Concert Listings

I'm not as avid a concert-goer as I'd wish, and unfortunately I think some of that is due to general unawareness of the who/where/when of shows. Of course the source of your concert info varies by city, but even here in New York it's difficult to find one comprehensive and user-friendly list. Bowerypresents.com is usually the safest bet for my taste of music, but you still miss out on great venues - Highline Ballroom, Santos Party House, Central Park, even Jones Beach... The only place for which I've found listings for EVERY concert in the area is www.pollstar.com.

There are a few things to like about Pollstar. The main one is its exhaustive listings. According to them, they have 25 full time professionals building their database of worldwide gigs. Another is that it allows you to sign in and set up alerts for specific venues, cities, or bands.

If only there had been a Pollstar-like site for me to find out about this show, those hands in the front row could be mine

However, because Pollstar is really just an industry publication, it isn't that user friendly. Some shows have links for tickets; some don't. If you really want to find more information about a certain venue or band, don't bother clicking on the link - you'll have to Google it yourself.

Perhaps the sheer size, power, and resources of an industry staple like Pollstar is impossible to compete with on a global scale, but it sure would be useful to have a site that covers the major metro areas and is built for the concert enthusiast, not an industry insider.