Nation

10.5.07

BandsInTown

Using weeklies, it's near impossible to find concert listings without getting distracted by the red-hot-chat ads…and the one-and-a-half minutes of discounted red-hot-chat that inevitably follows. Track your shows with ease, not innuendo, with BandsInTown.

BIT's a new free service that'll aggregate info from all over the Internet to return only those shows that meet your exacting criteria, or the criteria of the people you stole your taste in music from. To get started, plug in your favorite bands, solo artists, or kazoo-chestras, or just pull them from your Last.fm account. Then, use BIT's slider interface to pick the desired date range, distance from your pad, and clams you're willing to part with; instantly, a handy tag cloud'll pop up with all relevant shows, highlighting both your faves and acts deemed "similar" -- potentially leaving Red Hot Chili Peppers fans holding stubs for a Simply Red show. Hover over any act to see dates and locations; click on a name to get artist profiles, maps to venues, and authentic band art perfectly sized to print out and decorate your walls poster-style, provided you live in a drawer.

BIT also provides links to Ticketmaster and alternative sellers like StubHub, allowing you to easily purchase tickets from the one place you'll be safe from sex solicitations -- the internet.

Find shows at BandsInTown.com

---