I saw a grand total of zero bands this weekend. Zero, as in none. I wanted to see music, but there just wasn’t anything going on except karaoke and tribute acts. Hopefully that’ll change in the coming weeks, though the list of just-announced shows in the One Percent monthly e-mail seems to indicate that we’re only going to get about one “important” out-of-town show per week moving forward. Sure, there’s always the usual CD release parties and the plethora of local-band showcases around Benson, but only a few nationals stood out on the list of just-scheduled gigs, including One EskimO (June 21), Maps & Atlases (July 7), Rogue Wave (July 18), and Tokyo Police Club (Aug. 1). In the “already announced” category is Blitzen Trapper next Monday, The Mountain Goats July 13, Deerhoof and (in a separate show) Mates of State June 25, The Hold Steady July 6, MAHA Festival July 24, Miniature Tigers Aug. 5, and The Black Keys Aug. 9. Missing from the list is that DEVO show that was rumored all over town and even posted on the Anchor Inn website (but never announced on the One Percent site) — that show is in limbo as far as anyone knows.

One other show 1% announced today:  The next MAHA festival play-in round June 24 at The Waiting Room. Those competing for a spot on the festival’s small stage are The Matt Cox Band, Midwest Dilemma, Honey & Darling, Tim Wildsmith and Landing On The Moon. Seeing as I’m 0 for 1 in the predictions department (I predicted Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship would win the last battle of the bands at Slowdown, while generic rockers Betsy Wells took the prize), let me add to my abysmal average by saying that had I a vote to  cast, it would go to either Honey & Darling or Landing on the Moon, but that Tim Wildsmith will win the contest. Place your bets…

Speaking of MAHA, the organization posted a comment on Facebook the other day implying that The Faint’s performance at their festival would be the band’s last: “Given the most recent post on their Facebook page, fans of The Faint had better savor the performance at MAHA,” it said. The comment is in reference to Depressed Buttons, who I talked about in this blog back in April (here, to be exact). The new “band” (their terminology) features Clark Baechle, Todd Fink and Jacob Thiele, and has been busy building a blog — located at depressedbuttons.com — and putting tracks online at a soundcloud page, located here (They’ve also got a Twitter page, here). It’s electronic, it’s DJ, it’s remixing, it’s a party. I’m not sure that it’ll be anything beyond their version of Daft Punk (Will there be helmets?). Does Depressed Buttons spell the end of The Faint? I’m doubtful, even though Dapose is working on projects of his own and Joel Petersen is busy at Enamel Studios. Time will tell.

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Just as it was announced, lala.com closed its online doors for good yesterday, offering credit for iTunes to those with a balance on their lala account. All those awesome lala imbeds on reviews sites like Pitchfork have disappeared. Now we wait to see what Apple decides to do with the service. There was a rumor that they intended to use lala as a base for offering iTunes “in the cloud,” but now I’m hearing that might not happen due to ongoing contract/rights negotiations/disputes with various record labels. It would be a drag if Apple bought the service only to shut it down.

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Cass Brostad, Blue Sharks and Matt Cox are performing at tonight’s Pizza Review event at The Waiting Room. $10 gets you all the pizza you want from 20 different pizza vendors, with proceeds going to the food bank. It starts at 6 p.m.

Also tonight, Philly punk band The Menzingers play at Slowdown Jr. with Cheap Girls, La Casa Bombas and Speak Easy. 8 p.m., $10.

The Box Elder’s new 7-inch on the HOZAC label is finally in stock at the Antiquarium, according to guitarist  Jeremiah McIntyre. Get it while you can. He said the band’s new 12-inch 45 rpm EP will be coming out soon on Captured Tracks out of Brooklyn. It just keeps getting better…

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My download service of choice — Lala.com — announced that it’s shutting down at the end of May. Or, more accurately, Lala is being shut down by Apple, who purchased the company last December. This is likely the first step in creating a “cloud-based” iTunes that would allow you to access your digital library from any web-connected device. If it works like Lala, then you could upload your entire digital collection “to the cloud,” which would mean you would no longer need to worry about your iPhone/iPod/iPad hard-drive limitation — as long as you had a signal (3G or Wifi) you could listen to anything in your collection. Let us pause and think about the implications of this. Again: Upload entire collection once, access from any Wifi/3G-connected device. Hmmm… Details.

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The Digital Leather $15 early-download + vinyl offer continues despite the fact that the band met its $600 goal in less than a day. “We’re putting a cap on the number that we send out,” DL says. “No more than 150 vinyls with special covers will be produced… any additional funds raised will go toward additional recording equipment. Shawn has his eye on a Manley ELOP limiter, which ‘makes songs sound like heroin,’ so we’ll see how close we come to that. If not that, and probably more likely, additional funds will buy our tickets to Europe this September.” You can get in on this offer here.

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Well, it’s finally here — the It’s True CD release party for the band’s debut full-length. Joining the band on the Waiting Room stage are The Haunted Windchimes (Pueblo, CO) and Omaha favorite Bear Country.

According to Jesse Stanek’s piece in The Reader, the CD is being released on Kyle Harvey’s Slo-Fi Records. As much as I like Kyle’s label, I’m disappointed that someone a bit larger didn’t pick it up. Maybe they will. Look what happened to UUVVWWZ. Their debut came out on Darren Keen’s It Are Good label before Saddle Creek committed to the band and rereleased it. What more does a label like Saddle Creek need from an act besides a quality product (though I haven’t actually heard their CD yet) and willingness to tour? It’s True seemingly could provide both.

Also tonight, Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies performs as part of a four-band bill at Slowdown that also includes Satchel Grande. $10, 8 p.m. And Capgun Coup’s Sam Martin headlines an acoustic show at The Hole with Sean Pratt, Brandon Behrens and Allen Schleich of Snake Island –the show is a benefit for the performers upcoming tour of China. $6, 7 p.m.

Tomorrow night is the Mynabirds CD release show with Jeremy Messersmith and The So-So Sailors. This show is in the Slowdown Front Room, which means it could very easily sell out. Get there early (if only to also catch Messersmith’s solo set). $8, 9 p.m. Also Saturday night, Son of 76 and The Watchmen are playing at Harrah’s Stir Lounge — one of the few local bands that I think could actually carry off a three-hour set (When is Harrah’s going to figure out that most indie bands’ sets only last (and only should last) about 35 minutes?) $5, 9 p.m.