*Less than 20 minutes after going on sale Saturday morning, the September 16 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND show at Rentschler Field in East Hartford was sold out. The stadium has a seating of 40,000; the Springsteen concert will utilize about 33,000 of those seats, and fans were ready with their $80-plus-per-seat last weekend. Jim Koplik reportedly called the sales “a grand slam,” and said it was the fastest-selling show in memory… and he’s got a pretty good memory!

As of Monday morning a handful of upper level seats were still showing as available on TicketMaster.com, and a large number of good seats were still available for a hastily-announced second show on September 18. As of Wednesday morning many of those second show seats are still available, primarily toward the back and upper levels of the stadium. Apparently a computer problem on Saturday showed a lot of people that the seats weren’t available… so the seats hadn’t been immediately sold.

Same details: All seats are $78 (plus parking and facility fee), plus a handling fee of $9.45 per ticket. Grab your credit card and call TicketMaster at 860-525-4500 or 203-624-0033, go online to TicketMaster.com, or go with credit card or cash to any TicketMaster outlet (at most Filene’s stores).

*Newtown-based MARY BETH SIPPIN AND GOLDRUSH is bringing traditional country back to the stage. Mrs Sippin and the six-member band behind her have been purposely moving “back to the real roots of country music, acoustic country.” By blending high energy bluegrass instruments like the banjo, mandolin and acoustic guitar, backed by percussion, with traditional electric instruments like the pedal steel guitar, bass and electric guitar, Mary Beth Sippin and Goldrish perform what they’ve called “high energy acoustic country music.”

The band plays originals as well as covers and loves doing the outdoor shows.

“There is something about playing to an open air audience that’s just plain fun,” says vocalist Mary Beth, who lives with her husband Gary and their kids in Newtown. “There’s no constraints, no rules. Sit and listen, get up and dance… whatever!”

The band members are percussionist Dennis DeMorro; John Monthei on pedal steel, banjo, dobro and fiddle; Dick Neal on acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, mandolin, dobro and vocals; Gary Sippin on acoustic guitar, banjo and vocals; and Pete Szymanski on bass. Steve Davies also provides “sound reinforcement.”

While working on a new CD, the group has a few shows set up this season beginning with a Brookfield Parks Outdoor Concert on Friday, August 22, at 6pm. The concert will be at Brookfield Town Hall, at 100 Pocono Road. The Mary Beth Sippin and Goldspur concert will be the final show in the town hall’s concert series, but the band itself has other shows on its schedule. Additional shows on the band’s schedule include a September 14 performance in Westbrook and then an October 5 show in Harwington.

*Toad’s Place in New Haven has added a September 5 show by OL’ DIRTY BASTARD to its schedule. The show will be open to all ages and tickets are $20.

*Hold on to your Justified & Stripped Tour/CHRISTINIA AGUILERA-JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE tickets. The Hartford show that was to have been played on Thursday was postponed “due to an unspecified structural failure of a ceiling grid during set-up for the August 9 Atlantic City performance,” said a press release that came in on Monday. The East Rutherford show on Wednesday and the Hartford Civic Center shows were postponed immediately.

No other dates have been affected at this time, and ticket holders for the postponed shows should hold on to their tickets until a new date is confirmed. Tickets for August 13 and 14 will be honored for the rescheduled dates.

Until next week I’ll be seeing you… on the road.

Questions and comments should be sent to Shannon Hicks c/o The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT 06470, or shannon@thebee.com, or call the office at 426-3141.

Shows listed at club locations are for ages 21 and over unless specified.

UPCOMING CONCERTS

AUGUST 15 — i-95 Unplugged at CityCenter Green, Danbury, featuring Joel Cage (headliner), with Jeffrey Braun, David Brewer, Ethan Carey, Ethan James & Pat McMinn (7:30 show, no rain location); The Nerds at Toad’s Place, New Haven, Simple Jim and Tymepeace opening; Burning Ferns at The Webster Theatre, Hartford; Adrian Legg (early show) at The Acoustic Café, Bridgeport, then Rob Suhosa;

August 16 — The Benjamins at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury; The Larissa DeLorenzo Band at The Acoustic Café; Starship featuring Mickey Thomas at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den, Uncasville; The Machine at Toad’s Place, Release and Hot Soup opening (all ages);

August 17 — Mary Fahl at Towne Crier Café, Pawling, N.Y.;

August 20 — John Mayer and Counting Crows at Meadows Music Centre, Hartford; Particle at Tuxedo Junction;

August 21 — ModeReko at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café, Hartford; Ira Harden & Jacqueline Barnaby at The Acoustic Café;

August 22 — Fiend Fest featuring The Misfits and The Damned at Toad’s Place, also The Dickies, Balzac, Agnostic Front and DI opening (all ages); Fred Eaglesmith Band at The Acoustic Café; Adrian Legg at Towne Crier Café, Buzz Turner opening;

August 23 — Them Bones at Tuxedo Junction; The Zambonis at The Acoustic Café; Bile and Nocturne at The Webster Theatre, Tragedie Ann opening; Hadden Sayers at Black-Eyed Sally’s; Ra at Toad’s Place, Side Project and Hedcase opening (all ages);

August 24 — Sevendust at Toad’s Place (all ages); Hall & Oates and Kenny Loggins at careerbuilder.com Oakdale Theatre;

August 25 — Steely Dan at Mohegan Sun Arena;

August 26 — Anthrax at The Webster Theatre, Lacuna Coil and E-Town Concrete opening;

August 27 — Melissa Etheridge at careerbuilder.com Oakdale Theatre;

August 28 — Def Leppard at careerbuilder.com Oakdale Theatre; Twizted at The Webster Theatre; Uplifters at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

August 29 — Darik & The Funbags at Toad’s Place, Ink opening (all ages); Glen Roth, Kevin Ryan & Aaron Brady at The Acoustic Café; Walter “Wolfman” Washington at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

August 30 — The Zoo at Tuxedo Junction; The Tim Sather Band at The Acoustic Café; Greg Piccolo at Black-Eyed Sally’s; James Cotton Blues Band at Towne Crier Café, Pawling, NY;

August 30-31 — Dave Matthews Band at Meadows Music Centre; Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen at Towne Crier Café.