We’ll miss the sweet concert posters most of all.

Like one of those Japanese soldiers who they found in the underbrush on some remote island in 1963 who still thought World War II was going on, Jillian’s stood fast, defending the faith at Neonopolis — until Friday.

The two-story restaurant/concert venue closed up shop, mostly. The restaurant is closed and any upstairs shows in the Hi-Life series are canceled, although it will honor main room shows through 2008. Ticketholders can return tix for canceled shows to their point of purchase for a refund.

Some shows are being rescheduled to other venues. Bring Me The Horizon will go on downstairs tomorrow night, as will the School of Rock local showcase upstairs on Friday. Saturday’s Joshua Judges Ruth will be moved to The Box Office (1129 Casino Center Blvd.)Check the website for additional details.

By Jason Scavone

Hawthorne Heights will be your festival ambassadors of fun. See how happy they are? (Via MySpace.com)

AMPLIFY!!, a four-day music conference complete with music and education, kicks off today in downtown Vegas. We imagine this will be nothing like the meeting of music and education that you had to put up with in elementary school, if only because it doesn’t smell like Doritos downtown and no one will be playing the recorder.

Bands will play at a bunch of different downtown venues, including Jillian’s and Beauty Bar (517 Fremont St.).

For a lot more information, including what bands are playing when, click here.

By Michelle McKay

In a world full of Blaines, he’s just a Ducky.

MC Chris talks like he raps — quickly, and frequently about G.I. Joe. The former voice of Hesh on Adult Swim’s Sealab 2021 and MC Pee Pants on Aqua Teen Hunger Force started swelling the ranks of his geek army when “Fett’s ‘Vette” and “I Want Candy” aired on the two cartoons respectively. Now he stands at the helm of a fanbase dedicated enough to lend him a pitch-perfect Boba Fett costume last Halloween that he wore to the Playboy Mansion party in order to fulfill a longstanding fantasy of nerds everywhere — involving a 19-year-old in a Princess Leia metal bikini and a surreptitious trip to the woods.

Though other geek-powered performers have captured the aesthetics of the subculture, few seem to have touched on the alienation (“Freaks”) or the rage and revenge fantasies (“Geek,” “Peer Gynt”), putting Chris in position as one of the first champions of the misunderstood: The Jackie Robinson of nerds. (Although we think his stolen base totals from last season were a little low.)

He recently dropped his fifth album, MC Chris is Dead, as an independent release, and will join Warped Tour on Friday. First though, he has a 7 p.m. stop in town at Jillian’s (450 Fremont St.). We spoke with him about his tumultuous relationship with nerdcore, his ever-expanding geek bucket list and working with Neko Case on a unicorn-centric show. Click for more words and pictures »

By Jason Scavone