I have a sort of love-hate relationship with large music festivals. On the one hand, they provide a chance to spend an entire day (or two or three) seeing a slew of disparate music acts, usually outdoors, and there’s great people-watching.

But the thought of weaving through crowds upwards of 60,000 just to get a tiny glimpse of the stage, the insanely long portable toilet lines and the mountains of trash that inevitably form, pose a strong rationale to skip them altogether and stick to small, intimate venues. Some upcoming shows in London offer a chance to see a few of the same bands in both festival and club settings.

The full blog post, on All Tomorrow’s Parties, Devo, and the Jesus Lizard, is at the NEW YORK TIMES