More Tours to Fall For

(^Don't you love my rhyming skills? Door, chore, folklore...)

A lot has happened since I last posted fall tour info, and even though the days are getting darker earlier, the concert options are looking brighter than ever...

Didn't really want $100 seats for the Jonas Brothers World Tour this summer? Still remotely interested in checking out their protegee/Ken dolls, Honor Society? Honor Society will be playing a much more intimate show at Sonar, a Baltimore club the size of your closet in an area that will make the parents of many JoBros fans want to hop right back in their cars and take their kiddies to Port Discovery instead. But for the serious Honor Society fans, their show on Wednesday 9/30 should be the perfect antithesis to seeing them open for the JoBros. Get your $15 tickets here and wonder when the last time you could see the JoBros for that price was.

In case you didn't get tickets to Owl City's show this Saturday before they sold out, don't worry too much; there are other fish in the sea and birds in the electonica sky. Lights, often called Owl City's female counterpart (a moniker I completely disagree with, but whatever) is playing at Sonar on Saturday 10/3. Electronic indie trio Stars of Track & Field are opening. At Warped Tour, Lights performed one of the most awkward sets I ever seen (and I have seen Hottub, so I know awkward). There were over 150 people in the mosh, and I was one of the six who danced. The rest just stood there and gaped at her. I mean, she is certainly worthy of gaping at, but really, she's up there for half an hour; surely you can wrap your mind around her music within that time. Anyhow, when people have to shell out $12 for tickets, more than 4% of the crowd should dance. Get your tickets here.

Saturday 10/3 is actually a pretty huge night for Sonar, what with Geist's CD release party in the Talking Head Club and five bands playing a Sonar-sponsored event at Ottobar. Jay Reatard is headlining the Ottobar event, and if you're not the electropop type, his punk rock should provide some equally-electrifying entertainment for the night.

Is touring the East Coast every fall an annual tradition for Relient K? For the second year in a row, Relient K is coming to the area in October. Last year, I missed seeing them play at the 9:30 Club on a school night. This year, I'm going to miss seeing them play at the Recher Theater in Towson on a school night. Tuesday 10/6, to be specific. The same day they release their new album, which I'll talk more about later. Last year, their fall tour had a Halloween theme. This year, it's called "A Three-Hour Tour," so can we hope to see Matty T dressed up as Gilligan and Matty H as the Skipper? I think the guys would tell us there's always hope... More info on the tour with Barcelona and Copeland here.

Kate Voegele is coming to Rock & Roll Hotel on Friday 10/16 with Green River Ordinance. I saw the perpetually sunny Kate perform at Ram's Head a few years ago, and her on-stage exuberance matched only the love coming her diverse group of fans. Buy tickets here.

You might want to save your $16, though. The Friday after that, 10/23, though, mtvU brings out the big guns. Their inaugural Haloween-themed Ulalume fest will move in to the Merriwether Post Pavilion. Supporting acts Kid Cudi and Dead by Sunrise are sure to scare up a crowd before big-name headliners Paramore and AFI go in for the kill. With costume contests and other events that should put the "boo" in "booths" scattered around the pavilion grounds, this festival should be spooktacular. (Don't you love Halloween-themed puns?) Zip over to mtvu.com for all the details and ticket info. Hurry - I hear everyone's dying to get in (Oh gosh, I'm even making myself groan now...)

Give yourself a day off, then check out The Used at Sonar on Sunday 10/25. Or just go there instead of Ulalume because my incessant punnery has made you despise everything Halloween-related. (Sorry!) Get your tickets, along with a free song and uncensored music video, here.

Sunday 10/8, go to the Black Cat to get one last glimpse of local rocker-philanthropists Mae (buy a new song for $1 every month, and the money will buy materials for underfunded schools) before they jet off to Japan with Owl City. Or just for them to come home; they're only playing 3 shows in Japan. But still, isn't it so exciting when people tour Japan?

It's a pretty good season for electropop buffs: Pretty Lights is bringing his jazzy electronica to the 9:30 Club on Wednesday 11/18. Not to be confused with just plain Lights, Pretty Lights is actually not a pretty girl. (I think a name swap may be in order here.) He is actually producer Derek Vincent Smith, who brings a live drummer with him to live shows (as opposed to the dead drummers at... okay, I'll let it go). He also happens to be my newest favorite reason why electronic music is not all soulless, evil, and murdering other genres. To hear the instrumental beauty for yourself, download all three of his albums for the unbeatable price of free at his official site, give him a donation on his PayPal because, dude, you just three albums for free, then head over to his MySpace to leave a little more love and find some more info on his tour with Gramatik.

And last but definitely not least, Boys Like Girls is headlining one of the most exciting tours of the fall for the Fueled By Ramen crowd, supported by the dream team of Cobra Starship, The Maine, A Rocket to the Moon, and VersaEmerge. The only problem? It's not stopping in DC. But anyone who cares to travel a few hours to Philadelphia should be in for a treat on Saturday 11/21, when they play at Electric Factory. Tour dates & tickets here.

Upcoming Concerts to Spring for

Wow, was that title lame or what? It's so hard to come up with good puns using the word "spring"... Anyways...

Having just been to a concert (Ting Tings & Hottub, craziest night of my life; all the dirty details coming soon to a computer screen near you), it's time for a quick look to the future because lots of bands have announced their late-spring tours since my last big concert posts.

First up, you might have to act quickly if you want to snag tickets to the biggest indie dance show to hit the 9:30 Club since tonight's sold-out Cut Copy concert. Mates of State and Black Kids will be playing, along with Sunbears. Black Kids are one of my favorite new bands, and I've been meaning to write a post about their musical awesomeness and hot lead singer. For now, I'd advise you to check out their video for "Look at Me (When I Rock Wichoo);" it's pretty much the bomb. I haven't heard too many Mates of State songs, but several reliable sources tell me they're great.

They're coming to the 9:30 Club on Saturday, April 4th, so if you're looking for a great way to kick off your spring break, I'd suggest you pick up a ticket here.

And what better way to end your spring break than with a free concert by swing rocker Derek James at the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC on Friday, April 10th or Sunday, April 12th? I actually can't remember why I'm friends with him on MySpace, but his music is quite possibly the best rockabilly I've ever listened to, and you can't beat the price or the view at the Cherry Blossom Festival.

James will also be playing at pretty much every other venue within 50 miles of us between now and April 12th, so you can also catch his free show at Teavolve in Baltimore on April 11th, and shows in Baltimore and DC this week. But, uh, his music can get obnoxiosly twangy, so you might not want to see all 5 shows. FYI.

And did I mention that The All-America Rejects and Ace Enders will be coming to Towson University on Saturday, April 25th and to the 9:30 Club on Tuesday, April 28th? I did? All right then. No use beating a dead horse, no matter how excited you are for it...

May is a pretty big month for my favorite lil Baltimore club, Sonar. On Saturday, May 2nd, Sum 41 will be playing there with Inward Eye and American Taxi. Never heard of either of those bands, but I've been dying for a good pop-punk show to attend, and since Blink-182 hasn't announced their reunion tour yet and Bowling for Soup still seems to be on house arrest, only playing shows in their home state of Texas, Sum 41 just may be your best bet. Check their flier here, then pick up tickets here.

Then the next weekend, the real party gets started with The Let It Rock Tour. Kevin Rudolf is headlining, and if you're wondering who he is, we're on the same page. But I'm pumped for his opening acts, the addictively adorable Metro Station/Jonas Brothers wannabes of Cash Cash, and the... unique... electropop band Hyper Crush. Hyper Crush's logo may be cooler than their repetitve music, but Cash Cash is the real popstar deal. Also supporting them as The Audition and Go Crash Audio. I would check them out, but this concert had me at "Cash Cash."

They'll all be partying at Sonar on Friday, May 8th. Check the snazzy flier here then grab your tickets here.

Finally, Kate Voegele finishes up Sonar's month of magnificence on Sunday, May 17th, with Angel Taylor and a soon-to-be-announced special guest. Well, that's really only half of the month, but none of the other bands playing at Sonar really jumped out and said "buy tickets to see me!!!!"

Anyways, I saw Kate open for Natasha Bedingfield and The Veronicas last summer in Baltimore, and she gave a really solid performance. I also got to meet her before the show, and she was suuuper nice, so I'd advise you to check her out at Sonar if you get the chance. You can get your tickets here, and sadly, the link to her show's flier is not working.

Speaking of that dynamic popstar duo The Veronicas, they're coming back to the States (from their native Australia, source of their adorable accents) for another tour this Spring. The closest they'll come to the DC area is Pittsburgh, which is not very close to the DC area at all, but the girls are really sweet and definitely worth seeing sometime. Their show in Baltimore was plagued by mic problems that made them sound like they were performing a duet the Alvin and The Chipmunks, so it'd be nice to hear them with decent audio. And I'm sure their show at PA Diesel Club Lounge will go spectacularly. You can find more info on the show here.

And then, of course, you can pre-order Warped Tour tickets starting April 1st, but we'll save that annual conglomeration of coolness for a summer concert post...