More Cursive comments; ‘indie yuppies’ on NPR; Hood Internet/Flowers Forever tonight, Yuppies tomorrow…

Category: Blog — @ 1:06 pm February 26, 2010

Before we get to the weekend, here are a couple interesting Internet tidbits you may or may not have found on your own.

Continuing the parade of Cursive interviews, each with a bit of a downer theme, here’s an interview with Ted Stevens in the University of Toronto’s thevarsity.ca. Among the notable comments:

(Says Stevens): “Originally, [Saddle Creek] was designed to be a communal thing that we all shared a part of. Those were naive dreams. Bright Eyes was the first band to sell lots of records, and that was when it became obvious that each musician had to work on their own thing. We needed a CEO to run major operations. It then broke off from the community aspect.

“The sense of community is still there, but the label, family, and bands are not the same as they once were. We have had to set up a new business model, instead of this utopian all-for-one mentality.

“The cynic in me believes that it’s not possible, once debt and revenue enter the picture. I started off as an enthusiastic spokesperson of what I wanted it to become, but now I am leveling off into a realistic position, mellowing.”

Is it me or does Cursive seem disenchanted with Saddle Creek these days?

* * *

The Reader‘s news editor, Bryan Cohen, sent me a link to this item at American Public Radio’s Marketplace, a business-news show on the local NPR affiliate at 5:30 p.m. weekdays. I had heard part of this report driving home from work and wasn’t sure what I was hearing (and missed the end), but it’s an interview with Billboard Magazine news editor David Prince, where he and host Kai Ryssdal chat about the recession and how it’s reflected in pop music. Where the interview goes off the tracks is at the very end, where Kai asks about indie music. From the transcript:

RYSSDAL: What about indie music? I mean some of the folks out there just doing their own thing.
PRINCE: You know, I think of indie music in a lot of ways as the most elitist and the most ignoring the recession and the economic realities. Because if you have the opportunity to really pursue a music career in this day and age and do nothing else, then you probably have some expendable income.
RYSSDAL: Expendable income. So it’s kids who have some money, basically.
PRINCE: Indie yuppies is a phrase I think of a lot when I’m reading Pitchfork.

Wow. Indie Yuppies. I guess that accurately describes most of the indie bands around here, right? Seriously, you can’t blame Prince, who sounds like he’s never met a touring indie band before. Even the most successful ones I’ve interviewed have members that hold day jobs or second jobs just to survive. Strange comment, that of course ended up getting blasted in the “comments” section of the story. Amusing.

* * *

For the first time in a while, there are no stand-out shows this weekend (except of maybe The Hood Internet, but that’s not a band, is it). I blame the long, arctic winter, which seems to just go on and on and on. To be honest, we can’t complain. We’ve done pretty well show-wise the past few months, a time which historically is slow in terms of decent touring bands. Local unsigned bands should take note that if you’re working on an album next year, there are distinct advantages to a deep-winter release in that you’ll have less competition from headline touring acts for your CD release show. That certainly would have been the case this weekend.

But that said, there are shows going on this weekend, including the aforementioned The Hood Internet, a couple guys who record dance-floor mashups. The duo is at The Slowdown tonight with Capgun Coup and Flowers Forever. $10, 9 p.m.

Everyone’s favorite drunk house, O’Leaver’s, has Gyromancer, Lightning Bug and The Power, a hot new Lincoln band (or so I’m told). $5, 9:30 p.m.

The best show of the night, however, is in Lincoln at The Bourbon Theater for a fundraiser for KRNU, 90.3 FM. On the docket is Ideal Cleaners, Pharmacy Spirits, The Machete Archive, Once a Pawn and coming off a glistening 12-inch release show at Slowdown last night (that I didn’t attend because of work), Talking Mountain. $5 if your over 21, $7 if you’re 19-20. Show starts at 9.

Tomorrow night The Hood Internet plays in Lincoln at The Bourbon. Meanwhile, back in Omaha, it might be a good time to check out the new Hole, formerly the Diamond Bar in downtown Omaha at 712 So. 16th St. It’s hosting a benefit for Repower Nebraska featuring The Yuppies, The Prairies (members of Yuppies), Solid Gold, Peace and Space and Lawrence Kansas band Bandit Teeth (KS). $5, 7 p.m. (it’ll be over by 11). Just a reminder, The Hole is a all-ages space and doesn’t serve alcohol.

Also Saturday night, The Answer Team plays at The Sydney with Auternus and Masses, $5, 9 p.m.; and Ground Tyrants play at The Barley Street with Citizens Band and Chantilly Reign. $5, 9 p.m.

Like I said, quiet weekend.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.

Lazy-i

Feature story: Talking Mountain, their 12-inch release show is tonight (and it’s free!)…

Category: Blog — @ 12:42 pm February 25, 2010

Just posted, an interview with Talking Mountain. The band talks about their masks, their music and changing the lyrics to one of my favorite songs. Read the story here. Because of space limitations, I had to cut the ending — the part about money and touring — so here it is:

Instead of laying out multi-thousands on a recording, the band bought a ’98 Dodge Ram 2500 van to replace their ’94 Econoline. They’re ready for the road, but only the one that leads to neighboring states.

“I have a day job, Dan goes to school and Brad is unemployed,” Meyer-Cusack said. “I have a mortgage and a wife and a dog, and I need a steady way of paying those bills. I’ve been in bands that have gone on tours, but weekday shows are a total bust in Omaha, and that goes for everywhere else. Touring is a huge, noble thing and awesome when you do it, but unless you have a solid following, i don’t know how viable it is. We’re building a decent audience within our circle in the Midwest, and can come back home after the tour with money in our pockets.”

That’s saying a lot these days. Talking Mountain has been one of my favorites since I first saw the band a few years ago stumbling around the Slowdown stage beneath those loveable monster masks, and their 12-inch will likely be on my list of top recordings at the end of the year. Read the article, then go down to Slowdown Jr. tonight and check them out for free as part of Slowdown’s free-Thursday series. Openers are the labelmates Honeybee and punkers Flesh Eating Skin Disease. Show starts at 9.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.

Lazy-i

Column 260: Tim Wildsmith live review; Saddle Creek ‘came and went’?; Hubble tonight…

Category: Blog,Column — @ 7:20 pm February 24, 2010

Checking his website, Wildsmith has no upcoming shows scheduled. None. Odd, considering that he just released a new album.

Column 260: A Serious Man
Live Review: Tim Wildsmith

I got a text from Whipkey at 10:30 last Friday night telling me Tim Wildsmith began his set 20 minutes ago. This was a CD release show. He was the headliner. He started at 10. I was told he wanted to play early because he had a lot of friends and family in the audience that don’t like to stay out late. Fine. Not so great for the traveling band, Charn, who had come all the way from Minneapolis. Anyone who knows anything about Omaha music crowds knew what was going to happen to Charn. But we’ll get to that.

So, I missed the first half-hour of Wildsmith and his band, The Lost Cause, but still got about 45 minutes’ worth since he played a long set with a long encore. This was the first time I’ve seen these guys, and my first impression was that they’re a tight, talented band that plays middle-of-the-road, mid-tempo suburban “Adult Alt” music.

There was a time when “alt” meant alternative. These days, alt is a catch-all phrase that radio programmers use for non-traditional (non-classic) rock that’s approachable enough for the general public to grasp; music that has key familiarity aspects that people who casually listen to music will recognize and be comfortable hearing in their cars. It’s the kind of music by bands like The Fray and Snow Patrol that winds up on television shows like Grey’s Anatomy or programs on the old WB. In other words, it has the potential to be hugely popular with a large audience — a much, much larger audience than listens to indie music.

But beyond being safe, the primary characteristic of Wildsmith’s music to me was its insistence on being taken seriously. This is earnest stuff, and Wildsmith said at least a couple times from stage that “writing music is his therapy.” So instead of just enjoying it, you feel like you have to acknowledge its importance, at least to Wildsmith and his fans. If you, for example, were to dislike a song like “Recovery,” off his new album, you also are disliking Wildsmith as a person and whatever he went through or is going through or will go through.

Should an artist be penalized for taking himself that seriously? No, probably not. It certainly didn’t hurt a band like ’90s alt-rock act Live, a band that I’ve loathed from the first time I’ve heard one of their songs, years before their placenta fell to the floor. Live always sounded like it was trying to manufacture drama for an audience that also takes itself too seriously.

Well, Wildsmith isn’t Live. He’s got an enormous, loving fan base made up of great people, and I know this because the first time I heard of him was from a great person who said, “You should check out Tim Wildsmith’s music. He’s the nicest guy in the world.” Yeah, I said, but is his music any good? Her response: “He’s a great guy.”

That’s too much analysis for only hearing 2/3rds of one performance. To be fair, I’m listening to some of the tracks on his Myspace page as I write this. It’s nice. It’s catchy. It’s just not the kind of music that I usually listen to or write about. As Dave Sink used to say when asked his opinion about a band that he didn’t care for (and toward the end of his days at The Antiquarium record store, that was most new bands), “It’s not my cup of tea.”

Anyway… Before leaving the stage, during his encore, Wildsmith beseeched the crowd to stick around for one of his favorite bands, Charn from Minneapolis. He said it a few times, actually, but I knew it wouldn’t matter. And sure enough, by the time Charn got to its second song, the crowd of 200 or so dwindled to 20 people dancing in front of the stage while a few dozen others focused on Women’s Olympic Curling being broadcast on the Waiting Room’s plasma screen network. In other words, Charn got “Omaha’d” in the most classic sense of the word.

* * *

Continuing the wave of Cursive news, KC’s Pitch has a nice, long feature on Cursive that just hit the Intergoogle yesterday. Tim Kasher talks about some of the reasons behind his not-so-recent move from LA to Montana. One of the more interesting quotes from the story is in this paragraph:

Omaha’s tightknit music scene blew up like a mini Seattle in the early part of the last decade as bands on the Saddle Creek record label blossomed into critical darlings. “Saddle Creek: That really came and went,” Kasher says. “A lot was really happening for, like, five minutes.” He laughs and continues: “It seems like I came out of it pretty well. I have a tendency to dismantle the machinery if things are going too well, so working on a lower, steadier profile with more of a cultish group of music fans is a healthier place for me to live.”

Came and went? I think ol’ Saddle Creek is still open for business. The label even has another showcase this year at SXSW…

* * *

Tonight at O’Leaver’s, it’s Reagan Roeder’s project, Hubble. The line-up recently changed as keyboard player Annie Dilocker no longer is in the band (she’s in Digital Leather these days). Also on the bill is Winston Audio and Sam Martin (Capgun Coup) and Sean Pratt. $5, 9:30 p.m. Turn off the Curling and come on down.

BTW, I’ll be updating the site early tomorrow morning with an interview with Talking Mountain. Their CD release show is tomorrow night at Slowdown Jr., and it’s absolutely free.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.

Lazy-i

New Cursive single; Shout! Weekly online…

Category: Blog — @ 6:48 pm February 23, 2010

Cursive is releasing a new single via Saddle Creek Records March 9 called “Discovering America,” which, according to their publicist, focuses on the mistreatment of the American Indian community. “Given its content, Cursive has decided to release the song as a standalone single for charity, with all profits to be donated to the American Indian College Fund,” according to the statement. “The single will be available at major digital music retailers.”

Speaking of Cursive, the band is in the heart of a nationwide tour with Alkaline Trio. Bassist Matt Maginn is providing updates from the road via a Facebook page titled Matt Cursive. And did anyone else see this story in the Salt Lake City Tribune where Ted Stevens commented on the “darkness” of the Mama, I’m Swollen? Here’s an excerpt:

“It reflects people who are in a dark place,” said Ted Stevens, Cursive’s guitarist. “I’d be lying if I said I was a happy person, or that [lead singer and lyricist] Tim Kasher was in a happy place.”

Some of the bad feelings are a result of fans’ reactions to the band’s previous album, Happy Hollow, a concept album that was more experimental than ferocious. “We alienated most of our fans with Happy Hollow,” Stevens said. “People are still quick to criticize.”

Has the reaction to Happy Hollow really been that bleak? Are things really that bad? I thought Cursive had a pretty solid 2009, which included an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. Maybe not…

* * *

Looks like The Reader and The City Weekly are getting some new competition March 3. That’s when Shout! Weekly hits the news stands, a new arts & entertainment newsweekly that I’m told is from the folks who brought you The City Weekly — Jim Minge and Dan Beckman. The publication already has a Facebook and Twitter page as well as a placeholder for shoutomaha.com. Can Omaha support three alt weeklies and a revitalized Go! Section of the Omaha World-Herald? Time will tell.

* * *

Tomorrow’s column: Tim Wildsmith live review; and Thursday, a feature on Talking Mountain. Join us, won’t you?

–Got comments? Post ’em here.

Lazy-i

Alec Ounsworth tonight..

Category: Blog — @ 8:10 pm February 22, 2010

Briefly, I did attend the Tim Wildsmith CD release show Friday night and I did write a live review, but I’m thinking of using it for this week’s column, so stay tuned…

Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman Alec Ounsworth performing songs from his New Orleans-inspired album Mo Beauty (Anti), his self-titled Flashy Python project as well as some CYHSY favorites, according to his publicist. Opening is Mitch Gettman. $10, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.

Lazy-i

Tim Wildsmith tonight; Filter Kings, Well-Aimed Arrows Saturday…

Category: Blog — @ 6:58 pm February 19, 2010

In addition to having a large fanbase, Tim Wildsmith has a supporter in Kevin Coffey of the Omaha World-Herald. Kevin has been following Wildsmith’s album project for months in the OWH, and that’s not something to sniff at. As Matt Whipkey once told me (and I’m paraphrasing here): “It’s nice to get a write-up in The Reader, but a write-up in the Omaha World-Herald, I mean, my family reads The World-Herald.” He’s right. Coffey’s latest piece on Wildsmith (here) is in support of tonight’s CD release show at The Waiting Room (Chris Aponik’s take on Wildsmith in The Reader is here). I’ve never seen Wildsmith perform before, and the only music of his I’ve heard was online (there’s two tracks linked from that OWH article). So, maybe tonight, eh? Opening is two performers I’ve never heard of: Levi Weaver and Charn. $8, 9 p.m.

Actually, for $5 I can see Cat Island, Cave Kids and If Only He Had the Power at The Sydney. I like that name: Cat Island. That one starts at 9 also.

Saturday night, The Filter Kings headline a show at The Waiting Room with Ground Tyrants, Brave Captain (a fIRHOSE tribute band) and Two Drag Club. $7, 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, Well-Aimed Arrows (ex-Protoculture) is playing at O’Leaver’s with One to Three for Band and Everyday/Everynight. $5, 9:30 p.m.

The Hole (formerly the Diamond Bar) has punk shows slated for both Friday and Saturday starting at 7 p.m. and costing $5. Tonight’s six-band bill features Bent Left from Kansas City and Bandit Sound. Saturday night’s show features Iowa’s Boy Meets World and Eastern Turkish. These shows are all-ages, and there’s no booze for sale, period.

Sunday night former Lemonhead Evan Dando is at The Waiting Room. Adam Hawkins (and not his full band It’s True) is opening. $13, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.

Lazy-i

Little Black Stereo tonight…

Category: Blog — @ 6:45 pm February 18, 2010

I may be the only person in Omaha who hasn’t heard Little Black Stereo perform live. The band is opening a free show tonight at Slowdown Jr. with All Young Girls Are Machine Guns and headliner Danielle Ate the Sandwich (from Ft. Collins). 9 p.m. Tonight. Free.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.

Lazy-i

Column 259: Not Reviews, CD "Impressions"…

Category: Blog,Column — @ 6:39 pm February 17, 2010

Which of these are “must haves”? Ted Leo/Pharmacists, Shearwater, Beach House and Japanther. I like the Yeasayer CD a bit more than Vampire Weekend disc, but really, they’re basically the same idea. Thanks to Webboard member JOC for the idea for the column lead; you can read the whole Midgett essay here.

Column 259: Quarterly Report
A glance at 1Q’10 releases.

Tim Midgett of seminal ’90s Chicago rock band Silkworm (now, unfortunately, no longer a band) said in a frighteningly insightful essay about music criticism that critics should listen to every album five times before putting their thoughts to electronic paper. And while I generally agree with Midgett, you don’t need to take five bites out of a turd to realize that you’re eating a piece of shit. On the other hand, a really good album could take five times that long to really understand, and then you still may not “get it.” With that in mind, the following aren’t CD reviews as much as casual impressions after listening to these albums in shuffle mode for the past few weeks. The bottom line: Very few will leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, The Brutalist Bricks (Matador, out March 9) — Remember the first time you heard My Aim Is True? You thought you finally found a new rock album that was cool (It was 1977, after all. Wait a minute, that was 10 years before you were born?). And then Elvis Costello began to pander to his inner poet and become all wordy and that was the end it. Well, Ted Leo picked up the ball sometime around 2001 and started running and never looked back. Yes, this is hyperbole, and no, TL sounds nothing like EC. BTW, “Bottled in Cork,” and “One Polaroid a Day” already are the best songs of the year. Start counting the days until March 9.

Yeasayer, Odd Blood (Secretly Canadian) — With its weird noises, stuttering rhythms and gaggle of production tricks, this is the Avatar of indie rock, thanks to Chris Keatings’ wholesome croon that drains away any and all of the recording’s subversive-ness. Playful as Vampire Weekend and more interesting (most of the time), and just as mindless (and in this economy, who wants to think anymore?).

Spoon, Transference (Merge) — The guy in the corner of the pool furiously treading water is frontman Britt Daniel, who after six albums in 14 years is just trying to keep his poorly combed hair from getting wet. Do you really need this if you already have one of his last four albums? Probably not, but in an era when indie rock keeps getting younger and cuter, it’s nice to hear something that the teenagers rocking out to MGMT (or vegging out to Animal Collective) won’t understand for a few more years.

Shearwater, The Golden Archipelago (Matador) — Sure, it’s dreamy and atmospheric (as per usual) and head mewer Jonathon Meiburg still sings like he’s trying to coax a camel to sleep, but there’s more drama here than on any of their past albums. And when they get all heroic up in your face, like on standout “Castaways,” you’ll fondly recall John Denver singing “Aye Calypso!”

Sade, Soldier of Love (Epic) — The undisputed queen of loungecore is back after an unexplained 10-year absence (Somehow, we persevered). Same midnight beats, same sultry voice, same pleasant yet forgettable melodies. Get the album before you hear these songs while pushing a shopping cart or staring at ceiling tiles at your dentist office.

F_cked Up, Couple Tracks (Matador) — This singles comp contains selections recorded from 2002 to 2008 that border on goon rock but with indie cred thanks to its Matador pedigree. Included here only so the garage band guys and the folks down at The Hole don’t think I’m a total pussy.

Los Campesinos!, Romance Is Boring (Arts & Crafts) — You can almost see their angry, Walesian snarls through the (oh-so-carefully applied) dirt on their faces. You appreciate the new, slick production, but you can’t help but want it raw and ugly in a way they could never pull off (at least not now). “Nicer” than their last one, and that’s not a compliment.

Beach House, Teen Dream (Sub Pop) — A friend of mine compared them to Al Stewart (Come on, you remember “Year of the Cat”). But for all I know, she was joking (or as drunk as everyone else at O’Leaver’s that night). This is real underwater dream machine music (sorry Mr. Vovk) that’s as appealing as rolling up in your favorite snuggie with your dog (or significant other) asleep on your lap, too afraid to move for fear you’ll wake them up. And now you have to go to the bathroom.

Four Tet, There Is Love In You (Domino) — Like all “electronica,” (or for that matter, like all instrumental-only albums) it can become somewhat tedious after the novelty of the first 30 seconds of each song wears off. OK, I get it. Next. Unless, of course, you’re dancing with 100 people at 3 a.m. in someone’s funkily-lit downtown loft. And you’re drunk. Like that’s going to happen at my age…

Basia Bulat, Heart Of My Own (Rough Trade) — Imagine Tracy Chapman hugging an autoharp while fronting a fiddle-driven hayrack ride of a band emoting shades of The Green Isle by way of Toronto and you’re halfway there. With the Dixie Chicks on hiatus, Bulat is the next in line.

Japanther, Rock ‘N Roll Ice Cream (Menlo Park) — Chock full o’ the cool songs that your pals will include on their next mix CDs (Do people still make mix CDs?). Sure, some of the songs sound like an amateur improv sketch, but that’s half the fun.

Vampire Weekend, Contra (XL) — The most hyped album of 2010 and it’s only February, which makes you want to hate it even more. Despite that inner contempt, you can’t help but smile when you hear their Graceland-ripped melodies, the blue-light keyboard bounce, the hyper-kinetic beat and the silly-love-song lyrics. Utter cuteness wins again

–Got comments? Post ’em here.

Lazy-i

Live Review: Weatherbox, Brad Hoshaw & the 7 Deadlies, The Photo Atlas (and they all play again tonight)…

Category: Blog — @ 10:53 pm February 15, 2010

I missed Ladyfinger at O’Leaver’s Friday night. I’m told they slayed. If you don’t already know, Dan Brennan is the band’s new member, which means you’re going to have to wait a few months to see him play in this capacity again as he’ll be out on the road with Cursive through the first week of April.

I didn’t miss the trifecta of bands at O’Leaver’s Saturday night, however. The out-of-towners, Weatherbox opened the night with former Omahan Landon Hedges swinging a big ol’ bass from his childlike shoulders, looking like he was having the time of his life, while a couple of his Little Brazil bandmates looked on with pride. Live, the Criteria/Cursive comparisons are justified, even moreso as the band didn’t play any of the slower, mellow stuff off the last full-length. Instead it was a lesson in angular-indie — a compound modifier that still doesn’t mean anything, but somehow fits this category of music. Hedges remains a formidable bassist, lest we forget that he slung one way back in his Desaparecidos days; he didn’t seem to mind letting someone else handle the frontman chores.

On paper, Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies were a strange fit, sandwiched between two hi-energy post-punk bands. And maybe they were, but their style provided a nice respite in the middle of all the angst. Hoshaw rolled out at least one brand new song and a couple that I didn’t recognize, providing proof that there’s more on the way as good — or better — than what we got on his debut. I even got a shout-out before their last song — set staple “Powdernose,” which is a lesson in rock dynamics, as loud as a gang fight one moment, drunk and alone the next. Hoshaw and his clan certainly broke a few hearts on that Valentine’s Eve.

Finally, there was The Photo Atlas, who just played at O’Leaver’s last April, when I described them as “twitch-dance-rock that reminded me of The Rapture, sort of… shiny post-punk with an ever-present dance beat beneath everything all the time,” and “the kind of band that a label could turn into something huge, at least with 15-year-old girls.” The description still stands, but Saturday night they had all the boys in the house climbing all over each other in some sort of man-love rock ritual, trying to get to frontman Alan Andrews and too often succeeding. Their style is as direct and in-your-face as At The Drive-in during that band’s heyday — the only thing missing are the Afros. Andrews and Co. do just fine with their current hairdos, and make up for any deficit with shear exuberance (and sweat). Their Myspace page says that they’re still unsigned, which seems hard to believe, especially when they have a journalist following them around writing a book about their tour (or so I’m told).

Don’t believe me? You can check out all three bands tonight at The Sydney for free. That’s right, all three bands are playing a free repeat show before Landon and his crew head out for the next leg of the Weatherbox tour, which runs through the end of March. For those of us who were there Saturday, it’s worth going just to see if The Sydney can pull off the same vibe that O’Leaver’s had — there’s just something about the tiny bar on Saddle Creek Rd. that brings out the best in bands despite its lack of stage, no lights and an amateur-quality PA. In a town with two world-class music venues that have invested thousands (and in Slowdown’s case, millions) to maintain the highest standard of live performance excellence, O’Leaver’s remains my favorite place to see a live band.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.

Lazy-i

Another O’Leaver’s weekend: Ladyfinger tonight, Weatherbox tomorrow…

Category: Blog — @ 6:44 pm February 12, 2010

It would appear on the surface that O’Leaver’s has the weekend cornered with two marquee shows tonight and tomorrow. Tonight at everyone’s favorite drunk tank, Ladyfinger plays a set for the first time in a long time. They’ll be joined by Lightning Bug. Then tomorrow night O’Leaver’s conducts an experiment in overkill by booking three bands that each could fill the club on their own — Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies, The Photo Atlas and Weatherbox, who you read about yesterday (with new member Landon Hedges of Little Brazil). Both shows are $5 and start at 9:30 and will be uncomfortably packed, so get there early.

But O’Leaver’s ain’t the only thing going on this weekend. Lincoln Exposed is happening tonight and tomorrow. You can check out their schedule in Facebook here. $6 per night for all three venues.

Tomorrow night The Brothers Lounge is hosting a special show called “Better Than Television,” featuring Vampire Hands and Nathan Nelson of The STNNNG performing Television’s Marquee Moon in its entirety. Before that, The Leisure Birds will be covering some classic Monks songs. The evening will be kicked off by a set from Well Aimed Arrows (ex-Protoculture). $5, 9 p.m.

Sunday is Valentine’s Day, but it’s also the day before a holiday, which means I don’t have to go to work Monday. So there’s a good chance that I’ll be swinging by The Waiting Room for a show featuring Bear Country, Sara from Honey and Darling and headliner One for the Team. $8, 9 p.m.

Also Sunday night, Lincoln punk band Once A Pawn plays their CD release party at Duffy’s with UUVVWWZ and Gooses. Reader scribe Andy Norman, now of Michigan State University, wrote about Once a Pawn in this week’s issue of The Reader (online here) and name-checked me in the article where I described OAP’s Catherine Balta as sounding like “a very young, angry Rebecca Gates of pioneering mid-’90s guitar-and-drum duo The Spinanes.” Kind of a useless description since no one knows who The Spinanes are. Judging by his tone, I don’t think Andy agrees with me, but I stand by the description (as meaningless as it is). Once A Pawn’s new disc, Mission Accomplished, is one of my favorites so far this year and is worth checking out. Someone needs to get this duo to come to Omaha. Anyway, that Duffy’s show is $5, and starts at 9…

–Got comments? Post ’em here.

Lazy-i