Wiz Khalifa had the honors of throwing out the first pitch prior to tonight’s Pittsburgh Pirates game — and he did so while on shrooms.
“Finna get stoned af and throw this first pitch at the pirates game,” the rapper tweeted prior to taking the mound. “Shroomed out throwing in a baseball is crazy.” The magic mushrooms didn’t seem to have much of an effect on Khalifa’s abilities, as he managed to get the ball across home plate — albeit a bit outside.
Khalifa letters enjoyed some munchies in the form of Cracker Jack.
It’s worth noting that Khalifa isn’t the first person to take a Pittsburgh Pirates mound while under the influence. Back in 1970, Dock Ellis famously threw a no-hitter while on acid.
Earlier this month, Khalifa kicked off “High School Reunion Tour” with Snoop Dogg, Too $hort, and Warren G. The 33-city outing runs through the end of August and tickets are available to purchase here.
Sir Elton John played the final concert of his long-running farewell tour at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday night.
John’s final show featured a 23-song career-spanning setlist, including greatest hits “Bennie and the Jets,” “Rocket Man,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” as well as a three-song encore of “Cold Heart ,” “Your Song,” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”
“When we set off on my final tour in 2018, I couldn’t have foreseen in my wildest dreams the twists and turns and the highs and lows of this tour – and the whole world – would have experienced in the next five years,” John said in a statement following the concert. “And every step of the way, my fans have been there. They have stuck with me, they have supported me, they have been patient, and they have kept turning out for every single last show. Tonight has been magical. I’m trying to process it, and I don’t think it will sink in for a while yet that I’m finally finished touring. I can’t tell you how much I’m going to miss the fans and how much their support has humbled me – it will stay with me forever.”
During the set, Coldplay appeared via live video-link to toast John. “Elton, from all of us here, from all the bands and artists you’ve helped and inspired, we love you so much,” said frontman Chris Martin. “We are so grateful for everything you’ve done for the AIDS Foundation, anytime you’ve been kind to anybody. For everything you’ve done for LGBTQ. Everything you’ve done for fashion and eyewear. Everything you’ve done for sexiness, and love, and dressing gowns! Everything you’ve done for music, everything Bernie has done for lyrics, everything your band has done over the thousands of shows you’ve done. We love you so much, we’re going to miss you so much.”
See photos, videos, and the setlist from John’s final night of touring below.
All told, John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour” spanned more than 300 shows (including a headlining set at Glastonbury), selling 5.7 million tickets and $900 million dollars. While the tour marks John’s final global outing, the 76-year-old musician hasn’t ruled out performing one-off shows in the future.
“It’s really important to make a distinction between Elton retiring from touring but Elton not playing his very last public performance for the very last time,” David Furnish, John’s husband and manager, previously told Billboards. “I know for a fact he will not be touring in any capacity. What you’re going to see is the possibility of a special one-off or a small residency in one venue for a limited period of time.”
Setlist:
Bennie and the Jets Philadelphia Freedom I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues Border Song Tiny Dancer Have Mercy on the Criminal Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time) Take Me to the Pilot Someone Saved My Life Tonight Levon Candle in the Wind Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding Burn Down the Mission Sad Songs (Say So Much) Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me The Bitch Is Back I’m still standing Crocodile Rock Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting Encores: Cold Heart Your Song Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
After years of abandoned release dates, Lil Uzi Vert’s new album PinkTape has finally arrived.
The album spans 26 songs and includes collaborations with Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, and Don Toliver. Also featured are metalcore band Bring Me the Horizon and J-pop metal group BABYMETAL.
The album was preceded by atrailer directed by Gibson Hazard, which really acts as a mini action movie more than anything. The four-minute clip begins with an anime-version of Uzi, whose infamous $24 million pink diamond was ripped from their forehead by some sort of ancient samurai. From there, the video cuts to the real-life rapper, who travels across Japan to retain their ice. The short features heavy trap beats as well as pop punk instrumentals — as expected for Uzi — and ends with the artist beating the stone beast with a single gunshot to the heart (go figure). Check it out below.
PinkTape follows Lil Uzi Vert’s 2022 Soundcloud EP Red&White. Their last proper album was 2020’s Eternal Atake.
PinkTape Artwork:
PinkTape Tracklist: 01. Flooded The Face 02. Suicide Doors 03. Aye (feat. Travis Scott) 04. Crush Em 05. Amped 06. x2 07. Died And Came Back 08. Spin Again 09. That Fiya 10. I Gotta 11. Endless Fashion (feat. Nicki Minaj) 12. Mama, I’m Sorry 13. All Alone 14. Nakamura 15. Just Wanna Rock 16. Fire Alarm 17. CS 18. Werewolf (feat. Bring Me the Horizon) 19. Pluto To Mars 20. Confession (feat. Don Toliver) 21. Days Come And Go 22. Rehab 23. The End (feat. BABYMETAL) 24.Zoom (Bonus Track) 25. Of Course (Bonus Track) 26. Shardai (Bonus Track)
Randy Rainbow, the Emmy- and Grammy-nominated artist and YouTube superstar, has plotted a North American comedy campaign with the “Randy Rainbow for President Tour,” and tickets are set to reach the public voting soon.
Get tickets here, and read on for more details including pre-sale dates.
What Is Randy Rainbow’s Next Tour?
The “Randy Rainbow for President Tour” kicks off in Denver on October 11th. He’ll continue with stops to Tucson, Arizona; Washington, DC; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and more throughout the month before heading to Toronto on November 3rd and Ann Arbor, Michigan on November 4th.
Randy Rainbow picks back up in St. Petersburg, Florida on December 1st, then hits Atlanta; Milwaukee; and Dayton, Ohio ahead of his final 2023 performance at New York’s Beacon Theater on December 29th.
In 2024, Randy Rainbow plays Los Angeles on January 19th, San Francisco on January 20th, and Las Vegas on January 26th. After nights in Chicago and Portland, he’ll wrap in Seattle on February 3rd.
Who Is Opening for Randy Rainbow on Tour?
There has been no official announcement regarding a running mate on the “Randy Rainbow for President Tour.” However, he will be accompanied on-stage by Broadway musicians performing original songs and co-written numbers with the likes of Marc Shaiman and Alan Menken.
How Can I Get Tickets for Randy Rainbow’s 2023-2024 Tour?
A pre-sale hosted by Randy Rainbow is ongoing (use access code RALLY), while a Live Nation pre-sale opens on Wednesday, June 21st at 10:00 am local time (use code DISCO).
General public tickets follow on Friday, June 23rd at 11:00 am local time via Ticketmaster.
Alternatively, check for seats and deals to all of Randy Rainbow’s upcoming live performances via StubHub, where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.
What Are Randy Rainbow’s 2023-2024 Tour Dates?
See Randy Rainbow’s full list of tour dates below, and get tickets to all of his future shows here.
Randy Rainbow 2023-2024 Tour Dates: 10/11 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre 10/12 – Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Arts Center 10/13 – Tucson, AZ @ Fox Theatre 10/14 – El Cajon, CA @ The Magnolia 10/19 – Ridgefield, CT @ The Ridgefield Playhouse 10/20 – Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre 10/21 – Medford, MA @ Chevalier Theatre 10/27 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City 10/28 – Storrs, CT @ Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts 11/03 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall 11/04 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Michigan Theatre 12/01 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Mahaffey Theater at Duke Energy Center for the Arts 12/02 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre 12/03 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Broward Center for the Performing Arts 12/08 – Dayton, OH @ Victoria Theatre 12/09 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theatre 12/29 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre 01/19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre 01/20 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic 01/21 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Luther Burbank Center for the Arts 01/26 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Mirage Theatre 01/27 – Chicago, IL @ The Chicago Theatre 02/02 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall 02/03 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
A US citizen who played in several punk rock bands while living in Russia was arrested in Moscow on suspicion of drug trafficking.
According to NPR, the Khamovniki District Court of Moscow has accused Travis Michael Leake of selling the drug mephedrone. If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
A former paratrooper in the US military, Leake has lived in Moscow for nearly a decade. While residing in Russia, he played in several punk bands, including as the lead vocalist in Lovi Noch. Additionally, he served as the president of Red Decades Records, which looks to identify and cultivate “new and existing talent in the Russian marketplace for wider distribution in a world market.”
Leake was also featured in a 2014 episode of Anthony Bourdain’s Unknown Parts, where he voiced his frustrations with censorship in Russia. “This was a documentary series about musicians standing up and risking their lives in some cases, to stand up against government abuse of power, government corruption,” he said in the episode. “And yet, a foreign government was able to editorially control what American viewers saw on their TV screens. That to me is a scandal of epic proportions.”
Leake has denied the charge, telling the police: “I don’t understand why I’m here. I don’t admit guilt, I don’t believe I could have done what I’m accused of because I don’t know what I’m accused of.”
A spokesperson for the US State Department said officials were aware of Leake’s detention. “The US Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no greater priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas,” the department said in a statement. “When a US citizen is detained overseas, the Department pursues consular access as soon as possible and works to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”
Leake is the third American detained in Russia amid heightened tensions with the US. Last year, WNBA star Brittney Griner was jailed on drug charges, and was later released in a prisoner swap. in march, Wall StreetJournal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges and remains in custody as of today.
To say Elliot Page has endured a lot during his time in Hollywood has been an understatement. The actor’s upcoming memoir Pageboys wastes no time getting into the nitty gritty about his experiences as a queer person in the limelight (via People), including a secret relationship with a closed co-star and the “famous asshole” who once verbally assaulted him at a star-studded party.
In the memoir, Page uses “Ryan” as the code name for a co-star he began seeing romantically after they met on set; Ryan, a woman who wasn’t gay yet, would hold Page’s hand at work. But she pretended to be just platonic friends with Page when they were out — if they even acknowledged each other at all. Still, the pair kept up a relationship for two years.
“Some of my friends didn’t even know I was in a relationship,” Page said. “Ultimately, I do think she loves me. We loved each other and that was very real in our bubble. It was fantastic. You know, it was really beautiful. I admired her and how she inspired me in many ways. But the hidden feeling was far too painful. That was impossible and not a sustainable relationship at all. And it taught me that I wasn’t gonna do that again.”
But where is Page likely didn’t feel hidden was a 2014 birthday party in Los Angeles, at which she was approached by an “acquaintance” and fellow well-known actor. Page recalls this actor telling him: “You aren’t gay. That doesn’t exist. You are just afraid of men.”
The actor’s verbal attacks then got more violent, adding: “I’m going to fuck you to make you realize you aren’t gay.” When the two ran into each other later on, Page said this person told him: “I don’t have a problem with gay people I swear.”
But thankfully, Page has also found peace in “the sort of ease and the ability to exist” he’s felt since coming out as trans in 2020. We’ll be able to read more about that journey when Pageboys comes out June 6th — you can pre-order a copy here.
Last year, Page appeared in Season 3 of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy.
The former home of the Forest City Gallery on Richmond Street has managed to retain its arty feel as a cluster of local businesses have managed to re-shape the strip into a mini hub of art and design.
Jerzy Smolarek and Mike Davis bought 258 Richmond St., the building that housed the gallery, in November 2021 primarily as a home for their urban planning and design studio Siv-ik (pronounced “civic”).
They envisioned having Forest City Gallery as a long-term tenant but the gallery opted to move to 1025 Elias St., creating a vacancy.
Shortly after the gallery moved out, Arthur Lierman moved his landscape design company into the main floor space.
Landscape architect Arthur Lierman moved to 258 Richmond a year ago. “It just seems as though all of a sudden with having this magical design hub.” (Andrew Lupton/CBC)
Lierman’s design work has shaped scores of outdoor spaces familiar to Londoners, including Beryl Ivey Garden at Western University and the Rotary Reading Garden in the London Public Library’s downtown location.
His firm also worked on the design for the pocket park at the corner of Richmond and Horton.
Lierman has now moved to the building’s second floor. He likes working beside the north-facing windows where he can gaze across the railway tracks and into London’s downtown core as construction cranes re-shape the city’s skyline.
“We were looking for a place in the core but not right in the heart,” said Lierman, whose business was on Wellington Street for years prior to the move to Richmond Street. “I’ve always gravitated to somewhere along the train tracks.”
Lierman said being close, but not too close, to the heart of downtown gives the area a unique feel.
“There are a lot of creative businesses showing up here,” he said. “I find that there is creative energy here and some good spots to eat. It just seems as though all of a sudden, we have this magical design hub.”
Interior designer Hali Gallermo of Black Mountain Design Group in the company’s new space at 258 Richmond St. (Andrew Lupton/CBC)
When Lierman relocated upstairs, Black Mountain Design Group moved into the main floor space of 258 Richmond St.
Black Mountain is the duo of designer Hali Gallerno and her husband contractor John Dignard.
The couple moved their business to London from the Greater Toronto Area four years ago but opened the storefront at 258 Richmond St. this year. Together they help clients with renovations and remaking redesigns.
The new storefront is a space where they can meet clients and show off some of the finishings such as flooring, tile and custom cabinetry.
Gallerno said she’s a big believer in downtown London, despite the challenges business owners face in the core.
“We like the community, the architecture,” she said. “This is a space where we can really show clients what we can do. And we’re all kind of in the same field in this building and this whole strip here.”
Jim Telfer owns Splash, an art and design shop on Richmond Street just north of Horton. (Andrew Lupton/CBC)
Next door to 258 Richmond St. Jim Telfer runs Splash, an art and interior decor shop. A veteran of London’s art scene, Telfer would like to see the design district ideas catch on, even without the benefit of any official city designation.
“We thought this would be a great location for a store like ours and there’s others that have moved into the area as well,” said Telfer.
The area south of Horton Street in London has become known as “SoHo.” In the London context, it’s an acronym for “South of Horton.”
It’s a nod to the original SoHo in Manhattan, which stands for “South of Houston Street” and describes a neighborhood packed with galleries, boutique hotels and other designed-themed businesses.
Telfer hopes the SoHo name could help give the area an identity, even though technically his shop is north of Horton Street.
“I thought ‘Why not give SoHo as a kind of background for all the other design studios, art galleries, jewelry manufacturers, that type of thing but in London,” said Telfer. “I think it could be a really cool area.”
Telfer is hosting his annual Spring Fling event at Splash on Wednesday, May 31. He says the event is expected to bring people interested in art and design from the neighborhood but also from other cities.
“As cities grow they move, they change so we’re in the middle of that right now in London,” he said.
We’ve seen plenty of logos with hidden messages over the years, from Amazon’s secret ‘smile’ to the famous FedEx arrow. But it’s not often we encounter a logo with not one, not two but, er, eight (or possibly more?) images inside it. Thanks to its bounty of visual easter eggs, the logo for the pirate-themed video game Sea of Thieves has seriously impressed the internet – again. The game was released in 2018, but the logo is once again doing the rounds on Reddit.
It’s a skeleton. But there’s also a boat. And a rock. And clouds And an eyepatch. And a crew. Birds, too. Oh, and there’s a shark. Unless there’s anything else we haven’t spotted yet (which is entirely possible), that’s every element that combines to create the incredible, multi-faceted design (below). Many of the best logos are cleverer than they look, but this one’s a real treasure.
Love video games and game design, then catch up with the latest console game news, game art stories and PS5 rumors in our PlayStation Showcase 2023 live blog.
Sea of Thieves Logo is Uncommonly Good from r/DesignPorn
Reddit users have heaped praise on this treasure of a design. “I’ve always loved this logo. Honestly genius,” one says, while another adds, “I’ve somehow never looked at it long enough to notice all those details. It’s actually really clever”. Many have also shared an even more richly illustrated version (below) of the game’s loading screen, which still manages to look like a skull.
The game’s loading screen (Image credit: Rare)
We’re big fans of the design, which manages to blend an incredible amount of relevant imagery into a coherent whole. The clouds/ship/eyepatch combo is an inspired touch, with all three elements working both separately and together.
If you’re looking for more examples of genius hidden messages in logos, this infographic is on hand to reveal a whopping 50 of them, from Amazon’s ‘arrow smile’ (did you know it also points from AZ?) to the Toyota logo containing every letter of the name. If you’re looking to create an ingenious design of your own, our logo design guide has you covered.
The Pitch: Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a tough, grizzled secret agent who hops around the globe, taking down bad guys and saving the world — all while his suburban family is none the wiser. Yes, that’s the plot of True Liesbut it’s also the plot of Netflix’s FUBAR, Arnold’s first time as the lead of a television show (at 75!). Here, he plays the 65-year-old (sure) Luke Brunner, whose civilian cover is running a boutique gym equipment store with his ex-wife Tally (Fabiana Udenio) when he’s not swanning off to punch more terrorists in the face.
But his own double life gets a huge reality check when, on his latest mission to stop a South American drug lord (Gabriel Luna), he discovers that his estranged twentysomething daughter Emma (Top Gun: Maverick‘s Monica Barbaro) is also on that mission, and it turns out she‘s been a CIA agent this whole time too! The shock!
With their respective covers blown, they’re forced to finally work together and hash out their professional and personal issues — all while figuring out how to keep their superspy lives a secret from their loved ones.
Leveraging Arnold’s Star Power: There’s something innately charming, and yet deeply cynical, about the concept of ol’ Arnie coming back to TV for a retread of the kind of work he made his nut on in the ’80s and ’90s. In his post-Governatorial career, Schwarzenegger has tried mightily to return to the movie-star fold (Terminators: Dark Fate, the Expendables series) and stretch his legs as a dramatic actor (Maggie). But most recently, he’s leaned into the kind of cheeky meta-humor nature of his own casting. In this respect, FUBAR feels not unlike the excellent Taran Killam vehicle Killing Gunther — a milquetoast comedy whose entire premise hinges on audiences saying, “Hey, that’s Arnold! Doing Arnoldstuff! I remember that!”
But the“True Liesbut what if a father and daughter are both the spy?” premise holds some promises, and to be fair the show’s most effective moments come when Schwarzenegger and Barbaro get to explore this in depth. at its heart, FUBAR is a show about a distant father realizing his daughter’s going down the same flawed path he is, and trying to keep her from making the same mistakes. That stuff’s pretty interesting, and the pair have some solid chemistry when they get to sit down and talk about how the allure of their exciting secret lives can pull them away from the people they love the most.
To be fair to the former Mr. Universe, he’s giving it as much as he can at his advanced age. His Luke Brunner is hardly the beefy superman of commando and predators; the show’s modest budget doesn’t hide the seams between Arnold and his army of stunt doubles very aptly. But let’s see you dive behind crates while shooting pistols when you hit your golden years!
Dolly Parton famously (twice!) declined an invitation to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump. It turned out that she also rejected a similar overture from President Joe Biden.
TheToday Show’s Jacob Soboroff recently interviewed Parton recently to promote her upcoming album Rockstar. While the singer didn’t discuss her decision not to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom on camera, Soborof told The Today Show colleagues that it stemmed from her desire not to be associated with any particular party. “I just don’t want even the appearance of being a partisan in any way,” he recalled saying.
Parton did discuss her distrust of the modern political system in general, however. After Soborof read an uncharacteristically biting lyric from Parton’s new song “World on Fire” (“Greedy politicians present and past/ They wouldn’t know the truth if it bit ’em in the ass”), he asked which politicians the song was about .
“All of them! Any of em!” Parton revised. “I don’t think any of ’em are trying hard enough. I’m sure they’re all trying, but I just really think that, often, they worry more about their party than they do about the people. If we just do what we feel is the right thing, rather than who’s gonna lose, who’s gonna win this, who’s gonna look better if they do this, rather than working from the heart.”
Even though she’s remaining mum on her partisan ties (if she has any), “World on Fire” still marks Parton’s most political statement to date. The track appears on rockstar, which she was inspired to make after receiving another major accolade: enshrinement into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The 30-track rock album is composed of nine original songs and covers of rock ‘n’ roll classics like Prince’s “Purple Rain,” Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” and Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” Joining her are a who’s-who of rock royalty, including Debbie Harry, Elton John, and Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Rockstar is out November 17th, and pre-orders are ongoing.
“Greedy politicians present and past, they wouldn’t know the truth if it bit ’em in the ass.”
Absolutely loved talking to @DollyParton about her new single off her rock album and spending time with her at Dollywood.
