Finally, it looks like we may be getting a few halfway decent shows coming to Pittsburgh, instead of them all skipping us in favor of Cleveland, like they usually do.

8/28: Meat Puppets @ Mr. Small’s
9/05: Bill Callahan (of Smog fame) w/ Sir Richard Bishop (Sun City Girls) @ the Andy Warhol Museum
9/11: Aesop Rock @ the Rex
9/13: Feist @ the Carnegie Music Hall (one of my favorite albums released this year is The Reminder).
9/27: Mountain Goats @ the Rex
9/30: The Mekons @ New Hazlett Theater
10/2: Andrew Bird @ Carnegie Music Hall. (I’ll be in Denver)
10/9: Smashing Pumpkins. (I’m not sure I can muster up enough nostalgia for them to pay the $65 or whatever outrageous price they’ll likely charge).

Callahan, Feist and the Mekons would seem to be the clear top priorities. Now that I think about it, I might have to go to a conference in Williamsport overnight on the 13th. Fuck.

(Of course, Cleveland still beats us with: Modest Mouse, Mose Allison, the Black Lips, John Vanderslice, The Flaming Lips, Do Make Say Think, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Henry Rollins, Wolf Eyes, The Drive-by Truckers, Caribou, Lewis Black, Sharon Jones, Lucero, the Raveonettes and Tony Bennett, all between now and the end of the year.)