Out the Other

Win tickets to see The Felice Brothers and A.A. Bondy @ Exit/In this Thursday!

I LOVE giving stuff away, and I LOVE giving away tickets to see fantastic bands even more.  One show I've been looking forward to this month is The Felice Brothers and A.A. Bondy at Exit/In this Thursday - I've been planning on going since it was announced because (a) I love them and (b) it's the day before my birthday.  And now guess what?  I have a pair of guest list passes to give away too!

To enter to win, just send an email to outtheothercontests@gmail.com before midnight on Wednesday (technically Thursday at 12 a.m.), including your full name and with the subject line "The Felice Brothers."  I'll draw a winner first thing on Thursday, and if you're selected, you and a friend will be headed to the show for free!

Even if you don't win, I HIGHLY recommend checking this show out - The Felice Brothers put on one of the best live shows I've seen in 2008 earlier this year, and I caught A.A. Bondy's phenomenal set at SXSW back in March as well.  Plus, you'd love to celebrate (the day before) my birthday with me, right?

Here's two Felice Brothers tracks to get you excited:

"Frankie's Gun"
"Greatest Show On Earth"

Win tickets to see Does It Offend You Yeah @ 12th and Porter next Monday!

As I already super excitedly told you back in July, Reading, England's Does It Offend You, Yeah? will be making a surprising and totally awesome stop right here in Nashville, to play 12th and Porter next Monday, September 8. 

I.  Am.  So.  Freaking.  Excited.  About.  This.  Show.

And do you know what's even more exciting?  I have a pair of guest list spots to give away for Monday's show - which means you and a friend can enjoy this Monday night dance party for free.  Yup, save your $12 apiece for your bar tab and send an email to outtheothercontests@gmail.com, with "Does It Offend You, Yeah" in the subject line.  Make sure you include your first and last name, and make sure you send it tomorrow before 5 p.m. (Central), and I'll be drawing and notifying the winner at the end of the day tomorrow.  Good?  Good.

"Dawn of the Dead"
"We Are Rockstars"

And for those of you who don't win - I still expect to see you there.  Justin Kase (awesome) and Jensen Sportag (double awesome) are also on the bill, and it will seriously be worth your $12.  The show kicks off at 9 p.m., it's 18+, and I'm thinking it's going to be a nice warm-up for Next Big Nashville.

Send those emails!

Win tickets to My Morning Jacket - August 15 at Riverfront Park!

Here's some excitingness for your Monday - on tonight's show, I'm going to be giving away a pair of tickets to see My Morning Jacket here in Nashville on Friday, August 15 at Riverfront Park.  Tickets for the show are on sale now, but they'll set you back $29 so I'd like to set you up with a pair that's f-r-e-e.

If you haven't been paying attention, My Morning Jacket just released a new album - Evil Urges - and I've definitely been spending some time lately checking it out.  Here's my current favorite tune on the record (and certainly the lengthiest one):

"Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 2"

This Riverfront Park show is going to be an excellent chance to check out MMJ - there are very few outdoor venues in town these days so opportunities to see kick back on some grass and check out a great band are few and far between.  And something tells me that My Morning Jacket's music is super well-suited to chilling along a river under the stars.

So what do you have to do to win?  Just tune into Out the Other tonight from 10 p.m.- midnight on WRVU (that would be 91.1 in Nashville, or online right here). 

Out the Other giveaway: win tickets to see The New Pornographers @ Cannery Ballroom on April 18!

As I already pointed out last week, the concert calendar is heating up now that it's spring, and next week is particularly packed with live music goodness here in Nashville.  One of the many excellent bands paying us a visit is The New Pornographers, who will be making a stop at the Cannery Ballroom next Friday, along with Okkervil River.  Tickets are $22 in advance or $25 the day of the show, which is pretty reasonable for two awesome bands. 

But before you budget appropriately, I'd like to GIVE you a pair of tickets.  Yup, Matador Records hooked me up with a pair to give away - which means that you and a friend could be checking out the show for free.  Which also means you can put that $20+ dollars toward your bar tab, since it's a Friday night and all. :)

All you have to do is send an email to outtheothercontests@gmail.com before the end of the day on Tuesday, April 15.  Just make sure you include your full name so we can put you on the guest list for the show.  I'll draw a winner at random next Wednesday morning, and the winner will be notified by email.  Good luck!

The New Pornographers - "Use It"

UPDATE: Congrats to Luke K. - you've won the tickets for Friday's show!  Check your email for more info.  Thanks again to everyone who entered!

Out the Other's 2007 Bookworm Giveaway

UPDATE:  Okay guys, due to my extended blogging vacay, I've decided to extend this contest as well.  I promise it's easy and a bunch have already submitted the answers, so go ahead and submit yours by January 10 and you'll be entered to win!!

Those of you who have clicked over to my about page have probably noticed that the only info you'll really find there is a list of the books I've read in the past two years.  In January of 2006, in hopes of reigniting my love of reading, I resolved to make it through 36 books before the end of the year - and succeeded.  In 2007 I did it again, and I'm proud to say that earlier this week I completed book number 33, so I'm on track to finish by the end of this month on December 30th I finished book #37, so I even read one more book than I planned to!

When I first set this goal almost two years ago, I decided that even though my resolution had nothing to do with music, I would keep a list of the books I've read somewhere on my website to hold myself accountable.  The coolest thing is that such a small thing - a list I posted just to help me keep track - was noticed by so many of YOU, the readers of this blog.  I think music nerds and book nerds tend to be the same kind of people, because I can't even count how many emails I've received in the past two years that have mentioned that list - whether it's a PR person who tacked a sentence about a particular book onto their email, or a musician who went out of their way to tell me about their favorite author, or just a friendly reader who sent an email specifically to recommend a book. 

So it's time to thank all of you - with Out the Other's 2007 Bookworm Giveaway.  To help you kick off your reading in 2008, I'm giving away a prize pack of hand-picked bookworm goodies to one lucky winner.  You have the chance to score the following:

• One copy of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer - my favorite book from this year's reading list
• One copy of Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace - my second favorite from this year, and definitely the most challenging book I tackled
• One copy of Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs - my favorite book from 2006's reading list
• One $20 gift card for Barnes & Noble

So how does the giveaway work, you ask?  Of course, with this being a music blog and all, I decided to tie this in with a nice little reading mini-mix, and for your chance to win you have to play a matching game.

Here's how it works:  each of the following five songs matches up with one of the books that I've read in 2007 (the list is after the jump) - which means the artist name or title of the song has something to do with one of the books.  Some of the matches are obvious, and a few may need more knowledge of the book (but pretty simple googling should help you find the match).  To enter the contest, just send an email to outtheothercontests@gmail.com with a list of all five songs matched to their appropriate book title, and if you're correct you'll be entered to win.  On January 10th, I'll draw one winner at random from all of the correct entries, and the prize pack will be shipped your way so you too can be a bookworm in 2008.

And here are the songs:

1.  Nick Lowe - "So It Goes" (from Jesus Of Cool)
2.  Bat For Lashes - "The Wizard" (from Fur and Gold)
3.  Cold War Kids - "Heavy Boots" (from Mulberry Street EP)
4.  The Airborne Toxic Event -  "Does This Mean You're Moving On?" (from EP)
5.  Feist - "Honey Honey" (from The Reminder)

After the jump you'll find the list of books I've read in 2007.  Good luck and happy matching!

Win tickets to see Fionn Regan @ the Basement this Friday

I'm still sad sad sad that White Rabbits are no longer coming to town this Friday, but fear not - there's another excellent show going on over at the Basement that night.  Fionn Regan will be playing the "early show" on Friday at 7 p.m., and I was offered a pair of tickets so you can have a chance to see him play (although the Basement doesn't do tickets, so I'm guessing you'll be on the guest list).

If you're not familiar with Fionn yet, this is an excellent opportunity to familiarize yourself with the 26 year-old singer from Bray, Ireland, and I can't imagine a better place than the intimate setting of the Basement in which to do it.  Originally introduced to me via email as "Ireland's answer to Bright Eyes" (not a good introduction for a girl who doesn't exactly love Conor), Fionn quickly won me over with his amazing album The End of History, which I pulled out again yesterday and listened to for most of the day.  I love most of the songs on it so it's hard to pick something to post, but here are two of my favorites:

"The Cowshed"
"Black Water Child"

I'm serious though, the whole album is phenomenal - and you would love it if you're into singers along the lines of Damien Rice and Iron & Wine.  But don't take my word for it - The End of History was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in the UK this year, alongside The Arctic Monkeys, Bat For Lashes, Amy Winehouse and Klaxons (who took the prize).  Not too shabby for an artist playing our favorite little basement venue.

Okay so here's the contest part - I'm giving away a pair of tickets to Friday's show at the Basement at 7 p.m., a CD copy of The End of History, and a 10" double-vinyl of the album.  All you have to do for a chance to win is send an email to outtheothercontests@gmail.com (note that this is a special contest email address - you have to send it to this) with your full name and address.  I need your address so we can mail your goodies - I promise I won't use it for anything else.

And one important note - like all shows at the Basement, Friday's show is 21+, so keep that in mind when entering.

I'll pick a winner on Thursday morning.  Good luck!

Win tickets to Next Big Nashville!

Next Big Nashville is less than a week away now, and I'm giving you a chance to go for FREE.  I have one pair of wristbands to give away for the festival, which runs next week from September 5-9, and all you have to do for a chance to win is send me an email. 

Yup that's right - send an email to outtheothercontests@gmail.com, include your full name and tell me which band or artist you're most looking forward to seeing at the festival next week.  I'll enter your name into the drawing and choose one winner this Sunday, September 2 - so just make sure you send that email before the end of the day Saturday.

The pair of wristbands means that you and a friend will have access to all NBN venues during the festival, priority access to all showcases, discounts at participating retail outlets and websites the week of the festival, and access to the venue-to-venue shuttle.  You can check out a full schedule of events and music here.

And if you don't win?  Wristbands are only $30 and you can buy them here.

MSTRKRFT contest!

In celebration of my blog b-day and the fact that MSTRKRFT will be in town tomorrow night to rock Play with John Digweed (as a part of the Diamonds Tour), I have some fun freeness today on Out the Other.   I'm giving away a package that includes some MSTRKRFT vinyl (a copy of the duo's latest, The Looks, as well as the "Work On You" single), along with a Diamonds t-shirt and a pretty awesome Puma jacket: 

For a chance to win, all you have to do is send an email with your full name and mailing address to outtheothercontests@gmail.com before Thursday at 5 p.m.  (I promise I won't do a thing with your address unless you win - I just need it so your goodies can be mailed to you.)

And here's a lil something to listen to as you email:

MSTRKRFT - "Street Justice" (from The Looks)

Although the idea of a Wednesday night dance party in the middle of a work week sounds like nothing but trouble, I'm definitely heading out to Play tomorrow night to check out what MSTRKRFT is like live.  I've been rocking The Looks on my iPod at the gym for a while and reports from SXSW were nothing but positive, so all I'm really wondering about at this point is what kind of Nashville crowd will turn out for something like this. If you're interested too, tickets will still be available at Play tomorrow night for $25.  Doors are at 9 p.m. and I believe there's a DJ on before MSTRKRFT, so I can get a little nap in before I ruin my sleep pattern for the rest of the week.