Stones Add Guests to Their Sat. NJ Show; Yo La Tengo are Rocking Maxwell's; More

It's pretty quiet again on the streaming-album front this week, so we'll focus on other musical goings-on (particularly live shows) in today's post.

The 800-pound-gorilla of rock & roll comes to Newark this week.

As we mentioned last week, the Rolling Stones have been added to Wednesday's blockbuster 12/12/12 concert, and now the Stones have announced that some big-name special guests will be joining them at their NJ concerts this week (the 13th and 15th at the Prudential Center in Newark): Bruce Springsteen, The Black Keys, and Lady Gaga. [Update: It sounds like these special guests may only be at the concert on the 15th, which the Stones will televise on pay-per-view on many cable/satellite systems.]

(Speaking of the 12/12/12 concert, it's estimated that it's televised presentation will now be available to as many as two billion people. It will be shown on countless websites and TV stations, including PBS, MTV, and many others in the U.S. Good news, since tickets have been listed on StubHub for as much as $36,000 each for floor tickets.)

Another multi-night stand is now underway in Hoboken, though one on a much smaller scale: Yo La Tengo's annual Eight Nights of Hanukkah at Maxwell's. For those counting, tonight is night three, and if you didn't score tickets to any of the sold-out shows, you can follow allow on the band's tour diary. Part of the fun is finding out who the special guests will be, and here's the roster so far: the Raybeats on Saturday, Sun Ra Arkestra Sunday night, and The Feelies tonight.

Note: You can download the first two nights of the Yo La Tengo shows (and possibly more later on) from NYC Taper at www.nyctaper.com. The sets by the comedians and the opening musicians aren't available.

Another way to get a Yo La Tengo fix if you can't be at Maxwell's is to read Jesse Jarnow's book, "Big Day Coming: Yo La Tengo and the Rise of Indie Rock."Jarnow is a freelance writer and a DJ at famed freeform radio station WFMU, where YLT has played many times.


Matisyahu plays in NYC on Saturday.

Also this week, Matisyahu plays Terminal 5 on Saturday with his full band (surprisingly, tickets are still available). And New York's Nada Surf plays twice at Bowery Ballroom, on Friday and Saturday. (Saturday's show sold out, but there are tickets available for Friday. And there are tickets for both shows available from brokers, some selling for below face value.)

There's lots of great pre-holiday live music out there, get out and enjoy it...