There was a nice crowd of around 60 on hand last night at Slowdown Jr. for Centro-matic. Opening was Mal Madrigal (I heard only the last two songs of their set -- nice), and LA band Broken West, who just released a new album on Merge. A standard 5-piece (two guitars, bass, keyboards and drums), it took BW awhile to get into a place outside of the typical indie-rock groove. Seems like half the bands on Merge these days sound like Spoon, and Broken West was no exception (and that isn't necessarily a bad thing).

Centro-matic came on at around midnight and played right up to closing time. Will Johnson, looking like he weighs all of 75 pounds, continues to own one of the most affecting voices in rock music. There's something about Centro-matic music that feels naturally comfortable, as if Johnson always knows the perfect chord or melody to follow. They played a variety of songs from their past albums, including crowd fave "Flashes and Cables." Johnson commented about how nice it is to be called to sound check while you're waiting for your laundry to finish up -- he was clearly enamored with Slowdown's famous green room accoutrements. Playing there must seem like visiting an oasis, especially for bands that are still rolling around in a van rather than a tour bus.

Before we continue, let me take this moment to introduce our returning Lazy-i intern Brendan Greene-Walsh. You might remember his reviews from last year or seen his stuff in the City Weekly. Brendan will be writing CD reviews as part of this Creighton internship, and because I still have a hard time being in two places at once, he'll also be providing the occasional live review, like the following report about last night's System & Station show at the Waiting Room:

I made it to the Waiting Room last night shortly after Fromanhole had started their set. Their performance was as tight and feverish as ever, but never sounded better. The force coming from the stage was a pure sonic wall, driving me backwards -- the kick drum damn near gave me heart palpitations. Despite breaking a bass string, the band continued without missing a beat. I wish they would have played longer, but my real disappointment came from finding out that Race For Titles would not be playing. Two members were sick --damn flu. System & Station came on shortly after, with a new lineup. I've seen S&S four or five times before -- the current band is the strongest to this point. The rhythm section was borrowed from another Portland band, Kieskagato, but they played as if System & Station was their mainstay. The set was filled with material from their new record, spliced with a few classics. The dueling guitar riffs ripped through the low end and nicely complimented the vocals. Though an entire band had dropped off the bill I still drove home content after an evening of solid rock. -- Brendan Greene-Walsh

Thanks Brendan. More to come I'm sure.

Tonight at The Waiting Room, one of the most talked about shows for the past few weeks: the return of The Night Marchers, the latest project of singer/guitarist John Reis, previously of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, Rocket from the Crypt, the Hot Snakes and the Sultans. Opening is Colour Revolt and Lincoln's own Ideal Cleaners. This one has "can't miss" written all over it. $12, 9 p.m. Also tonight, Cincinnati band Pomegranates play at Slowdown Jr. with Cameron McGill and Omaha's own Shiver, Shiver. $7, 9 p.m. While over at O'Leaver's it's Malpais with Brooklyn band KaiserCartel and Benson's own Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies. $5, 9:30 p.m.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--