What’s Going on This Week?

Click on the turntable on the left to listen to a continuous stream of music featured on Pretty Much Amazing - updated every day. For more, you can check out the Best Songs of 2011, or our Best Albums of 2011.

And here begins a new weekly (no really, weekly!) post from your pals at PMA- a guide to the week in concerts in LA, NYC, Chicago, London, and Sydney!

NYC has a grrreat set of shows in the area this week. Tuesday and Thursday night you can catch Matisyahu at Webster Hall for 35 buckaroos. If you miss him there, you can catch him at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

If 35 is a little much for your pocket, you may want to consider checking out our favorite cutesy singer, Kimya Dawson, made famous from everyone’s favorite (well, not my dad’s) cutesy movie, Juno. She’s playing Friday night at the Bowery Ballroom for a very reasonable $13.

And don’t forget to spend one of your eight nights on hanukkah with Yo La Tengo, playing their traditional eight-night gig at Maxwell’s, over in my home state, NJ. The shows are SOLD OUT, but craigslist proves to be helpful with these kinds of things.

Not too much going down in LA this week.Your best bet is Saturday night at the Spaceland, with two of my favorite newer bands. The first, Bodies of Water, is typically an epic orchestral band, but they’ll be playing in a two-piece acoustic set Saturday. The other band, Princeton, has strings and light melodies straight out of Vampire Weekend’s playbook. Both are excellent, and for the price of 8 bucks, it makes me wish I lived in LA.

Over in Chi-town, My Morning Jacket is going to scream, parts one and two, with two nights at the Chicago theater. They’ll be playing Saturday and Sunday for 35.50. From what I hear, they play a sick live show- don’t miss ‘em. Also in Chicago is up-and-coming band Brighton, MA, playing with Oh My God at the Hideout for 6 bucks.

Across the pond in London, Kings of Leon are playing with M83 TONIGHT. That’ll be a great show. DJ RIchie Hawtin will be playing at The End on Saturday night at ten. And that’s about it. Concert season around the holidays is pretty timid, no?

Finally, in Sydney, Aussies are forced to go to the movie theater and watch The Spirit or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button this Christmas weekend, because there wont be any cool shows to attend. Maybe in ’09.

Matisyahu – Smash Lies
Kimya Dawson – Loose Lips
Spoon – Decora (Yo La Tengo cover)

by Adam Offitzer on December 22, 2008 ‡ 0 reactions