Joel, John get their kicks from Gillette

By Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone  |  February 11, 2009

You can apparently forget about seeing Billy Joel and Elton John play at Fenway Park this summer. The twin titans of soft rock, who were rumored to be mulling a midsummer night's show at the lyric little bandbox, will instead tickle the ivories at Gillette Stadium. We're told the concert, which could be announced as soon as today, is a go for Saturday, July 18. A Fenway date had seemed likely, especially after Joel and John announced just yesterday that they'll be rocking the friendly confines of Chicago's Wrigley Field on July 21. Why Gillette? Well, Pats owner Robert Kraft is a good friend of Sir Elton's - he attended the songwriter's celeb-heavy 60th birthday party in New York a few years ago and hosted the "Rocket Man" at the Krafts' 40th wedding anniversary at Gillette in 2003. So, if not the pair of aging piano men, who'll continue the Fenway concert series? No word yet, but there's a certain megaselling Irish band who'll be touring North America this summer to promote its new CD. Just a thought.

Because there's no place for his professional athlete pals to party in private, JoJo White is opening a new nightclub. The former Celtics star told us yesterday that he's opening a club on Broad Street that will cater to athletes who want to unwind out of view of the public. The two-time NBA champ and seven-time All-Star said the new club, to be called "JoJo's," won't open until April but the website should be up by Friday. White said the club will be located on the top floor of the building that formerly housed Il Panino. "There's really no place athletes can go in Boston without being scrutinized or feel like they've got a watchdog looking over them," he said. "God forbid you should have a bad game, there's not a lot of places you can go." White declined to say what a membership will cost, or to identify his investors. White is still affiliated with the team, serving as director of special projects and community relations representative.

"The Shield" star Michael Chiklis has hit on a novel idea - a graphic novel, that is. Variety reports that the Andover-bred actor is launching a series of comic books based on the Greek gods. The BU grad is partnering with IDW Publishing to create the series called "Olympus," based on an idea by Anny Simon Beck. The books, which Chiklis hopes to develop into film, TV, or video game properties, will tell the story of ancient Greek gods who return to a lawless, modern-day Earth and battle the Titans for the future of mankind.

Miss USA Crystle Stewart traded her crown for a parachute when she went skydiving with the Golden Knights, the elite US Army parachuting team. Stewart, 26, jumped out of the plane in a tandem skydive from 13,000 feet in Yuma, Ariz. She's the seventh Miss USA to jump with the Golden Knights. (AP)

Bob Marley biographer Stephen Davis isn't surprised - or happy - that the family of the late, great reggae star is looking to cash in on Marley's sound and likeness. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that members of the Marley family are partnering with private equity firm Hilco Consumer Capital to create House of Marley, which hopes to market Bob Marley beer, coffee, apparel, snowboards, headphones, and screensavers. (What, no rolling papers?) Davis, who lives in Milton and is the author of the '85 bio "Bob Marley," called the business deal "disgraceful." "Bob is right now rolling over in his grave on top of that little hill in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica," Davis told us yesterday. "With the millions that Bob's estate has made, where is the Bob Marley old folks home or the Bob Marley children's hospital?" Hilco CEO James Salter told the Journal he has high hopes for the Marley brand. "The Marleys stand for something, peace and love," he said. Not to mention beer and snowboards.

Word is photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, whose pictures are featured in the new HBO film "The Black List: Volume 2," will be in Boston for the documentary's East Coast premiere next week. The film, a follow-up to last year's "The Black List: Volume 1," includes portraits of influential African-Americans including Governor Deval Patrick, pastor T.D. Jakes, singer Charley Pride, fashion designer Patrick Robinson, actress Maya Rudolph, rapper RZA, activist Angela Davis, and filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, among others.) The screening's set for Feb. 18 at the Strand Theatre, and Greenfield-Sanders will take questions afterward.

It was ladies night at the Showcase Cinema at Patriot Place last night as Shonda Schilling and members of WKLB-FM's Red High Heel Club enjoyed a mini fashion show and then a special preview screening of "Confessions of a Shopaholic," the new movie starring Isla Fisher as a fun-loving girl who's really good at shopping. The movie opens Friday.

Celts Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo dropped by Kings the other night to kick back with friends before embarking on the C's six-game road trip that begins tonight. After shooting pool in the billiards room, Rondo and Perk, who was wearing size 17 bowling shoes, hit the lanes, scoring an impressive 140 per game. The players also graciously greeted fans as they watched the Beanpot finals. . . . Pats player Matt Light brought his wife and children, and was joined by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in Premium Club seating at the Garden last night, watching the Bruins take on ex-B's star Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks.

On the phone from the White House press room, Andover grad and Harvard freshman Alexander Heffner talked about his new website, Scoop44.com, which debuts Feb. 16. A successor to Scoop08.com -- the national student journalism site Heffner co-managed during last year's presidential campaign -- the new site has tapped "the most dedicated and talented contributors" to Scoop08 to cover national politics and the Obama administration. Heffner, who's on leave from Harvard this semester, told us it's a daunting time to launch any new media venture. But, he says, "I think this White House recognizes the typical parameters of media engagement are old news" and predicts his 18- to 25-year-old journalists will get a fair shot at playing with the big boys and girls of the Beltway press corps. "We'll be what we've been before, which is comprehensive and unbiased," predicted Heffner. "And distinctive. No pop culture news, no celebrity gossip."

Joseph P. Kahn of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or 617-929-8253.