Welcome to Lazy-i, an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news.
The focus is on the indie music scene. Yes, there’s a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area, but Lazy-i also offers interviews, stories and reviews about national indie bands.
Most of the feature stories and columns in Lazy-i will have previously been published in The Reader, Omaha’s monthly alternative newspaper.
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
Didn’t get tickets to tonight’s Faint concert at The Waiting Room before it sold out weeks ago? Me, neither. Tickets were available at Stubhub.com for just north of $200 per ticket yesterday.
Why wasn’t this concert held at The Admiral, Astro or any other venue larger than The Waiting Room? It’s tough to say. Both Admiral and Astro are available tonight. I’m guessing it was a joint decision by the band and the booker – 1% Productions – but still, it’s a head-scratcher. In the past, The Faint have played capacity shows at Sokol Auditorium – now called The Admiral – and based on the quick sell out, would have had not problem filling the old South Omaha ballroom again. Plack Blague and Jeff in Leather open tonight’s show at 8 p.m.
So, out of luck? Well, don’t fret. There are other things going on while all your friends are at The Faint concert. Among them is a concert just around the corner at Reverb Lounge headlined by California-based singer/songwriter Marlon Funaki. His dreamy style of guitar-driven indie pop appears to be entirely self-released, and despite not having record-label suport still has nearly a million monthly Spotify listeners. Is it the power of TikTok? I don’t know because I don’t have TikTok. Omaha newcomer Sand opens this show at 8 p.m. $17.
Also tonight, Omaha’s indie folk orchestra, Midwest Dilemma, headlines at Slowdown’s front room. Joining them are Justin Bloss and Matt Cox. $12, 7 p.m.
Back to tonight’s sold-out Faint concert…
It’s surprising how the show sold out so quickly considering their tour isn’t supporting new music, but reissues of albums that came out literally decades ago. Here’s the setlist for their March 31 show at The Taft Theatre in Cincinnati, which they no doubt will replicate on stage tonight. It’s a well-balanced selection that includes songs from throughout their post-Media career, including a few nice dives into the under-appreciated 2019 album, Egowerks.
I’ve heard and seen all these songs performed before (in some cases, over a dozen times). What will the band pull out of their hats to make this different than past shows? Likely nothing, as The Faint is one of those established acts that can continue to tour on the strength of their old material ad infinitum. I
The band isn’t not alone. Bright Eyes and Cursive — the other two jewels in the Nebraska/Saddle Creek triple crown of indie superstars — could also rest on their laurels and tour just playing past “hits,” but instead both bands continue to write, record and preform new music.
They’re even finding ways to reinvent it.
This past Monday, the bands released a “mash-up” track that combines BE’s “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” and Cursive’s “The Recluse.” The cleverly produced “Recluse I Don’t Have to Love” has been written about in just about every online publication that covers indie music.
From the write-up included on the track’s Bandcamp page:
“Best bud Carly (spouse to Cursive’s Matt Maginn) pointed out the musical hook and libertine similarities between (‘Lover I Don’t Have to Love’’s) lyrics, and ‘The Recluse’ by her husband’s band. For years it was an inside joke – ‘should we make a mashup, just for fun?’ And on the eve of Bright Eyes’ North American tour with Cursive, the Kash-up mashup dream has become a reality. And it weirdly works. Carly was right.”
The track is available from both Bright Eyes’ and Cursive’s bandcamp pages and judging by the “supported by” tiles, they’ve sold a shit-ton of copies. All profits from the song will benefit the Poison Oak Project, Bright Eyes’ 501C3 non-profit dedicated to advancing equity for LGBTQ+ people, with a particular focus on supporting the trans community.
One has to wonder if they’ll try to perform the mash-up when the two bands play April 27 at The Astro. I think if they do, it should happen during Cursive’s set, as of the two tracks, “The Recluse” has the upper hand with around 16 million plays in Spotify vs. “Lover’s” 12 million. And besides, all Conor would have to do is walk out and sing it. By the way, you may want to buy your tickets to that one now before it also sells out…
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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
Two rock shows are on my radar this weekend.
Saturday night Mike Saklar and his band Sun-less Trio are opening for Radical Sabbatical at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Saklar is easily one of the most innovative guitarists in town. Also on the bill is a band called So It Goes, who I’ve never heard. Hey, why not take a chance, the show is FREE. And any night at O’Leaver’s can become an adventure (if you want it to be). Showtime is 9 p.m.
Sunday night, Chicago act Worry Club, a.k.a. singer/songwriter Chase Walsh, headlines at Reverb Lounge. It’s shy-guy indie-pop that kind of reminded me of Cavetown (but not nearly as fey). Carver Jones and the American Dreamers – fresh off a show last night at O’Leaver’s – opens this one at 8 p.m. $24.
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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
I haven’t been on vacation. There just hasn’t been anything to write about lately from an indie music perspective.
It’s been woefully quiet the past few weeks around here, with little happening for the balance of the month except for tonight’s Velveteers show at The Slowdown and Worry Club at Reverb Sunday. Things are looking up in April, however, where I count 14 touring indie bands coming through town.
In retrospect, last March Omaha hosted shows by Sun June/Wild Pink, Color Green, Willy Mason and Jenny Lewis – not exactly a beehive of touring indie activity. So, it’s a slow month. The good news is there is a shit-ton of great new indie albums that have dropped or are about to. The music pipeline is as robust as ever, we just need to convince the hot new bands (and the local promoters) to book shows here.
Tonight’s show by The Velveteers is a return engagement by the Boulder, Colroado, alt-rock band who played at Slowdown last April. This time they’re supporting a brand new album, A Million Knives, released this past February by Easy Eye Sound/Concord. Like their previous album, 2021’s Nightmare Daydream, the new record was produced by Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and continues to sport a similar glammy, Garbage, alt-rock vibe. In fact, the album’s first single, “Go Fly Away,” was written by Auerbach and BK partner Patrick Carney.
Tour mates Girl Tones is the Bowling Green, Kentucky, duo of sisters Kenzie and Laila Crowe playing a fuzzy, White Stripes-style of alt rock. They worked with Kentucky pals Cage the Elephant on their debut single, “Fade Away.”
Omaha’s Magū, fronted by singer/songwriter David McInnis, opens tonight’s show in Slowdown’s front room at 8 p.m. $20.
If alt-rock ain’t your thing, swing by fabulous O’Leaver’s tonight for The Club’s debut of Carver Jones. I recapped Jones’ rising trajectory (including working with a number of big-name producers) in a Lazy-i feature story that ran last November, right here, where-in I wondered if Carver will be the next big thing to escape from Omaha. His latest single is “Problems” – still no idea if he’s found that illusive record label he was searching for.
Jones is the opener for Butte, Montana, R&B/retro dance couple Desperate Electric, whose latest LP is 2024’s Don’t Fall in Love. It’s bound to turn O’Leaver’s into the disco dance club it was always destined to be. This one is free and starts at 8 p.m.
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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
Tickets for the Maha Festival go on sale this morning at 10 a.m. The pricing for the one-day event Aug. 2 at Heartland of America Park/RiverFront, according to the etix website:
What do you get for the VIP? Access to the following “exclusive amenities”:
In my personal experience, the VIP tickets are worth the additional $40, especially if you dig the line-up and intend to be there all day. Unlike past Maha Festivals, this 6-band bill will bring people to the park early and keep them all day.
Read more about the line-up in yesterday’s blog post, and get yer tickets at mahafestival.com.
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If you missed out on tickets to that long sold-out Riley Kiley show slated for Sept. 17 at The Astro, you’re in luck. Mammoth Productions announced this morning that they’re moving the show to the larger Astro Amphitheater. Purchased General Admission tickets from indoors will now be honored for General Admission Lawn Access outdoors. Reserved seats from indoors will be relocated to seats in Sections 101-107 outdoors. Hope it doesn’t rain.
As a result, tickets are again on sale for this show.
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This will be a quick weekend look ahead as only one show is on my radar. Two Chicago-based post-metal instrumental bands are playing at Slowdown tonight.
The trio Russian Circles has been at it since 2004 and made a big splash with their 2008 album Station (Suicide Squeeze) that kinda/sorta defined a high-energy post-rock style more driving and less cinematic than, say, a band like Mogwai. They carry on guitar-fueled noise rock on their latest album, Gnosis (2022, Sargent House). Head-waggin’ metal instrumentals, too smart and fast for the doomies out there.
Chicago brethren Pelican is more of the same – buzzing metal instrumentals, though from my casual listening seems to have more variety and “wandering” in their compositions. As such, they’ve been thrown into every loud category, from post-metal to stoner to doom. The two tracks from their new album, Flickering Resonance (out this May on Run for Cover Records), actually have a post-grunge vibe. Lots o’ “post-s” with these bands.
Both bands with have room to roam on Slowdown’s main room stage. 8 p.m. $34.50.
And that’s all I got. Pretty quiet around here these days. Things are looking up in April, though. 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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
The line-up for the 2025 Maha Festival was announced late yesterday afternoon and it may be their best line-up ever: Pixies, Waxahatchee, Band of Horses, Magdalena Bay, Silversun Pickups and local heroes Little Brazil.
There have been accusations that I had inside knowledge of the line-up prior to the announcement, based upon my Feb. 24 predictions, but nothing could be further from the truth. It was simply a matter of deduction. Pixies have always been a favorite of the folks who ran the now-defunct Outlandia Festival — all of whom are now involved in Maha. Pixies’ tour schedule also had a nice hole on Aug. 2, which happens to be Maha’s date.
Formed in 1986 but active throughout most of the 2000s, many (including myself) have argued Pixies was the most important post-punk band of the ‘80s whose sound heavily influenced Nirvana and spawned the grunge era, pulling indie rock out of the underground and onto the pop charts.
Three of the band’s original members remain: Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering, with Emma Richardson taking over the bass chores from Kim Deal. The band’s latest, The Night the Zombies Came, was released last October on BMG.
The last time Pixies was scheduled to play Omaha was an oudoor gig at The Waiting Room, Sept. 16, 2021 – a show that was cancelled along with the rest of the band’s tour that year, likely due to COVID issues. Prior to that, you have to go all the way back to September 2010 when the band played The Orpheum Theatre. So, their return is a long time coming.
My prediction that Waxahatchee could be at this’ year’s festival was more of a wish. The band – one of my favorites – has avoided Omaha since the pandemic. The last time they played Nebraska was Lincoln Calling back in 2018. Prior to that, they played The Waiting Room way back in 2014. Their latest album, Tigers Blood, came out in March 2024 on Anti- and their due for a new LP, hopefully this year.
Band of Horses played the inaugural Outlandia Festival back in 2022. Their 2006 album, Everything All the Time (Sub Pop), contains the indie hit “The Funeral,” which has almost half a billion plays on Spotify. Their latest LP, Things Are Great (2024, BMG), continues along their dreamy, indie-jangle path.
Electro-pop duo Magdalena Bay just played The Waiting Room last September, supporting their then just-released Imaginal Disk (Mom+Pop Records). Some folks online have commented that this year’s Maha line-up more resembles an Outlandia festival, but Magdalena Bay definitely targets the younger audience drawn to past Maha fests.
Silversun Pickups should be very familiar to Omaha audiences. They just played here last April at The Admiral. Before that, they played at Slowdown in 2021, Stir Cove in 2013, Sumtur Amphitheater in 2012, Sokol Auditorium (now Admiral) in 2009, and Slowdown in 2007.
Finally, it only seems right that the Omaha band that kicked off the Maha Music Festival way back in August 2009 at Lewis & Clark Landing – Little Brazil – open this year’s festival at its new RiverFront location in Heartland of America Park.
That’s a strong line-up for a one-day festival that many feared may not return after the 2024 event was “paused.” Among the reasons given at the time: “…the worldwide festival industry has faced an unprecedented increase in costs for talent, transportation, labor, security and insurance.” There were other issues as well, including personnel changes in the Maha organization.
And now it’s back, arguably better than ever. No word yet on ticket prices, but we’ll find out when they go on sale Friday.
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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
I’m back from my short vacation – spring ball in Clearwater Florida. Not much to say music-wise except I experienced a plethora of music styles (primarily Latin/dance/retro hip-hop) while riding in various Ubers/Lifts in and around Tampa. Can you imagine climbing into an Uber and the driver is playing The Faint?
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Speaking of The Faint, the band’s frontman, Todd Fink, has been doing a media tour of sorts in support of the “deluxe” rerelease of Blank-Wave Arcade and Wet From Birth (and the band’s upcoming tour). Among the articles:
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At least know The Faint won’t be playing this year’s Maha Festival (because they’re already playing a sold-out April 3 show at The Waiting Room).
But tomorrow we find out who will be headlining the Aug. 2 event. Other disqualified bands and my guesses as to what might be announced is right here. I’ll let you what I think of the line-up…
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You can also take the following bands off any “Maha guess” list, as they’ll be riding through town in the coming months. Here’s my updated list of touring indie bands headed our way. Get yer tickets before they’re gone.
Whatwho am I missing? Put it in the comments section.
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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
I’ll be out of town through this weekend, so Lazy-i will be on a short hiatus, back early next week. What will I miss while away? Only one big show comes to mind, and it’s Sunday night at Reverb Lounge.
El Paso’s Lesser Care is a post-punk shoe-gaze band who gained some national attention when they toured with Chicago post-punk act French Police back in 2023. Their latest LP, Heel Turn, was released in 2024 and I can’t find a single review of the album anywhere online. Regardless, listen to the track below and make up your own mind. Omaha’s Ex Lover opens the show at 8 p.m. $15.
That’s all I’m seeing in my indie-scope. 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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
Yesterday, the fine folks who run the Maha Music Festival said they will announce the headliner for their Aug. 2 one-day event next Wednesday, March 19, with tickets on sale the following Friday, March 21.
Make your guess at the headliner. I ran down my list of guesses – topped by The Pixies, followed by St. Vincent, Black Key and Spoon – in this write-up that also discusses who won’t be headlining.
In addition the new RiverFront location, another change to this year’s festival appears to be a shift in how Maha approaches volunteers. In year’s past, the Maha Festival was buoyed by an army of volunteers – 800 volunteers helped put on the last festival in 2023.
However, a couple days ago, someone shared an email they said was mailed to past volunteers saying day-to-day operations for this year’s festival will be outsourced to a professional production company. The question, of course, is how far the message traveled down the volunteer food chain.
Maha volunteers did things as simple as answer questions, direct people to vendors and bathrooms, even help them understand how to recycle their garbage. I’d be surprised if Maha didn’t ask for at least some volunteers. Then again, were there volunteers at last year’s Outlandia Festival, which was run by the same folks running this year’s Maha Festival?
Volunteer networks do more than just provide helpful hands. They also get the word out about the festival itself, perhaps convincing friends and relatives to buy tickets. That brings up the whole question of how they’ll market this year’s Maha Festival. They’ll have to do more than rely on social media marketing, whose use and affectiveness appear to be on the decline…
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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
I know I say this every year, but GoatFest, the annual bacchanal that took place at Scriptown Brewing Company this past Saturday, should be held every week, or at least every month, or at least once a season.
The brewery, located in the Blackstone District, was loud and packed at 3 p.m. with folks throwing back glasses of bock beer and yelling over the bands rocking out by the back exit. With their overhead doors wide open along Harney Street, the music could be heard blocks away by neighbors out soaking in the pre-spring warmth.
It reminded me of another mainly outdoor event that’s taking place this week in Austin, Texas – the South By Southwest Festival day parties. There’s something special about day drinking at afternoon rock shows. And Scriptown booking psych-rock garage bands only adds to the event’s allure.
Cowgirl Eastern certainly fit right in. The Omaha-based five-piece boasts the classic “two-drummer configuration” – the kits set up facing each other – along with two guitars and bass. It was the loudest band I’ve ever heard at GoatFest (and I’ve been to all of them), but it didn’t kill the acid-colored vibe of their ultra-vivid, fuzzed-out sound. Very ‘60s, kind of bluesy, hippie but not in a jam-band sort of way.
Despite the crowd gathered around the band, people still managed to push their way through the throng to the back exit, where just outside a temporary livestock pen held three precocious goats. Two guys who I assumed were the the goats’ wranglers discussed livestock-related issues while sunglassed hipsters held pints in one hand while petting the goats with the other.
Cowgirl Eastern was followed by another local act, Velvet Velvet, who ripped into an improvised version of “Sweet Home Alabama” as their ad hoc soundcheck, a hint of the southern-rock influenced material heard during the first part of their set, which was all I was able to stick around four, though I made a mental note to check out both bands the next time the play a proper venue.
Scriptown was designed to be a beer tasting room, not a music venue, and it was evident by the blown-out stage-right PA speaker that fuzzed up the vocals. I doubt many people either noticed or cared as they were having such a good time.
Which brings us back to the original statement – Scriptown should host GoatFest more than once a year. I mentioned this to one of the organizers, who told me the brewery does do special events during Blackstone’s “Second Saturday” efforts. Still, he wasn’t convinced they could draw such a large crowd on a weekly or monthly – or monthly – basis. He may be right, but we’ll never know unless they take the gamble, at least during the warm months…
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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
Onward to the weekend…
There’s a sneaky good show going on tonight (Friday) at The Sydney in Benson. Finom is the Chicago duo of Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart. They used to go by the name OHMME, but changed their name for legal reasons in 2022. They’ve been releasing albums on respected mid-size indie label Joyful Noise since 2020; their latest is the soaring 2024 LP Not God. They usually have a drummer in tow, so expect a full sound.
Also on the bill is Nashville-based project Brother Bird. Fronted by singer/songwriter Caroline Glaser, the band lists Mazzy Star, Cranberries and Big Thief among their influences. Their latest, Another Year, was released in 2024 on Easy Does It Records.
Wedding, a.k.a. Anna Schulte, opens the show at The Sydney at 10 p.m. $15.
That’s a late start time, probably to give folks time to enjoy the art during Benson First Friday (BFF)! Galleries and businesses up and down Maple Street are hosting art openings, including Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple St. We’re hosting “The Space Between,” by artist Josephine Langbehn – large-scale interpretations painted in acrylic of cherished and forgotten images. The show runs from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Come by, see some great art, and have a drink on us!
Also tonight, Pageturners Lounge in Dundee is hosting former Nebraskan now New Yorker Stathi and Friends. Stathi’s latest album is Live at Bowery Ballroom, recorded last April when he opened for (and played with) Conor Oberst at the famous NYC venue. Show starts at 8 p.m.
Saturday’s big event is the annual GoatFest celebration at Scriptown Brewery in the Blackstone District. In addition to tapping their Goatsmack seasonal beer, they host live music starting at 3 p.m. by bands Velvet Velvet and Cowgirl Eastern. Best of all, real live goats will be parked out back for your viewing and petting pleasure. Food by Lazy Buffalo BBQ. Runs from noon to 6 p.m. This is always a good time and, imho, should be hosted at Scriptown on a monthly (weekly?) basis.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!
PS: It’s Bandcamp Friday! If you’ve been hankering to buy some new music (like the fantastic new albums by Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory or Horsegirl), now’s the best time as Bandcamp is passing along all proceeds to the bands and their labels (many of which also are passing the cash along to the bands). Get out there and buy some music!
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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
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