You’d think it was Friday instead of Saturday based on tonight’s show line-up.

Down at Slowdown Jr., it’s Saddle Creek recording artist UUVVWWZ, with Oui Bandits, So Many Wizards and Black Hundreds — all for only $7. Starts at 9 p.m.

Also tonight, It’s True headlines a show at The Waiting Room with Midwest Dilemma, Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies, Little Black Stereo and Haywood Yards. $8, 8:30 p.m.

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An addendum to yesterday’s Mogwai live review: I forgot to link to the photos I took at the show. Here’s a shot of Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite making some noise using his battery of effects pedals. Here’s a typical action shot of Mogwai jamming. And finally, here’s a blurry shot of opening band Women. Of course, those of you who follow Lazy-i in Twitter saw all these the night of the show.

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Before we get to the breaking news, first this review of Monday night’s Mogwai show. I don’t think this show sold out, but judging by the size of the crowd, it must have been pretty close. This wasn’t the loudest show I’ve ever attended. That honor goes to a Bob Mould concert at The Ranch Bowl that was so painfully loud that it cut alleys into the sold-out crowd standing in front of the stacks. The Faint concert at The Waiting Room back in March 2007 comes in a close second. This one was right up there, though…

Photo by John Shartrand, used with permission.

Column 221: A Night of Sound
Mogwai brings it LOUD.

A lot of people have asked me how I manage to go to shows during the week and still maintain a “regular job” that commands that I be in the office by 8 a.m. The Slowdown’s strict policy of starting shows at 9 p.m. sharp helps immensely, because it means I’ll probably be home by midnight.

And that schedule was kept at the Mogwai concert this past Monday. Opening band, ironically named Women (no skirts in sight), hit the stage at the stroke of 9, even if I wasn’t there to see it. I’ve heard their highly lauded debut album, and wasn’t feeling it. Their live performance, however, made me shuffle through my iTunes library afterward, looking for the tracks.

The Calgary four were the most un-rockstar looking dudes I’ve ever seen — they looked just like you and me, like nobodies — no style visually at all, just a bunch of guys you’d find shopping at the Slowdown Mall. But musically, they were the reincarnation of the classic ’80s-era 4AD band, with a minimalist, rhythmic style that was much more interesting than what I heard on their Jagjaguwar release.

Mogwai didn’t do much to ratchet up the style quotient, except for their preponderance of shaved heads, most notably from short-guy frontman Stuart Braithwaite, who welcomed the crowd in his lovely Scottish brogue before proceeding to slowly, deliberately take away their ability to hear.

I’ve written about hearing protection before, so I’m not going to re-plow that old ground except to say: 1) I was happy I had my earplugs, and 2) They sell earplugs at Slowdown’s bar for 50 cents (They used to have an earplug gumball machine, but someone smashed it).

But I digress. It was loud. It needed to be loud. Such is the style and ways of Mogwai, a band whose instrumental-only music creates tension through its quiet-LOUD-quiet dynamics.

In fact, that equation is the be-all and end-all of their compositions — start off each song with a quiet guitar melody, keyboard or soothing percussion line, and then slowly build-build-build as if climbing a mountain or having sex — or having sex while climbing a mountain — until they reach some sort of breathless orgasmic peak — usually at ear-bleeding wake-the-neighbors decibels — to slowly come back down in a post-coital glow, lying back in wait for the next mountain to conquer.

Like any good partner, they occasionally strayed from the standard deviation — once lulling the audience to comfortable passivity bathed in dark blue or ruby red stage lighting — only to shock with a wall of bristling noise accompanied by blinding STROBES. The strobes were the only elaborate piece of staging, and were used effectively to accent the high-noise action in a BOOM! Take that! sort of way.

OK, I admit that I did find it a bit repetitive, especially since every song was played at the exact same plodding pace — absolutely no variety in meter the entire night. But I suppose keeping the performance locked in a single gear was part of their shtick. And what they lacked in rhythmic variety they made up for in sheer majestic scope.

My plus-one for the evening texted me throughout the show from somewhere in the crowd, mostly complaining about the constant mid-tempo pace, with text messages like, “Hoping 4 godlike instead got plodlike.”

I couldn’t argue, but I still dug every minute of it. And so did the crowd, though at times it was hard to tell. From my usual “spot” in the front right corner along the wall by the fired doors just off of stage left, I watched the crowd. A skinny kid in a T-shirt — no more than 18 — stood up front and stared not up at the band, but downward, toward the front edge of the stage. Blank. Flat line with eyes wide open. What was he looking at? What was he seeing?

Meanwhile, between songs from in back of the audience a drunk woman slur-yelled “Yah-yah-yah- yah-yah” like a tipsy peacock. Over and over. She tried to get the rest of the crowd to join in, slurring “Come on, everybody!” before screaming another drunken mating call. On stage, the band tuned their guitars and smiled. “And I’m used to people not understanding me,” Braithwaite said, sounding like a short, bald version of Scotty from Star Trek.

About three songs from the end I noticed that most of the kids standing in front of the stage — all young guys — weren’t looking up. They stared forward like an army of sad killers. Or zombies. Lost, I guess, in the fog of sound.

Meanwhile, during the encore, a woman nearby cringed and covered her eyes, cowering against the STROBES and the NOISE, waiting for it all to end. First she would have to endure 10 minutes of noise created by Mogwai’s arsenal of effects pedals that Braithwaite and one of his cohorts “played” while kneeling on stage, covered in a shower of lightning. As the drone continued to echo, he grabbed a couple empty Red Stripe bottles, stood up and waved to the crowd and was gone.

And I was home by midnight.

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And now the news: Val Nelson who helps run Slowdown tells me that Cursive is headlining a free show with Azure Ray and Flowers Forever to be held in the Slowdown parking lot July 24. The 18+ concert is being held in conjunction with Mutual of Omaha’s Wild About Omaha weekend. With the Conor Oberst Anchor Inn show on June 26, and a second even more interesting show at Anchor Inn rumored to be in the works, this is turning out to be a great year for outdoor entertainment.

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Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band’s album, Outer South, released last week on Merge Records, came in at No. 40 in the latest Billboard charts, according to Mike Fratt of Homer’s Music. The album nationally sold 14,361 physical units, while moving 4,823 digital copies — good enough for No. 12 on the Billboard digital charts. Fratt said only five records on the charts sold more than 50,000 copies last week.

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The Mogwai live review with photos will be online tomorrow. Why tomorrow? Because I used it for this week’s column in The Reader. The short version: It was big, it was loud, it was somewhat awesome, if not a bit monotonous.

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Paste Magazine today published a brief history of the Farnam House/Gunboat/Frank’s Hotel, written by local music journalist Liz Stinson. Liz describes the house (located at 38th and Farnam, right across from The Brothers Lounge), interviews a number former occupants and discusses its improbable future. Read it here. My first interview with Conor Oberst back in ’98 took place in that dumpy house.

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It’s a busy night for shows. Down at The Slowdown, Del the Funky Homosapien returns with Mike Relm, Bukue One and Serendipity Project. $18, 9 p.m. I believe Del sold out The Slowdown the last time he came through, so you may want to buy your tickets before you head downtown.

Also tonight, The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash play at The Waiting Room with The Filter Kings. $10, 9 p.m.

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And before you do anything, don’t forget to vote!

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The Whore Moans were tearing it up when I got to O’Leaver’s Friday night, in fact they were about halfway through their set. The Seattle band is on Mike Jaworski’s Mt. Fuji label, the former home of Little Brazil (who moved to Anodyne for their latest record). WM is a completely different animal than LB. They play spazzy, jittery punk that leans forward with an open aggression that is nothing less than impressive, especially on O’Leaver’s tiny “stage.” Though they’re designed on an indie-rock platform, there’s something almost glammy about the 4-piece soundwise. They’re too self-assured to be mistaken for a garage band, but they’re not shiny enough for pure commercial consumption. Put it another way — they seemed at home at O’Leaver’s and would be just as comfortable at The Niner, but I don’t know if their sound/style would translate well to a larger stage like The Waiting Room. Like any great party band, they make the most of dungeon-like confines and cramped pseudo stages to the point where that’s the only place that I can imagine seeing them, especially when they’re doing things like jumping off tables or hanging from the rafters (which they did Friday night). I think this is a band that Fuji can build upon if they can keep them in the stable.

Techlepathy is becoming O’Leaver’s pseudo house band (They’re playing there again June 6). I don’t know what more to add since the last time, other than beneath the unholy, mathy, complex din there is a pop sensibility lying in wait — whether frontman Lincoln Dickison ever allows it to come out and play for more than one song is yet to be determined.

Late Saturday night I dropped in at The Saddle Creek Bar where I heard the last few songs by singer/songwriter Chris Pureka, which were very strong. Despite the obvious similarities, it’s unfair to compare her to Melissa Etheridge or Amy Ray — her music and style are more indie and more compelling than either of those two. Sarah Benck followed with a solo set that included acoustic versions of a few songs from her last album along with some stuff I haven’t heard before, all enjoyed by the 10 or 15 people on hand.

Tonight at Slowdown, it’s the power and majesty of Mogwai. As I said in this story, don’t expect a ton of fancy lights or any intricate staging, just five guys creating a helluva beautiful noise. Opening is critics’ darlings Women (which, incidentally, includes no Women). $17, 9 p.m.

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Listening to the new Sonic Youth album, The Eternal, which is slated for release by their new label, Matador Records, June 9. It’s not so much what I expected from SY as much as what I wanted from them — their most tuneful album in years.

Here’s what we got for the weekend…

Tonight at O’Leaver’s, it’s Mt. Fuji recording artist The Whore Moans with Psychic Campfire opening the show and Techlepathy headlining. Michael Jaworski, proprietor of Mt. Fuji, said The Whore Moans “are truly the best live band I’ve ever worked with” — high praise when you consider Jaws worked with Little Brazil for quite a few years. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Over at The Waiting Room it’s the return of folkie singer-songwriter William Elliott Whitmore with Frontier Ruckus and songwriting genius Brad Hoshaw solo. $8, 9 p.m.

At The Barley St., it’s Black Squirrels with Sweet Pea, Traveling Mercies and everyone’s favorite troubadour bartender Kyle Harvey. $5, 9 p.m.

Saturday night The Dinks are playing at The 49’r with Cat Island. This should be raw. Cover will probably be around $5 and things will get rolling at around 10.

Meanwhile, Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s are playing at Slowdown Jr. with Everything Now! $10, 9 p.m.

The Saddle Creek Bar has Sarah Benck with Northampton, Mass. singer/songwriter Chris Pureka and Platte River Rain. $5, 9 p.m.

Sunday night, Landon Hedges in the form of Fine Fine Automobiles is playing O’Leaver’s with David Zollo. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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Just placed online, a feature story with comments from Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai (read it here). I say “feature story” vs. “interview” because Stuart was a man of few words. Still, he talked about what few words are used in Mogwai’s mostly instrumental music — song titles, album themes, etc. He also talked briefly about iPods and what the band has in store for next Monday’s show at The Slowdown. Give it a quick read — then click over here and buy your tickets.

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Speaking of shows, last night’s show at The Waiting Room was a good one. I got there just in time to catch the last song by Bear Country, which featured some gorgeous multi-part harmonies a la CSNY. Here’s an action photo. I haven’t seen these folks do a full set in a couple years (and I need to).

Stillwater, OK, band Other Lives was up next. The six-piece was more like an orchestra than a band, featuring cello, harmonium and violin (not fiddle) along with the usual guitar/keyboard/bass/drums combo. Their music was as big and broad as the Oklahoma sky — cinematic and, especially on a Leonard Cohen cover, draped in drama like a soundtrack from a Sergio Leone spaghetti western. Folks in the crowd compared them to everyone from Richard Buckner to Fleet Foxes to (in my case) Pinetop Seven — one of the few bands that had the same epic grace and scope (see photo).

Elvis Perkins’ set opened on a somber note when he came out alone — looking like a 95-pound version of Johnny Depp — and performed a solo version of “123 Goodbye,” that, for me, was one of the night’s highlights (see photo). Afterward, he was joined by the rest of his band — each member playing multiple instruments — guitar, piano, bass and most notably, trombone. Ah, that trombone, which was only used on a few songs, gave the proceedings a brassy New Orleans sheen. Most of the set was dedicated to the …in Dearland album, including a gripping version of “Shampoo,” the album’s “single,” which you could hear on your radio if life were fair. But life isn’t fair when it comes to independent music, and never will be. That said, Perkins is riding a deserved wave of loving press these days, ordained as the latest “NPR band” to break through from college to something (slightly) bigger. He’s the kind of guy whose music will appeal to everyone from smart late teens to their parents to their parents’ friends in their 50s and 60s who grew up listening to The Band and Dylan. The next time we see Perkins could very well be on stage at The Holland or another larger, more formal venue.

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Who knows what the Polecat record discussed in the column below is really worth. What I do know is that eBay makes it easier to find out. It’s also ruining it for treasure hunting at shows like the one held last Sunday. Used to be you could go to a record show (or an antique store or a garage sale…) and find a hidden treasure if you dug long enough. Those days are long gone — that’s the downside to eBay. The upside is that you can find just about anything you’ve ever wanted online… but for a price.

Column 220: Skinning a Polecat
A record collector’s story

It was some time last week that I got a call from a pal who makes money on the side as a record dealer, asking if I knew anything about a 7-inch by a band called Polecat.

I recognized the name immediately. Polecat was a band from Lincoln in the early ’90s that consisted of Ted Stevens, Boz Hicks and Oliver Blaha. Stevens, as regular readers of this column know, went on to form chamber-pop group Lullaby for the Working Class, and today plays guitar in Cursive. Hicks went on to become a member of Her Flyaway Manner, and today is in Domestica, a trio featuring ex-Mercy Rule rockers Jon Taylor and Heidi Ore.

But was there more to the story of that red-vinyl single, titled “2500 ft of our love,” and the role it played in the history of the Omaha music scene?

My broker pal said he was headed to a record show Sunday with the Polecat single, unless, of course, it made more sense to sell it on eBay, where the item could ignite a bidding war. There are stories about how copies of Conor Oberst’s cassette-only early recording, titled Water, have fetched hundreds of dollars on eBay. Could the Polecat single be as valuable? It seemed doubtful, but I said I’d ask around.

Funny how the Internet has made the world so much smaller. Imagine trying to track down an old friend from 16 years ago without using the World Wide Web. It would involve lots of phone calls and maybe even hiring a Jim Rockford-style PI. Today, all you have to do is Google.

Moments after getting off the phone with the broker-friend, I logged onto Facebook, and lo and behold, also online but Dan Schlissel, proprietor of ’90s-era Lincoln-based Ism Records (which became Ismist). Back in the day, Schlissel was involved with record distribution, including handing that Polecat single. Sure, he remembered it. So what’s it worth? Schlissel, who now runs the amazingly successful comedy label Stand Up! Records (whose roster includes Grammy winner Lewis Black), said he’d seen the single sell for more than $20 on eBay.

I called the dealer back, and with that info he decided to go ahead and bring the record to the show and see what happens. But that wasn’t the end of the research. Later that evening I went down to Slowdown for the Crystal Antlers show, and who was there but former Polecat drummer Boz Hicks (and for once, he wasn’t working behind the bar).

Between bands, Boz told stories of Polecat from days gone by. He thought the single was released at about the same time that local label Lumberjack Records (which had released that Water cassette) was forced to change its name because a distributor already had the rights to the name “Lumberjack.” Turns out that song titles on that Polecat single were “Chinese Water Torture” and (wait for it…) “Saddle Creek.” Hicks has a couple copies of the single himself, and thought it could fetch far more than $20 if the record’s back story were well-established to potential buyers.

The next morning I headed down to the record show thinking I might just buy that damn single myself. After all, it was a piece of local music history.

The show — organized by Tim Behrens, the guy behind Kanesville Used Records in Council Bluffs (and the undisputed local king of used vinyl) — was located in the Firefighters Union Hall at 60th and Grover. If you were looking for proof that vinyl is making a comeback, all you had do was look at the crowds jammed between the rows and rows of tables stacked with boxes of CDs, T-shirts, posters, music memorabilia, but most of all, record albums.

Behrens, who’s been dealing records for 30 years, said the show did well. “It was a full house of dealers and there were lots of new faces,” he said. He credited a renewed interest in vinyl by fans who want something more substantial than a computer file or a jewel case holding a piece of silver plastic. “Plus, used records are cheaper than new,” he said. “Selling used stuff doesn’t seem to be affected by the state of the economy.”

As I thumbed through the bins, time seemed to stand still, or even slip slightly backwards. Here were all the lousy records I’d bought back in high school by bands I’d long forgotten — Fastway, April Wine, The Alarm, The Firm, Asia — along with an endless supply of Beatles records. And just like whenever I go thrift-store shopping, a wave of exhausted malaise rolled over me like an overdose of dusty nostalgia.

I hustled over to my broker friend’s table that was set up in the middle of the hall. “Where is it?” I asked. Too late, it’s gone. Sold only moments earlier. The lucky buyer was Jordan Delmundo, who bought the single, along with another piece of vinyl, for a total price of $20.

He pulled it out of its plastic bag and let me take a look. Despite a small crease at the top of the sleeve, it probably looked the way it did when it was first sold 16 years ago. “You know what you have there?” I asked Delmundo. He did. He knew it might have be worth more than $20 — or maybe less — but he had no intention of finding out.

I didn’t go home empty handed. I added to my Factory Records collection, purchasing FAC 123 (“The Perfect Kiss”) and FAC 293R (“World in Motion Remix”) — 12-inch records by New Order. Ah, but I would have rather gone home with a Polecat record.

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Elvis Perkins in Dearland is in town today and tonight — I highly recommend you catch him. The main attraction is the show at The Waiting Room with Other Lives and Bear Country. Tickets are still available for a mere $10. But if you’re a cheap-ass and don’t have a job, you can always swing by Homer’s in the Old Market this afternoon at 4 p.m. and catch them doing an in-store with opening band Other Lives. While you’re there, you may want to pick up Perkins’ latest album on XL Recordings, which currently sits at No. 163 on the Billboard charts.

Also tonight, Little Brazil has been added to a show at Slowdown Jr. headlined by Australian band Youth Group and also featuring The Sleepover. $8, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

The new Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band disc, Outer South, dropped today on Merge. If you’re wondering what it sounds like, check out the stream at mergerecords.com. The Pitchfork review came out yesterday (here) with a rating of 4.9 — the lowest PF rating I’ve seen for an Omaha-based act in a while (or maybe ever). “As you might expect, Oberst’s reversion to logorrhea and emotional extremism here effectively eliminates the possibility that Outer South will possess any ensemble cohesion,” says the review, which was written in a style that’s about as inviting as a college thesis. On the other hand All Music Guide chief critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars (here) — the highest rating he’s ever given an Oberst-related record (He gave Wide Awake 2 stars). Says Erlewine, “Oberst himself seems swept up in the motion — he’s dropped his vocal affectations, his grandiose couplets, he’s happy to be leading a group that feels like a band of brothers — one that might not always sing in the same voice, but share a sensibility, something that gives Outer South a big human heart.” Rolling Stone, btw, gave it three and a half stars (here). My take? I’ve yet to sit down with my Mac and listen to the whole stream.

Tonight at The Waiting Room, former Television guitarist Richard Lloyd plays at The Waiting Room with The Third Men and Scott Severin and the Milton Burlesque. Tickets are still available for $12. Show starts at 9.

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Before Via Dove went on stage Friday night at O’Leaver’s, I caught a couple songs by Mal Madrigal, which for this performance was the duo of Steve Bartolomei and Mike Saklar. The songs were the usual poignant, well-crafted, singer-songwriter fare that we’ve come to expect from MM, who I later was told had been asked to be on the bill at the last minute. Bartolomei is old friends with Via Dove bass player Mike Marquard.

What to say about Via Dove… The first thing you notice about these guys has nothing to do with their music — all four members wore white pants, a mistake in a club like O’Leaver’s, which is like playing inside the lungs of a 85-year-old lifetime smoker. I guarantee those pants weren’t white when they climbed back into their van. The white pants were the brunt of many a comic aside by many a crowd member. Matching wardrobe decisions almost always are a mistake unless you’re DEVO. A few songs in, the argument was over who came up with the idea of the white pants (The consensus: It was probably the frontman) — not something you want people talking about during your set.

Anyway… Via Dove isn’t an indie band and never said it was. They are an unabashed modern pop-rock band, with a talented lead guitarist and a frontman who sounded like the second coming of Michael Hutchence. In fact, some of the band’s music resembled early INXS — a comparison that I’m sure most indie bands would cringe at. These guys, on the other hand, might consider it a compliment, and in fact, it’s meant to be. Their music was upbeat radio rock that’s just a few steps from being hooky enough to be played on the radio. If there’s a minus it’s that the vocal melodies meander too often for this kind of band (and this kind of frontman, who is an arena-rock showman). Another minus was their choice of covers — a snippet of Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams,” and an encore of “Helter Skelter.” Unless you’re Neil Young, you may want to step away from the Beatles covers. That said, the crowd ate it up.

Saturday night at Slowdown Jr. featured the funniest line of the weekend. From the opening band: “Hi, we’re Swine Flu from Mexico City and this is our first time in Omaha.” Nice. Swine Flu a.k.a. His Mischief from Minneapolis tore into a set of noise rock that made me regret having (for the first time) forgotten my earplugs. I survived with torn bits of cocktail napkins stuffed in my ears (couldn’t find The Slowdown’s earplug gumball machine). They were followed by Crystal Antlers, a band that records on Touch & Go who take noise rock to epic levels. The six-piece (which included a drummer and percussionist) created rhythmic walls of throbbing psychedelic rocket noise — huge and ominous and at times sludgy. It’s not garage rock as much as modern noise rock with a big helping of low-fi dosing up the middle. Too bad they played such a sort set.

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Waitaminit, you already knew about UUVVWWZ signing to Saddle Creek? Seems like everybody already knew… except poor ol’ me (*sniff*) — just more proof of my “insider” status with the Omaha music scene. Ah well… It’s a smart signing for both parties involved, and of course, for all of us who will be reaping the benefits of more UUVVWWZ music in the future. In fact, the benefits will be heard on the rerelease of their debut, as I’m told AJ Mogis has remixed all the tracks. I wonder if Darren Keen, owner if It Are Good Records (who originally released their debut), got a big, fat buyout check from Creek…

It wasn’t the only announcement yesterday: Creek also signed a band called Rural Alberta Advantage, and will be rereleasing their debut, Hometown, on July 7 (also when the UUVVWWZ album comes out).

Pitchfork had the exclusive, here. They don’t say much about UUVVWWZ. Of course I’ve been writing about UUVVWWZ for awhile. Here’s a review of the first live show of theirs I attended over a year ago, and an interview/feature with the band from last August.

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With the recent rise in popularity of vinyl, I also foresee a new level of interest in record shows — after all, what good is having a turntable if you’re only going to play 180-gram reissues instead of the originals? Well, there will be plenty of originals available this Sunday at the Music & Collectors Show at the Firefighters Union Hall, 60th & Grover. I’m told the fine folks at Kanesville Kollectables are behind the event, which means there should be plenty of good stuff to choose from, including vinyl, CDs, posters and other memorabilia. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Let’s get to the weekend:

Tonight at The Waiting Room everyone’s favorite local rock trio The Box Elders are headlining a show with Brimstone Howl and Flameflower’s Tribute to Black Flag. $7, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, down the street at The Barley St. Tavern The Stay Awake are headlining a show with Life of a Scarecrow, Techlepathy and Lightning Bug. $5, 9 p.m.

Thunder Power is headlining a show at The 49’r with Malpais and Lawrence band Cowboy Indian Bear. $5, 9 p.m. Get there early.

Finally, over at O’Leaver’s, St. Louis band Via Dove is headlining a show with Mal Madrigal. $3, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday night has Crystal Antlers over at Slowdown Jr. with His Mischief and Perry H. Matthews. $8, 9 p.m.

The Answer Team plays at Saddle Creek Bar Saturday night with Gyromancer and Oneword. $5, 9 p.m.

And finally, The Whipkey Three plays at The Barley St. with The Pilots and Two Drag Club. $5, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—