Before ushering out a slate of high-profile surprise guests at a pre-Grammy Black Eyed Peas event, will.i.am and co. addressed their detractors following their recent Super Bowl halftime performance. What will.i.am offered was a freestyle littered with a few choice words that this blog can't print. But the bottom line? The Peas don’t give a hoot if you didn’t get their vision.

The event, held last Thursday at the Music Box in Hollywood, benefited will.i.am’s scholarship program. It could have easily succumbed to little more than who's-who madness, as stars squeezed down the red carpet for photo ops and crammed tiny VIP sections inside the theater. But this was a night of endurance, and rewarded those who were in it for the long haul rather than celeb-seekers. 

After the group opened with hits “Boom, Boom, Pow” and “Pump It,” most of the less-than-enthusiastic -- and uncomfortably packed -- crowd swiftly funneled out. Over the course of the first hour, most opted to travel a block down the street to Usher’s party at Avalon, which this writer was denied entrance to after Jamie Foxx apparently was involved in some sort of scuffle.

So, R&B vixen Ciara may be begging to be set free from Jive, but the 25-year-old put aside the label drama for one night, albeit for a good cause, to perform at the Black Eyed Peas' seventh Peapod Benefit Concert on Thursday at the Music Box Theater in Hollywood.

Though her latest album, "Basic Instinct," hasn't proved to be a hitmaker -- the album debuted at No. 43 on the Billboard chart -- she was in true form in a set that offered up her best-known tracks ("Goodies," and "1,2 Step"), as well as current single "Gimmie Dat."

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy

Twitter.com/gerrickkennedy

Video: Gerrick D. Kennedy / Los Angeles Times

 

The Black Eyed Peas on Thursday brought out legendary R&B/funk band Earth, Wind & Fire to appear at their yearly Peapod Benefit Concert at the Music Box Theater in Hollywood.

Though the clock had already struck 2:30 a.m. and a hefty percentage of the packed crowd had wavered and emptied out, the band treated the remaining audience to a rousing set of classics.

Actually, we advise you to stop reading and check out the performance of "September" at the Peapod event now. 

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy

Twitter.com/gerrickkennedy

Video: Gerrick D. Kennedy / Los Angeles Times

 

As the Black Eyed Peas' Super Bowl halftime performance in Arlington, Texas, halted and revved up for its final act, there was a brief glimpse at the band that could have been. The retro-future stage -- outfitted with multiple moving platforms and a multitude of lights, as if the Peas had blown up Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade -- rearranged itself to spell out the the word "Love." 

Peas ringleader will.i.am stood straight and looked directly into the camera. Outfitted to look something like a cross between an astronaut and a "Star Wars" character, will.i.am updated the lyrics to "Where Is the Love?" and called upon the president to "create jobs so the country stays stimulated." As political commentary, it was far from divisive, but the 2003 hit was a brief reminder of the Los Angeles act's roots. The Peas were once a socially-conscious hip-hop act, and as recently as eight years ago were interested in more than simply overly stimulating their audience.

But that shift in direction -- these days, the Peas have time for only mindless partying -- is largely what made the act quite possibly the most perfectly suited contemporary group for a Super Bowl halftime show. Since the 2004 Janet Jackson disaster, the NFL has targeted the boomer crowd, with little success. Bruce Springsteen hammed it up in 2009 to pander the mass audience, and the Who ran out of gas last year, trying to play the part of an act that still mattered.

The Peas, however, didn't really have to change a thing. The Peas of 2011 embrace all things commercial and ridiculous. Corny? Please. In the world of the Peas, nothing is too silly and everything is built for exaggeration.

The concert business was hit in 2010 by some of the same tough economic times that have been gripping other factions in the music industry in recent years, but New Jersey rock group Bon Jovi has reason to pop the Champagne anyway.

The band posted the highest grossing concert tour of the year not only in North America, but across the globe, topping the $200-million mark worldwide, according to figures released Tuesday by Pollstar, the concert-tracking publication.

Bon Jovi posted total concert revenue of $201.1 million, a little over half that figure -- $108.2 million -- from the North American dates on its world tour.

Behind the group on Pollstar's worldwide ranking is AC/DC with gross ticket sales of $177 million, followed in the top 5 by U2 ($160.9 million), Lady Gaga ($133.6 million) and Metallica ($110.1 million).

Looking only at North American tour numbers, Roger Waters and his remounting of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" was second to Bon Jovi with a tour gross of $89.5 million, followed by the Dave Matthews Band ($72.9 million), Canadian pop crooner Michael Bublé ($65.7 million) and the Eagles ($64.5 million).

The big guns, however, couldn't bring up the entire concert business over last year's numbers. The top 50 North American tours combined for an overall take of $1.69 billion, down about 15% from $1.99 billion in 2009. The story was only marginally better throughout the world, where the top 50 total tour gross of $2.93 billion was off about 12% from $3.34 billion a year earlier.

Numbers were down almost across the board: total ticket sales dropped 12% in North America, from 29.9 million in 2009 to 26.2 million last year, and decreased 7% worldwide, from 45.3 million in 2009 to 38.3 million in 2010.

The only increase reported by Pollstar was in the average ticket price worldwide, which went up by $2.86 per ticket, or about 4%. Tickets in North America actually dropped by about $1.55 or 2%. Even Bon Jovi's field-leading $108.2 million for North America was the lowest figure in recent years for the No. 1 spot. The record high belongs to the Rolling Stones, who took in $162 million on their 2005 "A Bigger Bang" tour.

"Artists worked fewer shows in a tough business climate and those that overreached suffered the consequences," Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni said in a statement that accompanied the numbers. "In general, the international concert business was stronger than in North America, where overbooked and overpriced shows at outdoor amphitheater venues made it an especially difficult year for Live Nation," a reference to the world's largest concert promoter.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney has received consistent praise for his stamina, still typically delivering three-hour performances while touring at age 68. But he generally worked fewer nights for more money than most of his peers. His average gross of $3.86 million per night over 21 dates in 2010, and an average ticket price of $138.49, gave him the highest per-concert average in North America, followed by Bon Jovi ($2.85 million), Waters ($2.49 million), Alejandro Fernandez ($2.4 million) and Elton John-Billy Joel ($1.97 million).

Popularity-wise, however, Dave Matthews Band reigned, selling 1.27 million tickets in North America for the year. Bon Jovi was second with 1.18 million, Justin Bieber with 987,000, John Mayer with 894,000 and Brad Paisley with 880,000.

Rounding out the top 10 grossing North American tours were McCartney, who took in $61.8 million over 42 shows in 38 cities. Lady Gaga finished No. 7 with total ticket sales of $51 million, followed by the James Taylor-Carole King "Troubadour" reunion tour that nipped at Gaga's 6-inch spiked heels with a $50.7 million total gross, the Black Eyed Peas at $50.5 million and singer-songwriter guitarist John Mayer at No. 10 with $49.9 million.

Bublé also performed well around the world, finishing at No. 6 behind Metallica with $104.2 million, the "Walking With Dinosaurs" animatronics tour ($104.1 million), McCartney ($93 million), the Eagles (92.3 million) and Waters ($89.5 million).

"Walking With Dinosaurs" attracted more patrons than any other tour, logging almost 2.06 million visitors. But the spectacle's overall gross finished farther down the list because the average ticket price was a comparatively modest $50.56.

Billboard's concert business rankings, which cover a slightly different, non-calendar year -- Nov. 22, 2009-Nov. 20, 2010 -- and factor in worldwide tour revenues, also place Bon Jovi at the top of the heap, with a gross during that period of $146.5 million from sales of nearly 1.59 million tickets.

The rest of the magazine's top five touring acts were largely consistent with Pollstar's, with the No. 2 slot taken by U2 ($131.5 million, 1.31 million tickets), then AC/DC ($122.6 million, 1.16 million tickets), Lady Gaga ($116.2 million, 1.36 million tickets) and Black Eyed Peas ($81.6 million, 1.26 million tickets). U2 scored its penultimate finish with only 22 stadium shows, compared to 69 performances for Bon Jovi.

U2 was tops on Pollstar's list of 2009's biggest tours, posting $123 million and another 1.31 million tickets sold. The Irish quartet was the only act to top the $100-million mark last year, with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band coming in second with $94.5 million, Elton John and Billy Joel's duo tour pulling in $88 million, Britney Spears at $82.5 million and AC/DC fifth with $77.9 million.

Among Pollstar's Top 100 North American tours, the crown for highest average ticket price of 2010 goes to Waters, who charged an average of $126.14 per ticket. That's considerably less than last year's high of $173.89 for Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks Live" tour.

Pollstar will release a full Top 200 early next month in its 2010 Year End Special Edition.

 -- Randy Lewis

Top photo: Jon Bon Jovi led the concert word with over $200-million in concert revenue. Credit: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images.

Bottom photo: Michael Bublé also had a good year, including finishing at No. 6 internationally. Credit: Associated Press.

 
Reason No. 785 that “there will always be an England”: The U.K. pop singles chart this week is topped by the latest winner of Simon Cowell’s hit show “The X Factor,” coming to U.S.  TV screens soon. But on his way to No. 1 with his single “When We Collide,” newly crowned pop star Matt Cardle got a surprise challenge from a nearly 50-year-old U.S. surf-rock classic.

The Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird’’ -- the one boasting the Shakespearean refrain, “Bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word” -- debuted at No 3, right behind Cardle and the No. 2 single, Rihanna’s “What’s My Name,” and ahead of the Black Eyed Peas’ “The Time (Dirty Bit),” last week’s No. 1 place holder.

“Every Christmas, the No. 1 single has been by the person from that show,” said Tim Livingston, director of sales and publicisty for Sundazed Music, the New York-based reissue specialty label that has the rights to “Surfin’ Bird” in the U.S. “Evidently, a bunch of people over there got fed up with that, and last year they had a grass-roots campaign to try to get Rage Against the Machine to No. 1.”

It worked: Rage’s 1992 song “Killing in the Name” outsold 2009 “X Factor” winner Joe McElderry’s “The Climb” and wrested the No. 1 slot from Cowell’s talent-contest victor during Christmas week.

The music business doesn't have an overabundance of sure things these days, but a holiday-themed album from Susan Boyle probably comes close. Like a warm cup of cider, Boyle's "The Gift" is all yuletide comfort, and Boyle fans have propelled the album to more than 1.1 million in sales in four weeks, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In the last week alone, the album has sold 272,000 copies.

In its return to the pole position on the U.S. pop chart, Boyle knocks out Kanye West, whose "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" slides to No. 7 in its second full week. A return to hip-hop after the downbeat "808s & Heartbreak," West's "Fantasy" has generated a bounty of media attention and given the artist a solid two-week total of 605,000 copies sold.

Boyle has a lead over Taylor Swift on the Billboard-managed tallies. The country star's "Speak Now" has already sold more than 2.1 million copies, racking up an additional 182,000 copies sold this week. A number of holiday albums infiltrate the charts, including Jackie Evancho's "O Holy Night" and the latest collection of music from the Fox show "Glee." The two sit at Nos. 3 and 4, each selling a little more than 128,000 copies.

Dealing with the Black Eyed Peas' dominance of pop radio is like planning for earthquakes in Los Angeles. There's no use in protesting about either anymore. You can stock up on supplies and map an escape route for your family, but each is a geologic fact, and you might as well accept the inevitability.

With the Peas' latest, “The Beginning,” the Big One that will topple freeways and leave Power 106 a smoldering crater is “The Time (Dirty Bit),” a typically house-jacking club track that so flagrantly bites the chorus of “(I've Had) The Time of My Life” from “Dirty Dancing” that it has a kind of post-authorial genius. Consider it a musical Snuggie for tottering Valley party girls — it will feel marvelous in the cold, drunken and lonely hours of the night.

But complaining about such is like lamenting the rise of global capitalism. There is no viable alternative anymore. The better challenge is to find the pearls of techno-caveman beauty in the coke-nose vocal tweaks of “XOXOXO” or the Daft Punk aspirations of “The Best One Yet (The Boy).” They have a song called “Love You Long Time,” for goodness sake. That's all the Peas want to do, and they will not be ignored.

— August Brown

The Black Eyed Peas
“The Beginning”
Interscope
Two stars

Of the half-dozen acts that played during Monday night's mega event at Staples Center, perhaps any one of them alone could have filled the arena. But together, those genre-spanning superstars produced a fantastic and unforgettable stage show for the fairly intimate crowd.

Also, there might have been something about a video game.

The invite-only event was put on by Activision Blizzard, the Santa Monica outfit that makes such hit games as Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft. Among the first nighttime events for the kickoff of this year's E3 video game expo in Los Angeles, Activision somehow managed to top Microsoft's Project Natal spectacle from the night before, which called upon the ever-mystifying Cirque du Soleil.

How a video game publisher managed to book Staples Center on the eve of the Lakers' crucial Game 6 in the NBA finals was a mystery soon forgotten after things got rolling. Eminem was the apparent headliner of the night, nabbing the longest playtime and the last punch and kick onstage, but it wouldn't be at all fair to call those who preceded him opening acts.

Sunday's Times features a story on the vitality of the electronic music scene in Los Angeles, and the many festivals and parties arriving this summer. There's the Electric Daisy Carnival at Exposition Park and Memorial Coliseum; two Hard events at the downtown Los Angeles State Historic Park; in August, the Love Festival, also at Exposition Park; and countless smaller parties -- including Lightning in a Bottle, which concludes Sunday -- dotting the summer calendar season.

In the story, Black Eyed Peas co-founder and producer will.i.am discussed his experiences discovering the first-wave rave scene in the early 1990s. In fact, he and Electric Daisy Carnival founder Pasquale Rotella went to high school together (Palisades Charter High School), and attended the same early raves and club nights (the most popular being Club What?).

Here's an edited transcript of the conversation. Will was on the phone in Europe while on a break from Black Eyed Peas' 100-date summer tour. The band lands in Birmingham, England, on Tuesday for two dates, then continues on to, among other cities, Paris; Johannesburg, South Africa; Barcelona, Spain; Venice,Italy; Athens; and Edinburgh, Scotland. Sounds like a nice summer.

L.A. Times: It seems that right now there's a convergence going on in pop music among hip-hop, R&B;, electronic dance music and pop. We're hearing a lot of old rave sounds and house samples, and the hits are at much faster tempos.

will.i.am.: There's not a convergence from an industry standpoint. The music industry isn't converging toward dance music. Dance music is dance music. It's been around since disco -- and way before disco. But there's different versions of dance music. Disco is the first technology music. And what I mean is that "disco" music is named after discs, because when technology grew to where they didn't need a band in the clubs, the DJ played it on a disc. The DJ is a disc jockey. So it's technology.

And then, hip-hop was an advanced version of disco, because they rapped over a disco beat. Hip-hop was fast, originally. It was always fast music. They rapped over disco. [He starts beatboxing the bass line of "Good Times," by Chic, sampled in the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"]. That hip-hop song was an uptempo disco sample.

There was a moment at the Black Eyed Peas concert Tuesday night at Staples Center when the screams from the audience were enough to shatter glass and earlobes, and it had nothing to do with the powerhouse group.

In fact, the moment occurred during opener Ludacris’ set as the rapper introduced special guest Justin Bieber, the precocious pop sensation who dominates the trending topic stream of Twitter on a daily basis. The 16-year-old took the stage to perform his hit “Baby” with every bit of swagger as the single-named pop stars he is now bumping off the charts.

With the crowd at its feet, and a few girls close by tweeting their hearts out, this was the moment that set the tone for what would be a night of sensory overload as the group responsible for dominating the pop charts last year with its album “The E.N.D.” hit the stage.

Tuesday was the last of two dates the Peas played in Los Angeles, and there wasn’t a single sign of fatigue as they played hit after hit.

There are few vocalists, said Slash, who can inspire him to trot out a signature Guns N' Roses song such as "Sweet Child o' Mine." At the top of that shortlist, perhaps to the surprise of many of the guitar-slinger's longtime fans, sits Fergie. While the singer behind "My Humps" would seem to be a long way removed from the hard-rock stud, Slash defined the Black Eyed Peas vocalist as a "closet rock 'n' roll singer."

Though it wasn't the first time he performed the song with Fergie, Slash and the Black Eyed Peas ran through "Sweet Child" when the pop band opened for U2 at the Rose Bowl in late 2009. It's Fergie's ability, said Slash, to sing in the higher notes associated with the enigmatic Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose that persuaded Slash to perform the song in front of a stadium audience that was estimated to top 95,000 people. 

"That was a first for me, to go out and pull out ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ in front of however many thousands of people at the Rose Bowl with a different group," Slash said. "I had never really played that song with anyone besides Guns N' Roses. Fergie asked me if I would do it with her, and she’s honestly one of the only singers I would trust that song to." 

She's one of more than a dozen vocalists who will appear on the guitarist's upcoming self-titled solo effort, set for release this April. It's the artist's first work since Velvet Revolver fizzled out in 2008, and first to bear his name since his two albums with Slash's Snakepit, who last released an album in 2000. The upcoming effort follows a pattern defined by another guitar hero, Santana. Slash is paired with a lineup of multi-genre artists, including Ozzy Osbourne, Kid Rock and Marooon 5's Adam Levine. 

"I wasn’t trying to consciously bridge any generation gaps or to try to be eclectic," Slash said. "I wrote the music first, and I took the different styles of music that I was writing and farmed it out to singers who I thought might like it or be appropriate for. So for instance, I’d say, ‘Adam Levine would sound amazing on this.‘ So while that may be way off the beaten Slash path, I knew that’s what I would sound great."