The hot ticket tonight is once again Lincoln Calling. In fact, tonight is the hottest night of the festival's five days and definitely worth the hour-long commute to the star city. The standout shows are at Box Awesome and Duffy's. The two-story BA extravaganza might be the best one-venue one-night line-up this year. And of course the Speed! Nebraska showcase at Duffy's is an absolute can't-miss spectacle. Figure out a clever way to split yourself in two so you don’t have to miss a minute of anything. Here's the Friday night LC schedule:

Box Awesome
(Upstairs): Columbia vs. Challenger, Baby Walrus, Bear Country FTL Drive.
(Basement), UUVVWWZ, Capgun Coup, Honeybee, Conchance. 9 p.m., $8, 18+

Duffy's: Speed Nebraska Fall Demolition Derby -- Domestica, The Mezcal Brothers, The Third Men, Wagon Blasters. 9 p.m., $5, 21+

Zoo Bar: Son of 76 and the Watchmen, Matt Cox, Tijuana Gigolos. 9 p.m., $5, 21+

State Theater: Academy of Rock Showcase, Straight Outta Junior High, Exit 48, Dodging Bullets, Emergency Entrance. 6 p.m., $5, all ages

Knickerbocker's: The Allendales, Ed Gray, Cameron McGill and What Army, The Whipkey Three. 9:30 p.m., $5, 18+

12th St. Pub: Darren Keen, Heligoats, MWMBLES, Orion Walsh. 6 p.m., $3, 21+

Saturday night

Duffy's: Boss Martians, Tenth Horse, Volunteers, Little Brazil. 9 p.m., $5, 21+

Zoo Bar: Tatsuya Nakatani, Volcano Insurance, The Mighty Vitamins. 9 p.m., $5, 21+

Knick's: The Show is the Rainbow, Pharmacy Spirits, Boo and Boo Too. 9:30 p.m., $5, 18+

Box Awesome: The B Foundation, Andrews Ave., Vibenhai. 9 p.m., $5, 18+

Sunday

Duffy's: Matt Focht (Head of Femur), Son Ambulance. 6 p.m., $5, 19+

Box Awesome: Pattern is Movement, Marianas w/special guests. 9 p.m., $7, 18+

Meanwhile, back here in Omaha, there are plenty of good shows going on if you don't feel like making that drive.

Tonight at The Waiting Room it's the yee-haw sound of Forty Twenty and The Mercurys. 9 p.m. $7.

Saturday night is, of course, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band at The Anchor Inn with Son, Ambulance, Matt Focht and Jenny Lewis. Tix are $20 and the show starts at 8 p.m.

Also Saturday night, The Song Remains the Same plays at The Waiting Room with The Ground Tyrants. $7, 9 p.m.

And yours truly will be hosting a panel discussion at noon Saturday down at the Bemis Center as part of the (downtown) Omaha Lit Fest. As described on the Lit Fest site:

Taking Notes: Music and Writing -- Reader music critic Tim McMahan discusses the role of music in writing fiction, criticism, and screenplays. With novelists Charles Bock (Beautiful Children, which included an accompanying alt music mix) and Carleen Brice (Orange Mint and Honey, in which Nina Simone plays a role), filmmaker Nik Fackler (director of music videos and the locally shot film, Lovely, Still), and D.E. Rasso (music writer for #1 Hit Song and the defunct Brooklyn dirty-mag for women, Sweet Action).

I'm told Nik probably won't be there on account of The Toronto Film Festival, where Lovely Still was screened.

Yes, this whole Lit Fest thing is absolutely free, but the organizers are looking for donations, so give up some cash if you go (or even if you don't).

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