The most surprising thing about Mick's birthday concert Friday night was how well the bands sounded after being in mothballs for so many years. Janglepop, which broke up sometime earlier this century, sounded no different than I remembered. Actually, they sounded somewhat better on The Waiting Room's stage. The Get also sounded tight, but I'll be honest with you, I never really followed any of these defacto old school "Slam Bands." That includes Musico, who everyone seemed most excited about seeing again. Darren Keen and the boys also sounded as good as I remembered the one time I saw them back in the day. The bottom line: the enormous crowd (which was like walking through a class reunion or a wedding reception) loved every minute of it.

Saturday night was spent slumming, and I may or may not go into great detail about it in this week's column (which I have yet to formulate). Let's just say I spent the evening "out west," and that the entertainment had nothing to do with indie music.

* * *

Tonight -- two rather huge shows for a Monday. At The Waiting Room it's Har Mar Superstar with Little Brazil and Talkin' Mountain, all for $8. This one could (and probably will) sell out. Meanwhile, down at Slowdown, it's Team Love's most recent addition -- The Felice Brothers -- opening for Drive By Truckers. $20, 9 p.m.

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