Unfortunately there was none of Kasim's own new music but new songs to his set were Yellow Cab (the song which was available to listen to online at KasimSulton.com until recently), the Nik Kershaw song Jane Doe and Bourgeois Tagg's song I Don't Mind At All. (If you click the links under the song titles you can read the lyrics.) Kasim also played an amazing new version of Where Is My Soul as the previous times he's played it on stage it has been piano-based but this was guitar-based and sounded very different.

Kasim played for just under an hour and his set was streamed on the Internet although apparently it didn't stream 100% perfectly. Kasim's 13 songs consisted of 6 of his own songs, 3 from Utopia, two from Nik Kershaw and one each from The Cars and Bourgeois Tagg.

A special mention must go to Doug Kennedy who gave an outstanding performance on the guitar throughout the whole set - his lead on Libertine was especially impressive. Plus I think a mention should be given to Kasim's brother Alex who worked hard on the sound despite not appearing to having the best facilities at the venue.

Kasim said that he had CDs available for sale for only $10 but we're not sure whether they were Quid Pro Quo or a CD with some new tracks as the 4 people I spoke to who tried to buy a copy said they couldn't find the person who was supposed to be selling them!

Check back soon for some reviews and photos of this gig.

Kasim's next gig will be next Saturday at The Tin Angel in Philadelphia.

This will be Kasim's third solo tour and (hopefully!) will be his longest and most successful so far. To date only 8 dates have been announced between today and 24th September but more dates are promised soon. Click here for the list so far.

Kasim's first solo tour (his Solo Acoustic Tour) lasted from 7th April 2001 until 26th August and consisted of 17 gigs plus lots of radio interviews and public appearances.

Kasim's second solo tour (his Have Guitar Will Travel Tour) ran from 1st February 2002 until 16th March and had 20 gigs plus various radio appearances.

Tonight will be Kasim Sulton's third appearance at The Bitter End in his own right and he is expected to play for about an hour from 9.30pm onwards. The Bitter End is advertised as "New York City's Oldest Rock Club" and has a very prestigious history. Click here to read it all but since 1961 loads of people who are famous names now have played at this venue. Click here to read the list but it includes stars like Woody Allen, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Hall & Oates and Stevie Wonder!

One of the defining characteristics of The Bitter End is the brick wall that the stage is set against and the photo above by Jennifer Salyer was taken there at one of the earlier gigs which Kasim Sulton and Doug Kennedy at the venue.

According to one website The Bitter End can hold up to 350 people but it's well arranged so that everyone can see really clearly. There are tables right up to the front of the stage plus booths on the back wall or you can opt to sit at tables to the side area so that you look across the stage. There is also a bar area as soon as you walk into the venue which offers a good view too although you may have to put up with the next band arriving during Kasim's set! This is a venue that offers a good selection of drinks and they are all reasonably priced. If you sit at a table they like you to have a minimum of two drinks but there is no restriction at the bar.

The venue is really easy to find as it's in the center of Greenwich Village. The Bitter End website has a great page of directions which even includes if you're arriving by boat, helicopter or horse! There are also loads of places to park (for cars not helicopters!) in the immediate area too. If you can't find anywhere on the road, in the next block up Bleecker Street there's an underground parking lot which is very reasonably priced.

Bat Out Of Hell III: The Monster is Loose will be released on 31st October in US and on 23rd October in Europe. Kasim Sulton is known to have played bass and sang background vocals on the album but it hasn't been announced yet which tracks he's on.

According to posts on various mailing lists and messageboards a press conference announcing the album was to have been held on 11th July in New York City but that has been postponed until Wednesday 26th July which is the week of the Meat Loaf concert in Toms River and their appearance on The David Letterman Show.

The first single to be released from the album is now expected to be a remake of the 1996 Celine Dion hit (on which Kasim sang background vocals!) It's All Coming Back To Me Now which will be a duet with a Norwegian female singer called Marion Raven. Meat Loaf recently filmed a video with her for the song. Marion gave an interview in Norwegian this week regarding this collaboration. Many thanks to Caryl Burton for clarifying a translation program's version of what was said. The most interesting items which relate to Kasim (allowing for errors in the translation) appear to say that she will be "tearing around with Meat Loaf and the band at the end of the year". She also says that she expects to play with them on Broadway and at The Royal Albert Hall in London, England!

Quite how these plans (assuming they are correct) will pan out with Kasim's own gigs and the restart of The New Cars Tour awaits to be seen!

(Unfortunately my spell-check changed Kweevak.com to Weekday.com which I didn't picked up!)

As it will disappear after the gig it says "On July 29, The Saint presents Kasim Sulton and special guests. Tickets are $15. Sulton, a current member of The New Cars, is best known as the bass player in Todd Rundgren's Utopia. The Saint, 601 Main St., Asbury Park, has presented live original music since 1994. All shows are 21 to enter unless otherwise noted. Tickets are available at The Saint, and doors open at 8 p.m. Call (732) 775-9144 or visit www.thesaint.com." (The website of the venue is actually www.TheSaintNJ.com.)

Many thanks to Deborah Smith-Stokes for posting the link.

Unfortunately the article incorrectly lists the gig as on a Tuesday (it's a Saturday) but at least it's one piece of publicity for one of his gigs and apparently an interview with Kasim will be posted on that website soon too!

Many thanks to Michele Mac for this link.

Many thanks to EyesLikeMica for posting this link.

All you have to do is to fill in your details to sign up for their mailing list but unfortunately the competition ends today. Apologies for the late notification but it's the first time that I've seen the competition mentioned anywhere.

Reviews and photos (including over 100 of the Holmdel concert!) of the rest of the concerts will be added soon.

Click here for the direct link to purchase tickets. This link is available from the flash version of calendar page on The Opus Theater website here but not from the non-flash calendar page.

Advance tickets are advised for this gig. Although seats are allocated on a first-come-first-seated basis on the night, it's likley that this venue will sell well. Tickets purchased in person from the venue are $20 and advance tickets are only $21.39 (this venue sells tickets through Brown Paper Tickets and not TicketMaster!). Plus part of the Brown Paper Tickets profits are given back to the community and those purchasing tickets have the choice of it going to ACCION International, Animal Welfare Institute or Northwest Programs For The Arts.

For people wanting to buy tickets with a credit card registered outside the US it looks as though they can't be bought using this site but I've been assured that all that has to match the credit card details is the Zip Code or Postal Code so you enter any state you like but ensure that the Zip / Postal Code is correct in order to buy tickets.

Fans who buy tickets to this gig receive one free pass to the viewing of Meat Loaf's Dvd concert Live With The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (featuring Kasim Sulton on Sunday 13th August at 3.00pm.

This will be Kasim's second gig at this venue in recent years and it's one in particular that I'm looking forward to. If you don't like the regimented seating of some venues then The Saint is ideal as you can just stand wherever you like or sit on the tall stools which are dotted around the hall. Personally I think Kasim's music suits these sort of venues better than the more sterile atmosphere of a seated theater and The Saint is one of the most relaxed that I've seen Kasim in over the years!

Asbury Park is synomous with music (think Bruce Springsteen!) but even The Saint itself has a great musical history. The Saint opened its doors on Thursday 18th November 1994 and since then has hosted music on 5 to 7 nights a week plus they have an all ages matinee rock show on a Saturday afternoon! It also hosts the famous Asbury Park Music Awards each year too.

The venue is also VERY proud of its sound system and they say that you hear "near-CD" quality as they have a four-way monitor mix. The Saint holds 200 fans and has a 14 foot by 14 foot stage which from memory I seem to recall is a good height so everyone will be able to see Kasim really clearly.

This is one of those venues where you have a choice of ways to purchase tickets as you can either e-mail Scott@thesaintnj.com to reserve a ticket or you can just turn up at the door. (Advance sales are recommended though.)

This will be Kasim's third gig of his 2006 Tour so they'll be highly polished by this show plus Kasim will probably be chomping at the bit to play some of his own music after playing a Meat Loaf concert the night before so it should be a very special show indeed!

(For anybody from out of town still undecided why not tie it in with the Meat Loaf concert too? There are still tickets available for that show in the 10th row on TicketMaster!)

The SoundCheck Package page has been updated with this info.

One great quote is "I will be performing some new songs at these shows as well as dusting off the older more or less familiar tunes. I promise these shows are going to be ... FUN."