As most of you know, Phish, my passion above and beyond any other band, has returned to the stage after a four year hiatus.   I get to see them in June.   Recently, I just bought tickets to Coldplay, the worlds most popular band today.   Tonight, I went to my first of many gigs, Trampled By Turtles.

Trampled By Turtles was very good, as expected.  There were only a couple hundred people at the show, but these guys really know how to rock out and improvise.  Their performance shows why they are one of the more predominantly known Newgrass groups touring today.

April 18 TRAMPLED BY TURTLES

June 20-21 PHISH

The most anticipated weekend of the year, at least for me.  I expect Phish to pull about 60 songs out of their hat this weekend, with extended jamming and a polished sound.   This is the last two days of their early summer tour, so I assume they’ll do something ecstatic.   Can’t wait!

July 24 THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND

This one just came to my attention last night.  These guys are coming to the Calumet Theatre.   A perfect prerequisite to what who I get to see the following evening, Coldplay!

July 25 COLPLAY

Claimed to be the most popular band in the world, when these guys come to the United States, its a must-see.   These guys put on a magical show.

August 22 GAELIC STORM

These guys are something else, and I’m pretty excited they are coming back up to the Copper Country.   They have some talent when they really let loose, though this song does not necessarily expose that talent.

TBD EVE 6

Then you have Eve 6, the pop-punk band from the late nineties.   I used to listen to these guys all the time, and as my values changed, I don’t really keep up with the punk rock genre of music much anymore.   Nonetheless, its a show in Houghton, and I’m all for seeing these guys as they should put on a pretty good show.

Well, thats the arsenal for the year 2009 at this point.   I’m pretty pumped.   Maybe, if Phish plays in Chicago or Minneapolis for New Years Eve, I can spend my NYE party with them, but those days haven’t been released yet.   Dave Matthews Band should be playing songs off their new album, so if the price is right, I would like to see them this year as well.   Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and The Faces are also on my radar, but those tend to be $200 tickets a pop.   Maybe next year….