The rebirth of a spring rally mainstay, a concert by a 22-million-album-selling A-lister, and Harley at the Hard Rock highlight a jam-packed agenda for the 2008 Myrtle Beach Spring Bike Week.

You can find the full schedule of events right here. Among the highlights:

• H.B. Spokes has literally risen from the ashes, and reopened in time for the spring rally. A September 2007 fire gutted the former main building, but months of intensive rebuilding have paid off – much to the delight of its longtime regulars.
• All together now: Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy … That’s right – His name is KIIIIIIID … Kid Rock! And he’s coming to Hard Rock Park next week (Tuesday, May 13, 7 p.m.), joined by Rev Run of Run D.M.C. fame. They’ll be rockin’ the Hard Rock’s 10,000-seat ampitheater with a show that’s free with a paid admission.
• Speaking of Hard Rock Park, Harley-Davidson has now moved its entire Bike Week exhibition slate to the brand-new theme park. The “Harley-Davidson Road Tour at Hard Rock Park” runs May 13-17 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, complete with free demo rides, free music and plenty of fun. Check out this link to see the lists of vendors and activities.

Get your motor runnin’, folks, ‘cause it’s almost here!

It’s like that eight-year-old pair of Birkenstocks you’ll wear with just about anything in your closet. Doesn’t matter that they’re a little beat up, or that you might have a different pair or 10 on the shelf that would go better with those new khakis. Those shoes just feel right.

And that’s probably the best analogy I can use to describe my first up-close experience with The Market Common.

Except it’s not worn-out. It’s brand-spanking-new.

It’s already popular, as evidenced by the crowds that defied the rainy weather and flocked there the first few days after last week’s soft opening.

It’s unfamiliar, and unlike anything else you’ve seen along Ocean Boulevard or throughout Myrtle Beach.

But you know what? Like that pair of your most comfortable shoes, it just feels right.

To me, it doesn’t scream commercialism. It just says, “Hey, you can hang here any time … (more pics after the jump)

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If you’re either not from the South or unfamiliar with entertainment culture south of the Mason-Dixon line, we’re not talking about “shagging” in the Austin Powers movie context.

We’re referring to the “Carolina shag,” and if you hang around these parts long enough you start to realize it’s got quite a loyal following.

So … what is shagging? First, here’s a look-see:

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All right, let’s see. Christmas is over, you’re back in the office already but the kids are home from school for another week. What do you do with them while you’re busy working to pay off their brand-new PlayStation 3 and Guitar Hero III?

Let ‘em wear themselves out in the Grand Strand area’s newest recreational Mecca.

SportsZone – the massive, 44,000-square-foot indoor recreation complex located at the SportsZone Center in Little River – offers its “School Zout” program that lets children ages 5-15 participate in a dizzying array of sports activities as you tend to your work schedule. Full-day rates (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) start at $16 per child for SportsZone members and $22 for non-members, while half-day rates (1-6 p.m.) are also available at $11 and $16 per child. A light snack with sports drink is provided for all program participants, while an additional $5 KidzMeal option is available for full-day registrants (kids can also bring their own lunch with drink).

While they’re there, kids benefit from a combination of sports activities, hands-on teaching of sports-specific skills and an array of other activities that will offer your child a full day of exercise both physically and mentally. Check out some of these pictures to get a good idea of the resources that they’ll have at their disposal:

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We’ve devoted plenty of space here at The Beach Blog to high profile, visiting music acts who’ve performed at the major Grand Strand venues. Now, it’s high time we showed some love to our local performing artists – especially since so many of them are coming together next week to do the same for some folks who really need it.

Four Myrtle Beach bands – Southern Blue, FliCK iT, SAVAS and Sqwearl – join several other regionally based groups on Saturday, Nov. 17 for the “Fall Benefit Bash” at Carolina Entertainment Complex. Proceeds from the all-day concert will benefit the families of the victims of the recent Ocean Isle Beach fire, as well as victims of the Southern California wildfires.

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The two things I loved most about visiting downtown Tempe, Arizona, while living in the Valley of the Sun?

Hefeweizen and lettuce wraps.

Those were my favorite staple items of Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, respectively – two very popular haunts for one-of-a-kind microbrew and great Asian cuisine.

So as I see the steady progression of The Market Common here in Myrtle Beach, and learn that these two restaurants will be a prominent part of the mix, my taste buds have found new life!

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It’s that time of year again when the Harley’s roll into town and rock the Grand Strand. As much craziness, confusion, and traffic comes with them so does a raucous good time full of events, spectacular chrome, and venders. And this year is no exception! As usually bikers can check out the normal hotspots such as Suck Bang Blow, the Harley Shop, Jammin’ Leather, The Rat Hole, Beaver Bar, B&M, The Doghouses, and so many more.

Here’s some events bound to get you bikered up for the upcoming week:

1. Cover Bands—see your rockin’ favorites imitated like never before—AC/DC, ZZTop, Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy Osbourne—check out Suck Bang Blow, old and new for these great shows!

2. Girls, girls girls!! In chaps, without chaps, leather, panties, bikinis, and even less, it doesn’t get wilder than Bike Week. It may be October but those biker babes now how to bare it all!

3. Bikes! Hot custom choppers, chromed out Harley’s and every custom accessory you can think of! Even if you don’t like bikes, you’ll love Harley Bike Week Bikes!

4. Biker Bars. There’s too many to list….but here’s some of the best.

5. Charity Rides. Bikers know how to ride, and ride for a cause, check out any of your local bars and you’ll see tons of great events, great causes, and lots of money being donated! They may seem big and bad, but their hearts are even bigger!

The same country that’s given us Nokia, ice swimming and the key ingredient to a good Screwdriver now brings him to Myrtle Beach.

That’s HIM – as in the band from Finland. With their trademark “heartagram” in tow, they begin their own headlining concert tour in the U.S. next month that includes a stop at The House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach.

Fresh off its major tour with nu metal giant Linkin Park, HIM hits the road again with plenty of momentum. Venus Doom, its latest album release, debuted this week at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart – reinforcing its critical acclaim by such music media as Alternative Press (one of its “Most Anticipated Albums of 2007”), Spin (four stars) and Blender ("Brutal. Ballsy. Extreme ... you might even sneak in a sexy and still be on point.").

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