I see us getting passed up a lot. And passed up for cities like Ft. Wayne, Cincinnati, Columbus. This is for both larger concert venues, and clubs. Maybe the new stadium will help.

NO! Recently, we've been skipped by U2, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Police. Also, what in the wide world of sports have we come to when we use the 'scum sucking pig fokker ticket regurgitant gravy sucking ogres' known as Stub Hub as a factual reference resource? "LIBERTAD! LIBERTAD! LIBERTAD!"

I'm not so worried about Indianapolis being a "rockin" place. My concern is that most mid-level acts can't afford to stop in Indy. There's nearly no radio support for acts that don't fit a mainstream, major label format. I don't really care how well Dave Matthews shows are attended because he doesn't really need the help.

Tom Waits won't be coming to Indy anytime soon, Steve Earle was accosted on stage at one of his last visits. Nearly any artist that's up for the Americana Music Association awards is virtually unheard of in town.

Some of the local print media do a good job supporting these acts with coverage but with no radio support and concert goes who prefer a "safe" bet like Jimmy Buffet Indianapolis can be a financially scary proposition for a lot of high quality, intelligent music.

steps off soapbox

I would concur with everything cliffsnyder said. We need venues and promoters willing to book smaller acts and media that will promote the hell out of them! For my money the best place to see a show is The Music Mill, I'm done with being overchanrged and herded like cattle at the big arenas and sheds!

I have yet to even step foot in the Music Mill. Wouldn't mind checkin' it out sometime.

I do agree with cliffsnyder, but there are some quality promoters in this here town that are doin' great things. My only issue with todays society is that they're for the most part the MTV generation. Everything is spoonfed to 'em on what's cool. People would rather drop $5 on a cover band or $10 for a club dj playin' remixes of Billboard Dance charts than to drop $5 or $7 on an original band. I just never got that mentality.

A large portion of the smaller venues in this here town now have kitchens with local talented cooks food. It's not just pizza and pretzels anymore. So why not go out to one of these places, drop $5 to get in, order a yummy meal, and cheap stiff drinks?

As a person who spent some time scalping tickets at Pacers and Colts games way back when, I really don't see any good reason to trust the stats from Stub Hub. Ticket brokers inflate claims of street prices all the time so that the market for second hand tickets will appear to be better than it actually is. They are interested in driving prices up at the street level any way they can. Even if these numbers are accurate, it's hardly fair to judge the cultural health of a city by how much money a scalper can make.

I see Atlantic city and Vegas on this list. Do they rate highly because there's a market for selling front row seats to grandmas who are in love with Wayne Newton and Charo? Does this make those places more "rockin" than Asheville, NC or Austin, TX?

Indy is a wonderful little city that does about as good as should be expected. It will never be a music mecca but that's not a big deal. We live in tough times and quite frankly, there are much more important things for the average working person in Indy to worry about.

I honestly don't think we are a very good concert town. I agree with the fact that smaller and lesser known bands and artists don't really come through here. If you want huge rock shows, then yes we do get a fair amount, especially in the summer at VWMC. When smaller artists do come through, they mainly play 21+ bars and venues. I think as far as small all ages venues go, we have a long way to go. I will be 21 in a year and that will open up more choices for me, but many artists I like won't play those places anyway because they have a mainly younger (16-20 or so) fan base. This fall only one of the five or six tours I was looking forward to is coming here. I was happy when The Music Mill lowered their age limit, but I still think a lot of their shows are aimed at older audiences. I've also been very dissapointed in the Murat and their fall shows, so far. The artists they're booking seem very random and I'd love to know how they pick shows to book because I don't think they're bringing some very popular tours there that they could. I'll wrap this up, but it's just an issue I feel strongly about. I lived in the San Francisco bay area for a semester last year and saw many awesome shows that wouldn't have ever made their way to Indy. A big part of that was the plethora of venues out there. Indianapolis needs to work on that, especially all ages ones. (Side Note: I was sad to see The Irving close, as that lessens the number of those venues even more. I think it really had potential.)

As you know, Dave, I send out the list of music events every week so I can write the IndianapolisMusic.net Top 10 that's also run in Indy.com (subtle plugs, eh). Based on having done that for about 5 years now, I think Indy is better than it used to be.

Right now there are more viable music venues in Indy than there have been in the last decade or so. That's helped. Also I get the impression more mid-level artists are touring more - likely to make up for reduced record sales overall. So with more bands out on the road, there's a better chance of them routing through Indy. It also seems like we have more people in the promotion game now, especially at the indie and underground levels. Dodge from MOKB is a good example of someone who works to bring a lot of acts to town that once might have missed us.

I've always thought the "Indy gets passed up for Chicago" argument was pretty lame. Chicago is a metro area of 9.5 million people - the third largest in the country. Indy is 1.7 million people - about a fifth of the size of Chicago. Plus the proximity kills us.

I've also always argued many times that Indy will likely never match up with cities like Louisville, Cincinnati, and Columbus because we don't have the college/student population those cities have. Having about 30,000 people with disposible income that don't need to be at work at 8 AM on a weekday helps when you're trying to get 100 people to a club. IUPUI is a commuter campus. Butler's population helps, but probably doesn't make the dent a large, residential state university would. Unfortunately that's never changing.

One good thing about being in Indy is we get some residual effect from the big national festivals. It's pretty common to see Indy's calendar fill up right before and after South By Southwest as bands travel through the state on the way to and from Austin. I think we've also gotten some acts going to or from Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. So being here in the middle isn't all bad.

UPCOMING SHOWS

Fri 9/12 The Fuglees / Harley Poe / Amo Joy / MegaSuperUltra @ The Melody Inn

Fri 9/12 Eisenhower Field Day / Red Light Driver / Dorsey @ Spin

Fri 9/12 These Are Powers @ Bear's Place Bloomington

Sat 9/13 Derek Hess and Kent Smith book signing @ Indy CD and Vinyl

Sat 9/13 Vacation Bible School / The Dopamines / Axis & Allies @ The Halloween House

Sun 9/14 Great Big Sea @ Music Mill

Sun 9/14 Sidetracked / Sojourner / Karloff / World Eater @ 1511 House

Sun 9/14 Langhorne Slim @ Bluebird Bloomington

Mon 9/15 The Donkeys @The Cinemat Bloomington

Wed 9/17 Mr. Gnome / Saaba Banks @ The Melody Inn

Wed 9/17 Maps & Atlases / Nurses @ Jake's Bloomington

Thu 9/18 Daedelus / Eliot Lipp @ Neal Marshall Center Bloomington

Thu 9/18 Keller Williams @ Bluebird Bloomington

Fri 9/19 A Caesar Holiday / Rooms / Kurt Rambis @ The Melody Inn

Fri 9/19 Soul Love Universe / Twin Cats @ The Vogue

Fri 9/19 Virginia Coalition @ Music Mill

Fri 9/19 The Evangelicals @ Village Green Records (Muncie)

Sat 9/20 Dar Williams / Shawn Mullins @ The Vogue

Sat 9/20 Company Of Thieves / Away With Vega / The Holiday @ The ES Jungle

Sun 9/21 Kristeen Young / The Working Hour @ Radio Radio

Sun 9/21 Atlatl / Beati Paoli / I Love You @ The Melody Inn

Sun 9/21 Sunset Rubdown / The Evangelicals @ Bluebird Bloomington

Mon 9/22 PWRFL Power / Grampall Jookabox @ The Cinemat Bloomington

Mon 9/22 Monotonix / Thunders / Call Me Lightning @ The Melody Inn

Tue 9/23 needtobreathe @ Music Mill (all ages)

Tue 9/23 Monotonix @ Bluebird Bloomington

Tue 9/23 Mindless Self Indulgence / Innerpartysystem @ Murat

Tue 9/23 The Deep Vibration @ Birdy's

Wed 9/24 Hayden @ Birdy's

Thu 9/25 Peal (Tim Wilsbach) @ Birdy's

Thu 9/25 Summon The Destroyer @ The Melody Inn

Thu 9/25 Everlast @ Bluebird Bloomington

Thu 9/25 Jonathan Clay @ Loeb Playhouse (West Lafayette)

Fri 9/26 Gentlemen Auction House / Yea Big & Kid Static @ Village Green Records (Muncie)

Fri 9/26 The Silent Years @ Rhino's Bloomington

Fri 9/26 Backyard Tire Fire / Ha Ha Tonka @ Spin

Fri 9/26 Art VS Art 2008 with Catfish Haven / Those Young Lions @ The Vogue

Fri 9/26 Brand New @ Murat

Fri 9/26 Star 67 / Under The Bleachers @ The ES Jungle

Sat 9/27 Damien Jurado @ Rhino's Bloomington

Sat 9/27 Louden Wainright III / Leo Kottke @ Clowes Hall

Sat 9/27 Shot Baker / The Repellents / The Riot Before / VBS @ The Halloween House

Sat 9/27 Catie Curtis @ Key Cinema

Sat 9/27 The Silent Years @ Mo's

Sun 9/28 Matt Nathanson / Jesse Baylin @ Music Mill (all ages)

Sun 9/28 Howl / Christ Beheaded / Black Ships @ Zanies Too

Mon 9/29 Awesome Color / Wax Fang @ Jake's Bloomington

Tue 9/30 Sybris / Turnbull AC's / The Coke Dares @ Birdy's

Wed 10/1 Citizen Cope @ Murat

Wed 10/1 Eli 'Paperboy' Reed @ Birdy's

Wed 10/1 The Seedy Seeds @ Bear's Place Bloomington

Thu 10/2 Matt Wertz @ Rhino's Bloomington

Thu 10/2 Everything, Now! @ The Melody Inn

Fri 10/3 FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK Downtown Indy / Fountain Square

Fri 10/3 The Queers / The Independents @ Locals Only

Fri 10/3 The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band @ Lotus Festival Bloomington

Fri 10/3 Jon McLaughlin @ Indiana Wesleyan Univ. (Marion)

Fri 10/3 Umphrey's McGee @ Emens Auditorium (Muncie)

Sun 10/5 Lindsey Buckingham @ Murat Egyptian Room

Sun 10/5 Trap Them / Furnace / Jailbreak @ 1511 House

Sun 10/5 Chuck Ragan / Tim Barry / Ben Nichols @ Rhino's Bloomington

Sun 10/5 Jon McLaughlin @ Hard Rock Cafe

Tue 10/7 Relient K / Ludo / The Providence / House Of Heroes @ Murat

Tue 10/7 Matt Wertz @ Living Room (Muncie)

Wed 10/8 Hot Jimmy & The Charred Remains / Slow Dynamite @ The Melody Inn

Wed 10/8 Sonya Kitchell / The Slip @ Music Mill

Thu 10/9 Bootsy Collins @ Madame Walker Theatre

Thu 10/9 Woodbox Gang @ The Melody Inn

Thu 10/9 The Dodos @ Rhino's Bloomington

Fri 10/10 Star F------ Hipsters / Bolth / Nanuchka / SSP @ The ES Jungle

Fri 10/10 Justin Townes Earle / Joe Pug @ Radio Radio

Fri 10/10 Red Light Driver / Small Arms Fire / Yuki @ The Melody Inn

Fri 10/10 The Dodos / Au @ Earlham College (Richmond)

Sat 10/11 Silver Jews @ Birdy's

Sat 10/11 ZZ Top @ Murat

Mon 10/13 Talib Kweli / David Banner / Little Brother @ Bluebird Bloomington

Tue 10/14 Mason Jennings / Zach Gill @ Bluebird Bloomington

Tue 10/14 AnAlbatross / White Mice / Richard Cranium / WeareHex @ 1511 House

Tue 10/14 Kool Keith / Tim Dog / Marc Live / Twilight Sentinels @ The Vogue

Thu 10/16 Jered Mees & Grown Children / America Owns The Moon @ Radio Radio

Thu 10/16 Deerhoof @ Buskirk-Chumley Bloomington

Thu 10/16 Old Crow Medicine Show @ Bluebird Bloomington

Fri 10/17 Margot & The Nuclear So And Sos / David Vandervelde @ Murat Arabian Room

Fri 10/17 Maxwell @ Murat

Fri 10/17 Melissa Ferrick / Coyote Grace @ Radio Radio

Fri 10/17 Mustard Plug / Deals Gone Bad / The Pinstripes @ The ES Jungle

Fri 10/17 The Cocaine Wolves / Teenage Bottlerocket @ Locals Only

Sat 10/18 Margot & The Nuclear So And Sos @ Buskirk-Chumley Bloomington

Sun 10/19 TV On The Radio / The Dirtbombs @ The Vogue

Mon 10/20 Jason Reeves @ Music Mill

Tue 10/21 Electric Six / Local H @ The Vogue

Tue 10/21 Magnolia Electric Company @ Buskirk-Chumley Bloomington

Tue 10/21 Method Man / Redman @ Bluebird Bloomington

Wed 10/22 Nachtmystium / Wolves In The Throneroom / Coffinworm @ The Melody Inn

Wed 10/22 Tim Reynolds and TR3 @ Music Mill

Wed 10/22 Matisyahu / Flobots @ Murat

Thu 10/23 GWAR / Kingdom Of Sorrow / Toxic Holocaust @ The Vogue

Thu 10/23 Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers @ Music Mill

Thu 10/23 Carlos Mencia @ Murat

Fri 10/24 Dan Tyminski @ Music Mill

Fri 10/24 Mandy Marie & The Cool Hand Lukes / Creepin' Charley @ The Melody Inn

Fri 10/24 BROAD RIPPLE FALL MUSIC FEST @ Spin / The Vogue / Indy CDs / more

Sat 10/25 BROAD RIPPLE FALL MUSIC FEST @ Spin / The Vogue / Indy CDs / more

Sat 10/25 David Byrne @ Clowes Hall

Sat 10/25 Chemic @ Village Green Records (Muncie)

Tue 10/28 Dwarves / The Uprising / The Dockers / Thunders @ The Vogue

Fri 10/31 Donavon Frankenreiter @ Music Mill

Fri 10/31 The Alternate Routes @ Rathskeller

Sat 11/1 Flatfoot 56 @ The ES Jungle

Sat 11/1 No Kids / Casiotone & the Painfully Alone @ Locals Only

Sat 11/1 Marc Broussard / Sara Bereilles @ Murat

Mon 11/3 AC/DC @ Conseco Fieldhouse

Tue 11/4 Ted Leo & The Pharmacists / Titus Andronicus @ Buskirk-Chumley Bloomington

Wed 11/5 Widespread Panic @ Murat

Thu 11/6 My Brightest Diamond @ Royal Theatre (Danville)

Fri 11/7 FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK Downtown Indy / Fountain Square

Sat 11/8 Bob Schneider @ Music Mill

Sun 11/9 Rusted Root @ Bluebird Bloomington

Mon 11/10 Blitzen Trapper / Horse Feathers @ Locals Only

Tue 11/11 Wolf Parade / Listening Party @ The Vogue

Thu 11/13 The Hold Steady / Drive-By Truckers @ Bluebird Bloomington

Fri 11/14 Will Hoge @ Music Mill

Sat 11/15 Koffin Kats @ The ES Jungle

Sun 11/16 Broadway Calls / Smatbomb @ 1511 House

Mon 11/17 Matt & Kim @ Uncle Fester's Bloomington

Wed 11/19 Parts & Labor @ Bear's Place Bloomington

Thu 11/20 Punch Brothers feat. Chris Thile @ Loeb Playhouse (West Lafayette)

Thu 11/20 Avett Brothers @ Bluebird Bloomington

Fri 11/21 Avett Brothers @ Bluebird Bloomington

Thanks for posting this schedule, A2