The Shins add Nashville Live Date

The Shins have just announced a Nashville live date: Friday, March 9 at 8:00 P.M. at the Ryman Auditorium.

Tickets go on sale Friday, February 16 at 10 A.M. ($34.50 and $27.50). Thanks to iConcertCal I found out about this through my iTunes.

See concert calendar based on your iTunes library

I love this new iTunes plug-in called iConcertCal. Download the freeware (Windows and Mac) and based on the artists in your iTunes library, the tool displays a localized concert calendar. Click the artist's name and your browser opens to the appropriate club or ticketing site. Change the city and state in the upper left hand corner for shows in other locations.

Future versions promise listings for outside the United States and radius searches for larger geographic areas.

Raconteurs to play City Hall, Nashville

The Raconteurs have announced a Nashville show date: Sunday, November 19 they'll be playing City Hall (a great venue renovated from a warehouse) and tickets go on sale Friday, October 20 at 10 A.M. Central. Make it a night in the Gulch neighborhood and have dinner at Sambuca, Ru San's, or my favorite, Watermark.

Much Great Live Indie Music in Nashville

Time was there didn't seem to be much live music that I was interested in shelling out good money for in Nashville. Maybe my tastes have expanded, maybe more bands are hitting Nashville, maybe there are more palatable venues, maybe I've rediscovered the joy of seeing artists live. Check out this upcoming lineup (and these are only bands that I'm interested in seeing, not all inclusive):

4-Oct: Frank Black, The Mercy Lounge
13-Oct: Beck, City Hall
16-Oct: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, War Memorial Auditorium
17-Oct: Scissor Sisters, City Hall
22-Oct: Broken Social Scene, City Hall
26-Oct: Drive By Truckers, War Memorial Auditorium
28-Oct: Mojave 3, Belcourt Theatre
11-Nov: The Black Keys, The Mercy Lounge

I'm blown away. For those of you in large metropolitan areas, don't mock.

By the way, to keep up with all that is indie hotness in Nashville, sign up for the Grimey's New & Preloved Music (we used to call it a record store) incredible email newsletter here. And shop there, too!

Wolfmother at Exit In

Wolfmother, the much-hyped Aussie band, paid a musical visit to the Exit In here in Nashville last night. I'd been fired up to see them partly because I enjoy their record and partly because I fell victim to the hype and partly because the show was sold out.

After the band The Mess Hall rocked us out in their opening set, the headliner went on at about 10:20 P.M. The show was good, not great. Part of the problem was that it was a little too good, in that the songs seemed to be note-by-note identical to the album.

The best part of the evening was running into my old friend Don who's co-owner of The Gold Rush. I don't think Don ever ages. After fifteen years or so he still looks the same.

Who knows what Wolfmother will come up with for a sophomore release, but for now, I'm enjoying the hype.