From My Inbox: A List Of The Most Important Upcoming Concerts

A friend of mine from home (Nebraska) emailed me this detailed list of upcoming concerts and I thought I would return the favor and pass it on to you:

"Looking at the mass of tickets in my room, I realized that I have a ton of concerts coming up this semester.  Rather than randomly mention them whenever I run into you, I thought I'd send out a mass bcc-mail with my whole schedule (subject to addition).  So let me know if you want to join me at any of these.  In chronological order, mp3s available on request:"

The Faint - Today! (yesterday for us) - Terminal 5 -  "dance-punk" band from Omaha (I'm not a fan of that description, but it sort of works). Not bad, not incredible.

Lykke Li - Aug 28 - Le Poisson Rouge.  Young pop star from Sweden whose music is produced by Bjorn Yttling (of Peter Bjorn and John fame).  I saw her in May and I'm considering going again in October, but that's in Brooklyn and I'm lazy.  Am I obsessed with her?  A little bit.  Is it creepy?  A little bit.  A Little Bit, incidentally (not coincidentally - I totally planned that) is the title of her awesomely catchy first single.

Xavier Rudd - Sep 12 - Nokia Theatre.  He's Australian and plays a ton of instruments (steel guitar, didgeridoo, drums, harmonica, etc).  Easier youtubed than described.  He's awesome, but I was marginally more blown away the first time I saw him (solo) than last year (with 2 people backing him up).

Willie Nelson - Sep 25 - Radio City.  One of those "see them before they die" things.  I beat James Brown by 5 months, and I'm a little upset I was out of the country for Neil Diamond's series in MSG last week.

Ben Folds - Oct 1 - Terminal 5.  I think I've seen him more than anyone else live, and it's always a good show.

Jenny Lewis - Oct 4 - Apollo Theater.  Seems like an odd venue for her, and I'm a little hesitant in that Rilo Kiley was incredible until their last album and tour, both of which were underwhelming at best, and I didn't really enjoy seeing Jenny Lewis solo that much a few years ago.  Whatevs.

Fleet Foxes - Oct 5 - Webster Hall.  I really like the album, and they're supposedly mind-blowing live, if you're into that kind of thing.  I just got a recording of one of their live shows and it was pretty similar to the album, probably closer to the Slip (also awesome live) than anything else I've seen.

Okkervil River - Oct 7 - Webster Hall.  One of the highlights of Lollapalooza for me.  I loved their last album and I'm loving everything I hear from their upcoming one.  It's your basic guitars/drums/singing, with some stunning lyrics.

NOFX - Oct 15 - Fillmore.  Not that I'm that into anything they've done in the last 8 years, but I've been meaning to see them since I was 11.  Fun fact: they have a song called August 8th about Jerry Garcia's death (and how happy they were about it); he actually died on August 9th.  So...yeah.[Tempting but I'm not planning on going because October's looking pretty busy: Cold War Kids on about the 10th, Tokyo Police Club on the 18th, and Beck on the 18th.]

CMJ - Oct 21-25.  Lots of bands, particularly Broken Social Scene, Eagle Seagull (from Lincoln/Fremont!), Lykke Li (again), Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, and Wye Oak.

Conor Oberst - Nov 8 - Terminal 5.  Bright Eyes, Omaha, etc.  Doesn't need much introduction at this point.

The Mountain Goats AND Kaki King - Nov 9 - Webster Hall.  Official title: "The Mountain Goats and Kaki King Present: The Last Happy Night of Your Life."  I get excited enough for the Mountain Goats on their/his own, but this is just ridiculous.

Girl Talk - Nov 15 - Terminal 5.  Possibly the highlight of both Lollapalooza and All Points West.  At least as far as crowd reaction is concerned.  Which is impressive, given that all he does is press play, invite people up on stage, and jump around.

That's all I've got.  Let me know what you're interested in.  I have no idea what's sold out and what's not but I generally get 2 tickets and figure out who to go with later.

I love this guy! Thank you Coleman!