Jay-Z plays TD Garden on March 11 and Alicia Keys plays Agganis Arena on March 22

Another great month for one of the country’s best music scenes.  This month offers concert occasions for every music fans.  Lots of fun indie pop is coming through the city.  Let them warm you up as winter slowly withdraws into spring.  Two of New York’s biggest stars, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, come up to Boston this month, playing two of the city’s largest venues, the TD Garden and the Agganis Arena.  Escape midterms for at least one concert this month.  Hop on those tickets soon.  Many of these shows will sell out.  Some of them are already sold out, leaving you to beg for your friend’s extra ticket, take your chances with scalpers, or buy the higher priced tickets from a secondary seller.

3/2: Surfer Blood, Great Scott:

Get ready for this fun, indie rock band from Florida to rock a bar sure to be filled this night with Pabst and Pitchfork lovers.

3/3: Tally Hall, Great Scott:

Light and poppy, Tally Hall come across as one of the sillier bands in indie rock.

3/4: Joe Pug, Great Scott:

The Allston bar brings in a great artist for the third night in a row in row in singer-songwriter Joe Pug.  Joe Pug has garnered a following for himself by mailing free sampler CD’s to anyone who asks and making his EP available for download free on his website.  He now tours in support of his first full-length, Messenger.

3/5: Cage the Elephant, Paradise Rock Club:

There ain’t gonna be no rest for the wicked at this show.  Cage the Elephant will keep your bodies moving for the whole show.

3/5: Margaret Glaspy, Club Passim:

Glaspy brings her charm and soulful folk back to Club Passim, a familiar venue for the Massachusetts singer-songwriter.

3/6: Hey Mama, Paradise Rock Club:

Led by the duet of Avi Salloway and Celia Woodsmith, this band makes music the way rocking roots music should be made: full of blues, soul, emotion, and fire.

3/11: Jay-Z, TD Garden:

Jay-Z is coming to Boston with Young Jeezy and Trey Songz.  Need we say more?

3/12-3/17: Dropkick Murphys, House of Blues:

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Boston than by going to one of of the Murphys’ seven shows leading up to March 17?

3/17: Joanna Newsom, Sanders Theatre:

Newsom brings her harp and “unique” voice to Harvard’s wonderfully acoustic theater.

3/18: Mat Kearney and Ingrid Michaelson, House of Blues:

Two talented pop artists co-headline this Thursday night at the House of Blues.

3/19: Disco Biscuits, House of Blues:

The band that defined the genre of trance fusion/jamtronica comes to Boston.  If you’re into jam bands, you need to be at this show.  Consider yourself forewarned: the band’s shows have been known to be associated with heavy drug use.  “Disco Biscuit,” itself, is a street term for MDMA.

3/20: Air, Berklee Performance Center:

Creating a very different sort of electronica-influenced music, this French duo has been putting out beautiful ambient music for over a decade now.

3/21: Roz Raskin and the Rice Cakes, The Middle East Upstairs:

This young indie-pop group from Providence performs upbeat, but soft acoustic tunes sure to make you a fan.

3/22: Alicia Keys, Agganis Arena:

On the first day back from break, the beautiful R&B singer from New York performs at Boston University’s Agganis Arena.

3/25: Toubab Krewe, Harper’s Ferry:

A festival favorite, the instrumental band, Toubab Krewe, fuses the music of Mali with US southern music and jam rock.

3/27: Spoon with Deerhunter, House of Blues:

Two of  this past decade’s most popular indie rock bands are still going strong and touring together.

3/28: Beach House, Paradise Rock Club:

The Baltimore dream pop band’s January release, Teen Dream, further raised the bar created by their first two albums.  They now tour in support of their best CD, thus far.

3/31: Miike Snow, Paradise Rock Club:

Everyone knows the best indie pop and electropop comes from Sweden.

Club Passim is located underground at 47 Palmer St.

If you’re taking “Sound, Noise, and Music” as your Expos class you have learned a little bit about Club Passim and the important role it has played in the history of American music.  If not, you may not be aware that one of folk’s most legendary venues is less than 200 yards from the Yard.  The club, opened in 1958, was first known as Club 47 and was located at 47 Mt. Auburn St. (currently Daedalus Restaurant).  It moved to its current location at 47 Palmer St. in 1963 and eventually changed its name to Club Passim.

In the 1960s, the venue was a starting point for many folk stars including Joan Baez who began playing the club as an unknown seventeen year-old singer.  She also convinced relatively unknown Bob Dylan to play shows at the club.  Dylan played songs between others’ sets, but never had his own headlining show.  Others who played at Club Passim, many of whom had their starts at club, include Muddy Waters, Tom Rush, Jackie Washington, Peter Wolf, Taj Mahal, Patty Larkin, Geoff & Maria Muldaur, Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, Nanci Griffith, and Judy Collins (though not Bruce Springsteen who was refused the opportunity to play at Club Passim).

Though the club rarely attracts artists of that level today, it still offers an opportunity to see some of folk’s greatest acts in an intimate environment.  When we say intimate, we mean intimate.  The club is a mere 30 feet by 40 feet and seats only 125 concertgoers.  Good luck finagling yourself into your chair.  You’ll be getting to know your neighbors very well, especially if you choose dining seating.

The seating is a mixture of dining tables of four spread throughout the room, and non-dining seating along the edges and in the back of the room.  Dining seating means that you are required to buy at least $5 of Veggie Planet food, the restaurant that shares the space with Club Passim.  You’ll want to spend at least $5 here.  The vegetarian and vegan pizzas are superb.  I ordered one with roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, rosemary & sage, goat cheese, asiago cheese, spinach, and fried garlic. Yum.

Glen Phillips of WPA sings mere feet from my seat at Club Passim

The band we saw, Works Progress Administration (WPA), played a show worthy of the venue.  The recently formed folk/bluegrass supergroup is focused around the trio Glen Phillips, the lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek, and Luke Bella who had previously played with the Jerry Douglas Band and Lyle Lovett’s band.  Others play on the recently released album, WPA, including Tom Petty’s pianist, Benmont Tench, and members of Elvis Costello and the Imposters.  A drummer and bassist joined the aforementioned trio at the Club Passim show.  The five put on a great show, mostly playing numbers from the recent album, very grateful for the crowd’s support.  Upcoming acts at Club Passim include:

Mark Erelli – 12/17
Lori McKenna – 12/18 & 12/19
Antje Duvekot – 12/20
Stephen Keller And The Sixers – 12/29
Ellis Paul – 12/30 & 12/31

Genres: Folk, Indie-Folk, Folk-Rock, Bluegrass-Folk, Country-Folk, Old Folk, Young Folk, Red Folk, Blue Folk, etc (oh, and some blues)
Typical Ticket Prices: $15-$25
Rating: ****/5

But don’t stay sad for long.  November is full of great music in the city.  Click on the date for ticket info, the band name for band website, and the venue name for venue website.

Beautiful Grace Potter will be rocking the House of Blues on 11/19.

11/3: Monsters of Folk, Orpheum Theatre:

This supergroup is made up of Conor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes), M. Ward, and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James.  Those three have been doing the occasional show or recording together for years, but finally have an album out and an official tour.

11/4: Ray LaMontagne, Citi Performing Arts Center:

This raspy singer-songwriter from Maine is probably best known for his single, “You Are the Best Thing.”

11/5 & 11/6: Lotus, Paradise Rock Club:

Lotus is a quntessential jamtronica band, meaning that they fuse live instrumental jam rock with the sounds of dance and electronica.  This show is sure to be a party.

11/7: Girls, Great Scott:

This Pitchfork darling will warm up this dark, intimate bar with its fresh sounds from San Francisco.

11/8: Dan Deacon, Pozen Center (MassArt):

Hipster-favorite known almost as much for this YouTube video as his music meets art school: fun ensues.

11/9: Miley Cyrus, TD Garden:

14-year-old girls watching a 16-year-old girl dance provocatively…I’d steer clear.

11/10: Neko Case, The Wilbur Theatre:

This Canadian country-rock singer with a beautiful voice is sure to put on a show to remember.

11/12:  The Low Anthem | Blind Pilot, Paradise Rock Club:

Two great bands from opposite sides of the country unite for a tour of some of the greatest modern folk-rock.  This is a show you do not want to miss.

11/13: Works Progress Administration, Club Passim:

This musical collective will be touring in the form of Glen Phillips, Sean Watkins, and Luke Bulla in what is by far, the closest venue to Harvard (save for the Yard).  This blogger thinks it could prove to be the best show of the night, though it has quite a bit of competition.

11/13, 11/14, & 11/15: Bob Dylan, Citi Performing Arts Center:

The greatest singer-songwriter of all time continues the Never Ending Tour.

11/13: Mike Doughty, Regattabar:

Another venue close to Harvard located in the Charles Hotel hosts this alternative singer-songwriter.

11/13: The Cranberries, Orpheum Theatre:

The Irish band from the 1990′s reunites, adding another great show to this Friday of music.

11/14: Super Mash Bros, Sigma Alpha Mu, Boston University:

Self-described as “Girl Talk’s hot cousin,” this is your best bet for overcoming the pain of missing last night’s show.  Some (including me) would claim the duo is better than Girl Talk.  Problem: good luck finding a BU student to win you the remaining tickets form this sold out show.

11/18: Surprise Me Mr. Davis, The Middle East Downstairs:

A older music fan at a show last spring told me this was a band made up of members of the Slip that I had to check out for their jammin’ folk-rock and lively shows.  Wikipedia tells me that they formed during a blizzard in which frontman Nathan Moore and the Slip were snowed in at a recording studio and created a new band.

11/19: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals | Brett Dennen, House of Blues:

Two of the best young artists on the scene.  Grace Potter is one hot rocker from Vermont who can really sing.  Brett Dennen sings fun, light songs often with deep, heavy lyrics.

11/19: The Felice Brothers, Paradise Rock Club:

Fun, energy, rock, accordion.  These brothers from upstate New York folkin’ rock.

11/21: Pretty Lights, House of Blues:

If you’re backing form the Game the same day, there is no better way to stretch out your day of partying than with Pretty Lights.  Live, Pretty Lights is DJ Derek Vincent Smith and drummer Cory Eberhard.  The energy of live drumming with crazy electronic music may be overwhelming.  Prepare yourself with the free downloads from the Pretty Lights website.

11/22 & 11/23: Sonic Youth, The Wilbur Theatre:

One of the most important and influential bands for alternative rock, experimental rock, indie rock, and punk comes to Boston for two nights of shows.

11/25: Fuck Buttons, Great Scott:

Their MySpace says they are “Experimental/Progressive/Other.”  Their live show will be appreciated by jam rock and electronic fans alike.

11/27 & 11/28: The Pixies, Citi Performing Arts Center:

If you are staying at Harvard for Thanksgiving break and need something interesting to do, look no further.

11/30: Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Paradise Rock Club:

Like the Low Anthem and Deer Tick, Elvis Perkins is a solid folk-rock performer from Providence, RI, quickly gaining fame.  He is the son of Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates).

That marquee reads a bit like a slave auction.

So, you can basically push your way up and sit (We mean we were literally sitting) on the edge of the stage. The performances are really intimate, and the artists are aware of this–often cracking jokes that pertain to the occasional obnoxious concert-goer who yells the SAME THING EVERY 30 SECONDS. We’re looking at you annoying BU guy. We’re looking right at you. If you don’t want to stand for too long or want to take a break there are plenty of lounge corners and even an upstairs with couches and a view of the stage. Overall, it’s a great place, and they’re able to draw in a lot of really great acts. If you’re 21+ it looks like their bar is pretty well stocked. But, don’t try to pull anything under 21-ers. That bouncer…seriously, he’s scary.

4.5 ROCK STARZ out of 5 ROCK STARZ.

http://www.thedise.com/

A good hipster is easy to find

Overwhelmed by all the shows in Boston this month? Noice kindly narrows it down for you. Click on the date to buy tickets, and click on the artist to find its last.fm page.

10/8 – Grizzly Bear, Beach House – Orpheum
There’s no better way to chill after turning in your first Gov 20 paper than with the gorgeous, elaborately arranged pop of Grizzly Bear and Beach House.
WHAT TO EXPECT: A classy affair/hipsterfest.

10/10 – The Psychedelic Furs, Islands – House of Blues
Perennial post-punk favorites The Psychedelic Furs and melodic-pop genre-benders Islands make a strange, but potentially great combination.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Electric sitars?! And hipsters.

10/13 – Kelly Clarkson – Agganis Arena
Dear Kelly, Our Lives Would Suck Without You. Love, Noice.
WHAT TO EXPECT: A loooot of unclaimed $280 VIP packages. Ironic hipsters.

10/15 – MIKA – Orpheum
“The Boy Who Knew Too Much” brings his bright, playful pop to Boston as he tours for his freshly-released sophomore album.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Gaydar gone haywire!

10/16 – Art Brut – The Middle East
Punk-tinged indie rockers Art Brut tour behind their Pixies-produced third album, Art Brut vs. Satan.
WHAT TO EXPECT: The jury never coming back on Pretentious or Not?

10/22 – STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9) – House of Blues
Dump out all the records from WHRB, smash ‘em up, and stir to get STS9, the writhing electronica-dance-jazz-rock-hip-hop jam band.
WHAT TO EXPECT: The distinct odor of “rotting Bonnaroo wristband.” (No hipsters!)

10/27 - Metalocalypse: Dethklok and Mastodon – House of Blues
Need we say more?
WHAT TO EXPECT: …

(Picture courtesy of http://blackscientist.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/hipster.jpg)