It's concert time

This fall is just an amazing time to be a fan of "modern folk rock" music (or whatever you want to call it) in Durham, NC, or parts nearby. Even just the upcoming shows you can find on Etix for the area (Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh -- are there really no Durham venues at all?) reads like a "who's who" of the genre.

Mason Jennings (mrs. montsamu's favorite) and Jose Gonzalez are the two shows we've decided to get ourselves together to go and see -- and if I had unlimited time I would definitely see a few more. Sufjan Stevens plays the same day as Jose Gonzalez, but unfortunately for me he sold out in minutes. This makes me sad, because he came through a couple of years ago and I made a "mental note" to get tickets, but as things tend to do it got overlooked until it was just too late. Ah well. At least I've managed to catch Alexi Murdoch down here, and a great show with Ben Arthur, Abra Moore, and Vienna Tang that was supposed to also feature Teitur, but he was called away at the last second to play the Prince of Denmark's birthday party or something.

So, without further adieu, my picks for shows to see if you're in the area (bold for the ones we're ticketed to see):
19 September: M Ward; Mason Jennings
20 September: Calexico
21 September: Sufjan Stevens; Jose Gonzalez
22 September: Eric Bachmann and Richard Buckner
3 October: Serena Maneesh (ok, so this is a completely different genre -- sue me.)
13 October: Shawn Colvin
19 October: Amos Lee
22 October: Old Crow Medicine Show
4 November: Carbon Leaf
8 November: Edwin McCain
14 November: Califone

If I weren't heading out of town on the 22nd, I would absolutely catch Bachmann (of Crooked Fingers) and Buckner, who is another one of those artists who I've loved for years, and the last time he came to town I made the mistake of the "mental note, down the drain" trick.