COMO Pre-Fall Preview

I'm calling this a "pre-fall preivew" because it's only the beginning of August and I'm sure there will be more events shared in the coming months. These are just a few things that have me anticipating the fall here in COMO.

@ The Blue Note:
Andrew Bird w/ St. Vincent - September 30
Grizzly Bear w/ Beach House - October 1
The Decemberists - October 7
Although the Decemberist show is listed as the "9th St. Fall Festival", I'm curious if there will be at least one more big show outside this fall. I'm sure there will be other shows added to the schedule as tours get finalized over the coming month.

@ Mojo's:
The Foundry Field Recordings w/ Netherfriends - August 28
Cave - September 25
The Meat Puppets - November 10
Mojo's lineup for the fall looks really thin so far, but I've come to expect their early schedules to look blank. Then, one day without notice, the schedule will be packed. The first two shows listed have COMO/Chicago links. I listed the Meat Puppets mostly because it's rare to see such an established band play a small club. I first saw the Meat Puppets open for Nirvana in an arena in the fall of '93. Yes, I'm old.

@ The 'Tag (aka The Ragtag Cinema/Cafe/Bar)
Schlafly APA Cask Tapping - August 28
Beer Wars - September ???
The cask tapping should be pretty cool. Barry (the bartender at the 'Tag) told me he'll tap the cask around 6 or 6:30. Leading up to the tapping, there will be all kinds of specials starting around 5. The Beer Wars screening(s) will occur some time next month, possibly coinciding with the opening of the new brewery downtown. Of course, the 'Tag will be showing plenty of great indie films. You can peruse their calendar here. (And they may even put on a good indie rock show without telling anyone.)

Other Miscellany:
3rd Annual Roots 'n Blues 'n BBQ Festival - September 25-26
I went to the first one and skipped the second. I'll probably skip it again this year. It's overly crowded. The lines for all the decent BBQ are ridiculous. There is no good beer to be found...unless you sneak into Sycamore.

College Football - September-January (or through December if you're a Mizzou fan)
I will do a complete writeup later this month, but I feel the season has to be addressed as I am very ready for it to begin. Mizzou will struggle through a rebuilding year. Of course, last year was not as wonderful as some try to remember it being. I, as always, will have my focus directed east to my Buckeyes who have a ton of questions to answer. To put it in perspective, OSU is also rebuilding, but they're ranked in the top-10. Mizzou is not even ranked.

Like I said above, there will be more to preview once we get a little closer to the fall.