On Thursday night heavy rock duo Local H had one of the best stage mixes I've ever heard come off the Bug Jar stage. The band played a lot of its newer material with dynamic punch and intensity. It was loud, with guitarist Scott Lucas covering both low and high ends of the spectrum, yet it didn't hurt. It was in-your-face but extremely crisp and distinct. The band's closing cover of Cheap Trick's "Goodnight Now" had me squealing like a girl.

I managed to sandwich Thursday with 40 Rod Lightning. Saw them perform on the Breakfast Buzz with Kimberly and Beck at 8 a.m., where the boys played their new "Domestic Disturbance" with the immediately catchy chorus "You should have killed me in my sleep last night/You had your chance but it passed you by." Closed out the night with the boys - and a big hunk of chocolate pie - at the Dinosaur. I think I love lapsteel as much as I like chocolate.

Friday night Black August kicked out the soul at Pazzo's on West Main. The tile floor made it a tad bright, but the band grooved deep and loose. Keyboardist Bobby Reese spends most of his time tall in the saddle, and relatively quiet as he adds texture to the proceedings. But on this particular night, the man got all Thelonious on me, just working that piano.

Bob Dylan's Birthday Bash with HUNU? is as much a tribute to the scene created by Colorblind James as it is an excuse to celebrate more candles on Bob's cake, and The Village Gate Atrium was hot and sweaty with more than 400 fans Saturday night. Though I missed the second set in order to celebrate the Naughty Little Pigs' dirty 30 at Abilene, standout performances for me came from self-professed non-musicians like the Bop Shop's Tom Kohn, who rocked on "You Ain't Going Nowhere," and City Newspaper's own Dale Evans, who broke hearts and raised blood pressure with "To Be Alone With You." Duncan Walls came tumbling down when he revisited "Highway 61 Revisited." And Alpine Black is another band to watch, for sure.

But my absolute fave of the night was Brett Lowden ripping through a rough and tumble version of "Absolutely Sweet Marie" on a homemade bulletproof Strat. I dug it all underneath my brand new leopard skin pillbox hat.