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We were sad to hear to news his morning on the passing of veteran comedian and actor George Carlin. I first caught wind of it on 1250 AM WTMA’s Morning Buzz with Richard Todd. The host played plenty of audio clips and spoke at length about Carlin’s style, impact, and cultural significance. It made we want to pull by box set, George Carlin: The Little David Years 1971-1977 out of the pile (see pics at left).

Carlin had a history of heart trouble, He had a major scare several years ago, but bounced back, Sadly, he died of heart failure on Sunday, June 22 at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica. His last performance was last weekend in Las Vegas. He was 71.

Regarded by many as one of the last great stand-up comedians of his generation, the irascible comedian seemed as determined to call out the crap in both in the mainstream and the contemporary “counter-culture” as he is to make his audiences laugh. For over 40 years, his observational humor was equal parts sociopolitical commentary, cleverly-worded gripes about “American bullshit,” and twisted renditions and reworkings of traditional comical bits. Thank goodness.

City Paper covered Carlin in October 2006 when he visited Charleston for a concert at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, on the heels of his 13th HBO Comedy special, George Carlin: Life is Worth Losing, and the release of the album version (his 25th live album to date). He seemed rejuvenated as animated as ever.

Born in 1937 in an Irish-American family in the New York City neighborhood of Morningside Heights (or, as he tended to remember it, “East Harlem”), Carlin got his start in comedy at a young age. Fascinated by the quirks of the American-English language, odd phrases, and figures of speech, he began working on comical material while in Catholic High School. After a four-year stint in the U.S. Air Force, he got into disc jockey work at a variety of fledgling radio stations.

In the late ‘50s, he worked in Louisiana alongside radio colleague Jack Burns on a Shreveport morning show. They began performing in local clubs as the necktied comedy team “Burns & Carlin,” doing impressions and material inspired by Lenny Bruce and other cutting-edge comics. The duo eventually broke up and Carlin struck out on his own as a necktie-wearing stand-up comedian doing pretty clean-cut stuff.

By the late ’60s , however, Carlin became hip to the counter-culture rumblings happening in the big cities and reinvented himself with a new, denim-clad, bearded “hippie” image and saltier, more confrontational repertoire of jokes, musings, and observations. He became a regular on such variety show and late-night programs as The Jackie Gleason Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Flip Wilson Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. He also started recording his concerts and released a string of popular live albums. His 1967 debut, Take-Offs and Put-Ons, landed him a deal with the Little David label, for whom he recorded six albums.

Through the late ’70s and ’80s, Carlin continued to work on television, on stage, and in films, despite an increasingly serious bout with drugs and booze. He’d show up as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, or as a host on Saturday Night Live or Fridays, but his popularity waned a bit. Fortunately, he cleaned up his act, went sober, and bounced back in 1985 with the release of Carlin on Campus, followed by Playin’ with Your Head in ’86.

By the ’90s, Carlin began writing a published collections of essays, routines, and stories — including Braindroppings, Napalm & Silly Putty, and When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? His unique observations on the ridiculousness of modern life turned almost angry and exasperated on the microphone — as demonstrated on one of his most livid (and hilarious) albums, 1999’s You Are All Diseased.

I’ll miss his wild facial expressions, his sharp delivery, his critical spirit, and his cutthroat “non-bullshit” approach to observing life with humor.

Two big shows for the Charleston Music Hall were announced this week.

Canadian-born veteran rocker Bryan Adams — the blonde heartthrob with the raspy voice best known for such hits as “Cuts Like a Knife,” “Run to You,” “Heaven,” and “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” — steers his special acoustic solo tour to the Charleston Music Hall at 8 p.m. on Mon. July 21.

The lengthy North American tour aims to promote songs from his recent album, 11. “The album started out as an acoustic record, and halfway through I sort of switched gears and decided to make sort of an acoustic rock record,” Adams says in a recent press release. The appropriately titled disc is his 11th album of all-original music and features 11 songs. Tickets are sale now at www.etix.com and all Cats Music Locations this week for $40 (plus applicable fees).

The legendary soul singer Reverend Al Green makes his way back to Charleston in July for a special fund-raiser concert at the Charleston Music Hall. The vocalist, songwriter, and practicing minister last performed in town when he headlined the 2006 ChazzFest on Daniel Island (it was one of the hottest concert events of the year).

With a mix of soul, funk, and high gospel, the 62- year-old Green is a living legend — a Southern gem who pioneered a hybrid of spiritualized soul music. His latest album Lay it Down (Blue Note) — a sharp follow-up to 2006’s 12-song album titled Everything’s OK (Blue Note) — was co-produced by ?uestlove (of The Roots) and features a slew of younger R&B artists, including John Legend, Anthony Hamilton, and Corinne Bailey Rae.

Presented by Baker Motor Company, Green and his band are set to perform at 8 p.m. on Sat. July 26 at the Music Hall. Tickets are a bit pricey, and they went on sale at www.etix.com and all Cats Music locations this week for $125 and $250. Proceeds from the concert will benefit MUSC’s Children’s Hospital Fund.

(from City Paper contributor Caitlin Baker):

Pearl Jam rocks The Colonial Center

“Well, it’s been over a decade since we’ve played in this state. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.” Vocalist Eddie Vedder has it right. The last time Pearl Jam played in our state’s capital was 1996. The show on Monday at the Colonial Center in downtown Columbia on Monday was the bands’ only stop in the Carolinas. Needless to say, three hours of rocking out was very much appreciated. Tennessee indie-rock band The Kings of Leon opened. Vedder joined the quintet for their final song just before the main act took the stage. Pearl Jam played more than 20 songs, including everything fans love from the ’90s. The band even played a few request songs at the conclusion of the show. It was definitely a non-stop evening as the band only took a few short breaks. That is, until Vedder hit his soap box.

As always, when he has a moment to shed the light of his opinion on things, Vedder mentioned the war in Iraq and the rising gas prices. He encouraged the people to speak up about what is going wrong in this country today. And after receiving a few hoorays and a handful of boos, he ended his speech with a witty quote: “I won’t apologize for what I’ve said, but I will thank you for listening.” Then he continued to rock out until the event staff was ready to call it quits and brought up the house lights, only for the crowd to continue singing along. You couldn’t have asked for better energy from Pearl Jam or the crowd. I can guarantee that after the display of southern hospitality in Columbia Monday night, Pearl Jam will not wait another decade to return.

One of our homeboys has a busy weekend ahead of him, In addition to his weekly writing duties, longtime City Paper staff writer Stratton Lawrence (pictured at left with his band) will present a 13-band local music showcase called “Summer Shakedown at the Local Dive” at the Pour House on Sat. June 21. Last December, Lawrence and RadioFreeCharleston presented the first “Shakedown” at the Pour House with performances from Justin Burke, Haley Shaw & Friends, Geoff Cormier, Kelly Cheats, Po’Ridge, Daniel Davis, Elise Testone, Dangermuffin, and others. The gig drew over 250 people. As with the previous event, Lawrence encouraged all the bands to highlight their original material and to invite local guest musicians to come up and play.

“You can go out and see something incredible at least six nights a week if you go to the far reaches of the Charleston area,” says Lawrence. “Our music scene is thriving. All the time, I hear people say the music scene is weak … it’s suffering … we need some good music here. If you don’t think the music scene is good in Charleston right now, you’re simply not paying attention.”

This Saturday’s event features sets on the outside deck stage and the main stage inside from Magic Bronson, Elise Testone (pictured) & The Art of Soul, The Louie D. Project, Dangermuffin, Quasiphonics, Three Piece & A Biscuit, Reid Stone, Justin Burke & Small World, Kentucky Shoes, Green Levels, Jamisun, Sean Waterman — and Stratton himself.

Sponsors include Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ, Barberitos, Ad-Naps (who are providing compostable plates, cutlery, and cups), and the City Paper.

“Everything here is high quality,” he says of this Saturday’s roster. “We’ve got reggae, funk, acoustic songwriters, country, and Americana. Of these 13 bands, only five have already played at the Pour House, so it’ll be a great experience for them as well. The cover charge is only $12 — that’s less than a dollar an act. The food will be cheap and served in a buffet style [from 6-8 p.m.], thanks to Cuban restaurant El Bohio. The deck is ready to go. A lot of these bands already play around town for five-dollar or seven-dollar covers or more, so there’s definitely some bang for the buck.”

Check out more at Stratton's own weblog, The Truffula Seed.

(photos by Robert T. Ried)