Before I get to last Saturday night, a quick review of the Built to Spill show at Slowdown July 18. What's that? Wasn't I in Cape Cod the night of that show? Well, yes, I was indeed, good reader. But through the magic of bootleg technology, I was able to relive the moment. A friend of mine sent me a link to the Blasé Blogspot, which posted a link to this divShare page that allows you to download the entire Slowdown performance, presumably recorded off the soundboard. It sounds pretty marvelous indeed.

I've never been a collector of bootlegs. My only foray into bootleg acquisition was picking up a cassette from a friend of a friend of mine of an old Led Zeppelin concert titled "Mudslide." The quality was piss-poor, but at the time (back in the '80s) I was so hungry for anything Zeppelinesque that I cherished the tape, which included a recording of a (then) unreleased Zeppelin track. These days there are entire web networks dedicated to nothing but bootlegs of live shows -- not just the usual boring, pointless Phish or Widespread head-shop noodling sessions, but everything from Prince to Morrissey to last week's Built to Spill concert. Who knows which of the recordings are authorized by the artists and which aren't. I assume the person listed in the accompanying BTS text file (strangely identified only as "DB" -- who could that be?) had permission from Martsch to record.

My take on the concert: Martsch's vocals continue to sound more and more like Neil Young's, to the point where the recording got me wondering if Young would ever consider covering a Built to Spill song (Martsch certainly has covered enough of Young's songs). Sounds like the band had a few problems with their gear, but that didn't stop them from putting on a solid night of rock that dipped extensively into their back catalog. Seems ol' Doug was a man of his word, and rock won out over jams, though he ended with a 16-plus minute version of "Randy Described Eternity" that devolved deeply into jam territory. Among the highlights were roaring versions of "Time Trap," "Stab," and a cover of Brian Eno's "Third Uncle." The recording includes all the between-song banter, including Martsch asking (after "Time Trap") "Anyone know what happened to Mousetrap?" Silence (a testament, I guess, to the number of people in the audience who don't remember the band). Moments later, he said"Chicago?"

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File this under "eerie" and "sad": Yesterday while doing some "research" on personal writing hero Harlan Ellison, I spent a couple hours watching old Tom Snyder interviews on that ultimate internet time-waster, YouTube. After Ellison, I went to an old Wendy O. Williams interview, and -- just like opening a bag of potato chips -- couldn't stop watching interviews with The Clash, Iggy Pop, and PiL (specifically, Johnny Rotten, who is as famous for being a prick during interviews as he is for his music -- and what a prick he was to Snyder).

Then this morning on my drive into work, NPR reported that Snyder died yesterday after a long battle with leukemia. Strange, sad coincidence. I didn't grow up watching the Tomorrow show; I only caught it a few times during the '80s. It was on way past my bedtime -- if I was up that late it was because I was either studying or partying. The times I did catch it, however, I loved. It. Snyder's interview style seemed off-the-cuff, as if he did little or no research before strolling onto the set each evening. He was the first guy I ever saw regularly talk to the folks behind the cameras and control board during a broadcast -- it felt like he was letting you in on something you weren't supposed to see, and as a result, you felt like you were part of the show. He was no fan of punk and New Wave -- he simply didn't understand it. Despite that, he knew it made good television, and often invited punks onto his show, providing exposure that they'd get nowhere else. Unfortunately, more people remember Dan Aykroyd's impersonation of Snyder than the man himself. YouTube, of course, could change all that.

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My only show attendence this weekend was Shiver Shiver and Sleep Said the Monster at O'Leaver's Saturday night. Opening band Donnelly is a new project by Satchel Grande member Ben Zinn. I missed them. Shiver Shiver is a keyboard/drum duo whose impressive recordings on MySpace drew me to the show. In fact, they were probably the main draw of the evening as half the crowd left shortly after their set. Live, their sound was muddy and off-balance, moreso due to the limitations of O'Leaver's sound system. O'Leaver's is a fine venue for punk and hard rock sets, not so much for more laid-back keyboard or acoustic-driven music. That said, Shiver Shiver sounded as good as they could, though nowhere as good as on their recordings. The formula is simple: Jordan Elsberry belts out loungy, jazzy ballads a la Todd Rundgren or Ben Folds on keyboards, while drummer Chase Thornburg fills in the rhythms and adds harmony vocals (For whatever reason, I couldn't help thinking of Flight of the Conchords). Again, maybe it was the venue, but the set seemed hollow. I'm told Elsberry handled bass lines on one of the keyboards, but that didn't compensate enough for not having a real bass (Why are bands so reticent these days to bite the bullet and bring on a bassist?). Elsberry's keyboard tones also seemed locked in a mid-tempo, mid-range rut, and lacked some much-needed variety. Some songs seemed too long. Still, there's no question these guys know how to write music, and no one is doing anything like Shiver Shiver around these parts. They slated to play at Saddle Creek Bar Aug. 17 with Seymore Saves the World. Check them out.

Sleep Said the Monster sounds different every time I see them, and last Saturday was no exception. They've evolved into a hard-rocking indie band that plays run-of-the-mill indie music -- which is a nice way of saying the band never sounded better, but their music was far from unique. I'm not sure fans of this style of music care, as long as it rocks, and it certainly did.

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., Coyote Bones opens for Blitzen Trapper. CB, one of the best new bands in the area, has a split 7-inch with Flowers Forever coming out eventually on CoCo Art. $7, 9 p.m. Also tonight, Oakland stoner metal band High on Fire (Matt Pike, formerly of seminal stoner band Sleep) plays at The Waiting Room with Omaha band Back When. $10, 9 p.m.

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It's kind of a quiet weekend show-wise, at least compared to the past few weeks.

The feature event is tonight at The Waiting Room -- Omaha twang-punk masters The Filter Kings with The Mercury's. The Filter Kings is Lee Meyerpeter (Bad Luck Charm, ex-Cactus Nerve Thang) and his team of highly trained cowboy-hat-wearing knife fighters ripping apart alt-country-punk and reassembling it in their own image. I enjoy this band immensely, especially when they play at The Waiting Room (where they should be the house band (I'll keep saying it until it happens)). The only thing that would make their performance better would be if two drunks had a broken-bottle fight in front of the stage while Lee and Co. provided the sound track. In fact, if these guys ever release a CD, there's the perfect premise for their first rock video. $7, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at O'Leaver's, trippy Virginia space-rock band Gifts from Enola sneaks into town. They call themselves "experimental" on their Myspace page. Their recordings sound more proggy/shoe-gazer than experimental to me. Opening is Paper Owls, and something tells me they're going to give a sneak preview of their new album, which they'll be celebrating with a CD-release show Aug. 11 at PS Collective. Also on the bill, The Slats. Waitaminit, SLAM Omaha says not the Slats but I Hear Sirens are playing tonight. The Slats' Myspace page, however, shows them at O'Leaver's. Find out who's right by showing up at 9:30 and doling out $5.

And don't forget Film Streams grand opening tonight. I was talking Wednesday to one of the guys who works there about the choice of screening the Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) on opening night. He pointed out that it made sense if only for the fact that opening night will bring in people who otherwise wouldn't sit through a 3-plus-hour black-and-white Japanese film with subtitles. And if you're lucky Alexander Payne will provide a half-hour spoken introduction. Two showings, 5 and 9 p.m. Also playing (in the small theater) is La Vie en Rose (see yesterday's review) at 4, 7, and 9 p.m. Film Streams also is having an open house tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free popcorn!

Saturday night is all O'Leaver's, with Donnely, Sleep Said the Monster & Shiver Shiver. No idea who Donnely is and can't find anything on the 'net about them. SStM play laid-back indie pop. Shiver Shiver is the duo of keyboardist/vocalist Jordan Elsberry and drummer/vocalist Chase Thornburg. A friend of mine pointed me toward their Myspace site a few weeks ago and I dug what I heard. Their demos remind me of early Squeeze or laid-back Ben Folds. $5, 9 p.m.

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I'll let you in on a little secret: I go to as many movies as I do rock shows, maybe more. I see everything, not only the high-falutin' indie and foreign flicks at The Dundee (Once, After the Wedding, etc.), but also the popcorn fluff at the cineplexes (Harry Potter, Fantastic Four, Ratatouille). And I love them all, except for the shitty ones, which -- just like shitty bands -- are plenty and hard to avoid.

Anyway… tonight is special for a non-musical reason: It's the press opening of the Ruth Sokolof Theater down at the Slowdown complex -- i.e., the grand opening of Film Streams. Actually, one of the first screenings was last night for city big-wigs and the high-end donors who are making the whole thing possible. Tonight is the press screening. Tomorrow is yet another event (I'm not sure who's invited) and Friday is the hoi polloi opening. Watch for the spotlights.

When Rachel Jacobson told me about the project back in 2005 (for this story), I thought it was a no-brainer -- it was an even better idea than Slowdown, quite frankly. The only theaters screening indie films at the time were that grand old dame The Dundee, and its ghetto twin, the $2 Westwood Cinema 8. Now two years later, the AMC Oakview has dedicated a couple screens to indie films, and theaters in the new Mutual of Omaha and Aksarben developments also are likely to screen a few indie films. That's more competition, but if the Film Streams' auditoriums (two of them -- 209 seats and 96 seats) are as state-of-the-art and comfortable as originally planned, it won't matter. Film Streams is more of an arts organization than a movie theater anyway, a non-profit that depends on the kindness of strangers for its financial well-being. And there are plenty of strangers in Omaha willing to lend a hand if it means getting quality films shown in this town. I bought my membership weeks ago. You can too, right here. $50 is a small price to pay to get access to films that I only used to read about in my subscription to Time Out New York. And, yeah, you can always Netflix them, but really, there's no comparing watching a film at home on a plasma to a movie theater experience.

Tonight's screening emphasizes a problem with Slowdown that I've mentioned before -- their 8-sharp start time for rock shows. Because I'll be walking the streets of France via the Sokolof Theater this evening, I'm going to miss Handsome Furs and Latitude Longitude at Slowdown Jr. The bands will just be leaving the stage when the final frames of La Vie en Rose burns on the virgin screen. A pity, because the new Handsome Furs disc, release by Sub Pop, is Neil Young meets Arcade Fire, with lead vocalist Dan Boeckner (also of Wolf Parade), providing the lonesome moan over the Crazy Horse-style guitars. $10, 8 p.m.

Well, the movie should be over in plenty of time to make it out to the other hot shows tonight. The sleeper is Winter Sounds at The Saddle Creek Bar with The Lemurs and Hyannis. In its more laid-back moments, Athens Georgia's Winter Sounds is like Minus the Bear fronted by Bob Welch (who remembers "Ebony Eyes"?). They're at their best when trying to be dreamy and psychedelic vs. when they're doing the usual indie stutter-step guitar stuff we've all come to know and yawn over. Hyannis just finished recording the final two tracks of their upcoming EP, Off the Reels. $5. 9 p.m.

The other prime show is St. Vincent at The Waiting Room with Scout Niblett, and Omaha's Bear Country. St. Vincent is singer-songwriter Annie Clark, a veteran guitarist for both The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens. Her new album, Marry Me (on Beggars) is stunningly beautiful, mixing upbeat ballads with a voice reminiscent of (this is really gonna date me) Carly Simon. She works with a number of accompanists on the record, including Bowie pianist Mike Garson and a horn section. But tonight I believe she'll be doing it solo, probably with backing tracks. I fear it could be more of a PJ Harvey 4-track Demos-style presentation than what we get on the record. If you've never seen Scout Niblett and her wig before, you're in for a weird treat. The first time I saw Scout down at Sokol Underground, it was just her, her drum set and her boyfriend from Swearing at Motorists. The next time, a year or so later, it was her, her drum set, and her electric guitar (Though Ryan Fox lent a hand on one song). Scout looked like a spooky, stoned-out Chan Marshall with adult ADD. It's weird stuff that borders on beat poetry and often includes crowd participation (you'll likely be prompted to help with a few cheers). $10, 9 p.m.

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I haven't kept track of Don Caballero for years. In fact, I thought they'd broken up earlier in the decade. So when I saw this show slated for The Waiting Room tonight, I was a bit surprised. In fact, according to the all-knowing Wikipedia, Don Cab did break up in 2000, shortly after American Don was released. Says Wiki: "To equal parts surprise and criticism, (drummer Damon) Che reformed Don Caballero in 2003 with an entirely new lineup consisting of members of Pittsburgh's Creta Bourzia, a band that bore clear marks of influence from Don Caballero. The new members are Jeff Ellsworth on guitar, Gene Doyle on guitar, and Jason Jouver on bass. (Original members Mike Banfield and Pat Morris were invited to participate but both declined)." Che apparently vowed never to work with original second guitarist Ian Williams again. So Che is the only original member in tonight's line-up, according to Wikipedia. The band, who recorded for Touch and Go for years, now records for metal label Relapse Records. I have to assume they sound somewhat like they used to, but I haven't heard any of their recent recordings. Opening the show is Omaha's own math rock/noise rock masters Fromanhole -- who alone are worth the $10 admission. Show starts at 9 p.m.

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I'm back from Cape Cod, where I spent seven days on a beach with virtually no music whatsoever except for oldies stations on the car stereo -- Boz Scaggs, Dr. Hook (does every one of their songs have to sound like it was written by a pervert?), Gerry Rafferty, ELO, Orleans, Ambrosia -- you get the picture, it was a week of FM Gold. Boston stations barely reach the Cape, and those that did only played hip-hop or retro. Indie music as we know it didn't seem to exist. But hey, you don't go to Cape Cod to sniff out hot local clubs brimming with introspective indie bands. You go there to get away. When you do find a club with live music, chances are you're in for an evening of Jimmy Buffett covers or a Doobie Brothers tribute band... and you wouldn't want it any other way.

So, not a lot to write about. Looks like there was some news while I was gone. Saddle Creek Records signed Tokyo Police Club, a deal that's been rumored for months. I'm not sure how they fit into the Creek roster, but I don't think the label execs care all that much about things fitting these days. TPC is a band that's going to support their debut release in classic Creek style -- by constantly touring, which is what they've done for the past year. Their sound clashes no more awkwardly with the old-line Creek stable than, say, Georgie James or Two Gallants. Two Gallants seemed like an odd addition when they climbed aboard the S.S. Saddle Creek a couple years ago. Over time, the signing made more sense if only weighted on their music's lyrical content. Georgie James was more of a question mark, though some people pointed toward drummer John Davis' Q & Not U connection and his relationship with other Creek bands. Who knows. None of these new signings except for maybe Art in Manila are going to be big earners for the label in the vein of The Big Three or Jenny Lewis, who was a veritable home run for Team Love. Does it matter? Maybe not. Anyway, look for TPC's debut in early 2008.

I dropped in on The Terminals at O'Leaver's last night, they were headlining a show with a couple touring bands. Their set started rough and only got more brutal as the night wore on (in a good way). They sounded about as heavy as I've ever heard them (but nowhere near as distorted as Forget About Never). Fans and followers crowded the "stage," standing on railings, forming a standing circle around the band. You had to press up close to see what was going on. Strangely, after about a half dozen songs -- and just when it was getting really interesting -- the band called it a night. The set seemed half-finished and it was only 12:30.

Tonight at The Waiting Room, it's Cary Brothers with Stars of Track and Field and Mother Mother. Cary Brothers plays adult alternative (a more horrible term I can't think of) in the vein of The Fray, and just like that band, they've had some of their tracks played on TV shows like Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy, ER and a couple lame Zach Braff flicks. Inoffensive, probably boring, but likely well-played. Stars of Track and Field are Radiohead replicants (OK Computer era). Opening band, Vancouver's Mother Mother is the most interesting of the three -- think Tegan and Sara with a guy added to the mix, though their music is weirder, almost proggy in an indie sort of way. Quaint and clever, Mother Mother has an identity of their own making, which is more than you can say about the two "big bands" on this bill. $10, 9 p.m.

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Yup, it's that time of year again when Lazy-i takes a week off to enjoy some well-deserved R&R. What will you do without me? Anyway, here's what I'll be missing (but hopefully you won't be) in my absence:

-- Tonight and tomorrow is the continuation of the Mavradio Benson Local Music Festival. Tonight at The Foundry it's Tea Ceremony, Scott Severin, Mike Harvat and Goodbye Sunday. $2, 7 p.m. While over at PS Collective it's Talkin Mountain, Electric Needle Room and Family Unit. $5, 9 p.m. The festival's highlight comes Saturday night. First, at Barley Street Tavern, it's Ric Rhythm and the Revengers, Reagan and the Rayguns, and the Southpaw Blues Band. $2, 8 p.m. and then at The Waiting Room, the long-awaited return of Son, Ambulance. Chatting with Joe Knapp last weekend at Slowdown, it sounds like they'll be playing some stuff off Key and maybe some new material. This isn't just a one-off reunion. Knapp sounds ready to put the Ambulance back on the road. I'm sorry I'm going to miss this one. Also on the bill is Ladyfinger and Little Brazil. $5, 9 p.m.

-- Also tonight, Satchel Grande opens for The Balance at The Waiting Room. SG is one of the funnest (and best) bands going these days. Should be a riot (if they can get people to loosen up and dance). $7, 9 p.m.

-- Monday night, Box Elders (that's Dave Goldberg and them McIntyre brothers) open for Quintron and Miss Pussycat at The Waiting Room. $8, 9 p.m.

-- Wednesday, of course is the big Built to Spill show at Slowdown with The Boggs. Tickets are still available for $17. I figured this show would sell out fairly quickly, but BTS didn't sell out the last time they came through until the night of the show, and this venue is a bit bigger than Sokol Underground. Will it be a jam-band fiesta or just a solid rock show? I think it'll be the latter. It'll certainly be something you won't want to miss. Show starts at 9.

-- Thursday, No Blood Orphan and Capgun Coup open for Drakkar Sauna at The Waiting Room. NBO's new album, Robertson Park, is a solid effort, and Capgun Coup continues to be dead-set on world domination. Also the bill, Dim Light. $7, 9 p.m.

-- Friday, the second big show at Slowdown this week that I've been dying to see but will, alas, miss. Tokyo Police Club plays with Dappled Cities. TPC is a favorite of the Saddle Creek Records crew. They play pretty, peppy indie punk, lively and fun. Imagine Cursive with hand-claps and you're starting to get the picture. $10, 8 p.m.

See you when I see you.

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I think it's fair to say that Doug Martsch of Built to Spill was slightly agitated and slightly amused at my line of questioning for our interview (online here). Fact is, BTS hasn't released an album in over a year other than the limited edition vinyl and reggae songs mentioned in the story. The real burning question on everyone's mind is whether or not BTS will rock next Wednesday or jam all night. I don't know if I got a definitive answer other than the denial that they excessively jam in the first place. Well, I was there last time, and I can tell you it was one long solo after another (relive the evening here). At one point during the discussion, Martsch said something along the lines of "We'll now be sure to do lots of jams when we get there." Uh-oh. We also discussed the fact that this is the first big touring show on the Slowdown stage, and how it also was the first Slowdown show announced prior to the venue's opening. Martsch said he'd heard something about it and was pleased to be the band picked to break the place in. Too bad I'm going to miss the show as I'll be out of town that evening...

A couple shows worth mentioning tonight: Those crazy kids from Gravy Train!!! are at The Waiting Room tonight with SSION (who remembers when they opened for Yeah Yeah Yeahs in March 2004 dressed as chickens, a lion and a cow?) and The Flamboyant Gods. $8, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at O'Leaver's, it's those crazy punk rock kids from The Shanks with Thee Almighty Handclaps and Ric Rhythm and the Revengers. Mayhem shall ensue. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Tomorrow in Lazy-i, Drakes Hotel.

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Forgive the lateness of this post as I'm suffering from a lingering head cold. Not good. Don't catch it.

Moving on…

This past March I went to a show down at Sokol Underground featuring Capgun Coup, Baby Walrus and Whatever Happened to the Dinosaurs? Easily the best band that evening was Baby Walrus (ex-Le Beat). The worst was Capgun Coup (Whatever Happened… bordered on being a Bright Eyes tribute band). My comments from that show: "Finally there was Capgun Coup, who I really came to see. I was told by someone who has heard them before that it wasn't their finest moment. The set was sloppy and out of sync, and I have to wonder if it wasn't just an off night. That said, the crowd of around 80 didn't seem to mind. In fact, the whole evening had a house party feel to it and you could tell that the crowd consisted mostly of friends having a good time."

Fact was, they were terrible. This was just a few weeks after Conor Oberst had name-checked the band during an interview I conducted with him, focused on Cassadaga. Oberst had said he loved Capgun. After this show, I went back and reread my notes. Surely he couldn't have been talking about this band. But there it was. Oberst name-checked the band again a few weeks later in a Rolling Stone interview. For better or worse, Capgun was on its way.

Needless to say, I wasn't expecting much last Friday night when I headed down to Slowdown to check out their new "small" stage. I got there late -- they don't mess around at Slowdown -- shows start at 8 p.m. sharp. Owner Robb Nansel even told me that evening that nary a note will be heard from a band in Slowdown past midnight. That's a harsh timeframe for those of us used to heading to shows after seeing a 7 o'clock screening. By the time I rolled in around 10:30, The Family Radio had long finished their set and David Vandervelde had just left the stage. Last up that evening -- Capgun Coup.

First, an update on Slowdown's service. Remember that blog item where I said it took 24 minutes to get a beer (here)? For whatever reason, it got a lot of attention, judging by the number of people who have come up to me to also complain about Slowdown's service. Misery loves company, I suppose. Well, bar captain Ryan Palmer seems to have gotten things under control by throwing sheer numbers at the problem. There were at least five people hustling drinks Friday night at what I was told was a capacity show for the "small bar setting" (i.e., when they have the divider in place, blocking off the big stage). I was able to get my Rolling Rock ($3) in less than five minutes. Not bad. I even had a bartender ask me "how ya doing" all night from my roost at the far end of the bar. The real test will be next Wednesday's Built to Spill show (which, alas, I won't be in town for).

The small-bar stage located just inside the door is overhung by a set of amps that provide pretty good sound without overpowering the room. Capgun was a good test of this -- they sounded frenetic (and loud), but I was still able to talk/yell at people standing next to me. In retrospect, I don't think the band had "an off night" down at Sokol in March as much as they didn't know what they were doing on that huge stage. They've gotten a helluva lot better, thanks to playing all the time. Their show Friday night certainly came closer to the sound heard on their CD, and Sam Martin's yelp (at its most ragged) even brought back memories of a young Pat Buchanan. Capgun sounds nothing like Mousetrap though, and though their energy is similar to Desaparecidos, they don't sound like those guys, either. I guess you'd have to call their sound house-party-punk. The style is ragged and out of control, what you'd expect from a band weaned on uninhibited house shows. Now Capgun is trying to translate the party to a bigger stage, and for the most part, is succeeding, at least in their hometown. Ah, but how will it translate when they hit the road and get away from their hordes of followers?

Rumors of their Nebraskafish debut being reissued on Team Love are true. I'm told promos of the Capgun Coup reissue were available from a T-L rep who was in the house Friday night (I didn't grab one). That same rep told me that Flowers Forever also will see their debut released on Oberst's label. Will Capgun and Flowers tour together? Time will tell, but the combination seems like a natural (actually, Capgun would be better suited touring with Tilly and the Wall, a band that shares the same youthful exuberance).

Capgun is part of the "Next Wave" of Omaha bands, a wave that includes The Family Radio, Bear Country, Baby Walrus, Coyote Bones, Sleep Said the Monster, Flowers Forever, Art in Manila, Hyannis, and Drakes Hotel (though Drakes no longer is with us here in Omaha). The bands all seem to be drawn together, either through their style or their social network. Most play the same house parties, and when they perform together on a regular stage, they tend to turn the room into a house party.

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A couple Conor items to pass along from the Interweb… Seems the folks at Shepherds Bush Empire (in bonny ol' UK. Tut-tut! Cheerio!) got a glimpse of the old Conor during their July 3 show. According to a report in Uncut (here): "Technical hitches at the end of the show, which had been elaborate with live projections of swans, candles and jigsaws in the background, saw front man Oberst snap, with the singer picking up and throwing a stage amplifier half-way across the stage. He also flung fellow Bright Eyes band member Mike Mogis' guitar in a pique of anger." I have this vision of Mogis looking down at his hands where he had just held his guitar. Upon reading this, I wondered if the reporter was just misinterpreting the usual end-of-show fracas that takes place nightly during "Road to Joy"?

In other Conor news, Polydor has commissioned five directors to create videos for Cassadaga, according to Digital Arts (here). Each director and video is described in the story, which also includes a link to the videos online. One would think that the videos cost Polydor a shitload of money, and that Saddle Creek will get all the benefit in the U.S.

This week, look for an interview with Doug Martsch of Built to Spill (probably Wednesday morning), and a piece on Drakes Hotel leaving us just after being discovered...

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Thanksgiving Eve. Christmas Eve. July 3rd. And so on. These are all perfect nights for shows, since almost everyone can sleep in the following morning. And yet, historically there are very few shows on the eve of holidays in Omaha. I guess that's to the venues' advantage, since they're all going to be packed tonight with or without bands performing on their stages.

That said, Slowdown is taking advantage of this holiday eve to christen their new "small stage," located along the north side of the bar. The space is designed to host less-popular bands that would have a hard time filling the venue's "big room." Doing the honors is Flowers Forever (Derek Presnall of Tilly and the Wall) and Fourth of July (Adrianne Verhoeven of Art in Manila). The 8 p.m. show will run you $5, with all of it going to charity. With a capacity of around 100, I bet this one will be packed.

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The iPhone odyssey will be recapped in Wednesday's column. I will say this: I got one… eventually. More later.

After my late-afternoon iPhone fiasco, we headed to Memorial Park for KC and the Sunshine band. It was the usual crowd of fun-loving suburban white folks, mostly families, lots of kids. Almost no black people whatsoever. The crowd seemed larger than last year's 4th of July celebration-in-the-park (certainly larger than the Bright Eyes concert). KC and his entourage came on at around 9:15, and though I thought the whole thing was disappointing, I don't know what I was expecting -- some sort of hip disco show that highlighted the grooves of the band's best songs? Dumb on my part. Instead it was your typical Vegas/Branson-style medley/revue performance. Bombastic. Lots of bad dance routines. A handful of covers from the disco era that should have been left out. KC could easily have played 45 minutes of nothing but his own material. Instead, we got disco's greatest hits and even a couple obscure KC numbers along with ones we all know and love. The band was good, but the sound was particularly bad for an outdoor show -- shrill, with too much high end. No bass at all. The Sunshine Band, specifically the brass, was first rate, and KC's voice was good enough to pull it off despite having to run around stage like an elderly aerobics instructor. Most people around us weren't watching, anyway. They were too busy making sure their kids weren't lighting things on fire or spilling Kool-Aid on their blankets. A small handful of women in their 40s did some good-time rump shaking, hiding their Busch Lights beneath foam coozies. KC finished at around 10, and the fireworks followed. Funny how these fireworks shows always use the same music. Get ready for Lee Greenwood, Neil Diamond and the requisite Louis Armstrong "It's a Wonderful World." Teresa wondered what it would be like to see a fireworks display backed by indie rock songs -- Spoon, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes. The crowd would hate it. Actually, I'd probably hate it, too. It seemed like the shortest fireworks display I've seen at Memorial Park since the '90s. People around us actually booed. I guess they didn't get their money's worth.

Saturday night was Dan Deacon at The Waiting Room. A friendly Lazy-i reader saw the show listed on my blog and pointed it out as something I shouldn't miss. I'm glad she made the effort. She said Deacon is part of a Baltimore art / theater / music collective called Wham City. I knew he was a one-man band sort of thing, but other than that, didn't know what to expect. His shtick is similar to The Show Is the Rainbow's -- Deacon sets up on the floor instead of the stage, surrounded by samplers and lighting gear and a big green skull on a stick that lights up during the high points. Before he started, a couple guys taped white bedding sheets from the beam that divides the stage room from the rest of the bar, effectively creating a barrier, forcing people to come inside the stage area and surround Deacon and his gear. Smart move. It made the room more intimate and enclosed. Deacon's music is almost entirely prerecorded tracks played on an iPod Shuffle, augmented by keyboards and his vocal effects. Hyperactive, frenetic, big-bass dance songs sung by squirrels playing Casio keyboards, melodies reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange and The Faint and TSITR and video game soundtracks.

The biggest difference between Deacon and TSITR is how Deacon forces crowd participation. Sure, Darren Keen gets out in the audience and gets them involved, but Deacon makes almost every song a sing-a-long, includes a pseudo dance contest, even passes out lyric sheets and stinky plastic robes for a few unfortunate fans to wear during his final song (a rapacious version of "Wham City"). With the crowd of 50 or 60 packed so tightly around the front of the stage, with the red, green and white floor lights, Deacon's show felt more like a weird religious event rather than a rock concert -- a psionic cult happening, a throbbing dance ritual where you halfway expect grooving onlookers to begin floating in the air, trying their hardest to "renew" Logan's Run-style. Instead, Darren Keen picked up one hearty soul and lifted him over his head and passed him around the crowd before he was set down in front of high priest Deacon. A religious experience indeed.

One last music note from the weekend: Went to see the film Once at The Dundee Theater Saturday night. I thought it -- and its music -- were terrific. Glen Hansard, the leading man, sounds like an Irish version of Cat Stevens, with music that at times is nearly as good. Hansard also is in the Irish band The Frames, who have released a handful of albums, including a couple on Anti Records. The Frames are opening for Bob Dylan in New Zealand and Australia in August. Once is a simple film filled with so much music and performances that it borders on being a musical (maybe technically it is). It isn't a love story as much as a fable about a singer-songwriter making the record of his life. Check it out before it leaves.

Tonight at The Waiting Room it's Suicide Squeeze artist Page France with Bear Country and Scissors for Lefty. France plays twee acoustic indie-folk songs that are always pretty, sung in frontman Michael Nau's charming nasal croon. All Music said the press compares them to Bright Eyes or Jeff Tweedy. I don't hear that at all, but you be the judge. Scissors for Lefty are the brothers Garza (three of them) and the brothers Krimmel (just two), singing upbeat indie rock songs in a style similar to Eagle*Seagull -- vocalist Bryan Garza even sports an affected rasp similar to Eli Mardock's (at least on the tracks I heard online). The show starts at 9 p.m. and costs $8.

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