Weird thing about the Crystal Skulls — I listened to their new CD over the last few days, dug the keyboards throughout. And yet, last night, no keyboards. What the… ? Still, an interesting if not low-key band that got better as the night wore on. They have a hit song on their hands if they can get people to hear “Baby Boy,” one of those tunes that jumps off their CD and off the stage. “I’m tellin’ ya, it’s sheer gold, Maury….” Here’s one of those bands where their CD was better than their live show. It’s a pretty good CD if you’re into that laid-back indie sound…

Vanderslice, well, seems like he plays here every six months when actually it’s probably about once a year, which is still a lot for a touring band. Who remembers the old days when Vanderslice had this madcap drummer who set up right at the front of the stage? You went to Vanderslice shows to see that guy. Well, he’s long gone, and while the current drummer is no pushover, he’s also no freakshow, like the last one. About a half-dozen people I spoke to during their set made the same comment. “Remember his old drummer? Man, that guy was a blast!” Anyway… Vanderslice sounded fine. I’ve never been a big fan, but I dig his clear, throaty voice, and the rest of his ensemble sounded rock solid. Still, nothing about the set stands out as I write this right after the show.

Not a bad crowd, btw — maybe 150? I suspect Sokol will see twice that many tonight with The Elected/Jake Bellows/The Family Radio.

Which brings us to Friday’s usual glance at the coming weekend (cue theme music).

It starts tonight with the show I just mentioned. And I’ll reiterate what I said in yesterday’s column — Nik Fackler and his band, The Family Radio, is really what I’m interested in hearing. Fackler tells me the band has worked up at least a half-dozen songs for tonight. Talk about an acid test — he’ll be debuting this band in front of most of the Saddle Creek Club, all of whom he knows, anyway, thanks to his ever-growing video work. You’d think playing in front of his pals would make him even more nervous. But never fear, with Dereck Higgins backing him on bass, everything will be all right. Get there at 9. Door is $10.

My plan is to jet out early and go cross town to Mick’s and see Bill Hoover & Friends. Hoover, if you don’t know already, used to front The Darktown House Band and is something of a legend ’round these parts — sort of Omaha’s version of Tom Waits. This will be a special show, and Mick’s will fill up early.

Saturday night’s marquee event is The Stills w/Raising the Fawn at Sokol Underground. I’ve heard the new Stills CD, and no, it’s not as good as Logic Will Break Your Heart, but it’s still serviceable. Meanwhile, The 49’r will be hosting Brother Trucker from Des Moines and Western Electric (Scott Roth ex-Such Sweet Thunder).

Look for reviews this weekend.

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Column 72: Early Warning System
A glance at the rock calendar

Rock shows have a funny way of sneaking up on you if you’re not paying attention. And though we at The Reader go out of our way to point you in the right direction week in and week out, we rarely give you a heads-up more than eight days in advance. With that in mind, here are some early warnings of worth-while indie shows on the horizon, with details on who these folks are and why you should care. A caveat — two performances in the past two weeks were cancelled the night of the show due to “van troubles.” Rock stars’ lives are complicated, and schedules can (and do) change, sometimes at the last minute. Check the usual websites (onepercentproductions.com, myspace.com/oleaverspub, micksomaha.com, lazy-i.com) for the latest info.

The Elected w/Jake Bellows, The Family Radio April 14 @ Sokol Underground — You already know The Elected (Blake Sennett of Rilo Kiley) and Jake Bellows (of Saddle Creek band Neva Dinova). The hidden treasure is The Family Radio, a new ensemble fronted by local film maker Nik Fackler that includes legendary bassist Dereck Higgins (Digital Sex, One Mummy Case), Aaron Gum, Ian O’Donnell and Tara Konradi making a noise like Simon and Garfunkel having dinner with Bright Eyes. Could Fackler turn his back on Hollywood to become a rock star? Get there early and find out.

The Autumn Project w/Father, Noah’s Ark Was A Spaceship, Ila April 22 @ Sokol Underground. Father is guitarist D. Bushon with help from Dapose and Clark Baechle of The Faint, and visuals from Seth Johnson. Get ready to grind.

The Pomonas w/The Third Men, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin April 28 @ O’Leaver’s — Lawrence 4-piece The Pomonas look and sound like a bunch of slackers from your local record store gigging in their basement, which is why they’re so damn charming. The Third Men is a retro/summer/feel good band featuring Mike Tulis, Matt Rutledge, Mike Loftus and Pat White.

Maria Taylor w/13Ghosts April 29 @ Sokol Auditorium — Maria Taylor we all know as half of the currently defunct Azure Ray. Birmingham’s 13Ghosts are as haunting as their name implies.

Pretty Girls Make Graves w/Giant Drag, The Joggers May 2 @ Sokol Underground — PGMG’s new one, Élan Vital on Matador Records, is a strange, slurred, funky bite of bittersweet post-punk. LA’s Giant Drag is another guitar-and-drums girl-and-guy duo a la The White Stripes but with a distinct My Bloody Valentine vibe.

Kite Pilot CD release show May 6 @ Sokol Underground — A copy of KP’s Mercy Will Close Its Doors fell into my lap last August with the hope and promise of finding a label to release it. Nine months later and the CD will be born as a self-released joint, but still as precious. The Protoculture are rumored to open.

Atmosphere w/Brother Ali and Los Nativos May 10 @ Sokol Underground — If you haven’t experienced one of Sokol’s underground hip-hop shows, there is no better time to start. Atmosphere is Slug a.k.a. Sean Daley, the genius behind Minnesota’s Rhymesayers Collective, that includes such acts as MF Doom, P.O.S. and Brother Ali, the albino who called me out from stage for calling him a white guy. Things could get ugly.

Gomez w/David Ford May 13 @ Sokol Underground — There was a time only a few years ago when you’d expect Gomez to be playing the big room above Sokol Underground. Those days, apparently, are long gone. That said, the band’s new CD, How We Operate, rocks harder than anything they’ve ever done.

Minus the Bear w/Criteria, Russian Circles May 23 @ Sokol Underground — Minus the Bear’s last CD, Menos el Oso, renewed my faith in a band that before could only be described as “quirky.” They’re still quirky, but now there’s something significant under the jangle. After months of touring, Criteria should be plenty road-hardened.

Two Gallants acoustic May 25 @ Mick’s — One of Saddle Creek Records’ latest bands, the duo usually do their thing White Stripes style, all electric. How will their sea-shanty ballads sound unplugged?

I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness w/The Rogers Sisters May 31 @ Sokol Underground. The Austin band on Secretly Canadian (Antony & The Johnsons, Swell Maps) is making waves with a stark, electronic sound that heralds back to the old Factory Records days (Yeah, that means they’re influenced by Joy Division).

Simon Joyner w/Coolzey, Miracles of God June 27 @ O’Leaver’s — Few shows these days are as thoroughly satisfying and memorable as Joyner and his band, The Wind-Up Birds, at O’Leaver’s. It’ll be packed, it’ll be sweaty and it’ll be pure spectacle.

Just posted for your reading pleasure, a feature/interview with Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Nick talks about hanging out in Omaha, competition in Brooklyn, the band’s new album, and the old days (Read it here). Among the stuff that didn’t make it into the story, Zinner said he digs playing in Bright Eyes, a band he’s toured with as recently as last year’s Digital Ash tour (Btw, he said playing at the MAC Center in CB for a Bright Eyes gig last May was kind of a drag because the crowd was so far from the stage — it drained a lot of the energy from the set). Zinner says he looks forward to doing another tour with Conor and Company…eventually. “I’m booked for awhile, but I definitely want to do it again in the future. It’s so much fun for me to play with him, it’s like a rock vacation.”

Zinner also talked about working with legendary producer Alan Moulder behind the mixing console both for their new record and their debut LP. Moulder has worked with some of indie rock’s most defining acts, including My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain and Smashing Pumpkins. “He kind of downplays his role in all those productions,” Zinner said. “I was able to get a lot of great stories out of him. He’s an amazing man. He’s worked on so many important, influential, seminal records, but is so down to earth and receptive and relaxed and supportive.” Zinner said the band originally got connected to Moulder through their manager, who was good friends with Toni Halliday of Curve — Moulder’s wife. How do they work together? “When I’m in the studio, I take a back seat while Alan gets it to the point where he thinks it sounds good, then we’ll work together at perfecting it. I’m a bit of a studio geek, but not as much as he is. We take time and keep listening to the song over and over again.”

Tonight, The Fray at Sokol Auditorium with Landing on the Moon. I’ve never heard of The Fray, so I was a bit surprised when their show sold out so quickly. Who are these guys? Well, their last record was on Sony/Epic. They’re from Denver. Their sound is safe, middle-of-the-road radio rock. Hmm. Ah, here it is. Their songs have been played on TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” “ER” and “Bones,” three shows I’ve never seen before. And last summer they toured with Weezer. It’s all beginning to make sense now. More interesting than The Fray is the Sokol Aud debut of Landing on the Moon. How will they pull it off on the big stage? Get there at 8 and find out (if you have a ticket).

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So I spent the good part of the last two days trying to track down a drummer on the road for this week’s column and at the end of it all came up with nil. It happens, it happens… Luckily, I was able to track down Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, so you’ll get a nice little feature on Nick and the band online right here tomorrow. As for this week’s column (online Thursday), well, it’s a recap of upcoming shows which y‘all probably know about anyway. Oh well…

Bit o’ entertainment tonight at O’Leaver’s with Seattle’s Boss Martians (they sound like run of the mill indie rock to me) along with Omaha’s favorite bar band, Anonymous American. 9:30 p.m. $5.

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Apparently the Albatross guys got stuck in Texas with van troubles. No show tonight.

No shows for me last weekend, but that’ll likely be the last time that happens for a couple months.

Moving on… Seems like scuttlebutt of The Faint’s rumored move to American Recordings has been picked up by a couple other websites (beyond this one), which are reporting the signing as fact even though nothing appears on the Saddle Creek, American or Faint sites. However, I don’t remember there being a mention on the Creek site when Rilo Kiley flew the coop for Warners. Among those talking about the deal are Mammothpress, Absolute Punk and Punkbands.com. Someone even told me they heard it on The River. I’ll believe it when I hear it from the horse’s mouth. Those curious about confirming the story will have a chance to ask Dapose tonight when his other band, Precious Metal, takes the Sokol Underground stage with An Albatross and Fromanhole. $7, 9 p.m.

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No barn-burner shows this weekend, just a series of smaller outings. In fact, I don’t know much about any of these shows or these bands, but here’s the rundown:

Tonight O’Leaver’s hosts singer/songwriters Chris Koza and Brad Hoshaw ($5, 9:30); Sokol Underground has a local metal show ($7, 9 p.m.).

Saturday night’s highlights include O’Leaver’s again with Minty Fresh band The Living Blue (formerly The Blackouts) along with local retro garage monsters Brimstone Howl (formerly The Zyklon Bees), who I have seen before and do bring the rock ($5, 9:30). Sokol Underground is hosting Prospect Avenue’s CD release show with SOJH, Eyes Catch Fire and 8th Wave ($8, 8 p.m.).

Sunday night, alt rock band Eisley (Reprise records) is at Sokol with Simon Dawes and Brighten ($10, 9 p.m.).

And th-th-th-th-that’s all, folks. You know something better going on? Please let us know on The Webboard.

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Column 71: No Stars, No Letters
Recent releases, for your consideration…

Those who read the Lazy-i website already are aware of my pejorative CD rating system — a simple “yes” or “no.” No stars, no letter grades. Look, listeners simply want to know if a recording is worth dropping their hard-earned rubles for. I’ve been told my system is too draconian by those who would prefer a “you’d like this if you listen to that” system, which, of course, is spineless. That said, all of the CDs mentioned below rate a “Yes” unless otherwise noted. Pay attention, they’re short (and in iPod alpha order, for your convenience).

The Ark, State of the Ark (EMI) — They rip off every ’70s act from The Knack to Sweet, but remind you why you liked those bands in the first place. Inspired line: “Try some manners, f***face.”

Belle & Sebastian, The Life Pursuit (Matador) — Their retro upbeat dance record heavy on Bowie and T. Rex, I hated it at first. It’s grown on me (like a fungus).

Cat Power, The Greatest (Matador) — The first album that Chan Marshall has made that I’ve enjoyed from beginning to end, she’s sounding even more like Mazzy Star with her sleepy, slurred vocals and warm, mid-tempo dream-melodies.

Centro-matic, Fort Recovery (Misra) — The most unheralded geniuses in indie since The Grifters (or Silkworm, but that’s another story). It’s about time they get discovered by the masses.

Chad VanGaalen, Infiniheart (SubPop) — Simple one-man band production is dark, haunting, cool shit. A singer-songwriter creep show.

The Cops, Get Good or Stay Bad (Mt. Fuji) — Mike Jaworski’s bands have always been derivative, but they’ve never been this good. This time he combines The Clash, Rocket from the Crypt and a black-leather New York garage punk band. Heartfelt.

David Dondero, South of the South (Team Love) — Hear once and for all where Conor Oberst got his bray. Smart songwriting.

Donald Fagen, Morph the Cat (Reprise) — I don’t want to hear how “uncool” it is to like Fagen and Steely Dan. Few people write smarter, snarkier lyrics, and even fewer can make them bounce with such infectious ease.

The Eighteenth Day of May, self-titled (Hannibal) — British acoustic folk in the style of Richard and Linda Thompson/Fairport Convention; the kind of music we all need more of in our lives.

Elf Power, Back to the Web (Rykodisc) — From Athens, they have the same sheen of early acoustic R.E.M., though Andy Rieger is no Michael Stipe, but maybe that’s a good thing.

The Fall, Hex Enduction Hour (reissue) (Castle Music) — Indie’s last wave was all about rediscovering the desolate funk of Gang of Four; the next will be about rediscovering the arrogance of The Fall.

Hayley Taylor, Waking (self-release) — Like Jenny Lewis (whose music her music resembles) she’s another TV veteran (Sabrina, ER) turned musician. Produced by A.J. Mogis.

The Headlights, The Enemies EP (Polyvinyl) — Another Death Cab-influenced band. This one’s better than most. At O’Leavers 4/10.

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat (Team Love) — Easily the best thing Lewis has produced since The Execution of All Things back in ’02.

Kyle Harvey, Truth Is the Color of Teeth (self-release) — Stark, almost grim heartbreak tone-poems infused with electronics. Bleak.

Mad Happy, Renegade Geeks (Mutiny Zoo) — Mike iLL and Rivka are hip-hop’s Pat and Barbara K. McDonald. They have the same subversive vibe as Timbuk 3, though their music is more electronic than organic, and slightly more in your face (but only slightly).

Minmae, Le Grand Essor de la Maison du Monstre (Greyday) — What you’d get if Bill Callahan (the one from Smog, not the Huskers) fronted Pavement.

Neil Diamond, 12 Songs (American) — Again, I don’t want to hear it. This gets added points from the Rick Rubin production, the only guy that can convince these dinosaurs that all they need is their guitar.

Neil Young, Heart of Gold (Reprise) — With apologies to our cadre of movie critics, this is a flick review (though you can buy the soundtrack). Not as good as Rust Never Sleeps, but few concert movies are. Worth seeing if only for Neil’s VH-1-style “songwriters” confessions and “Old Man,” again.

The Plastic Constellations, Crusades (French Kiss) — Frenetic, proggy, spazzy rock, strange and danceable, exactly what you’d expect from a band on this label (Les Savy Fav, Rahim, etc.).

Rahim, Ideal Lives (French Kiss) — Frenetic, proggy, spazzy rock, strange and danceable, exactly what you’d expect from a band on this label (Les Savy Fav, The Plastic Constellations, etc.).

Simon Joyner, Beautiful Losers (Jagjaguwar) — This B-sides and singles collection is an excellent introduction to Joyner’s early work (though nothing beats his masterpiece, The Cowardly Traveler Pays His Toll, which remains out of print).

Stereolab, Fab Four Suture (Too Pure) — I admit to never being a fan, but I can see why some might dig this French/Euro/Retro pop. I’m not one of them. Rating: No.

Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues (reissue) (Rhino) — Part of a massive reissuing of early Heads material, Rhino wouldn’t send me the whole thing. Each DualDisc includes the album in 5.1 Surround Sound with a couple videos included. If you don’t own this, now’s the time.

The Twilight Singers, Powder Burns (One Little Indian) — Greg Dulli (ex-Afghan Whigs) knows how to put his soul on the slab for anyone to poke at. He’s done it again, albeit less subtly than on Blackberry Belle.

Two Gallants, What the Toll Tells (Saddle Creek) — While a little of these hippy, ship-galley sea-shanty balladeers goes a long way, I’m beginning to see why they appealed to the sexy young execs at Saddle Creek.

The draw was light last night at O’Leaver’s. I blame the Simon Joyner show at The Pizza Shoppe, which I completely forgot about. And the fact that the O’Leaver’s show got next to no hype (other than on this site, of course, which is next to no hype). I got there at about the eight-minute mark of The Leper’s 12-minute opening song. These guys’ songs are looong, and are meant to be, I suppose. They’ve changed up their sound somewhat since the last time I saw them (probably over a year ago). A couple of the songs were downright fast compared to their usual tribal, tonal head trips. I’m told by drummer Ken Brock that the new pace will be heard on their new CD, which they’ve finished recording and have out for mixing. The band had just returned from two weeks on the road including a pass through SXSW. These guys are almost acidic in how they can divide a crowd between people who “get” where they are and where they’re going and what they’re trying to do along the way, and those who just plain hate their music. I’m part of the first group, though in all honesty, I have to assume this style of psychedelic drone tunage is best accompanied by hallucinogenics or grass (both of which I’ve never had the pleasure to have known). Guitarist/vocalist Owen Cleasby even asked if anyone had any pot in the audience (He was just kidding… I think).

Knife Skills was a different animal altogether. A Brooklyn trio that features two girls and a guy had one immediate noticeable difference from The Lepers — they had a bass. And man, was it loud. They call their sound punk/rock/black metal on their myspace page. I would categorize them more as heavily rhythmic noise rock, dense and unforgiving. Their music doth not swing, nor doth it intend to. Instead you’re bludgeoned repeatedly by that friggin’ bass and those women’s shrill, mocking voices. They apparently just finished a new album recorded by Steve Revitte (Liars, Black Dice, The Double) to be released on 5 Rue Christine and headed to a music-store bin near year this summer.

Finally, up came N0 Things. I’m not going to get too detailed here as I intend to run down Ron Albertson via cell sometime this week for an interview for next week’s column. Needless to say, for those wondering, Ron looks fine, though a bit tired (doesn’t he always look tired?). The music blew me away. Like the best of The Liars’ stuff, it’s all about the rhythms and the rhythm section of Ron and bassist Pat Noecker, who converge in some sort of unholy, decadent Vulcan mindmeld of sound. The bass and drums power everything, while guitarist/vocalist Christian Dautresme keeps his head above the waves with a tingling guitar and his stark, nasal vocals (he may not be a walking monster like Angus Andrew, but he’s certainly a better singer). The crowd (of maybe 40) dug it, as did I, even calling them back for a one-song encore. Yeah, I like these guys more than The Liars first incarnation (and certainly more than the current version).

Tomorrow, the weekly column featuring 26 CD reviews — 26! I’m going to get caught up with that Reviews Matrix if it’s the last thing I do…

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A brief reminder that n0 Things are tonight at O’Leaver’s with The Lepers at O’Leaver’s. As I mentioned last week, n0 things is Ron Albertson’s and Pat Noeker’s new band. Ron (formerly of Mercy Rule) and Pat (formerly of Opium Taylor) were in The Liars for that band’s first (and only listenable) album They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument On Top, released on Gern Blandsten. They were poised to be as big as the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs (and, in fact, had toured with the Yeahs). They quickly outgrew Gern Blandsten and signed to Mute. Then Pat and Ron unceremoniously left The Liars, a band that they formed. I’ve never gotten the straight scoop on what happened (maybe I will tonight). I assume the label thought that sideshow-freak frontman Angus Andrew was the driving force behind the band. Well, anyone who’s heard the two Mute releases that followed know that isn’t the case. Ron and Pat licked their wounds and formed n0 things in the spring of 2004 with singer/guitarist Christian Dautresme. Based on what I’ve heard on their Myspace page, their sound has evolved into something more dissonant and disturbing, though you can still dance to it. Show starts at 9:30 and is $5.

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