MONO at The Waiting Room, Sept. 25, 2012. The band returns tonight to The Waiting Room.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The NOmaha Alerts caught the attention of readers who pointed out that Alvvays, Slowdive and Pinegrove all are bypassing Omaha on upcoming tours. Of those three, the Pinegrove tour is the most surprising miss, though they played Milk Run last July. Alvvays played Maha in 2015. Getting Slowdive would be a feat I’d never expect to happen (but stranger things have).

Add to those NOmaha additions Thee Oh Sees — or just Oh Sees, as they’ve officially changed their name. Oh Sees has consistently bypassed Omaha for years, and one has to assume there’s a story behind it. Why else would the band avoid us? Here’s the closest pass to Omaha on Oh Sees’ upcoming tour:

11-18 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
11-19 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
11-23 Missoula, MT – Stage 112

It doesn’t take four days to drive from Chicago to Missoula.

Today’s NOmaha Alert:

“Joseph will kick off a fall headline tour on Sept. 13 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. Produced by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Jenny Lewis), I’m Alone, No You’re Not (ATO) spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart.”

9/22 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
9/23 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
9/24 – Franklin, TN @ Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival
NOmaha

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So who is actually playing in Omaha tonight?

Japanese 4-piece instrumental prog rock band MONO returns to The Waiting Room. I saw them open for The Album Leaf in 2012. From that 2012 Lazy-i Review: “MONO is a four-piece ambient rock band from Japan that plays soaring all-instrumental compositions that are equal parts majesty and sorrow. The recipe is two guitars, a bassist who doubles on keyboards, and drums. It’s gorgeous, lush music that tries to replicate the density of orchestral music using rock instruments, and at its best moments, succeeds.”

But there was a flaw to their performance, which you’ll have to go hear to read about. Opening for them tonight is our very own Thick Paint. $15, 9 p.m.

There’s also a house show at West Wing tonight (according to Facebook) with Springfield IL band Livin’ Thing, Champaign, IL’s Dream Probe and our very own BIB. $5, 9 p.m. More info here…

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.