Something of a surprise is that tonight's Built to Spill show at Sokol Underground is not sold out (at least at the time of this posting). In a post on SLAM Omaha last night, One Percent Productions said that there were fewer than 50 tickets left. I have no doubt that they'll be gone before show starts. I blame their lack of sell-out power on the fact that the band hasn't released a new CD in four years (frontman Doug Martsch's solo album, Now You Know, came out three years ago), which made me wonder why they're touring now. Apparently they're playing a number of new songs for an album to be released this fall. Funny, when I interviewed them waaay back in 1999 they were an icon band that had just signed to Warner Bros. and were positioned to become huge. Meanwhile, a fellow Pacific Northwest-based band that took root in their shadow called Death Cab for Cutie was quietly emerging. Well, we all know the rest of the story.

The last BTS show was one of the smokiest in Sokol Underground history -- that was before they installed the SmokeEaters though. Look for a cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" during the encore. Opening are Mike Johnson (ex-Dinosaur Jr.) and Helvetia. $15, 9 p.m. This will be an event.

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