Those looking for the OEA Awards wrap-up, scroll down below today’s blog entry. For an event that received virtually no publicity, the coverage here garnered a lot of interest. More than 1,000 people came to this page yesterday to read the recap. I guess it helps that Lazy-i provided the only next-day coverage of the event, a surprise to some, but not to me. As I said before, the Omaha World-Herald historically has put its own needs in front of its readers’ needs when it comes to covering anything sponsored by rival media, whether it be an alt-weekly newspaper, radio or local TV station. They have the power — and the right — to ignore whatever event they deem “un-newsworthy,” especially if that event’s success helps prove that there really is more than one newspaper in this town.

Moving on to last night’s festivities at a jam-packed O’Leaver’s…

Cloven Path may be onto something. An electronica/metal duo — one guy plays guitar and does an interpretive metal dance routine while the other drums over prerecorded Euro-disco beats, synths, bass, etc. People were going ga-ga over their look and performance style — both guys have long blond hair, wear tons of eye make-up and full-on rock garb. The guitarist plays shirtless and swings his golden locks in true Steel Dragon style. It’s colorful, it’s fun, but beneath all the hair and make-up is a unique sound that deserves attention if only for the sheer devil-horns quality of the rock. Think fashion-show runway music underscored with shredding, metal guitar and rock drums. You’ll either want to dance or just stare at the mayhem on stage. Half the people I talked to about their set thought it was a gag, the other half thought it was a serious metal effort. Fact is, no band is doing anything like it around here. I think it’s pretty good, though a lot of the music sounded half-finished or as if it was missing something. The Path is in dire need of a vocalist. I’m told they’ve been looking for one since they first started performing and may have have recently lined up a front-woman, which would make their show even more of a spectacle. They could also use a ton more low-end. While the drumming was fine, I would loved to hear what this guy would sound like on a big, throaty kit. Adding a bass also wouldn’t hurt. Keep an eye on these guys.

Kite Pilot have completely reinvented themselves. Frankly, they didn’t have much choice, having lost guitarist/vocalist Austin Britton last summer to the West Coast. Their loss, however, was our gain, as their leaner, meaner line-up discards all the jangle-pop heard on their last LP. As a trio, they’re more focused and cohesive (though their first two songs got them off to a rocky start). Without the guitar, the focus shifts to the rhythm section, with front-woman Erica Hanton dominating on bass (though she switched to electric guitar for a couple numbers). The sound is muscular post-punk dance rock that — when kicking on all cylinders — reminds me of a morph between The Protoculture (Erica’s other band) and Bell Is a Cup-era Wire. Hubby Todd Hanton’s keyboards provide a pop (and, at times, retro-styled) accouterment that counters his wife’s gritty bass.

I can’t imagine this version of Kite Pilot ever playing any of their previously recorded material, and talking to Erica after the show, they have no intention to, which is probably a good idea considering that those old songs relied heavily on Austin’s guitar. With the Hantons having access to recording equipment, it’s only a matter of time before they record the new stuff. Meanwhile, more shows are in order, please.

There are three noteworthy shows going on tonight:

Which to choose?

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