Lets give a big round of applause to the Campus Activities Board Concert committee for finally bringing us a good dose of indie rock-n-roll when The Pravda Records Showcase Tour comes to town featuring The Farmers, The Slugs, and The Service at Diversions tonight. For a measley three dollars you can be exposed to some great Midwestern rock-n-roll which will leave you wanting a whole lot more.

Headliners The Service should rock the socks off the audience with songs like “Mr. Responsibilty” and “Life of Crime,” which they performed at the Riviera Club in Chicago.

The Service’s new record, “Head vs. Wall,” should be out by the end of February on Pravda Records. Hopefully it will live up to the promise of the last one.

In the middle spot are The Slugs from Chicago. Their latest wax, “Non-Stop Holiday,” is a power pop rave-up in the tradition of later period Husker Du.

Their LP also hearkens back to the band’s beginnings as a mod band (Halston, who is all too ready to forget about the band’s past, calls it, “the m-word.”) The combination of these two styles makes “Non-Stop Holiday” a real winner. The Slugs have some heavy live hype behind them as well so it should be something to look forward to.

Show openers The Farmers hail from Champaign, and their new LP “Flames of Love,” is out now on Pravda. this band opened for the Dead Milkmen in Chicago a couple years ago.

These three bands, which are all signed to Pravda Records (the Chicago label run by Kenn Goodman from The Service), have been friends for a long time according to Halston. The tour was an idea they had had a while ago, but it never really emerged since it was so hard to organize the bands’ touring schedules.

If loud pounding rock is your thing, then be at Diversions tonight and catch the bands. They represent some of the best of Chicago’s new talent, and if you miss out now you won’t get your chance to catch up with it later.