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
It’s been a while since I’ve said this: It’s a Slowdown weekend! The venue is hosting three shows from three different genres that span multiple eras.
Chicago punk and The Effigies have been performing for 45 years, playing their first show in 1980, emerging shortly after the Ramones and Sex Pistols released their first records. According to Wiki, the band’s personnel has changed over the decades, and it looks like only the rhythm section of drummer Steve Economou and bassist Paul Zamost remain from the original line-up. See them carry on the tradition tonight.
This is a four-band bill in the Slowdown front room with local punkers Bad Actors, River City Rejects and Million Dollar Veins. 8 p.m., $25.
Slowdown brings the vibe down Saturday night with the return of post-Omaha singer/songwriter Anna McClellan. Her fourth studio album, Electric Bouquet, was released last October on Father/Daughter Records and received an impressive 7.3 rating from Pitchfork, who said “Her ramshackle arrangements and quivering voice channel a warmly human outpouring of emotion.”
In many ways, McClellan reminds me of another Omaha-raised singer/songwriter with a, shall we say, unique vocal style: Simon Joyner, though McClellan (more often) does it behind a piano rather than with a guitar slung over her shoulder.
Joining McClellan on Slowdown’s front room stage is Kassie Krut, fronted by Kasra Kurt, former guitarist/vocalist of Philly band (and Saddle Creek Records act) Palm. Kurt is now working with ex-Palm members Eve Alpert and Palm producer Matt Anderegg. The trio released their eponymously titled EP last year on Fire Talk Records. Cash Too opens the evening at 8 p.m. $18.
Finally, Slowdown opens the main room Sunday for an evening with The Wailers, the world famous reggae band that carried on after Bob Marley’s death in 1981. Their latest is 2024’s Evolution (Crescent Moon Records). 8 p.m., $35.
There hasn’t been a heckova lot to write about Slowdown for the past few weeks as they lightened up on their indie bookings. That will also be the case as they raise the tents to rake in big $$$ from the College World Series in June. But Slowdown recently added a few interesting shows later this summer, including Mal Blum Aug. 12, The Damned Sept. 17 and Nation of Language Sept. 29, that gives me hope they’ll continue to carry on their indie tradition.
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
Black Country, New Road – or BCNR for short – hails from Cambridge, England, and is pals with wonky prog-rock geniuses Black Midi, even having collaborated and toured with that combo once upon a time (as Black Midi, New Road).
But BCNR’s sound couldn’t be more different than Midi’s oftentimes harsh, dissonant prog. They’ve been described as experimental post-punk, but the music on their latest, Forever Howlong (2025, Ninja Tune), leans closer to frilly baroque, thanks to pretty piano, jangly guitars/banjos/harpsichords and May Kershaw’s wonderful, cooing vocals.
With its complicated compositional tangents, I can buy the new record’s “experimental” tag (though “slightly unfocused” might be a more accurate label). Still, the fact we even have a chance to see this amazingly talented group of multi-instrumentalists on an Omaha stage is a miracle similar to when Black Midi played Slowdown back in 2022.
Tonight’s opening band, Friko, is out to prove contrasting styles can make for memorable shows. The Chicago duo of Niko Kapetan and Bailey Minzenberger grabbed national attention with their debut album, Where We’ve Been, Where We Go from Here, released last year on ATO Records. Pitchfork gave it a glowing 7.9 rating, saying the album channeled “the sound and spirit of 2000s indie rock.” For me, the guitar-fueled singer/songwriter fare leans closer to alt rock than indie, which probably explains their ever-growing popularity.
This main room show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $37. Interestingly, if you miss the show, Friko will be circling back to Omaha next Tuesday (May 20) for a headlining gig at Reverb Lounge.
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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
First off, Being Dead’s bio page in Spotify is littered with inaccuracies and ‘fake news” in such a way that it makes me question the band’s current state.
The Austin duo boasts having competed in the 2015 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro “where they swept the competition” presumably in long-distance running events “returning with 5 medals and the respect of the nation.”
A quick glance at the Encyclopedia of Olympic Records and Achievements shows no mention of band member Falcon Bitch or Shmoofy.
They go on to claim ownership of restaurant “La Piss Tarte,’ which, they say, “received 2 Michelin stars.” I see no record of this restaurant in my own copy of The Michelin Guide, which is always kept at arm’s length when writing concert previews. Let’s face it, I’m beginning to think Being Dead may not even really be dead. I guess we’ll see tonight at Reverb Lounge.
The band is on the road supporting their most recent LP, EELS (2024, Bayonet Records). The 16-song collection of kinda groovy, kinda surfy indie rock goodness was produced by the legendary John Congleton of The Paper Chase who is perhaps better known for working with such acts as Modest Mouse, St. Vincent, DCFC and our very own Cursive.
Opening for Being Dead is Lawrence band Blanky, who’s been ‘round these parts before. They’ve got a brand new album, Idols on the Wall, coming out next month. Get a preview of the new record tonight. $18, 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, Pageturners Lounge is hosting a week’s worth of live events. Tonight they have New Orthodox, a.k.a. New York-state-based multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Merz (Sunset Rubdown). According to his bio: “The band’s ethos leans heavily into minimalist repetition, sonic experimentation and lyrical insights that give way to live performances and recordings that utilize space and silence to imitate the human experience.” Sounds trippy.
His most recent album, Bull Market on Corn (2025, Joyful Noise), has the honor of being among the last albums engineered and mixed by Steve Albini. Opening tonight at Pageturners is Jim Schroeder’s Mesa Buoy. The show 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
For years, the indie music festival identified with Stinson Park in Aksarben Village was the Maha Festival. That fest is moving downtown this year, but another festival hopes to one day take its place in the village.
After three years of being held in organizer Madeline Reddel’s back yard, the Garden Party festival, which features female-fronted bands from around the country, made a giant leap to Sonny’s in Aksarben Village with Stinson Park in its sites. If Saturday’s crowd is any indication, it just might happen.
Whenever you hold an outdoor festival, you’re rolling the dice, and this Saturday the ol’ bones came up sevens. While a bit hot in the late afternoon, the weather couldn’t have been much better. By 5:30, a respectable crowd already filled Sonny’s picnic tables and had begun to encroach on the green. Former Omahan now-Chicagoan Ione and her guitarist played to the young-ish crowd, many joined by their dogs.
When I returned after dinner, the crowd had ballooned, filling the entire green space. A long line stretched from Sonny’s bar through the partially covered patio, but moved quickly and before long I had one of their rather strong margarita’s in my hand while Keo & Them played on stage. We left again and walked over to Kinkader Brewing Co. for a beer. When we returned for headliner Abby Holliday, the crowd had peaked, but we were still able to find a place to sit down and listen just off stage right.
Sponsor support no doubt powered the festival; one being Sonny’s, which had to have enjoyed a good night’s business; another (I’m told) being Noddle Companies, the village’s primary developer. Smart investment.
Saying the festival was “chill” would be an understatement. Convenient access, free admission and the ability to come and go as you please made it easy for patrons to enjoy the rest of Aksarben Village (including a jam-packed Inner Rail food court) and still return for more music.
Hard to guess total attendence, but at its peak maybe a few hundred folks were enjoying the low-key indie music from Sonny’s as well as nearby green spaces and patios. While Garden Party’s talent was impressive, it will take bigger names to justify moving the festival to Stinson Park. Last year’s Grrrrl Camp Festival, held at Falconwood Park, boasted indie darlings Hurray for the Riff Raff, Mannequin Pussy and Indigo De Souza among its talent — arguably the best collection of touring indie artists at any Omaha event last year. And yet, I’m told (at this time) there’s no plans for another Grrrl Camp festival this year.
Bigger doesn’t always translate to being better, however in Garden Party’s case, there’s plenty of room for the festival to grow…
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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 Garden Party festival, which has been held in back yards since it began in 2022, is making a big move this year to the gorgeous outdoor compound known as Sonny’s in Aksarben Village
Organizer and musician Madeline Reddel hopes the free, all-women-fronted music festival can eventually grow large enough to host in Stinson Park. And with this line-up (and the gorgeous weather forecast for Saturday) she may be on her way.
The talent consists of artists from throughout the country and Omaha. The headliner is Nashville indie singer/songwriter Abby Holliday, who self-released her third LP, Crack a Smile Come on Stay A While, last October. She’s been compared to Phoebe Bridgers, but isn’t nearly as downcast/depressing. A better comp might be Blondshell or Lucy Dacus.
Other out-of-towners on the festival bill include Autumnal (Denver), Keo & Them (Wichita), Honey Marmalade (Brooklyn), and former Omahan/now Chicago resident Ione. Locals include LyriQ LaShay, Peachy Beaches and Twin Pages. Grace Lundy kicks things off at 2:30 p.m.; Abby Holliday is slated to go on at 9:30 p.m.
Like I said, it’s free. Attendees can come and go as they please, bring leashed dogs, blankets, chairs, purchase food to be delivered from the Inner Rail or nearby businesses, and buy drinks at Sonny’s bar. More info and the complete schedule is at gardenpartyomaha.com.
Garden Party is the only music event on my radar this weekend. There are no other touring indie shows, and I’m not aware of any local indie shows happening, either.
With that in mind, there are a couple new releases out today.
Lodgings new LP, The Thousand Yard Stare, carries on the angular, jangly, crash-bash tradition we’ve come to expect from the Omaha band whose members include vocalist/guitarist Bryce Hotz; Steve Micek, guitar; Mike Laughlin, bass; and Eric Ernst on drums. The album includes guest spots by cellist/violinist Megan Siebe and guitarist Sean Pratt.
The 8-song album was recorded at Archetype Recordings by Hotz, primarily on 2-inch analog tape at 15 ips (according to the liner notes). That’s all the more reason to buy the limited edition gatefold vinyl, which you can order from their Bandcamp page.
This just dropped today, and I’m listening to it for the first time as I write this. The only comp that comes to mind is maybe Matador band Chavez. If you were into Ride the Fader, you’ll dig this.
Also, Lincoln electronic duo Vempire dropped a new single, “Always Forever by Cults” which isn’t a cover of a Cults song. I know, it confused me as well. Check out the new track below, and five other versions at their bandcamp page.
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
It’s been years since Future Islands played Omaha; in fact, according to my notes, the last show was back in 2017 at The Waiting Room.
Based on recent videos, the band hasn’t changed much both sonically and performance-wise. Frontman Sam Herring is still the center of attention, emoting as if acting out a Shakespearean soliloquy backed by three players frozen in place.
Veterans of past Future Islands shows can pick their favorite Herring-ism from a list that includes:
— Picking the imaginary berry and eating it (along with his hand)
— Pounding his chest, hard, like a gorilla
— Reaching into his chest and pulling out his heart, and eating it (along with his hand)
— Swinging his fist round-house style, hard and wide, just like Elvis
— And “Hello God, it’s me, Samuel” (performed earnestly, On the Waterfront Bando-style, while looking up toward an imaginary moon).
Then there’s the dance moves: the twist, the low dips, the high kicks. Herring sells it and sells it well. He is fun to watch, only because it looks like he’s really enjoying himself up there on stage.
I was a wee bit surprised the band was booked to play the largish Admiral until I noticed they have around 2.8 million monthly listeners in Spotify. Their biggest hit, “Seasons (Waiting on You,” from Singles (2014, 4AD), has over 138 million plays.
Their latest album, People Who Aren’t There Anymore (2024, 4AD), carries on their long-running, somewhat simplistic sound — peppy kick drum, synth cushion, bass bounce, and Herring. The difference is Herring appears to have lost the odd growl that characterized early recordings, and that’s probably for the best. Their current single, “The Tower,” is enjoying heavy rotation on Sirius XMU.
Opening act Open Mike Eagle, a.k.a. Michael W. Eagle, is described in Wiki as an LA-based hip-hop artist and comedian with Chicago roots who credits They Might Be Giants as an influence. His 2017 concept album, Robert Taylor Homes, made it on both Rolling Stone‘s and Pitchfork’s top-50 list that year. The Eagle takes the stage at 8 p.m. Tickets are $42.
One other show of note tonight: Self-proclaimed Colorado plant-rock act No Fauna headlines at The Sydney in Benson. They sound like proggy PUP on their latest EP, Winter (2025, Iggy Longerelle), Locals The Ivory Claws and Box Eats Miah also are on the bill. $10, 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
A quick addendum to yesterday’s post regarding upcoming indie tours coming to Omaha… or the lack of them.
Yesterday, a small caravan of Omaha music fans drove to Kansas City to see music legend Nick Cave perform at their convention center. Cynics, pragmatists and realists will argue Cave could not draw a big enough crowd to justify a performance in Omaha sandwiched between the Twin Cities and Kansas City, and they may or may not be right.
But that logic doesn’t necessarily apply to every indie act that bypasses Omaha. And there are a lot of them. Which acts?
Well, just over the next week alone, Omaha is missing out on Lucy Dacus, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, Lambrini Girls, The Magnetic Fields, Gang of Four and Youth Lagoon.
In the coming weeks, we miss out on Sasami, Peter Bjorn and John, Momma, Bartees Strange, Tennis, Matt Berninger and The Wedding Present. All are playing in Minneapolis.
The list continues in June, as Preoccupations, Robyn Hitchcock, Annie DiRusso, Blondshell, Sleigh Bells, Sunflower Bean, Perfume Genius, DEVO and Dean Wareham all will skip Omaha. And these are only the indie bands I see listed on the first-avenue.com website. I’m sure there are others.
While bands bypassing Omaha is nothing new, it does seem like we’re seeing a shift from indie tours being booked in Omaha to more metal, country and pop tours, or just fewer smaller tours. Tour bookers, promoters and venues make decisions based purely on financial questions: Which shows will sell tickets in this market? Which won’t? And so on.
The result for indie music fans means putting a lot more miles on your SUVs as you travel to Minneapolis and Kansas City to see your favorite bands…
I guess the lesson here is you can’t always get what you want. At least we get Future Islands tomorrow night, right?
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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 Julien Baker & Torres concert, slated for May 12 at The Admiral, was cancelled over the weekend. The reason: “Due to recent events, Julien Baker is prioritizing her well-being and taking time to focus on her health.” Refunds are being issued.
We’re just entering the spring tour season but most of the summer tours have been announced, and the schedule is looking kinda light indie-music-wise. However, last-minute touring shows pop up now and then.
Below is the updated list of touring indie bands on my radar. Let me know what I’m missing. The standouts (for me, anyway) are Florist, Built to Spill, Maha Festival, Rilo Kiley, Samia, Father John Misty and Elvis Costello.
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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
Omaha-based alt-country act Clarence Tilton has been working the release of their latest album, Queen of the Brawl, since the first single, “Fred’s Colt,” dropped last October. The song featured contributions by country music legend Marty Stuart.
A second single from the album, “Flyaway Cafe,” featuring Tanya Tucker’s daughter, Presley, dropped a month later. It wouldn’t be until April 4 before the full album was released, and now, tonight, we get the album release show for Queen of the Brawl at Reverb Lounge.
Homer’s Music’s MarQ Manner interviewed the band for The Reader (yes, The Reader is back, but only online), wherein they talk about the new album. You can read that interview here. What I’d love to know is how much the Tiltons have invested in this record, from talent to production to promotion, and if it’s all paying off beyond self-releasing a quality collection of country-flavored story-songs.
There’s a worn-leather ease to Queen that reflects a band so comfortable playing together it seems like they’ve always been here and will be around long after we’re gone, not unlike the Midwestern plains that spawned them. While the Weber brothers, Corey and Chris, continue to be the band’s center-point thanks to their stellar guitar-pickin’ skills, don’t forget Paul Novak, who also sings on a number of tracks (He wrote the second Tucker-contributed song, “Pretty Things”). In fact, glance the liner notes and you’ll see all three Tiltons have songwriting credits throughout.
Stylistically, the album vacillates between traditional country and ‘90s alt-country, with songs like “Sorrow and Sail,” and “Fred’s Colt” recalling my favorite alt-country act, The Silos. But more traditional C&W ultimately wins out. If the band really wanted to pressure-test this album with a die-hard country crowd they’d play a dance hall like Bushwacker’s, where two-steppin’ is required (at least when they’re not hosting hair-metal bands). Is there any better compliment for country music than a dance-floor full of scootin’?
Anyway, opening for Clarence Tilton tonight at Reverb is Turn Turn Turn. $10, 8 p.m.
BTW, it’s also the first Friday of the month and that means Benson First Friday. Galleries and other businesses throughout Benson will be displaying art from some of the area’s finest talent. That includes at Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple Street (right next to Legend Comics and Coffee), where we’re celebrating the opening of Nolan Tredway’s Alternate Plains. Come on by, check out this eye-popping art, have a drink and say hello. We’ll be there from 6 to 9 p.m.
The rest of the weekend is pretty light, at least when it comes to indie music.
Tomorrow night (Saturday) our old Kansas City friends Season to Risk plays at The Sydney in Benson. The band has been on the road in support of 1-800-MELTDOWN. Released last month on INIT Records, the record picks up right where they left off in the ‘90s. Latin-punk act Las Cruxes also is on the bill. The synth-and-drum duo Pagan Athletes opens the show at 9 p.m. $18.
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
Politics sucked 20 years ago when George W. Bush was president.
In his first term, Bush invaded Iraq as a reaction to 9/11. The Iraq War’s death toll ranged from 151,000 to over a million Iraqis, depending on which study you point to. The numbers are still disputed to this day.
Ultimately, the war helped propel Bush to a narrow victory over democrat John Kerry in November 2004. And I can say from personal experience, a lot of people were pretty bummed about the prospect of the next four years.
Among them was Conor Oberst. Bright Eyes was about to reach the zenith of its popularity with the ambitious release of both I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn on Jan. 25, 2005. As part of the promotional tour for those albums, Bright Eyes appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 2, 2005 – a big deal for a band from Omaha. A year earlier, Bright Eyes had its network debut on Late Night With David Letterman, so national TV was nothing new, but this time, Oberst had something special up his sleeve.
Leno apparently had seen the rehearsal. During the opening monologue, when introducing the night’s guests, including Bright Eyes, Leno turned to bandleader Kevin Eubanks and said: “You hear the song he’s doing Kevin? I haven’t heard a protest song like this… you know I grew up in the sixties. I used to do a Jesse Winchester, a Jerry Jeff Walker, and Kris Kristofferson doing these anti-Nixon… This is a song that’s right up there. This will galvanize the audience. You’ll go one way or the other but you will have an opinion when he’s done.”
The performance took place at the tail-end of the show. Out walked Oberst with his acoustic guitar, dressed like a country singer, complete with a black cowboy hat. What happened next was pure TV Gold.
The song, “When the President Talks to God,” was released as a free iTunes download and was the B-side of a promotional 7-inch, with A-side “First Day of My Life.” It would go on to win Song of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards and would help fuel the Dylan comparisons which Oberst never understood.
We thought we had it bad back then; we had no idea how bad things could become. Maybe it’s time for Bright Eyes to record the sequel…
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Show-wise tonight, Oklahoma City band Husbands plays at Reverb with JW Francis. $20, 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, local rockers Cinema Stereo plays at The Sydney in Benson with Public Figure and the mighty Las Cruxes. $13, 9 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.
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