Matthew Sweet Kickstarter winds down; The Brigadiers tonight…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , — @ 12:53 pm July 22, 2014

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

With the Matthew Sweet concert at O’Leaver’s just around the corner  (It’s July 30 and long sold out) I thought I’d point out Sweet’s Kickstarter campaign, which only has four days left.

Actually, I discovered the campaign via the Lloyd Cole Facebook feed — Cole prompted his followers to help Sweet out, and even offered to fly out and “play modular synth” on Sweet’s new album. Wouldn’t that be a kick in the head?

Anyway, Sweet, who is now an Omaha resident, is panhandling for cash to make a new solo album, and already has met his $32,000 goal — he currently stands at $43,185, including the $40 I chipped in to get a copy of his vinyl when it’s ready next April.

Check out his Kickstarter pitch below, which mentions his move to Omaha and his hope to “get all my friends out in Nebraska” to help make the record.

BTW, The Lupines will open for Sweet at the O’Leaver’s show.

* * *

Tonight at The Sydney The Brigadiers open for Zeeland, Michigan band The Fever Haze. $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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Lazy-i

The CWS, Slowdown and the ‘myth’ of no parking; that goddamn Morrissey; Matthew Sweet news…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , , , — @ 1:00 pm June 11, 2014

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Screen Shot 2014-06-11 at 12.58.43 PM

Since when did they start calling it ‘The College World Series of Omaha”?

Well, the College World Series kicks off Friday with an opening concert extravaganza by Young the Giant, marking the last time many of us will be stepping foot in downtown Omaha until the series wraps up June 25. The tents already are starting to dot the NoDo landscape like big white blisters atop the usually empty parking lots.

For Slowdown, this is the harvest season, the time of year when they can’t count their money fast enough. In support of the CWS, Slowdown turns into a pseudo sports bar, featuring the finest local cover bands (Secret Weapon) and this year, a special performance by Criteria right in the heart of the action.

Thinking about going to Criteria but are afraid there will be nowhere to park? Slowdown’s Jason Kulbel says that lack of street parking during CWS is a “myth” and that parking is, in fact, plentiful. We shall see.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been down to Slowdown. Checking out their calendar, they’ve got a lot of heavy shows coming up. There’s that Criteria show June 21, The Felice Brothers June 28, Ceremony July 13, Jolie Holland Aug. 8, Kopecky Family Band Sept. 5, Mike Watt’s latest project Sept. 25 and New Pornographers/Pains of Being Pure at Heart Nov. 11.

That New Pornographers show was one of slew of gigs One Percent just announced, including J Mascis Oct. 8 (TWR); Ty Segall Sept. 25 (TWR); and most controversial at all, CHVRCHES Sept. 24 at Sokol Aud. It’s controversial in that CHVRCHES is the same night as The War on Drugs at The Waiting Room. The decision as to which show you choose to attend that night will define you. I’m trying to figure out a way to see both…

* * *

If you haven’t already heard, Morrissey cancelled the remaining dates of his current North American Tour, citing health reasons. Specifically, Morrissey said opening act Kristeen Young doused him with some sort of respiratory plague that he can’t seen to shake. Details on his unofficial website, True to You, where Moz also lists shows from the past tours he and his band consider to be “their best-ever.” For whatever reason, the Lincoln Rococo show wasn’t on the list…

* * *

Omahan Matthew Sweet (that’s right, he lives here now) announced today that he’s working on his first studio album in three years and will be launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project sometime this month.

He also said among the material he’ll be playing on the tour that brings him to O’Leaver’s July 30 (sorry, already sold out) are “his 90s releases, with such hits as ‘Girlfriend,’ ‘Sick of Myself,’ ‘I’ve Been Waiting’ and ‘Devil With the Green Eyes’ through his most recent release, Modern Art.

* * *

Tomorrow: The Faint.

* * *

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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

 

Lazy-i

Sweet’s sold out; William Fitzsimmons, Dereck Higgins tonight…

Category: Blog — Tags: , — @ 12:52 pm May 8, 2014

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Matthew Sweet night at O’Leaver’s July 30 is now sold out. It took longer than I thought. I checked the ticketing website last night when I got home from work and tickets were still available. I hope they’re not going to pack us in like sardines.

What else…

Folkie singer/songwriter William Fitzsimmons is performing tonight at The Waiting Room with Ben Sollee. I know nothing about Fitzsimmons except (I think) he’s on Nettwerk. Check the video below from his most recent release, Lions. $15, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, legendary musician and songwriter Dereck Higgins is playing a set at The Barley Street Tavern with Bob Bucko Jr., and Two Drag Club. $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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Lazy-i

Conor Oberst media explosion continues; Matthew Sweet tix on sale; new ROAM…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , — @ 12:48 pm May 7, 2014
Conor Oberst in DIY Magazine.

Conor Oberst in DIY Magazine.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

One assumes a primary advantage to being on a major label is broader media exposure. How much of the recent Conor Oberst media explosion is due to Nonesuch putting out his next record?

Case in point, in addition to announcing expanded tour dates Monday, Nonesuch also announced that Oberst will be performing on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon May 19 as well as CBS This Morning Saturday May 24. Conor’s done the late night circuit before, but I can’t ever remember him doing a morning show. Can an up-close-and- personal one-on-one interview on Ellen be far behind?

This morning DIY Magazine posted a lengthy cover story on Conor at its website (here). Nothing earth shaking reported. Conor talks about how he purposely made the lyrics to songs on the last Bright Eyes album, The People’s Key, obtuse.

“I kind of intentionally wanted the words on that to be very dense and almost cryptic – my hope was that if you started to listen to it enough it would start to reveal itself – but I think some people just didn’t want to listen to it that much so they never got to that part,” he laughs.

He also talks about his disillusionment with politics: “…they used to say it’s the difference between Pepsi and Coke, whereas I feel like it’s the difference between Coke and Diet Coke really – it’s like so little difference [between the Democrats and Republicans].

DIY saved the best quote for the closer: “I’m not naive enough to say ‘music can change the world’ because I don’t believe that,” he asserts, “but [music] can get behind enemy lines… it is something you take into your house with you, into your bedroom, into your most private moments, into your ears – and so if that music is communicating something… maybe its just a political message or maybe its like ‘try to be empathetic to your fellow human’ or like ‘dream big, think about the ways the world could be better’ – then that affects that person.

Expect more online revelations from Conor as the new record, Upside Down Mountain, comes out a week from Tuesday, May 19.

* * *

As of this writing, tickets were still available for the July 30 Matthew Sweet show at O’Leaver’s. Price w/fees is $16.52 (That’s right, I already bought mine). Buy yours here. Nice thing about this: A portion of the service fee goes back to the community. It makes you feel all warm inside…

* * *

The latest ROAM.

The latest ROAM.

David Matysiak’s ROAM project continues with the latest installment posted online: ROAM Vs. Wild: A Safari through Uncharted Earscapes. One of the featured artists is Bob Nanna of Braid. Check it out here (It’s free).

* * *

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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Lazy-i

Matthew Sweet headed to fabulous O’Leaver’s; Unfound Sounds gives away vinyl (if you can find it); Silkworm reissue…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , — @ 1:04 pm May 6, 2014
Matthew Sweet is playing at O'Leaver's July 30.

Matthew Sweet is playing at O’Leaver’s July 30.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’ve got two seconds to write this:

The announcement went out this morning that ’90s indie rock superstar and recent Omaha transplant Matthew Sweet has been booked to play at fabulous O’Leaver’s July 30. The $15 tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. from here. Something tells me it’s going to sell out.

* * *

I was going to embed 4AD band Future Islands videos from last night’s Kimmel show, but you’ve already seen them. Here’s hoping these guys don’t get over-exposed. I’d hate to see their music get pushed to the sidelines behind Samuel T. Herring’s wicked dance moves…

* * *

Former Hear Nebraska Managing Editor Michael Todd yesterday launched a new website called Unfound Sounds.

“This site creates treasure hunts for good music on vinyl. We hide records in Omaha businesses, then post an album review and hints of the hiding place. If you know which business we’re detailing, go there and ask for the next step: a series of final clues pointing to the record’s exact location.”

Sounds fun. Go to unfoundsounds.com to play.

* * *

The late, great Silkworm.

The late, great Silkworm.

Finally, one of my favorite bands from the ’90s, Silkworm, is seeing the re-release of 1994 album Libertine by the fine folks at Comedy Minus One Records.

Says the press release: “This is a double 12″ pressing with a supplementary CD including ‘The Marco Collins Sessions’ as well as two additional recordings from the band’s time at Pachyderm Studio. Includes all-new artwork throughout (the revised cover is pictured at the top of this email) plus a full color insert with liner notes by Silkworm’s Tim Midyett. Mastered from the original 1/2″ tapes by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service.”

The record is in stores today or available online here. And you can stream the full album here.

* * *

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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Lazy-i

At SXSW this week; Matthew Sweet sighting (in Omaha)…

Category: Blog — Tags: , — @ 8:16 am March 10, 2014

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It was warmer in Omaha than in Austin yesterday. That’s supposed to change over the next 24 hours. Until then it’s hoody weather and a chance of rain this afternoon. Doesn’t matter since I’ll be cooling my heels in hotel conference rooms all day anyway, enjoying the Interactive portion of the South by Southwest conference. The Music portion of SXSW doesn’t start for a day or so, and by then, the sun should be shining again (but you’ll probably still need a hoodie).

Look for SXSW coverage beginning Wednesday.

* * *

He was wearing these glasses...

He was wearing these glasses…

A brief story: While enjoying some delicious chicken curry at Mai Tai 2 in Aksarben village this past weekend, I glanced over at the table next to ours and recognized what I thought was a familiar face. “Pssst. Is that Matthew Sweet sitting at the table next to us?

Teresa didn’t remember who Matthew Sweet was so I had to sing a few lines off Girlfriend and look up his picture on my iPhone. I passed it over to her. We couldn’t say for sure. But after I found yet another photo with Sweet wearing the very same glasses as the guy next door, well, it had to be him. I will never know for sure because we didn’t ask, but…

After I got home I discovered an article on the ‘net — an interview with Sweet, where he talks about moving to Omaha and building a home studio where he’s currently working on the followup to 2011’s Modern Art. Someone else confirmed the story on Sunday. So Sweet is back in Nebraska (but not in his hometown of Lincoln). Now all we need is  someone to book him at one of our local clubs. Surely he has to try his new material out on someone before he lays it down in his studio…

* * *

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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Lazy-i