Every awesome gig that just got announced.

What the hell just happened? A week like no other, recapped.

It may have been the two Pearl Jam shows. It could have been Coldplay. It’s hard to tell. My brain isn’t working. I got Covid. Again. Somehow, somewhere, I picked the damned thing up for a third time. Hmm. I’m going to say it was Travis Scott because that show was awful and deserves to be blamed for everything. I’ll stick with that.

Sitting here, struggling with brain fog and fatigue all week, the last thing I felt like doing was venturing out into large crowds to watch shows while spreading my germs far and wide. So the irony isn’t lost on me that, over the past seven days, some of the best shows for this summer and beyond have just been announced.

I’m not kidding. The shit coming our way is wild.

To recap:

• Jack White is here in just a few weeks for a pop-up show at the Auckland Town Hall on December 17; that show, part of his No Name world tour, is now sold out;

• David Dallas is teaming up with PNC for three rare shows (PNC hasn’t toured for many years) in Ōtautahi, Pōneke and Tāmaki Makaurau in December;

• Dartz and Dune Rats are playing an extremely rare all ages show (kids – go!) at Double Whammy on December 5;

• Electric Avenue might be sold out but Khruangbin will play a sideshow at the Christchurch Town Hall the night before, on February 20;

• Rapper Denzel Curry will play Shed 10 on February 27;

• Kehlani will level up to perform in Spark Arena on March 23 as part of her Crash world tour, with Jess B playing in support;

• Alien Weaponry will embark on their biggest local tour yet, playing nine dates around the country in March with Shepherds Reign in support;

• Shihad will play Spark Arena on March 14 as part of their final Loud Forever tour (sniff.);

• MJ Lenderman will play three shows here in March and April, with dates in Lyttelton, Pōneke and Tāmaki Makaurau;

• Supergroove’s April shows with Troy Kingi, Rubi Du and King Kapisi have been so popular they’ve add a second night at the Auckland Town Hall;

• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will play the Tuning Fork on November 11 in celebration of their 2004 selt-titled album;

• The Pixies will return for four shows next November, two each in Pōneke and Tāmaki Makaurau, including playing Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde in full;

Masters of cool: Khruangbin.

I’m light-headed. I feel dizzy. My head is spinning. (It’s probably Covid.)

All that – all that! – landed in just the past week. I want to see almost everything on that list, which doesn’t include everything awesome that’s already been announced, like The Others Way festival next Saturday (look at this timetable!), or Mannequin Pussy in December, or The Roots in Tauranga just before New Year’s, or Idles in January, or JPEGMAFIA in February, or WOMAD in Taranaki in March or Tyler, the Creator in August.

My guess is that promoters are trying to get in before the mad Christmas rush, to try and fill some stockings with concert and festival tickets – the exact same reason the Coachella line-up was announced two months early. Either way, it’s great news for us gig-goers hoping for some awesome shows to soundtrack our summer.

But that’s not all. Just as I finished listing all of those shows, something else was announced that might top all of it, a night that promises to be one helluva good time.

• On January 16, Kaytranada will team up with Channel Tres for an outdoor show at Trusts Arena, as part of his Timeless Tour.

Wow.

Love that.

Channel Tres is on my bucket list, so this changes everything.

A few weeks back, I had a bit of a moan. I pointed out that, for the first time in many years, summer was missing a big stadium show, something that everything else revolves around. Between now and Metallica, there’s just one stadium tour booked for the country crooner Luke Combs. That’s it. That’s all. (My fingers are crossed that Kendrick Lamar might come and fill one after his surprise album drop this morning.)

This, though, may be better, a series of standalone headline shows catering to a wide range of tastes in small to medium-sized venues.

So, today, I thought we could do something a little different.

I want to hear from you.

What shows are you excited about?

What gigs are you fizzing over?

Who’s the artist you can’t wait to see?

What’s the one album you can’t wait to hear?

Please, send me your list of faves so I can pretend my Covid’s gone and we’re standing in a field somewhere with the sun shining and a cold beer in hand.

I’ll kick things off with ‘Red Light’ the new, incredible Teeks song…

Okay, your turn!

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