Gallagher coming to town, sans hammer

I know, I know -- these shows have been on the calendar for awhile now, so this isn't "Just In" ... but Gallagher's upcoming performances in the Charlotte area inadvertently fell off my radar after I first learned about them, so now I'm making amends.

First, the legendary comedian will perform standup at McGlohon Theatre at Spirit Square at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 7. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by clicking here. ... Then at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8, fans will have the opportunity to laugh at/with the funnyman again, when he takes the stage at Lake Norman Comedy Zone, which is located in the Galway Hooker Pub (17044 Kenton Drive in Cornelius). General admission tickets are $25 and available at lkncomedyzone.com.

The now-64-year-old prop comic became a household name in the 1980s smashing produce and other items with his trademark “Sledge-O-Matic.” However, both of next week's shows are listed as "no sledgehammer shows" -- so you can leave your raincoats at home.

Gallagher was last seen in the Charlotte area during a 2002 show at Ovens Auditorium.

Def Leppard returns to Charlotte

Hair metal returns to Charlotte's Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on June 22 in the form of British band Def Leppard, famed for '80s hits like "Love Bites," "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Armageddon It."

Def Leppard's last visit to town was in August 2009, when it performed at Verizon with Poison and Cheap Trick. This time, Heart will open.

Tickets for the tour will go on sale on March 4 at LiveNation.com, the venue box office, Ticketmaster, or by phone at 800-745-3000.

Your CIAA Week Survival Guide

Beginning Monday, the CIAA Tournament once again takes over uptown for a week of basketball games, parties, history lessons, parties, family reunions, and parties. And more parties.

This is the sixth straight year the CIAA has helped bring everything from rap shows to step shows to dance-till-you-drop gatherings for the “grown and sexy.” But even if you’ve done it before, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all there is to see and do.

Here are five tips for making the most of your tournament week experience, courtesy of Kendrick Adams, who runs www.cltcentral.com (the most comprehensive list of CIAA parties we know of):

1. Go to a day party. The best experience of the tournament week is going to a day party while everyone else is at work. There are plenty to choose from between next Thursday and Saturday, and some are free.

2. Plan your partying. Buy your tickets early for the best events. Paying at the door can be expensive.

3. Stick with well-known promoters and venues. Events advertised as “3rd annual,” “4th annual,” or “5th annual” are good bets. These promoters are most likely experienced with the tournament week and are going to have professional events. New promoters may advertise big-name celebrities or guests that may not show up. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

4. EpiCentre. The EpiCentre will be the party mecca throughout the tournament week. There are tons of events planned at its various bars, restaurants and clubs. Details: http://epicentrenc.com.

5. Take the train. If you weren’t able to get a room uptown, just hop on the light rail to get to the Convention Center, or Time Warner Cable Arena from South Charlotte. An all-day pass is $5.25, or a weekly pass is $17.50. Details: www.lynxcharlotte.com.

6. Go to a game. It’s easy to forget the real purpose of the tournament week. Buy a ticket and go see one of the games. The tournament is what makes everything else possible. Details: www.ciaatournament.org.

Are you ready for some serious bulls?

The Professional Bull Riders' Built Ford Tough Series returns to Time Warner Cable Arena for the Troy-Bilt Invitational presented by Lowe's Home Improvement on Friday, Sept. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 1.

Cut through all the corporate-sponsor name-dropping and here's what you have, according to a TWC Arena press release: "The world’s toughest athletes," competing in an event that delivers "edge-of-your-seat thrills and spills, rock and roll music, and pyrotechnics."

Tickets start at $15 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 25 through timewarnercablearena.com, ticketmaster.com, the arena box office, Ticketmaster outlets, or charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000.

The Professional Bull Riders organization was nominated as 2010 Sports League of the Year at the Sports Business Journal Sports Business Awards, alongside the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Twenty riders have earned more than $1 million in prize money, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million -- the most of any western-sports athlete in history.

For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com.

Rihanna, Cee Lo to play Greensboro

Charlotte failed to nab one of the summer's biggest tours, but if you don't have to drive too far to see Rihanna in concert this July.

The R&B superstar -- star of two show-stopping performances on Sunday night's Grammy Awards telecast -- will bring her "LOUD" tour to Greensboro Coliseum Saturday, July 16. Cee Lo Green of "Forget You" fame will open.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at LiveNation.com, the coliseum box office, Ticketmaster or charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000.

Rihanna and Cee Lo both won Grammy Awards on Sunday; her “Only Girl in the World” was named best dance record and he won best urban/alternative performance for “Forget You.”

5 tips for surviving Bartender's Ball

It takes a certain type of person to appreciate Bartender’s Ball, and that person appreciates alcoholic beverages. A lot.

But the popular boozefest – now in its 10th year – can be more than a little bit overwhelming to even the most seasoned bar-hopper: five DJs spinning, 30-plus bars, 40 types of beer, 100 different flavors of liquor, with 1,500-2,000 partiers expected to take over 22,000 square feet at The Blake Hotel (555 S. McDowell St. near uptown) on Sunday.

Here are five tips for making the most of Bartender’s Ball, courtesy of Steve Caldwell of Elevate Lifestyle and Rich Saner of Rock House Events:

1. Dress to impress. It’s not the Grammys by any means, but judging by some of the dresses women have worn in the past few years, you wouldn’t know it. The “optional” in “black tie optional” has been the guys’ choice of late; expect more suits (with or without ties) than anything else on men.

2. Get a base before you start drinking. It wouldn’t hurt to eat before arriving at the event, but if you’re hungry, make a beeline to the Men’s Club area, where food will be provided by Chef Frank Van Den Bosch.

3. Make sure you stop by all the bars. One of the highlights of the event is seeing each bar’s decorations. This year, bars are celebrating the past decade of themes, competing with each other and choosing from motifs such as Hollywood, America and Holidays.

4. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Don’t be the drunk uncle or aunt you make fun of at weddings. Take your time, and enjoy the night responsibly. The organizers won’t run out of booze.

5. Don’t drink and drive. There will be plenty of cabs standing by, or if you drove, the Zingo transportation company will be available to get you and your car home safely. Or, you can stay at The Blake for just $99 that night.

Tickets can be still purchased online at www.CharlotteBartendersBall.com or at one of the 30 participating establishments listed on the website.

Click HERE to view a huge collection of Lazyday.com photos from last year's party.

Noted photographer to visit Gantt Center

Photographer Jim Alexander will return to Charlotte on Thursday to discuss the subjects – primarily jazz musicians – of his celebrated photographs.

A photojournalist, teacher, activist, and media consultant, Alexander has witnessed and documented many historic events – festivals, concerts, rallies, demonstrations, meetings and marches.

In "Conversations @ Gantt - A Jazzy Journey with Jim Alexander," the photographer will lead participants through his life’s work, featuring images from more than four decades of photographing African-American musicians and vocalists. The main focus will be jazz, although the conversation also will examine the environments that spawned both the music and the performers.

The free discussion, which starts at 6 p.m., is presented in conjunction with the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture exhibition, "Black Music After 1968: The Photography of Jim Alexander," on display through June 19. Reservations are required; RSVP at www.ganttcenter.org.

This is the third in a series of free, public lectures launched in 2009. Future "Conversations @ Gantt" speakers include Thomas Chatterton Williams on March 17 and Yale University art historian Robert Farris Thompson on April 14.