The new Jake Bellows album, New Ocean, is out today on Saddle Creek. It is, in my opinion, the best thing Jake has ever released, including his work in Neva Dinova.
Order your copy from the Saddle Creek store here or drop by their storefront next to Slowdown, where they have a supply of the CD — they don’t have the vinyl yet, apparently. I’ll always tell you to pay the extra two bucks and get the vinyl, which comes with an mp3 download code. Why? Because vinyl is sweet.
Speaking of new releases, last week I ordered my copy of the new Desaparecidos single, “Te Amo Camila Vallejo” b/w “The Underground Man.” Both songs are streaming from the order page, right here. It’s just $5 and comes with download code, too.
Wonder if the boys will be compiling all these singles into a one big record album?
A few big time shows tonight worth mentioning:
Phoenix is playing tonight at the Music Hall. Opening is our very own Icky Blossoms. Quite a coup for the Icky’s. Tix are $50 after fees. I’m kind of surprised that this is being held at the Music Hall. Is Phoenix really that big? I guess so.
On the other hand, Steely Dan is playing tonight at The Orpheum. This one may be sold out (you can no longer buy tickets from ticketomaha.com). I’m kind of surprised that this one wasn’t held in a larger venue.
Finally, John Klemmensen and the Party is playing tonight at The Barley Street with Matt Cox Band and Township & Range, a new project featuring Travis Sing (The Whipkey Three, ex-Black Squirrels). $5, 9 p.m.
As I mentioned yesterday, local legend Dave Goldberg (Full Blown, Carsinogents) is now playing keyboards in Simon Joyner’s band. And while that should be news enough for anyone, it should be pointed out that Dave’s primary project, Solid Goldberg, recently released a four-song EP via Bandcamp, which you really need to check out below. You can even download the EP at a “name your price” price. Do it. And keep an eye out for the next Solid Goldberg live performance, which always promises to be a life-changing experience.
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And speaking of online music, SPIN magazine yesterday posted a link to a stream of Jake Bellow’s entire new album, New Ocean, slated for release on Saddle Creek next Tuesday, Aug. 6. The story’s headline kicker calls Jake “The Omaha lifer…” even though last I heard Jake was living somewhere on the West Coast. I guess he’ll always be an Omahan in his heart of hearts…
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O’Leaver’s is having a particularly busy week this week. Yesterday was that Pleasure Adapter tour kickoff show which featured their “latest” new bassist Darren Keen, who also took the stage as Touch People. Now tonight O’Leaver’s hosts local faves Gordon with Austin Texas garage rockers Major Major Major and Video Ranger. $5, 9:30 p.m.
And then Friday night O’Leaver’s will see the debut of a new band fronted by Steve Micek (ex-The Stay Awake) called Adtrita. I’m not exactly sure what the name means but I think it’s Latin for “extra special.” And even though they haven’t played out, the band already has a track up on a Bandcamp (below). Kind of reminds me of Bottomless Pit/Silkworm and is downright poppy compared to Micek’s previous band. Friday can’t come too soon…
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Last but not least, two members of Conor Oberst’s Mystic Valley band, Jason Boesel and Taylor Hollingsworth, are playing a free gig tonight at Conor’s Pageturner Lounge in Dundee. The free show starts at 9:30 and should be an absolute crush mob.
With everything else that’s been released so far this year, it’s strangely satisfying that the German edition of Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lloyd Cole’s new album, Standards, as the best album for the first half of 2013. I’m not sure the record has even landed on record store shelves in the U.S., though you can buy it (as I did) directly from Lloyd Cole’s website. I’m contemplating writing a full review of the record, which is Cole’s best since 2003’s Music in a Foreign Language (which, for my money, was only eclipsed by Rattlesnake).
It’s interesting to see how other albums ranked in the German pages. The new Vampire Weekend was No. 2, followed by Iron & Wine, Daft Punk and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (which gets my vote for best of the first half of ’13). See the full German Rolling Stone list right here. And check out my reviews roundup for the first two quarters here and here (Lloyd Cole will be included in the third quarter round-up).
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Jake Bellows “I Know You” was the “free song of the day” at Pure Volume last week. You can still listen and download the groovy track right here, or simply check it out below. Jake’s Saddle Creek debut, New Ocean, comes out Aug. 6.
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Two shows of note tonight:
Big Al of The Big Al band wrote to say that Japanese punk rockers Mugen Hoso is playing tonight at The Barley Street Tavern with Lincoln punkers Crap Detectors and, of course, The Big Al Band. $5, 9:30 p.m.
Also tonight is the Maha Music Festival Showcase at The Waiting Room featuring Funk Trek, Midtown Marauders and winner of the Maha battle of the bands, Purveyors of the Conscious Sound, who will be opening this year’s Maha Fest. This free show starts at 9.
Our old pal Jake Bellows (originally of Neva Dinova fame) was a featured artist on rollingstone.com’s “Download of the Week” last Thursday. The site featured track “I Know You,” off his upcoming Saddle Creek Records debut New Ocean (out in August). Quite a sonic upgrade from Jake’s solo acoustic and low-fi tape recordings, but still the same fine songwriting. Check it out.
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The latest release from Kronch’s Trout Tune archives is a performance by none other than Slowdown Virginia. The performance was recorded April 12, 1993, at the Howard St. Tavern (RIP). We all remember the line-up, right? Tim Kasher on guitar and lead vocals, Matt Maginn on bass and vocals, Steve Pedersen on guitar and Casey Caniglia on drums. It’s Kasher as you’ve never seen him before, and likely never will again. See below. What else does Kronch have hiding in his video attic?
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In this week’s column, the final chapter in the 4-part “house saga” wherein I discuss the pains and pleasures of a massive home remodeling. You can read it in this week’s issue of The Reader or online right here.
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There have been a couple secret/special shows the past couple days, neither of which I attended — Cursive at O’Leaver’s Tuesday night and the band that supports She & Him last night at Pageturners. Ah, in the old days I might have made it to both, but lately it’s become too much of a struggle to attend weeknight shows and then get up the next morning at the crack of dawn.
Anyway, if you missed She and Him’s band last night, you can catch them tonight at Harrah’s Stir Cove, where the full band (including both She and Him) will be performing. Opening are local heroes Tilly and the Wall. Tickets are $35, and the show starts at 8.
Also tonight, at The Waiting Room, Well Aimed Arrows headlines a show that also features up-and-coming punks The Dad (Unread Records) and Co-Axed (no idea who this is). If the weather holds out, this will be another opportunity to ride my bike to Benson. $7, 9 p.m.
Comments Off on Jake Bellows in RS; Slowdown Virginia sings the blues; house saga concludes (in the column); She and Him, Tilly and the Wall, Well Aimed Arrows tonight…
Here’s a surprise coming from a veteran band with a handful of gold (and platinum) albums throughout their legendary career: The best song of the night came from their new album.
Sure, you got usual run of faves: “Istanbul,” “Birdhouse in Your Soul” (How many thousands of times have they had to sing that song throughout their lives? I wonder if they would have written it had they known beforehand), “The Guitar,” etc., but the real connection came from a revved-up version of “You’re On Fire,” the first song of the encore (and the first song on Nanobots, their new release) and first time I felt any real energy coming off the stage.
The duo have grown old before our own aging eyes. Instead of the dapper, pipe-smoking Mad Man extra we remember from their early videos, Flansburgh now looks like a shaggy Kevin Smith bouncing around all roly-poly with his guitar; while ol’ slouched Linnell is finally beginning to resemble the 53-year-old guy that he is, shuffling between his keyboard and accordion, rarely smiling or looking up, tired. Maybe he was saving his energy for his voice, which has a darker timbre than on the early recordings but still carries that same unique, woody quality (Flansburgh’s nasal croon hasn’t changed a bit).
I’ve always (wrongfully) written these guys off as novelty nerd music, chock full o’ odd syncopated rhythms, tight-riff guitars, countless lurching breaks and odd lyrics that sound like they were written by a couple Mathletes killing time during detention (for doing something wise-ass like correcting their history teacher in front of the rest of the class). But perhaps the two Johns had a plan all along, and knew they’d be able to sing these unconventional, wonky tunes ‘til very late in their lives without sounding like a couple pervs (see Rolling Stones recent viral vid of “As Tears Go By” featuring Taylor Swift).
There was genuine charm as they ran rapid-fire through their set of short, sharp pop songs like a couple hip teachers singing a hyper-active version of Schoolhouse Rock to an audience of their nerdy disciples (I’ve never seen more people wearing eyeglasses in one room). Even when they switched to hand puppets during the mid-set break you couldn’t help but smile.
The fact that they’re creating some of their best material at this point in their career (Nanobots is their best album since Flood, which is their best album) is a testament to their creative spark. “You’re On Fire,” could be a conventional hit if there was a way to get it heard now that radio has all but died. Despite a few kooky moments, this album is closer to a straight-forward rock album, and Linnell’s keyboards (especially live) remind me of early Steve Nieve (Elvis Costello). And while EC’s songwriting trajectory over the past decade has been spotty (and boring), TMBG’s songs never fail to bounce with characteristic spark and whimsy.
That said, maybe it had something to do with my view of the stage (the usual stage left wing) but Linnell tottered around like he was fulfilling an obligation. Flansburgh, however, still looked and sounded like someone having fun, at least as much fun as the folks in the near capacity crowd, come to see some old friends.
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Speaking of reviews, this week’s column is a the second-quarter CD reviews roundup, featuring a few reviews regular Lazy-i readers have already seen along reviews of new Low, Daft Punk, Art Brut, BIg Star, Statistics, John Klemmensen and the Party, etc. You can read it in this week’s issue of The Reader, or online right here.
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That sexy, sassy guitar-playing troubadour Jake Bellows, formerly of the late, great Neva Dinova, announced yesterday that his debut solo album New Ocean will be released on Saddle Creek Aug. 6.
According to the press release, the album was recorded at ARC Studios with engineer Ben Brodin (Before the Toast and Tea, Conor Oberst), Ryan Fox (The Good Life), Todd Fink (The Faint), and Heath Koontz (Neva Dinova). New Ocean is available for pre-order on CD & LP via Saddle Creek and limited edition cassette through Majestic Litter (yes, cassette!).
The back story:
“After fronting Neva Dinova for more than 15 years which included five full-lengths, a split EP, and countless tours, he packed up his dog and moved from his native Omaha to his girlfriend’s hometown of Los Angeles. Two days before he left he recorded 18 demos with musician and engineer Ben Brodin at Brodin’s insistence. Once in L.A., Bellows got a job installing sliding-glass doors and sold his Les Paul to buy a Datsun pick-up truck.
“Though he had no plans to form a new band, he played the occasional solo show, performed with Whispertown, and continued to write songs. In early 2011, an invitation arrived from Omaha’s Film Streams Theater for Jake’s old friend Ryan Fox also living on the West Coast, to perform an original live film score. Fox enlisted Bellows and Brodin to collaborate and the trio began to compose and discuss improvisational ideas over long-distance. Since they were all going to be in Omaha and had a long history of playing in each other’s bands, Brodin and Fox nudged Bellows into booking studio time to record some of his dormant songs.
“Fox and Bellows drove from LA to Omaha that November in a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle that didn’t have heat, a speedometer, a fuel gauge, seatbelts, or radio. They made it as far as Lincoln, NE, before the car caught fire at 4 in the morning. Later that week the trio performed the score to The Adventures of Prince Achmed. That weekend, they entered ARC Studios for a feverish recording session, arranging and writing parts on the fly with an impromptu band including Heath Koontz, Todd Fink, Whispertown bandmate Morgan Nagler and other old friends. Committing quickly to intuitive arrangements the band recorded 17 tracks in a little more than a week. They worked remotely on the record throughout that winter and spring, adding overdubs in basements and bedrooms across western North America.
“The group reunited in Omaha to debut the new songs at a couple of shows one week the following June. Excited to release the new material on their own terms the band put out a preview EP on cassette, Help, at the end of 2012. The new music is underpinned by philosophical conviction and shaped by an interest in physics, cosmology and mythology. Bellows returned to music with a renewed sense of the intrinsic value of art and its ability to express the commonality of human experience. His debut full-length, New Ocean, offers a mix tape of different kinds of songs hanging out on one record – love songs that are not necessarily ballads despite their introspective gauziness, with left turns into drunk-in-the-sun bossa nova and blue-eyed-soul ruptured by fuzz guitar. Bellows believes that songs change the fabric of the universe through the very frequencies they emit. As such, the record attempts to create the world he wants to see instead of reflect the world that is. ‘Our theory of the beginning of the universe is the big bang – a sound,’ Bellows said. ‘What gave birth to the universe is our one tool that we can change the universe with.'”
I’ve got a feeling he’ll be headed back to good ol’ Omaha on the upcoming tour. Call it a victory lap.
Thanks to all of you who entered this year’s drawing for the annual Lazy-i “best of” compilation CD. When I announced this drawing, everyone was like, “just make your playlist available in Spotify,” but what fun would that be? And based on the response, someone obviously still likes listening to CDs. With that, the winners are:
Evan Hayford, Berwyn, PA
Alexis Abel, Lincoln, NE
Tom Pacer, Omaha, NE
Your CDs will be dropped in the mail tomorrow, along with a commemorative Lazy-i vinyl sticker. Enjoy!
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Jake holds a copy of the Help cassette.
In other news… Jake Bellows has a new cassette tape out called Help. That’s right, it’s a cassette, but you can also purchase the cassette’s “A-side” digitally (the digital A-side tracks are free with cassette purchase).
“The tape contains one song from the upcoming album and nine assorted b-sides and demos that we found interesting,” Bellows said in his email. I bought my copy this morning and can’t wait to play it in my 1996 POS Geo Tracker. Buy your copy here: http://www.majesticlitter.com/store/
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Speaking of cassettes, one of Omaha’s favorite cassette tape record labels, Unread Records, has moved its world headquarters to Pittsburgh, PA, according to their latest update. Unread artists include Simon Joyner, Samual Locke Ward, Charlie McAlister, Will Simmons, Noah Sterba and a ton more. Check out the catalog and buy a cassette, record or CD. Goodbye, Mr. Fischer.
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Omaha’s adopted Lawrence band Cowboy Indian Bear has a new single out called “Does Anybody See You Out” available for free download at their website: cowboyindianbear.com. Check out the track below:
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Okkervil River fans can download a new track by the band’s frontman, Will Sheff, called “Shock Corridor.” Says Sheff of the solo project:
“The album was intended to be something I was making for myself and I have no definite plans to release the whole thing. At the end of the process, I gave a couple copies of the album to some close friends I knew would get where I was coming from. After thinking about it a bit I decided I’d put a couple of the songs out there, but that I’d put them out for free since the album cost me almost nothing to make. So here’s one of them, track two on the album. The name of the project is Lovestreams.”
Remember Willy Mason? He was the second act signed to Team Love Records way back in 2004. Well, Willy’s still kicking and has a new EP out called Don’t Stop Now on British label Communion. Check out the video for the first song “I Got Gold” below:
So maybe you were right giving me shit about my warnings of Mynabirds’ CD release show selling out. It didn’t, though there were at least 400 people there for Friday night’s show. OK, maybe I was hyping. So what. If you were there, you probably had a good time.
Laura Burhenn came out with her signature dead fox head gear, stood on her box and belted out about an hour’s worth of new and old material. I thought I’d hear at least a little political diatribe to coincide with her album’s perceived political themes (more on that later), but instead Burhenn stayed focused on the music, and wishing Slowdown a happy 5th birthday.
And I have to admit, her new record is beginning to grow on me, which is good since I apparently am the only one in America who wasn’t bowled over by it on first listen. The upbeat numbers (like “Body of Work”) are fun, but it’s the slower, tonal pieces, such as “Mightier Than the Sword,” that are the real show stoppers.
Whereas most of the her backing band are competent-though-faceless musicians, Burhenn is blessed with an amazing drummer. I have no idea who she is, but her big, dynamic, throaty sound stands out above everything (but Burhenn’s vocals, of course).
My only disappointment was with her set structure — it was as if Burhenn figured out the set list about five minutes before the show. Or maybe I’m just hypercritical about these things, but a good set list is like a great DJ set — it rises and falls, each song blending naturally into the other like perfect transitions in a seamless story taking you for a ride that culminates in a big finish. It’s about dynamics. Burhenn instead merely plays the songs, one after another with little interest in transition. Even the set ender and prerequisite leave-the-stage-followed-by-the-encore moment was more awkward than usual.
Jake Bellows & Co. at The Slowdown, June 8, 2012.
I caught the last half of Jake Bellows and his unnamed band (I call them “Jake Bellows and the Dying Embers”… think about it). Where Jake solo is interesting, it also can be boring. With a band backing him, Jake’s songs are given new life, new dynamics, new muscle. I understand that this particular collaboration of musicians may never play together again, which is a pity. That shouldn’t stop Bellows from surrounding himself with players for future shows.
Under Water Dream Machine at The Sydney, as part of the OEAA Summer Showcase, June 9, 2012.
Saturday night was Day 2 of the Omaha Arts and Entertainment Awards Summer Showcase in Benson, and yes it was fun but scheduling issues also made for disappointments. The first act I saw was 20 minutes late to start. The second act was more than a half-hour late. That meant missing a band that I otherwise would have caught. But I guess those things are to be expected when you’re juggling five venues and around 30 bands.
Touch People at The Barley Street, OEA Summer Showcase, June 9, 2012.
Highlights of the evening were Under Water Dream Machine at The Sydney and, of course, Touch People at The Barley Street Tavern. UWDM was backed by two musicians, giving his songs the backing meat they need to work on stage. Bret Vovk has a perfect stage voice on songs that feel like upbeat Simon and Garfunkel pop folk. Keep an eye on him. Touch People a.k.a. Darren Keen’s frenetic electronic music is both throbbing and jittery, chaotic and groovy, with the added attraction of Keen’s unique brand of humor. It’s impossible to not be entertained.
Before we get started, thanks to everyone who imparted birthday wishes upon me over the weekend, whether in person or via Facebook. The ability to get and receive birthday greetings from legions of people you haven’t seen or talked to, sometimes in years, is an unforeseen benefit to Facebook that we never saw when we joined the online service. The cynics will say it’s just more proof of the ongoing de-personalization caused by the internet — but I say it’s just the opposite.
I got a few “happy birthdays” Saturday night when I dropped in at Omaha’s home of booze debauchery, O’Leaver’s, to catch a set by The Sons of O’Leaver’s and Ideal Cleaners. As is their style, the quartet of Tulis, Maxwell, Loftus and Rutledge (a more fearsome law firm name I cannot imagine) were dressed to the nines for this special event, which also happened to be someone else’s birthday party, judging by the cupcakes stacked on the table along the far wall.
This being their first show in about a year and a half, the band took the occasion to roll out some new material as well as a shift in style. Whatever inherent twang they used to have has been drastically diminished. Maxwell still has that slightly muted, raspy croon on music that now sounds influenced by early Spoon and Blue Sky Blue-era Wilco. Rutledge glowed on lead guitar. He can get lost in the mix in some of his other bands. Not so here, revealing some of the best lead solos from him (or anyone in town), just gorgeous stuff that accents every song. As a whole, this was one of the most satisfying sets of music I’ve seen so far this year. So what’s the future hold for the Sons of…? One hopes we’ll be seeing a Sons of The Brothers or Sons of The Slowdown gig in the near future, along with recording of that new material…?
Ideal Cleaners continues to provide the usual pummeling that only the Lincoln trio can provide. The Bad Religion/Fugazi comparisons still seem to fit but are blurred by how Dan Jenkins and the boys put their own stamp on their abrasive, muscular sound.
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It’s a quiet week for shows, though there is one highlight worth mentioning. Ben Brodin from Mal Madrigal and Our Fox, wrote to say that this coming Wednesday a new Jake Bellows band will be performing at O’Leavers with Simon Joyner.
“The band doesn’t have a name yet, so we’ve been unsure about how to announce this show, but it is a special one in that it will be the first time we’ve performed these songs in public,” Brodin said. The band consists of Bellows, Todd Fink, Ryan Fox, Heath Koontz and Brodin, who said the music they’ll be playing was actually recorded last winter/spring.
“Also, since we live in different cities, this will be the only show in the foreseeable future,” Brodin said. “We’d be stoked for people to hear it while everyone is in town. Swing down if you haven’t got anything going on Wednesday.” Bellows apparently did an interview with Hear Nebraska that outlines what the band is and how it took shape, but the story isn’t online yet. Keep an eye on their website.
This week’s issue of The Reader features a cover story that compiles remembrances of Dave Sink from the musicians and friends who knew him best. And while portions of the article have appeared on other websites over the past day or so, none collect more comments from the people who made a mark during the era in which Sink was most influential. The contributors: Brian Byrd, Simon Joyner, Craig Crawford, Pat Buchanan, Bernie McGinn, Conor Oberst, Robb Nansel, Gary Dean Davis, Tim Moss, Matt Whipkey, Jake Bellows, Patrick Kinney, Adam J. Fogarty, Gus Rodino and Brad Smith. You can read the article online right here, or find a printed copy around town.
The issue also includes my remembrance of Dave, which I’ve posted below:
Remembering Dave
It began in November 1992. I was a few years out of college at UNO, already working full time at Union Pacific, but still writing about underground music, something that I’d begun doing as the editor of the college paper and as a freelance writer for The Metropolitan and The Note, a Lawrence, Kansas, regional music paper that had expanded its coverage to Omaha and Lincoln.
One of my first assignments for The Note was writing a piece on Dave Sink, his record store in the basement of The Antiquarium, and his record label, One-Hour Records. By the time of our interview, One-Hour already had released singles by Culture Fire (Release), Frontier Trust (Highway Miles) and Mousetrap (“Supercool” b/w “Fubar”), as well as Simon Joyner’s landmark full-length cassette, Umbilical Chords. One-Hour was a big deal both to the editors down in Lawrence and to me.
The audience for indie and punk music in Omaha was microscopic. At this point in its history, Omaha’s live music scene was dominated by top-40 cover bands that played a circuit of local meat-market bars along 72nd St. College music was heard mostly in college towns — something that Omaha certainly wasn’t. But Dave didn’t care. He had no aspirations of getting rich off One-Hour.
From that article:
“It’s fun empowering people,” said the 43-year-old entrepreneur who used to prefer classic rock to punk. “These are good people with good ideas and lots of energy. I knew these guys as really cool people long before I knew them as musicians.”
The advantage to being on One-Hour? “Possibly nothing,” Sink said. “We’re in an infant stage. But this is how Sub Pop got started and a lot of other quality punk labels. Any band we press is going to get 200 promotional copies of their single shipped to radio stations and ‘zines across the U.S. and Europe. The bottom line is we’re a medium for a band to reach a broader audience.”
Sink said Omaha had never had as many good original bands as it does now, whether the city knows it or not. “Unfortunately, most of the time they’re playing shows for each other. Omaha has a very talented music scene that is woefully underappreciated.”
Funny how, despite the success of Saddle Creek Records, little has changed.
After that story ran, I continued to drop into Dave’s store. He would pick out an armful of albums and singles for me to buy, and that’s how I discovered a lot of the bands that I would end up writing about in The Note (and later, in The Reader). He was always willing to give me the inside scoop on something that was going on musicwise. And much to my surprise, he read a lot of my stories, and was always willing to tell me when he thought I got it right, or got it wrong. A former editor at the old Benson Sun Newspaper, Dave’s perspective on my writing went beyond his music knowledge. As a result, he was always in the back of my mind whenever I wrote anything about music (and still is). I guess I didn’t want to disappoint Dave. Actually, no one did.
Toward the latter days of his involvement in the record store, Dave became more and more disillusioned with modern music. I’d go down there ask him what was good and he’d start off by saying, “Nothing, it’s all shit,” but eventually would find a few things for me to buy. He was more into jazz by then, and (of course) baseball, which we’d talk about at great length, along with his perspective on art and literature and film.
Funny thing, it didn’t matter that Dave was 20 or 30 years older than the kids buying the records. They all respected and sought out his opinion, and Dave was always happy to give it. My favorite Dave line when he didn’t like something: “It’s not my cup of tea.” It was that simple.
As the years went on, Dave quit showing up at the store, and then eventually it changed hands and moved out of the basement. Meanwhile, Saddle Creek Records bloomed, Omaha became nationally recognized as the new indie music “ground zero,” and I slowly lost touch with Dave.
And then along came Facebook. And there was Dave again. Over the last couple years we reconnected online, but mostly about baseball. Dave, a long-time Royals rooter, hated the fact that I’m a Yankees fan, a team he said was ruining baseball. I would argue that, in a market like Omaha, being a Yankees fan was downright punk – people hated you for it, that it was a lonely existence not unlike being a punk fan in the ‘90s. He never bought that argument.
I tried and I tried to get Dave to do that all-encompassing interview about the glory days of One-Hour and The Antiquarium. I told him how much he influenced everything that Omaha’s music scene had become, that I wanted to tell his story and put him on the cover of The Reader. Of course he would have none of it. He would kindly turn down the requests, saying he didn’t do anything, that he was only a record store owner and that the focus should be on the bands, not him.
Despite that, I think he knew how important he was to everything that’s happened here. He certainly was important to me.
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If I had to venture a guess, I’d bet that Dave wasn’t a Lemonheads fan.
Not coincidentally, neither am I. But that shouldn’t stop you from going to see The Lemonheads tonight at The Waiting Room, where the band will be performing It’s a Shame About Ray in its entirety. I’m told that Evan Dando was a bit fussy the last time he came to Omaha. What will he do this time? Opening is Meredith Sheldon. $15, 9 p.m.
Also tonight, power pop in the form of Lonely Estates and the Beat Seekers at The Sydney. 9 p.m., $5.
Well Aimed Arrows, Adult Entertainment (2012, self released)
Clayton Petersen of post-rock band Well Aimed Arrows dropped me a line this week to let me know that the band’s debut recording, Adult Entertainment, is finally available, at least digitally. “The first track is free to wet your appetite or the whole album (8 songs) is only five bucks,” Petersen said. You can access the recording from their bandcamp page.
Recorded by Steve Micek at The Robot Factory and mastered by the venerable Doug Van Sloun, I reviewed the album way back in July, figuring that it would never get “released.” Back then I described it as “Intelligent punk with big-shoulder swing, dissonant male/female harmonies, jangling ringing electric guitars, sing-along choruses and a straight-four beat. Best lyrics of any band going, period.” I stand by those words. Check it out.
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Speaking of new releases, Jake Bellows tweeted yesterday that he’s just placed a new track online called “Blackest Heart (acoustic).” You can buy the song for $1.29 at jakebellows.com, where Jake also provides an update on the new record he’s making with Ben Brodin, Ryan Fox, Todd Fink and Heath Koontz. “We are currently in the mixing phase of this record and expect to have it mostly finished by spring at the latest!” No doubt a tour will follow.
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And finally, the first interesting concert announcement of 2012: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks are returning to Slowdown Feb. 17. $15 tix go on sale Saturday. More info at the show page on the Slowdown website.
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Tomorrow: Future Tense: 2012 Music Predictions, Pt. 2 (the Lightning Round) — the conclusion of my annual predictions columns, and boy, this one’s a doozy.
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