Because Lani and I once made an ill-advised there-and-back trip to the Orange Peel to see the Decemberists — the drive was ill-advised, not the show; the show was great — I still get emails from the Orange Peel about their upcoming shows. Dr. Dog and the Old 97s have shows there in February, which is awesome, but they’re both on weeknights, which is not. Asheville on a weeknight just isn’t doable from Chapel Hill — 200 miles! One way! — and neither tour has a Triangle date. (Both dates have great openers, too, which is just salt in my self-absorbed wounds.)

The NC is a very large state — more than 500 miles across at the widest point — and so, so, so many bands only play one date here, instead of the two or three I think most bands of this particular level could support. It makes me crazy with frustration. Whenever someone skips the Triangle, I wonder if we collectively have something stuck in our teeth. I want to see both those bands desperately, but driving to Asheville isn’t feasible on those dates. Driving to Charlotte, which is 2 hours instead of 4, wouldn’t even be particularly feasible during the week. I don’t know how to convince bands to fix this booking problem, but today I am grouchy and sad about it, so I had to tell the internet.