Marc- I didn't know the New Year's stat, and that is definitely the single factor that would make me doubt his appearance the most.

As for the dates, if the band comes off the road December 13, I'm sure they would be tight enough to play less than 3 weeks later.

As for the arena thing, the Joint gets a lot of bands in the midst of arena tours -- The Who, Korn, etc.

Of course he was also widely rumored to play the pool party the weekend of his Thomas & Mack show, and never even showed his face.

This is all just for the fun of speculating of course.

Catch ya later.