Three dollars and 63 cents

1. In past years, we had a wristband we had to wear all weekend that allowed us to come and go. 2. Some events will get pretty crowded, others less so. Both years I staked out a spot to see Nels play well in advance because I didn't want to have to be trying to see behind a wall of tall dudes taking pictures of his gear the whole time, but most of the time you can get a good spot without too much effort, except for the headlining sets. 3. I found mornings were the best times to check out the galleries, unless somebody was playing who had a big crowd but who I didn't want to see. 5. I think th

There are still good seats available for Camden, though I'm shocked that the "silver hot seats" are $160. $106 was the max price listed prior to the presales. I'd hate to think what the gold seats ran.

A head's up to people planning to buy reserved seats for Camden: the Live Nation page for the show states that all reserved seats (i.e. everything not on the lawn) will be paperless, nontransferrable tickets. I see what they're trying to do, but that's $106 blown if your plans change. I checked some of the pages for other shows sold through LN, and it seems Camden is the only one doing this. I'm planning to go to Merriweather, but I may pass on this one for that reason. Also, I so wish this were at the Mann Center. It's a vastly better venue and so much easier to get to.

The dates are up on Bob Dylan's website: http://www.bobdylan.com/us/upcoming-dates ETA: the dates have disappeared. I have a hunch somebody jumped the gun in posting them tonight. They'll be back tomorrow at noon if not sooner, though.

The Nels Cline Singers have done two recording sessions this year, one in Berkeley in late January, and one a week or two ago in New York. The work he did yesterday may or may not be for that album. He's also been doing a lot of one-off shows and recording work in the last few months. If you look up "prolific" in the dictionary, I think there's a picture of Nels!

Doh! I was thinking Bennington. Sorry for any confusion!

The Best Western in Burlington still appears to have some room. It's about half an hour away from North Adams and not exactly cheap, but at this point it might be one of the best options available. Also keep checking Air BnB, Homeaway, etc. Someone in Williamstown is renting guest rooms in her house for $150/night. Others in the area may jump on the bandwagon when they realize there's money to be made from people who missed booking hotel and motel rooms.

Nels had a show in Brooklyn last week and another this week, and John has been tweeting pictures from India, so it doesn't seem likely they're in the studio now. Nels doesn't have another show scheduled until March 15, so maybe they'll squeeze in a few weeks of recording later this month.

Nels and Julian are playing as part of Winter Jazzfest in New York on January 11. Life has really gotten in the way of me getting to shows lately, but I may try to make it up for this one.

Nels is playing a handful of shows as part of Ben Goldberg's quintet Unfold Ordinary Mind. They'll be at the Stone in New York December 5 as part of a series of shows curated by N.C. Singers drummer Scott Amendola, at the Windup Space in Baltimore December 8, and at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia December 9. On December 7, Nels and Yuka perform as Fig, again at the Stone. I wonder what happened to their album that was in the works? I thought it might've come out this year. I also have a hunch an album might come out of Nels' collaborations with Julian Lage, but I haven't heard anything for

They're apparently doing a small tour of New England, as they'll be at Club Metronome in Burlington on 12/19 and at Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry, NH, on 12/22. Apparently they're also playing as part of a guitar festival in Toronto in early November. I think the venue is the Great Hall or something like that. The Baltimore show with Ben Goldberg on December 8 is at the Windup Room, according to the venue's website. Ars Nova is producing the Philadelphia show, but I still haven't been able to track down a venue for it. We'll definitely be in Baltimore, and maybe Philadelphia, too, if the

These are sold.

My friends and I have three extra tickets for Saturday's show in Section 102, row E, which is the fifth row of the center section. They're great seats! We paid $66 apiece for them through the presale, but we're hoping to get $50 apiece for them. If you're in the Harrisburg area, we can meet up tomorrow; otherwise, I can just meet you at the venue Saturday. Drop me a line if you're interested.

Wilco hasn't played in the Philadelphia area since 2010, and it's been even longer since the Avetts have played there. Half-length sets from each of them is really disappointing, especially since this show probably means neither band will be back in the area for awhile. For the price of tickets, I was expecting longer sets. Traffic was a nightmare at this venue last month when I was there to see Radiohead--it took us well over an hour to get there from the Philly side of the Ben Franklin Bridge (we missed the turn for Penn's Landing and the ferry). I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle and exp

We saw him Saturday night in Philadelphia and he seemed completely fine--charming, chatty between songs, and not a wrong note the whole night. He seemed very coherent and sober, which was a relief. I really enjoyed the show, and my boyfriend even admitted that it exceeded his expectations. The crowd was pretty good, too, except for one drunk guy yelling stupid things. Justin finally made fun of him at one point, but the guy was so drunk that he didn't realize the wisecracks were about him.

Even though it's unlikely, there's always the chance that something can change between the time a show is booked and when it's announced. Waiting for an official announcement helps to avoid misinformation or confusion. Apparently I'm in the minority on this one, though.

If I were a promoter who worked really hard to plan a big show, I'd be pretty disappointed about somebody leaking information about it days before the official announcement. Passing on information that a promoter probably told his or her friends in confidence isn't cool.

Dan Smalls Presents is supposed to be announcing a show at Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown on Tuesday. I have a hunch it's Wilco. I know he's been trying to get them for a few years, and it seems like they've outgrown the venues in Ithaca, though I'm holding out hope they could still play the State Theater, though it's a longshot now. I'm leaving the region in mid-June, and an Ommegang show isn't worth coming back for--it's a big field, so it would basically be Solid Sound (though with better beer and with camping included). I'd definitely come back for a show at the State, though!

From Nels’ website: “The 27min film ‘Approximately…Nels Cline’ (by Director Steven Okazaki) will be shown at the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival on Saturday April 14th at 3PM as part of the ‘Roots-Rock Gods‘program. The film will be playing at the Logan Theater located at 2646 N. Milwaukee Ave. Purchase tickets online here (look for “Shorts Program 2”)." The movie is showing with a short documentary about My Morning Jacket and clips from a longer movie about the Mekons. All for $7! More about the movie here.

Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus.

I wonder if it's the same box set they had on the website around Christmas. That one was the album on vinyl, the RSD 10" from the fall, the I Might 7", and the CD, along with a bigger box to store them all in. If it's not, this is getting a little ridiculous. How many different versions of this album are they going to release? I had hoped for something Wilco-related for RSD, but not something many of us already have. Ahh...it's still there: http://wilco.kungfustore.com/products/3268-the-whole-love-deluxe-vinyl-box-set-wil512

I heard rumblings that Nels was playing in New York last night, but I couldn't figure out where. Very cool! Thanks for passing on the details. Hopefully some footage shows up on YouTube.

Ask and ye shall receive, apparently! From Facebook:

Nels is a part of two albums that will be coming out in the next few months. First, the long-awaited (by me, at least!) Mischief and Mayhem album will be available on March 6. The quartet, led by Jenny Scheinman, also features Jim Black, Todd Sickafoose, and Nels. You can preorder the album digitally or on CD as well as part of a few different bundles including other goodies here. On April 17, Porter Records will release the first album by a new trio including Nels, Thollem McDonus on piano, and William Parker on bass, called The Gowanus Session. You can get more information about the trio a

I haven't been able to make it to these shows for the last few years because of teaching commitments and won't be able to again this year, but it's really disappointing to find out so many tickets are already up on StubHub. There really ought to be a special circle of hell for people who try to make a profit on a show that's for charity! I hope the organizers are able to find a way to thwart the scalpers.