Bill Thornton, left, rocking with the Wagon Blasters. The band plays tonight at The Waiting Room.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Could it be the local show of the year? It’ll definitely be in the running.

Tonight the stars align for a benefit show for local legend Robert (Bob) Thornton at The Waiting Room. Seems Bob has had some medical issues that have kept him from work and are generating some big-ass medical bills.

As you may know, I use the world “legend” sparingly and only when I mean it. Bob is, indeed, a legend. Among the glorious bands he’s played in are Clayface, Culture Fire, Say No More, X-Factor, Body By Heroin, Carmine, Now Archimedes!, Qing Jao, Past Punchy and the Present and Students of Crime and The Wagon Blasters. Read more about Bob (and his brother Bill), in this 2006 Lazy-i interview.

But it doesn’t even matter if you know who Bob is. You’d be kicking yourself if you missed this show. On the bill are Bob’s current band The Wagon Blasters along with Lupines, Electroliners and The Mike Saklar Trio. All for a mere $10. And this is an early show, with a 7 p.m. start time. Get there early!

If you can’t make it, you can still help out Bob by going to his gofundme page, where you can read all the details about his medical condition and lend a hand.

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An addendum to yesterday’s blog entry regarding The Reader‘s annual list of the area’s best bands: Reader music writer Wayne Brekke’s top bands list went online yesterday, and includes a lot of names I would have added to my list if he hadn’t already called dibs on them (the jerk). Check out Wayne’s list here and find out more about the best bands in the area.

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So you’ve gone to the Bob Thornton benefit but you want to go to cap off your night with even more music?

Well, the Legendary Shack Shakers will be playing right around the corner at Reverb Lounge tonight. Joe Fletcher opens. $13, 9 p.m.

Tulsa band Nuns (Passive Recordings) headlines at Slowdown Jr. tonight with Low Long Signal and Relax, It’s Science. $10, 8 p.m.

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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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.