Those critics in K.C. and Seattle who so boldly dissed their Bright Eyes sets didn’t get it. They were blinded by The Faint’s boom-boom-boom bravado, thinking that they had been invited to a dance party, which was the last thing on Conor Oberst’s mind. There would be no dancing at the mighty MAC Center during his set, only upside-down crosses and lots and lots of angst. Oberst wasn’t trying to redefine electro-dance with his live rendition of Digital Ash, instead he was creating some sort of new electro goth. More later…

I could hear The Faint ripping into their set just walking from my car to the arena, pushing through crowds of smokers who were trying to get a last one in before settling down to the set. Once inside, there was plenty of space for us gen-ads to find a seat. All the fun was down on the floor, anyway, which from my vantage point looked like a seething flesh-mass of hysteria. The Faint always have known how to get people moving, and last night was no exception, even though they’ve never been so separated from the crowd. Big stages in big arenas mean barriers between the band and the throngs, and for the first time watching an Omaha act on stage I had flashbacks of my first arena shows way back in the ’70s and ’80s (Who remembers Lover Boy? Styx? Journey?). This was a real concert, from the bigger-than-life sound system to the battery of synchronized spotlights that — when striking you head-on — felt like they were burning a hole through your retinas.

Faint shows always have been glorified multimedia extravaganzas, but not last night. Were those the same projection screens that looked so massive inside Sokol Auditorium? Split in two and separated by a few feet in the Mac, they lost all of their punch and distracted from the live performance in a way that was never intended. If The Faint is going to continue playing arenas gigs, they’re gonna need screens about 8 times larger than these little projector numbers that made their videos look like overheads in a poorly lit board room, which is a shame because the videos lovingly created by Dapose and Jacob are such a big part of what they’re trying to do on stage.

The band sounded as good as I’ve ever heard them, though I thought Todd’s hollow vocals were too low and lost in a mix that, as always, was way too bass heavy. But hey, you gotta have lots of bass if you’re gonna get those rumps moving, right? I would guess that the audience indeed did enjoy The Faint’s set more than Bright Eyes’, and why not? If you were on the floor you had no choice but to jump and bump with the sweat-hog next to you. By contrast, no one moved during Bright Eyes’ set, and I’m not entirely sure they were supposed to.

At one time during BE I counted 10 people performing on stage, including a violin and cello player, trumpet, keyboards, two drummers (including Clark Baechle), bassist Joel Petersen, Mike Mogis playing two instruments at once, and Nick “Edward Sissorhands” Zinner on guitar. Despite all that, all you could really hear were the two drummers and Petersen, with Oberst chirping through the chair-rattling rumble. When the rhythm section actually gave the other performers some space, like on a couple Zinner guitar solos that burned like acid on glass, things got interesting instead of maudlin.

It’s obvious that pace is the reason some critics are saying Oberst’s set is a downer. The Faint’s entire set is one long throbbing dance orgasm that doesn’t let up until the bitter end. And their music has been around so long that everyone knows it. On the other hand, people are still getting used to Digital Ash and I doubt that a lot of the crowd recognized music. In addition, not all of the songs on that CD are very interesting — far from it. That means waiting for the dud to get over in hopes that the next one will be something interesting.

Oberst looked bored at times, or maybe it just seemed that way from the top of the bleachers. There were songs that he could have pushed up a notch (like “Lover I Don’t Have to Love”), but instead seemed to be just mailing it in. I don’t expect him to do a stereotypical rockstar turn, but he could have at least looked interested in what he was doing as he wandered around stage. At one point he seemed to be riding piano stand, eventually knocking it over — interesting, but not very rock ‘n’ roll. Maybe he should have lit it on fire?

In the end, Oberst’s set sounded like a modern indie rendition of Goth, what with its dark video images, semi-slow pace, throbbing electro-static sound, and lots and lots of talk about death and dying and the afterlife. I could see this going over big with the Goth crowd if Conor started looking the part, which he never will because Goth is probably the furthest thing on his mind when he was recording Digital Ash. Some say the album was a cash-in a la The Postal Service. I think he was probably going for something deeper than that, but I don’t know if he succeeded.

The set ended with a two-song fake encore (you know it’s fake if he’s prepared videos for them). Oberst’s only notable comment from stage was that he never thought he could pull off such a large show in Omaha. Tsk tsk, Conor, don’t you know that you’re a rockstar now?

Tonight, Rilo Kiley at Sokol Auditorium with Neva Dinova and Tilly and the Wall. Tickets were still available ($12) as of this posting. If it keeps raining like this, you’ll be able to take a bass boat to the show.

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Well, it should be a historic show tonight… for One Percent Productions. The Faint and Bright Eyes already have played their share of arena gigs, but this will be the first “arena” concert promoted by One Percent (that I know of) and it’s already a success. Unlike Sokol shows, where the dynamic duo of Marc and Jim are front-and-center, taking your dough and stamping your hand, tonight they’ll probably be holed away in the MAC Center’s swanky rockstar green room, dining on the veggie tray and horse-tub of cold beer, surrounded by a covey of half-naked groupie-whores, completely oblivious to the territorial pissing going on upstairs by anxious/heartbroken teens and their angry parents searching for decent seats. Barring a tornado (and after last night, I’m not kidding) I will be among the mob. The show starts promptly at 8 p.m. with Mars Black opening, which means I’ll get there around 9:30, just in time for The Faint’s high-NRG dance routine. And then, Bright Eyes. With the days of emotional eruptions behind him, there will be nothing left to watch but Nik Fackler’s fine videoworks. Will Conor and Co. bring the room down, like in KC and Seattle? We’ll find out tonight…

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Election Day is today, at least for us mid-towners. Get out there and vote, people.

With the Faint/Bright Eyes concert slated for tomorrow night in Council Bluffs, the early reviews of this experimental mixed tour are dribbling in, and they ain’t been good. The problem: How do you follow an act like The Faint?

The opening dates in Kansas City got panned by the Kansas City Star, who said The Faint just plain outperformed Bright Eyes. “The Faint played an opening set that was unusually long and significantly livelier and more entertaining, visually and musically, than the headliner’s.” The writer then went on to assign blame. “The problem wasn’t with the performers or the performance or the videos. It was the concept: 11 new songs, none with a formal groove to grab on to or a chorus to dive into, each the same weight and hue of the others, all written to emphasize the difference between digital and analog.”

Ouch. Read the whole review here.

Things got better a few days later at Coachella, where the L.A. Weekly gave the performance a thumb’s up. “The Omaha supergroup — from rival high schools, actually — played quite nicely together, despite the lack of a rumored cameo from Vote for Change tourmate Springsteen.” Imagine Springsteen being backed by The Faint… That review’s here.

It was back to the barbs as the bands pulled into Seattle Sunday. The Seattle Times seemed more critical of the venue than the performance. “Downer music seldom works in nightclubs, especially after several hours of opening acts, during which the audience became well lubricated. That called for dancing, not brooding.” As in KC, the writer got pumped up over The Faint’s set, only to be confused by the BE set. “The Faint, a lively electro/dance outfit, with fancy video accompaniment for each song, had the place dancing and applauding. Then Bright Eyes came on and dragged everything down.” Yikes! Read more here.

Of course the jury is still out until Wednesday night, when you might be seeing The Faint and Bright Eyes together for the last time around these parts.

Tonight, surf guitarist Dick Dale rolls into Knickerbocker’s for an 8:30 show, which gives me a reason to link to this classic Dick Dale Lazy-i interview from way back in 1998. Tickets to the 18+ show are $18, and it starts at 8:30 with El Guapotones and Fallen 77 opening.

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I spent this past weekend healing and getting stronger, away from the shows, prepping for the week to come. Actually, that said, I probably won’t be at tonight’s Shins concert at Sokol Auditorium, which is sold out, by the way. I like The Shins on CD; I’m not sure I’d dig their live set judging by how they’ve sounded on various late-night television chat shows. Still, it could be a riot, especially with New Zealand’s The Brunettes opening. Their latest, the jangly organ-and-guitar driven Mars Loves Venus, is pure glowing-rainbow kitsch and probably a perfect fit for The Shins goodhearted retro clatter. Looking at the One Percent website, there appears to be only two bands on the bill (sadly, no local opener) which means, along with an 8 p.m. starting time, it could be an early night. If I can get in, I might go after all.

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So I’m told my name was bantered about from on stage at last night’s Tegan & Sara show. And I received a rather long letter from Sara (or someone claiming that she’s Sara, you know how the Internet is), who wasn’t very pleased with Column 24 (below this entry). Other tasks and health-related issues (I’m getting better, thank you) kept me from the show. Now I’m sorry I didn’t go. I’ve been name-checked from the stage a number of times, half the time from angry bands who didn’t like something I’ve written (Brother Ali is one angry example). It’s generally a hoot.

So what’ve we got for tonight and this weekend? Well Fizzle Like a Flood will be in the house at Ted & Wally’s, opening for the ubiquitous Poison Control Center. I’m told Mr. Fizzle’s new band is rather scorching. $3, 11 p.m. (late, because they want the kiddies to finish dessert).

Also tonight, metal giants Bloodcow are at O’Leaver’s, who just updated their sexy website. The bad news is they only have four shows booked for the month of May.

Tomorrow night it’s our old friends Bad Luck Charm at The 49’r. I haven’t seen Mr. Wolf and the boys in many moons. $3, 9:30.

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Column 24: Searching for Tegan
Sometimes being a rock star means never answering your phone.

No one ever said it was gonna be easy.

I know that. I’ve always known that. You think the rock journalism thing is just a walk in the park clutching a handful of free CDs and all-access laminates? Think again. It means dealing with overworked publicists and burned-out “rock stars” in a lame attempt to glean a scintilla of profound insight on their music, whether there’s anything profound about it or not. That is if you can get them on the phone.

You’ll notice that there isn’t a feature on Tegan & Sara in this issue of The Reader. It wasn’t an oversight by the editors. They know T&S are hot stuff. The dynamic duo currently are opening for a sold-out Killers tour. No, yours truly is to blame, but not entirely, actually maybe not at all.

Let me explain something: When the editors throw out the assignments to us lackey writers, I’m always the first to say “me-me-me” when it comes to covering the hot under-the-radar indie musicians. With my experience why not try for the big fish like U2 or Paul McCartney or Neil Diamond? Because even if I was lucky enough to get them to talk (and not their faceless drummer or bassist), the interviews are so canned and formulaic that they add nothing to the story. They’re not going to give up anything they haven’t already given to Rolling Stone or Spin or The New York Times or any other national rag that is more important than The Reader will ever be.

Up-and-coming indie musicians, on the other hand, are another story. They’re just getting used to talking to the press. Being interviewed by Rolling Stone is beyond their wildest dreams. The Reader may not be CMJ, but at least it’s distributed in the city that they’ll be playing in the coming weeks, and the last thing they want is to show up to a roomful of crickets at O’Leaver’s or Sokol Underground. On top of that, these guys are still excited about the whole rock ‘n’ roll thing — they feel lucky to be living in their own feces in the back of a shitty van, driving 10 hours a day eating nothing but Slim Jims and Red Bull, pissing in empty bottles so they don’t have to stop on the way. All for the chance to share their music with the masses. Translated: They’re not rock stars yet.

Tegan & Sara seemed to fit into that category. Sure, they landed the Killers tour, but for the most part, they’re veritable unknowns, recognized only by the hip few who read Magnet, shop at The Antiquarium and listen to college radio or watch MTV2’s Subterranean. I had my hand way up when the assignment was offered.

Here’s what happens next: We figure out who their publicist is, snag a press kit which includes a copy of their latest CD, and schedule a phone interview (i.e., “a phoner”). The Reader‘s hard-working super-talented assignment editor, Alissa Martin, took care of the first half as she always does. I eagerly e-mailed a request to Sheila Breen at Tag Team Media begging for an interview. She lined it up — noon PST Saturday April 23.

With the date in my book, I burned Tegan & Sara’s latest, So Jealous, onto my i-Pod for intensive all-purpose listening. It’s hardly a chore. The CD is amazing — a retro-tinged classic that melds Til Tuesday and Missing Persons pop with a modern-day indie sensibility. And it rocks. Next up, research — study the press kit and glean info from the Internet all to find that one thing to hook the interview around. Maybe it’s the fact that Tegan and Sara Quin are twins, or that they’re both lesbians? Pretty obvious stuff. Or how ’bout the fact that they’re from Canada and record on Neil Young’s record label? Maybe ask them how the Killers tour is going and why Omaha was dropped.

Then out of the blue, Sheila e-mails and cancels the Saturday interview. Seems the band will be in the middle of a photo shoot at that time. Can we reschedule? Sure, I say, anytime after 5:30 p.m. CT (I have a real job, you know). She immediately proposes 2 p.m. CT Monday. I explain the hour limitations again, and we reschedule for April 28 at 6:30 p.m. CT. I get the cell number, the time arrives, I have my questions in front of me and make the call… only to get a message that says, “Hi, this is Tegan & Sara, we’re away from the phone now…blah blah blah.” I leave a message and tell them I’ll try back — maybe they’re just out of cell range. But 10 minutes later I get the message again. And again and again. And after an hour, give up.

My pleading phone messages to Tegan & Sara, alas, went unanswered. As did my reschedule requests to Sheila Breen. Then it dawned on me. Maybe I misjudged Tegan & Sara. Maybe they’re bigger than I thought. Maybe they’ve crossed that unmarked boundary that divides the bands that need The Reader, from those that don’t. Maybe they’re rock stars after all.

Just placed online, an interview with Omaha filmmaker Nik Fackler (read it here). Nik talks about how he created the videos used to support Bright Eyes on the Digital Ash in a Digital Urn tour, from how he first got involved to the challenges of visually interpreting Oberst’s music without interpreting its meaning directly from the songs’ lyrics. In addition, you get a glimpse of stills from videos used for seven songs (including the still used on the Interviews page). It’s eye-popping stuff. At 20 years old Fackler already has garnered a reputation for creating stirring videos and films. Is he the next Spike Jonze? Judge for yourself by going to the Bright Eyes/Faint concert in ol’ CB May 11 and going to Fackler’s website where you can see his music videos and short films.

A couple notable gigs tonight: The 49’r is hosting a David Bowie tribute that will include some interesting guest performers from the local scene, not the least of which is a sometimes-review-contributor to Lazy-i (though it’s been awhile). Since the show also is the birthday party for local celebrity/man-about-town/music-gadfly-for-the City Weekly/all-around-nice-guy MarQ Manner, the place with be packed with people dressed like ’70s-era white pimps (it’s “glam night” after all). Who says Halloween comes only once a year?

Meanwhile, Kyle Harvey, Fine Fine Automobiles (Landon Hedges), Kisses for Kicks (Reagan Roeder), and Nick Freitus and the Headgates will be performing down the street at O’Leaver’s.

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I’ve never liked Leno, not from day one. Letterman always seemed like the more genuine personality, certainly funnier. Not anymore. Letterman comes off like a coke-addled freak, unable to carry a natural-sounding conversation with anyone without interrupting. He’s jittery like an insect or a fly cleaning itself. Leno on the other hand, is your typical good-ol’ boy just trying his hardest to make all the execs happy, with a range of humor that’s just slightly above Hee Haw. He’s corny and phony, but at least he sounds like he listens when people talk to him.

But I digress. It was almost a year ago that Bright Eyes was on Letterman, and the appearance represented a significant achievement for an Omaha boy done good. Even though he’s living in NYC a good part of the year, Oberst keeps his Omaha roots firmly in tact. Letterman’s one thing, but The Tonight Show’s made careers — a program that caters to family-loving white bread Bush voters throughout the iron, bible and corn belts. I’m sure Leno’s bookers thought Bright Eyes would be edgy, but add to that him singing “When the President Talks to God,” well, you got yourself a controversy.

Leno must have listened at the rehearsal, because after his monologue and during the guest roundup, he turned to his bandleader 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.”

I TiVo’d the show, so I fast-forwarded past Wanda Sykes and some fat guy – no idea who he was. Then at the tail end of the show, out trots Conor dressed head to toe in C&W performance gear, complete with a red rhinestone-trimmed western shirt and matching pants, black scarf and black cowboy hat. Breaking the look, of course, was Conor’s trademark swoop cut, sticking out like black straw from beneath the brim. During the introduction, Leno said Conor’s been compared to a young Dylan and a young Springsteen, and then held up vinyl copies of Wide Awake and Digital Ash – I’m sure there were kids watching who wondered how you play those gigantic CDs.

For what it’s worth, this is the best Conor has sounded on TV. With no backing band and just his guitar, he spat out the lyrics like he was daring someone at the network to pull the plug. They didn’t, though they blanked out the b-word in the last verse. Then Conor ended the song by saying “Fil mish-mish, fil mish-mish.” No idea what it means, though a blog found by a Google search says that it’s an Arabic euphemism for “don’t hold your breath.” Leno looked agitated when he strolled out and said, “Good job,” but who knows. He may have just felt rushed, having to thank all of his guests in about 5 seconds. An interesting performance, and I suppose daring for Leno to air it. I doubt Letterman would have done it. Yet another milestone for Bright Eyes…

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I spent my weekend sleeping and blowing my nose having succumbed to a vicious spring cold. In fact, the malady still has me in its grip and will keep me from attending tonight’s Supersystem, Thunderbirds are Now!, Coast of Nebraska show at O’Leaver’s. Supersystem, btw, used to be the better-named El Guapo. Said I of the band’s Oct. 22 show at Sokol Underground when they opened for Q & Not U: “I was somewhat surprised to hear a couple bands that were sort-of, kind-of dance acts. El Guapo more so. I joked that I blamed The Rapture for their sound, but that’s probably not fair. The four-piece mixed NYC punk rock with dance beats and programming. I was initially confused by the drum parts — I thought it was just a really clear, crisp snare. But in fact, they were using a combination of live drums and pre-recorded beats, which worked most of the time. I liked it, but when it comes to this sort of progressive punk-dance stuff, I prefer the live version of Radio 4.” Though derivative, certainly worth the $5 cover. Wish I could go.

Tomorrow I’ll catch up on all the Internet headlines that have been piling up in my inbox. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some flem to attend to…

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