Private lunch dates with Avril Lavigne and Nick Lachey are part of the one-of-a-kind experiences up for grabs in the Because You Love Him Father's Day auction. On the virtual block via the eBay Giving Works dedicated fundraising program through June 21, the proceeds from the sale will benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Bidding on the lunch with Lavigne had reached $12,100 at deadline. Among the other prize up for bits is an afternoon with legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, lunch with famed boxing promoter Don King and two hours with basketball great Magic Johnson.
-- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
In celebration the 30th anniversary of its recording, Bob Dylan's landmark album "Blood on the Tracks" will be feted with a live rendering in New York. Set for June 29 at the city's Merkin Hall, the event will feature various artists each performing a song from the set in order. Slated to participate are Joan Osborne, Vernon Reid, Toshi Reagon, Jeffrey Gaines, Citizen Cope, Jesse Harris, Ollabelle, Marc Anthony Thompson, Brandon Ross, Richard Barone and Tony Visconti. The show, proceeds from which will benefit the venue, will be broadcast live on local public radio outlet WFUV.
In addition, Mary Lou Lord will be on hand to perform Dylan's "Up to Me," which was originally recorded for "Blood on the Tracks" but not released until many years after. Joel Harrison and Alex de Grassi will also perform instrumental interludes during the show.
For tickets -- priced at $150 and $45 -- or more information, visit the venue's Web site.
-- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
Lo-fi rock act Beulah will split following the conclusion of its ongoing U.S. tour. The San Francisco-based band, which plays the first of two shows at Chicago's Abbey Pub tonight (June 11), will call it quits with a free Aug. 5 show in New York's Battery Park. Formed in 1996, Beulah's rotating lineup has been as small as the duo of founding guitarists Miles Kurosky and Bill Swan, who recorded the 1997 EP "Small Cattle Drive in a Snowstom" for the well-regarded Elephant 6 label. It has also swelled to more than 20 musicians for the group's second album, "When Your Heartstrings Break" (Sugar Free). The group currently exists a six-piece.
Beulah released a total of four full-length sets and three EPS. The group's last two albums, 2001's "The Coast Is Never Clear" and last year's "Yoko," were issued on the Velocette Records label.
-- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
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