How’s this for an awesome surprise … No Doubt played a concert here in LA last night at the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City and brought out a very special surprise guest for their encore performance. During their cover of the Adam and the Ants song Stand and Deliver, Shirley Manson of Garbage came out on stage to duet with Gwen and No Doubt on the track! Here are caps from video of the performance along with a short review of the overall No Doubt concert:

No Doubt never get old. Their comeback jaunt could’ve easily been dubbed “The Forever Young Tour.” The Orange County pop rockers sounded better than ever at the sold out Gibson Amphitheater tonight. Gwen Stefani, Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal and Adrian Young were just as magical as they were when Tragic Kingdom took over pop culture back in 1995—maybe even more so. A white curtain covered the stage at the start of the show. Four shadows instantly came into frame. It was more like the beginning of a Stanley Kubrick film than a rock show. Instead of a big black monolith, the crowd got one of the most important musical acts of the 1990s. With as many hits as they have, they’re monolithic in their own right. The white ramp riser curled around the entire stage, and it gave Gwen and Co. a whole lot of room to bounce around … Gwen didn’t speak much, but when she did she was greeted with massive cheers. She smiled, “I can’t believe this is my life! This is incredible.” What makes Gwen great is she’s still “Just a Girl” though. She busted out a few push-ups really quickly and then jumped into her massive girl power anthem, even getting the boys to belt out the chorus. The ultimate girl power moment came during the encore though. Garbage’s Shirley Manson and openers The Sounds joined No Doubt for a rousing rendition of Adam Ant’s “Stand and Deliver.” Gwen and Shirley are icons to a whole generation of females, and seeing them on stage together was a momentous, once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Their voices volleyed back and forth incredibly, and the audience erupted.

You can click HERE to read the full text of this concert review (it’s actually quite good) but the real importance here is the surprise appearance by Shirley Manson. After the jump, check out video of Shirley’s duet with No Doubt last night …

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Yesterday afternoon, members of the principal cast of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles came out for an in-store meet and greet with fans of the series at The Golden Apple comic book store in Los Angeles, CA. Because I couldn’t be there in person, I sent my boy Darion to the in-store meet and greet so that he might be able to snap some photos of the event (and castmembers Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Brian Austin Green, Richard T. Jones, Garret Dillahunt, Leven Rambin and THE STUNNING Shirley Manson) and write up a report on what went down. First, here are a few of Darion’s amazing pics:

OMG … looks like so much fun, I really wish I could’ve been there to show my support in person for this series but I know that Darion did that for me. After the jump, check out Darion’s report from yesterday’s in-store report …

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Woot! The second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles premiered on FOX last night, picking up right where season one left off. While that is all well and good, I am most excited that Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson has joined the series cast and was featured prominently in the season two premiere episode last night. Here are a few screencaps of Shirley in her role as the mysterious Catherine Weaver:

Seriously, y’all … I love Shirley Manson. I am the biggest Garbage fan (as is my good friend Darion) and it thrills me to no end to see her in The Sarah Connor Chronicles. As the episode starts, Shirley (not in her role as Catherine Weaver, I must add) performs an arrangement of the song Samson and Delilah. Here is some info about the song:

The song is an original arrangement of a gospel spiritual called “Samson and Delilah,” composed by the Rev. Gary Davis. The track is performed by Shirley Manson and arranged and produced by Bear McCreary. The song was arranged by Bear McCreary specifically for the premiere episode of TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, designed to fit the episode’s opening sequence. Instrumental and vocal tracks were recorded in early August, 2008. The idea to incorporate the song into the episode was originally from Josh Friedman, Executive Producer, although he allowed McCreary and Manson complete creative freedom to adapt the material. The lyrics of the spiritual are relevant to story points within the episode.

The song is haunting and beautiful, I’m really hoping that FOX is able to release the song in some capacity. BUT, Shirley Manson was not added to the cast for her phenomenal musical abilities … she has been added to the series to play an integral character this season. It goes without saying that Shirley deffo plays a bad-ass … but I shant spoil the surprise for those of you who have yet to watch last night’s season two premiere ep. After the jump, check out a few screencaps that reveal the true nature of Shirley’s character Catherine Weaver, check out a new promo poster which features her character and, in case you missed it or just want to watch it again, find the link to watch last night’s season two premiere ep online in full …

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Here are a few new promo pics for the upcoming second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles which will be debuting on FOX on Monday September 8 … you will note that all the usual suspects are included — Lena Headey (as Sarah Connor), Thomas Dekker (as John Connor), Summer Glau (as a Terminator) and Brian Austin Green (as Derek Reese). Additionally, new cast member and former (current? I’m not sure if the band is still together) Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson is also included:

OMG, seriously, I cannot believe that Shirley Manson is making the move to TV. I love her in Garbage but I think I can love her on this show as well. Shirley will be playing Catherine Weaver who is described as “the high-powered CEO of a major technology company Zeira Corp” which makes it sound like she might be a bad guy … or possibly a good guy somewhere down the line. OMG … I don’t even care, I just can’t wait to see her on the show. I love her Scottish brogue … I hope she keeps it for the show. If I have to hear her speak with an American accent, I’ll poke out my ear drums. She rules and I’m so happy that she’s gonna be on my TV on a weekly basis :)

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