Classic Rock News

Roger Waters has been getting a lot of backlash over his May concert in Berlin for, among other things, wearing what looked like an SS soldier costume. Well, now the White House has weighed in on the controversy. 

During Monday’s State Department press briefing, a reporter asked about a tweet in which the U.S. special envoy to combat antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt, agreed with the criticism of Waters. In a new statement, the Biden administration backed her up.

According to The Associated Press, the State Department said Waters has “a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people,” noting the Berlin concert in question “contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust.”

Lipstadt’s tweet supported another tweet posted by EU antisemitism envoy Katharina von Schnurbein, condemning Waters and the show. The White House added, “Special Envoy Lipstadt’s quote-tweet speaks for itself.”

As previously reported, Waters has already responded to the criticism over the Berlin show, insisting the parts of his concert getting backlash “are quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice, and bigotry in all its forms.” He added that “attempts to portray those elements as something else are disingenuous and politically motivated.”

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Red Hot Chili Peppers have added a fall U.S. headlining date to their touring schedule.

The show takes place September 27 at Hersheypark Stadium in Pennsylvania, in between performances at Lollapalooza and Connecticut’s Sound on Sound festival. St. Vincent will also be on the bill.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 9, at 10 a.m. ET. For more info, visit RedHotChiliPeppers.com.

The Chili Peppers have been on tour over the past year supporting their two 2022 albums, Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen. The international outing hits Europe this summer and South America in the fall.

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In Geezer Butler‘s upcoming memoir, Into the Void, the Black Sabbath bassist reflects on the metal legends’ final reunion in 2011. Rolling Stone has shared an expert from the book, in which he explains how original drummer Bill Ward was left behind.

Though Ward was part of the 2011 reunion announcement, Sabbath severed ties with him a year later.

“I don’t know the ins and outs, because contracts and the like were always sorted out between our lawyers,” Butler writes. “However, I suspect Bill was given an ‘unsignable’ contract because Sharon [Osbourne] didn’t think he was up to a world tour. In fact, I know that Ozzy [Osbourne] and Tony [Iommi] didn’t think he was physically able, because of a shoulder problem and heart condition.”

“We suggested to Bill that he come on tour and do a few songs a show, but Bill, proud bloke that he is, insisted it was all or nothing. I was upset that what should have been a triumphant return for the original lineup had turned into a bit of a soap opera – and ended up making it worse.”

Said soap opera included a war of public statements, including one from Butler saying that Ward had demanded to be paid for playing a charity concert.

“I regret doing that, because I’d ended up doing the band’s dirty work,” Butler writes. “Worse, I’d betrayed Bill’s friendship by not believing his side of the story, which was that he’d actually agreed to do the charity gig for free.”

Into the Void is out now. When asked by Rolling Stone if anything in the book might upset his Sabbath bandmates, Butler replies, “Probably, yeah.”

“But it’s things that were happening at the time, and we’ve all grown up and got through it all since then,” he says.

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Jackson Browne is the latest artist setting up shop in Las Vegas. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just announced a limited engagement at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.

The limited residency consists of five shows: October 6, 7, 11, 13 and 14.

Presale tickets go on sale Wednesday, June 7, at 10 a.m. PT, with the general on-sale set for Friday, June 9, at 10 a.m. PT.

The new shows are just the latest additions to Browne’s North American tour. He’s set to play Akron, Ohio, on June 6, with dates confirmed through October 20 and 21 in Los Angeles. A complete list of dates can be found at jacksonbrowne.com.

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John Mellencamp is currently on his Live and In Person tour of theaters, but if fans go expecting him to play all the hits, they will be disappointed. 

Mellencamp tells The New York Times he’s “not a nostalgic person,” noting, “I could do a whole show of hits if I wanted to, but I don’t.” He adds, “That’s one reason I quit playing arenas and playing outdoors. It wasn’t about music — it was about being a human jukebox.”

Of course the show isn’t devoid of Mellencamp classics, and he’s even started playing his first real hit, “Hurt So Good,” again after dropping it from his set for the past 25 years.

He says he’s added it back because “it has a whole new meaning to me.” Regarding the lyric, “When I was a young boy, I said, ‘Put away those young boy ways,'” he shares, “I was a kid when I wrote it, but as an older gentleman, it makes sense.”

And speaking of nostalgia, Mellencamp also talks a little about the early days of his career, which included getting kicked off tours opening for KISS, REO Speedwagon and Rainbow. 

“I got kicked off every tour I was on. My band and I were terrible, but we were better than KISS,” he says. “I was a young kid, full of energy, and the reviews said, ‘John Cougar blew the place up last night.’ Gene Simmons would look at me like he wanted to kill me.” 

Mellencamp brings his Live and In Person tour to New York’s Beacon Theatre for a three-night stand starting Tuesday, June 6. A complete list of dates can be found at mellencamp.com.

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Dave Grohl has shared a note thanking fans for their support amid Foo Fighters‘ first tour back since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022.

In an Instagram post, Grohl writes, “Now that we’ve returned from our first run of shows, I felt compelled to reach out and thank you all for being there for us.”

“Every night, when I see you singing, it makes me sing harder,” Grohl continues. “When I see you screaming, it makes me scream louder. When I see your tears, it brings me to tears. And when I see your joy, it brings me joy.”

“But, I see you … and it feels good to see you, churning up these emotions together,” he concludes. “Because we’ve always done this together. Time and time again.”

Foo Fighters kicked off the tour in May. Ahead of the first show, they held a streaming concert during which they introduced new drummer Josh Freese.

The next show on the Foos’ schedule takes place June 14 in Rogers, Arkansas. They’ll play a run of U.S. headlining and festival dates throughout the summer and fall.

You can also listen to the new Foo Fighters album, But Here We Are, which dropped last Friday.

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