by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Let’s get right to the shows.

Tonight at The Sandbox it’s Wild Nothing with Diiv, and local openers Betsy Wells and Sun Settings. I wrote about this yesterday. It should be quite an event, the kind of show that we may be talking about a few years from now if Wild Nothing’s fan base continues to balloon. Tickets are $12 at the door. Show starts at 9.

Also tonight, Whipkey Three plays at The Barley Street Tavern with 24 Hour Cardlock and Static Octopus. $5, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night The Melvins are playing at The Waiting Room with Big Business and Tweakbird. Or, more accurately, “Melvins Lite,” as the band will consist of Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover and Trevor Dunn. The show is part of Melvins’ attempt to become the Guinness World Record holders for the first band to tour the full United States and D.C. in 51 days! $15 today, $17 tomorrow. Show starts at 8.

Black Heart Booking

And maybe the funnest show of the weekend is the free concert down at Slowdown Saturday night featuring Rock Paper Dynamite, Lightning Bug, Snake Island!, Conchance, Sun Settings, The Bishops, The Decatures, Adam Disconnected and Hot Tail Honeys. So what’s the occasion surrounding this free show? Is it a benefit? What’s the deal?

Turns out that Black Heart Booking head honcho Lucas Wright is getting married earlier Saturday “and instead of a lame wedding DJ or some cover band, Heather and I thought it would be fun to have a free music festival with some of the bands we’ve really grown to love over our last four years in Omaha.  We are paying the bands out of our own pocket,” Wright said.

“This is our gift to Omaha on our big day. Omaha has really become home to us and not only are there really amazing bands and music, but also it’s a great place to raise our family with the zoo, children’s museum and tons of great events all year long. Omaha is a bustling hot-spot for the growing creative class as well as a safe-haven in the economic turmoil since the housing crisis in 2008.  So to say ‘thank you’ to Omaha for being such a rad place and being our home we decided to have this fun event on our first day as Mr. & Mrs. Wright.”

No need to bring presents, just bring yourselves. Show starts at 8.

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Almost forgot to hype this week’s column in The Reader, where I write about my break-neck, high-speed, no-holds-barred drive across Nebraska, and why I’m not afraid of getting a ticket. You can read it in this week’s issue of The Reader, or online right here.

Have a great weekend…

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.