Dear New York City: Aren’t you so glad it’s Monday? Me neither! But at least we have all of these great shows to look forward to this week. And you’re all, “What great shows?” and I’m all, “Hang on for two seconds and I will tell you.” So here I go, telling you:
First things first: let’s get the “SOLD OUT” situations out of the way so we can stop feeling depressed about not getting tickets. (Unless you DID manage to get tickets, in which case you probably don’t need to be reading this guide in the first place.)
- Monday August 6th, Alt-J @ Mercury Lounge Don’t even think about it, because it’s SOLD OUT.
- Tuesday August 7th, Tame Impala @ Music Hall of Williamsburg Your life is officially (kanga)RUINED.
- Tuesday August 7th, Wednesday August 8th, AND Thursday August 9th, Bloc Party / The Drums / Them Jeans @ Terminal 5 No Bloc Party block party for you, sir.
- Wednesday August 8th, M83 / Big Black Delta @ SummerStage Central Park NOT GONNA HAPPEN.
Painful, right? But it only gets way better from this point on, so don’t fret!
First, let’s load up our handy dandy PLAYLIST and then take a look at this evening, for instance:
MONDAY
- Tonight you’ll wear those shoes and I will wear that dress and we will go to see Sixpence None the Richer at Mercury Lounge. And it will be $15 and we will feel really good about it.
- Because I know it’s your lifelong dream to go to Staten Island on a Monday evening, I am going to suggest this The xx / Chairlift show at Snug Harbor Cultural Center Music Hall! Watch out for ghosts, though, because Snug Harbor is mad haunted. (PS I’m not even making that up.)
- I bet you were JUST thinking about how you wished you had a little more trombone in your life. Well, good news! The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are playing Webster Hall tonight, and your ears will be subsequently filled with so much third wave ska and sunshine!
TUESDAY
- For $35 you can go see M. Ward / Yo La Tengo / Wyatt Cynac at the Prospect Park Bandshell. Side effects of this show include but are not limited to: MAJORLY MELTED HEARTS.
- Talib Kweli is playing Brooklyn Bowl for $15, aka A STEAL. PS according to Wikipedia (which is where I went to college) Talib means “seeker”, while Kweli means “truth,” which I’ve decided collectively means that if you seek the truth, and/or a good time, you should go to this show.
WEDNESDAY
- Joan Osborne AND Howie Day? If God had a name, it would definitely be City Winery.
THURSDAY
- If you’re poor like me, you’re in luck tonight! For all of zero dollars, you can see Joan Jett and the Blackhearts perform at Coney Island tonight. Do you hear me? FREE. Also, remember when Kristen Stewart played the role of Joan Jett that one time? See also: THE HAIR.
- Another free show with kind of an amazing line-up? Try Grimes / Wild Nothing / DIIV at Pier 84.
- Wikipedia says the following about the B-52s: “Presenting themselves as a positive, enthusiastic, slightly oddball party band, the B-52s tell tall tales, glorify wild youth, and celebrate wild romance.” Which is pretty much exactly why you should go see them at Irving Plaza tonight.
- Even if you left your wallet in El Segundo you can probably scrape up enough cash ($5 to be exact) to catch Q-Tip’s DJ Set at Brooklyn Bowl, so let the couch cushion coin digging begin.
FRIDAY
- Do you know what happens when you mix Journey with Pat Benatar? Really good life advice, that’s what. (See also: Don’t stop believin’ that love is a battlefield.) Both acts perform at Jones Beach Theater tonight, and you should probably go (on and on and on and on.)
- Catch a Little Dragon DJ Set at Glasslands for just $10! Value!
- If you would prefer to dance your face off, you should probably go to Webster Hall for Buraka Som Sistema. However, please note that their dress code states, “Neat and trendy appearance a must,” so if you’re not into that, then I retract my previous statement in which I suggest that you should probably go to Webster Hall.
SATURDAY
- You can see Real Estate / R. Stevie Moore / Andrew Cedermark at Webster Hall tonight, where tickets will set you back a reasonable $20.
- There’s also this dance-move-inducing St. Lucia / Big Black Delta / Capital Cities show at Brooklyn Bowl; it’s priced at just $10, which means you can invest the dollars saved in more important things like alcohol or pizza.
Are you staring at the computer screen while fury bubbles up inside you because we forgot to include the most amazing show of all time? Well, 1) sorry! and 2) tell us everything we need to know in the comments! Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @BYTNYC because we would like to talk to you in 140 characters or less ALL DAY LONG.