Concerts I Want To Attend In The Short-Term

For someone who considers himself a bit of a music junkie, I attend relatively few live shows. I’ve averaged maybe three a year over the past five years or so. I’m really hoping to change that, especially now that I’ve seen a couple of shows with Carla and Josie.

So here are a bunch of shows that I want to go to this year. Note that I have no idea when (or even if) any of these bands are coming to Toronto. If you know something, enlighten me. Just for kicks, I’m also going to suggest a song from each band, so that if you haven’t heard of them, you might, ah, be able to, uh, find someone who owns a legal copy of the song, and, er, you know, ask them to let you hear it.

• Spoon — The Minor Tough, from A Series of Sneaks (1998) — My favourite band, these SOBs haven’t played my town since September 2002.
• The Apples In Stereo — Baroque, from Velocity of Sound (2002) — I’ve never seen these guys live, and since I’ve been listening to them a lot lately, I would like to. Spoon once opened for them, or maybe it was the other way around. That would be a great double bill! UPDATE: Coming May 3 to the Horseshoe! Who’s coming with me?
• Pedro The Lion — Rapture, from Control (2002) — I’ve been getting into Pedro in a big way lately. So soulful at times but edgy, too. Great spiritual music, and very cathartic for me. UPDATE: Coming June 24 to the Horseshoe! Who’s in?
• The Shins — Caring is Creepy, from Oh, Inverted World (2001) — I actually saw The Shins a few years ago opening for Modest Mouse. I was so dumb I thought they were called The Chins. Now I would pay money to see them again.
• The Postal Service — The District Sleeps Alone Tonight, from Give Up (2003) — This is a side project for Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and Dntel’s Jimmy Tamborello, so it’s unclear whether they’ll tour. They apparently did tour just after Give Up came out but it’s unlikely that they’ll get up here without a new record to promote.
• The Oranges Band — OK Apartment, from All Around (2003) — I’ve known this band since their singer Roman was filling in on bass for Spoon. They opened for Spoon on some US gigs but for some reason, the entire band ended up selling Spoon merchandise here in Toronto and not playing. They are an awesome band and really nice guys and you need to discover them right away.