Hot tickets

Beth Ditto is fat and she knows it. In fact, she uses her fatness to her glorious advantage. Like a well-endowed opera singer, Ditto has some pretty powerful pipes, and her size makes her an impressive fixture on the stage with indie rock band Gossip. The Arkansas singer-songwriter’s charisma and spunk come from her unassailable confidence. Having become somewhat of a sex symbol (opinions are divided on this) and a poster girl for lesbians everywhere, the often scantily-clad Ditto posed nude for the cover of LOVE Magazine in 2009, and opened the John Paul Gaultier spring fashion show in Paris in 2010. But it hasn’t all been smooth; there have been some bumps of cellulite along the way – like when she caused a minor scandal in 2006, after telling NME Magazine she ate squirrels as a child. But fat jokes aside, Gossip are great and you should get the Beth Ditto experience at the appropriate venue of Store Vega in Copenhagen on November 15. Tickets are 250kr – go get your paws on some at www.vega.dk.

The next artist listed here has three things in common with Ditto. (1) She is coming to Copenhagen in November, (2) she is American, and (3) she is also celebrated for her large derriere. Yes, it’s Jenny from the block, J.LO, Jennifer Lopez. Aside from having an incredibly successful music career, J.LO has hopped her booty across different areas of showbiz, launching a lacklustre movie career (2004 film Shall We Dance illustrates this point), appearing as the face of L’Oreal, and now as a judge on American Idol. Coming back to what she’s good at (or at least, what she does best – relatively speaking), the diva from the Bronx will perform at Forum on November 3. Tickets can be found at www.billetnet.dk  for 570 kroner a pop – if you like that sorta thing.

After that short delve into the heart of the mainstream, let’s take a musical interlude with another American act, The Black Keys. This duo from Ohio made the most of the garage rock revival in the early 2000s. Dan Auerbach (guitar and vocals) is kind of a legend among anyone who’s had the pleasure of hearing his work, while drummer Patrick Carney is a towering man who hunches over his drums – arms flailing wildly because he can’t see without his Buddy Holly glasses. The band have made seven studio albums – their  latest offering is El Camino, which was released late last year. They are everything that good modern day rock ‘n’ roll should be. They are everything Nickelback are not. Go and check them out at Carlsberg Tap1 on August 13. Tickets are a snatch at 340kr from www.billetlugen.dk.

Now that your pulses are racing a little, it’s time to give Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers a mention. The band hail from Florida (do you sense a theme developing here?) and formed in 1976. Just last month, the band had five vintage guitars stolen from their rehearsal space in Los Angeles. The guitars have since been recovered by police, which was a shame for the guy who did it, because he missed out on a tidy US$75,000 – the “no questions asked” reward the band had offered for the return of their prized instruments. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will hopefully have a better time of it here when they play Horsens Arena on June 12. Get in quick for tickets (615kr) at www.billetlugen.dk.

The band is also headlining the Isle of Wight Festival later in June alongside Pearl Jam – another act coming to Denmark this summer. Pearl Jam are scheduled to perform at Forum on July 10. Tickets are pricey, but diehard fans will happily kiss away 1,132kr at www.viagogo.dk.

Still in the rock vein, ‘80s group Walking With Dinosaurs are playing several shows around Copenhagen in October. Get your tickets from 537kr at www.viagogo.dk.

Speaking of dinosaurs, Eurovision regular, Denmark’s Birthe Kjær (see last week’s Who Is …? Column on page 18 of the newspaper) is playing Mølleparken on September 2 – tickets start from 125kr at www.billetnet.dk.

Another act representing Scandinavia is Swedish duo First Aid Kit. The pair are popular among hipsters for their Fleet Foxes-like folk sound. It’s beautiful listening – see them play at Store Vega on November 11 for 200kr, www.vega.dk.  

If you can’t wait that long, Georgian-born Brit Katie Melua is folky enough. She’s at Kulturcentre Limfjord on June 28, with tickets available from 815kr at www.billetnet.dk.

Or you can chuck it all in and run away to the circus. Or better yet, to a circus devoted to the music of Michael Jackson. Cirque du Soleil - The Immortal World Tour is coming to Parken on October 27 and 28. Tickets start at 465kr from www.billetnet.dk.