Brooklyn's Parts and Labor play the Melody Inn tonight. If you miss that, fine. But make it to at least one of the exceptional concerts coming to town in the next few days.

It is customary, and often reasonable, for the Indianapolis concertgoer whose taste in music extends beyond the circumscribed preferences of the casual Central Indiana music fan (Rascal Flatts, anyone?) to complain about how high-quality acts regularly bypass Indy. In fact, just the other day a friend of mine pointed out that Pavement -- maybe the most popular non-mainstream band of the '90s -- came to Indianapolis only once (for Lollapalooza) in its decade-long career.

In those days, if you liked popular college radio acts like Pavement or, say, Built to Spill, you just got used to driving -- often to Cincinnati or Louisville -- to see them.

But as our obligations have risen in inverse proportion to our tolerance for sleep deprivation, we no longer care to drive two hours to see a $15 concert, only to get home at 2 a.m.

That's why it's not only important, but essential, that anyone who has ever complained about Indy's awful concert track record see at least one of the several great touring bands coming to town over the next week. A quick rundown of the highlights, by date:

March 20: Parts and Labor, a Brooklyn band whose Hüsker-Dü-inspired noise rock has earned high marks from Pitchfork.com, comes to the Melody Inn. If you prefer legendary, slice-of-life singer-songwriters to shaggy avant-garde punks, Bruce Springsteen will play Conseco Fieldhouse the same night.

March 22: Ex-Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks make their first trip to Indy (joined by Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss). John Vanderslice, a criminally underrated songwriter whose 2007 album, "Emerald City," was one of the year's best, opens (Vanderslice will also perform a free show at Luna Music the following day).

March 23: Award-winning Boston folk veteran Patty Larkin will show off her incredibly deft guitar work at the Old Centrum.

March 25: Jill Scott, one of the most consistently satisfying neo-soul singer to emerge from the '90s, comes to town. Her 2007 album, "The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3," wowed critics and fans alike. Scott will perform at the Murat Theatre. Raheem DeVaughn opens.

Rather stay home? Fine. But note this: Your license to whine will be permanently revoked.