So I'm married with 2 kids but still manage to get out to about 1 show per month. Sometimes the quality gigs all come together and there are way too many sweet bands coming to Philly in Aug/Sept to get to them all without pushing my luck. Lo-Pan in Sept and Elder in Oct I would not miss for anything. I think I also gotta catch local legends Bardo Pond in Sept. That leaves 5 other shows and maybe I can make 1 (or 2). Which would you choose?

8/21: Earthless
8/22: All Them Witches
8/26: Sleep (I've seen High on Fire and Om but never Sleep)
9/24: Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats
9/26: Earth

nice dilemma... I am also married with a child so I totally understand that getting to shows can be a struggle.

I saw Sleep earlier this year and they were incredible. I am already looking forward to seeing them again. Just think, you may even get to hear them test out some new material, I would definitely choose Sleep.
I have seen Earth and was underwhelmed, I like Dylan and Co. better in the comfort of my home. I would try to see Sleep AND Uncle Acid. Will your wife go with you? If not, hook her up with a spa day, girls night, Jelly of the Month club (Clark, it's the gift that keep giving!) or something that will make the medicine go down easier of you leaving to go to the shows.

Sleep. Killer, killer show. There are maybe a half dozen active bands I would go to before Sleep, and none of the rest on your list qualify.

Man, I totally get this. It happens to me every week. Almost went out to a local show tonight but opted to stay home instead. All I've got is agreement with above, that catching Sleep should be legendary, as who knows if it will ever happen again, and that I would only ever go see Earth live if there were deep armchairs to relax in while they played, and I had nothing better to do. Love the albums, would never go see a live show.

Sleep for sure. I'm in the same boat obligation wise. Sleep hasn't played any Canadian dates and are probably less likely to be coming around again. Second choice would be earth, same reasons in effect.

uncle acid...

uncle acid

Sleep, hands down.

Black Cobra at Kung Fu Necktie on September 17.

Sleep then Uncle Acid.

Earthless

I will be seeing Black Cobra...that's who Lo-Pan is touring with

Thanks to all for the input!

Earthless ftw

I've seen both Sleep (great!) and Uncle (great as well) so I would have picked Earthless!

Saw both Sleep and Uncle Acid recently - both awesome, get a second babysitter.

Sleep. Earth.

Sleep & Earthless

I have seen 4 out of 5

Sleep, no contest
Earthless is also badass, but yeah - no contest. And I thought Uncle Acid was weak as fuck.

I'd go with Earthless. Sleep is more a nostalgia tour.

go with the one that makes you most happy, the one you absolutely have to see.

All Them Witches. I'm a total lame-o who never goes out anymore, but I'm going to try my damndest to see them when they roll through town. Sleep would be killer, and I know Earthless would blow the roof off whatever joint they're playing, but All Them Witches is new and young and hungry. I dig Earth, but I can't see the appeal in the live show, since I'm old and a lame-o and sleepy. I only like a handful of Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, but they fall under the "new and young and hungry" banner. But with an unfortunate side dish of "hipsters galore!"

If I had to pick only one, it would be Sleep. They are lovely live, especially if you have affection for OM.

However, Danava is touring with Uncle Acid and it's UA's first time touring the States, so... I'm picking two.

So just to put a bow on this, I went to the Sleep show. It was...decent. I started to feel terrible during the middle, and that might have affected my enjoyment, but I just couldn't get into it. I've had to come to grips with something that, deep-down, I already knew...I don't love Sleep (gasp!). I much prefer OM and may even prefer High On Fire. I will say that I really enjoyed seeing Al Cisneros writhe around like a snake will playing his bass, something I've never seen him do with OM.

It reminded me that I should only go to shows of bands I love, not bands that I kinda like. Which made it much easier to skip the Uncle Acid show.

I missed Bardo Pond, too, but I'm seeing them this Saturday so there you go. The Lo-Pan show was sweet [last time seeing Brian Fristoe on guitar :(], but I wasn't into Black Cobra despite familiarizing myself with their stuff beforehand. Elder kicked ass, HIVELORDS opened, their singer scared me.

Thanks to all who offered input

Came to add the part you already know- another Bardo Pond show this weekend. I love that band and first saw them in 1997 but have not seen them frequently enough over the years to satisfy my level of interest in them, you're lucky to be in the only area of the US that they regularly play. I may come up for that show myself as the last time I saw them was Feb 2011, and I've been wanting to see the opening act, Hound, since I missed their set in VA a couple of months ago but bought the LP from them and it's cool.