Josh Berwanger Band at Stay Gold in Austin during SXSW, March 19, 2015. His band plays tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

From my window in the crow’s nest on the 15th floor I can see the tents rise….

It’s College World Series time again, and all of us who work in downtown Omaha will have to suffer through it together. The traffic. The idiots. The traffic. Ah, but it’s a small price to pay to support this national event that for two weeks turns Omaha into ground zero for a college sport no one cares about.

For The Slowdown, CWS is the harvest season, the time of year when their Green Room is converted into a “count room,” and when Wells Fargo armored trucks circle the facility like elephants in a Shriner parade picking up bushel-baskets filled with wrinkled currency. Needless to say, the indie music comes to a halt at Slowdown for the next two weeks. In fact, unless you’re into beer tents and college baseball, your best bet is to stay clear of downtown Omaha altogether until they fold up their tents and go home.

But who cares about what’s NOT happening this weekend? Here’s what IS happening. And it’s mostly at fabulous O’Leaver’s, where tonight the Josh Berwanger Band is playing. Berwanger is a former member of Lawrence band The Anniversary. I caught his band’s set at SXSW this year when they played the Saddle Creek/Nicodemus showcase and was duly impressed by their very clean, very tight take on indie rock. You’ll like it. Also on the bill are Saturn Moth and Anonymous Henchman. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also going on all weekend is Junkstock, waaaay out at 315 So. 192nd St. Vendors, plus live music. $6 per day admission. It already started today and runs until 7 p.m. Music is primarily local folk bands. Check out the schedule here.

Moving on to Saturday, it’s back to O’Leaver’s for Lupines (coming off a red hot set at my birthday bash last week), Laughing Falcon and Lincoln’s Dirty Talker, who’s celebrating an album release. Dirty Talker is Brendan McGinn (drums) and Adam 2000 (guitar) of Her Flyaway Manner. Justin Kohlmetscher rounds out the trio on bass and vox. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also Saturday evening, toy piano player Stacey Barelos is playing a set at Almost Music in Benson. Joining her is Jared Brown on percussion. 8 p.m., $5.

Bazile Mills headlines at Reverb Lounge with Kait Berreckman Saturday night. $7, 9 p.m.

Finally, UTW Day is being celebrated at Jerry’s Bar in Benson. The all-day art, food and music event runs from noon to midnight Saturday and closes out with performances by John Klemmensen and the Party and Hand Painted Police Car (starting at 8). Admission is by donation. More info here.

That’s what I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. 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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.