Adelaide’s blackout due to the major storm on Saturday put Daniel O’Donnell’s sold out show at the 2000 capacity Thebarton Theatre in jeopardy on Saturday night.

Fans started arriving at the theatre at 6pm for the 7pm show – and as night fell – the theatre still in darkness – it was all hands on deck with venue management out to all stores in Adelaide buying up every hand held torch they could find to at least get the audience into the theatre and out of the cold wind and rain.

At show time with still no power – and a generator being sourced – Daniel and his band came on stage and performed a 90 minute acoustic show with a battery operated megaphone and emergency stage lighting.

When the generator arrived, Daniel performed his full show and by coincidence – the power returned unexpectedly as he returned to the stage  – and Daniel performed another 90 minute ‘powerful’ show.

He received a standing ovation and clearly his fans loved having a double dose of Daniel.  Following the show Daniel went to the foyer to meet and greet his fans and finally left the theatre at 12.30am.

A memorable night for all.

U2 will be coming to Australia in December to perform in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth as part of the global 360 degree tour.

The Australian leg of the tour will kick off at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on December 1.

In the video statement from the band, The Edge jokes that Larry promises to play in time, that he himself will play in tune and that Bono is going to run around a lot and do really cool things. Adam added that he’s going to hit a few cricket balls.

Bono said that they have a whole set of songs for Australia that will probably be played for the first time.

“It’s always a thrill,” he added before rubbing a stuffed Koala bear toy.

Australian fans have been promised their best look at the band, thanks to a new, in-the-round high-tech stage nicknamed The Claw.

It offers views from every angle and complete with rotating bridges and a towering video system, allowing full view by all fans no matter where in the stadium they are seated.

Manager Paul McGuinness says the band can’t wait to bring their extraordinary rock production to Australia.

“U2 is at their best when surrounded by their audience. It was important that we were able to bring the whole 360° production to Australia so fans could experience the latest of U2’s legendary productions.”

Giving all fans an unobstructed view is something the industry had been trying to figure out for some time.

Guitarist The Edge said: “Where we’re taking our production will never have been seen before by anybody, and that’s an amazing thing to be able to say. For a band like U2 that really thrive on breaking new ground, it’s a real thrill.”

It has been reported that rapper Jay-Z will join the party as a special guest.

Tickets for the Australian shows go on sale on September 3 with promoters saying prices will start at just $40.

December 1 2010: Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria
December 8 2010: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland
December 13 2010: ANZ Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales
December 18 2010: Subiaco Oval, Perth, Western Australia

Irish rock trio The Script have just announced plans to perform in Australia this October in support of their upcoming album Science & Faith They have been compared with some of the biggest names in the music industry such as U2, Van Morrison and Maroon 5.

Their self-titled debut album, released in 2008 went to number one in the Irish charts and has produced hit singles all over the world. It achieved Platinum status here in Australia and launched the band head first into the spotlight with the highly popular single Breakeven. It was also a hit in America with Breakeven featuring for the last 34 weeks in the US Billboard Hot 100.

Dubliners Danny O’Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power have achieved not only commercial success but also huge critical acclaim worldwide with an addictive blend of hip hop rhythms, flowing melodies and story-spinning lyrics.

In 2009 the band were handpicked to open for U2 and Paul McCartney and continued to win hearts across the globe with their charisma and crowd-pleasing live performances.

With Danny’s mellifluous soulful vocals riding high over huge, anthemic choruses, Science & Faith is far from a difficult second album.

It is due for release in Australia next month. The first single from upcoming album Science & Faith will be For The First Time.

General public tickets for the upcoming Australian dates will go on sale from 9am (local time) on Friday, August 13.

They play the Palace Theatre in Melbourne on Tuesday, October 5 and the Big Top at Luna Park, Sydney on Wednesday, October 6. The Sydney show will be an all ages gig.

Tickets can be bought through Ticketek on 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

We don’t know whether Aslan considered changing their name to Ashlan after the Icelandic volcanic cloud derailed their plans to tour Australia back in April.

The tour had to be postponed after the Dublin five-piece found themselves stranded in Dublin, unable to board their flight to Australia.

But there’s finally good news for Aslan’s Australian fans with new dates confirmed for September and October.

Promoter Fran Daly of Troubadour told the Echo that he looked forward to finally bringing the band back to Oz.

“Aslan are a band that hold a special place in people’s hearts. We were heading for a fantastic tour in April and it was devastating to have to postpone the gigs. However, that’s all behind us and with all of the same venues on board, we hope that the Aslan fans come out in force again and support us,” he said.

All purchased tickets for the previous shows will be honoured, according to Fran, but people should check with their local venue.

“Some have indicated that they will give you a new replacement ticket in exchange for the old one. For others, the ticket you have now is valid so check in with the venue,” he advised.

Aslan’s tour will kick off in Perth on September 24 followed by gigs in Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.