Three Local Blogs You Should Read

I've mentioned some of these folks before, but it's worth mentioning again. COMO has a surprisingly high number of good bloggers. Of course, I mostly pay attention to the music blogs. Three blogs are so good that you should read them before you read this blog when in-search of the music 411.

Cool Dry Place
Although I don't consider this a blog in the truest sense (newspaper-affiliated), I do read Pete Bland's take on all things entertaining. In particular, Pete does an excellent job reporting the most ignored stories in the music scene here or the music insider's perspective. I don't always agree with his tastes, but I appreciate his insight and the use of an actual journalist degree in the blogosphere. Also, Pete does a nice job of keeping up with COMO TV tie-ins and films hitting the 'Tag that may have slipped under the radar. All that and he has the best collection of Western shirts this side of Kansas City.

A Ravenous Horde
I mentioned this blog in a recent post, but figured I give it more props here. Blogger Tina contacted me to let me know lim was now listed on her blogroll. Since that time, I've had a chance to check the blog out and am thoroughly impressed. It's everything I once wanted this blog to be but could never get together. There's a shit-ton of music info there, plus some nice coverage of the upcoming Citizen Jane film fest. It's all there. I just wish I had thought of it first.

Colossal Youth
From the ashes of the mid-MO rock blog Bathysphere, Colossal Youth has risen to provide us with more music geek porn to fill the void. The strengths of the Bath (rock show photography, underground rock immediacy, music-coverage-beyond-borders, etc.) are all here thanks to the efforts of former Bath-contributor Carrie. I'm glad she's carrying the flame as I need these kids to keep me young. In particular, check out the pics from Boomslang.

What are your favorite local blogs? What did I miss?

Some Things Worth Mentioning

Here are a few things that I have not had time to give proper space on this blog. Please forgive me. It mostly applies to local stuff. So, for my readers in New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Nebraska, and Georgia, you should also forgive me and come back tomorrow.

I did end up going to see my friends in Bald Eagle open for Cursive. BE was as solid as ever. The crowd was uncomfortably young and emo for my tastes, so I didn't participate much. BE traveled to Omaha over the weekend to join Cursive in their home digs. This is a big opportunity for them. Hopefully it went as planned. (Maybe Nardy will comment and fill you all in.)

Speaking of locals taking big steps in their careers, a certain band called Tops will play Mojo's this Tuesday. You may know the band members better by their work at the bathysphere. (I dare someone to review the show and post pictures on their blog. That would be so postmodern.) If their own material is anything like the bands they herald, it should be a good time. It also may or may not have been promised to me that the band will cover something I may or may not like. My guess is Pavement, but we'll see. I don't know whether I will be able to skirt my baby duties for this one, but you should definitely go. Tops go on at about 8:30. If you can't make Tuesday's gig, they will play Eastside on February 6th.

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It has been suggested by the Columbia Beer Enthusiasts and Make Mine Potato that much needs to be done to raise the beer IQ in COMO. This would allow for our little market to entertain better and wider beer distribution, benefiting all, really. However, no one is exactly sure how this can be accomplished.

Personally, I think the beer community will only improve when we get a greater presence online. There should be a wiki or forum sharing beer menus and what's occupying shelf space in town. There should be a beer blog that lets people know what's coming to town, what's on tap at Sycamore, and when's the next beer dinner. The Columbia Beer Enthusiasts (Can we get a new name?) has a nice site that's rather informational, but it's static. We need something with some interaction and daily updates.

I mean, why isn't there a blog encouraging me to buy up the Mikkeller Stateside IPA at Arena Liquor so that they'll order more from this pricey-yet-creative brewery? Who gave me a tip that Hyvee received a boatload of Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Barley Wine on Saturday? How am I supposed to know that Bell's Hopslam will arrive at Hyvee on Tuesday? We need some Beer 2.0 action around here and quick!

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In case you live in a cave...or at least outside COMO, True/False is coming very soon with the full lineup to be announced at the beginning of February. Pete Bland over at Cool Dry Place has leaked a few of the titles. None of them have me too excited, but this festival never disappoints, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

As usual, I have a pass and plan to use it to its fullest. There will be ridiculous amounts of words at this URL during the days leading up to, during, and following the festival. We like our nonfiction films in the Show-Me State.