Tagged As: Michael Jackson, Elton John, Dave Matthews Band, Billy Joel, Prince, music, concerts

One has a jeweled glove and jacket. The other wears high heels and tights. One lost his home after a couple decades of dubious behavior. The other has done his best to make himself an unprofitable artist for a major record label. They are both 50 and they are both apparently trying to make a last splash. They are Michael Jackson and Prince.

Yes, in a summer full of the regularly celebrated summer tours from blue collar rockers like Bruce Springsteen, beach-inspiring troubadours like Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band, and groups from the ‘90s playing their seasonal hits like Dave Matthews Band. However, the entry of these two names makes the summer of 2009 a truly rare musical experience.

Michael Jackson is set to play 50 farewell shows in a residency at the O2 Arena in London. The first ten concerts will get him out of any debt he could possibly have accumulated over the course of a few lifetimes. The rest of the 40 could probably help bail out a bank or two. Not bad for an artist who was recently considered a toxic asset himself.

Prince has only announced three appearances, at the Nokia Theatre, Conga Room, and Club Nokia, all on March 28. I do not know whether to call this a PR stunt or whether to consider this another one of Prince’s antics. Either way they are leading up to the release of three of his studio albums, LOTUSFLOW3r, MPLSoUND, and Elixir. His new record label, Universal, must feel a little nervous about this since Prince flooded the market with his albums in the ‘90s to get out of his Warner Bros. contract. Still, if you sign Prince you have to know you will be getting a good deal of crazy.

I personally would love to see two of the biggest wild cards in modern music history go on a headlining show like Elton John and Billy Joel Face to Face Tour. I know Jacko has promised to retire after this concert series, but maybe a chance to team up Prince to create the most ridiculous tour ever (talent wise and general crazy wise) would be too much to pass up for really either artist. They could call it the Don’t Call Me Crazy Tour and Kanye could come along on as a supporting act.