Sing us one last song at Shea, Piano Man

Billy Joel bade a stirring farewell to Shea Stadium on Friday during an electrifying, sold-out final show at the same ballpark where the Beatles famously ushered in a new era in rock ‘n’ roll four decades ago.

On tour, Mickey Hart spreads the word on the benefits of rhythm

Mickey Hart will turn 65 in September, but retirement is the furthest thing from the mind of the former Grateful Dead drummer.

Neil Diamond to mix legendary fan favorites and new tunes at Qwest

Diamond has done some planning in order to incorporate a few songs from “Home Before Dark” into his legendary show, which will stop at Omaha’s Qwest Center on Thursday.

Airplanes to Athens members find their groove as in-demand Lincoln band

Greg Humlicek (guitar), Rose Heydt (drums) and Jesy Stortenbecker (vocals) have been playing in the band Airplanes to Athens for the past couple of years.

Record review: Beck, "Modern Guilt"

After a few listens, I’m still not sure what to make of Beck’s “Modern Guilt,” except to say that rarely has the contrast between lyrics and the music in which the words are set been more stark.

Record review: The Hold Steady, "Stay Positive"

The Hold Steady went to Brooklyn by way of Minneapolis, so there’s something about their Springsteen-meets-the-Replacements all-American rock ’n’ roll that’s always made sense

Record review: The Boss Martians, "Pressure in the SODO"

Charging and swaggering through their explosive live shows, the Seattle quartet draws on a garage punk lineage wide enough to include power pop and Iggy Pop, channeling vintage Northwest rockers lik

Record review: Emmylou Harris, "All I Intended to Be"

Harris’ voice is, of course, impeccable on these 13 songs, five of which she wrote or co-wrote (the two with Kate and Anna McGarrigle are highlights).

Record review:New York Dolls, "Live at the Fillmore East"

The New York Dolls Mach II �” original members David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain along with a trio of newcomers �” tear through a set that’s a mix of Dolls classics such as “Trash,” “Loo

Record review: The Offspring, "Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace"

The Offspring gets the Bob Rock treatment and proves that there’s little distance between punk and ponderous.

Record review: The Fratellis, "Here We Stand"

Scottish pub-rockers The Fratellis are a big deal in England, but their biggest success here has been getting their song “Flathead” in an iPod commercial last year.

Record review: Coldplay, "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends"

he well-meaning rockers wanted to improve their game, so they brought in the producer who has given growth hormones to everyone from David Byrne to U2 to Microsoft.

Record review: Jakob Dylan, "Seeing Things"

To his credit, Jakob Dylan has carved out a solid career fronting pop-rockers The Wallflowers, hardly critical favorites but good sellers nonetheless. Now he's gone solo, via the Rick Rubin method.

Record review: Duffy, "Rockferry"

Think Dusty Springfield for the 21st century and you’ve got Duffy, a 23-year-old singer from Wales whose debut album, “Rockferry,” is retro ’60s cool, dipping into classic British-style blue-eyed soul with grace a

Record review: Mates of State, "Re-Arrange Us"

For a famously devoted hubby-and-wife music-making couple, mates Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel usually manage to stay away from any yuckiness associated with such pairing.

Record review: Usher, "Here I Stand"

“Here I Stand” is another step forward for Usher, whose last record, “Confessions,” came out four years ago and marked a transition from teen star to very adult entertainer.

Record review: Julie Ocean, "Long Gone and Nearly There"

Released on local label Transit of Venus, “Long Gone and Nearly There” is a terse (10 songs in 25 minutes) blast of nostalgia for the jangly, melodic guitar pop of the Eighties, from early decad

Record review: Usher, "Here I Stand"

"Here I Stand" is another step forward for Usher, whose last record, "Confessions," came out four years ago and marked a transition from teen star to very adult entertainer.

Record review: Foxboro Hot Tubs, "Stop Drop And Roll!!!"

Those sneaky devils in Green Day find their inner garage rockers on "Stop Drop and Roll!!!," a disc credited to their alter ego outfit, the Foxboro Hot Tubs.

Record review: Gavin DeGraw, "Gavin DeGraw"

Five years after “I Don’t Want To Be” helped his homespun, piano-driven pop-rock debut album “Chariot” reach platinum status, Gavin DeGraw is back with a slightly edgier but less consistent follow-up.

Record review: Matmos, "Supreme Balloon"

If the long-running electronic duo Matmos - Martin Schmidt and Drew Daniel - has veered toward arty abstraction in the past, its seventh album is a pleasant surprise.

Record review: Head of Femur, "Great Plains"

The transplanted Nebraskans turned Chicagoans who make up the core of the sprawling left-of-center pop band have tightened up their sometimes over-stuffed sound without sacrificing the “where did that come fr

Record review: No Age, "Nouns"

Arriving less than a year after Rippers, Nouns is every bit as visceral, unpolished and explosive, and only a tad more compromising.

Record review: Elvis Costello and The Imposters, "Momofuku"

The prolific Elvis Costello is back with yet another album, bringing together The Imposters and some guests to make "Momofuku," a record named for the inventor of instant noodles.

Record review: Steve Winwood, "Nine Lives

Five years after his acclaimed indie release, "About Time," Steve Winwood has returned to the majors with "Nine Lives," but fear not: He's made minimal concessions to the pop commercialism that wilted much of his