Briefly: Usher, Gov't Mule, The Dead, Poi Dog Pondering, Dresden Dolls

April 21, 2004 05:57 PM

More than 300,000 copies of "Confessions," the latest release from R&B singer Usher [ tickets ], were sold in the last week, enough to earn the set its fourth consecutive week atop the U.S. album chart.

The hits compilation "Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 15" holds steady at No. 2, while Hoobastank's "The Reason" jumps 15 notches to No. 3, according to Billboard.

Janet Jackson's "Damita Jo" and Guns N' Roses' "Greatest Hits" round out the chart.

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Jam band Gov't Mule [ tickets ] played the 1,000th gig of its decade-long career on Friday (4/16) at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre, according to the band's publicist.

The trio was joined during the night's second set by Grateful Dead alumni Phil Lesh, Bob Weir Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann--along with their current bandmate Jeff Chimenti of The Dead [ tickets ].

Gov't Mule's Warren Haynes will tour with The Dead this summer, but Gov't Mule will first celebrate its 10th Anniversary with a two-night stand at New Orleans' Orpheum Theater on April 30 and May 1.

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Members of Chicago band Poi Dog Pondering [ tickets ] will tend bar at their hometown's River North Weber Grill Restaurant to earn tips for the Fire Safety Alliance Burn Camp for Children, "a camp where burn survivors benefit physically, psychologically, and emotionally," according to a press release.

Lead singer Frank Orrall, violinist Susan Voelz and drummer Earl Talbot will be behind the bar on April 29 from 6 p.m. through 8 p.m.

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Dresden Dolls [ tickets ], a self-described "punk cabaret" band from Boston, will get wide distribution for its self-titled, 2003 debut album on April 27th, when the set is reissued by 8 ft. Records/Koch Distribution.