Little Brazil’s Greg Edds said that when the production company showed up at the West Omaha house for the video shoot last Saturday morning, it garnered plenty of attention from the neighbor, followed by cops, who merely did drive-bys. “There were 15 dudes standing in the front yard at 6 a.m. with giant equipment,” Edds said. “We stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone had to think that a porno was being shot.”

Column 230: Seeing Red
Little Brazil and the art of the video.

Upon arriving at The Sydney at around 11 a.m. last Sunday — the time the “shoot” was scheduled for the Little Brazil music video — only a handful of people were mulling around in the bar. Near the entrance, four guys in jeans and t-shirts were stringing lighting equipment above the curtained-off front windows. Scratch that — only one guy on a ladder was actually doing something while the other three “grips” watched and gave advice.

Track had been constructed along the floor in front of the bar — two shiny chrome rails like long strippers’ poles lay side by side. A large push car sat on one end with the camera rig waiting to go. This was no ordinary camera; it was a Red One — a state-of-the-art digital cinematography camera capable of shooting up to 4,096 by 2,304 pixels — huge by industry standards, or so I was told. Little Brazil was going all out, diving head-first into the artistic realm of music videos. And it wasn’t cheap.

Video director Bill Sitzmann, a still photographer known for his quirky, artistic style of shooting rock bands (including many featured in this newspaper) hustled me down to the Sydney’s dusty basement for a demo of the Red One in action. On a Powerbook connected to two portable hard drives, Sitzmann played video from the previous day’s 16-hour shoot at a West Omaha home. Recorded at 100 frames per second, the effect was surreal — intricately detailed images of children playing in a back yard, frozen in the air on a swing set, every nuance, every speck of detail captured crystal clear, near 3D, ghostly, like CinemaScope at a wide-screen ratio of 21 x 9. This wasn’t a video, this was a motion picture; this was art.

To Little Brazil guitarist Greg Edds, it was the art that made it all make sense. Because it wasn’t the band’s label — Anodyne Records — or their publicist picking up the multi-thousand dollar tab for the shoot; it was the band along with Edds himself.

“This is our first major production of a video,” Edds explained. “We’ve done things in the past with HD cameras and crews, but I wanted to take a step forward. We were raised in the MTV generation. I remember the videos more than the songs themselves. I can’t remember Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer,’ but I remember its crazy video.”

Now with YouTube and Hulu, millions of music videos are viewed every day. “You can do a lot with flip cameras and camera phones, but there’s a quality issue,” Edds said. “From an art perspective, that’s where the Red One came to mind.”

It was Sitzmann who told him about Red One. Edds saw some examples, including two recent feature films by Steven Soderbergh shot with the camera as well Maria Taylor’s video for “Time Lapse Lifeline,” shot by Alan Tanner.

“I knew (the camera) would give the whole idea for the video new meaning,” Edds said. “The rest of the guys (in the band) jumped on board. It’s a big financial gamble. We’re not going to make money from it; it’s just another creative aspect of the music that will make the song hit home.”

The song is “Separated,” from Little Brazil’s recently released record, Son, a concept album that tracks the lifeline of a family from a couple’s first date to its suicidal demise and beyond. “Separated,” comes toward the end, after the couple splits. The husband (played by Workers Deli sandwich chef Francis Rowe) struggles with losing his wife (played by Son Ambulance vocalist Jenna Morrison) and seeing his children bond with her new boyfriend. He daydreams about getting back together with her.

The sequence being shot at The Sydney is part of that daydream — the couple’s glorious hand-in-hand entrance into a party greeted in a cloud of confetti thrown by all their friends. Unfortunately, this Sunday morning Little Brazil’s friends hadn’t shown up. Frantic calls for “extras” were sent via text and Twitter and Facebook. It wasn’t until 2:30 that Sitzmann yelled “Ready!” while standing atop the bar, telling everyone to go crazy when Francis and Jenna enter the front door. Queue the song, and then… action. In rushed the talent, pushing through the crowd’s smiling, screaming faces — the same faces you’ll see on a typical night at O’Leaver’s or The Sydney or The Waiting Room — while the Red One and its operator floated beside them down the chrome rails.

The shot was done again and again and again. Extras ran out of confetti. Little Brazil bassist Dan Maxwell found a new use for The Reader, tearing its pages to tiny bits. By 3 o’clock, Sitzmann yelled “Moving on,” and the crowd cheered. But that wasn’t the end of the shoot. Everyone stayed for three more hours for shots of the couple dancing while the band played on The Sydney’s stage.

Now Sitzmann along with editor Jon Tvrdik will cut the video, with Edds looking over their shoulders. Post production could take two to three weeks. With the band scheduled to tour in the beginning of August, they hope to have a screening scheduled when they get back two weeks later. After that, copies of the video will be sent to their label and publicist, who will filter it to different networks and online outlets, with hopes of it “going viral.”

As for Edds, he’s already thinking of the next shoot. “It was a fun experiment,” he said. “It’s exciting and really addicting. Now I want to do it again.” But next time, he said, it’ll be 48 minutes instead of 48 hours, and lot less expensive.

* * *

It’s a duo CD re-release party tonight at Slowdown Jr. The Rural Alberta Advantage, who I wrote about in the last issue of The Reader (read it here) is celebrating the re-release by Saddle Creek Records of Hometown; while UUVVWWZ is celebrating the re-release — also by Saddle Creek — of its self-titled debut album. On top of that, Dave Dondero is in town and opening this show. Except a very crowded front room (maybe even a sell out?). $8, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, another chance to catch Brad Hoshaw (third show in less than seven days?) along with Anniversaire when they open for Chicago’s Cameron McGill & What Army at The Waiting Room. $7, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

As I type this I’m listening to the new EP on Speed! Nebraska Records called Speed! Soapbox Riot, a six-song compilation by six different Speed! bands, all built around a theme that involves cars and racing and… speed! Featured artists are Wagon Blasters, Filter Kings, The Mezcal Brothers, Domestica, The Third Men and Ideal Cleaners. All the tracks except for the Filter Kings’ song were recorded at Fuse Recording Studios in Lincoln by Charlie Johnson (FK’s “Steal Your Car” was recorded by Tim Cich at Baseline). Think of these as sort of modern takes on Commander Cody’s “Hot Rod Lincoln.” Except of course for The Third Men’s cover of Deep Purple’s “Space Truckin’,” which screams.

The record is a celebration of the First Annual Speed! & O’Leaver’s Soapbox Derby, which goes down this Saturday at 11 a.m. at Seymour Smith Park. I suspect that it’ll be a bloody extravaganza — here’s hoping they have an ambulance on stand-by. All proceeds from the race benefit the Special Olympics, so I guess that makes everybody (that survives) a winner. That very evening there will be a checkered-flag celebration at O’Leaver’s featuring many of the bands on the 10-inch. Incidentally, the record (that’s right, it’s vinyl) is available at all your favorite local independent record stores.

* * *

Tonight at O’Leaver’s Wholesome (which, according to their Myspace page, consists of members of Rasputin, Hedge, Bloodcow, Head of Woman, The Dinks, and Members of the Press) plays with San Diego’s Archons. $5, 9:30 p.m. Also, Minneapolis hip-hop posse Doomtree is at The Waiting Room with GaiDen Gadema. $8, 9 p.m.

* * *

I spent a good chunk of my Sunday at The Sydney watching the Little Brazil video shoot for “Separated.” These guys are going all-out for this video, and putting their money where their mouth is. The shoot, the technology and reasoning behind it is the subject of this week’s column, which will be online tomorrow.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Quick weekend recap — the only music I experienced was last night’s Songs for a Cure benefit at The Waiting Room, which drew a pretty good crowd for a Sunday night. Of course the bands that I saw — Dan McCarthy, It’s True and Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies — were exceptional, as per usual. Bonus for all who attended and will attend The Waiting Room in the future — the club just got a new high-efficiency cooling system, so you’ll never sweat at their shows again.

A couple news items of note:

Saddle Creek sent out a press release last Friday where they announced a couple new releases for the fall. First is a new Orenda Fink album called Ask the Night, slated for Oct. 6. According to her publicist (Cobra Camanda Publicity), “Ask The Night was primarily recorded live to 8-track by Stephen Bartolomei (Mal Madrigal) in Orenda’s former Omaha, NE, basement (she is now based in Los Angeles, CA), as well as by Andy LeMaster in his Athens, GA, living room.” The album features a number of guest performers, including Bartolomei and LeMaster, Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, Dan McCarthy and Adrianne Verhoeven (Dri, The Anniversary, Art In Manila).

Orenda is one busy lady. This album comes just a few months after her last album, O+S, was released, and she’s also reunited with Maria Taylor for Azure Ray, with the duo apparently working on a new Azure Ray album. Prolific.

Also tucked into the last Saddle Creek press release was an apparent new signing by the label — Old Canes, who will be releasing their album Feral Harmonic on Saddle Creek Oct. 20. Who is Old Canes? Well, Cobra Camanda, who’s also handling their press, hasn’t sent out the info yet, but according to their Myspace page, Old Canes “is Chris Crisci (Appleseed Cast), Jordan Geiger (Minus Story), Tyler French, John Anderson (Boy’s Life / White Whale), Kelly Hangauer (Save The Whales), and Kelsey Richardson.”

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

All shows this weekend are local — no national acts worth mentioning (or that I know of — chime in if you know something I don’t).

Tonight at The Waiting Room the mighty Filter Kings headline a show with Cowboy Dave Trio and JJ Wills Band. Wear your shit-kickers and cowboy hat. $7, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night Brad Hoshaw opens a singer/songwriter showcase at The Saddle Creek Bar with William Fitzsimmons (He’s from Illinois, so there goes the local spin angle) and Jenny Owen Youngs. $5, 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, The Mercurys play at The Waiting Room with Vago. $7, 9 p.m.

Sunday night, The Waiting Room is hosting Songs for a Cure, a benefit concert for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), that features some of the area’s best singer/songwriters. On the showbill are Brad Hoshaw, It’s True, McCarthy Trenching and Raven Carousel (Benn Sieff, guitar/vocals; Cass Brostad bass/vocals, and Jerry Kuhn, drums). The totality of your $5 admission will go toward JDRF. Do yourself and the JDRF a favor and check this one out.

* * *

The 100th Episode of Worlds of Wayne went online yesterday at worldsofwayne.com. Now all of you who ever wondered what my voice sounds like (or who has doubted that I actually exist) can find out by listening to the podcast. The show features Wayne Brekke and I discussing the history of WofW, his favorite guests and in-studio performances, along with music and other h-jinx. Wayne had so much material to work with that he’s split the episode into two parts. Part 1 is available now. Check it out.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Just placed online, an interview with Nils Edenloff of The Rural Alberta Advantage (read it here). Nils talks about the band’s Canadian origins at an open-mic night in Toronto, their quick rise to national notoriety and their relationship with Saddle Creek. It is amazing how quickly they’ve rocketed to national indie acceptance in such a short time. This tour that brings them to The Slowdown next Wednesday is their first one that’s lasted more than a few weeks. In that context, they’ve got a lot in common with fellow new labelmates UUVVWWZ, who are opening that show. They’re also a rare example of living the dream that is SXSW, where Nils said it all came together with Creek. Maybe going to Austin isn’t such a waste of time after all? Anyway, read the story here or in this week’s issue of The Reader.

* * *

Little Brazil is inviting everyone to The Sydney late Sunday morning to be extras in their next rock video, being shot and directed by Bill Sitzmann, whose photos have appeared numerous times on this here website (as well as countless national magazines). The shoot begins at 11 a.m. and will run until 2. You have to be 21 and wearing “Graduation Party” attire, which I guess means business casual and summer dresses. Sayeth Little Brazil guitarist Greg Edds, “We’re gonna be using the mother of all cameras. It’s called the RED ONE. Costing us $1,500 a day for this bad boy. It’s the same camera that was used to film the new Star Trek, for all the camera nerds out there. Little Brazil is taking a step forward into the costly creative world.” No kidding. So stop by. You might not only end up in the video, but also in a column written about the shoot…

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Years and years ago, I was asked why I didn’t have a podcast. I certainly could — I’m loaded with Mac equipment, which makes such things easy as pie. My answer was/is that I barely have time to keep my blog updated let alone sit in front of a microphone and read the blog to those too lazy to read it themselves. Sure, I suppose I could do a lot of stuff other than just read what I’ve written, but it would cut into time I need to write and rewrite, not only Lazy-i but also the music features I try to write on a regular basis (and on top of that, if I depended on recorded interviews, it would double the time necessary to write due to transcription, and I hate transcription). Anyway, I don’t need a podcast because Wayne has his. And though we generally don’t follow the same music (Wayne’s taste runs drastically more mainstream and less indie than mine) our reporting paths do overlap (sometimes). And there’s no way I could do it as well as he does.

Find out Friday when Worlds of Wayne episode No. 100 goes online at worldsofwayne.com. I’m the special in-studio guest. Tell me how well I did, because I very likely won’t listen to the program due to a severe phobia about listening to my own recorded voice — another reason why I don’t do a podcast.

Column 229: Omaha’s Podfather
Worlds of Wayne turns 100

And with a click of a mouse, the Worlds of Wayne Show was on the air.

Well, not really “on the air.” Worlds of Wayne isn’t broadcast in a conventional sense. Actually, Worlds of Wayne isn’t broadcast at all. It’s a podcast, a digital recording that you listen to on your computer at worldsofwayne.com, or download and take with you on your iPod or whatever kind of portable music device you prefer. When WoW began three years ago, it was kinda/sorta new technology, a way for talented talkers like Wayne to get their message out without having to deal with the bureaucracy and idiocy of mainstream radio.

It was that idiocy that drove Wayne to first plug his microphone into his tower PC, slap on a set of “cans” and begin sharing his worldview — along with his favorite music — with an audience wandering in that dark, crowded nether world that we call The Internet.

“Wayne,” by the way, is Wayne Brekke, drummer for such famous Omaha pop bands as Five Story Fall, The Get and Anonymous American; graphic artist, freelance writer (whose assignments include work for this very newspaper), husband and father and music-loving man-about-town. As of last Monday evening, Wayne had recorded 99 episodes of Worlds of Wayne. For his 100th, he invited me to sit in on the festivities. How could I say no?

The Worlds of Wayne studio is located in a small room in a small house on the north side of Benson, a spare bedroom turned into an epicenter. Behind a mic, computer and console of knobs and dials was Wayne looking like a stocky beat poet in a stretched-out red tank top and black gym shorts that I just assumed he’d been sleeping in only moments before I arrived. He balanced a rim-filled martini glass as he slid into his black leather office chair, carefully avoiding a hairy pile of flesh with a tail called “Timmy J,” an overweight white tabby who later would be evicted from the studio upon suffering a wheezing fit.

And with a click of a mouse, we were “on the air.” No. 100 was in progress.

It was a retrospective show not unlike those anniversary episodes of Happy Days or Laverne and Shirley where the characters reminisce about the past as lead-in to clips from previous shows. Wayne talked about his favorite episodes, like the one where he had two paranormal groups in-studio to talk about their ghost-busting exploits and play snippets of EVPs — Electronic Voice Phenomenon, i.e., ghost recordings. Spooky, if you believe in that sort of thing (and I don’t).

There were the in-studio performances by the likes of Chris Trapper (of the Push Stars), Seneca, Sweet Pea, Brad Hoshaw, Skypiper, John Elliott, Orenda Fink and Korey Anderson, among others. Wayne is compiling the best ones into a CD — Worlds of Wayne – Studio Sessions Vol. 1 — his version of The John Peel Sessions.

And then there are the interviews, including with such notables as KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, Achy Breaky Heart guy and Miley’s father Billy Ray Cyrus and Blues Traveler keyboard player Ben Wilson, who was the first guest on the first show July 26, 2006.

That first episode also featured music by Anonymous American and Sarah Benck as well as Wayne’s natterings about whatever entered his mind. “I explained the show and what I wanted to do,” he said. “I just wanted to focus on music, art and culture, with commentary and interviews with local and national guests.” And that’s exactly what Worlds of Wayne became, and is. Brekke originally wanted to do it on the radio, until he got a small taste of the business, just enough to turn his stomach.

“I found out how corporate and restricted it was,” he said, adding that he was turned off by “the buffoon-ism of the morning shows, where the DJ’s knew less about music than my cat. They were behind the times on everything musicwise. It was like listening to your parents try to make a teenage joke.”

Podcasting was his perfect alternative. “I can play whatever I want, say whatever I want. I can swear. I can have it be about anything and just put it out there for people to take with them.”

And people have. Brekke said Worlds of Wayne is downloaded about 1,500 times a month, with fans from as far away as Europe and Australia. The rise of new media sites like Twitter and Facebook has only helped his audience grow. “I’m now known more for Worlds of Wayne than any band I’ve ever been in,” he said. It’s that notoriety that keeps him doing it. “I’m an attention hog. I like the spotlight, but I don’t play in bands much anymore. This is my way of keeping my name out there and staying connected with the music scene.”

In other words, Worlds of Wayne isn’t a money maker, and never was intended to be, though he does have a few sponsored ads, just enough to pay for his mics and cables and other upgrades. Just enough to keep him going, and that’s all he wants to do. Until he reaches No. 200, and beyond.

“Part of me is old school,” he said. “There’s an intimacy that comes with listening to a radio show even if it’s on the Internet. I’ve captured some pretty amazing things.”

And with a click of the mouse, Worlds of Wayne signed off… until No. 101.

* * *

Omaha’s favorite noise-punk trio, The Stay Awake, opens a show tonight at The Waiting Room for St. Louis’ So Many Dynamos and Lincoln’s Tie These Hands. $8, 9 p.m. Also tonight, Chicago mid-fi pop band Netherfriends (on Emergency Umbrella Records) plays with adamroberthauG, Conchance and Capgun Coup’s Sam Martin and Sean Pratt. $5, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

I’ve been trying to write this for the past couple of days. I’ve rewritten it three times. What can I say, I’ve been busy. Yesterday instead of writing the blog entry, I was writing a feature on The Rural Alberta Advantage, which you’ll see right here on Thursday. And this week’s column is a celebration of the Worlds of Wayne podcast, where I was the “special in-studio guest” for its 100th episode. That column will be online tomorrow and the podcast will be up at worldsofwayne.com on Friday (if Wayne gets his editing shit together).

Which brings me back to last Saturday night and It’s True. I wasn’t expecting much of a crowd. It being the Fourth of July and all, I figured most people would be home minding their bandages and burnt fingers and early-evening hangovers. Instead there was a sizable crowd at The Waiting Room — my guesstimate, around 150 — there to see Little Brazil but also there for It’s True, who rarely plays shows these days (whereas LB seems to play somewhere every other week).

There’s been a buzz about Adam Hawkins for the past year that’s been simmering just below the surface. He’s been the “It band” for singers, songwriters and musicians “in the know” since last summer. Now interest in Hawkins and his music is starting to eke out to the rest of the Omaha music scene. The timing couldn’t be better. I’ve seen a few incarnations of It’s True, but the one on stage last Saturday night was the apex — a solid, huge-sounding ensemble that’s pushed its way to the top of the list of Omaha’s unsigned bands (and it’s quite a list).

The set list included material from It’s True’s debut that came out on Slo-Fi earlier this year. That album was essentially a Hawkins solo record. Last Saturday’s set fleshed out those songs to epic proportions, where they deserve to be. Hawkins had talked about holding off on that first album until he could “do the songs right.” He did the right thing by releasing it when he did, but now he needs to rerecord it with this band, and let the games begin. If there’s a local band that belongs on Saddle Creek, it’s these guys. They fill a niche that resides between the songwriting angst of Tim Kasher and the pastoral elegance of Bright Eyes (who we haven’t seen the last of, yet). Kasher has a history of taking local bands out on the road with him. The most recent example is cave pop superstars Box Elders, who are currently tethered to a rocket pointed straight to the upper stratospheres of garage rock stardom, fueled by a tour that lasts through August and ends at Goner Fest in Memphis Sept. 26. As good as Box Elders are, It’s True would be an even better opening band for Cursive since its style of music compliments Cursive’s more recent outings, which are heavier on songwriting than teeth-gnashing noise.

In honor of the holiday, It’s True ended its set with a rendition of the national anthem, an American flag draped over Hawkins’ back. It was a lead-in to a cover of Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” that was sloppy and diabolical. By mid-song, the flag fell from Hawkins’ slumped shoulders where it was kicked around on stage (intentionally or not). Afterward, someone asked me what I thought. “Looks like there’s a new sheriff in town,” I said. (See photo).

Following that, Little Brazil had its work cut out for them, and they met the challenge with another over-the-top set that featured a clean-shaven Landon Hedges once again looking like the second-coming of Bobby Brady. If there’s a band that needs to get out on the road for two months, it’s these guys. Let’s hope a tour is in the works.

* * *

In case you missed it, Conor Oberst and his crazy hat (along with the Mystic Valley Band) were on The Late show with David Letterman last night singing a rather flat version of “Spoiled” from Outer South. Not his/their best performance, but then again, this isn’t one of his/their better songs, either. Check it out on YouTube.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

My only concern with Girl in a Coma, the band that played in front of about 50 people last night at The Waiting Room, has to do with their name. If you heard it for the first time, you’d assume this was a Morrissey tribute band instead of a smart, fun, catchy indie rock trio. No matter that on about half of their songs hot frontwoman guitarist/vocalist Nina Diaz sings exactly like Morrissey right down to the odd octave jumps on songs structured from the same boilerplate used for Vauxhall and I. Forget the fact that — for a time — they actually opened for Morrissey. Being anchored to such a name could eventually be a hindrance, especially considering that the other half of their music is guttural punk that’s too well played to be mistaken for garage rock. They have a well-tooled sheen about them that comes from serious touring and having a mentor in an old-school performer like Joan Jett, whose label (Blackheart) they’re signed to. Despite the familiar vocal phrasing, Nina’s voice is actually closer to Karen O’s and at times could be flat-out gorgeous (although the vocals along with the drums were poorly mixed last night). I listened to their latest, Trio BC, again this morning, and it comes nowhere near the intensity of their live set, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Bringing everything down a notch and balancing the sound reveals some clever, hook-filled songs by a clever band that could be the next Donnas (but with better skills and songs). See iPhoto from last night.

* * *

The July 4 weekend kicks off quietly. Satchel Grande is doing its thing tonight at The Waiting Room with Old Money. $7, 9 p.m. and… that’s about all that’s worth mentioning. Tomorrow night’s hot show is Little Brazil, It’s True, Flight Metaphor and David Matysiak of Coyote Bones at The Waiting Room. $4, 9 p.m. While Reagan Roeder’s new band, Hubble, is playing at The 49’r with Jake Bellows, Dylan Davis and John Klemmensen and the Party. $5, 9 p.m. The Slowdown is closed Saturday.

Have a happy Indie Day…

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

I wish I had tomorrow off. But I don’t. Tomorrow is only the third of July, not the Fourth, so my office will be open for business. That, however, isn’t going to stop me from going to one of the many good shows happening tonight.

At the top of my list (and the show I’ll likely attend) is Girl in a Coma at The Waiting Room with Miss Derringer. GIAC is signed to Blackheart Records (Joan Jett’s label) and plays gritty indie rock that borders on punk. Joan, I’m sure, is proud. $8, 9 p.m.

Just down the street, one of the area’s best bands going — Bear Country — is playing at The Sydney with Andrew Ancona, Adam Robert Haug and Spring Acres. $5, 9 p.m. You won’t be disappointed.

Over at O’Leaver’s, low-fi punk rock dynamos Ketchup & Mustard Gas are playing with The Fergusens. $3 (a bargain!), 9:30 p.m.

Pop duo Shiver Shiver joins DJ Brent Crampton at Espana as part of the Loom series. $5, 9 p.m.

Finally, Les Claypool of Primus is doing a show at The Anchor Inn with O’Death (who we saw last November at TWR). I’ve never been a Primus fan (“Jerry Was a Racecar Driver” is the only song if theirs I ever dug) and am even less of a fan of Claypool. Still, the weather should be good and The Anchor Inn is a terrific place to see a show. $25, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

As mentioned Monday, this week’s column is a comment about/review of last Friday night’s Anchor Inn show, which was a lot of fun. Last week’s Michael Jackson comment was tacked on the end for posterity’s sake…

Column 228: Anchors Aweigh
Tilly, Conor and Michael…

When we got to The Anchor Inn last Friday evening, one of the translucent openers that are currently touring with Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band was finishing a set of run-of-the-mill indie rock, followed by another in a series of droning bands fronted by women who sing like Cat Power.

Checking out the sparse crowd, I wondered if the show was going to be a bust. But it was early. Only about 50 people were crowded around the stage, while the rest meandered between the picnic tables carrying Bud Lights and pulled-pork sandwiches or wandered down to the river that acts as a backdrop to the Anchor Inn’s massive stage.

Things picked up, though, as the sun dropped and Tilly and the Wall began its set. The open patch of grass between the stage and picnic tables was butt-to-belly packed. Tilly guitarist/vocalist Derek Pressnall announced from stage that the band hadn’t played a show since last August, but you wouldn’t have known it from listening to them. Tilly sounded tight as a tic, as if they’d just come off a two-month tour.

The band’s numbers have ballooned to seven, but it wasn’t the only thing about Tilly to “balloon.” Making assumptions about a woman being in “the family way” can be dangerous, but Jamie Pressnall made the guesswork easy, thanks to her dress that bore a print of a large smiling fetus, complete with umbilical chord.

Jamie usually is the band’s centerpiece, eagerly tap dancing above the rest of the cheer team on top of a microphoned “tap box.” But with a baby on board, she instead replicated her tap-shoe rhythms by tapping sticks on a drum rim. She disappeared altogether during the end of crowd favorite “Beat Control,” only to return — dancing — for the rest of the set. Will Tilly go on hiatus while the new band member arrives?

After a half-hour between bands, Oberst and Co. finally took the stage with Conor wearing a crazy black oversized Amish hat that made him look like the boy Samuel from the film Witness. Where’s Harrison Ford when you need him? About halfway through the set I realized I was hearing essentially the same thing I’d heard in April at Slowdown.

Mystic Valley is a natural evolution for Oberst — a midlife crisis for a guy pushing 30. Lyrically, he seems to be reaching for meaning in the most random, benign things, only managing to be profound in slogan-like spurts rather than sweeping narrative arcs. Sure, the Mystic Valley stuff is probably a lot more fun to play, but it’s also a lot less relevant.

Between songs, fans yelled song titles, which Oberst kindly deflected with a smile and a “we don’t know that one,” responding to the perennial Bright Eyes requests. It got me thinking about the Chris Norris-penned article in the last issue of Rolling Stone that solved a couple mysteries, sort of. The story said the next Bright Eyes album will “close the door” on that band. The comment isn’t a surprise, and I believe Oberst actually believes it. He’ll probably walk away from his Bright Eyes material… for a few years.

But don’t think you’ve heard the last of “Poison Ivy” or “Bowl of Oranges” or “Lua” or whatever. Oberst will retool those songs with a different band, blurring the line between projects. He is, after all, the guy who wrote those Bright Eyes songs as well as most of the Mystic Valley tunes. He can play whatever he wants with whomever he wants. I can’t imagine that he’d place a permanent, self-imposed ban on performing some of his best-written material. Oberst has never been the kind of guy to build impenetrable walls, especially around himself.

Like a lot of articles about Oberst, the RS piece tried to define him as the stereotypically lonely, wandering artist, searching for something in life to anchor to. It’s a convenient cliché, and like all clichés and stereotypes, it’s true until you stare at it long enough and realize there’s an even better truth beneath the surface. In the end, Oberst will disappoint Norris and the rest of them. He’ll find a serious girlfriend (if he hasn’t already), he’ll have kids, he’ll enter the next chapter of his life and feel a new comfort in family and friends. He’ll get a dog. He’ll grow up. He’ll quit wandering. And his writing will be better for it.

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Speaking of mortality, I would be remiss to not pass along a bit of news that seems to have escaped the attention of the national media: Michael Jackson died last week.

Even in an indie haunt like The Slowdown last Thursday night, there was an underlying buzz about MJ’s passing. The discussion: Will another music performer ever reach the same heights of global deification as Jacko? In this new world of multi-media multi-channel multi-message communication, the answer is no. You’ve seen the last King of Pop. There is no room for royalty in a musical democracy where anyone can listen to anything anytime.

Jackson first and foremost was a performer. Unlike Springsteen or Prince or The Beatles, he wasn’t known as a musician and he only wrote about a third of his songs (which included some of the best tunes on Thriller). Elvis was a performer. Sinatra was a performer. And though American Idol is designed to generate more and more performers, we’ll see fewer and fewer, and none that will equal the stature of those who came before them.

So here’s my question: When Dylan’s time comes, will he get as much attention as Jacko is now?

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The Boston Phoenix released its annual Best New Bands in America list, where they declare the best new band from each state. This year’s winner from Nebraska is UUVVWWZ. Their reason: “Someone hasn’t forgotten that you can royally fuck with melody, hooks, and any semblance of a vocal narrative and still have a buttload of incredible punk-funk jams on your hands.” Check out the full list here.

It appears that the staff made the choice amongst themselves (Here’s the selection guidelines), though I know that The Reader was among those contacted by the paper’s editor, Lance Gould, asking for feedback. Last year’s winner, btw, was Tilly and the Wall.

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Outlaw Con Bandana is playing a last-minute show tonight at The Waiting Room with Fancie. $7, 9 p.m.

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