Live Music in the USA

[cattlikewoah]

As advised by LiveFreeorDie, this post is asking all you yanks where I guess the "underground" or "indie" music is in the USA.

So I'm from Australia and now that CBGBs is due to close down, I won't be able to get to experience that part of Punk Rock history. I'll be in the states around November/December.

So I'll be mainly in New York and the east coast, and spend a few days on the West Coast (SF, LA...)

I suppose what I'm looking for are what we loosely call "Indie" bands...
Hot Hot Heat, Les Savy Fav, Kind of Like Spitting, Cursive, Maritime, The New Amsterdams, Reggie and the Full Effect...

Labels: Deep Elm, Jade Tree, Barsuk, Saddle Creek, Vagrant
Indie Rock, Post Punk... pretty much the bands you find on Epitonic.com

Bigger bands, local bands (although your local sometimes is our big)...
I wouldn't mind checking out some NYHC - something I have to experience... or some ska bands too... I would like to see some SoCal Punk too...

So if you are in a band, or you like music then help me out. Please.

[foofiter]

Do a search on ticketmaster.com for those bands. Sometimes they play bigger shows in bigger cities. Sometimes they open for bigger bands. I know at least half of those you listed played in Atlanta (where I used to live).

For underground stuff the only real way is to ask around and look for flyers posted about.

Foo

[omisan]

Most of those bands are probably touring Europe where they have a bigger audience

Try Pollstar.com to get entire tour listings by band.

In New York, you can pick up a TimeOut magazine to see what's going on that week. Or ask our local east coast indie rock expert MyRetroCareer if he chimes in on the thread...

In Washington DC, check out the listings for the 9:30 Club.

Spend as little time as possible in Los Angeles, but if you must, there are good shows at The Troubador and The Knitting Factory (there's one in NYC as well.) For good LA listings, check out the gig guide at Indie 103.1.

San Francisco is my area of expertise. One of the best small venues in town is Bottom of the Hill, which is about the size of a garage. Bands are hit-and-miss there, but it's always a good time. I don't like the layout of the venue, but Slim's is another small place that attracts good bands. Same goes for Cafe du Nord. Another favorite is the Great American Music Hall, where shows sell out super fast. My favorite venue right now is probably The Independent, because I can walk to it and they make a strong-ass drink. The bands are good, too. Finally, there are the two classic, iconic SF venues, The Fillmore and The Warfield, which despite sharing the dubious distinction of being LiveNation venues (booooo corporate shitbags!), draw some of the best acts. For solid listings, check out radio station Live 105's concert calendar.

[millmuff]

In Seattle go to Pioneer Square.....theres several joints such as The Central that have have all kinds of new comers. Theres a whole bunch of places in the area that helped kick off bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam so they know how to find talent.