As mentioned on Friday, I did go to Sokol Underground to see
The Thermals play. In fact, I did more than just go to the show, I actually worked the door. Obviously, that means I was there for the entire show -- all three bands. The first band, a local called
Thunder Power, was pretty good. Nice, indie pop. Nothing mind blowing, but they are still very new. The second band,
Reporter, was a trio from Portland traveling with
The Thermals. I wasn't really feeling their set. They weren't bad, just average. Which left only
The Thermals to really "rock out" and make my night worthwhile. Did they? Well, yeah, pretty much. They played about an hour, and the set was quite rocking. Attendance was sort of mediocre at the show - maybe 100 or so people. Not horrible, but much lower than I was expecting. I didn't bring my laptop down to the show because I thought I'd be busier. Someone near me commented on the crowd by saying
"This indie pop stuff is dead." Sadly, as far as concert attendance in Omaha is concerned, he may be right.
Saturday night, I hit the
Trail of Dead show at
Waiting Room. This time, I was not working. I got to the
WR around 9:30 and luckily caught most of
Virgasound's set. Solid, as usual. Why are those guys not a bigger local band? Makes no sense to me. Anyway, after chatting up some friends at the show, and having a few Bacardi and Diet Cokes, I was more than ready for
TOD to take the stage. The ex-major label band from Texas played a very energetic, albeit short, set featuring mostly tunes from their last three albums. The crowd went apeshit for "Caterwaul" and for the set closer, "Another Morning Stoner." The main thing I took away from the show was that I didn't realize how often the band members switched instruments. It's always impressive when bands can pull that off.
Sunday was spent in my usual fashion - watching football (
Packers are now 8-1) and making the play list for
my show. Though I had a good show last night, I felt that a lot of my listeners were at the
Meat Puppets concert, and not glued to their radios. I gave away tickets to see some crappy band called
Straylight Run and only one person called in. One! WTF? I know the band blows, but c'mon, it's free.
I had a real tough time falling asleep after the radio show, so I watched last night's episode of
Dexter. I know I keep saying this, but damn,
Dexter is the best show on TV. I am really confused about what will happen this season.
Dexter's sponsor for his non-existent drug addiction,
Lila, has finally shown her dark side. After inadvertently causing the break-up of
Dexter and
Rita, she and
Dex have become something of a couple.
Dexter learned last week that he was able to "quiet" the voices in his head with more aggressive sex.
Lila is a more than willing partner.
Dexter was in the clear with
Rita and the two could have gotten back together, but
Dexter then admitted he had slept with
Lila. It was a surprising move, and the resulting lack of normalcy in
Dexter's life is taking its toll in other ways.
This week,
Dexter's conflict with
Sgt. Doakes came to a head in a major way. It is ironic that a serial killer like
Dexter can work in a police station and none of the cops have any sort of clue about his true nature - except
Doakes.
Doakes was warned by the Lieutenant to leave
Dexter alone, and to stop tailing him at night. He basically gave up on
Dexter when he "caught" him in a recovery group. However, after learning that
Dexter is not actually an addict (well, at least not a drug addict),
Doakes' suspicions were increased. This week,
Doakes began looking into the case of the murder of
Dexter's mother. This news sent
Dexter into a rage, and he decided to finally deal with
Doakes.
At a crime scene,
Dexter intentionally lied to
Doakes about what the blood spatters represented.
Doakes took the bait, and treated an innocent man like a criminal during an interrogation.
Dexter then quietly slipped an accurate blood report onto
Doakes' desk, and told the Lieutenant that
Doakes was harassing an innocent man. He was reprimanded for the error. Later, in
Dexter's lab, the two had their first serious confrontation.
Dexter all but admitted that
Doakes is right about him, but that he will never be able to do anything about it. He then gave him a head butt, and walked away. This prompted
Doakes to run into the main police building and attack
Dexter in front of all of his co-workers.
Doakes was then put on leave, and had to turn in his badge and gun. Mission accomplished.
There was so much more in this episode (like the possible romance between
Dexter's sister and FBI agent
Lundee,
Dexter sending the police a fake manifesto from the "Bay Harbor Butcher," or
Lila's setting her house on fire), but I can't dissect every piece of this puzzle. All I know is that I wasn't sure how this season could top last season, yet it has.
Dexter is worth the cost of Showtime.
