It's one thing to know The Who is scheduled to rock the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 at Sun Life Stadium. It's another to spring for the ticket. This is a 12-minute, made-for-TV concert sandwiched by halves of football. Who but The Who would go to Super Bowl XLIV just for the music?
There are cheaper, easier options for catching concerts amid the hoopla surrounding the big game and its exhibition cousin, the Jan. 31 Pro Bowl, also at Sun Life Stadium. None, so far as we know, involves The Who. But that's what television is for. Here's a rundown of who else is playing and where.
Fort Lauderdale beach is the staging ground for Super Bowl Saturday Night, a free public outdoor concert and fireworks show on Feb. 6. The rock band O.A.R. headlines the Super Bowl Eve beach party, with Barenaked Ladies and Robert Randolph & the Family Band also performing.
Festivities start at 4 p.m. on the sand near the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel, A1A and Holiday Drive, with bands beginning at 6 p.m. and fireworks at 9:40 p.m. Visit nfl.com/superbowl/44/events/super-bowl-saturday-night.
The Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam, starring Rihanna, Timbaland and Justin Bieber, takes place Feb. 4 on South Beach, at Ocean Drive and Eighth Street. Entry is not quite free: General- admission tickets, which must be reserved through Ticketmaster, include a $1.25 service fee. Gates open at 5 p.m. and the concert begins at 7 p.m. VH1 will televise the concert live starting at 9 p.m.
Pepsi follows up Feb. 5 at the same location and time (and same ticketing arrangements) with the Latin-themed Musica Super Bowl Fan Jam, starring Nelly Furtado, Pitbull and Paulina Rubio. Telemundo is taping the concert for a 4:30 p.m. Feb. 6 broadcast.
On Feb. 6 at noon on South Beach, the Direct TV Beach Bowl presents a celebrity flag football match and a concert by rock band All-American Rejects. Admission is free to the event, on the water at Ocean Drive and 21st Street.
Also free: a Super Bowl edition of Clematis By Night, downtown West Palm Beach's regular block party at Flagler Avenue and Clematis Street. Classic rockers Starship, featuring Mickey Thomas, perform, along with the Gypsy Lane Band. Showtime is 5 p.m. Feb. 4. Visit clematisbynight.net.
The bowl week parties and concerts at Bud Light Hotel -- actually the Doubletree Surfcomber on South Beach, transformed -- look inviting. Alas, events including concerts by Usher and Uncle Kracker are open only to winners of a sweepstakes and ticket giveaways by local bars and radio stations. Keep an ear out for opportunities to get in.
As NFL week in South Florida turns up the volume, there is piggybacking -- events with minimal football pedigree coinciding with the game. But many of those have landed on the calendar of events at southfloridasuperbowl.com, official website of the Super Bowl Host Committee. And it's a fair bet some of these to-dos will be populated with Super Bowl VIPs. (Bring binoculars.)
The Black Eyed Peas are hauling their hip-hop hit machine to town, and they're a natural for the occasion since Peas tracks such as Pump It and Let's Get It Started have become house P.A. standards at pro sports games. Black Eyed Peas, with special guests LMFAO, perform at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6 at AmericanAirlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, 786- 777-1250 ($46.50-$89.50, Ticketmaster.com and 800-745-3000).
Comedian and occasional pro sports TV pitchman Dane Cook does his big- room stand-up at 8 p.m. Feb. 6 at BankAtlantic Center, One Panther Parkway, Sunrise, 954-835-8000 ($52.75-$102.75, Ticketmaster.com and 800-745-3000).
Blues legends B.B. King and Buddy Guy convene at 8 p.m. Feb. 2 at Hard Rock Live, 5747 Seminole Way ($45-$90). Hard Rock Live has various Super Bowl-related events on tap, including sports agent Drew Rosenhaus' Rock 'N Soul party at 9 p.m. Feb. 5, featuring pro athletes and live music ($100-$250), and Lingerie Football at 9 p.m. Feb. 6 ($59-$229). Tickets are at Ticketmaster.com, 800-745-3000 and the Hard Rock box office, 954-797- 5531, hardrocklivehollywood.com.
The Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies has another Super Bowl-themed gig Feb. 6: Taste of the NFL, an upscale dinner and concert pairing top chefs and pro athletes, with proceeds going to Daily Bread Food Bank. It starts at 6 p.m. at the Broward County Convention Center, 1950 Eisenhower Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-765- 5933. Seats are $500 for individuals, $600 for VIPs and $6,000 for corporate tables of 10. Visit tasteofthenfl.com.
Food, live music and football also converge at Eats Beats & Cleats, a Feb. 4-7 street festival on South Beach's Lincoln Road. Concerts, athlete autograph sessions and other activities fill out the four-day schedule. Information and tickets ($85-$350) at eatbeatsandcleats.com
The centerpiece of Eats Beats & Cleats -- and a separate, ticketed event -- is the Gridiron Greats Night of Champions, hosted by singer-actor Jamie Foxx and former NFL coach Mike Ditka, at 9 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Tickets are $95-$275 at Livenation.com. Foxx and NFL lineman-turned-musician Kyle Turley are scheduled to perform. Ditka will presumably not sing.
The ubiquitous Foxx might drop in on the aforementioned Bud Light Hotel for a Bud Bowl concert Feb. 6. He is hosting a Super Bowl party Feb. 4 at Passion Nightclub at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, passionnightclub.com, 954-321-3443.
A Super Bowl Gospel Celebration features singing athletes from the NFL Players Choir and performances by praise-and-worship music stars BeBe and CeCe Winans, Donnie McClurkin and Israel & New Breed. The concert is at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Knight Center, 400 SE Second Ave., Miami, 305-416-5978 ($54-$97, ticketmaster.com and 800-745- 3000).
For more information contact All About Jazz.
