Who’ll fill the arenas in 2009?

Coming soon to an arena near you....

No, not U2 and Paul McCartney and Dave Matthews. Sure, they’re all among the arena headliners booking dates for 2005.

We’re talking about the Killers, Interpol and Franz Ferdinand -- and we’re talking about, say, 2009.

These bands and a few others are being embraced by concert promoters as strong candidates to rise to arena status in the next few years. And the very fact that they have a few candidates is giving promoters reasons for optimism they say has been missing in recent years, when talent with real growth potential and staying power seemed thin.

“This is really a breath of fresh air,” says Brian Murphy, chief operating officer of Clear Channel Entertainment’s Los Angeles concert promotion division. “All these young bands are doing multiple nights at big theaters, and the intensity of fan reaction is not what you’ve seen for most bands in the recent past. It’s not the one-hit wonders where a single is doing well. The reaction is these fans know every song and every word to every song and are passionate, standing in line for hours before the show. This is more like it was in the ‘70s and ‘80s than it is like the ‘90s.” The ‘70s and ‘80s, of course, was when acts from Fleetwood Mac and U2 to R.E.M. and Metallica built huge audiences as much through word-of-mouth and hard touring as any radio exposure. The early ‘90s showed great promise, at least in the rock world, with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails among others. But it’s been inconsistent since then in terms of new talent with that long-term potential seen in the combination of audience passion and artists of substance. Recent years have seen strong signs with the White Stripes, the Strokes and others as strong box-office presences, not to mention Coldplay’s ascension to top-line stature. And now the ranks are filling in with the strongest new crop in ages.

“The audience is definitely there,” says L.A.-based promoter Andy Hewitt, who oversees shows at the Hollywood Bowl among other sites. “They’ve been longing for new and exciting acts for some time, and acts like the Killers and Franz Ferdinand come out and we see the audience respond quickly.”

The Killers seem clearly to be the first choice of promoters. And it’s not simply a matter of the appeal of the Las Vegas band’s music -- which like many others of the new crop has foundations in early-’80s post-punk sounds -- but attitude and commitment to hard work.

“Some of the bands recently never dug deep into the heartland,” says Kevin Lyman, the promoter behind the Warped festival, which has been instrumental in launching many young punk acts. “If they go out and work, they have longevity. The Killers have suffered in Las Vegas. That takes perseverance. A lot of bands can’t develop in that market.” Interpol and Franz Ferdinand also get strong votes of confidence, while other relative newcomers seen as potential stars include Muse (which, though it’s been around a while, has never gained a good foothold in the U.S.).

And Kings of Leon is also viewed as on the brink of stardom, especially if it can capitalize on the exposure it will get as the opening act for the first part of U2’s tour.

The new arrivals add brightness to a year off to a good start with Motley Crue’s strong return and great interest shown in comebacks by Oasis and Nine Inch Nails, in addition to such reliables as McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Buffett, all expected to be among the top touring acts of the year.

Some observers temper the enthusiasm.

“A lot of the bands are having an impact and promoters are very high on the potential of some to break from clubs to theaters and even arenas,” says Ray Waddell, Billboard magazine senior writer who covers the touring business. “So far no one’s made that jump. Coldplay five years ago would have been in the same group, though, and now they’re set to have a huge year.”

Pollstar magazine editor in chief Gary Bongiovanni is even more cautious, comparing the optimism to baseball’s spring training.

“It seems in the last couple of years there have been some really good acts come on the scene, but you can only tell in hindsight if they’ll mean anything 10 or 20 years from now,” he says. “There may be something to it, but we’re at our optimistic time of year. Things tend to look better in the spring.”

Sobering look at rich and famous

Leave it to Grace Slick to have a distinctive attitude to her own sobriety.

“What stops me from drinking now is that drugs and alcohol don’t work anymore,” says the former Jefferson Airplane singer. “Alcohol makes me a jerk, pot makes me paranoid and I’m already wired ... so I can’t use cocaine.”

That’s a quote from “The Harder They Fall,” a forthcoming book exploring the relationship of entertainers and athletes and substance abuse, from the perspective of those who have found their way to recovery. What stands out from the interviews co-writers Gary Stromberg (a longtime music publicist) and journalist Jane Merrill conducted with more than 20 musicians, writers, actors and others is just how different their experiences have been.

“There is no direct road,” Stromberg says. “Each of these people found his or her own path.”

Other musicians featured in the book, due April 1, include Alice Cooper, Steve Earle, Dr. John and Chic’s Nile Rodgers, with Richard Pryor and Malcolm McDowell among the others interviewed.

Stromberg says that one thing he hoped to focus on was the ongoing belief that drugs and creativity are linked.

“One thing that came across in these interviews is there’s a strong misconception that your talent can be fueled by substances,” says Stromberg.

“Hopefully, artists will become aware they can pursue their talent to maximum potential without substances. We were under the impression that if I get high, I’d be creative. I lived under that assumption myself for years. When I got clean, I realized my talent was my talent and drugs had nothing to do with it.”

Small Faces

* If you’re going to the Motley Crue show at the Forum on March 20 and you’re a Claymation fan, get there early. Rather than have an opening band, the Crue’s shows on this tour leg are starting with a film in which clay figures of the band members save the world from destruction by a rogue “planetoid.” The film’s producers are using the slot to help shop a feature-length film “Disaster! The Movie,” a trailer for which is also seen at intermission in these concerts....

* Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahsis renewing her underground art cred by directing a video for outre-rocker J.G. “Foetus” Thirwell’s latest project -- with no less than director Spike Jonze serving as director of photography. The song and clip, “Blessed Evening,” will be on Foetus’ “Love” CD/DVD package, due May 24....

* Julia Fordham and Indian Bollywood singer Aadesh Shrivastava teamed on a benefit album to help rebuild a school in Tamil Nadu, India, that was destroyed by the tsunami in December. Fordham was approached by childhood friend Caroline James, who was organizing a charity CD through the Ashington School in West Sussex.

Fordham rewrote a verse to her song “Happy Ever After,” with the new words recorded by the Ashington chorus and added in. Shrivastava’s voice is paired with Fordham’s on new versions of the latter’s songs “India” and “Spread the Word.” Information about the project can be found at www.juliafordham.com.