Venue offers wide range of bands

Gonzaga students, returning and new, all have one simple thing in common: They all love their own style of music. Some students like hip-hop/rap like Nas and Drake, others like Top 40 such as Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, and a small group of students listen to heavier music such as Avenged Sevenfold and Slipknot. The variety of music at Gonzaga is absolutely outstanding and The Knitting Factory, a local venue, does a fantastic job bringing all sorts of different acts to Spokane for Gonzaga students and the greater Spokane community.

The month of September has the most interesting selection of music The Knit has to offer. The classic rock fan will be satisfied with No Quarter on Sept. 11. They are a tribute band to Led Zeppelin that has been to Spokane every year for the last few years and usually offers a cheap ticket for a good time and good music. For the student who likes Radiohead and the music of the early to mid -'90s, the Smashing Pumpkins will be bringing their final tour through Spokane on Sept. 14.

For the underground hip-hop/rap fan, Atmosphere will be performing on Sept. 18. Atmosphere is one of the longest- tenured independent hip-hop groups in America with six EPs and six LPs since 1993, all released through non major labels or via free Internet release. In a complete 180, Black Label Society will blow the stage up two days later. Zakk Wylde, the lead guitarist/singer, was Ozzy Osbourne's lead guitar player for nearly 20 years before they earlier this year.

Black Label's intense stage show involves an entire wall of amps and    solos galore.

Finishing off September are two acts that completely differ, yet appeal to everyone. Hanson (Yes, the "MmmBop" Hanson) will be selecting songs from their new album, "Shout It To the Moon," which is an "R&B-flavored pop-rock homage to what Hanson is inspired by," to play for the crowd at the Knitting Factory. The next night, making one of his two to three regular trips to Spokane is Tech N9ne. Known for his songs "I'm a Playa" and "Caribou Lou," Tech N9ne will be playing with seven other hip-hop/rap artists, including E-40, who is known for his 2006 single "Tell Me When To Go."

October is a progressively heavier month of concerts at the Knitting Factory. Anberlin kicks off the month on Oct. 15 and they are the lightest of the bunch playing that month. Two days later, Coheed and Cambria come to Spokane for the first time in a long time. The "Year of the Black Rainbow" tour will be a listening of Coheed's distinguished hits, along with songs from the album with the same title as the tour. On Oct. 21, Welsh metallers' "Bullet For My Valentine" will make their second stop ever in Spokane to support their latest outing as a band entitled "Fever." The album debuted

at No. 3 in the U.S. and at No. 1 in the United Kingdom. October finishes strong at the Knitting Factory with a solid metalcore show of Atreyu, Blessthefall and Chiodos on Oct. 26.

November starts and ends calmly, but is fun and "poppy" directly in the middle. Coffeehouse staple Tyrone Wells will be displaying is acoustic prowess on Nov. 6 along with Andrew Belle and Crown Point. The fun and "poppiness" of the Knitting Factory is displayed on Nov. 13 with 3OH!3 and Hellogoodbye. 3OH!3 has become a staple of the "electro-hop" genre, along with bands such as the Black Eyed Peas and performers along the lines of Ke$ha, and even has a few songs that have reached top five status in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. November ends with the low key Sara Bareilles on Nov. 20 and her collection of acoustic melodies.

The Knitting Factory does its best to bring a variety of concerts to the Spokane area, and for the next few months they have succeeded wonderfully in doing so. To get tickets to any of the aforementioned shows, go to ticketswest.com or head directly to the Knitting Factory one hour before the show you want to go to.