From my perch on the top of the world, I can see the semi-trucks parked along the riverfront, preparing for tomorrow's MAHA Festival. A glance at my Yahoo! weather forecast indicates Saturday will be sunny with a high of 74, perfect conditions for an all-day outdoor event. The only thing in question: Will people come? At $29.50 per ticket, the jury's definitely out.

I intend to be there early for Appleseed Cast and Army Navy and a taste of the Kermit Brashear Local Stage. You already know the rest of the line-up, but here's the schedule anyway. The good stuff ends after when It's True leaves the stage (they're scheduled for 4:45), which gives you plenty of time to go home and get ready for the evening's three other festivals.

I'll get to Saturday night's festival showcases in a minute. First, tonight is Night 2 of the Nebraska Pop Festival at The Waiting Room. The line-up starts at 7 p.m. sharp:

Spiders For Love (Omaha, Nebraska)
Transmittens (Lawrence, Kansas)
Mr. and Mrs. Muffins (Jakarta Indonesia & Seattle, Washington)
Talking Mountain (Omaha, Nebraska)
Poland (Seattle, Washington)
Strega (NYC, New York)

Of the festival's four nights, this will be the one that I'll likely attend. Tickets are $10 for this benefit showcase, with money going to UNO Mav Radio.

There's also a show tonight at O'Leaver's, featuring Dance Me Pregnant, Old Panther and Bazooka Shootout. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Now onto the Saturday evening festival line-up.

Top on the list, of course, is RAT FEST being held at 8 p.m. at a warehouse at 2406 Leavenworth -- the former Faint and Tilly and the Wall practice space. The current residents have added a stage, sound system and a back-alley smoking patio. The 8-band lineup is:

Beep Beep (Saddle Creek)
Life of a Scarecrow
Coyote Bones (Coco Art)
Brimstone Howl (Alive)
Flowers Forever (Team Love)
Conchance (Slumber Party)
Brainworlds (I'm Drinking This)
Babes

No idea on the band order. The DJ's for the evening are W.E.R.D , Mello Mic, and DJ Rey. Admission is only $5. This one could get crazy.

Also Saturday night at 7 p.m. is Night 3 of The Nebraska Pop Festival, featuring:

Electric Needle Room (Omaha, Nebraska)
Hanwell (Des Moines, Iowa)
Labrador w/ special guest Dereck Higgins on bass (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Mammoth Life (Lawrence Kansas)
Thunder Power (Omaha, Nebraska)
Cleemann w/ special guest Dereck Higgins on bass (Copenhagen, Denmark)

$8 adv./$10 dos. I'm told this will be the last local Thunder Power show until late November.

And for those of you into skanking the Reggae and Ska Festival is being held at Sokol Underground featuring The Super Colliders, Linoma Mashers, RC Dub, The Bishops and Rhythm Collective, all for $10 starting at 6 p.m.

On top of all that, there's a slew of great non-festival shows going on Saturday night.

At the Sydney, Reagan Roeder's new band Hubble is playing with The Wagon Blasters and Nicole Le Clerc. $5, 9 p.m.

At Slowdown Jr., John Klemmensen and The Party are playing with Lincoln's Ember Schrag. $7, 9 p.m.

At The Barley St., The Yuppies are playing with The Bassturds and Petit Mal. $5, 9 p.m.

And to top it all off, Dario Days is happening at Dario's as part of Dundee Day from 11 a.m. to midnight. Yes, there will be live music; no, I don't know who it is.

Whew!

That brings us to Sunday and the last night of the Nebraska Pop Festival, and maybe the festival's most impressive line-up:

Sweet Pea (Omaha, Nebraska)
Andrew K. Butler (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Cowboy Indian Bear (Lawrence, Kansas)
At Land (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Mother Z's (Chicago, Illinois)
Darren Keen (Omaha, Nebraska)

Tickets again are $8 adv./$10 dos. Show starts at 7 p.m.

Also Sunday night at O'Leaver's it's Circle K , Fergus and Geronimo, Teenage Cool Kids and Rainbow Party. $5, 9:30 p.m..

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