed by the U2 duo extending an invitation to Jon and his wife, Dorothea, to attend their show at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, the first of eight nights at the New York City arena. Also in attendance were Salman Rushdie, Harry Belafonte, chef Mario Batali, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and actor Ed Burns with supermodel wife Christy Turlington.

 

Musically, the big surprise was "October," the title track of their 1981 album, which the band hadn't performed since November 11th, 1989 in New Zealand. Towards the top of the show, Bono said, "Welcome to Innocence and Experience. When we first played a club called the Ritz in this great city (December 6th, 1980), we thought of ourselves as a great punk band. We still do. A band of equals with an audience of equals."

 

U2 did two songs on Saturday that it did at that first show, which also happened to be the band's very first U.S. show -- "Electric Co." and "I Will Follow," both off the group's first album, Boy.

 

U2 did the second Garden show Sunday night and number-three is on Wednesday.

 

 

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Surprise at the Shore

 

Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance at a Jersey Shore club on Saturday -- and he sure didn't skimp time-wise.

 

Joining his buddies Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers at Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, Springsteen stayed on stage for two hours, performing 15 songs. He came onstage three songs into the band's set and stayed through two encores. The band accommodated their guest by backing him on a lot of his own songs and a couple of their own.

 

Among the songs he rocked were "Adam Raised a Cain," "Darkness on the Edge of Town" "Racing in the Street ('78)" "Atlantic City," "Because the Night" and "The Promised Land."

 

 

Springsteen plays Grushecky's annual Light of Day benefit concert at the nearby Paramount Theater in Asbury Park, but it's been a while since he's shown up unannounced at a club there.

 

His last club show there, in 2011, was a benefit at the Stone Pony.

 

Set list:

 

Never Be Enough Time (Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers song)
Adam Raised a Cain
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Racing in the Street ('78)
Chain Smoking (JG)
Talking to the King (JG)
Save My Love
Frankie Fell in Love
Atlantic City
Pumpin' Iron (JG)
Code of Silence (JG)
Because the Night (Springsteen co-wrote the song for the Patti Smith Group)
The Promised Land

 

ENCORE: Pink Cadillac
ENCORE: Light of Day (Springsteen wrote it for Joan Jett to do in a movie)

 

 

NEIL YOUNG: Debate Over, I Win

 

Neil Young thinks he's won his debate with Monsanto over the safety of genetically modified foods.

 

Young's current album, The Monsanto Years, is an anti-corporate concept record that, in its title track, criticizes the agri-business giant for pushing genetically modified seeds and crops he claims are harmful to humans. Monsanto recently answered Young in a statement that says the lyrics are based on "a lot of misinformation about who we are and what we do."

 

Saturday, Young posted on his Facebook page what he calls "MASSIVE NEWS!!!" It's the results of a study he says "unequivocally proves...that a GMO [genetically modified organism] is not 'substantially equivalent' to the non-GMO." He links to the study and concludes "END OF DEBATE."

 

He'll probably be hearing from Monsanto, or its lawyers, again soon.