It’s probably not fair to the rest of the band, but really, the highlight of any Third Men show that’s dedicated to cover songs (like last night’s at The Waiting Room) is hearing Mike Tulis belt out a song (or two!). Going in, you never know if Tulis will do any songs at all. It’s always a game-time decision, and there’s always a chance you’re going to leave disappointed. Not last night. Not only did we get Tulis’ rousing version of Nick Gilder’s “Hot Child in the City,” but we also got Argent’s “Hold Your Head Up” performed as only Tulis can — with fist held high in a brazen act of pride, anger, defiance. It was a true rock moment.

King Shit and the Golden Boys is a Guided by Voices tribute band that features frontman/guitarist Mario Alderfer in the role of Robert Pollard, with drummer/vocalist Robert Little, guitarist/vocalist Matt Stamp and a fourth guy on bass who I don’t know. It wasn’t a spot-on replica of GBV. That would have required the band to be drunk off their asses surrounded by spent Budweisers and cigarette butts (Who remembers the 2000 GBV show at Sokol Underground?). Me, all I wanted to hear was “I Am a Scientist.” I like GBV, but I’m not a huge fan. I got my wish toward the end of the set. They did all that you can hope for from any tribute band: They made me reconsider GBV’s catalog of songs and seek out the originals when I got home.

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It’s CD-release party weekend. There are two of them tonight, and one vinyl release show tomorrow. Don’t these people know that they’re gonna get screwed when it comes time for the critics to make their “best of” lists? They’ve already filed their ’07 lists, and who will remember December releases this time next year?

The two tonight: Civicminded celebrates its new LP, Sequence, at The Waiting Room with Race for Titles, Sleep Said the Monster and Paper Owls. Your $8 admission gets you a copy of the new disc. 9 p.m. Meanwhile, down at Mick’s, Goodbye Sunday is celebrating the release of a new four-song EP, with John Henry and The Cicadas. 9 p.m., $5. GS plays first because, according to Cami Rawlings in yesterday’s OWH: “We’re old, and we like to get it done. I’m 40. I can’t stay up until 1 anymore.” Come on.

I’ll probably end up at O’Leaver’s tonight for Reagan & the Rayguns, Thunder Power!!!, and Noah’s Ark was a Spaceship. I’ve been told by a ton of people that Noah’s Ark ain’t the same boat that I heard a year (or two) ago. $5, 9:30 p.m.

I won’t be missing tomorrow night’s vinyl release show for Mal Madrigal‘s two new LPs, performed on Slowdown’s big stage (This was originally slated for Slowdown Jr.). Seriously, someone should sell turntables at this show. Why not? Playing with Steve Bartolomei and Co. is Ted Stevens, Dan McCarthy and “special guests.” Who could that be? $7, 9 p.m.

If you miss this show, you can see an abbreviated version at O’Leaver’s on Christmas night, with Steve Bartolomei, McCarthy Trenching and Outlaw Con Bandana. Go to the one at Slowdown, though, just because.

Also Saturday night, a very special holiday evening with Bad Luck Charm at The 49, along with Santa’s little helpers, The Deformities. $5, 10 p.m.

And also Saturday night, Song Remains the Same plays (again) at The Waiting Room. $7, 9 p.m., while, over at O’Leaver’s, it’s The Lepers with Matt Cox. $5, 9:30.

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Just posted this morning, a feature story on Mal Madrigal (read it here). Frontman Steve Bartolomei talks about the making of his band’s two new, separate, vinyl albums that will be the focus of Saturday night’s album-release show at Slowdown. There was a ton of info gleaned during our interview at Blue Line last Saturday that didn’t make it into the story. I don’t have time to post it now, so I’ll be recapping all that extra stuff here tomorrow. For now, read the feature and enjoy the Bill Sitzmann photos.

Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s King Shit and the Golden Boys — a Guided by Voices tribute band, along with The Third Men, who will be playing a set of covers. I’m told there will be an all-new Mike Tulis-sung cover, and maybe some Nick Gilder action (if he feels like it). $7, 9 p.m.

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After a company Christmas party, I checked out Chris Aponick’s birthday bash Saturday night at The Waiting Room — quite a crowd (maybe 100?). The Terminals’ present to Chris was putting on what I think was their best live performance — blistering hot. Whenever I listen to The Terminals these days I get nervous, almost twitchy, thanks to their sheer speed and abrasiveness. They no longer sound like a “garage punk” band. Their style is edgier, almost brazenly jolting, as nervous as a triple shot of espresso. Brimstone Howl, on the other hand, brought more of a groove, but even they are straying from their original garage punk origins, pushing bracingly closer to ’70s NYC punk territory (Ramones meets The Stooges). Like a finely crafted hot rod, their music goes in only one direction and has only one gear — loud and fast.

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Lincoln Journal Star‘s L. Kent Wolgamott wrote a massively long story on the future of music sales in Sunday’s LJS that quotes Homer’s Prez Mike Fratt and Saddle Creek Records Exec Robb Nansel. The nut of the story is nothing new: Record sales are spiraling down. As a result, labels, retailers and musicians have to find a way to make money in a era when more and more listeners are merely downloading music for free. Among the topics discussed are the dreaded “360 degree deal,” the “regionalism” of music and the “middle-classing” of musicians. Even Nansel admitted that Creek is being impacted by the sales slump. “Five years ago, we could put out any record and sell a couple thousand without any trouble,” he said in the LJS article. “That’s not the case anymore. That Ladyfinger record is a prime example. It sold about 200 copies. How could a record released on a label sell only 200 copies?” Nansel even indicated that the future could bring more 360 deals — where artists are forced to share revenues with labels generated not only by record sales, but merch and touring income. “That model is probably the direction things will go,” Nansel said in the article. “The record label has to evolve. The label needs to operate more like a manager. Whether you sell pre-recorded music or not, there’s still going to be a business side to a band’s career.” Fratt, on the other hand, said any band that did a 360 deal would be “sort of a fool.” Read the whole article here.

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Here’s what I got:

— Dance Me Pregnant and Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship at The 49’r. Why not? I generally don’t like going to The Niner because there’s no place to stand without being in someone’s way. But few other venues in town have the holiday vibe that The Niner has this late in December. $3-$5, 9:30 p.m.
— Evil Beaver and The Big Al Show at Shea Riley’s. I haven’t seen EB play in six years. There appears to be some controversy about this EB line-up, based on their old website, and apparently lawyers are involved. That won’t stop Big Al and Metal Barbie from rocking some “Oregano,” though. $5, 9 p.m.
— The Song Remains the Same at Barfly. $5, 9 p.m. Suddenly these guys are playing all the time. They’ve got another gig at The Waiting Room next Saturday night.

Saturday night:

— The Chris Aponick show at The Waiting Room featuring The Terminals, Brimstone Howl and Fucken Snakes. One of the City Weekly‘s key music writers puts on his own show. Hey, when is someone going to host a Lazy-i showcase? Problem: No bands would play for that sumbitch… $5, 9 p.m.

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J Mascis looked like that slightly overweight ex-hippy uncle who gets his electric guitar out once a year after Christmas dinner to entertain the nieces and nephews with a little G-L-O-R-I-A. Pudgy face, blue T-shirt, brownish jeans, long gray witch hair draped over his shoulders that from a distance looks like he’s wearing a dirty wet towel over his head. Behind him, seven or eight Marshall amps stacked in three towers that stood taller than him, as if he was standing in a dressing booth made of sonic pain. To his left, a bald, fit-looking Murph on drums, and the ageless Lou Barlow (compared to J, anyway) on bass, his dark-brown hair covering his bouncing face. Dinosaur Jr. wasn’t much to look at. And they didn’t do much to intentionally draw your attention to them. Mascis barely moved his feet, except to shuffle up to the microphone between guitar solos. Still, I couldn’t keep my eyes off them throughout the hour-plus set at Slowdown last night, a set that drew more than 430 to see if the legendary band still had it.

They did, of course. No one doubted that they still had it. But no one was expecting it to be so loud. Loud, yes, but not as loud as it was. Pity any poor soul standing on the main floor who didn’t have hearing protection last night. I thought Jon Taylor’s guitar in Domestica was loud a few weeks ago. It sounded like Joanna Newsom’s harp compared to Mascis’ wall of sound. So loud that halfway through the set, I wondered what damage I was doing to my hearing (and I wore earplugs). I could feel my clothes rippling across my body, moved by the shockwaves of noise (think of the famous Maxell poster where the guy sits in front of a loudspeaker, holding onto the arms of his easy chair to keep from being blown backwards by the volume). Crazy, excessive, pure, necessary loudness.

I’ve never seen Dinosaur Jr. before, though I’ve heard most of their records. I knew what I was in for. Judging by the looks of the crowd — a lot of people my age who grew up with SST records — they did, too. D Jr.’s formula has always been simple — songs start off with a catchy riff shared by Mascis and Barlow, Mascis moans some sort of phrase over and over, and then plays a hyperkinetic guitar solo while Barlow repeats a bass line and Murph bashes the shit out of his drums. The solos seemed to go on for 20 minutes or more, but of course they didn’t. It’s like that slow-motion feeling one gets when experiencing a car accident or a free fall — time slowing to a crawl as you notice every little detail for the first time. Mascis is recognized as a guitar god by anyone who followed indie rock in the ’90s. The reputation is well deserved. Though there was a similarity in all his solos, Mascis always worked something different and interesting into them that made you pay attention. Considering the volume, though, you had little choice.

They played for an hour, then came out and did a two-song encore. Throughout the set, the band barely acknowledged the crowd except to say “We’re happy to be here” and “It’s been too long,” that sort of thing. They barely acknowledged each other between songs as they constantly tuned up, Murph filling in the blank spot with precision drum fills. It was sort of like being at a band practice for one of the best bands from your youth, running through a set of your favorite songs and a few new ones, not trying to impress you, just trying to prove that they know what they’re doing, and they do.

* * *

A little bird told me at Slowdown that there’s an unannounced show at O’Leaver’s tonight featuring the long-dormant Race for Titles (and possibly Landon Hedges). This is not confirmed, so don’t blame me if it doesn’t happen (but it probably will). Also tonight, Scott Severin and the Milton Burlesque play at The Waiting Room. $7, 9 p.m.

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You couldn’t have asked for a better time to have an ice storm, at least musicwise. There are no major shows going on tonight (and none last night), which means there also are no cancellations. Now if today had been tomorrow, we’d all be wondering whether Dinosaur Jr. was still happening at Slowdown. I have no idea how J and the band are traveling these days. They were scheduled to play Oklahoma City Sunday night — one day before most of that state went black due to power outages. Tonight they’re in Iowa City (hopefully they’re already there). There’s nothing stopping them now.

That’s all I got today, other than to ask you to go to the webboard (here) and list your favorite CDs from ’07. I’m in the process now of putting together my year-in-review article for The Reader, so your suggestions are welcome.

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Well, Eagle*Seagull canceled due to the weather. I can’t say that I blame them. One of Slowdown’s owners described the melee that ended Fathr’s set — one of the performers continuously stabbing a guitar. I would have liked to have seen that. The guitar was still lying on the stage as the grips prepared for The Show Is the Rainbow’s set. Despite the snow/ice/sleet, there looked to be around 150 or so on the floor or milling around the balcony. A good draw considering the weather. Darren Keen brought his A game, but doesn’t he always? It was the usual shtick — Keen running around the audience singing/rapping over prerecorded tracks while his homemade videos were projected on a wrinkled bed sheet draped over a pole hung from the rafters. He told me he was going to have some “special guests” perform with him, but that never happened. If you took the entire set and divided the actual music from the between-song patter, you’d discover that Keen joked around as much as he sang. The crowd didn’t mind. They were laughing. There is a self-defeating, self-deprecating tone to Keen’s comments — taken out of context, they could be as sad as they are funny, humor as pathos (though in real life, there’s nothing pathetic about him). Keen makes fun of himself and the scene, his music and the audience. And when he reaches for applause, you naturally join in. The guy is up there alone, after all, with his shirt off, sweating, trying to get the crowd to put their hands above their heads. What easily gets lost at a TSITR show is the music itself, which is always interesting but clearly secondary to “the performance.” I never had a chance to see TSITR with his short-lived band. But I have a feeling the only difference was the guys standing on stage, wondering what the hell Darren was going to do next. He ended with a new song that sounded more streamlined and tuneful that his old stuff. At the end of his two-song encore, the crowd rallied Keen with the chant of “Five More Years! Five More Years!” I have no doubt.

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., uber-hot indie band Vampire Weekend takes the stage with Grand Ole Party and 4th of July. $8, 9 p.m. Meanwhile, over at O’Leaver’s, it’s Brimstone Howl with Digital Leather and Dead Beat recording artist Forbidden Tigers from Grand Island, NE. The gig is FT’s official CD release show for Magnetic Problems, an LP recorded by Brooks Hitt at DNA Studios. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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At Slowdown, it’s The Show Is the Rainbow‘s big 5-year anniversary extravaganza. TSITR main man Darren Keen wanted it on Slowdown’s big stage and that’s exactly what he got. Expect some special guests during his set. Opening is Relapse recording artist Vvervvolf Grehv featuring Dapose of The Faint, Fathr featuring James Cuato (Saxophone), Clark Baechle (Drums), Dapose, and Seth Johnson (Visuals, etc.), and Lincoln indie rockers, Eagle*Seagull. $8, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at The 49’r, it’s No Blood Orphan playing what likely will be their last show for awhile as guitarist/frontman Mike Saklar will be turning his attention to Mal Madrigal. Also on the bill, the “awesome sound” of Panang. Probably $5, probably starting around 10:30.

Finally, over at The Waiting Room, it’s the annual Lash LaRue Toy Drive featuring performances by The Mercurys, The Filter Kings, John Henry and Vago. Admission is $10 or an unwrapped toy. Show starts at 8.

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