Newsflash: I’m out of vacation. There will be no more missing Scene columns. I’m back to reality. (But barely.) Let’s do this.

TRAVIS: Can we cool it already with the holier-than-thou Randy Travis jokes? Who among us hasn’t woken up naked on a road after crashing our ’98 Trans Am?

Everyone from TMZ to sports-radio talk show hosts are making light of the country singer’s second drunken arrest of 2012. Sure, it’s funny. But wait — no, really, it’s not. The dude needs help. It could have come from friends or loved ones. Looks like it will come from a judge.

Even George Jones used a riding lawn mower to try to make a liquor run once. Granted, he was clothed at the time.

YOU MISSED IT: Speaking of drinking with purpose, dedicated bargoers saw something special last Sunday night at Neurolux. (That’s how life works. If you’re not hardcore and hitting the bar on Sundays, you miss all the magic.)

A free, spontaneous midnight jam Aug. 5 featured Counting Crows guitarist David Immerglück (in town to gig Aug. 6 with the Crows at the Idaho Botanical Garden), Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit (who had headlined earlier at Visual Arts Collective) and Kasey Anderson and the Honkies (who are touring with Counting Crows).

Rotating on and off the stage, the musicians cranked up Neil Young’s “Like a Hurricane,” the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” and plenty more into the wee hours. Isbell described Immerglück as “the coolest” afterward on Twitter, adding: “Always wanted to play w/ that guy.”

And, no, I wasn’t there. Argh.

BUH-BYE, OUTDOORS: Unless a promoter gets silly and puts on an outdoor show in October, it looks like we have a bookend for the season. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shooter Jennings and the Texas Hippie Coalition will perform at the Idaho Center Amphitheater on Friday, Sept. 28. Tickets go on sale Aug. 10 at ICTickets.

Skynyrd hasn’t been to the Treasure Valley in more than a decade. Something tells me that plenty of party-thirsty fans will turn out for an end-of-season Southern-rock blowout on a Friday night — if for no other reason than the opportunity to scream “Free Bird!” with zero irony. (And guzzle Budweiser, of course.)

TV FLOYD: Still on the fence about Pink Floyd tribute act Brit Floyd, who will perform Friday, Sept. 21, at the Eagle River Pavilion?

Get a sneak peek of the group’s live performance on Idaho Public Television in a concert special at 9 p.m. Aug. 14 and 10 p.m. Aug. 19.

BIG AL’S: Meridian took another step this week toward kicking Boise’s rear end all over the entertainment map by opening Big Al’s.

The modern, 42-lane bowling center debuted Aug. 6 at The Village at Meridian, located at the intersection of Eagle Road and Fairview Avenue. That’s adjacent to the new Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park — you know, the new park that’s swiping Boise’s annual beer festival this summer.

Big Al’s is a gargantuan place, with a stadium-style sports bar and tons of arcade games.

BUT — is it cooler than Dave & Buster’s, which appears to be coming to the former Circuit City space near Boise Towne Square?

If you’re an adult and don’t live your life to rent bowling shoes, possibly not. But it’s hard to tell. Actually, it’s hard to tell much of anything about Dave & Buster’s plans in Boise. Their corporate office hasn’t been particularly responsive to Idaho Statesman queries. As in we’ve been speaking to a brick wall so far.

MAHER: Liberal political comedian Bill Maher, host of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” says he’s looking forward to visiting Idaho.

“I’ve been asking my agent to book me there for the longest time,” Maher said earlier this week.

Are his intentions good or evil for our lil’ red state? Check out my column in the Life section of Sunday’s Statesman for a Q&A with Maher. He performs Aug. 18 at the Morrison Center. Tickets are available at Select-a-Seat.

FREE EDM TICKETS: Kaskade, “America’s Best DJ” in 2011 (see page 20), will crank the bass Aug. 13 at the Knitting Factory. Tickets are $40, or you can try to win freebies.

I’m giving away two pairs Aug. 10: One pair via an email that day, and one during the noon hour on Twitter. See my blog for details.

Michael Deeds’ column runs Friday in Scene and Sunday in Life. He hosts “The Other Studio” at 9 p.m. Sundays on 94.9 FM “The River” and appears Thursdays on Channel 6 News.