Thursday, September 20th, 2018 – 4:46 pm: Oh boy I am so excited for Lincoln Calling. I wrote the dates down over a month ago so I could ensure I had the entire weekend off from my dog-shit job at Pizza Ranch. I’ve been dealt a pretty shitty hand in 2018 so far, and a brain rattling reminder that Lincoln is a music city seems like the ultimate pick-me-up I’m in need of.
Before I headed out I realized I didn’t even look at the lineup yet! I’m a big local music nerd, admittedly and proudly. I love every local band, but who will I check out tonight? I decided to hop on Facebook to find the official 2018 roster.
Facebook sent me into a terrible rabbit hole of nonsense. First of all, did you know they are shutting down Barry’s Sports Bar for tavern violations?! Secondly, every bar involved in Lincoln Calling has their own Facebook event, and to make matters worse there was some rearranging of the schedule due to terrible thunderstorms. Why doesn’t Lincoln Calling just have one, easy to access Facebook event? Anyways…
Shining through the ambiguity, a fellow local music nerd shared a photo of the schedule! He emphasized in over a hundred heartfelt words on this being the FIFTEENTH Lincoln Calling! I’m in for a treat. It also says “#TBT” which I’m not familiar with, but Urban Dictionary told me it stood for “Truth Be Told.” I’ll tell YOU the truth. I’m so excited for this festival!
The Thursday roster was a little lean, probably due to the rain, but it wasn’t going to screw up my giant weekend of music. I saw that Marianas, Ad Astra Per Aspera, and Envy Corps were set to play at some new bar called Duggan’s Pub so I headed downtown. I wasn’t sure where this bar was but these festivals are usually kind of rotating on a focused portion of O street so I headed in that direction.
Thursday, September 20th, 2018 – 8:50 pm: I walked around for a really long time to no avail, there were other shows going on but I wanted to stay loyal to Lincoln Calling! I figured I was missing Envy Corps so I stopped by Sandy’s to have a drink and charge my phone, so I could find out what was next and get started on my weekend of music! They had this drink called “Elk Creek Water” on special. I ordered a pitcher.
Thursday, Septehger 20 _ 91tf pm: Finally my phone was charged so I held my iPhone 4 closely to one of my black out drunk eyes. The next show was about to start! The Architects, Rent Money Big, and the Zyklon Bees were playing at the… “9th Street Basement?” A basement show for Lincoln Calling? This is so awesome. I paid my tab and headed towards 9th Street.
Thd, Sep 2, hjf pm :By the time I made it to 9th street my confident walk turned into more of a stumble, plus the rain picked up a little bit more. My favorite thing about basement shows is hearing the muffled drums and party noises from blocks away, so I listened as hard as I could, when finally I heard some legitimate noise (yelling) coming from a basement south of South street.
jhjkhsduy 4723pm: I got so muddy crawling around the property looking for an entrance, but I discovered a cellar door so I invited myself in, which turned out to not be a Lincoln Calling house show but a guy playing Call of Duty in his basement. He freaked out and beat the shit out of me and called the cops. I am typing this from the back of a cop car. If you see this please call detox and jail. I’m not sure where I’m going but I really don’t want to miss tomorrow’s show at P.O. Pears with the Golden Age, Statistics, and the Prids.
SmellNebraska.org 