Before we get into the weekend, a couple notable items that crossed my inbox. First, the Chicago Tribune interviewed me for a story about the new Saddle Creek DVD (the story is here, but you have to register to read it, which is free). Writer Patrick Sisson chatted with me over my lunch hour a couple weeks ago, mainly asking me about the history of the Omaha scene pre-Creek, and the nature of scene today. Not surprisingly, he didn't mention anyone other than the Creek bands in the article (which I guess makes sense since the DVD only briefly discusses pre-Creek Omaha). Sisson called the DVD "a mosaic of old video footage, concert fliers and interviews with the production value of a 'Real World' confession." I get a pitch in for ol' Caulfield Records and make a nice comment about Creek bands' lack of commercial interest when they write their songs. Sisson says that Digital Ash and Wide Awake have sold a combined 600,000 copies so far.

A friend sent a link to the myspace page for The Lodge Club, a Portland band that includes "4 Nebraskans and 1 Californian...no one under the age of 30." One of the Nebraskans is former Frontier Trust and Darktown House Band drummer Joe Kobjerowski. The other members are "Dave, Nancy, Ben, and Alex." I don't know their last names but I'm sure someone reading this does. The band has four songs available on their MySpace account (which is here) and even list a gig tonight at Portland's The Town Lounge. With four Nebraskans in the band, you'd think someone could lure them down here for a show one of these days.

Well, if you're Omaha instead of Portland tonight, your best bet is catching The Third Men (ex-The Sons of…), and Ladyfinger tonight at O'Leaver's. Ladyfinger now draws SRO shows at O'Leaver's, so get there early if you want a seat. $5, 9:30 p.m.

As for the rest of the weekend: Tomorrow night (Saturday) the only show of merit is Shelterbelt and Papers at Knickerbockers in Lincoln. It's Papers' CD release show. $5, 9 p.m. Sunday night is Anonymous American and Matt Whipkey at Shag for their CD release show. Korey Anderson opens the early show, which starts at 7 p.m. ($6). Could be crowded, seeing as AA performed live on Z-92 yesterday morning. If you're curious about Shag, here's a review of the joint from a couple months ago.

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