Seeing Pinback tonight for the second time. On deck: Richard Thompson

[Swish]

On this ominous date, I'm quite happy to see Pinback again, and at a much nicer venue than the first time. While the Underground Arts has some charm, it is, after all, a basement. Tonight's show is at the beautiful Union Transfer, which is only a couple blocks from Underground Arts.

I've never seen Richard Thompson, although I've had several opportunities. This will be with his full band and should be fun. He's one fine guitar slinger, and his acoustic playing is extraordinary.

I'm also going to see Manchester Orchestra in November and Neutral Milk Hotel in January. That last show is the one I'm looking forward to the most.

[ForeverAutumn]

I remember that you showed us some Richard Thompson videos when you played a most excellent host to us. He was very impressive and I'm curious to hear your thoughts after seeing him live.

I must say that although I've heard some Pinback, I'm not all that familiar with them.

We'll be seeing KT Tunstall next week and I'm very excited about seeing her. It's a reserved seating show and I think we're in the 5th row or something like that.

Then in November we've got tickets for Styx. Before you scoff at me, their current line-up is excellent. Larry Gowan is a killer entertainer. He replaces Dennis DeYoung...he has the vocals without the cheese and is far more fun to watch than DeYoung ever was. Their drummer, Todd Sucherman, is among the cream of the crop for current rock drummers IMO. We've seen Sucherman play with both Styx and Gowan's solo shows. He's impressive.