by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Look for a comprehensive review of Saturday’s MAHA Music Festival tomorrow. It’ll also be featured in this week’s column. For now, here are some images from the show, held at Stinson Park, Aksarben Village.

More to come.

* * *

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., it’s Grandfather with Lightning Bug and Family Picnic. Though unsigned, Brooklyn’s Grandfather has been getting a lot of press lately, including listed in SPIN’s “10 Must Hear Artists at Brooklyn’s Northside Festival, 2011,” as well as being name checked by the legendary Steve Albini in a GQ article. Says Albini: “There was a band that came into the studio a while back called Grandfather. They were an art-rock band that organized the funding of their record through Kickstarter. They were really well rehearsed and came into the studio and knocked the record out in a couple of days… That’s the kind of nimble, efficient behavior that was previously impossible when there was a corporate structure involved. It gives me confidence other bands will figure it out.” $6, 9 p.m.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

In a way, it all comes down to the weather.

Well, that and the bands, of course. And the ticket price. Look, we know the venue’s going to work out, right?

I’m talking about the third annual MAHA Music Festival, which runs this Saturday afternoon and into the evening at Stinson Park in Aksarben Village. In addition to a solid lineup, it looks like MAHA will have something else that no other festival has had this year — fantastic weather. They’re talking sunny and 80 degrees. It should be so nice, in fact, that the MAHA folks won’t have the convenient excuse that Red Sky / MECA had for the embarrassing crowds at their afternoon endurance-test day sessions. I’ve avoided talking about Red Sky because, well, what’s the point? No one has access to their day-pass ticket sales numbers, which must have totaled fewer than 100. Can you imagine anyone buying a three-day second-stage pass to Red Sky? Whether they’re willing to admit it or not, MECA knows it has a problem. At the core of any festival is selling multi-day tickets/passes; without that, you’re merely hosting a series of unrelated evening concerts, not a festival.

But when it comes defining a festival, MAHA isn’t without criticism –a one-afternoon/evening concert event does not a festival make. Until they spread MAHA out to two or three days, I’m hesitant to call it a true festival, either. The organizers know this. There are plans/hopes to expand MAHA to multiple days…some day. Right now, they just want to get through Saturday with a decent-sized crowd to cover costs and so their vendors can make some money — something that Red Sky’s day vendors weren’t able to do.

Today is the last day to buy MAHA tickets at the $30 price point. You can buy them online, right here. Tomorrow, the price goes up to $35 per ticket, but even at that price this concert is a bargain (especially considering parking is free (yet another perk over Red Sky)).

Here’s the schedule:

Noon: Gates Open
12:30 — The Big Deep
1:10 — The Envy Corp
2:00 — The Machete Archive
2:40 — The Reverend Horton Heat
3:50 — The So-So Sailors
4:30 — J Mascis
5:25 — Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship
6:00 — Cursive
7:15 — Somasphere
8:00 — Guided By Voices
9:30 — Matisyahu
11 — Show’s Over

The organizers have asked to pass on this warning to anyone attending: There will be no re-entry allowed after 4:30. If you leave the park after that time, you can’t come back in. “(We) want people to stay and hear the locals, not just go in and out for the nationals,” said MAHA organizer Tre Brashear. Other than those who live in nearby condos, I’m not sure where people would go anyway, especially with all the beer and food available right there in the park. Regardless, heed the warning.

And buy a ticket. Buy it right now, while you’re thinking of it. Go.

* * *

What about the rest of the weekend?

Tonight New Lungs (Little Brazil bass player Danny Maxwell’s other band) is headlining a gig at O’Leaver’s with Birthday Suits and Solid Goldberg (Dave Goldberg of Box Elders/Carsinogents fame). Fantastic show. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight, Landing on the Moon (Little Brazil drummer Oliver Morgan’s other band) is on the lineup of what’s being billed as a “pre-MAHA show” at Mojo Smokehouse with Midwest Dilemma and Snake Island. $8, 10 p.m.

Finally, the Barley Street Tavern is hosting the Nebraska Pop Festival tonight and tomorrow; with the festival wrapping up Sunday afternoon at The Side Door Lounge. More info and band lineup at the NPF website.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Column 336: All Systems Go for MAHA

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

When the first band takes the stage at this year’s MAHA Music Festival (at exactly 12:30 p.m. this Saturday), event organizers can take pride in knowing they’ve pulled together a program that not only tops last year’s event, but also establishes itself as the area’s premiere indie music festival.

Lord knows, it wasn’t easy. Along the way, their difficult path was filled with unexpected turns, frustrating indecisiveness, and last-minute demands. And though everything is in place just days before show time, as is the case with any outdoor festival its success is far from guaranteed — even the best-made plans mean nothing in the face of monsoon rains.

But why even consider such a bleak possibility?

Regardless of the weather, they’ve got a lot to be proud of. Saturday’s MAHA concert will mark the third-to-last appearance ever of Guided By Voices , as well as a reunion of the original Cursive lineup (with powerhouse Clint Schnase on drums) and a rare Midwestern festival appearance by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. It’s going to be a veritable smorgasbord of classic indie rock.

On the downside: You won’t see a single female musician on stage the entire afternoon. Not one. It’s a fact that MAHA organizer Tre Brashear said couldn’t be avoided, despite all of their efforts.

“Realistically, I think it shows how in demand female performers are,” he said of the scheduling challenge. “We made several offers (to female-fronted bands) because we think it’s important, but just couldn’t get it done. Looking back, the time we ‘lost’ waiting for commitments that didn’t happen impacted our ability to secure female artists, because those female artists were committing to other shows during that time.”

In fact, Brashear said dealing with indecisive bands was the hardest part of piecing together this year’s program. “We received several tentative commitments that ended up backing out,” he said.

In the end, he was more than satisfied with the final lineup, so much so that this year MAHA marketed beyond the city limits. “We have advertised more nationally,” Brashear said. “Also, our street team work has been much more regional, with people at the 80/35 Festival, Pitchfork, Lollapalooza and Kanrocksas.”

But despite the extra marketing, ticket sales are “pretty comparable” to last year at this time, he said. “Although this is also when we see a surge, after people have seen the weather forecast and know that they have no other conflicts that weekend.”

Brashear said ticket sales comprise roughly half of MAHA’s revenue, with sponsors filling in the other half. “We don’t have a set number of tickets that we have to (sell) to keep doing MAHA, but sales do matter in terms of showing that this whole effort is ‘worth it,'” he said.

Keep in mind that MAHA is the product of a nonprofit organization — it isn’t designed to make money. The goal always has been to fill a void in the local music calendar for an indie rock festival. However, organizers don’t want to lose money, either.

“Since we started doing this, much has changed,” Brashear said. “There’s Kansrocksas, Red Sky, indie shows at Stir, increased success by 1% (Productions). Heck, even Hullabaloo (held last week at River West Park) is meeting a need for ‘camping and music,’ Given all that, ticket sales matter because they show that people like our event and think it is different than what is out there. Positive comments in social media are nice, but people ‘vote’ with their money.”

They also vote with sponsorships. MAHA continues to attract support from some of the area’s largest companies, including TD Ameritrade (main stage sponsor), Kum & Go (local stage sponsor) and Weitz Funds. This year Whole Foods joined the project as a sponsor, vendor, even filling the bands’ riders.

That extra help will come in handy, as the seemingly unending Missouri River floods forced the event from its former home at Lewis & Clark Landing to Stinson Park at Aksarben Village. Despite the benefit of Stinson’s fixed stage, the move from the Landing will mean higher costs for things like fencing, generators and overnight labor (everything has to be cleared out by Sunday morning, in time for the weekly Farmer’s Market).

Helping them figure out how to pull it off was last month’s Playing With Fire concert that featured Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings — an event that also had been moved from Lewis & Clark Landing to Stinson Park. By watching PWF, Brashear and his team not only saw how their event could look and sound, they saw ways to improve on PWF’s event design.

“We learned that you need to work to integrate the east side of the area so it doesn’t get ‘forgotten’ with all the activity on the north and west ends,” Brashear said. “We also learned that the park is so big that you need to have a satellite beer/drink stand.”

As a result, MAHA is moving the entrance and the drink ticket windows to the northeast corner of the park, on Mercy Street, forcing patrons to walk past the vendors, which this year includes Mangia Italiana, Parthenon and eCreamery. Featured nonprofit organizations, such as Omaha Girls Rock, Joslyn Art Museum and Omaha Public Library, will see their tents located on the park’s east end to improve foot traffic in that area.

“As for the satellite drink stand, we’ll have one located along the south side, in addition to the primary tent on Mercy Street,” Brashear said. Refreshments will include Lucky Bucket Lager and IPA, PBR, Coors Light, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, three kinds of premade mixed drinks, and for you teetotalers, Pepsi products, Red Bull, iced tea and bottled water.

Sounds like they got it all covered. Even Accuweather is predicting 82 and sunny. Will it be a record year for MAHA? Buy a ticket and find out.

* * *

That ol boy Tim Kasher is awful busy these days. He and his cohorts in Cursive are working on a new record and will be playing the MAHA Music Festival Saturday night. At the same time, he’s promoting a new EP, Bigamy: More Songs From The Monogamy Sessions, with a free in-store performance at the brand-spanking new Saddle Creek Shop (located in the Slowdown compound) this evening at 7 p.m. (where you’ll be able to pick up your copy of the EP five days before anyone else).

Omaha World-Herald‘s Kevin Coffey has a super-keen Q&A with TK about his ongoing projects as well as a new Good Life album, right here.

And if that weren’t enough, Kasher also is going to be a guest on Michael Feldman’s Whad’Ya Know, which tapes live this Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Holland Performing Arts Center. You can listen to the program live on KIOS 91.5 FM, Omaha’s NPR affiliate. If you’ve never listened to the show, it’s mostly Feldman chatting with the audience, a couple call-in current events quizzes, witty banter with his traveling band and, for the road version of the show, interviews with local celebs — in this case Kasher. I don’t know if TK will be performing as part of this gig, but based on how Feldman has presented past guests, it’s unlikely. Tickets are available to the taping for $25 to $25 at ticketomaha.com.

* * *

The next annual (what is this, seventh annual?) Lincoln Calling Festival initial lineup was announced last night. The event, which is held in bars throughout downtown Lincoln, will be held Oct. 11-15.

Festival organizer (and unofficial mayor of Lincoln) Jeremy Buckley said he had to throttle back this year’s lineup after losing Scion as a sponsor (due to the tsunami in Japan). The full lineup is available on the event’s Facebook page, right here, but highlights include Icky Blossoms, Conduits, Little Brazil, Talking Mountain and Ideal Cleaners. More info to come.

* * *

Much to do tonight.

At O’Leaver’s, The Lepers headline a show with Snake Island and a band called Digger (one assumes, named after a certain foot fungus mascot). $5, 9:30 p.m.

Down at Slowdown in the big room it’s industrial pioneers KMFDM along with Army of the Universe, 16 Volt and Human Factors Lab. $25 and an early 8 p.m. start. Bring your earplugs.

And finally, Bluebird is playing on the newly christened Mojo Smokehouse stage (actually, I don’t even know if they have a stage or not, they do have pretty good sliders) located in Aksarben Village (right next to the movie theater). With Chicago’s Machinegun Mojo; 10 p.m., $5.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

When the Guided By Voices reunion tour was announced in June 2010, Matador Records deemed the band’s configuration “the Classic Lineup.” Even the GBV logo was reworked in the same colors and font as Coca-Cola, another American classic.

It was the perfect moniker for a lineup that drove GBV’s mid-’90s golden era — frontman/singer/songwriter Robert Pollard, guitarist Mitch Mitchell, drummer Kevin Fennell, bassist Greg Demos, and Pollard’s partner in crime, guitarist Tobin Sprout, who penned such GBV classics as “Awful Bliss,” “Atom Eyes” and “It’s Like Soul Man.”

For the uninitiated, a quick GBV career summary: It started when grade school teacher Pollard got together with friends from a number of local Dayton bands and jammed in his garage. From 1986 through 1993 the band put out seven recordings, none of which caught the ear of anyone outside southern Ohio.

After ’93’s Vampire on Titus was released on Scat Records, music insiders began figuring it out. Following a series of New York shows, the band began to attract an interesting group of fans, including The Breeders, Thurston Moore, Peter Buck, Peter Wolf, Ray Davies and the Beastie Boys.

Then in ’94, the year of Kurt Cobain’s death and the beginning of the end for grunge, along came Bee Thousand, GBV’s homemade opus that positioned the band as indie rock legends. Pollard and Sprout had an uncanny ability to write short, sweet pop songs with hooks that you couldn’t get out of your head. Sprout’s 4-track recordings ushered in what would come to be known as the “low-fi” craze. Suddenly, for better or worse, hiss-filled CDs that sounded like they were recorded for about $10 in someone’s basement “studio” were all the rage among indie bands. Sounding good meant sounding bad.

During this era, the classic lineup would make some of GBV’s most famous recordings, including Propeller, Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes and Under the Bushes Under the Stars.

But all good things come to an end, right? GBV split up in ’06. Pollard went on to a solo career. So did Sprout, who was also nurturing a fine art career and a family. And that, it seemed, was the end of the GBV story.

Until this reunion, but even that has to end sometime. The band’s appearance at the MAHA Music Festival this Saturday at Stinson Park will mark the third-to-last show of this reunion tour.

We caught up with Tobin Sprout to find out what happens next:

Guided by Voices' Tobin Sprout, circa 2010.

How did the “Classic Lineup” happen? What convinced the band to get together for these shows?

Tobin Sprout: Matador asked us to reunite for their 21st Anniversary show in Vegas (2010).  After that was announced we were getting offers from all over the country to play, so we ended up doing a 21-city tour.  Then added New Year’s and other weekend shows.  We have four more shows to do ending in September, about a year from the time we started the reunion. It was sort of the plan to put it to rest after a year.

What’s it been like playing with Bob and the rest of the band again?

It’s been good; everyone is having a great time, picking up where we left off.

What have been the best and worst parts about this tour?

The best part is playing in GBV again, I never thought for any reason it would happen.  But Matador gave us an opening and we just have gone with the flow.  It has been great to be with the band and see the fans again.

Flying is the worst part. It never really used to bother me, but now it does, not really for the danger because it’s safer than driving, or even the high up in the air part, just the checking in, waiting, waiting, checking, sitting in a very small area. Maybe I’m becoming claustrophobic.

Guided by Voices, Bee Thousand (Matador, 1994)

Have you ever talked about writing and recording new GBV material?

Yes, we have talked about it, and you never know it could happen. The reunion happened.

Within the past three or four years, there has been a revival of garage bands, and certainly a lot of these up-and-comers have been influenced by GBV. The GBV set was singled out as one of the best at the Pitchfork Music Festival. What’s it like knowing that your music is having an impact on a different generation?

Glad to hear Pitchfork said it was one of the best. It was considered by NP (defund them) R, as one of the worst shows in Seattle.  If we help carry and pass the torch, that’s great. It’s all about the songs. There are people in every generation that seem to get that.

How has being in a band changed since the early ’90s?

Cell phones, laptops, e-mail have made touring seem a lot easier — being able to stay in touch with home and not have to deal with finding a phone (that works), phone cards, etc. I can always be reached now.

What advice would you give those just starting out?

I would say if this is what you want to do, write songs, and write songs.  Then go on tour and play them, and don’t sign anything until you have your lawyer look at it.

Guided by Voices at Sokol Underground, April 8, 2000.

What are you going to do after the tour ends? Are you working on any solo material or with another band?

I’ll be working on my art, music and painting.  Bob and I might do an art show together; right now it’s being called “The Big Hat And Toy Show.” No date has been set, and I will also need time to get more work together.  (I’m) also writing more on my book, Elliott — April and Elliott, the story continues.

Your paintings are amazing. Will you now refocus your efforts on your fine art?

Thanks, I never really lose focus.  I still manage to paint and write between shows, and I’m always making notes, and sketching ideas in my head on tour.

Will GBV ever reform again for another tour?

I don’t know.  Maybe

Finally, what should we expect from GBV when we see you at the MAHA Festival?

The Big Hat And (Amazing) Rock Show, for all the great Omaha and visiting GBV fans, and fans to come.

Guided by Voices plays with Cursive, J Mascis, Matisyahu, The Rev. Horton Heat and The Envy Corps at the MAHA Music Festival, Saturday, Aug. 13, at Stinson Park in Aksarben Village, 67th & West Center Rd. Gates open at noon. Tickets are $30; $35 DOS. For more information, go to mahamusicfestival.com.

Story originally published in The Reader Aug. 10, 2011. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

* * *

So here’s the deal: While plugging away at a history project of my own, I got lost in the catacombs of old articles and blog entries that make up 13+ years of Lazy-i.com. Narcissistic? I suppose. It dawned on me that no matter what history is written, there will always be things that fall between the tracks that should be remembered. And that’s where “The Lazy-i Vault” comes in, a new blog feature online once a week, usually Tuesday or Wednesday, that takes readers back to something that happened in Omaha/Nebraska indie rock history, as reported in Lazy-i. It could be a news item, it could be a show review, it could be an interview. It’ll be followed by a brief “so what happened”-style update. It’ll usually be just a brief snapshot taken from the past, like this one:

From Lazy-i Vault, Aug. 10, 2000: The Carsinogents will be trotting out a new bass player when they open for the all-girl band, The Pindowns, this Saturday, Aug. 12, 2000, at The 49’r. Vocalist Dave Goldberg said Marc Phillips will be taking over for Mike Ivers, who recently left the band. The Carsinogents also will be playing a show at The Ranch Bowl Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2000, with the Young Hasselhoffs and The Cuterthans.

Goldberg said the band has completed recording a 5-song EP at Rainbow, produced by Dan Brennan of Red Menace fame. “We’re currently sending it to various labels and people with connections,” Goldberg said. “Ideally, someone will pick it up and put it out. We’re very eager to tour.” FYI, for those who are on the fence as to whether to hit that 49’r show, Goldberg said The Pindowns perform in Catholic school girl outfits and have played a party for cinematic hero Ron Jeremy.

Back to the present: I don’t know if I made it to either of those shows, but I’m sure they were ones for the ages. Carsinogents never did much touring before the band split up a few years later. Goldberg got more than his share of roadwork as a member of Box Elders. You can catch his new joint, Solid Goldberg, Friday night at O’Leaver’s.

* * *

Tonight at Slowdown Jr. it’s Dntel (James Scott “Jimmy” Tamborello of Figurine and Postal Service fame) along with One AM Radio and Geotic (Will Wiesenfeld of Baths). According to One AM’s publicist, “all three acts remixed each other, Will has played on The One AM Radio’s latest LP, and Jimmy and Hrishikesh (of The One AM Radio) go way back after meeting through the dublab community up in LA.” Expect to see more than just three guys sweating behind a bank of electronic equipment. Probably. $10, 9 p.m.

* * *

Tomorrow: The final word from MAHA before MAHA…

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

 

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Another festival going on under our noses is the Nebraska Pop Festival, which returns to Benson with a week’s worth of shows from bands you very likely never heard of.

“The Nebraska Pop Festival, is a multinational music festival showcasing true independent pop bands from around the world.  Those attending can expect to hear an eclectic variety of music and a little something for everyone.” said founder/festival organizer Christopher Beiermann.

Tonight’s lineup, which hits the PS Collective stage at 7 p.m., includes Family Picnic (Omaha), Murakami (Lincoln), Mint Wad Willy (Omaha), Met City (Indiana), Gabe Cahill (Omaha) and Platte River Rain (Omaha). Cover is $7 and proceeds go to Arts for All, Inc.

The festival bounces between PSC and The Barley Street all week, and closes at The Side Door Lounge Sunday afternoon. Go to the Nebraska Pop Fest website for a full schedule.

Also tonight, Omaha ex-pat Cass Brostad returns to The Barley Street Tavern with Austin co-horts Mandy Rowden and Charlie Mason in what’s being billed as the Guided By Vices Tour. Also on the bill are Bad Country, The Fergusons and Cass’s other band, The Family Gram. Should be quite a homecoming. Show starts at 9 p.m., $5.

Finally, traveling troubadour Paleo returns to Omaha tonight, this time at The Side Door Lounge, 3530 Leavenworth. According to Wiki, Paleo “is notable for writing a song every day for 365 days using a ‘half-size children’s guitar’ while living out of his car and being essentially homeless.” Hasn’t he played O’Leaver’s a few times? 8 p.m., no cover.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I have now gone two complete weeks without attending a show — that’s a first in a long time (not counting vacations). I planned on hitting up the Saturn Moth release show Saturday until that massive thunderstorm blew in from out of nowhere.

Well, there will be no avoiding the clubs this week. You’ve got Dntel on Wednesday, the Tim Kasher in-store early Thursday evening followed by Lepers/Snake Island at O’Leaver’s later that night, New Lungs and Solid Goldberg Friday night at O’Leaver’s, and then the MAHA Music Festival on Saturday.

And then there’s what’s happening tonight… Over at The Waiting Room it’s The L.A. Guns (the Tracii Guns version featuring Jizzy Pearl on vocals). Opening is Black On High, tickets are $13. Show starts at 9. Get your (hair) metal on, people.

Meanwhile, down at The Slowdown Jr., Venice CA band Honeyhoney plays with Hookshot. $5, 8 p.m.

Finally, if you happen to be in Des Moines tonight, Bright Eyes plays at the Val Air Ballroom with none other than Conduits and The Envy Corps. $25. 8 p.m.

* * *

Lots of stuff online this week, including interviews with Guided by Voices and a final look at the upcoming MAHA Music Festival. And quite possibly the launch of a new weekly feature. Keep watching…

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s a quieter weekend than normal, with a few notable small shows…

Tomorrow night Saturn Moth is having an EP release show at The Waiting Room. They’re a four-piece — all UNO students — that plays an abrasive-pop style of indie rock fronted by a real crooner in Collin Matz. The band is literally giving away 100 copies of their new self-titled 5-song EP at Saturday’s show. Or if you prefer, you can get a free download of the recording right now at this Bandcamp address:  http://saturnmoth.bandcamp.com/album/saturn-moth-ep?permalink Downloads are limited to the first 200, and since I downloaded one that means there’s only 199 left. Better hurry.

Saturn Moth follows a long line of bands that released debut albums and then, almost at the same time, disbanded. Matz said Saturday night’s show will be the band’s last before it goes on hiatus.

“I wish I could say that it’s a ploy for publicity or buzz. Our drummer’s going for his masters in geological sciences in North Dakota this fall,” Matz said. “We’ve decided to make the EP free and just get it into as many iTunes libraries as we can in hopes that people enjoy it.”

Opening the show is Snake Island and Lightning Bug. $5, 9 p.m.

Other shows of interest or note:

No Blood Orphan (Mike Saklar and host of local superstars) is playing tonight at The Barley Street, coming out of months of seclusion. Joining the Orphans is The Garden, Custom Catacombs, Colin Hotz, Melissa Dundis, and Dylan Davis and Cricket. $5, 9 p.m.

The Answer Team is hosting a listening party/video release at The Sydney tonight starting at 8 p.m. The sneak peek precludes a full-blown CD release show Aug. 19 at Slowdown with Back When and New Lungs.

Also tonight, The Side Door Lounge is hosting a handful of out-of-town bands that I’ve never heard of, capped off by a performance from the Big Al Band. Show starts at 7 p.m. Event details and band line-up is at this Facebook event page.

Finally, tomorrow night at The Barley Street, Travelling Mercies headlines a show with The
Betties, Platte River Rain and John Klemmensen & the Party. $5, 9 p.m.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Column 335: Speed! Nebraska Riots! 120 Minutes Returns! Tony Bonacci Directs! by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com Filling in some blanks as we head into two weeks’ of MAHA Music Festival coverage… Speed! Soapbox Riot 300 EP (Speed! Nebraska, 2011) I mentioned that I was in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado, last week enjoying some well-deserved R ‘n’ R (that’s rest and relaxation, not rock ‘n’ roll). Because of that personal holiday, I missed this year’s Speed! Nebraska Soapbox Riot — the third annual race held at Seymour Smith Park. We’re talking grown men rolling down steep tarmac hills in homemade racecars. It doesn’t get any more “American” than that. After I got back from The Rockies — still a little bummed that I missed the derby — I discovered stuffed inside my mailbox a copy of Speed! Soapbox Riot 300, the companion compilation 10-inch record that commemorated derby day. In addition to being a sort-of competitors’ guide to the event, the record represents the hottest young acts on the Speed! Nebraska label, an entity now in its 15th year of operation. Side One — a.k.a. “Heat 1 – Rally Champs” — launches with Riot organizer and label executive Gary Dean Davis’ tractor-punk revivalists Wagon Blasters doing “Here Comes Scat Pack,” a chomp-chomp rock tune with a dusty, cascading guitar line and GDD screaming the reframe “Accelerate, accelerate, four-on-the-floor!” That’s followed by The Really Rottens (Charlie Johnson and Benny Kushner from the Mezcal Bros.), The Filter Kings (fronted by guitarist Josh Dunwoody), and Domestica (The 2011 version, featuring Heidi Ore, Jon Taylor and new drummer Todd Johnson). Side Two — a.k.a. “Heat 2 – All Americans” — features the newest addition to the Speed! Nebraska family, Students of Crime (Wagon Blasters’ Robert Thornton’s other band), followed by The Third Men (label executive Mike Tulis and Co. covering Big Star classic “Back of a Car”) and Lincoln power-punk trio Ideal Cleaners gassing up a hot-rod titled “The Ghost of Rat Tail.” We’re talking seven of the finest country punk songs coming to you at 33-and-a-third RPMs, tucked into a screen-printed sleeve and limited to just 300 copies — a must-have for any music fan or soapbox derby enthusiast. If you missed the race, you can get a copy for a mere $10 at The Antiquarium record store in the Old Market. GDD tells me you can also order it by going to speednebraska.com, clicking on the original Soapbox Riot record in the “Buy” section and writing “300” in the message area. * * * Another event I missed while in The Rockies was last week’s grand opening of the new Saddle Creek Shop at 721 No. 14th St. in the heart of the Slowdown complex. In addition to selling more Saddle Creek merch than anyone can imagine (a literal warehouse full), the shop also carries a variety of new vinyl releases. I’d love to tell you more about their selection except the storefront is only open from 10 to 6 weekdays — when all of us who can afford new vinyl are at work. Looks like I’ll get my first gander at the shop Aug. 11 when Tim Kasher does an in-store celebrating the release of his new EP Bigamy: More Songs From The Monogamy Sessions. The EP’s official release date isn’t until Aug. 16, but The Shop will have CDs and vinyl on hand at the event. * * * The most influential indie-music TV show of the past 20 years finally returned to the cable airwaves last Saturday night. Yes, I’m talking about 120 Minutes now on MTV2. The program runs at midnight on the last Saturday of every month (actually, it’s the Sunday morning after the last Saturday, but who’s counting?). As if the show never went off the air, there was ol’ cueball-headed VJ Matt Pinfield interviewing Dave Grohl, P.J. Harvey and Danger Mouse while cuing up videos from new acts like Cults and Givers along with chestnuts by Pearl Jam and Radiohead. The best way to watch 120 hasn’t changed since it launched in 1986 — record it so you can skip the commercials. The only difference now, of course, is that you’ll be recording with a DVR rather than a VHS tape deck — some things do change. Fast forwarding cuts 120 Minutes down to about 45 minutes of actual content, especially if you’re skipping lame videos by the likes of Mumford and Sons Just like the old days, I “discovered” a couple new bands by watching the inaugural return episode — North Wales act The Joy Formidable, and Worcester, MA, band Dom. But instead of running out and buying those bands’ latest CDs the next day, I merely added them to my Spotify playlist and listened to them before I went to bed. Like I said, some things do change… * * * Finally, The Benningtons’ frontman Tony Bonacci just finished directing and shooting a short film called “Telephone” that you can view right now on Vimeo. Written by Sam Martin and Jesse Mckelvey of Capgun Coup (who also contribute a song to the soundtrack), the nearly 10-minute short tells the story of what happens when a young blond firecracker (played by Emma Penrose) goes on an accidental date with a creepy old dude (Scott Dombeck channeling Steve Buscemi but without Buscemi’s charm). Snarky dialogue and screaming ensue. The short was edited by none other than Academy Award winning film editor and Omaha native Mike Hill (Apollo 13, Night Shift). How did Bonacci get Hill to work on his project? “I’m friends with him,” Bonacci said. “He really loves the film, actually. He’s a hilarious guy.”

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Seems like it’s been awhile since Honey & Darling have done a show, what with frontwoman Sara busy with her other band, Millions of Boys. You’ll get a chance to see H&D tonight at The Barley Street Tavern with Costa Mesa acoustic outfit I Hate You Just Kidding (Mazzy Star meets a ukelele) and new local act Family Picnic. 9 p.m, $5.

And, of course, The Flaming Lips are playing over at the boats tonight (Stir Concert Cove). Tix are still available for $46.50 via ticketmaster. 8 p.m. start time.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

 

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Where was I last weekend? Well, I didn’t make it to a single rock show, and there were some doozies, including that Cold Cave gig at The Waiting Room. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t going to happen — too much to do and not enough time to do it.

In fact, the only boozing done this past weekend was meeting an old high school pal on the balcony/beer garden of The Parliament Pub at Midtown Crossing. I drive by that place at least a couple times a day (it faces Dodge Street) and rarely see anyone outside drinking. Was it doing OK business-wise?

I got my answer Saturday night — the club was crushed. Amidst the light and noise, the only thing I remember was it being black and red and looking like an Axe Body Spray commercial featuring the cast of The Jersey Shore. And what exactly is Hollister, anyway? Is it the Britannia Jeans of this generation?

The Parliament also apparently is thee place for bachelorette parties, as there were three going on simultaneously all night — lots of sashes and cheap tiaras.

Musicwise, there was a DJ booth and your stereotypical DJ dude, with a pair of cans (one covering one ear, the other pushed up on his bald, sweaty head). Can’t say I dug his mix, but he wasn’t exactly targeting my demo, if you know what I mean. Parliament represents what became of the ’80s meat market clubs — noisy and chaotic with lots of Brut and charisma. The cover bands that were a meat-market staple are long gone, replaced with generic, thudding house music. But other than that, little has changed.

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This morning the folks at Tell Our Your Friends PR sent out a press release heralding that Pujol has signed to Saddle Creek Records, and that a debut announcement is “coming soon.” I had not heard of Pujol prior to today. I’m listening to the single “Mayday” as I type this — very upbeat, jangling indie rock, a perfect fit for Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, who Pujol will be touring with.

According to the literature, Pujol, a.k.a. Daniel Pujol,  lives in Nashville, has worked with Jack White of White Stripes fame, and has released material on Third Man and Turbo Time labels (among others). I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this signing in the near future.

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BTW, this year’s MAHA Music Festival Aug. 13 will be the third-to-last show ever for Guided by Voices, as the “classic lineup” featuring Rob Pollard and Tobin Sprout, will be splitting after their show in Raleigh on Sept. 9. This may be your last chance to see this fantastic, influential band; and it’s happening right here in Omaha…

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There’s a benefit concert being held tonight at The Waiting Room for the folks in Joplin, Missouri, who had their lives blown apart by a massive tornado on May 22. Your $8 cover will help rebuild Joplin. Taking part in the benefit, which starts at 8 p.m., are Black On High, Moscow Mule, Knife.Fight.Justice, Clock Ticks Late and The Minnahoonies.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.