Yes, you read that headline correctly. I'm one of those idiots who will be trying to purchase an iPhone today. Actually, my girlfriend will be buying it for me as a belated birthday present (I'm still waiting for my presents from all of you to arrive). I highly doubt I'll be able to snag one this evening, but we're going to give it a try. The effort is newsworthy in the fact that I'm the last person in America who doesn't own a cell phone.

Our failed effort will hopefully be concluded by 7 or 8, in plenty of time to weave through the angry traffic that will be clogging my neighborhood -- van-loads of people making a pilgrimage to Memorial Park for the free KC and the Sunshine Band concert. I love KC. Always have. I can't say the same for The Little River Band, though, who will be opening the show.

Once all that nonsense is over, I'll likely be heading to PS Collective for Coyote Bones, Baby Walrus and NYC's Chairlift. You already know about CB. Baby Walrus is another up-and-comer that's on the top of my list of new local bands. The show starts at 9, which means I'll probably miss them as I'll still be stuck in Dundee traffic hell. That shouldn't stop you, however.

Elsewhere this evening:

-- The Nadas, Matt Whipkey and Anonymous American and The Only Children are playing a marquee show at The Waiting Room. The Nadas have a huge following (though I admit to never having heard them before). Should be crowded. $12, 9 p.m.

-- Hot local underground MC Articulate will do everything he can to burn down O'Leaver's tonight. Holding the matches and gasoline will be Bobby Dangerfield, Carnage, Capaciti, & Concentrate. $5, 9:30 p.m.

-- Finally, the patron saint of Omaha hip-hop, Surreal, will be hanging up the mic for the last time tonight at Shea Riley's as part of his CD release show. $6, 9 p.m. Brett Wertz writes about Surreal's last show in this week's issue of The Reader (story here).

Saturday night it's The Stay Awake (Steve Micek's band) at The Saddle Creek Bar with This Alibi and veteran Omaha noise-rock band Fromanhole. $5, 9 p.m. Baltimore electronic music artist Dan Deacon takes the stage at TWR with Video Hippos. Weird fun for only $8.

If I don't see you at one of the shows, I'll give you call...

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Here are some news blips for ya:

-- Aversion is reporting (here) that The Faint are making a remix of a track off Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero album. No idea what Trent will do with it. The story concludes with news that The Faint will be heading into the studio to record the follow-up to Wet from Birth. No word on who will be releasing it, however. Speaking of The Faint, I discovered this dance interpretation of "Posed to Death" on YouTube yesterday, featuring UNO professor Dr. David Corbin. It concludes with a serious message about plastic shopping bags that will make you think the next time the cashier asks that timeless question: "Paper or plastic?"

-- Remember that column about my night spent at Crossroads Mall with Dev Hynes of Lightspeed Champion (read it here)? Well, according to DiS (here), Domino is about to release his new record. Lightspeed also will open for Bright Eyes at a couple London dates early next month, and then Tilly and the Wall in early September.

-- Eagle*Seagull's Eli Murdock e-mailed to let me know his band just finished recording their next record in Seattle with producer Ryan Hadlock (The Gossip, Blonde Redhead). Don't look for it until early 2008, though. "We're right in the middle of negotiations with a number of labels and after that's finalized it'll be at least another four to five months until release," he said. Anyone who's been to an Eagle*Seagull show in the past year probably has heard a few of the new songs, and is as eager as I am to have it in their hands.

Tonight, Justin Lamoureux of Midwest Dilemma celebrates his birthday at The Waiting Room with Jake Bellows (of Neva Dinova), Salt Lake City's Drew Danburry, It's True and Chandler Arizona's Iji. $5, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow morning, your letters in column form.

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Friday night, for the first time in years, I did some actual bar-hopping. That's right, I went to two different bars to see two different shows. It was like being in college again (except back then, we bar-hopped for reasons that had nothing to do with the bands…). I popped into The Waiting Room to see how well Sarah Benck's show was drawing, knowing that it would probably "sell out" -- that is, if they had actually sold tickets. Who knows why they decided to do the show for free when they could have pulled in the same crowd charging $5 to $8. Maybe because Benck and her band do so many free outdoor festivals and "events" that she wanted to keep with the theme. Or maybe she just wanted to pack people in to get them to buy the new CD. So -- no surprise -- the place was "at capacity." To give you some perspective, it looked like more people were there than at TWR's Cursive and Faint shows.

The size of the crowd brings up a point I've been trying to make about TWR -- even when they're at capacity, you can still freely move around that club -- I've never felt uncomfortable at a TWR show. Prior to the club's opening, I thought parking could be a problem -- it is Benson, after all, and TWR doesn't have a designated parking lot. But I've never had a problem finding a spot for my Mini within a few blocks of the place. Jim and Marc have something special with this club -- good capacity, great sound, great booking, plenty of parking and good service. What more do you want?

Anyway… so I slipped in around 10 just as Benck and her band began to tear into their set. Benck was wearing the same get-up she wore in The Reader photo -- leather skirt, high-heel boots, etc. You notice in a live setting just how talented her band is -- all of them are poised, seasoned musicians with the confidence to lean into a solo whenever they want, just like any good road-hardened touring band. The crowd whooped it up between songs, and I gotta believe Benck sold plenty of merch that evening.

I listened to three or four songs, then high-tailed it to O'Leaver's for Life After Laserdisque's CD release show. Landing on the Moon had just began their set, where they revealed a handful of new songs that are dramatically different than their old material. It's not a completely different sound, but rather a better one, thanks to arrangements that take advantage of their melodies and guitars. A few of the new ones ended with lengthy repeated (heavy) grooves that never went too long or became boring. The band says they're getting ready to enter the studio to lay down the new stuff.

Next up was Life After Laserdisque. It's been about a year since I've seen these guys, before Shawn Cox took over the vocals. Since then, LAL has evolved into some sort of super-pop-rock band, complete with call-and-response choruses (Where did she go? I don't know…) and tight guitar solos. Cox may be one of the most underappreciated guitarists in the scene (though he seems to play in everyone else's band). Before the set, he told the sound guy (Little Brazil guitarist Greg Epps) to put plenty of delay in the vocals. The effect transformed Cox into an indie Elvis, minus the swagger. It was a hot set, played to a happy, drunken crowd. No matter how nice all these new venues are -- TWR, Slowdown -- they can't beat the old-home, where-everybody-knows-your-name reality that is O'Leaver's. It's like drinking at a private club where everyone becomes a member (or a regular) by merely walking through the door.

I don't know what was in the air Saturday, but something definitely was, and I spent a good part of the afternoon convulsed in rapid-fire sneezing. By the time the evening rolled around, my head had closed shut, except for my nose, which drip-drip-dripped all night long. Luckily, TWR has plenty of dark spots where no one could see me wiping snot from my upper lip with the back of my hand (In fact, I probably could have done the ol' stick-a-Kleenix-up-the-nose trick, but that would have been too unsettling for passersby). I got to the club just in time to see the last half of All Smiles, a rootsy indie band with a frontman whose voice resembled Neil Young's (but without the twang). That said, there was a rural feel to their guitar-powered rock and I wish I had seen more.

Though not nearly as crowded as the prior evening, there was a large draw to see Menomena (pronounced Men-Naw-Men-Naw -- like phenomena -- not as I stupidly pronounced it, Men-Oh-Meen-uh). The trio featured a drummer/vocalist, keyboard/guitarist/vocalist, and frontman/vocalist/guitarist/saxophone player. Huge sound for a trio. Everything seemed keyed off the drums, which were big and brawny, the kit set up at the front of the stage so all three members could watch each other throughout the set. Trying to think of what they sounded like, the guy next to me said, "Man, it's like early Peter Gabriel." Bingo. Especially when the drummer sang the leads, the keyboards were in loop and the frontman added harmonies or played an odd line on baritone sax, it was 1980 Melt-era Gabriel all the way. Other times, when the keyboardist held the vocal spot, Menomena resembled early Death Cab or a more conventional indie band. They were at their best when being unconventional, however, which was most of the evening

Tonight at O'Leaver's it's Fromanhole with Knoxville, Tennessee bands Mouth Movements and Gamenight. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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Tomorrow night, Western Electric featuring Scott Roth of Such Sweet Thunder celebrates the release of their new CD, State Line, at The Saddle Creek Bar with Pendergast and Brother Trucker. $5, 9 p.m. Also Saturday night, Cloven Path plays with Lincolnites Ideal Cleaners and Strawberry Burns at O'Leaver's, $5, 9:30 p.m.; while Barsuk Records band Menomena plays The Waiting Room with All Smiles and Stephanie Drootin (The Good Life). $10, 9 p.m.

Sunday, Reagan and the Rayguns (featuring Reagan Roeder and Kyle Harvey) burn up The Waiting Room stage with Lindsay Donovan, Amy Cooper and Ether Bunny. $8, 9 p.m.

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Just posted, a profile/interview with Sarah Benck and The Robbers (read it here). The story covers the band's new album (Neighbor's Garden), their business model (or lack of one), why American Idol sucks and where they're headed in the future. The mantra surrounding Benck for the past few years has been, "She's gonna be huge, just you watch." Yet, here we are in 2007 and Benck and her band continue to play the local bar circuit, rarely leaving the city limits. We spent a lot of time talking about that during the interview, and I never got a sense that the band is pulling at the reigns to get out on the road, content to be a big fish in this small pond. Same goes for getting signed -- while they'd like to be on a label, there's either a reticence to do what it would take to make that step or a self-defeating sense that it'll never happen. That's somewhat unique among the bands I've interviewed over the years. Give them credit for being honest and knowing what they want.

About a half-dozen people read this story before it went to press. One was taken aback by the American Idol discussion -- "I don't imagine you'd ask any of the Saddle Creekers that kind of question. Did you ask her that because she's a sweet, unassuming powerful but humble woman?" I asked her because she has what it takes to be a finalist on American Idol -- the vocal chops, the looks, the personality, she's the right age. Fact is, she almost auditioned for that INXS talent search a couple years ago, and then decided not to after reading the contract, so she's not above doing that sort of thing. By the way, there are about four past American Idol participants currently in the Billboard top-100. She's a pop artist playing pop music. Indie artists wouldn't stand a chance on American Idol. Imagine Conor Oberst trying out for the show. He wouldn't make it past the city auditions. Even the more talented Creek singers, like Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor, would never make it to Los Angeles -- vocally too frail, not glamorous enough, and too old (sorry ladies). Decide for yourself if Benck and Co. have the chops to make a big splash nationally by watching them perform at their CD release show this Friday night at The Waiting Room, with opener Scott Severin and his band. You can't beat the price -- it's free.

* * *

Funny thing about last night's NOMO show at The Waiting Room… Don't get me wrong, it was a great show, an inspiring show -- eight people on stage tearing through a set of Americanized Afrobeat that insisted -- insisted! -- that you move your feet. It even got me to shrug my shoulders to the beat -- a miracle. The set-up was two trumpets, a baritone sax, a tenor sax/keyboardist, bass, guitar, drums and congas. The style was big-beat African riddums, tribal drums, highlife brass/woodwind chords, funk and jazz, with plenty of improvised solos strung together by enormous, rootsy, big-sky choruses, that faded and returned like ocean waves crashing against your back, covering your head, swallowing you up, eating you whole.

The band sounded great, almost too great, almost like a Soundstage session. Every instrument was mic'd and the mix was full and balanced -- a huge departure from O'Leaver's NOMO show last year, where the band could barely fit onto the "stage," where the audience was practically on top of them, where only two or three mic's were available. The O'Leaver's show was like a seedy white-trash backyard party, hot and drunk, with the best band in the world playing right in front of you. It was dirty and raw and completely unexpected, and as a result, utterly remarkable.

Last night's show, while just as musically thrilling, was, well, cleaner, nicer, more professional, more rehearsed. The mob of dirty freeway gypsies that performed at O'Leaver's a year ago had been transformed into a first-rate stage ensemble fit for the Holland Center. All night I anticipated a repeat of how they closed their set at O'Leavers -- when the band paraded into the crowd (What the hell are they doing?!) for a final cathartic moment, coaxing every drunk to sing a wordless call-and-response chorus. It happened again last night, too, but when the time came, the band announced its intentions, then strolled (not marched) to the floor. It was still the evening's emotional high-water mark -- NOMO, surrounded by an audience of drunken, suburban dancers in the dark, desperately trying to find their roots, whether it was their roots or not.

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Only around 200 people paid to see Tortoise last night, a band that sells out shows just about anywhere else. But this is, after all, Omaha. And yet, the band couldn't have been too dissatisfied eyeballing the crowd from stage. The main room was packed to the gills with star-struck gawkers who never thought they'd ever see the band in Omaha, let alone in the intimate confines of The Waiting Room.

I freely admit to not being a follower of Tortoise, having only heard a few of their tracks online. I can't say I'm a complete convert after last night, either, though I dug what I heard and saw. Unlike other instrumental bands (Tristeza, The Album Leaf, etc.) the Tortoise guys were actually having a good time, judging by the grins on their faces. They were five dudes in constant motion, circling the stage, trading instruments from song to song. The guy handling guitar on one song would be behind a drum kit on the next before moving to a vibraphone and then to guitar. Constant shifts without a drop in quality, like a team of astronauts able to flawlessly perform each other's maneuvers just in case one of them accidentally gets jettisoned.

For the uninitiated, Tortoise's music is like listening to the real cool parts of the Risky Business soundtrack -- you know, the scene where Joel and Lana make it on the train? Like that, but with the added cacophony of multiple percussion and the occasional roaring guitar. There's a clean precision to their angular, jazzy compositions that seemed almost mathematical, though they left plenty of room to stretch beyond the sonic circuitry. The set-up involved two drummers (sometimes), a bass (sometimes two), guitarist (sometimes two) a keyboard/synthmaster, and two vibraphones (one acoustic, one digital) on either side of the stage. Video images were projected on the screen behind them -- subtle digital graphics that bordered on screensavers. The hottest moments were when two drummers stared each other down from opposing drum kits set up at the front of the stage. Nice.

Only one flaw stood out amidst all that precision: About three songs into the set the drummer stopped and said, laughing, "I can't play this." He couldn't hear the bass in his headphones. "We'll try it again." But they never could get it worked out. "OK, moving on." It was more amusing than annoying. The only other criticism is in the "sameness" of their music, which rarely shifted tempo or dynamics -- songs bled into each other -- it was more of an experience than a series of musical moments. You left with a sense of what Tortoise sounds like, not with the memory of an individual song.

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The Faint are a phenomenon. I mean that with all sincerity, and without even seeing them perform last night. I got to Sokol just after 8 to catch The Berg Sans Nipple. I guess you'd call them a percussion duo -- both guys played drums and other percussion instruments while also playing a variety of noise makers, synths, loops, a melodica. Each song (if you can call them that) is built upon a repeated rhythm, usually something throaty and tribal, dense and meaty. I only noticed one of the guys actually singing once during the set - the rest of the time the vocals were sampled or prerecorded, allowing them to concentrate on whatever they were pounding on at the moment. At times, there was a sort of Blue Man Group vibe going on, other times, Eno. I've heard them compared to Air, probably because one of the guys is French, but I didn't notice a resemblance. By the time their set ended, the floor already was 3/4 filled and the heat was just beginning to rise.

It's been a long time since I've been to a show upstairs at Sokol. After going to The Waiting Room and Slowdown the last few weeks, Sokol seems a bit war-torn, but it's still one of the biggest rooms in town and a perfect setting for shows like this, with its huge sound system made even huger last night thanks to the enormous wall of subwoofers stuffed under the stage. For the first time in memory, a large steel barrier was set up in front of the stage, with a small army of blue t-shirt-clad security guys patrolling the alley like pitbulls (standard issue at sold-out Sokol shows, I'm told). In fact, I've never seen that many security guys at a Sokol show before (or maybe I never noticed them). The usual security precautions were in effect outside the venue, with more blue shirts frisking people on the way in -- this time confiscating cigarette lighters, it was kind of like going through security at the airport. And with the recent advent of bottle-throwing incidents, every beer was poured into a plastic cup, taking away opportunities for rowdies to wing empties at the band. Who needs chickenwire fencing?

After BSN finished I decided to take off, and was told twice - once by a security guy, once by a cop - that if I stepped through that turnstile I wasn't coming back "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Yeah, yeah, I get it. Instead, I stood in the entryway and chatted with a couple people while a small army of ticketgoers got scanned in - most of whom were 7 or 8 years old when Media came out in '98. The Faint's crowd is a young crowd, and seems to get younger every year.

Before I left I got a taste of those subs when Services - a synth duo whose keyboard racks were donned with florescent shop lights - kicked into their set. The bass was bone-rattling, startling. I could only imagine how loud it was going to be for The Faint. Or how hot it would be inside Sokol. It was a sweatbox standing in the doorway, and their set wasn't going to start for another hour and a half.

The Faint are an enigma. They haven't released a record since 2004 and their crowds just seem to grow larger. I've heard a few of their new songs at The Waiting Room in March. Some critics have pointed out that they seem less keyboard-driven and more straight-up rock. To me, the new stuff doesn't stray much from Wet at Birth (which, by the way, was a pretty good album no matter what anyone says. Not as good as Danse Macabre, but that record ultimately will define their career). Imagine how huge they could be if they released a record that stretched their sound even further, instead of merely repeating themselves.

Well, if you missed it, you'll get another chance tonight at Sokol Aud, where The Faint plays with Eagle*Seagull and Flowers Forever. As of this writing, it's not sold out. Tickets are $15, show starts at 8 sharp. It's a quiet weekend for shows thus far. Saturday at 8 p.m. Ted Stevens, Dan McCarthy and the ANALOG arts ensemble will present music from James Joyce’s Ulysses at the First Central Congregational United Church of Christ, 421 S. 36th Street (just south of Harney Street, just south of Kiewit Plaza and the Blackstone Hotel, just southwest of Mutual of Omaha, just southeast of McFoster's). It's free, in celebration of Bloomsday.

Speaking of free, Little Brazil and Drakes Hotel are doing an in-store at Homer's downtown Saturday at 1 p.m.

Sunday's a big night for shows. Tortoise plays at The Waiting Room Sunday night with Lichens. $15, 9 p.m. Brimstone Howl plays down at Sokol Underground with Barter the Trigger, Keep and Confess, & Eustace. $7, 9 p.m. And Bloodcow tears up O'Leaver's with Filthy Few and Lotto Ball Show, 9:30 p.m., $5.

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The Faint start a two-night residency at Sokol Auditorium tonight with a sold-out show that features Team Love recording artist The Berg Sans Nipple. I'm listening to Along the Quai as I type this (you can too, here). I'm actually looking more forward to seeing them than The Faint, who I just saw at The Waiting Room a few months ago. Other than maybe 311, no other band with Omaha origins puts on a funner show, especially if you're 16 and uninhibited. Yeah, I know, 311 blows musically blah-blah-blah, but there's no denying that they get a crowd into it. I know from personal experience, having been caught up in one of their pseudo jump/moshpits at a Ranch Bowl show 100 years ago, a scene that I've seen repeated at every one of their shows since (from a distance, that is). The Faint also get the crowd jumping, from the stage back to the soundboard, a hot, sweaty dance ritual served up at ear-splitting decibels (bring your earplugs, you'll need them). The Berg Sans Nipple doesn't play dance music, or at least this album doesn't sound like something that would get teens doing a sloppy Midwestern version of The Pogo. The duo plays spacey, ambient rock that borders on trip-hop, with some nice rhythms and pretty bell-keyboards, synth noises and loops. I like it. I'm not sure the kids will get it, though. Also on the sold-out bill tonight is Brooklyn synthmasters Services, who probably will get the crowd moving. If you don't have tickets tonight, a second Faint show has been added tomorrow night with Eagle*Seagull and Flowers Forever ($15).

Directly following The Faint is the "soft opening" of GOO at Slowdown. Val Nelson says GOO is a "party for dancing" hosted by Jacob Thiele and Todd Fink of The Faint, as well as Derek Presnall from Tilly and the Wall/Flowers Forever. "The basic concept is a dance party. All night the previously mentioned gentlemen will be spinning records," Val said. Maybe as much as a concert space, Slowdown is well-designed to host this sort of rave-up dance party (though I'm not sure the room is properly equipped with the necessary strobes). Admission is free, and this is an 18+ event (according to Val), which would seem to fly in the face of the all-ages policy at Slowdown. Sorry kids.

Also tonight, The Filter Kings open for Wayne Hancock at The Waiting Room. $12, 9 p.m.

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

A few final observations on Slowdown before we move on to other things. The spotlight has been on the club for a couple weeks now. The hype machine is beginning to wind down, as it does with every shiny new toy (even though we haven't really had a chance to play with it very much). I went there last night, just to catch the ambiance on an off night, a night without live music, without crowds. There was only a handful of people there -- maybe 10? -- at 8 o'clock. A young couple played Chinese checkers in the booth next to ours, while on the other side, the owners and bookers talked shop out of earshot (I got my drink instantly, btw, though it wasn't a Rolling Rock).

In the light of early evening, with its divider wall secured, blocking off the stage, Slowdown isn't that much different than any other classy West Omaha lounge but with better furniture and a sense of openness provided by those glass garage doors and floor-to-ceiling windows that look out to an empty field to the West, a field that one day may hold a baseball stadium. The music was low-key indie rock piped over the house sound system at levels that allowed conversation but not whispering. I assume it got rowdier after 10. It was, after all, a Monday night, and who parties on Mondays? A nice, comfortable place to grab a drink.

* * *

It dawned on me that I forgot to mention that Lazy-i was honored with the 2007 Excellence in Journalism Award from the Omaha Press Club. The category was "Best Column-Print," and the entry was the Fun City column that ran last June. Judges consisted of editors from the East Bay Press Club, San Diego Press Club, and the LA Press Club. Among those presiding over the awards banquet June 2 was Omaha World-Herald columnist Robert Nelson, or so I'm told. I wasn't there to accept the award, having found out last-minute about the competition (I didn't even know I was entered). Anyway, it's an honor, and I look forward to seeing the award plaque if I ever get out to The Reader's new offices on 24th and M.

* * *

When was the last time you were at Sokol Underground? It's been months for me. Well, there's a good reason to venture down tonight: Ladyfinger and Fathr^ are opening for Hydrahead artist Big Business (ex-Murder City Devils, Melvins, Karp, The Whip) and Relapse artist Minsk (ex-Buried at Sea). Collaborating for this Fathr^ performance will be James Cuato (ex-Jazzwholes) on saxophone. Tickets are $10 via Ticketmaster (that's right, this isn't a One Percent show). 8 p.m.

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When I interviewed Robb Nansel and Jason Kulbel last Friday for this story about Slowdown, they mentioned that while their countdown clock on their website shows the opening day to be June 8, that they were planning a "quiet opening" on Thursday (last night) "but that's not for publication." The idea was to get the bar rolling before "getting hit by a train" of business the following day. Then yesterday word leaked out that Bright Eyes might play for the "quiet opening." Well, so much for the silence. Rumors spread quickly on the Internet. I swung down to Slowdown last night at around 10, figuring I'd stop in for a quick Rolling Rock before I head out to The Waiting Room for the No Blood Orphan show. I drove by the building along 14th street, saw the line to get in and the crowds of people standing around inside and kept right on driving, not in the mood for a mob scene which I figured I'd be experiencing Friday and Saturday night down there anyway. Omahype.com has brief a write-up about last night's BE show, with pictures (here).

I got to The Waiting Room just in time to catch the last song of Landing on the Moon's set (which sounded great, btw). There were maybe 60 people there; some thought the attendance was hurt by the Slowdown show. In fact, Artsy Golfer didn't play as scheduled. Instead, Jake Bellows and Ryan Fox performed a duo-guitar soundscape standing on the floor in front of the stage. Then came No Blood Orphan performing songs off their new CD, Robertson Park (see yesterday's review). Pretty awesome. So you have a great CD, a great live band, why not hit the road, guys? When I talked to the band last year, serious touring wasn't in the cards, and it doesn't sound like it's going to be for this CD, either, but you never know.

So tonight is the "real" grand opening of The Slowdown, and I have a friendly wager with one of the musicians performing tonight that the show will sell out (I think it will; he doesn't). If they can cram the place for a "quiet opening," I have to believe the official ribbon-cutting will be just as crazy, especially with a six-band line-up that includes Capgun Coup, Flowers Forever, Now Archimedes!, Art in Manila, Domestica and Little Brazil, all for just $2. Performances begin at 7, according to The Slowdown site. Parking could be a question mark, as the lot was filled last night.

Tomorrow night's Slowdown schedule looks just as robust, with Mal Madrigal, The Terminals, Ladyfinger, Bear Country and Neva Dinova. Show starts at 8 and again costs only $2.

Don't feel like a mob scene? Slowdown isn't the only game in town this weekend. The Waiting Room is hosting BrakeBrakesBrakes tonight with Pela & Electric Soft Parade. 9 p.m., $10. Tomorrow night you have Scott Severin and his band at The Saddle Creek Bar with Matt Whipkey, Sarah Benck and Thousand Houses, $5, 9 p.m., while TWR has The Mercurys with John Henry Band, 9 p.m., $7; and Local H is playing at Sokol Underground with The Goddamn Rights; $10/$12, 9 p.m. Sunday at TWR is The High Strung with Kyle Harvey, $8, 9 p.m.

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

Just posted, a massively long feature story about Slowdown, the new bar/music venue built by Saddle Creek Records' Robb Nansel and Jason Kulbel, which opens this weekend (read it here). The story includes a brief history of the project, a walk-through description, and discussion of the club's booking philosophy (Val Nelson and One Percent Productions), its all-age policy, smoking policy, and how the label fits into the equation, plus some nice photos from the fine folks at Paparazzi by Appointment.

There was a ton of information that didn't fit into the story, including why they went after Urban Outfitters ("We thought it was a good fit. It made sense."), why Yia Yia's Pizza is out and their search for a restaurant to take its place ("I don't think we'd want to put a sushi place next door. No knock on sushi."), and their thoughts about baseball stadiums ("We'd rather have that than an empty field."). I might weave that information into the initial reviews of the opening weekend. We also talked about the future of the music industry and Saddle Creek Records. Those comments will appear here in tomorrow's column.

Tonight at The Waiting Room it's San Diego singer/songwriter Steve Poltz with Omaha legend Kyle Harvey and alt rockers Western Electric (which includes members of Such Sweet Thunder). $8, 9 p.m.

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

An all-local line-up is slated for the opening weekend of Slowdown. Here's the schedule of performers and set times. This provides a good indication of the kind of bands that will be booked at the club in the future. Doors open at 5 p.m.

Friday set times

7:00-7:30 Cap Gun Coup
8:00-8:30 Flowers Forever
9:00-9:30 Now, Archimedes!
10:00-10:30 Art in Manila
11:00-11:30 Domestica
12:00-12:30 Little Brazil

Saturday Set Times

8:00 Mal Madrigal
9:00 The Terminals
10:00 Ladyfinger
11:00 Bear Country
12:00 Neva Dinova

Bright Eyes on Letterman has become a non-event. I remember when any Omaha band on national television seemed like a miracle. Now it's just another reason to set your TiVo. Letterman introduced the band saying, "Get out your spectral decoders," while holding up a copy of the CD Cassadaga. The band was decked out in the same all-white ensemble that they've been wearing on tour. This was the first time that I noticed that Oberst is wearing white nail polish. I assume there was an Ed Sullivan moment backstage before the performance, where the producer looked over the lyrics to "Hot Knives" and said, "You're not singing this line, this 'Yeah, I've been fucked' line. Come up with something else." Instead, Oberst sang, "Yeah I've made love / In hand-cuffs / So what." I almost like the new line better. The rest of the performance was by-the-book Bright Eyes. It's always fun to see Mike Mogis on TV, though the mini orchestra looked a bit stage shocked, like a row of fish in a market, their eyes staring wide into the camera. Afterward, Letterman asked, "So who's from Nebraska." Conor half-raised his hand, then earnestly shook Letterman's hand with a smile and said off-mic "Thanks a lot." If you missed it, Bright Eyes is performing "Classic Cars" on the miserable Craig Ferguson show tomorrow night. These dates must have been scheduled in the wake of the Bright Eyes's seven-night sold-out stint at NYC's Town Hall, where he drug a plethora of special guests on stage to perform with him each night, including Lou Reed, Ben Kweller, Jenny Lewis, Jonathan Rice, Norah Jones and The Little Willies, Nick Zinner, Ben Gibbard, Ron Sexsmith and Britt Daniel. Rolling Stone online has a recap of the week here.

Tomorrow at Lazy-i, a long, detailed interview with Nansel and Kulbel on Slowdown.

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I think last night was the first time I've had trouble finding parking in Benson, which makes sense since there were three shows including the sold-out Cursive show going on. I found one, though, and was pleasantly surprised to see my name on two separate guest lists. It was the most packed I've ever seen The Waiting Room, more packed than the Faint show even.

Malpais was up first featuring guitarist/vocalist Greg Loftis. Denver Dalley was not in the house, he was in LA I guess. Loftis says he's still writing songs with Denver, but that he's a tough one to pin down. So's Loftis for that matter. Backing him were four local musicians. So including Loftis, there were three guitars, a bass and drums. I'm told that the supporting cast was a supergroup of musicians who have been surviving just under the indie/Creek radar for almost a decade and included former members of Mandown and Split Second. Talented chaps, all, especially the bass player. Of course, none of the music that they played even remotely resembled the tracks that Loftis had e-mailed me. There was no cooing Simon and Garfunkel vocals -- apologies to anyone who read my write-up yesterday. Loftis said since he was opening for Cursive, he had to bring the rock, which he did -- a straight-up back-beat brand of rock influenced more by '70s FM than current-day indie, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The style was slightly all over the place -- probably because it was the band's first gig ever. Also for the first time, sound mix at TWR was muddy and unbalanced. Still, not bad for a first show, which just happened to be a sold-out gig for Cursive. The band closed with a song from Loftis's other band, An Iris Pattern. He told me afterward that An Iris Pattern has essentially morphed into Malpais (which I guess means An Iris Pattern no longer exists). Loftis said the band is headed into ARC Studios later this month to record, and also will lay down some tracks at Bassline.

The Narrator was next -- a four-piece indie rock band from Chicago that sports two vocalists who share frontman duties. Their style is indie slacker-chic both in sound and appearance. I heard echoes of early Pavement, Superchunk and late-'90s Lawrence punk bands (one song sounded like an old Vitreous Humor track -- an act I'm sure they've never heard of). These guys have played Omaha and Lincoln a few times, and even took a moment to thank all those who had caught them playing with Gnome Slaughterhouse down at Sokol. The crowd seemed to get into it, and the band knew that Cursive was the main event. And as it happened, last night was The Narrator's first show on their tour, while it was Cursive's last.

(Colorful aside: Throughout the evening I leaned against the wall over by the "employees only" door, which swung open all night as various band members entered and exited the backstage green room. During The Narrator set, a shortish, big-necked guy asked me if I was security. When I told him I wasn't, he said "Go back there, man, there's a room full of beer. Just go back there and take some." Then he handed me a Miller Lite. "Here, take one." I grabbed the beer and set it on the shelf I was leaning on, showed him my Rolling Rock and told him I'd have it later. "Dude, what kind of music does Cursive play? Is it louder than this?" I told him it was super loud. "Because maybe you can help me get a moshpit going in front of the stage. All's anyone seems to be doing here is standing around." I explained that while Cursive plays an abrasive punk-influenced rock, it's not really designed for moshing. There is no driving straight-four hard-core rhythms. He looked a bit disappointed. "Well, I'm going up front to push people around anyway. I hope they don't mind." He came back about five minutes later and asked for the Miller Lite back. Needless to say, there was no moshing.)

Cursive came on stage dressed for the occasions -- in tuxedoes. Tim Kasher even wore tails. But despite the formalwear, the set started out a bit rough. Kasher's voice seemed somewhat worse for wear -- understandable after a month-long tour. The way he screams I don't know how he manages to even talk the next day. The rest of the band also seemed a bit off kilter, a bit sloppy. I wasn't the only one who noticed. "You know what that's called?" Kasher said about 15 minutes into the set. "That's called phoning it in. I just phoned it in. I'm looking at a roomful of strangers tonight." No idea what that meant. Was he being ironic? The band had at least 50 people on their guest list. He went on to tell the audience to forget the first five songs. "We're starting right now." It was kind of like he rebooted the band. The next 45 minutes was first-tier Cursive, Kasher even sang better. They ripped through most of Happy Hollow, which sounded great live. This was the first time I'd seen them perform with their little horn section, and for the most part, it worked. The band also performed a couple songs from Domestica and The Ugly Organ. Kasher apologized for his manic behavior. "I love all of you guys again," he said toward the end of the set. "I'm back." The band returned to the stage for a two-song encore that started with "Big Bang." Standing off stage left was former Cursive drummer Clint Schnase. A few moments into the song, Ted Stevens handed his guitar to Schnase, who took the stage and played along with the rest of the band while Stevens tooted on a clarinet. After the song ended, he handed the guitar back to Stevens, and then disappeared into the crowd.

I will say this: Cursive's new drummer is pretty freakin' good. I didn't think anyone would be able to take over the kit from Schnase, but whoever this guy was, he did the trick. He has a different style -- it's less compact and precise as Schnase's, but has a similar bombastic quality. No idea who he was (he's probably a some sort of legend, which shows you what I know) or if he's going to be a permanent member of the band. Kasher said he was off to LA today to spend the summer in the Golden State. What happens next is anyone's guess, though there's a completed Good Life CD just waiting to be released by Saddle Creek.

* * *

Add yet another local musician to the list of local talent that's moving away from "The Heartland" (what a horrible phrase). The Show Is the Rainbow's Darren Keen e-mailed me to say that he's moving to Orlando Florida on July 1. Why? "I am moving because my best friends' band, YIP-YIP, live in Orlando and a spot opened up in their house. It's going to be very fun to live with them," Keen said.

I mention this because The Show Is the Rainbow is playing at The Waiting Room tonight. Keen said he doesn't consider it a going away gig. "I'll probably book a show in Lincoln, too," he said, adding that any June dates could be his last in Nebraska for awhile. "I'll be back on tour like three times a year though. Duh!!! I'm stoked. Orlando is warm and awesome." That it is, Darren. That is is. Playing with TSITR is Talkin Mountain & FTL Drive. $7, 9 p.m.

* * *

Lots of Lincoln dudes in town tonight. Other than Keen, Ideal Cleaners and Domestica are playing over at O'Leaver's with The Monroes. $5, 9:30 p.m. Good times.

As for the rest of the weekend:

Punk rock's angry bastards The Shanks are playing at O'Leaver's Saturday night with Scott Severin and The Upsets -- $5, 9:30 p.m.

And The Waiting Room is doing up alt-country Saturday night with The Weary Boys, The Black Squirrels and The Prime Time Pickers. $10, 9 p.m.

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