Tonight at Sokol Auditorium it's Tilly and the Wall with The Ruby Suns and Go Motion. 8 p.m., $13. This morning I was discussing whether this show will sell out. One guy said he thought it was a sure bet. I'm doubtful. The last time Tilly played in Omaha was at The Waiting Room in March. I can't remember if that sold out or not. Other than that, they did a show last year at Sokol Underground, as well as a shows opening for The Faint, Rilo Kiley and Bright Eyes at Sokol Auditorium over the past couple years. There's no question that Tilly's popularity continues to grow (Their new album is No. 16 on the CMJ radio charts, right under Conor Oberst's), but selling out the 1,400-capacity Sokol Aud? Hmmm... We'll see tonight.

And speaking of Oberst, he and his Mystic Valley Band played on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night. Oberst and crew came on at the end of the show after Jack Black and the winner of the Pillsbury Bake-Off. I thought they might do "Souled Out!!!" Instead they did a rollicking version of "Get Well Cards" that sounded surprisingly good for a live network broadcast. Overall, a very straight-forward performance. Now when is The Faint going to get on Letterman?

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I just counted and there is something like, what, 1,000 reviews of the new Conor Oberst solo CD, which hit the store shelves today (sort through them all here). Taken as a whole, the average rating has been 3.5 stars or B+. The critics like it, and they like Oberst, who's also done a shit-ton of press in support of this release. My take after listening to it for the past few weeks: It's not dramatically different than what you've heard from Bright Eyes in the past, except for the much-needed stripped down production (and I think Oberst could take it down even further). While there's nothing as striking as, say, "Lua" or "Waste of Paint" or "I Must Belong Somewhere," the record still has its moments, including opener "Cape Canaveral," country stomper "I Don't Want to Die (in the Hospital)" and funky-hooked "Souled Out!!!" As a whole, it holds together as well as Wide Awake, and on a certain level, even better. It's gonna be huge... for Merge.

Conversely, using Google News search, I've found considerably fewer (actually almost no) reviews of the new Faint CD, which also dropped today. I'm not sure why all the crickets, though I speculate on one possible reason in tomorrow's column...

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Looks like all the press paid off. There were more than 100 people at last Friday night's Fromanhole CD release show at Slowdown Jr., enough that every table and booth was filled, with a sizable crowd standing in front of the stage. Fromanhole picked the right time to bring it -- they never sounded better, despite the fact that bassist/vocalist Doug Kiser sliced off a good chuck of his pointer finger on his left hand earlier in the day. This is the second time I've seen Doug play injured (the other was an O'Leaver's show where he again had injured one of his fingers). Maybe he should mutilate himself more often if it's going to result in this kind of bad-ass performance.

The evening's pleasant surprise (for me, anyway) was The Life and Times, a KC band fronted by Shiner's Allen Epley. Prior to the show I had heard nary a note of the LNT's music, though right before they went on one of the local music scholars said, "You're gonna love 'em. They're heavily influenced by Swervedriver." Did they sound like Swervedriver? I don't know since I've never really followed Swervedriver. What we got was a gnashing set of trippy, melodic noise-core that reminded me of My Bloody Valentine -- just grinding, heavy rock that had moments of soaring beauty. Epley's voice is unique in a Cobain sort of way (though he sounds nothing like Cobain), one of those voices that makes you nod your head and think, "This guy is good." For a trio, LNT had an enormous, dense sound. With some luck, they could be the next big thing. They should be.

Little Brazil unveiled a bunch of new material during their headlining set. I initially thought, "These guys really sound poppy these days," but then I listened to Tighten the Noose again over the weekend and rethought it. Drummer Oliver Morgan said after the set, "More poppy? We though we sounded more punky." I don’t think I'd use the term "punk" to describe their sound, however. To me, the new stuff is more melody-focused, with fewer tangents getting in the way. Landon Hedges' voice is amazing, just an amazing range. He's the Freddy Mercury of indie rock. I don't know how he's going to pull off those high notes after a few days on the road. Lots of warming up? Hot toddies? I thought Tighten the Noose was going to be the one to push them to that next level of national indie exposure. But it wasn't to be. If their next album captures the sound I heard Friday night -- and they tour as hard as they have in the past -- there's no reason for them not to emerge at the top of the CMJ charts.

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Well, in last Saturday's edition, the Omaha World-Herald replied to my column from a couple weeks ago where I took them to task for taking The Good Life to task for voicing their support for the Democratic party (read my column here). My point was that the OWH should be encouraging freedom of speech and the First Amendment, not dreaming up ways (including financial penalties) to keep people from voicing a viewpoint that differs from theirs. In their 87-word response that appeared under the "Furthermore…" section of the Editorials page, the OWH said it "understood and contemplated the band's right to say what it wanted. That is free speech." It then went on to say that "critics" misunderstood the difference between free speech and speech free of consequences. "…The city and this newspaper have a right to criticize crudeness and contemplate incentives for better behavior." Incentives? I always thought incentives were benefits beyond basic compensation (a bonus, for example). In the OWH's eyes, compensation for work performed isn't part of an agreement or contract, it's an incentive. Odd way of doing business. Ah well, I have no interest in getting in a pissing war with the OWH. It's surprising that they even read the column in the first place. As is their policy, they didn't reference the source of the criticism (The Reader) or name the band involved. At least they didn't refer to me as a "local blogger " this time.

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New Jersey punkers The Ergs play at O'Leaver's tonight with Hunchback and No Action. $5, 9:30 p.m. Over at The Waiting Room it's The A.K.A.'s with The Frantic. $8, 9 p.m. While over at Slowdown Jr. it's Wild Sweet Orchard with Skypiper and It's True. $8, 9 p.m.

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The boys from Fromanhole scored the triple crown of publicity for their CD release show tonight at Slowdown Jr.: They got a Niz feature in the OWH's Go! section (here), a "meet-the-band" interview conducted by former intern Brendan Walsh in the Omaha City Weekly (here) and, of course, a profile by yours truly in The Reader and Lazy-i.com (here). What more could they do to get people to come to this show? And then, in the end, Fromanhole isn't headlining -- in fact, they're not even playing third. Doug, Daryl and Roach will be playing second, which means they'll be on stage at around 10 p.m. So get down to Slowdown early and see the results of this media frenzy. Also on the bill are Nueva Vulcano (playing first), The Life and Times (Allen Epley of Shiner) and headliner Little Brazil. $7, 9 p.m.

What else is going on this weekend? You tell me on the webboard…

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Now online, a massive feature/interview with Tilly and the Wall. The Tilly crew talks about where they've been and where they're going, as well as their new album and their new musical direction (though they say there's nothing really different about O; I say otherwise). Read it here, or pick up a copy of this week's Reader, where it's the cover story. The piece was written in support of Tilly's official CD release show, which is happening at Sokol Auditorium Thursday Aug. 7. Tix are $13, get them now. Opening are New Zealand Sub Pop band The Ruby Suns and our very own Go Motion.

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Tonight at The Waiting Room, legendary Omaha hardcore band Hercules is playing with Alphabet and Capgun Coup. I have heard from, well, a ton of people how amazing Hercules is. I'm told they prefer playing all-ages shows, which is why they haven't played a lot of gigs at the usual places around town. Here's a chance to check them out. $6, 9 p.m.

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Just placed online, a feature/interview with the guys from Fromanhole (read it here). Daryl, Doug and Roach tell us who they are and what they're trying to accomplish playing in one of the most intense bands in the Midwest. The story is a lead-up to Friday night's Fromanhole CD release show at Slowdown Jr. that also features Little Brazil, The Life and Times and Nueva Vulcano. Go read the story, then buy a ticket to the show (it's only $7).

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There's a few interesting things going on tonight. Down at Slowdown Jr. it's cutesy indie rock four-piece Harry and the Potters, renowned for such hits as "Wrath of Hermoine" and "Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock." They fancy themselves practitioners of "Wizard Rock," or WRock, a musical movement (according to their Wiki entry) that consists of at least 450 bands that play songs about Harry Potter. Right. Laugh all you want, but the joke's been going on since 2002 when the band first formed. Musically, it's run-of-the-mill slacker indie rock with whiney vocals about giant spiders and Malfoy. Opening are Math The Band and Uncle Monsterface. $12, 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at The Waiting Room, singer-songwriter Kevin Devine opens for a couple fellow singer-songwriters I've never heard of: Jesse Lacey and Brian Bonz. Devine is a first-class Brooklyn-area musician and singer who's come through Omaha a number of times, supporting his last album, Put Your Ghost to Rest, which was originally released on Capitol in '06 before being re-released on indie label Procrastinate! Music Traitors. $15 (SOLD OUT), 9 p.m.

Down the road at The Barley Street, Tomato a Day is playing with Reagan Roeder and Ben Sieff. It's a free show that starts at 9. Word got around yesterday that Barley St. got busted by an ASCAP representative for playing records in the bar -- a no-no for any commercial, public establishment that hasn't paid the licensing fee to the ASCAP organization/mafia. As a result, Brad Hoshaw's Tuesday night Viva La Vinyl showcase -- where anyone could in and play their albums -- is no more. Here's hoping Brad finds a new home for the vinyl showcase.

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