I saw a bunch of great local bands this weekend. On Friday, Thunder Power (now sans exclamation points) had their CD release show at Slowdown with Honeybee, These United States, and Midwest Dilemma. It was the first time I’ve seen Midwest Dilemma and they sounded really good and full (they should sound full with that many members) and I’m always excited to see Honeybee live. Thunder Power sounded great too and the EP Love Yourself looks and sounds awesome.

On Saturday there was a benefit show at The Waiting Room for the Peace Center, which amongst other support, offers free counseling for soldiers with PTSD. Bands that played included: Bear Country, Simon Joyner, Bill Hoover, McCarthy Trenching, Outlaw Con Bandana, Orenda Fink and Baby Walrus (pictured above).

It was the first time I’ve seen Outlaw Con Bandana, and they were really, really good. I’ve heard good things about them, and they did not disappoint. I haven’t seen Baby Walrus in what feels like forever, and it was way too long, because this band is SO good. They played a few new songs which were really promising and is a sign of more good music to come from them, and the old stuff reminded me how good their album was. I guess I’ll have to take Lykke Li out of my CD player. It was bound to happen some time.

This is a gravely inadequate post, but I just want to say that I saw The Fiery Furnaces the other night and they were amazing and now I can’t stop listening to them. They are an extremely talented and intriguing band live. I saw Mates of State on Saturday and they were pretty awesome too. Their new album Re-Arrange Us is really good and poppy and the songs and bits of lyrics are guaranteed to stay in head for days. The past couple of days I’ve woken up with pieces of their songs in my head…like the moment I woke up. That’s how catchy it is.

In downer news, Little Couch had a less than impressive showing at pub quiz tonight. In fact, we were so embarrassed that we used a pseudonym. We’ll bounce back next week with a best ever score!

Destroyer. Omaha. The Waiting Room., originally uploaded by NotoriousLBT.

Destroyer played here Friday night, it was an awesome show. Mal Madrigal opened and sounded really great.

I saw UUVVWWZ, Thunder Power!!! and Tilly and the Wall last night at The Waiting Room. All three bands were pretty awesome. How can you not completely enjoy yourself at a Tilly show? Sadly, I forgot my camera last night, so no photos or videos, but I’m sure Omahype will have some posted soon, so I’ll put a link up when they do. The only disappointment was that Tilly didn’t play their new song Too Excited, which I love. They played some other new ones though, probably about 4 or 5. I’m a little mixed on them. Beat Control was really fun and danceable live. It seems like the vocals are really emphasized in the new ones, and there is less layering of the vocals and some of the sounds. But they still sounded good. I’m anxious to hear the album. Though some haven’t had the same impact upon first listen like some of the other Tilly songs have, I trust them and think it’s cool that they’re exploring different avenues.

It was my first time seeing UUVVWWZ, a band from Lincoln that I’ve been wanting to see for a little while now. They were pretty rad. I think I’d be even more into it had I heard any of the songs before (besides like once on MySpace), but it made me want to hear them more, which is a really good thing. The guitarist is pretty amazing. Their sound reminds me a little of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs…not a ton, but a little, and I’m not drawing comparisons based on their extroverted female lead singers.

Thunder Power!!! also sounded good last night. They played a new song that was upbeat and catchy. There was a good crowd for both opening bands, which is always nice to see.

No show for me tonight, I’m super swamped with work. I shouldn’t even be taking this break to write this post. Back to slaving away…

Quick run-down on weekend cultural activities:

Dan McCarthy, Spring Gun and Thunder Power!!! at Slowdown was awesome. The sound is really great in there and as a result, the bands all sounded great, especially TP (photo below). Kacynna’s voice was amazing on those crisp speakers.

Saw Billy the Kid at Film Streams and really liked it, also enjoyed the Q & A afterwards. I felt nostalgic for 466 nights and Q & As and felt like I should’ve been sitting on the floor in the front taking photos. That would’ve been weird though. I decided that I would make a list of all the guests we had so that I could remember them in my old age or tell my grandkids. I always plan to do this with concerts too (for the same reasons). I will add both of these lists to my non-New Years resolution list. But yeah, the movie was a funny, interesting, moving portrait of this kid, Billy. It’s surprising that the director, Jennifer Venditti, was able to establish trust and a sense of rapport with him in only 5 days (she went back and shot 3 more days. If you don’t feel like doing the math, that’s 8 shooting days)…although after watching the film and getting a better sense of Billy, it’s not all that surprising – though it is a testament to her personality as well. I have a lot more I could say about this film (and maybe will), but for now (since this is a quick recap and it’s 2:14 am) I will just say: go see it if you can.

It is also the kind of movie that makes me really want to go out and make a film. It had a very DIY aesthetic and was shot with basically just two people as the crew on the Panasonic DVX camera and has a verité style. I wish the camera had been more steady, but in the end it didn’t matter because Billy as a character and the subject matter as a whole was so strong. It really is an example of story, character and heart triumphing over any matter of production value or gloss.

Recently got back from seeing Baby Walrus at The Waiting Room. It seemed like a shorter set than usual, but it was still fun and they sounded great. I really like the record, but it’s even better live. I still have What Plastic Box in my head. Here’s the end of it live:

I would like to go to The Waiting Room tomorrow night to see Orenda Fink, Jake Bellows, Joe Knapp, Stefanie Drootin, Dan McCarthy and more, but probably won’t because I haven’t planned anything for class on Monday and that would be another late night and I have get sleep for my long work day on Monday. I’m just not as hardcore as I once was, I guess. I’m getting old.

And last, but not least, I am in the process of re-watching Me And You And Everyone We Know. It’s been too long since I’ve seen it last, and it’s been fun and inspiring to watch it despite the fact that I keep falling asleep…which has nothing to do with the movie itself and everything to do with the fact that I start it at around 3 am after taking Tylenol PM (a recent bad habit I am aiming to break). I’m hoping to make it through another 20 minutes tonight. Later.

I meant to post this earlier, but here is a link to Pitchfork’s write-up on the Bright Eyes show and photos by Omaha-based Paparazzi by Appointment (including the one featured above).

I saw Bright Eyes tonight at the intimate bar/venue The Waiting Room – thanks to Cynthia who skillfully procured the hard-to-get tickets. The show was pretty amazing. It’s too late (or too early) to write about it in any articulate or even cohesive way. Simon Joyner and Flowers Forever opened — sadly, I missed most of Flowers’ set, but enjoyed what I did see and Simon Joyner sounded good tonight too. Bright Eyes set list photo below.