By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Green Day, Tony Hawk tickets on sale

One year after releasing its Grammy Award-winning, politically charged, epic album, "American Idiot," Green Day makes its Des Moines debut Sept. 17 at the new Wells Fargo Arena. Tickets for the show go on sale Saturday at noon through the Iowa Events Center. Reserved seats sell for $45 and $39.50 and general admission tickets are $45.

In other arena news, officials announced Monday that Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam will play there July 14. Tickets for the action sports event go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. and range from $26 to $86.

Tickets for both events will be available at the Veterans Memorial box office or may be purchased online at www.iowaeventscenter.com or by calling (866) 443-2849.
The arena, by the way, officially opens to the public July 12 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house.

Blues series returns

Blues Before Sunset, a weekly series of free blues shows by local bands, returns to the East Village June 3 and runs through Aug. 5. Shows will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on the southwest outdoor terrace of the State of Iowa Historical Building. Featured performers include: Fat Tuesday and The Greasefire Horns (June 3), Backstage Boogie Band (June 17), Steve George and the Other Brothers (June 24), The Soul Searchers (July 1), Randy Burk and the Prisoners (July 8), Hot Tamale and the Red Hots (July 15), TAZ Band (July 22), Van and The Movers (July 29), Blues Bureau (Aug. 5). Though the series will not be held June 10, Dick Prall will perform that evening at the East Village Street Market.

For those who want to take home some music from the series, a compilation CD of participating bands can be purchased for $10 at each concert or by contacting Frank Strong at (515) 314-3843.

Blues Before Sunset is part of "East Village Friday Nights," which also includes a free East Village Street Market from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The market offers fresh produce and baked goods, as well as specialty items and jewelry.

Iowa Arts Fest lineup set

The 17th annual Iowa Arts Festival, to be held June 3-5 on the streets of downtown Iowa City, features more than 120 artists as well as free performances by Iowa musicians and international folk-rock star Richard Thompson. The following is a schedule of musical performances:

Friday - Dave Moore (6 p.m.), Richard Thompson (8 p.m.)

Saturday - Bad Karma (noon), Hairline Fracture (12:45 p.m.), Mike and Amy Finders Band (1:30 p.m.), Joe Price (2:30 p.m.), Big Wooden Radio (3:30 p.m.), Blue Band (6 p.m.), The Iguanas (8 p.m.)

Sunday - Euforquestra (10:30 a.m.), Kevin B.F. Burt (noon), Tim Britton (1:30 p.m.), Tim Britton and Pat Egan (2:15 p.m.), The Beggerman (3:30 p.m.)

For more information, visit www.iowaartsfestival.com or call (319) 337-7944.

Stephens, Hancher, Gallagher Bluedorn announce seasons

Three performance venues, Stephens Auditorium, Hancher Auditorium and Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, located on the college campuses of Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and Northern Iowa University, respectively, recently announced the lineups for their 2005-2006 seasons.

Stephens Auditorium - The Hot Club of San Francisco (Sept. 9), Miss Saigon (Sept. 17), BLAST! (Oct. 16), Tweakers (Oct. 23), The Full Monty (Oct. 29), Munich Symphony Orchestra (Oct. 30), Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder (Nov. 4), Boys of Lough, A Celtic Christmas (Dec. 1), 42nd Street (Jan. 24), The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Favorite Stories (Jan. 28), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Feb. 11), Oklahoma! (Feb. 22), Polish Chamber Orchestra with Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway (Feb. 23), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (March 24), Children of Uganda (March 29), Ballet Hispanico (March 31), Diane Schuur featuring Dave Samuels and The Caribbean Jazz Project (April 23), Trinity Irish Dance Company (April 28). Tickets go on sale to the public July 1 through the Iowa State Center box office by calling (515) 294-3347 or visiting www.center.iastate.edu or Ticketmaster.

Hancher Auditorium - Plena Libre (Sept. 24), Marion McPartland Trio (Sept. 30), Ballet Flamenco Jose Porcel (Oct. 6), Peter Cincotti (Oct. 8), Lily Tomlin (Oct. 14), Dawn Upshaw, Eighth Blackbird and Gustavo Santaolalla (Oct. 27), Munich Symphony Orchestra (Oct. 29), Johannes String Quartet (Nov. 6), Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Co. (Dec. 4), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Dec. 10-11), Rennie Harris Puremovement (Jan. 21), The Actors' Gang, The Exonerated (Jan. 24-25), Alpin Hong (Jan. 28), Shen Wei Dance Arts (Feb. 1), The Producers (Feb. 7-9), Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The Magic Flute (Feb. 11), The Black Watch and the Band of the Welsh Guards (Feb. 16), Mingus Big Band (Feb. 21), Cirque Eloize, Rain (Feb. 24-25), Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (March 3), Ladysmith Black Mambazo (March 4), Renee Fleming (March 7), Trio Mediaevil (March 23), Children of Uganda (March 26), Joe Goode Performance Group (March 31), Mamma Mia! (April 4-9), Tomas Kubinek (May 7), San Jose Taiko (June 18). Evening performances start at 7:30 p.m. and matinees begin at 2 p.m. To order tickets, call (800) HANCHER or visit www.hancher.uiowa.edu/.

Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center - Robert Cray Band (Aug. 26), Chubby Checker (Sept. 9), Natalie MacMaster (Sept. 18), Willy Wonka (Sept. 20), Barber of Seville (Oct. 9), Camerata Nordica (Oct. 27), The Full Monty (Oct. 28), BLAST! (Nov. 3-4), The Nutcracker (Nov. 18-19), Chi (Nov. 26-27), Dianne Reeves (Dec. 13), Caitlin Tully (Jan. 21), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Jan. 22), Sleeping Beauty (Jan. 29), Black Watch and the Welsh Guards (Feb. 12), Sir James Galway and the Polish Chamber Orchestra (Feb. 24), Cirque Eloize, Rain (March 1-2), Diavolo (March 10), Oklahoma! (March 12), Plena Libre (March 27), Gaelic Storm (April 22). For tickets, call (877) 549-7469 or visit www.gbpac.com.

Scene notes
The Dillinger Escape Plan canceled its Thursday show at the Vaudeville Mews. Officials with the group's record label, Roadrunner Records, say the concert was canceled because they couldn't secure opening bands. Last month, the group was also bumped from the opening slot for Slipknot's performance in Ames... The Barrel House Rockets jump-start Music in the Junction, a free weekly music series in Valley Junction, with a performance Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m.... Iowa Artists 2005 opens Friday with a special ceremony from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Downtown Des Moines Art Center, 800 Walnut St. Chris Ranallo performs. Admission is $5. The exhibition runs through Aug. 12... Local artist Samantha Thomas will unveil her paintings and ceramic works Friday at Capital Square from 5 to 9 p.m. An exhibition of her work will be on display there until June 17... "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife," produced by the Drama Workshop, opens Friday at the Stoner Studio Theatre and runs through May 22... The Des Moines Symphony concludes its 2004-2005 World Tour season with its final destination - Middle Earth - and performances of Howard Shore's "Lord of the Rings Symphony" this weekend at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines. Showtimes are Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets range from $26 to $48 and student rush tickets sell for $10... New York-based punk-industrial-hip-hop group Mindless Self Indulgence plays the Val Air Ballroom May 24 at 8 p.m. Super 8 Bit Brothers and SMB open. Tickets are $17.50. Also playing the Val Air - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on May 27, Dierks Bentley on June 2 and Ja Rule on June 13... Ames singer-songwriter BeJae Fleming recently received a grant from the Iowa Arts Council to produce a new CD, "Destination Unimportant." Fleming says the album will include 12 original songs to be released by Trailer Records in Iowa City. She is wrapping up recording sessions at Iowa City's PZM Studios with Patrick Brickel (engineer) and David Zollo (producer). The album will feature a host of Iowa musicians including bassist Jackie Blount, guitarist Al Clarke and drummer Steve Hayes. Brother Trucker frontman Andy Fleming is among the album's contributing songwriters. The grant also provides funding for a creativity workshop Fleming hosts for the Youth and Shelter Services Passages Program... Lest you think quality opera is hard to find here in the middle of the corn belt, a recent New York Times story praised the Des Moines Metro Opera for "mounting quality productions with young professionals for over 30 years," adding "the theater may be small (488 seats), but the repertory is not." CV

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