his most recent New Year’s Eve was a profoundly introspective event for me. It could have even been called a crisis of sorts. A quarter-life crisis, perhaps. All the heavy questions of the world were weighing upon me: Am I stuck? Am I living up to my full potential? Am I settling for less than I deserve? Do I even want to live in this city? Am I happy? You know…the usual heavy questions. After getting bent out of shape at the pathetic answers I was coming up with and contemplating throwing myself a pity party, I decided to quit taking myself so seriously and go get drunk while listening to some great live music. It helped. A lot. After returning home, I obsessively, compulsively dug up all the great live music happening around town so that my fellow compatriots (if there are any of you out there) could have easy access to the cure for the quarter-life blues.

Let’s start off with the new kids on the block. Kate Nash, the sweet young English rose, is coming to the Mod Club on Jan. 7 to rip your heart out if your chest, blow it up a few sizes and gently replace it, leaving you feeling like the grinch on Christmas morning. The Teenagers are coming to The Social on Jan. 22 if Scarlett Johansson doesn’t sue the smart-ass pop-rockers first. The Tokyo Police Club is taking over City Hall with their happy yet angry call to arms kind of music on Jan. 26. East meets West….the West is the best. Cobra Starship is planning to warm up the Mod Club with a patent Cobra rally on Jan. 23. A colleague of mine happens to be in love with Keran Ann and once described her style as “atmospheric afternoon/post-coital music for amalgam/slash lovers.” I honestly couldn’t have said it better myself. Check her out with husband and wife duo Dean & Britta at the Mod Club on Feb. 9. Wintersleep is the hot new Canadian band that has everybody talking. Try a taste of their gentle east coast meanderings at the Pheonix on Jan. 31. That’s it for the newbies. Now for the cool kids.