September Pittsburgh concerts

MUST-SEE SHOW:
9/5 Lady Gaga & Semi-Precious Weapons @ Consol Energy Center
Though her Lollapalooza performance left a little to be desired, Gaga's show should work much better here, where she'll be in front of hardcore fans, not the casual fans that typically comprise festival audiences. Though Gaga's excessive banter during Lolla made the show drag a bit, there was no more exciting moment in the entire festival than when the first notes of "Just Dance" exploded through the speakers. Her infectious music speaks for itself.

ALSO WORTH ATTENDING:
9/22 Holy Fuck @ Brillobox
Holy fuck! The band is playing a live show at a tiny venue like Brillobox! This band blew me away during my first Lollapalooza in 2007, and they've only gotten better since. They are the best indie show in Pittsburgh for the month of September.

9/25 The National @ Owen Pallett @ Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
I've seen the National five times now and have yet to be disappointed. Even a small show a couple years back at the Rex Theatre felt like it had the excitement of a huge arena show. Owen Pallett's intriguing violin work is worth checking out as well.

Others to consider:
9/4 Nas & Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley @ Mr. Small's
9/5 Rusted Root @ Hartwood Acres
9/8 Broken Social Scene @ Byham Theater
9/13 Deftones @ Club Zoo
9/14 30 Seconds to Mars @ Club Zoo
9/16 Rush @ Consol Energy Center
9/17 Nickelback, Three Days Grace & Buckcherry @ Consol Energy Center
9/17 Toadies @ Altar Bar
9/18 Alejandro Escovedo @ WYEP Rock the Block
9/21 Electric Six @ Brillobox
9/22 Aimee Mann @ New Hazlett Theatre
9/23 Ted Leo & the Pharmacists @ Diesel
9/24 Elf Power @ Brillobox
9/25 Margot & the Nuclear So & So's @ Brillobox
9/26 Roger Waters @ Consol Energy Center
9/28 Yeasayer @ Mr. Small's

Lady Gaga, Kings of Leon Pittsburgh dates confirmed

Pittsburghers will finally get a chance to see Lady Gaga when she brings her Monster Ball tour here on September 5.

The show will be at the new Consol Energy Center, future home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is exactly the kind of concert tour that Pittsburgh never used to get, so thank the new arena for this opportunity!

Here's the full list of new Gaga tour dates. Note there is no Chicago show, which seems to confirm earlier speculation that Gaga will indeed play Lollapalooza in Chicago in August.

Jun 28 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
July 1 Boston, MA TD Garden
July 4 Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
July 6 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Jul 11 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Jul 14 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
Jul 15 Indianapolis Conseco Fieldhouse
Jul 17 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
Jul 20 Oklahoma City Ford Center
Jul 22 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Jul 25 Houston, TX Toyota Center
Jul 28 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Jul 31 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center
Aug 3 Kansas City MO Sprint Center
Aug 11 Los Angeles Staples Center
Aug 13 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand
Aug 16 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion
Aug 19 Portland, OR Rose Garden
Aug 21 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
Aug 23 Vancouver, BC General Motors Place
Aug 26 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
Aug 30 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Sep 1 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
Sep 4 Detroit, MI The Palace Of Auburn Hills
Sep 5 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center
Sep 7 Washington, DC Verizon Center
Sep 8 C'ville, VA John Paul Jones Arena
Sep 14 Philadelphia Wachovia Center
Sep 16 Hartford, CT XL Center
Sep 18 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena
Sep 19 Raleigh, NC RBC Center

Edit: Also confirmed today was a concert for Kings of Leon at the First Niagara Pavilion two days later, on September 7. It's shaping up to be a big year for Pittsburgh concerts.

My 5 favorite bands, May 2009

Every six months, I do a rundown of my favorite bands. This time, there's not much change from the last list, so instead of writing the same little blurbs about each band, I'm going to provide YouTube links to my favorite live clips from each artist.

1 SIGUR ROS
Video: "Gobbledigook" live with Bjork


2 MGMT
Video: "Electric Feel" live


3 AMANDA PALMER
Video: "Please Drop Me" live


4 KINGS OF LEON
Video: "Use Somebody" live at Brit Awards


5 DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
Video: "All Along the Watchtower" live


Others earning consideration: The Go! Team, Taylor Swift, Ghostland Observatory

April Pittsburgh concerts

MUST-SEE SHOW:
4/22 Kings of Leon & The Walkmen @ AJ Palumbo Center
There's a lot of good stuff going down in Pittsburgh this month, none better than the Followill brothers playing on the campus of Duquesne. Kings of Leon have been smoking lately, from earning high-profile festival gigs to winning a Grammy for "Sex on Fire." And while I think the Walkmen are massively overrated, they do bring a bit of star power to the opening act slot.

ALSO WORTH ATTENDING:
4/4 The Academy Is... @ Bigelow Boulevard/Pitt campus (free)
Emo-pop may not be everyone's bag, but the Academy Is... do it as well as anyone. I'm partial to the remix of "Black Mamba", though it's doubtful you'll hear that version live. They haven't achieved as much mainstream success as their homies Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes, but the Academy Is... are still worth seeing. Especially when the show is free!

4/7 Andrew Bird @ Carnegie Music Hall (Oakland)
The first time I saw Andrew Bird live, he started whistling and I thought, Oh this is kinda cool. Then he whistled again in the next song. And the next one. By the end of the show I wanted to punch him in the face. Needless to say, I will not be attending this show. But if he's your cup of tea, by all means make your way to Oakland.

4/14 World/Inferno Friendship Society @ Mr. Small's
We've sung the praises of the World/Inferno Friendship Society before and even interviewed their fearsome leader, Jack Terricloth, months before the New York Times did. (That's right, we scooped the New York Times - we're not playing around here.) Their anarchist circus punk is entertaining stuff. Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione is still along for the ride - yet another reason to check them out.

Others to keep in mind:
4/1 Blind Pilot @ Club Cafe
4/1 Black Label Society & Sevendust @ Club Zoo
4/3 Ray Lamontagne @ Palace Theatre
4/4 Freezepop @ Anime Convention/David L. Lawrence Convention Center
4/4 Gay Blades @ Modern Formations
4/6 Jon Lajoie @ Improv
4/6 Bitch & the Exciting Conclusion @ Shadow Lounge
4/7 k.d. lang @ Benedum Center
4/8 hed(pe) @ Diesel
4/10 HR (of Bad Brains) @ 31st Street Pub
4/11 Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin @ Brillobox
4/11 Charlie Musselwhite @ Rex Theatre
4/12 Cloud Cult/Margot & the Nuclear So & So's @ Mr. Small's
4/13 G. Love & Special Sauce @ Mr. Small's
4/16 Diplo @ Diesel
4/17 New Pornographers/Ted Leo & the Pharmacists @ CMU Lawn
4/18 Arlo Guthrie @ Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
4/19 Headlights @ Brillobox
4/21 Rachael Sage @ Club Cafe
4/22 Felice Brothers @ Mr. Small's
4/24 Buddy Guy @ Palace Theatre
4/28 Disturbed, Lacuna Coil & Killswitch Engage @ Petersen Events Center
4/29 Alkaline Trio & Saves the Day @ Club Zoo
4/29 Dr. Dog @ Mr. Small's
4/30 HorrorPops @ Diesel