But all three rooms, the Zoo Bar, Duffy's Tavern and the Bourbon Theatre's Rye Room were pretty full most of the time -- or at least they were pretty full when I was in them. And I heard the Zoo was packed for The Betties.

At the time, I was at the Bourbon, catching a brilliant set from Tie These Hands. The trio started off with songs that were nine and seven years old, then moved to a three-weeks-young number and finished with songs from a forthcoming record before wrapping up an instrumental originally done by Mr. 1986 back in 2003. Anchored by a repeating figure, it was the best single song I heard all night.

Beyond Tie These Hands, I was most struck Saturday by the diversity of the music. In the course of about 90 minutes, I heard the country/Americana of Kill County, lush orchestral pop of Floating Opera, the Jamaican-rooted party sounds of Cornerstone Dub and Tie These Hands' dynamic rock.

From the spotted-in-the-crowd department, Mayor Chris Beutler was right in the middle of things for Kill County at Duffy's and was in the Zoo later.

He was gone by the time I returned for the final show of Shaun Sparks & Wounded Animals. Sparks and Ken Morton, who fronted The Allendales and plays in the Wounded Animals, are merging their bands and writing new songs together. Each played a final show at Lincoln Exposed. Both will be missed, but I'm guessing the new band will be superb.

Sparks played a lot of faves and, in something I've never seen before, played a new song for the first time on a last show. It was a funk number called "Ditch Digger" and was very cool. Maybe it'll survive the transition.

Sparks and the Animals wrapped things up with John Prine's gorgeous "Killing the Blues," which somehow seemed very appropriate.

I wrapped up my Lincoln Exposed 2012 with that song too, having seen about 30 acts in four nights --- I'm not sure whether to count the bands that I heard just a song or two. It was, as always great fun, revelatory and, this year, seemed to move up to a new level.

NO Cover

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::  Wheeler Brothers  ::

http://wheelerbrothersmusic.com/

http://www.facebook.com/WheelerBros

Formed in Austin, Texas, Wheeler Brothers have quickly emerged as one of Austin's most exciting up-and-coming bands. The five-piece independent folk-rock act combines the indie vibe of Austin with the twang of Texas folk. Brothers Nolan, Tyler and Patrick met Danny Matthews at LSU where they spent much of their time picking guitars and swapping stories in the bar rooms of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Once back in Austin their magnetic sound was completed by the addition of lifelong friend and singer/songwriter A.J. Molyneaux. Each member brings his own ideas and sounds to the group, with styles blending indie rock, blues and folk.

Wheeler Brothers have been selling out major venues and climbing the charts of radio stations in "The live music capital of the world," Austin, TX. Their first LP is slated for release prior to their Summer 2011 tour.

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$1.00 / $1.25 16oz Tallboys
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http://duffyslincoln.com

Official Site
Myspace
Facebook
Last.fm

THE KILLIGANS were born in a filthy garage in 2004, hammered together out of the spare parts of other Nebraska bands and fueled by a love of good whiskey, great friends, late nights, buzzing tattoo needles and crusty old punk rock albums. Starting out small and lacking a promotional budget, word of their awesomeness quickly spread by means of word-of-mouth (mostly drunk-dials) and the band's popularity on several local radio stations, including the University of Nebraska's own 90.3 KRNU.