Concert Alert

This coming summer is shaping up to be a scorcher concert-wise. Last summer’s fare was surely solid, but I don’t recall there being so many exciting prospects over the horizon when spring rolled around this time last year. Some notable highlights:

TV on the Radio @ Henry Fonda, March 30/31 - Previously mentioned here, we’ll be going on Friday, the 30th. TVOTR, largely regarded as the most exciting act of 2006, rocked the Bowl last year. I really look forward to seeing what they can do in the Theatre.

Coachella @ some desert wasteland, April 27/28/29 – Would love to see Arcade Fire, Air, Kaiser Chiefs, Bjork, et al, but it ain’t gonna happen this year. If you don’t already have tix, good luck – it’s sold out, and single day tix are going for $300 a piece on Craigslist.

John Mayer, Ben Folds, Rocco De Luca @ Hollywood Bowl, June 6 – Yes, John Mayer has somehow against all odds won me over in a big way. I never listened to either of his first two albums – having dismissed them out of hand as probable kiddiepop drivel – but his recent offering “Continuum” is pure bluesy, guitar hero goodness. And Ben Folds in support – are you kidding me?! I got so excited when I saw this double billing, I shelled out $25 to join J.Mayer’s fanclub (stop laughing) and scored brilliant presale tix. General sale happens March 31 via Ticketraper (presales sold out in minutes).

Daft Punk @ L.A.’s Sports Arena, July 21 & Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, July 27 – If I had one do-over for a show I missed in the last five years, it would be Daft Punk’s run in the Coachella dance tent last year. All reports indicate it was an incomparable tour de force by the French robot masters of neo-disco groove. I have the set and can attest to its insanity – it’s one long 78 minute mash-up of every Daft Punk groove you’ve ever heard. The guitar from one song coupled with the beat from another and the vox from a third. Each time you think you know where they’re going, they pull a 180. And the visuals – omg. See for yourself (these videos give me goosebumps every time). The L.A. date may or may not be part of the Giant Village extravanganza (which is definitely that same night), while the Berkeley show is them with The Rapture, Sebastian and KavinSky. I think we’re going to try and opt for the latter and head up to my alma mater for a little madness One More Time, although I could def see us trying to do both. (Tix are not yet onsale for either show.)

Underworld @ Hollywood Bowl, September 8 – The electronic pioneers/legends are playing a rare show in the States this coming Labor Day weekend as part of KCRW’s annual World Festival at the Bowl. Tix are already available via Ticketmaster as “Encore” presales. They say you have to purchase 5 events together to get the tix, but it’s bullslhit. Word of Underworld’s participation in the festival – alongside Oakenfold and Carmen Rizzo – has barely hit the streets, so amazing tix are still available at super reasonable prices. We’ll see you there – look for us in the mob of Snowboarders in Section J2.

A word of note: if you use iTunes and want the jump on the hottest shows, grab this genius and free app: iConcertCal. It plugs itself right into your iTunes interface, scours your music collection, then the Internet, and finds any and all upcoming shows in your area by your favorite artists. It’s amazing. (This is how I found the John Mayer/Ben Folds show, btw, before it was announced publicly.) FYI, it’s been reversed engineered and proven to not act in any way as spyware – i.e. it does not send back data to any parties. Grab it now before it’s no longer freeware.

See you in the crowd.