Fan Fare

Perez Hilton’s ambitious concert tour dogged by apathy

Gossip columnist Perez Hilton probably hoped for bigger crowds and better buzz for his inaugural North American tour of up-and-coming musical acts. But the three-and-a-half week trek ended on a high note on Saturday as upwards of a thousand people showed up at the Avalon Hollywood theater to check out the vibrant lineup of would-be superstars.

Numbers may have been boosted by the addition of a not-so-secret mystery headliner, indie rock band The Gossip, who are probably better known internationally. The other performers on the final stop of the “Perez Hilton Presents” club tour included the B-52s-like rock band Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, English singer/songwriter Julian Perretta, the glam-rock New York band Semi Precious Weapons, and usual headliner New Zealand dance-pop-rock starlet Ladyhawke (pictured at left).

And, of course, the excitable Hilton drew loud shrieks from his core demographic of young women packed into the front rows each time he took the stage to introduce the next act. “I have this little gossip site, but music is really my passion,” he said at one point. “This is a dream of mine.”

Whether the dream will yield a second tour is questionable. The trek drew modest crowds, and tickets for some of the all-ages gigs were given away. Tickets for the Hollywood show could be bought at the window for $25, down from the advertised day-of-sale rate of $31. Norwegian singer Ida Maria, one of the headliners, dropped out after a week claiming “total exhaustion.”

It also passed under the radar of the music industry, whose denizens are neither enamored of Hilton’s day job nor thrilled that he landed his own label at Warner Music Group. Hilton was aware that his stamp of approval could backfire on the artists, telling the Seattle Weekly that “if you love Ladyhawke, you shouldn’t let your dislike for me get in the way from coming to the show. Just get over it. It’s not about me.”

On the other hand, the promoters did seem to keep costs down, judging by the fact that many of the artists set up their own equipment. Ladyhawke (a.k.a. Pip Brown) recounted that she had driven 8,000 miles in a van with both her bandmates and with Semi Precious Weapons. Presumbly Ladyhawke and Semi Precious Weapons’ cross-dressing frontman Justin Tranter had plenty of time to swap makeup tips and pantyhose tricks.

Perez Hilton’s first all-star tour boasts international flavor

Disappointed that Ozzy Osbourne pulled the plug on his annual hard-rock festival Ozzfest this year? Maybe a new package tour organized by gossip columnist Perez Hilton will help fill the vacuum. Or not.        The so-called “queen of all media” says he has lined up “the hottest acts on the planet — from all over the world!” to tour North America, beginning Sept. 10 in Atlanta, Ga.

“Perez Hilton Presents…” — with an initial lineup featuring Norwegian rock musician Ida Maria, New Zealand singer/songwriter Ladyhawke and the British pair of electropop artist Frankmusik and singer/songwriter Julian Perretta, runs through Oct. 3 in Los Angeles, he revealed on his blog Tuesday.

Other stops on the club trek include Boston (Sept. 14), New York City (Sept. 16) and San Francisco (Sept. 30). Tickets start going on sale on Thursday.

Hilton, the recent subject of a glowing profile in the Los Angeles Times, is already dipping his toes into the music industry through an imprint at Warner Music Group. His blog postings and Twitter messages often sing the praises of such acts as Katy Perry and Lady Gaga (not to mention Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys).        One act that likely won’t appear is the Black Eyed Peas. Hilton got into a mild contretemps with the group’s road manager in Toronto last June following an exchange of angry words with singer will.i.am. He is suing the road manager, who was charged with assault by the Toronto police.