So the Hurricanes finally took a defenseman in the first round, for the first time in six years and the fifth time since Peter Karmanos and Jim Rutherford took over in 1994. Ryan Murphy doesn't have to do much in a Carolina uniform to rank as the best of the bunch.

The Hurricanes’ refusal to take defensemen in the first round has always smacked of stubbornness. It’s almost as if they said, “We’ve been burned before and we’re just not going to bother anymore.” And maybe for good reason: Two of the Hurricanes’ four previous first-round defensemen were total, complete and utter busts: Nikos Tselios, 22nd overall in 1997 and Igor Knyazev, 15th overall in 2001.

Walnut Creek management has put out the following traffic advisory pertaining to Saturday's Jack Johnson concert:

Due to the work zone on I-440 West between I-40/I-440 split and Poole Road, NCDOT is advising motorists to use an alternate route when exiting the concert Saturday night:

From Sunnybrook Road to I-40:
Sunnybrook Road to Poole Road to I-440 East to the I-40 interchange.

A few years back, I used to ask every performer I interviewed about their worst gig ever. I don't do it in every interview anymore, but it's still pretty reliable for generating memorable anecodotes. Like the priceless nugget below from Jack Johnson.

For more talk about less-gross things, see the interview in Friday's paper. And if you're going to the show, you might want to allow extra time to get there.

"It was the first time we played in New York in 2001. We'd been opening for Ben Harper for a month or so, and we were doing our own headlining show in New York at a small place called the Mercury Lounge. It was snowing, but the show sold out and we were excited about that. Then I got food poisoning that day. I could go about 45 minutes, then I'd throw up and feel fine for a little while.

"I didn't want to cancel because all these people had come out in the snow. So I threw up right before the show, and went on to play. There wasn't really a backstage there; more like a sidestage, and you had to go through the crowd. I made it through about 40 minutes, then I felt it coming on mid-song. I didn't know what to do because people were pushed up-front and there was no exit off the back.

"My brother was at the show and he saw my eyes and knew what was about to happen. He had on a Ben Harper beanie hat he'd bought, so he took it off and tossed it up to me. I caught it, turned around and threw up in that in front of about 200 people. And it was just like out of a movie where all 200 of them went, 'Oooooooh.' It was pretty gross, but I felt fine. So I played another 45 minutes, felt it coming on again and said, 'That's it.'"

View I-440 / southern Beltline work in a larger map

Expect long delays this weekend when a resurfacing project on the southeast corner of Interstate 440 (formerly known as the Raleigh Beltline) closes three of the four lanes for drivers on I-440 West (formerly known as the Outer Beltline).

From 9 p.m. Friday until 6:30 a.m. Monday, I-440 West drivers will be funneled into the far right lane between the I-40 split and Poole Road.  The ramp from I-40 West and I-440 West will be closed, NCDOT says.

This will cause extra hassles Saturday evening for music fans driving to and from the nearby Walnut Creek Amphitheatre for a Jack Johnson concert. And concert traffic will add to the Beltline backup. [8/20/10 update: Detailed detour advice from Walnut Creek management.] [MORE] ...

Well, lookee here. The mildly controversial pop star Lady Gaga's "Monster Ball Tour" schedule has been released, and we're on the itinerary. She'll play Raleigh's RBC Center on Sept. 19, the final date listed. On-sale date is still to be announced.

Also popping up on the schedule is guitarist Jack Johnson, who will play Das Shed in Raleigh on Aug. 21. The "official" on-sale date is April 10.

ADDENDUM: And one more on the upcoming-show schedule, Kings of Leon's summer tour will roll through Walnut Creek on Sept. 13. No on-sale details as of yet.

Two years ago, I poked a bit of fun at the notion of a band called Rogue Wave opening for noted singer/songwriter/surfer Jack Johnson. And Rogue Wave's stately pop seemed an odd match for Johnson's sun-drenched jams. Odder still, Johnson's Brushfire Records is Rogue Wave's label home, a connection that began with Johnson and frontman Zach Rogue's longtime friendship. Still, Rogue Wave definitely stands out as an anomoly on Brushfire, whose acts trend more toward jams than hooks.

"From a roster standpoint, every credible indie-rocker would turn his nose up at Brushfire and I understand that," Rogue said in a recent interview. "We don't sound like the other bands on their roster, but a label is about more than that. They have people who work their asses off and want bands to survive. So it's fine that we're the weirdos on that label. In this economy, it's such an opportunity to be on a label as dedicated and open to putting out whatever we want. They seem to have our back."

For more, see the interview in Friday's paper.

According to TSN's Darren Dreger, Jack Johnson's father has approached a Russian team about his son playing there next year, rather than re-sign with the Kings.

Johnson's name has come up as a potential bargaining chip if the Kings pursue Vincent Lecavalier, but once again he isn't making it easy on the team that owns his rights.