Opening Act

Richie Havens, the veteran folk singer whose frenetic guitar strumming and impassioned vocals made him one of the defining voices and faces of Woodstock and 1960s pop music, died Monday of a heart attack at his home in Jersey City, N.J. He was 72. His death was confirmed by his booking agent, Tim Drake. The Brooklyn native with the powerful ripsaw voice galvanized rock fans as the opening act at Woodstock, the festival billed as "Three Days of Peace and Music" in upstate New York in August 1969.

Re "Singer became Woodstock's opening act," Obituary, April 23 As someone who truly worked and sang out for peace, freedom, equality and a clean environment, it is appropriate and should always be remembered that Richie Havens passed away on Earth Day. Jerry Rubin Santa Monica ALSO: Letters: Feeding the soul Letters: Try driving smarter Letters: Don't forget the Texas blast

Everything was beautiful. The Rams looked for their tight end. They found him. Touchdown. But a penalty was called on the play. So, the Rams called the same play again. They looked for their tight end. They found him. Touchdown. A tight end is like a mind. It's a terrible thing to waste. Me, Troy Drayton said. Throw the ball to me. Here I am. You can't miss me. I'm 6-3. I'm 255 pounds. Look at me in this mellow yellow uniform. I'm easy to spot. I look like a big canary.

Richie Havens, the veteran folk singer whose frenetic guitar strumming and impassioned vocals made him one of the defining voices and faces of Woodstock and 1960s pop music, died Monday of a heart attack at his home in Jersey City, N.J. He was 72. His death was confirmed by his booking agent, Tim Drake. The Brooklyn native with the powerful ripsaw voice galvanized rock fans as the opening act at Woodstock, the festival billed as "Three Days of Peace and Music" in upstate New York in August 1969.

Helping warm up the crowd for headliner Tom McGillen was Dan Bradley, a stand-up comic whose brief act includes some thought-provoking perspectives. * "You can tell someone is drunk when they order food at a toll booth. 'That'll be $95, please. You can pick up your order on the other side of the bridge.' " * 'My father used to ask me if I really thought it was just a coincidence that there are 24 hours in a day and 24 beers in a case."

Nas might be one of rap's best-selling artists, but he's got a wooden stage presence--as he showed in a performance Thursday night at the House of Blues in which his lackluster demeanor undercut the power of his rhymes. Despite the dazzling lyrics in such vivid tales of urban reality as "I Gave You Power" and "One Love," the New Yorker didn't bring any fresh or revealing edges to the music on stage. We'd all have been better off just watching videos of the songs.

Something that happened several years ago at a funky old Orange County nightclub had a lot to do with B.B. King being on hand Wednesday night to open a fancy new one. About seven years ago, a young jazz-rock drummer named Michael Zanetis worked his way backstage during one of King's periodic concerts at the Golden Bear, the venerable, now-defunct pop showcase near the Huntington Beach pier, so he could bring a copy of his band's new record album to the headliner.

It's going to be one of those sit-and-listen shows when eclectic singer/songwriter Amy Correia opens for blues legend Keb' Mo' on Saturday night at the Ventura Theatre. Keb' Mo'--street jive for Kevin Moore--is a bluesman out of Compton, currently hitting the clubs in support of his latest album, "The Door." The show is another choice chance for Correia, who appeared at the same venue a few weeks back opening for John Hiatt. She's working hard in support of her debut album, "Carnival Love."

It might seem sad to see a man who performed for thousands, as the opening act for Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley and Tom Jones, now working the Gaslamp Quarter Theatre Company's small venue downtown. But Sammy Shore doesn't let anyone feel sorry for him, even for a minute. The old pro knows the fundamental rule of comedy--laugh at yourself first. And that's just what he does right at the top of his terrific new show, "Beyond the Laughter, Beneath the Smile."

Concerned about the Clippers' lack of practice time together because of injuries, Coach Mike Dunleavy told his assistants to prepare for a rough start this season. This is rough? Although the Clippers appear to need some fine-tuning, their strong opening act continued Wednesday night in a 103-85 victory over the winless Dallas Mavericks in front of 18,538 at Staples Center.

This post has been updated. See note below for details. Richie Havens, the veteran folk singer whose frenetic guitar strumming and impassioned vocals made him one of the defining voices and faces of Woodstock, and by extension, of 1960s pop music, died Monday of a heart attack at his home in New Jersey, his publicist said in a statement. He was 72. The Brooklyn native with the powerhouse ripsaw voice was the opening act at the festival billed as “Three Days of Peace and Music” in upstate New York in August 1969, and galvanized rock fans as they trekked in to the festival site from across the Eastern Seaboard and throughout the country.

Faith Hill will no longer be rocking the gridiron in high heels on Sunday nights. The country singer has announced she is leaving her stint as the opening act for NBC's "Sunday Night Football. " Hill has been singing the theme song "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night" since 2007, wailing out a country rock version of the reworked "I Hate Myself for Loving You. " "Amazing 2 have been part of SNF--an honor," tweeted Hill. "I've just let everyone know it's time 2 let someone else rock the open.

Halfway through the mesmerizing set of Afro-Caribbean classics that singer-songwriter Rubén Blades presented Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl, he introduced the beloved 1984 hit "Decisiones," noting that it had been banned in his native Panama at the time of its release. "The dictators are now gone," Blades said wryly. "But the song remains. " The same could be said about salsa. Its soulful groove dominated much of Latin music from the mid-'60s to the early '90s. In recent years, however, it has all but disappeared from the Latin American zeitgeist - replaced by more visceral and less complex dance formats such as reggaetón , merengue and bachata . But the songs remain, their staggering sonic richness and poetic imagery intact.

"Hello L.A., my beautiful home, my beautiful home!" The words were heartfelt and unsurprising from Flea (nee Michael Balzary), spoken Sunday with intense passion by the acclaimed bassist at the second of two sold-out nights at Staples Center with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It is all part of the band's life mission, which was never just musical, but also remains an endless celebration of the city and punk-rock scene that birthed them in the early 1980s. PHOTOS: Red Hot Chili Peppers return to Los Angeles FOR THE RECORD: Red Hot Chili Peppers: In the Aug. 14 Calendar section, a review of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' concert at Staples Center said that the band performed "My Friends.

INDIO - The Stagecoach Country Music Festival moved into its seventh edition this weekend, and even though that's young by festival standards, Stagecoach has become enough of a cultural force that participants and fans are beginning to use it as a yardstick on their lives, like penciled growth marks scribbled on a family's kitchen wall. Acts that once were low in the ranks have sprouted up to the top of the heap, some elder members of the musical family have passed on, a few estranged relatives have returned to the fold, and new blood is welcomed into the mix with each succeeding year.

After months of campaigning and a revolving cast of Republican front-runners, the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday night will provide the first voter verdict of the 2012 presidential contest. President Obama's victory on the Democratic side is a foregone conclusion. His campaign is already on the scene in Iowa, a battleground state in the fall. And without a challenger for the nomination, Obama has the luxury of focusing on what is shaping up as a tough general election. Not so for the seven candidates for the GOP nomination.

We'll try to hurry this Indiana-Oklahoma game advance story along so as to make way for the really important game advance story featuring Kansas and Maryland. We'll keep this short and tight and to the point because, while today's Indiana-Oklahoma winner technically moves on to Monday night's national title game, the first of the two national semifinals at the Georgia Dome has sort of a consolation-game feel to it.

Question: I asked one of our association board directors why owners choose to be on the board given all the stress and potential for liability. She told me that her director position provided her with a feeling of power. She said other directors became her friends and often they all got together to discuss complex association issues. They rehearsed and played out upcoming board meetings and knew how they were going to vote beforehand and what had to be tabled. Before each meeting, the property manager gave all the directors "talking points" and instructed the board president to read the statement as if it was preapproved by the board even if it wasn't.

It's a funny thing in the world of rock music, but for some artists to get creatively amped up, it's necessary to pull the plug. It worked for Bob Dylan, who returned to the wellspring of acoustic folk music in a couple of early-'90s albums before reasserting full command of his songwriting mastery in 1997's "Time Out of Mind," a musical renaissance from which he's never looked back. It worked for Bruce Springsteen when he put the E Street Band on hiatus and assembled the Sessions Band to mine the richness of American folk and gospel influences in "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" album in 2006.