Pictured: Brainbow w/Lara Yazvac@Comfest

Oh man Comfest...or something like that. Basically there are a number of ways to go about Comfest. You can camp out somewhere in the park on a blanket, go check out bands with “clever” band names, wander around aimlessly running into people you know and drink booze and eat food and not pay attention to any bands, or you can hang out at the Offramp Stage all weekend like I pretty much did and watch bands that you know will be good.

How many times can you say the same things about the same bands? Find out after the jump! (more…)

MP3: Walking on the Devil’s Backbone
MP3: Close Every Valve to Your Bleeding Heart

Ha Ha Tonka call their music “foot stomping indie rock” and I’m not going to disagree. Do yourself a favor and delete all your Kings of Leon mp3s and listen to these guys instead.

They’re returning to Columbus on Tuesday, June 16 at Skully’s. Luckily for you, we’ve got two pairs of tickets for the show. To enter the contest, send a blank e-mail to contest@donewaiting.com with the subject line HA HA TONKA. Winners will randomly be chosen Monday, June 15.

Photo stolen once again from Steve Lieb’s The Grip

MP3: Wale-Chillin-ft-lady-gaga

Wale is returning to Columbus tonight. Last time Wale was in town, I enjoyed myself so immensely that I rambled about it on here with this show review which will prolly alienate any new female readers who were under the misconception that I am a decent human because of DW’s Tucker Maxx coverage. This show should be even more funner because Wale is being backed by a Go-Go band.

(DMV natives —>Meta4ce, DCKareem stand-up)

Tonight’s extravaganza is at the Garage Bar which I am told is in the Arena District(you know that weird area that looks like the future in a really mundane, unimagnitive sci-fi movie.. A few pre-sales are still available at Milkbar & the internet somewhere( 10 dollars)

Tickets are 12 at the door. The show’s promoter Schoolboy said the set times look like this:

lineup is
dj inform 9-11
poitier pockets 11:15
the 3rd 11:30
tanya morgan and big sean 12
wale 12:30
ucb will probably jam with wale for about an hr
inform will close it out, or any other good dj who wants to jump on the decks and has a laptop with them

Terminator: Salvation comes out next week. This is the one where Christian Bale is a grown up John Connor and fights big ass robots. While I may be into the most indie of indie music, I am an absolute sucker for the summer blockbusters.

To celebrate the film, we’ve got 5 copies of the soundtrack and 10 pairs of tickets to giveaway to an advance screening in Columbus on Monday, May 18 @ 7:30pm. To enter, send a blank e-mail to contest@donewaiting.com with the subject TERMINATOR TICKETS. Winners will be randomly chosen and notified Sunday.

Please please please only enter if you think you can attend the screening. I’d hate for the tickets to go to waste. Oh, and you’ll need a printer to print out the tickets PDF style.

About the film and soundtrack:

The Terminator franchise, whose first three films have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide at the box office, has been reinvented and reinvigorated both musically and on screen with its fourth installment, Terminator Salvation. Terminator Salvation – Original Soundtrack features an original score by four-time Oscar® nominee Danny Elfman (Milk, Big Fish, Good Will Hunting, Men In Black).

Capturing what director McG calls “the delicate nature of humanity and the unrelenting brutality of the machines,” Elfman’s synthesizer/orchestral score for Terminator Salvation elevates and expands the sweeping soundscape of one of the most successful series of films in history. The Original Soundtrack will be released May 19 by Reprise Records just in time for the nationwide film release May 21.

Pre-order the soundtrack on Amazon.com. Speaking of Terminator, what about The Sarah Connors Chronicles? I know chances of season 3 are slim as hell, BUT I WANT TO BELIEVE.

This Fine Progression by Eulogies
Houses by Great Northern

This is the most things we’ve ever given away in one contest, it sort of looks like we robbed someone. But we didn’t.

Dangerbird bands Eulogies and The Dears are currently touring with Great Northern. They’ll be performing at Skully’s in Columbus on May 10. To celebrate, we’ve got a gigantic giveaway:

-(2) tickets to show (guest list at venue’s will call)
-(1) Eulogies “Tempted to Do Nothing” vinyldisc
-(1) Eulogies “Here Anonymous” on vinyl
-(1) The Dears “Money Babies” / “Threats” 7” Vinyl
-(1) The Dears “Missiles” CD
-(1) Eulogies shirt
-(1) Dangerbird hoodie

This contest is open only to the Columbus Ohio area. We want to make sure you can use the tickets. A winner will be randomly selected. To enter, send an e-mail to contest@donewaiting.com with the subject title “EULOGIESTHEDEARSGREATHNORTHERN.” In the body of the e-mail, include your name and mailing address.

I’m a fan of all three of these bands, so I’m super excited to see them all on one bill. I posted links to MP3s on the top of the post, but keep reading to hear more from Eulogies. (more…)

Daylight by Matt and Kim

Matt and Kim are one of my favorite live bands. So much energy and infectious happiness it’s hard not to fall in love. They just released a new album, Grand, and it’s already one of my wife’s favorites.

They’ll be playing Skully’s on February 27. You can buy advance tickets here. However, luckily for you, donewaiting.com is giving away a pair to one lucky winner. To enter the contest, send a blank e-mail to contest@donewaiting.com with the subject “MATT AND KIM.” A winner will be randomly chosen on 2/25.

Los Campesinos! released two of my favorite albums of 2008. They were a blast at SXSW, and I can’t wait to see them again at the Wexner Center on Feb 11. Opening the show will be Titus Andronicus.

We’ve got some tickets to giveaway to lovely readers of the site. To enter, send a blank e-mail to contest@donewaiting.com with the title “LOS CAMPESINOS”. Winners will be chosen Feb 8.

MP3: Don’t Tell Me To Do The Math(s)
MP3: We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives

MP3: Our Age by Constantines

Benco is bringing Constantines from Toronto to The Summit on Friday, December 12. Has this band ever played here before? I’m not sure…

Anyway, we’ve got two pairs of tickets to giveaway to you, the lucky readers of donewaiting.com. To enter, send a blank e-mail to contest@donewaiting.com with the subject line CONSTANTINES. Make sure your name is in your e-mail address. We’ll choose winners on 12/10.

The band also recently released a limited edition 7″ with Feist. Click here to hear the song and order the record.

Double bonus: Our main man Clint Reno did a poster for the Constantines awhile back and it’s still for sale and it’s still dope as hell.

Darker My Love, The Strange Boys, Eulogies
Wednesday, November 26
The Summit
18 and up; $10 at the door (surcharge for those under 21)

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CONTEST TIME – FIRST PERSON TO E-MAIL ATOMICNED@GMAIL.COM WILL BE ON THE GUEST LIST +1

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Ben’s having quite the week with his Benco Presents concerts. Following this past weekend’s Gregory and the Hawk and Marnie Stern shows, L.A.-based psychedelic rockers Darker My Love roll into town for a Thanksgiving Eve show. With a sound that is influenced by bands ranging from the Dandy Warhols and the Stone Roses to the Beatles and the Beach Boys, expect a full-on aural assault tomorrow night.

MP3: “All the Hurry and Wait”
Full album download: Darker My Love (band’s 1st CD)

Darker My Love is keeping an on-line tour diary although there wasn’t an entry the last time they played in town as part of the CD101 summerfest (along w/ Dr. Dog and VHS or Beta among others). I asked bassist/vocalist/heavily bearded Rob Barbato what they would have written about playing that show:

I ripped a ton of White Castles at the show because they had a White Castle there. It was really crazy because we had played a show in L.A. and then flown out directly to Columbus without any sleep. We got there, crashed out for a little bit, and then went to soundcheck. My girlfriend came out to that show because we went to Cape Cod afterwards before all this touring started. It was like our last hurrah. It was really fun and we’re psyched to be coming back to Columbus for sure. We played right before Dr. Dog and I think VHS or Beta played last. At the end of the Dandy Warhols tour we ended up hanging out with the Dr. Dog dudes in Denver because they played on the same night as us. They had the same situation in Columbus as us where they flew in and it was the last weekend they had before all their touring started.

CD101 is a great radio station. It’s few and far between; there are only a few stations in the country that will take as many chances as they do.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Also on the bill:
* The Strange Boys – Ben thinks the Summit/Bourbon St. crowd will LOVE these guys
* Eulogies – Fronted by Peter Walker (owner, Dangerbird Records); will be back in town opening for the Duke Spirit on Dec. 3 (The Basement)

HydraHead band Pelican are playing their only Ohio show on October 29 @ Ravari Room here in Columbus. Joining them for this event will be Brainbow, Kayo Dot, and Steve Brodsky of Cave In. This is going to be a awesome, heavy, show that I wish I was in town for.

We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away to a lucky ducky donewaiting.com reader. To enter, send a blank e-mail to contest@donewaiting.com with the subject line “PELICAN”. If your name isn’t in your email address, be sure to include it in the message. Winners will be chosen October 27.

Advance tickets can be purchased at the Ravari Room box office.

Matmos are returning to the Wexner Center on Wednesday, July 23. This is their fourth appearance at the Wex, and each time has been a memorable one. Purchase advance tickets here.

We’re giving away a pair of tickets to a lucky winner. To enter the contest, send a blank e-mail to wintix@donewaiting.com with the subject line MATMOS. The winner will be randomly chosen July 21.

MP3: Rainbow Flag
Video: Exciter Lamp and the Variable Band

MP3: Colette by Langhorne Slim

When trying to choose an MP3 to include in this post, I realized I really like just about every song on the latest album by Langhorne Slim. I settled on one of my favorites, (linked above), but you can find some more to download over on ye Olde Hype Machine.

The band is coming to Ruby Tuesdays in Columbus on Saturday, June 21, courtesy of Benco Presents. We’re giving away a pair of tickets. To be entered to win, send a blank e-mail to wintix@donewaiting.com with the subject LANGHORNE. A random winner will be chosen June 19.

Megan Palmer is opening the show.

The Dirtbombs are beloved inside our message board. Seems like they come up in conversation all the time.

The band is coming to Columbus on Sunday at The Basement. We’ve got a quick hit and run contest where we’re giving away two pairs of tickets for the show. Winners will be chosen TOMORROW.

To enter, send an e-mail to wintix@donewaiting.com with the subject of DIRTBOMBS. Make sure your full name is in your e-mail address or in the e-mail body. Random winners chosen tomorrow, people.

If you’d like, you can also go and puchase advance tickets if you wanna play it safe.

(Poster by Sergei Parfenov)

MP3: Blindblindblind

Ben Co Presents is bringing Thee Silver Mt Zion Band to Skully’s in Columbus on June 3. Advance tickets can be purchased at Used Kids, Magnolia Thunderpussy, or Ticketweb.

But! One lucky donewaiting.com reader will win a pair of tickets for the show, for free free free free free. To enter, send a blank e-mail to wintix@donewaiting.com with the subject line “ZION”. A winner will randomly be chosen on June 1.

Neil Diamond is a busy guy. He was just on American Idol, he’s got a new album out next week, a channel of his own on Sirius, and he’s about to embark on a huge tour.

In a lucky turn of events, we’ve got a pair of tickets to giveaway to the Columbus OH Neil Diamond show on August 25, at the Schottenstein Center. To enter to win, send a blank e-mail to wintix@donewaiting.com with the subject line “NEIL DIAMOND”. We’ll be choosing a winner on May 10.

Tickets for this show go onsale properly on Monday, but you can order tickets now using the pre-sale password helloagain. Click here to order tickets if you want to be on the safe side.

My favorite Neil Diamond memory: In grammar school our class had to sing “Coming to America” to impress some organization that would possibly give our school money. I can still remember the hand gestures. I don’t remember if we got the cash.

BUY: Home Before Dark on Amazon.com