CONCERTS:

Kanye West, Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco, and N.E.R.D. Can we say power tour?! Catch their Manhattan date May 13 at Madison Square Garden. [On Sale: Saturday, Feb. 23 at noon]

Call him dad rock, but Billy Joel’s July 16 show, which was to be the last concert ever at Shea Stadium, was the fastest sell out in Shea’s history, with 50,000 tickets disappearing in just 48 minutes. In fact that was enough to prompt Mr. Joel to add a second concert two days later, which is now being billed as Shea’s official musical close out. (Sorry ‘bout that early birds!) [On Sale: Saturday, Feb. 23 at 9 a.m.]  read more »

When Elizabeth Taylor asks for something, she gets it. At least that’s the way things went for the septuagenarian actress today, when she announced that T.V. and film writers striking in front of the Paramount lot in L.A. have agreed to honor her request and cease their protest for one day only. Not just any day of the week, however. The brief ceasefire will commence on December 1st, World AIDS Day, when Ms. Taylor and James Earl Jones will perform A.R. Gurney’s play Love Letters at the studio. The actors’ one-night turn is expected to bank a cool million bucks for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

Elizabeth Taylor, for one, isn’t overly worried about a dearth of writers at next month’s AIDS benefit, to be held at the Paramount Pictures lot in L.A. On December 1, the bejeweled grand dame of Hollywood, 75, is slated to perform A.R. Gurney’s play Love Letters alongside venerable actor James Earl Jones, 76. If the strike continues into next month, Ms. Taylor is apparently optimistic that members of the W.G.A. will cross picket lines—for one day only—in the name of her charity, The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which hopes to raise $1 million that night, also World AIDS Day.  read more »