Whoa, indeed! I was also amazed to see that reclusive mad genius and Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum will be playing two shows this autumn when All Tomorrow's Parties brings an installation of their "I'll Be Your Mirror" series to the Ashbury Park. As one of the many people who arrived at their In the Aeroplane Over the Sea obsession long after the band's break-up and really never expected to ever have an opportunity to see it performed live, I can only say that this astonishingly thrilling news is maybe the first time I've ever found myself scheming about heading to New Jersey.

For the inaugural US edition of the festival, ATP will be choosing the the Friday bands with Portishead curating (and headlining) Saturday and Sunday. As is the case with most modern festivals, there will also be comedians and movies to round out the affair. In contrast to the usual ATP events where all festival attendees stay at a single resort, the IBYM series takes over a series of venues and attendees arrange their own housing. So far, the weekend lineups haven't been announced, but Chavez, Shellac, Cults and The Album Leaf are among the confirmed opening night performances.

As to Mangum, he'll be playing opening night in a relatively small venue for people who manage to buy three-day festival passes for $249 , once they go on on sale Friday morning (single-day passes don't include his set). Those who don't, or can't, get a three-day pass will have another opportunity to see him performing Neutral Milk Hotel songs on Monday, with a separate $35 "fair" ticket for a standalone show.

Aside from his appearance in Brooklyn last month, Mangum performances have been few and far between. There's been some speculation that he'll drop in to a show or two during this spring's Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour (which includes a NMH-teasing stop at the Vera Project on March 6th), but this is the first confirmed show I've seen for 2011, making it all the more excitement-inducing.

Suddenly the Jersey Shore is lovely that time of year.