In case you didn't know, you've been given an extra day of life in the form of "Leap Day" today. Don't waste it. And to help make sure you don't, Omaha's entertainment mafia has put together a jam-packed night of shows. Here's the round-up:

-- An unofficial Leap Day celebration is taking place tonight at The Waiting Room with the long-awaited return of The Monroes. Seems like forever since these fun-lovin' farm boys have been on stage. Joining them will be street-fight punkers The Coffin Killers, School of Arms, and the night's headliners, Ladyfinger. $7, 9 p.m.

-- Meanwhile, there's a rock show going on downtown at the new Antiquarium Record Store featuring Box Elders, Yuppies, Mr. Wizard and Time Falcon (quite possibly the best-named band in recent memory). The show is free, but donations will be accepted for Yuppies' and Box Elders' tour funds (So don't be a cheap-ass). The show also is a great chance to check out the record store's new location, if you haven't already (they moved last June). The address is 417 S 13th St., right next door to the 415 Lounge. Buy some vinyl while you're there. Show starts at 8 p.m.

-- While you're downtown, you might as well swing past Slowdown Jr. for Scott Severin & The Milton Burlesque, with The Whipkey Three and The Black Squirrels. $7, 9 p.m.

There's also a couple great shows tomorrow night. The one with the highest profile: They Might Be Giants at Slowdown with Oppenheimer. If you don't have tickets, you're out of luck, since it's SOLD OUT. No tix? Check out London-based freak folk phenom Alessi at The Waiting Room with Jake Bellows (of Neva Dinova), Midwest Dilemma performing as an 8-piece (including tuba), and the always provocative Honey & Darling. $7, 9 p.m.

Let me know if I missed anything by posting it on the webboard. Have a good weekend.

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I've been meaning to check out Honeybee for a long, long time. I even trekked out to The Waiting Room a couple months ago for that very purpose only to find out that they'd canceled right before their set. I'm keeping my fingers crossed tonight. Honeybee, btw, is three girls and two guys who record for Slumber Party Records. Check out their myspace.

They're opening for Brooklyn band The XYZ Affair at The Waiting Room. I've been listening to XYZ's music all morning -- sort of a cross between Death Cab (the vocals) and Weezer or The Ark (the power pop) with funny, introspective lyrics. The New York Times described them as "a middle ground between the Beach Boys and Queen." They must be talking about the falsetto. Catchy? You bet. Thunder Power!!! also is on the bill. $7, 9 p.m.

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Tomorrow's column explores a recent trip out West (as in West Omaha). Don't miss it.

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Just a quick moment to let you know what you've probably already known for weeks -- The Black Lips are playing tonight at The Waiting Room with Quintron and Miss Pussycat, and Lincoln's own Brimstone Howl. $12, 9 p.m. Go.

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I'm just messin' with ya, Mick. Mick ain't 50. One of the creators and driving forces behind slamomaha.com is celebrating becoming a wee lad of 40 at The Waiting Room tonight with a bunch of bands that no doubt show his age (and, unfortunately, mine). Among them, The Get (check out the classic photo), Musico (One of Darren Keen's early incarnations), and Janglepop (more bad-ass photos). Add to that new comers The Ground Tyrants and the funkalicious Satchel Grande and you do, indeed, have a party going on. $5, 8 p.m. Something tells me Mick is going to get smashed from all the free shots.

Also tonight, just down the street at PS Collective, it's Hyannis, Honeybee and Sleep Said the Monster. $3, 9 p.m., while down at Slowdown it's our old friends Malpais (fronted by that trouble-making troubadour Greg Loftis) and Landing on the Moon opening for Say Anything. $15, 8 p.m.

Tomorrow night's spotlight show is Neva Dinova at Slowdown with Race for Titles and Noah's Ark Was a Spaceship. This may well be the closest thing we get to a CD release show for Neva's new disc, You May Already Be Dreaming as the band will be on the road for the foreseeable future. $8, 9 p.m. Also Saturday night, David Matysiak of Coyote Bones and Eli Mardock of Eagle*Seagull open for Bassia Bulat at The Waiting Room. $8, 9 p.m. Get an early start on the evening by checking out the 5 p.m. screening of the Evan Blakely film Oscillations, featuring the music of Kyle Harvey at Westwood Cinema, part of the Nebraska Short Film Block of the Omaha Film Festival.

Finally, there's a hummer of a show Sunday night at The Waiting Room, headlined by These Are Powers. These Are Powers is former Lincolnite Pat Noecker's new band. Noecker was a member of seminal '90s band Opium Taylor. He went on to form Liars with Ron Albertson (ex-Mercy Rule), which released the critically hailed They Threw Us in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top on Gern Blandsten in 2001 before he and Ron left the band, effectively turning Liars into shit. Along with Noecker, These Are Powers features Anna Barie (ex-Knife Skills) and Ted McGrath. Opening is Mahjongg and founder/owner of K Records, Calvin Johnson, whose former bands include Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, Dub Narcotic Sound System, and The Halo Benders. $8, 9 p.m.

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As a primer to the feature I just posted about Doug Van Sloun's brand new Focus Mastering studio (here), you may want to read (or reread) my interview with Doug from 2003 (here). Then come back and read the feature about Focus, where Doug gives full disclosure on his new state-of-the-art mastering studio. Most readers of this site know who Doug is, but for the few who don't: Van Sloun is the guy who mastered every major indie release out of Nebraska for the past 10 years or so. His name is as synonymous with Nebraska indie music as Saddle Creek Records, Mike Mogis and Bright Eyes. His new studio will blow your mind. Read about it, then check it out for yourself Saturday March 1, at his open house. I warned Doug that he'll have more than just potential customers out there to hear what perfect sound sounds like. We go beyond the new studio in this week's column, where Doug talks about mastering in general, the recording industry, mp3s and other fun stuff. Consider it part 2 of today's feature, online tomorrow.

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Here are my misgivings about tonight's show at Slowdown:

Ever have someone go on and on about a movie that you "just have to see"? They tell you how the film "changed their lives," how the plot and acting and cinematography were beyond clever. How the sound track will make your head spin. How they laughed and cried and held on to the edge of their seats for what was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill ride. The words "Oscar" and "Best Picture" are tossed around matter-of-factly, along with phrases like "You MUST see it," and "Unforgettable."

So you go. And the movie might be good, but it never, ever lives up to the build up. And ultimately, you're disappointed.

That's what I'm worried about with UUVVWWZ. I hope I didn't oversell them in my review a few weeks ago. Don't get me wrong, they were frigging amazing. To me. But I don't know if they're going to be the answer to everything that ails you. I don't want you going to Slowdown Jr. tonight expecting the second coming of PJ Harvey, Bjork and The Pixies all rolled up in one. UUVVWWZ isn't that. They are what they are -- which is one of the most talented new bands I've seen around here in years. And hopefully they'll be that for you tonight. If they're not, there's always The Show Is the Rainbow's usual fun-loving bag of tricks. Darren never fails to entertain. And from Edwardsville, Illinois, near St. Louis, comes tonight's headliner, So Many Dynamos. Their name, as you may or may not have figured out, is a palindrome, just like Slap a Ham on Omaha, Pals. Spell it backwards and it spells the same thing. They began working on a new album last year with Death Cab's Chris Walla at Tiny Telephone. Their stuff on myspace reminds me of early Dismemberment Plan. Odd, but spunky. $5, 9 p.m. As we used to say back in old days, Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog!

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Sorry about the lateness of this post, a post that will probably get lost in the shuffle as I'll be placing my Focus Mastering/Doug Van Sloun story online tomorrow. That said, I see by the Omaha World-Herald (story here) that those Saddle Creek guys gave up on the idea of having a restaurant down at the Slowdown complex. Instead of having a place to get a bite to eat before a show, we will now be able to buy a variety of trendy clothing and under garments from American Apparel.

You can't blame Kulbel and Nansel for taking AA up on their offer. The underwear store, known for its racy advertising and horny CEO Dov Charney, apparently were the only ones interested in that empty 3,800-foot stall. "I think I personally need to get over there not being a restaurant there," Kulbel said in the OWH story. "Every time I walk past it I see a restaurant in there. I don't think it will be weird for other people. It's altered a bit, but I certainly don't think it's altered to the point of it being radically different." He goes on to say other restaurants eventually will locate nearby. If only that were true.

It'll be interesting to see how the addition of an American Apparel store will impact Urban Outfitters, who I have to assume was under the impression that it was going to be the only clothing store on the block. Or how the new AA store will impact Drastic Plastic, who's been one (if not the only) American Apparel outlet in the Omaha area. At least we'll be able to get a good cup of Joe before a show. According to the article, Blue Line still intends to open a "European-style café" in the Slowdown development. No word on when, though…

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Last week, one of the site's more loyal readers posted a link to a new mousetrap myspace (here) on the webboard. The site consolidates all those mousetrap Youtube videos that have been floating around, along with a handful of classic mousetrap tracks, as well as a brief history of the band. Check it out. I wonder what this influx of mousetrap content could possibly mean?

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Again, tomorrow check out the feature on Focus Mastering, which includes an interview with mastering engineer superstar Doug Van Sloun that concludes with this week's column on Thursday.

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Remember that scene in The Ten Commandments, the one toward the end when Chuck Heston as Moses climbs Mount Sinai to have a chat with his pal God while everyone down below was letting loose with the mother of all orgies? Remember them dancing around in their underwear, throwing gold baubles at Dathan (as played by Edward G. Robinson) while Aaron made the golden calf? Well, it was kind of like that Friday night at O'Leaver's for the first of two final performances of Cloven Path. Debauchery at its finest. Lecherous chaos. Gluttony and debasement. What a way to go.

First up was The Shanks playing a by-the-book, no-kill set of gutter-punk that was relatively flawless and in tune. You read that correctly. The Shanks came off as real pro's -- a disappointment to everyone who expects utter chaos and/or the usual bloody shock and awe. Instead it was almost run-of-the-mill. Downright efficient. And (dare I say it) professional. What's wrong with this picture? They've always said their stage theatrics were never planned; the violence was the natural by-product of too much booze and pent-up anger. So when they do explode, it's an honest explosion. I suspect the days of fist-fights and cymbal throwing are far from over. Until then, we'll have to settle for their buzzsaw, feedback-ringing, hump-thump punk rock, and that's good enough for me (for now).

The timidity would not continue with Cloven Path. The duo is headed to some place in the center of Texas, just a few hours from all the biggest cities. The reason for their departure was rumored by many, but told by no one (including me). Needless to say, they'll do better in the Longhorn state. After what I saw and heard Friday night, Omaha doesn't deserve them. It was their most unbridled set, and their best. Half-naked guitarist/frontman Sii wandered all over the bar, grinding both his guitar and any patron that would let him/herself be ground upon (and there were plenty), while drummer Noraa pounded out clever, oddly timed bombshells. Former vocalist Kat joined in on one song, proving that these guys never really needed a vocalist for their unique style of electro-metal. They do fine on their own, especially when they have a crowd writhing in utter pleasure among the filth and puke of O'Leaver's. I watched in utter awe, thinking about what Omaha will do without its Cloven Path. I then climbed upon the railing, Rolling Rock in one hand, stone tablets in the other, and proclaimed, "Where is your messiah now?"

Cloven Path apparently played another final show Saturday night at O'Leaver's, but I didn't go. In fact, that O'Leaver's show was my only outing this weekend. I planned on going to The Waiting Room tonight to see Brad Hoshaw open for Sara Bareilles, but apparently Bareilles' people insisted that there be no opening acts, and Hoshaw and Honey & Baby were dropped. On one hand, it's a shame for Hoshaw who has been building some momentum recently; but on the other hand, few people other than myself were going to be there to see him anyway. I've listened to Bareilles' music -- it's middle-of-the-road colorless, flavorless, inoffensive VH-1 "adult contemporary" dreck. Bland. The kind of blandness that sells hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of CDs to people who desperately crave music that they can ignore. Television commercial music. Shopping music. Greatest common denominator music. Pap. The last thing her fans want is to listen to something that's intelligent, honest and emotionally moving. Like I said, Hoshaw is better off. Probably. Interestingly, he posted on SLAMOmaha this morning that he's giving away at the door of the Bareilles show 50 copies of a six-song live EP recorded at Mick's Jan. 5 (the show that I wrote a column about here a few weeks ago). There actually were nine songs performed and recorded that night. I have them all, and the collection is one of the best live albums I've heard around here in years. My guess is that none of the Bareilles zombettes will want one, so you may want to drop by The Waiting Room and see if the doorman will give you one. Why doesn't Hoshaw peddle these at his shows? Actually, why doesn't one of the more industrious local indie labels want to put it out?

That's not the only show going on tonight. Omaha punk rock phenoms The Coffin Killers, along with dredge-rock masters Dim Light, are opening for Dax Riggs tonight at Slowdown Jr. Riggs used to be in Acid Bath back in the '90s. $10, 9 p.m. There's also a Todd Snider concert at Scottish Rite Hall. $18, 8 p.m.

By the way, the reviews matrix has been updated...

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Been playing depressing Gregorian chant music all morning, getting ready for tonight's somber event at O'Leaver's -- the goodbye concert for Cloven Path. Details about their departure are sketchy and are probably too controversial to include here (and too dangerous). Needless to say, the band will be vacating the state, possibly forever. Your last chance to see/hear their ritualistic electroni-punk is tonight, that is if O'Leaver's doesn't burn to the ground during The Shanks' opening set. Show of the year nominee? Maybe, maybe… $2, 9:30 p.m. Wear black.

Also tonight, Forty Twenty (winners of the OEA Award for Best Country / Bluegrass band) plays at The Waiting Room with fellow "country/bluegrass band" The Filter Kings. Actually, the odds of ever seeing these guys play at a two-steppin' beer hall like Bushwacker's is slim and none. This is bourbon-soaked country punk (but don't tell the OEA music academy). $7, 9 p.m.

Down the street at Mick's, Mark Olson of the Jayhawks is playing a set. $10, 9 p.m. While over at The Barley St. it's Kyle Harvey and Matt Cox for free (9 p.m.), while The Killigans play at The 49'r.

Also tonight, Baby Walrus celebrates the release of its Slumber Party Records debut down at Bemis Underground with Flowers Forever. $5, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night it's the PS Collective "Birthday Bash" featuring Mal Madrigal, Coyote Bones and Brimstone Howl. $5, 9 p.m. It's also an opportunity for those who want their music aired on the new Benson radio station, KIND, to drop off their recordings and fill out a release form. KIND Program Director Mary O'Keefe will be on hand to answer questions. A copy of the release form is available at the PS Collective website. More details here.

This is a good opportunity to clarify a few things I've been hearing and reading about KIND over the past couple of weeks. I asked Amy Ryan, station organizer and owner of PS Collective, for an update. She said the station's non-profit application is currently being pulled together with the help of some folks at the Creighton Law School, while a business plan is being developed with the aid of The Non-Profit of the Midlands and SCORE, a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and small business.

"After the non-profit has been established, which we are hoping will be within the next two months, we will begin to make contact with the FCC," Ryan said. "Our attorney will work with this process, as it's extremely complex. The history of KZUM in Lincoln is a good example of the lengthy process one can go through, as it took them many years to do. We are also considering an AM frequency, which seems to have more availability."

So, does this mean KIND has decided not to pursue broadcasting at below 100 milliwatts (i.e., the Part 15 approach that wouldn't require a license)?

"At this time we are beginning with a stream / podcast, while we pursue which route to take with the FCC," Ryan said. "Although our initial thoughts were KIND FM 99.1, we have not yet made a firm decision on whether this station will be Part 15 (below 100 milliwatts as we first envisioned), LPFM community license, or even an AM license. At this time, all options are on the table, even as we begin to undertake the development of local content."

It would be a shame if they decide to shit-can the Part 15 station concept. It might have kept things rolling until a more "powerful" solution was developed with the FCC over the next couple of years. In the long run, they're probably doing the right thing if they want to establish a more permanent foothold in the Benson area. I'm not a big fan of streamcast radio and I never listen to podcasts, but I might start once KIND begins operation.

Also Saturday night, The Pendrakes and Sarah Benck and the Robbers at The Waiting Room, $7, 9 p.m.; and Scott Severin and Paper Owls at The Barley St.

One last thing: I got my copy of Magnet magazine in the mail over lunch. It's their year-end edition, with their top-20 list (No. 1 was Ween's La Cucaracha). The pleasant surprise was in the "Hidden Treasures," which lists the "10 Great Albums Buried in 2007." Among them, Brimstone Howl's Guts of Steel. Said Magnet: "...there's nothing reverent about these Nebraskans' unholy hot-wiring of the Sonics, the Damned and the Blues Explosion." Congrats!

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Brooklyn singer songwriter Kevin Devine plays at Slowdown Jr. tonight with AA Bondy and The Jealous Girlfriends. The former Miracle of 86 frontman's 2007 release Put Your Ghost to Rest is truly a beautiful thing, an acoustic-flavored rock album that recalls songwriters like Dan Wilson and Michael Penn. $10, 9 p.m.

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First a bit of news: I found out while watching The Grammy's last night that Zach Nipper won for Best Recording Packaging for his work on Bright Eyes' Cassadaga album. Right before one of the commercial breaks the network tossed the information on the bottom of the screen, along with a picture of Nipper -- decked out in a tux -- accepting the award at a ceremony held earlier in the day. If you're wondering what Nipper looks like, he's the handsome stud on the cover of Cursive's Domestica album. The Grammy is the first for a Saddle Creek Records project, but hopefully not the last. It's just a matter of time before the academy's voters recognize Oberst for his songwriting chops. Niz has coverage in the OWH here. Says Nipper in the article: "It definitely makes me feel like a rock star." Indeed.

Now to Daniel Johnston Saturday night at The Slowdown. The show wasn't sold out when I got there, but it had to be darn close judging by the massive crowd in the venue. I arrived after 10:30, just in time to see Flowers Forever. The band has one of the best drummers in town in Craig D., as well as the genius that is Chris Senseney on guitar. Then there's frontman/scenester diva Dereck Pressnall, who is single-handedly trying to reincarnate the soul of Elvis Presley within his Vincent Gallo-esque frame. There's something almost subversive about Pressnall's flamboyant, gyrating performance style, something that runs obscenely counter to the stand-and-play tradition of indie rock. Pressnall lets it all hang out, much to the dismay of the people around me who took his panache as rock star posing. Whether you're revolted or not, you have to admit the performance is interesting, unlike the music. I'm working on a review of the Flowers Forever debut that'll likely be online this Wednesday or Thursday as part of a package of reviews that make up this week's column. Pressnall's live performance embodies that CD, adding a little more life to the music than what's heard on the disc. It all comes down to whether or not you buy Pressnall's "Change better come / We're not fucking around no more" millennial outreach -- an approach whose sincerity works when it comes from Tilly. When it comes from Flowers Forever, it sounds less like a rallying cry than a threat from someone that no one could possibly take seriously.

Flowers Forever was an odd choice for this bill. Their music is almost diametrically incongruous with Daniel Johnston's. I assume Pressnall is a big fan (or else he and Creek just wanted to glom onto what they knew would be a big crowd). There was no rock star posing from Johnston, who came out and spent the first five minutes of the set struggling with sound equipment. First his microphone didn't work. When they figured that out, his guitar quit working. If you came wondering if Johnston would implode on stage (as a few of the people I spoke to outside admitted), here was the perfect opportunity. Instead, Johnston just looked lost, standing alone behind the microphone, waiting for someone to figure out what was wrong. I suppose this is what happens when you don't do a sound check, which Johnston skipped earlier in the day. The original plan was that Johnston and The Rayguns were to play 30 seconds of each song during soundcheck just to make sure that everyone was on the same page. It didn't happen, and there was some concerns that the evening's performance was going to be a train wreck. It was anything but.

Johnston started by playing a few new songs solo with his guitar. He apologized for fumbling some of the chords, then another guitarist took the stage and accompanied him on a couple classics including "Love in Vain" and a Beatles cover ("You've Got to Hide Your Love Away"). Johnston left the stage for a few moments, only to reemerge with The Rayguns in tow, changing the entire tone of the performance to something more professional and classic. Having seen on YouTube a few of the other instances where Johnston performed with local acts, he probably wasn't used to playing with a band of this caliber. The Rayguns were amazing, playing songs like "Fish" and "Rock This Town" and "True Love Will Find You in the End." The problem was Johnston, whose voice began to break about 10 minutes into the set. By the midway point, he was struggling to sing. He acknowledged that he was losing his voice, but soldiered on heroically. After about five tunes with the band, Johnston said goodnight. The crowd chanted "Daniel" trying to get him out for an encore, but it didn't happen. Instead Mike Friedman and the band came back out and explained that Johnston's voice was gone. Friedman told the crowd that Daniel would love it if they sang him "Devil Town." "He's right back there, he can hear you," Friedman said, leading the crowd in the a cappella tribute. It was a sweet moment.

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There's not a lot to say about the Conor/Obama show yesterday at the Civic. Bright Eyes consisted of Oberst and trumpet player Nate Walcott, joined by M. Ward and Jim James on guitars. It dawned on me while listening to Oberst croon through "Land Locked Blues" -- one of three songs performed for the 9,000-plus crowd -- that Bright Eyes' music isn't exactly inspirational in a "Let's go get 'em!" sort of way. In fact, it's somewhat downcast and slightly depressing. Hardly the "Celebrate good times COME ON!" revelry that one expects at a campaign rally. Oberst made up for it with his own brief comments, the first of the evening where anyone declared Obama "the next president of the United States." We'd hear the same thing again from Ben Nelson, Mike Fahey and the governor of Iowa. Anyway, after their three songs, Oberst and Co. strolled off stage, and it would be another two hours before Obama would finally arrive with his usual, inspiring stump speech, much more of a rock star than Oberst and Co. will ever be. Niz made it to the Slowdown Obama rally; you can read her brief comments on the OWH site here. The caucus is tomorrow morning, where you'll all get to see where your neighbors stand, except in my case because most of my neighbors are probably republicans.

I think there's a law against voting drunk, so you may want to hold back at the shows tonight. It could be difficult, as Satchel Grande is headlining a show at The Waiting Room with Polydypsia and Dessa Vibes. $7, 9 p.m. Down at Slowdown Jr., Thunder Power!!! returns with Darren Keen (a.k.a. The Show Is the Rainbow) and Somewhere Soon. $7, 9 p.m. While at Mick's, Scott Severin and his band opens for Jumpin' Kate. $5, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night, of course, is Daniel Johnston and The Rayguns at Slowdown. Opening is Flowers Forever and Jake Bellows. $18, 9 p.m., tickets are still available at theslowdown.com. While over at The Waiting Room, those old stoners from Clever are playing, along with pop-punk bands Old Boy Network and Straight Outta Junior High. $7, 9 p.m.

Don't forget to caucus tomorrow!!!

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Well I did get to see Yeasayer/MGMT last night at Slowdown after all. About an hour after I posted yesterday's blog where I whined about the show selling out, I got an e-mail from Yeasayer's publicist offering me a slot on the list (Yes, people really do read Lazy-i). Despite being sold out, they easily could have squeezed an additional 50 people into the bar. The limited numbers obviously have something to do with bullshit fire codes. Evidence of the slim crowd size: I've never gotten a beer faster at Slowdown than I did last night.

MGMT went on first. My caveat for this review -- I knew next to nothing about either band on the bill, only that Yeasayer has an album near the top of the CMJ radio charts, right under Radiohead. That means they must be good, right? Well, of the two bands, I liked MGMT more, but probably because they were going for a '70s-era prog/arena-rock sound. You could draw parallels to a lot of FM greats, from Queen to Frampton to Styx, but modernized with a touch of Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire. It's no surprise that they're on a major label -- Sony/Columbia (which probably helped them get that gig on Letterman last month). A Sony rep actually was in the bar last night schmoozing. He told me to watch out for a song later in the set that will "have the girls dancing up front."

Sure enough, two or three songs before the end, MGMT launched into a funky, grinding dance number that sounded like a cross between David Bowie and Parliament Funkadelic. Mr. Sony was right, they were grooving up by the stage, and rightfully so. The tune had a heavy, head-bobbing bass line that any college marching band brass section would be proud to blast at next year's bowl game. The Sony guy confirmed that it was indeed the song for which he spoke. "That's their big hit, or the song that should be a huge hit." Believe me, it would be if the recording sounded like it did at Slowdown. I found the track, called "Electric Feel," this morning on their website. That bass line was there, but its thundering storm-cloud weight had been lightened to one guy limply fingering a bass string. 'tis a shame.

Yeasayer came on at around 11 to throbbing tribal drums (some of which were sampled), Middle Eastern-sounding guitar (where's the sitar?) and lush three-part harmonies. It was like listening to the second coming of Poco by way of Punjabi. Cool, stylized stuff, though it lacked any sort of central melody (or at least any that I remembered on my drive home). The frontman, who fiddled with a table full of effects gear/pedals, was a real crooner, and while the crowd wasn't dancing, they were certainly bobbing their heads.

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Of course today and tonight is all about Barack Obama -- his rally down at the Civic with Bright Eyes (doors at 3:30, Barack at 4:30) -- followed by the Obama rally at Slowdown with Bright Eyes, M. Ward, Jim Ward and Secret Life of Sparrows. There already was around 50 people standing outside the Civic as I drove home for lunch. I'll be one of them later this afternoon; I won't, however, be at Slowdown tonight because I couldn't score a ticket.

If politics ain't your thing, Omaha's most genuinely disturbed punk band, The Shanks, are opening for The Filthy Few along with Bloodcow at The Waiting Room tonight at 9. $7 will get you an evening of mayhem.

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By now you've heard about the Barack Obama rally featuring Bright Eyes, M. Ward, Jim Ward of Sparta and Secret Life of Sparrows this Thursday at Slowdown starting at 7 p.m.

What I don't understand is the ticketing situation. According to an e-mail I received from Saddle Creek Record's Robb Nansel, to acquire two tickets to the rally you must be 18+ and "must either register to vote or sign a pledge card stating 'I pledge to caucus for Barack.'"

Now, that isn't an issue for me, as I threw money at Obama's campaign weeks ago. I'd love to see as many people caucus for him as possible. But forcing those already registered to vote to sign a pledge card to get in seems like bad politics.

Isn't the whole idea behind a rally to get people to support the candidate regardless of their affiliation? Why force someone to sign a "pledge card" who may not support Obama prior to the rally? How many of the signees will have lied to get into the event? Is the goal to keep the honest Republicans, Undecideds and Hillary supporters out? It seems out of character for a candidate whose central message has been about inclusion in the political process -- and that includes for clueless Republicans as well. Does Obama want people to vote for him in exchange for a Bright Eyes concert? No, no he doesn't.

Yeah, I know, I'm just reading too much into an event that has obvious limited capacity. Nansel's memo also said even if you have a ticket you may not get in. The sign-up for tickets begins today at 4:30 at Slowdown. Strangely, an article in today's OWH states the club's capacity is a mere 640 -- quite a few less than the 715 we'd been told in the past. One assumes that they didn't sell many tickets to the Jim Ward show that was already scheduled for that night, as they're refunding any previously purchased tickets and guaranteeing admission to the Obama event. So, if they sold 200 tickets to Jim Ward (presumably to 200 possible Republicans *yikes!*), that leaves only 440 remaining rally spots. Better get in line now...

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If the turnout for last night's first "public forum" for KIND 99.1 FM is any indication, the station shouldn't have any problem attracting volunteers. By 7 p.m., every table in PS Collective was filled -- more than 40 people were there to hear what the station was all about. The presentation began with the playing of another Dave Webber-voiced station promo over a logo-emblazened Powerpoint presentation while volunteers handed out agendas that listed the station's "Goals and Intentions." I'm not going into details, it's pretty much what you expected -- a home-grown radio station with a range of 10 blocks (you can read the background here).

The station's entire team of program coordinators already has been selected. The program director is longtime radio veteran Mary O'Keefe, "CD Releases" music programmer is The Reader's Jesse Stanek. There's also a slew of specialty personnel covering everything from "Comedy" (Matt Geiler) to "Independent Film" (Lauren Van Buskirk).

The station even has its own website up and running at kindfm.com (not sure why they didn't get a .org site since they're non-commercial, but oh well). Podcast/streaming is definitely in the works.

The hour-long meeting was mostly background stuff, except for one interesting tidbit: Station organizers intend to set up "repeater" transmitters in attics all over town, each broadcasting at a power level well within the limits of the FCC, essentially creating a pseudo 100 milliwatt citywide network. The engineer on hand said such tiny transmitters are cheap, easy to set up, and take almost no noticeable power to operate. Judging by the interest in the audience, plenty of people are willing to wire up transmitters as soon as the station begins operating.

Station organizer Shawn Halpenny appeared to be blown away by the turnout for the first meeting. And I have no doubt that the station will eventually be broadcasting, for as he said, his "reputation is on the line." Halpenny explained that they were accepting any and all programming contributions as long as the content was legal. This brought up the question of the legality of airing BMI/ASCAP music. When asked by Coyote Bones frontman David Matysiak if they would play BMI/ASCAP material, O'Keefe quickly said "No," but Nils Erickson, who runs Rainbow Recording Studio and who donated some equipment for the station, said they could air BMI/ASCAP music as long as artists signed a written waiver, which will be available from kindfm.com. No ASCAP/BMI content would be a real deal-breaker for the station. Even the smallest bands with or without a label have some sort of BMI/ASCAP agreement. Frankly, without the ability to broadcast ASCAP/BMI-represented performers, KIND would only be able to play amateur-level artists.

So when's it going live? No one knew for sure, though it likely will be in the next few months. Volunteers were asked to fill out an "Interest Intake" form detailing what they wanted to do. Now it's up to organizer Amy Ryan to sort through them all and begin assigning tasks… Stay tuned.

* * *

This weekend is front-loaded with shows -- there's tons going on tonight, and almost nothing tomorrow night.

Tonight at O'Leaver's it's The Third Men with The Diplomats of Solid Sound featuring the legendary Diplomettes -- the band's female back-up singers. I have visions of the scene from Apocalypse Now when the drunken troops stormed the stage and the Playboy Bunnies had to be helicoptered to safety. This could be interesting. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, there's a rare live music show over at The Saddle Creek Bar tonight featuring Adam Weaver, Car Then Cars, UUVVWWZ and Crush The Clown. Show starts at 9 and is FREE.

Over at The Waiting Room it's The Mercurys with gritty twang rockers The Filter Kings. $7, 9 p.m.

And finally, down at The Bemis Underground, it's Black Hundreds and Columbia vs. Challenger for a free show that starts at 9.

Then it's Saturday, and the only show of consequence is The Whipkey Three and Sarah Benck (sans The Robbers) at Mick's. $5, 9 p.m.

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