Happy Halloween! I had a lot more decorations until Mischief Morning struck. Never heard of that before, must be a new thing

Nice costume, but Trick or Treat was last night

Icelandic Enchantment with Of Monsters and Men, at the Met, touring in support of their new album "All is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade"; they closed the show with my fave song from it, the epic "Fruit Bat".

Flock of Dimes, at JohnnyBrendas, playing all of their latest album "The Life You Save" in it's entirety, always nice when a band does that, I'm sure to hear my favorite song. They finished up with 5 of the best songs from their previous albums

Sug Daniels, at the Arden Gild Hall, she's on a mini tour promoting her first album, the just released yesterday "I Believe In You" , a diverse collection of songs that displays her range well

Grace Vonderkuhn, at the Arden Gild Hall, also promoting a new album, her "Into the Morning" that came out at the end of August. A more savage approach, her drummer ended up drumming the kick drum's mic off of the riser trying to keep up with her

Daffo, at the Transfer, just got back from touring Europe, sure sounded good for a band who could be suffering jet lag. They're doing all this touring to promote their first album "Where The Earth Bends", it's really good + cheap, only 10 bucks at the merch table, what a deal

Wednesday, bringing their psychotic blend of Country, Psychdelica, and Rock to the Transfer. They have a new album out, the excellent "Bleed" and I believe the dolls and stuffed animals represent the setting for a malignant nursery. Unhinged goodness

The Mynabirds, aka Laura Burhenn, at a house show(there's a first time for everything) playing songs from her just released album "It's Ok To Go Backwards If You Keep Moving Forward" her first album in almost 10 years

Her dog Arrow, really well behaved, he kept her company but he wasn't much of an accompanist

Last night, The Aimee Mann & Ted Leo Christmas Show with Nellie Mckay, Paul F. Tompkins & Josh Gonderman at the City Winery. Songs, skits and general foolishness to get one in the Holiday Spirit

The Beths, at the Transfer, touring in support of their new album "Straight Line Was A Lie", one of my favorites of this year, great harmonies and they rock hard when they feel the need

Last night, Speedy Ortiz at Johnny Brendas, bringing the heat on a frozen night. If Built To Spill hadn't announced a surprise tour for the end of the year, I would have begun and ended the year seeing Speedy

Built to Spill, at the Transfer, probably my last show of the year, so I'm going out on a high note (and lots of them), an almost 2 hour long guitar extravaganza

Since it's that time, my favorite albums of the year, somewhat in order

Merry Christmas!

Shows I saw this year, I visited 7 venues I had never been before; Argilla Brewing Co., Ting Pavilion, Concert Under the Stars, The Rusty Nail, Kelly's Logan House, Wiggins Park, City Winery. Also I went to a House Show with tickets as opposed to a House Show with a drunken brawl

My first show of the New Year, the mysterious and magical Cate Le Bon, at the Transfer. The album she released last year, "Michelangelo Dying", was one of my favorites of the year, and her band, as always, was stellar

Neko Case, at the Queen, in Wilmington, De. Love seeing great artists close to home. She was excellent, and because she could see me and I was behaving myself, (well, mostly because she could see me) no photos. Just imagine her and her band in the stage setup shot

I, and a surprising number of people braved the cold to see the effervescent Nellie Mckay, at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (whew!). She was like a breath of Spring air (which could be a long time coming)