Friday night I was bouncing off the walls in anticipation of The Turnpike Music Showcase at Liberty Hall.

Three Lawrence bands were to take the stage and rock the house all night long. Needless to say, my local music palette was pleased.

First up was Muscle Worship. Not a bad trio if I do say so myself. It’s no secret that I have a soft spot for drummers, and I especially liked this one. Not only did he kind of looked like Charlie from Lost, but he was wearing glasses, and there were moments where he was banging on those drums so hard that his glasses would sort of pop off, and he’d discretely push them back up his nose.

After a short set from Muscle Worship, Cowboy Indian Bear took the stage.

I found this set to be the biggest treat of the night. These guys (and gal) brought something so refreshing to the show. Not that there’s anything wrong with the Lawrence scene, but when these guys played you could tell this wasn’t your usual “Lawrence” sound.

I came to learn that there’s a musician in the band, Marty Hillard who spent a lot of time making music in Topeka (Topeka?!). The husband recalls seeing him perform back when there was a strong effort to create an electronic music scene there. After spending a lot of time (and effort) in Topeka, he moved on to the Lawrence scene, which (in my opinion) is AWESOME, because he’s adding a different sound to the area.

I hadn’t seen Cowboy Indian Bear perform before, but I was just tickled. If you ever get the chance to see them (they played TWICE last week in Lawrence), please do so. It’s never a dull show. For one, EVERYBODY plays the drums (I heart drummers!!). And they’re constantly switching it up, bringing in an additional singer, jumping on different instruments, etc.

See for yourself:

After that musical delight, Lawrence veterans The Appleseed Cast rounded out the show.

There’s really nothing quite like an Appleseed Cast show. Whenever I have friends who have left town, and grow homesick for Lawrence, THIS is the show I want to take them to when they’re back for the holidays.

I mean come on. Who DOESN’T love this (NOBODY, that’s who!):

Now here’s a real treat for you. Musical extravaganza television program The Turnpike was at the show. You know what that means? It means you’ll be seeing an AMAZING episode soon.

When I arrived at the show, they were setting up, sorting out cameras and tapes. Videotape explosion!

If you haven’t ever watched The Turnpike, well you should. They do an excellent job at showcasing local music (I heart local music!), and we should all be thankful a show like that exists.

I cannot wait to see how the episode turns out.