Throughout my childhood, I spent an undeterminable amount of time driving from here to there in my father’s forest green Ford Explorer. It was during this time that my musical preferences first began to take shape, as my dad had a static selection of albums that I was forced to listen to time and time again. Of course, there was the classic assortment of adult favorites: the Talking Head’s Stop Making Sense, Elvis Costello’s My Aim is True and Paul Simon’s Graceland. Besides these, my dad’s music taste seemed to deviate from the norm (read: The Phantom of the Opera). Finally, there was his brief foray into the country world with Lyle Lovett’s 1989 album Live in Texas.

Current politics exasperate the autumn gloom. Although the economy is emerging from the largest contraction since World War II, we are still stuck in Iraq, and the impasse in Afghanistan seems to be getting even more complicated.

Two months into its busy U.S. tour, Built to Spill lodged in Ithaca on Thursday night to play an offbeat form of rock and roll, and found an attractive crowd to match. Affecting its best indie rock persona, State Theatre played host. While sometimes the State Theatre pins everyone to his or her assigned seat, the mood on Thursday was looser, providing the right recipe for just a few shenanigans. The show featured two other bands as well, Disco Doom and Violent Soho, who were commissioned to set the mood.

“Sorry for the confetti in the first 10 rows.” Hearing this announcement as I took my seat at the State Theatre on Friday night, I knew it was going to be in for an incredible show. The stage, decked out with three chairs and a piano, was otherwise deserted.

Not your average double Grammy winners, They Might Be Giants have a lot in common with the average Cornell student: They seem cool at first, but are really just plain geeky. Kicking off a 40-city tour last Thursday night at the State Theatre, the band played a solid two-hour set to a nearly packed crowd.

Riding the bus to the State Theatre last Monday night, I felt apprehensive about reviewing Neko Case’s upcoming performance. During her career, Case has contributed to several different musical groups, including the Corn Sisters, Neko Case and Her Boyfriends, the Sadies and the New Pornographers. Sure, I am a tried and true New Pornographers fan, but would my admiration for Neko Case transcend to her solo work? Would Case’s amazing vocal presence still interest me outside of the indie pop genre? Could I sit through an alternative country song set?

Yes, yes I could. And I would like it. Now I can proudly say that I like country music.

From the balcony of the State Theatre, the turnout for the Avett Brothers seemed unimpressive. Save for a scattering of patrons and a small contingent of students having their own private rave in the upper corner (complete with glow-sticks), the balcony was largely deserted. Fortunately for everyone, the balcony was so depopulated because the entire audience decided to get as close to the stage as possible — the lower level of the theater was the most crowded I have ever seen it, and filled with the most enthusiastic crowd I’ve ever seen (or heard).