Jeff Mangum

The next ATP is moving from Monticello to the decidedly less esoteric shores of Asbury Park. Beyond a shorter commute and cheaper accommodations (read: free -- I'm from the area and my parents still live there), this year's fest, running September 30-October 2, also affords the rare chance to see Jeff Mangum. The reclusive head of Neutral Milk Hotel has only played a handful of shows since leaving the band in 1998, so I am rather stoked he is headlining the fest on Friday.

But even better is his stand-alone concert on September 3 at the nearby Paramount Theater. Tickets are only $35 for the solo show, saving you $215 on ATP passes and having to sit through Portishead two nights in a row. Tickets go on sale here tomorrow at 9:00am.

"Two Headed Boy" live at the Knitting Factory NYC, March 7, 1998

Bright Eyes

Greg bought us a pair of tickets to see Bright Eyes in concert as part of my Christmas present. The show at Radio City Music Hall in March is part of an 18 date national tour in support of Mr. Oberst's last album under the "Bright Eyes" moniker, The People's Key. So it's with some bittersweetness that I listen to the leaked tracks, knowing they are the closing to a chapter in my personal music history, but also (like Conor?) that I've moved on from the isolating depression that was my late adolescence. Or so I hope...






Updated 1/31: Go to NPR to stream the whole album