north charleston coliseum

-time Grammy winner will help coliseum kick off anniversary celebration

Elton John, one of the world's top-selling, most recognizable musicians, will perform Nov. 9 at the North Charleston Coliseum.

"It is a privilege to have a superstar performer of Elton's status return with his band for the kickoff of our 15-year anniversary celebration at the coliseum," Dave Holscher, general manager for the coliseum, said Friday.

It's the first time John has played the coliseum since he sold out a show there on Oct. 14, 1997.

Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947, in the suburbs of London.

A former student of the Royal Academy of Music in London, his early career began to blossom in the mid-1960s with the formation of his first group, Bluesology. Dwight pulled his stage name from two members of that band, and soon after met his longtime songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin.

The two have written together off and on during the past 40 years, and have penned some of the most popular and memorable songs of all time, including "Rocket Man" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me."

During John's four decades as a singer and songwriter, he has sold upwards of 200 million records, has won five Grammy awards (from 1986-2000) and received the "Grammy Legend Award" in 2001.

He also won an Academy Award for his work on the Disney animated children's film "The Lion King."

John has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including nine No. 1 hit singles, and seven consecutive No. 1 U.S. albums.

Just a few of John's more recognizable tunes include "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)," "Tiny Dancer" and "Candle In The Wind." Those are a few selections on his multi-disk "Greatest Hits 1970-2002" collection, which went triple platinum in August 2004.

In March, John released "Rocket Man ― Number Ones." The collection debuted in the Top 10, and features the musician's digitally re-mastered greatest hits spanning the first three decades of his career.

John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s. He was knighted in 1998 by Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services."

For the Charleston show, John will bring band members Davey Johnstone on guitar, Guy Babylon on keyboards, Bob Birch on bass, John Mahon on percussion and Nigel Olsson on drums.

Reserved tickets are $88/$68/$48 (plus applicable fees), and will go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 28. Tickets can be purchased at the North Charleston Coliseum box office and all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com and livenation.com, or by phone at 554-6060.

The Sportz Cafe in North Charleston is big. Sometimes too big, according to owner Jon Reed, who explains that "you can have 100 people in here and it doesn't look that busy."

This is true. The intimacy of a bar is often dictated by its size. A place that only holds 50 people can seem very happening when filled to capacity, but double that amount can make a large place seem dead. But owner Reed has been working around this and other handicaps for a very long time.

Reed moved from Alabama to the Lowcountry to open the Sportz Cafe in August 1998. While being located close to the intersection of I-26 and the Mark Clark Expressway was always an advantage, in the late '90s the corridor of West Montague Avenue that Sportz Cafe inhabited remained mostly an industrial area. Reed believes this alone made his place less attractive to potential customers. But between the success of the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center and the opening of the new Tanger Outlet, things have changed.

While Reed has noticed an upswing in business, Sportz Cafe's success is not merely due to the business dynamics of the North Area. With nearly 50 TVs, including the largest in the area ― an 18-feet high screen ― many area sports fans have long called Sportz Cafe home. For eight years, University of Tennessee alumni have enjoyed games in a private, 125-seat room, and alumni of the University of Alabama now enjoy their college football at Sportz Café as well.

Sportz Cafe also has featured a number of bands over the years, with this writer remembering with fondness concerts by KISS Army (KISS tribute) and the Cigar Store Indians, a well-known, regional rockabilly band. As Reed notes, when country acts such as Toby Keith or Melissa Etheridge play the coliseum, or rock acts such as Godsmack, Aerosmith or even the real KISS ― Sportz Cafe is the meeting place for music fans before and after the show.

Sometimes it's good that Sportz Cafe is spacious enough to accommodate scores of rock, country and sports fans (as well as Stingrays hockey fans) and sometimes, as Reed points out, its spaciousness can be a problem. But after almost a decade of being in business, success speaks for itself, and it can be said with certainty that owner Jon Reed is doing something right.


CHAZZFEST 2007

The second annual ChazzFest went off pretty well last Saturday, despite stormy, hot weather and lower-than-expected attendance. According to co-organizer Riddick Lynch, about 5,500 attendees came through the gate, compared to approximately 6,500 at last year's event. "There were no injuries or major snafus, fortunately," says Lynch. He and the ChazzFest team plan to fine-tune a few things to encourage better turnout next year. "Some things were surprisingly positive, and some things were surprisingly negative this year. It absolutely will continue next year."

ELTON VISITS COLISEUM

The team at the North Charleston Coliseum announced a big November concert this week. Elton John and his full band are solid for a show on Fri. Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. They're on the road in Australia and North America this fall behind a newly-released, 18-song collection titled Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits. In 2006 John released the autobiographical album The Captain & The Kid. Tickets go on sale Fri. Sept. 28 at 10 a.m. for $88, $68, and $48 at the N. Charleston Coliseum Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at LiveNation.com, or by phone at (843) 554-6060. Visit www.coliseumpac.com and www.eltonjohn.com.

MUSIC AT BLACK CART

There's some new club action on upper King Street. Located upstairs from Joe Pasta on the corner of King and John Streets, newly opened nightclub The Black Cart (54 John St., (843) 965-5254) is now featuring a rotation of local turntablists on weekends. Proprietor Julio Cotto recently booked DJ D-Rock for Friday nights and a tag-team of DJ Belk and DJ Kurfu for Saturday nights. The venue is open seven evenings a week from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. "Good music everyday ... libations, art, and billiards" is the Cotto motto. Visit www.theblackcart.com for more.

CLIFFORD DRIVING BLIND

Charleston-based singer/songwriter Jay Clifford (of Jump, Little Children) hits the road in October in support of his first solo effort, Driving Blind, released earlier this month on 33& 1/3 Records. Driving Blind was recorded at Swing House Studios with producer Warren Huart. Backed by pianist Michael Flynn and guitarist Josh Kaler (both of Slow Runner), bassist Jonathan Gray (of Jump), and drummer Tom Hamer (of The Fire Apes, Hed Shop Boys), Clifford kicks off the tour in Birmingham at the WorkPlay Theatre on Wed. Oct. 10 and concludes it at the Music Farm on Fri. Nov. 2. Check out www.myspace.com/jaycliffordmusic for more. ― T. Ballard Lesemann

EASY SKUNKIN'

Far from the maddening crowds of Merlefest, South Carolina hosts its own bluegrass festival this weekend just outside Greer, near Greenville. Held on a family farm, the oddly-named Albino SkunkFest features the Waybacks, J.D. Crowe, Shawn Mullins, Robinella, and Shannon Whitworth, in addition to a fine line-up of homegrown Carolina pickers. Tickets are only $60 for the entire weekend (that includes parking and camping), and it� BYOBooze ?food will be available. Plenty of kid activities too, and don� miss the �kunk wrastling.?It� a rural, family affair, so bring your overalls, your pickin?grins, and your guitfiddles for those after-hours jam sessions. �tratton Lawrence