Boy George Cancels U.S. Tour After Visa Snag

Boy George was forced to cancel his U.S. summer tour — his first trek here in over a decade — after failing to secure permission to enter the States. George faces trial in November for charges filed against the Culture Club singer dating back to April of 2007 when an escort accused the Karma Chameleon of holding him against his will, and thus U.S. authorities have denied his visa, even thought British authorities permitted George to travel anywhere after paying his unconditional bail. George is especially disappointed he'll be unable to perform for employees of New York's Department of Sanitation on August 17th, saying he planned the concert "as a way to thank the DSNY and the workers' families for the kindness shown to him during his community service with them in 2006." Click the jump for the canceled dates

July 10 - Aspen, CO @ Belly Up
July 11 - Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
July 12 - San Diego, CA @ Concerts In The Park
July 13 - Anaheim, CA @ The Grove Of Anaheim
July 15 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
July 16 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
July 17 - Reno, NV @ Grand Sierra
July 18 - San Francisco, CA @ Regency Center
July 20 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox
July 21 - Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom
July 22 - Calgary, AB @ Flames Central
July 23 - Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Events Centre
July 25 - Miami, FL @ Club Cinema
July 26 - Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Hotel Orlando
July 27 - Tampa Bay, FL @ Jannus Landing
July 29 - N. Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues SC
July 30 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
August 1 - Philadelphia, PA @ Keswick Theatre
August 3 - Atlantic City, NJ @ House of Blues
August 5 - Long Island, NY@ Theatre at Westbury
August 7 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
August 10 - Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
August 12 - Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
August 13 - Boston, MA @ Wilbur Theatre
August 14 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5
August 19 - Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage
August 21 - Austin, TX @ Stubbâ's BBQ
August 22 - Houston, TX @ Verizon Wireless Theater
August 23 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues

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Song Stories

“Piano Man”

Billy Joel | 1973

Billy Joel’s first hit, “Piano Man,” was – ironically – an autobiographical lament about how his first album wasn’t a hit. When Cold Spring Harbor didn’t take off, Joel briefly became a lounge pianist in Los Angeles, and this song, about that experience, expressed his frustrations and fears at the time: “And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar/And say, ‘Man, what are you doing here?’” “It was all right,” Joel said later, about the gig. “I got free drinks and union scale, which was the first steady money I’d made in a long time.”

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