by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s feast and famine around here. No decent shows all week and then four in one night. Come on, guys, lets get organized. Talk to each other. Try not to have all these shows on the same night. Any one of the shows mentioned in the headline could have been tonight (when there’s virtually nothing going on). Instead, we’re forced to do lots of driving around (and spending lots of money) on Saturday. Oh well, it’s better than the alternative, which is what we’ve had this past week.

Before I get to Saturday’s shows, last night’s Tim Westergren town hall at Durham Museum was a packed house, and yes, I was there. I’m writing a column about Mr. Pandora’s comments, specifically dealing with the economic future of the music industry (and musicians), but you’ll have to wait until next Thursday to read it. Needless to say, Westergren’s vision of the future is very bright if you believe that Pandora will emerge as the all-encompassing replacement for broadcast radio. And while I do believe that Internet radio will change how we listen to music at home, in the office and in the car (I’ve been saying it for years, read my year-end predictions (’07) (’08) (’09)), I don’t think a streaming service designed to only play music that sounds identical to one artist or one song is going to be the answer. Seriously, can you imagine listening to a radio station dedicated to Bruce Springsteen (the example used throughout the evening)? Don’t get me wrong, I like Springsteen, but not in large doses; and the only thing worse than listening to non-stop Springsteen would be listening to bands that supposedly “sound” like Springsteen. Pandora has figured out a way to maximize the two things we all hate about traditional radio — repetition and commercials.

* * *

You may have noticed that I mentioned that I’m now posting my column on Thursday instead of  Wednesdays — the move is predicated by the long-awaited debut of the new Omaha Reader website. That’s right folks, John Heaston and his crack staff at The Reader have beat all the competition to the punch, unveiling The Reader‘s “Web 2.0” environment this week. It’s is a huge improvement over the old Reader site, and better than any other local news sites — including The Omaha World Herald‘s unbelievably bad attempt (The OWH really needs to hire someone who knows something about the Web if they want to compete in the online world). So take a moment to browse the new Reader site, where my weekly column will appear (I’m told) on Wednesdays, a day before it appears in Lazy-i. What can I say — they pay me to write it, they should at least get the first post before it appears here on Thursdays.

* * *

So, what’s going on this weekend?

Well, there’s nothing going on tonight (Girl Talk is at Sokol Auditorium, but it’s been sold out for a long, long time), but tomorrow night…

Just announced is the return of Digital Leather to O’Leaver’s. The band has been on hiatus most of the summer, and touring in Europe the past few weeks. I’m told they’ve had a finished album in the can since this spring waiting for a release. Maybe we’ll hear some of the new material Saturday night? FREE, 9:30 p.m., with Peace of Shit.

Also Saturday night, Slumber Party Records is having a fund-raiser at haute vegetarian cuisine restaurant Daily Grub, 1054 So. 20th St. Performers include Conchance, Bear Country, Simon Joyner, Talking Mountain, Sam Martin, Sean Pratt, Thunder Power, Alex McManus (the Bruces), and Honeybee. A $20 ticket gets you dinner and the music; or you can just go for the music for $10. Dinner starts at 7; music starts at 9. For more info and tickets go to slumberpartyrecords.com/dailygrubconcert/

Meanwhile, also tomorrow night, the audio violence of Lincoln’s Masses hits the stage at Slowdown Jr. along with Dirty Talker (Lincoln), Lightning Bug (Omaha) and Irkutsk (ex-(If Only He Had) The Power). $8, 9 p.m.

Finally, Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship headlines a show at The Sandlot (2406 Leavenworth — the Faint’s old Orifice studio/practice space warehouse) with Yuppies, Kansas City band High Diving Ponies and Hominoid. $5 (and $2 beers!), 9 p.m.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.