John ChiassonGillian WelchIn case it hasn’t already been made abundantly clear, I’m more excited about No Depression festival than I’ve been about any single concert in a long time (and if you don’t have tickets yet, you have until 5 p.m. today to enter our contest for a chance to win a pair). I chalk this up to Gillian Welch’s infrequent touring habits (I’ve still never seen her live) and the six years it’s been since she put out an album. That’s not to say I haven’t gone to any mind-blowing shows lately, but the last time I felt this measure of sheer anticipatory glee was quite a while ago, when I finally got to see the Silver Jews in person for the first time. And every time I get excited about seeing a favorite artist, I always agonize over whether or not I should listen to that artist’s music in the days and weeks before the performance. I’ve known people who listen to the band they’re going to see nonstop, then impose a strict moratorium on that artist’s albums for anywhere from a day to a week before the day of the performance. I’ve also known people who refuse to listen to the artist at all until the night of the show, then get amped for the show by blasting the artist’s music in the hours directly beforehand. Yet another friend of mine says that as soon as she buys tickets, she won’t listen to that band at all until after the concert. At the end of the day, I almost always fall into the cold-turkey camp. I want to so deprive myself of her music that I’ll actually be craving it by the time I roll up to Marymoor on Saturday. It’s like fasting before a big meal, and then, right before you get ready to break your fast with a big meal, smoking a big bowl to make the food taste that much better. To me, the over-saturation method seems like it might actually detract from the experience. Either way, I have to wonder: Am I and a handful of my friends the only people who impose these sorts of rules on ourselves? What say you, Internet rabble? What’s your pre-show listening policy?