Rusty Lord at Almost Music during Record Store Day, April 21, 2018. The shop will be closing its doors in January.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

If you haven’t already got the news let me be the last to tell you that yesterday Brad Smith announced on Facebook that Almost Music will be closing its doors forever in January.

Seems like only yesterday (instead of nearly three years ago (April 2016)) that Almost Music moved to the Blackstone District from its original Benson location (65th & Maple), which opened in October 2013.

I don’t know what more I can add to what’s already been said by the broken-hearted wretches responding to the news on Facebook, other than what I told Brad:

Almost Music for me was a connection back to the old Antiquarium days, to the ’90s Omaha music scene and old friends like the long-departed Dave Sink.

Almost Music had that same Antiquarium vibe. It was a neighborhood store that welcomed anyone, but beyond that for music fans, Brad and his staff just made it easy to buy stuff. The difference between Almost Music and other record stores was the way the stock was curated, so the good stuff bubbled to the surface and was easy to find. I get exhausted just thinking about having to dig through stacks of dirty, dusty vinyl at Kanesville or the endless used bins at Homer’s looking for hidden treasure. Brad put the treasure right out front, clean and in perfect alpha order.

I’m speaking in past-tense. Almost Music is still open and will be through the holidays. I suggest you drop by with your wallet or credit card and take advantage of it before it’s gone for good, along with the remaining fond memories you had of Omaha’s past.

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Back to the weekend…

Chicago indie band Typesetter headlines tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Joining them are fellow Windy City act Kali Masi and Omaha’s Centerpiece. $12, 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at Reverb Lounge Tulsa indie band Broncho headlines. The band’s latest album, Bad Behavior, was release last month by Park The Van Records. Sydney Australia band Valen opens at 9 p.m. $15

While you’re in Benson, tonight is the OEAA Nominee Showcase. Your $10 gets you into three venues — B-Side, Barley Street Tavern and Burke’s (all the “B” bars!) to check out bands nominated for this year’s awards. More info here.

Meanwhile, tonight down at Slowdown Jr. indie experimental instrumental duo El Ten Eleven headlines. Their latest, Banker’s Hill, was released this year by Top Shelf Records. Indiana band Thunder Dreamer opens at 9 p.m. $14.

Saturday The Omaha Bug Symposium is happening at OutrSpaces, 1258 So. 13th St. Says the press release: “It’s a mixture of science, art and music that we’ve been doing for the past five years. This year’s musical guest is Wrong Pets.” Starts at 8 p.m. Tix are $10.

Also Saturday night DMX (The Dereck Higgins Experience) headlines at O’Leaver’s with Dead on Dust and Bound. 10 p.m., $5.

Finally Sunday is the big 15 Passenger Records showcase at The Waiting Room featuring Cursive and Campdogzz. It’s been awhile since Cursive, who’s out touring their new album Vitriola, has graced an Omaha stage, and never with this new line-up (that includes the return of Clint Schnase on drums). Chicago’s Campdogzz saw the release of their latest album, In Rounds, this year on 15 Passenger, which, as we all know, is a label run by the guys in Cursive. Fellow Chicago act Meat Wave opens the show at 8 p.m., $15.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Cursive’s next album, Vitriola, comes out Oct. 5 on 15 Passenger.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The last line of the press release announcing Cursive’s first new album in six years reads:

Cursive is: Tim Kasher (vocals/guitar), Ted Stevens (guitar/vocals), Matt Maginn (bass), Clint Schnase (drums), and Patrick Newbery (keys), with Megan Siebe on cello.

The two surprises here are Schnase and Siebe. Schnase, as all old-time Cursive fans know, is the band’s original drummer and an absolute beast on a kit. It’s good to have him back. But apparently he’ll only be heard on the record, as Ladyfinger drummer (and exceptional print maker) Pat Oakes will be the band’s touring drummer when they hit the road for a month starting Oct. 18. That tour ends with a show at The Waiting Room Nov. 18 with label mates Campdogzz.

(I wonder if Cursive could be the “secret” of the just-announced “secret show” at O’Leaver’s Aug. 19?)

Megan Siebe is a fixture of the Omaha music scene having performed with a number of acts including Simon Joyner’s Ghosts, Anniversaire and live with Cursive (Seems to me someone suggested back in 2013 that Siebe would be a great addition on their next album…)

Enough about personnel. The new album, Vitriola, was recorded at ARC with studio wizard Mike Mogis and drops Oct. 5. According to the press release:

(The album) finds the band struggling with existentialism veering towards nihilism and despair; the ways in which society, much like a writer, creates and destroys; and an oncoming dystopia that feels eerily near at hand.

Holy shit that sounds depressing. But no Cursive (or Good Life) album is ever a joyous walk through the daisies.

Check out the first single, “Life Savings,” below and pre-order at the 15 Passenger website.

While we’re talking about 15 Passenger, some thoughts on the new Campdogzz record, In Rounds. The 15P debut dropped last Friday..

The has a creamy, twangy sound mixed with throaty-beat indie rock; it can be quiet, it can be hard, and falls in the same mood-circle as Angel Olson or Big Thief or Mitski. Let’s face it, women-fronted acts are making the most interesting music in indie rock these days, they’re dominating the genre.

Campdogzz and frontwoman Jess Price can add their names to that rather long list. Price, a Tulsa native, has a weary, prairie-worn voice that sounds like a mix between Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt and a bourbon hangover. There is a desolate nature to this collection of songs that reflect a strange longing and loneliness, with arrangements that in a heartbeat can veer from bending-in-the-wind lullaby to storm-bracing rock — quiet, ferocious, quiet.

Highlights include the torrid, pumping “On My Own,” crunchy rocker “Southern,” which sounds like classic Stevie Nicks, and smoldering hammer-beat track “Souvenir” with the lines “Did you want to get me gone / Did you want to get me / Well that train is going by.” Yikes.

Price’s lyrics are simpler and somewhat more obtuse than, say, Adrianne Lenker’s lyrics (of Big Thief), which are more intimate, personal, straight forward — you always know what Lenker’s singing about, whereas Price, not so much. On the other hand Campdogzz’s music is consistently more compelling and hook-filled than Big Thief’s static confessions (Exceptions, such as “Paul” and “Shark Smile,” are the exception rather than the rule). Regardless, the bands have more similarities than differences.

The Chicago act, which started as a duo with Price and Mike Russell and is now a five-piece, has been kicking around since before 2014. The fact that 15 Passenger lucked into them says a lot about the future of a label that’s built on a bedrock of Kasher-infused quality. How could it go wrong? * * *

They’re practically The Waiting Room’s house band — The Melvins — return to the bar tonight. WE Are the Asteroid opens at 8 p.m. $20.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Stef Chura at O’Leaver’s, May 30, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It was a small but lively crowd for last night’s Stef Chura concert at O’Leaver’s. Chura wisely played third among the four slated performers, possibly to prevent getting Omaha’d. Her act was a trio with bass and drums and Chura handling electric guitar and vocals.

I assume the first couple songs were new ones off the upcoming record produced by Will Toledo as they were heavier than stuff on her debut album and featured “trick endings” or at least they tricked the audience, who weren’t sure if the song was over or… oh, I guess there’s another verse. Super cool and catchy.

She brought it down in the middle of the set for a few songs off Messes, including a stirring version of personal favorite “Human Being,” where she sounded like a nerdy Stevie Nicks. Chura has a sweet croon that easily slips into a high, country-esque warble that could become her trademark if she’s not careful. On the whole, her vocals were under-powered last night and hard to hear except for those quiet moments.

Other highlights included the new singles, which also were produced by Toledo and are  catchy. Who knows how much influence Toledo will have on her sound. I guess we’ll have to wait unto the new album. Regardless, I think she’s going to be another strong addition to the “New Era” stable of Saddle Creek artists forging the label’s future.

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I’m a few days behind in mentioning that the Cursive guys’ new record label, 15 Passenger, just signed its first act – Chicago band Campdogzz.

According to their bio, the band has been kicking around for years, self-releasing their debut, Riders in the Hills of Dying Heaven, back in 2015. The new one, In Rounds, which comes out Aug. 3 on 15 Passenger, was written over a couple years and recorded in 2017 in Chicago. They’ve played around a lot, opening for Saddle Creek acts Big Thief and Sam Evian, among others.

The new record is solid and sounds like something that would fit into Saddle Creek recent catalog. Check out the first single below and pre-order 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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.