by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The big Phoebe Bridgers show is tonight outside on Military Ave. next to Reverb. They call it “The Waiting Room Outdoors” but they should really call it “Reverb Outdoors” since that’s where it is — outside of Reverb, on Military Ave.

Look, this show has been sold out for months; I think it literally sold out in a matter of days. I saw Bridgers three years ago (Has it really been that long?) when she played alongside Conor Oberst in Better Oblivion Community Center and that was a great show. I’ve seen Oberst perform at least a few dozen times since he was 16 and it was the happiest I’ve seen him on stage. These days Oberst is so pissed off with the world that he’s walking off stage and leaving his band high and dry two songs into sets (in Houston), so I guess the happy days are over.

Not so for Phoebe. Nothing bothers the bride to be. Expect a lively show tonight performed in front of a crowd of young female fans and their boyfriends, sort of like a Taylor Swift concert, though Bridgers’ music is more indie than Swift’s pop candy. Or I should say, Bridgers’ “song” is. As much as I like Bridgers, most of her music sounds the same, and it doesn’t help that her mewing vocal style and phrasing never vary. So yeah, I like Phoebe’s song, but I liked BOCC’s songs more.

The mystery is whether Bridgers will acknowledge the elephant in the room and say something about Oberst from stage. My money is on a veiled reference to Saddle Creek Records’ music/bands “which I grew up on and love,” and so on. Poor Conor.

Opening the show tonight is Charlie Hickey, whose debut album, Nervous at Night, was released by Bridgers’ Saddest Factory label (a boutique imprint of Dead Oceans). This is indie bordering on pop. In some ways he reminds me of Christian Lee Hutson, though Hutson has a more mature and realized folk sound, which makes sense since Hickey looks like he’s 18 while Hutson is 31. Hutson, btw, is opening for Bridgers for two weeks of PNW dates in late August, following his own summer tour that takes him nowhere near Omaha.

BTW, tonight is No Vax No Entry, so bring your evidence or you’re not getting in. Show starts at 7.

Sorry to say I’m going to miss this show as I’m headed out of town. Let me know how it went. I’ll try to post a weekend preview before I split…

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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 © 2022 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.