Happy 2012 live music freaks! Hope you all had a killer 2011 and finished it off with a bang and some good shows!

Last week was obviously a busy week for live music fans in the New York metro area, so naturally, the concert calendar slows down a bit this week as we start the new year. But that’s not to say there aren’t some great shows to hit.

Before digging into the week’s list of shows and recs, please let me know if you have any suggestions for improving this weekly series of concert calendar posts. I’m always looking for ways to make these posts more informative and useful for New York-area concert fans, so please drop me a comment or send me an email.

Ok, back to business…read on for the full run-down of this week’s interesting shows.

Two of 2011′s top indie buzz bands, Givers and Yellow Ostrich are playing the Music Hall of Williamsburg this Thursday. Despite perhaps being a bit overhyped, both bands write solid tunes and put on great live shows.

Givers

Yellow Ostrich

Also on Thursday is an interesting show at @ Le Poisson Rouge featuring John Medeski and Jessica Lurie, along with a few other guests that include Skerik, Adam Deitch, Red Baraat, and Marc Ribot’s Young Philadelphians.

This weekend, the Village goes Jazz with the annual NYC Winter Jazz festival, which takes place at (Le) Poisson Rouge, Sullivan Hall, Kenny’s Castaways, The Bitter End, and Zinc Bar. This year’s lineup includes a few artists we’ve been digging here on LMB for a while — Marco Benevento, John Medeski, Nels Cline Singers — along with a bunch of more traditional Jazz stalwarts.

Marco Benevento (at NYC Winter Jazz fest 2010)

Medeski, Martin & Wood (sorry, can’t find any decent Medeski solo options)

Nels Cline Singers

Also this weekend is a big Carnegie Hall shindig for the Preservation Hall Band’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. The show will feature a slew of of special guests including: Allen Toussaint, Blind Boys of Alabama, Del McCoury Band, Ed Helms, GIVERS, Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, My Morning Jacket, Steve Earle, Tao Seeger, Trey McIntyre Project, Trombone Shorty, and yasiin bey (FKA Mos Def).

Preservation Hall Band

Preservation Hall Band w/ Del McCoury Band

Beyond those mentioned above, we’ve also got Living Colour headlining a Benefit for Donovan Drayton at Highline Ballroom, Little Feat doing a three-night stand at City Winery, and Brad Mehldau Trio doing multiple nights at the Village Vanguard, among other notable shows. Read on for links to details and other show listings.

Interesting shows from this week’s NYC concert calendar:

MONDAY, JANUARY 2
Little Feat @ City Winery

TUESDAY, JANUARY 3
Little Feat @ City Winery
?uestlove @ S.O.B.’s

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4
Brad Mehldau Trio @ The Village Vanguard
Little Feat @ City Winery
Living Colour, 24-7 Spyz, DJ Afrika Bambaataa,and Ronny Drayton (A Benefit for Donovan Drayton) @ Highline Ballroom

THURSDAY, JANUARY 5
Brad Mehldau Trio @ The Village Vanguard
Givers, Yellow Ostrich @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Medeski and Jessica Lurie, w/ Skerik, Adam Deitch, Red Baraat, Marc Ribot’s Young Philadelphians @ Le Poisson Rouge

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6
The Pimps of Joytime, w/ SEE-I (Feat. Members of Thievery Corp), The Dukes @ The Bowery Ballroom
Union Street Preservation Society @ Spike Hill (Brooklyn)
Indelible Festival @ Highline Ballroom, featuring:
Yasiin Bey – Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron (formerly Mos Def)
Jimmy Scott
Cecil Taylor
?uestlove
Bilal (Mark Kelly, Lionel Loueke, Yuki, Eric McPherson & Special Guest Robert Glasper)
Derrick Hodge
BAJAH + The Dry Eye Crew
Gary Bartz
2012 Winter Jazzfest @ (Le) Poisson Rouge, Sullivan Hall, Kenny’s Castaways, The Bitter End, and Zinc Bar
Lineup includes:
Ben Allison Trio
Big Sam’s Funky Nation
John Medeski (solo)
Nels Cline Singers
Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog
Marco Benevento (solo)
Steven Bernstein’s MTO plays Sly
and more

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7
Brad Mehldau Trio @ The Village Vanguard
Glen Campbell @The Town Hall
Preservation Hall Jazz Band – 50th Anniversary @ Carnegie Hall with special guests: Allen Toussaint, Blind Boys of Alabama, Del McCoury Band, Ed Helms, GIVERS, Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, My Morning Jacket, Steve Earle, Tao Seeger, Trey McIntyre Project, Trombone Shorty, yasiin bey (FKA Mos Def)
2012 Winter Jazzfest @ (Le) Poisson Rouge, Sullivan Hall, Kenny’s Castaways, The Bitter End, and Zinc Bar
Lineup includes:
Bernie Worrell Orchestra
Bill Laswell solo
Vijay Iyer Trio
and more

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8
Brad Mehldau Trio @ The Village Vanguard
Jesse Cook, The Slide Brothers w/ Special Guest Robert Randolph @ City Winery
Mickey Hart Band, The Abrams Brothers @ Highline Ballroom