Word is the chancellor's office will announce an interim executive director for the Lied Center for Performing Arts Friday morning to replace the retired Charles Bethea.

The rumor is it may be Ann Chang-Barnes, the founder and former artistic director of the Meadowlark Music Festival.

It makes sense. She's proven a leader, having successfully put Meadowlark on the chamber music map. She would be more than qualified to steer the ship until a new director is found.

I called Ann at home, but she's in Spokane, Wash., judging a music festival and isn't due back until Saturday night. Her husband, Paul, a co-chair of UNL's piano department, said he didn't know anything about it.

Fox announced its new season today, and "Back to You," the comedy starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton won't be a part of it.

Fox canceled the sitcom. Also failing to make the cut were midseason replacements "New Amsterdam," "Unhitched" and "Canterbury's Law."

Returning dramas are "24," "Bones," "House," "Prison Break" and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles."

The only scripted comedy coming back is Brad Garrett's "'Til Death."

Fox will keep its animated block of "American Dad," "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill" and "Family Guy."

Returning reality shows are "American Idol," "America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back," "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?", "COPS," "Don't Forget the Lyrics!", "Hell's Kitchen," "Kitchen Nightmares," "The Moment of Truth," "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Talkshow With Spike Feresten." The late-night sketch show, "MadTV," also returns.

New shows include a "Fringe," a science fiction thriller from J.J. Abrams ("Lost") and "Dollhouse," a drama from "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon.

Something about the Qwest Center must be inspiring for Elvis Costello.

Last year, Costello delivered a gem of a solo performance opening for Bob Dylan, who followed with a lackluster set.

Wednesday, Costello and his band The Imposters did about the same thing opening for The Police with a fiery 55-minute set that more than held its own with the headliners.

Costello’s set cascaded throughout his career, with slightly rearranged versions of “Watching the Detectives” and “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea” bumping up against “American Gangster Time” and other songs from “Momofuku,” the excellent new Costello & The Imposters album.

As always, Steve Nieve’s keyboards were prominent. But the set also showcased some biting guitar by Costello that then constrasted with the crooning balladry of “Flutter and Wow” and “My Three Sons,” two of the new songs, the latter a bit of sentimentality from the often acid Elvis.

Costello and The Imposters ended their set with a gorgeous version of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” that was the high point of the entire evening.

That praise of Costello is not to say that The Police put on a bad show. They’re far too professional for that.

But there’s a “reunion tour” quagmire that gets nearly every band that tries to get back together after years apart and doesn’t make a new record before heading out on tour.

That, by definition, made the reformed British trio’s concert a greatest hits affair, leaving only staging and what they played when to provide a slight bit of mystery and excitement.

But those who paid the big bucks to see the show -- the top ticket price was over $200 -- got what they came to hear -- 20 familiar songs over 100 minutes, excellently staged and well played.

For me, the highlights of The Police set were a beautifully lit, captivating take on “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” on which drummer Stewart Copeland moved to a percussion platform, playing a giant gong, various cymbals and drums and a xylophone and, of course, “Roxanne” the breakthrough hit that still sounds good decades later, even if Sting’s voice has dropped into a slightly lower register.

CBS, ABC and The CW have announced their new seasons with very few surprises.

CBS canceled "Shark," but is bringing back bubble shows "The New Adventures of Old Christine," "Rules of Engagement" (midseason), "How I Met Your Mother" and "The Unit." Also gone is "Moonlight" despite a loyal fan base which campaigned for the show.

CBS will move "Without a Trace" to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and "The Unit" 9 p.m. Sundays.

ABC kept bubble shows "Eli Stone" and "According to Jim." Left off the schedule were “Notes From the Underbelly,” “Men in Trees,” “October Road,” "Miss Manners" and “Women’s Murder Club.” "Scrubs," picked up from NBC, will be a midseason replacement.

The CW is keeping "The Reaper" (yeah!) as a midseason replacement. It's moving comedies "Everybody Hates Chris" and "The Game" to Friday nights. "Aliens in America," featuring Lincoln's Lindsay Shaw, was canceled.

Fox is scheduled to announce its new season on Friday.

In the last few weeks, Omaha's live music scene has undergone some serious upheaval with a threat of ending all-ages shows winding up with an odd solution that requires parental permission for underage concert goers at venues that sell alcohol.

If the original ban on underage shows had been approved, the much ballyhooed Omaha live music scene would have likely have crumbled -- such is the dependence on kids by venues like Slowdown and The Waiting Room.

But things are even crazier in Chicago where a "promoter's ordinance" designed to address a 2003 underground party tragedy could put the city's entire music scene out of business.

Here's a link to Jim DeRogatis's Chicago Sun Times piece about the proposed ordinance and the music community's reaction to it.

While there's no direct connection to Lincoln in either case, the trend of making it more difficult to do shows is more than a little disturbing, especially in the downloading era when live is the only way that musicians can make any money.