Universal Amphitheatre

Tickets are still available for the "13th Annual Soap Opera Digest Awards" ceremony taking place Feb. 28 at Universal Amphitheatre. The ceremony, which begins at 4 p.m., will be broadcast at 8 that night on NBC. Talk-show host Leeza Gibbons will emcee the awards, with co-hosts Austin Peck ("Days of Our Lives"), Shemar Moore ("The Young & the Restless") and Ingo Rademacher ("General Hospital"). Tickets are $25, $35 and $45. Information: (213) 252-TIXS or (818) 777-3931.

A new name is joining the roster of Southern California concert venues. Not a new building, just a new name. After more than three decades as one of the region's most prominent entertainment venues, the Universal Amphitheatre, which has hosted appearances as varied as Frank Sinatra, Ozzy Osbourne, Barney and Pope John Paul II, is now the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk under a naming-rights deal with a leading musical instrument manufacturer, Nashville-based Gibson Guitar Corp.

Expose put on an hour-plus, no-frills show on Friday at the two-thirds full Universal Amphitheatre. No fancy backdrops, no smoke bombs or lasers. The only attention-getting device the Miami-based trio utilized was skin-tight stage wear that almost diverted attention from the lightweight nature of their teen-dream songs. Ann Curless, Gioia and Jeanette Jurado sport better-than-average voices, but there aren't many tunes or arrangements in their repertoire that fully capitalize on them.

Grammy-winning roots-rock trio Los Lonely Boys, alt-rockers Mars Volta, hip-hop star Nelly, soul great Aretha Franklin and pop princess Avril Lavigne are among the highlights of the Universal Amphitheatre and Greek Theatre 2005 season. The subscription program Premiere Marquee Club 2005 begins today, allowing ticket buyers to create their own concert series and offering preferred seating and advance notice of shows year-round. Information is available at www.pmcla.com and at (818) 622-9987.

Astaging of George Balanchine's "The Nutcracker," featuring guest stars from the Paris Opera Ballet, the New York City Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet and the National Ballet of Cuba; a Down Under bill of Midnight Oil, INXS and Men at Work; and a barbecue with Willie Nelson highlight the Universal Amphitheatre's 2001-02 season.

Country singer Merle Haggard abruptly canceled his performances tonight and Monday at the Universal Amphitheatre, a Universal spokeswoman confirmed Saturday night. No reason for the cancellation was given by Universal. Last week, Haggard missed a concert at the Clark County Fair in Washington. Fair officials said he left several hours before the concert after having an argument with his wife.

Thousands of middle-aged Latinos are bound to sigh nostalgically tonight when Mexican singers Jose Jose, Armando Manzanero and Marco Antonio Muniz perform at the Universal Amphitheatre. Entitled "Noche Bohemia," which translates from Spanish to Bohemian Night, the concert will bring together three veterans of Latin pop whose careers are marked by some formidable hits, mostly from the 1960s and '70s. Also on the bill is New Age pianist Raul di Blasio.

Billy Crystal's appearance at Universal Amphitheatre marked the third time he's been on the amphitheater stage in the last few months. The first was with Robin Williams, who out-hustled him as co-host of "Comic Relief"; the second was when Williams, in his concert, suckered Crystal into getting onstage again for a curtain call--which no one should ever do: It's like guilelessly draping one's arm over a band saw.

Tourists at Universal Studios can see a Hollywood-style miracle with the parting of the Red Sea or visit that shrine to rock music, the Hard Rock Hollywood Cafe, with historic relics on its walls. But on Sunday, real-life gospel preaching and Christian music came to the Universal Amphitheatre complete with the traditional assertion that hell is real, a denial of scientific evolution and the culminating call for the uncommitted to accept Christ.

When was the last time you saw a segment featuring several colorfully costumed Polynesian dance routines in the middle of a contemporary pop music show? But then the Jets' performance Wednesday night at the Universal Amphitheatre was more like a studio tour attraction than a concert. Sponsored by a corn-chip company, this evening of aural junk food was part Las Vegas revue, part Saturday afternoon kid show and part South Seas' version of "Star Search."

The remodeled Greek Theatre and the Universal Amphitheatre have announced their 2004 season lineups, ranging from daytime family festivals to hard-core rap shows. Highlights include a tribute to the late country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons featuring Norah Jones and others, an Alice Cooper Halloween production and an array of Latin rock and pop bills. This marks the third year that former rivals Nederlander Concerts and House of Blues Concerts Inc.

Who could blame Mariah Carey for just wanting to have fun Monday at the Universal Amphitheatre? She's weathered enough setbacks in the last two years to give five pop divas fodder for hankie-soaking "Oprah" visits: a flop movie and album ("Glitter"), a full-on nervous breakdown, the indignity of a record label paying $28 million for her not to record another album for it.

Amy Lee's family wasn't thrilled when she quit college after one semester three years ago when her band, Evanescence, got a record deal. It's hard to argue about the decision now, given how the band burst into the top 10 after its debut single, "Bring Me to Life," was featured on the soundtrack to the movie "Daredevil" and in a stunning video. And the album, "Fallen," has been a fixture near the top of the charts, with current U.S. sales totaling about 1.8 million since its release in March.

Multi-Grammy-winner Norah Jones, Neil Young & Crazy Horse and James Taylor are among the highlights of the 2003 seasons at the Greek Theatre and the Universal Amphitheatre. Though young rock bands Good Charlotte and New Found Glory have a Universal date, the emphasis at both venues is on veteran acts, including the Allman Brothers Band, Meat Loaf, Boston and Ringo Starr.

Boney James has played New York many times now, but his recent appearance there was special: It was his first headlining gig at the Apollo Theatre, a room where some of the greatest names of R&B launched their careers. And James somehow felt their presence. "It was wonderful," says the saxophonist. Favorite acts when he was growing up included Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind & Fire. "It's got an aura about it, and we all felt it during the show."

Alanis Morissette has new concert date in pocket: May 3 at Universal Amphitheatre. Tickets on sale Saturday. Ryan Adams will open ... Also at Universal and on sale Saturday: Kid Rock on April 6

The surprising death of actor Brad Davis of AIDS this week, and the major Hollywood fund-raising event for AIDS saluting Bette Midler this Sunday, is a starkly contrasting comment on the entertainment industry's handling of the epidemic, according to Stephen Bennett, chief executive officer of AIDS Project L.A. "What gets me is that AIDS has had such a huge impact in Hollywood.

Anyone who attended the rap triple bill at the Universal Amphitheater on Thursday looking for a complex worldview or an evolved take on the usual hip-hop tropes would have been sorely disappointed. Bubba Sparxxx, Ludacris and headliner Busta Rhymes all belong to hip-hop's good-times contingent, rejecting gangsta rap's sloganeering and the radical politics of critically lauded new acts such as the Coup in favor of raucous and frequently lewd celebrations of self-satisfaction.