So, Santana has canceled the July 28 concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte due to "scheduling conflicts."

Really? Because the July 27 and July 29 concerts are still going on as planned. I'd guess it's more like poor ticket sales — but did they even give them much of a chance? I've seen comments from quite a few people who are disappointed that the show is not going to happen. I guess it goes to show that you have to get your tickets early or a band just might bail out.

OK, there's no other way to put this, but the subject keeps wafting in, so someone has to address it. When you're at a concert, or any other loud public event, please keep in mind that while people may not exactly hear you release your flatulence, that doesn't mean they won't smell it.

Gross? Yep, it is, without a doubt, but for some horrible reason, I keep finding myself in the vicinity of someone who obviously ate something that his/her digestive track did not agree with.

Last week, I was at Levon Helm — a seated show at the Knight Theatre — and was basically trapped in the vicinity of the culprit. Last night, I was at OK Go and when the stinky situation arose from somewhere near the soundboard, I could easily make a run for another part of the venue to get away.

Seriously — that's why there are bathrooms. You may be trying to add your own bass line to the evening's events through a rumble out your backside, but you should remember that smell travels and there's no longer the stench of cigarette smoke to mask your intestinal distress.

Why bring this up in a blog posting? Because it's quite obvious that some people don't have common sense when it comes to these matters and don't care about the people around them. I don't want to smell you if you haven't showered, and I don't want to get a hint at what you might have eaten earlier in the day.

Next time, whoever you are, get your shit together, literally and let people enjoy the show... Everybody does it, but not everybody wants to know about it... or get a preview.

Has anyone else noticed the trend of people video taping concerts on their phones or digital cameras?

It seems to happen more and more — and not just on the "popular" songs, but on every song. As I'm watching the band over the heads of those around me, I'm also trying to see between countless cell phones and digital cameras as they video tape the entire song.

What's the story here? First of all, what are you going to do with your wobbly video that has horrible sound? Put it on YouTube? Are you just hoping that someone falls off stage so you can get 1 million hits?

I don't get it. Why does someone want to pay $50 or more for a concert ticket only to watch the entire show on a three-inch video screen as they try to tape the entire thing?

I understand people trying to take a quick cell phone pic, or maybe they want a video of their favorite song, but on numerous occasions, I've seen people holding their cameras up for an entire hour-and-a-half concert so they can video every single song in the show. And it's not like these people are front row and getting a great shot — they're halfway back in the crowd, or further, and getting a small collection of lights and shadowy figures.

Here's one example from the recent Bon Jovi concert (this guy has posted roughly 40 minutes of the concert so far). Check out the fantastic quality in the first 30 seconds -

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Here's some great audio from the Beastie Boys concert at Amos' Southend:

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So, here's my point. Go to concerts, enjoy the show and have fun! Don't buy tickets so you can sit there staring at your camera — if your friends want to see the show, they should buy a ticket, too. You really need a better hobby than producing shitty videos.

I've noticed it more and more lately... there are a number of hip-hop artists who have one finger on their upper lip while spitting rhymes.

Now, I get that you want to keep a consistent position of the mic while you're talking into it, but doesn't that finger get a little freakin' annoying? Are you trying to remember what kind of sandwich you ate earlier in the day? Maybe there's some other reason you're smelling your finger... I don't know.

I've noticed that Jay-Z seems to be the one to constantly and consistently do this:

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Just thought that it was a bit odd... so, what's the reason?

It should come as no surprise that I'm not a fan of cover and tribute bands — at least 99% of them — for a variety of reasons. You're not going to open Creative Loafing any time while I'm the music editor to see a big feature story written on a cover band.

First, they're taking money away from the bands that write original music. Drawing fans who want to hear the music they like live on stage instead of sitting home, listening to the radio and hearing the same thing.

Actually, they're also taking money away from the people who wrote the songs. I'm sure members of cover bands spend countless hours downloading music illegally, too.

If they had a lot of musical talent, they'd write their own stuff. Doing it because it pays the bills is a terrible excuse. How about having some musical integrity and making money off of something you created yourself?

Meanwhile, they all seem to have taglines. Liquid Pleasure is "America's #1 Party Band" while The Swinging Richards is the "Premium Party Band." The Maxx just hopes you "Do it to The Maxx."

And where's the truth in advertising? Who's Bad bills themselves as the "Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band." Why not say, "Who's Bad — Now that he's dead, we can make more money!" Appetite for Destruction is a Guns N Roses Tribute Band, but maybe they should say, "Appetite for Destruction — Making money off of Guns N Roses' talent for years." Perhaps Slippery When Wet the Bon Jovi Tribute could say "Slippery When Wet — Why be original?"

Someone commented on a blog post of mine asking why he should care about festivals in other cities and why I don't focus just on the city of Charlotte and the music here... Why should the average reader care about my coverage of Bonnaroo or the Voodoo Festival, etc.

My answer — probably for the same reason that I go, to see or hear about bands that I'm not familiar with who are likely to come to Charlotte in the future.

This summer, I'll once again head back to the farmlands of Manchester, Tenn., to check out Bonnaroo 2010 and hope to find and hear bands that I haven't heard before and that I will recommend checking out.

Here's a quick look back at what I learned in previous years —