Nelly will be appearing at the Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago on August 3, 2003.

By Darryl Cater

Nelly, one of the biggest stars to shoot out of St. Louis since Harry Connick Jr. hit it big aping Sinatra in the 1980s, returns to the Midwest crib in August. He'll take his hit-making street savvy rap tunes to the Arie Crown Theatre on August 3. No doubt his set list will include his apropos "Midwest Swing," wherein he reassures the hometown crowd he hasn't sold out (or rather that he has sold out many times only to catch the next flight back to purity) and flaunts the good financial fortune he's enjoyed since his Universal debut, Country Grammar, made him a flavor of the moment in 2000: "Yeah you heard me dirty/I'm from the Show-Me State/Show me seven, I'll show you eight/Karats in one ring/Heavily starched jeans/Representin' St. Louis/Every time I breathe/In the city/ I touch down/And I bob and weave." His follow-up, Nellyville, makes much thematic material of his ascendancy from humble hood homey to headline hoodlum, and proves he's the flavor of this moment too, as the record reached the top spot in Billboard's top 200. It remains now at number 96.

As of the time this article was posted, tickets were still available for the Sunday night show at the Arie Crown. Always check with the venue box office for current ticket availability. For more information, please visit the Nelly web site.

Aaron Carter - House of Blues, August 5 (Tickets Available*)
On August 5th, 16-year-old teeny-popper Aaron Carter sneaks past the bouncers at the House of Blues. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the venue that kept a certain precocious teen bluesman from playing a show because he wasn't yet eligible to attend his own 21-and-over show? It will of course be all Coke and no rum, though, at the Aaron Carter show, where I imagine most of the fans are either under the age of 20, a parent or guardian, or under the watchful eye of security .His most recent album is said to be free of some of the innuendo that reportedly sprinkled some of his junior high-era material, disconcerting some adults. Those early records, which helped him become the youngest male solo artist to score four top 40 singles and built on the youth pop craze launched in part by elder brother Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, were known for their jokey novelty R&B, hip hop and pop. This tour, though, finds Carter doing sort of a pop music recital, going to school on covers of songs from the 1950s through 1980s.

For more information, please visit the Aaron Carter web site.

* Always check with the venue box office to confirm current ticket availability.