Going to a College World Series game drains you of your will to live. After sitting through last night’s, I didn’t have the energy to make it to O’Leaver’s for Statistics. Looks like I’m going to have to wait until the end of July to see what Denver’s been up to. If you were there, tell us how it was on the webboard.

Briefly…

— If you turned on your TV or picked up a Lincoln Journal Star than you know that the Saddle Creek folks held a press conference yesterday officially announcing the Slowdown project in downtown Omaha between 13th and 14th and Webster and Cuming, which means I’ll be able to watch its progress daily from the vantage point of my office at UP. No real earth-shaking news, though I figured the club would be larger than the 400-capacity space described in the Associated Press story. Time frame is opening in a about a year. I know just as many people psyched about the facility’s two-screen indie/arthouse cinema as the club. I’m sure we’re gonna hear a lot more about the project as time goes by, like the club’s booking philosophy and how it could impact Sokol Underground. And what’s going on with that venture slated for the old Club Joy space?

— Personal critical mentor and savior Robert Christgau has the latest installment of his Consumer Guide online at the Village Voice (read it here). This one features indie music, including his take on I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (He gives it an “A minus,” saying “Like the empathy of so many young men, especially artists, his (Oberst’s) is more self-involved than saints like us prefer”) and the Neva/Bright Eyes split, which he placed on his “Duds” list.

— One British online ‘zine doesn’t like the new Faint single “Desperate Guys.” Says MusicOMH.com, “Desperate? With songs like this, I’m not surprised.” Cheeky.

What’s up this weekend? Tonight looks like a Brother’s night, as I don’t see any shows worth mentioning. You could always go see BoDeans at Harrahs, I guess. Tomorrow night, on the other hand, has two humdingers: The Terminals and The Philharmonic at The 49’r, and Shelterbelt, Papers and Feariscalm at Sokol Underground. Sunday night, Thunderbirds Are Now!, Thunderstandable, and Eagle.Seagull are at Lincoln’s 9th St. Basement. But if you miss it, TAN are opening for Enon the next night (Monday) at Sokol Underground.

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