Happy Birthday at The Waiting Room, July 29, 2010.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I almost didn’t go see rock band Happy Birthday last night at The Waiting Room. I got a text from someone at the show who said no one was there. And it was $10. And I was tired. But then I thought to myself, dammit, I should go to this if only because I don’t want to be part of the reason why One Percent quits booking these kinds of bands — touring Sub Pop bands, bands that should be drawing crowds of people who like indie music.

So I went. And sure enough, there was maybe 10 people there (and 10 people at TWR looks like no people). But it didn’t matter. Happy Birthday put on an amazing show. Their set was a half-hour of buzzing indie goodness, sort of a modern version of Dinosaur Jr. but poppier, funner, and sung by a guy with a witchy voice who looked like a shaggy version of Derek Pressnall. Sure, it ended up costing me about a $1 per song, but it was worth it.

So how can we get more people to come out to see young touring bands like this? It’s always been a problem. I remember when Retsin came through Sokol Underground and played for five or six people (talk about an empty-looking venue when fewer than 50 were there). That had to be 10 years ago. I felt as embarrassed for Omaha then as I did last night. But beyond embarrassment, if the promotors can’t get people to come to these shows, they’ll have little choice but to quit booking them. So if you want to see your favorite Sub Pop or Merge or Matador band come through Omaha, you better start going to shows, whether you’re tired or not.

* * *

Here’s the burning question from many of the patriots who plan on attending tomorrow’s Concert for Equality: Where do I park? The answer: It’s every man for himself. Benson isn’t exactly designed to handle an influx of 2,000+ people from a parking standpoint, so if you’re driving and intend to show up right before the 5 p.m. start time, expect to do some hiking from your car to the concert site just outside of Jake’s on Military Ave. As someone pointed out last night, there isn’t much parking at Sokol Auditorium, yet people always seem to find a place to park in the surrounding neighborhoods for sold out shows of 1,400 people. Me, I intend to walk from my house, a little over a mile away. It should be an adventure.

Conor Oberst was on the local NPR news this morning talking about the concert and the issue surrounding it. Kevin Coffey’s article in the Omaha World-Herald came out this morning, right here, where Kevin references one of Oberst’s personal motives behind his activism:

“And he’s outraged at the situation of a close family friend who came to the United States illegally from Mexico decades ago. She recently returned to Mexico so she could come back here legally, and though her three daughters and husband are citizens, she can’t return to the U.S. for 10 years.“

This paragraph begs for more explanation. If the “family friend” is married to a U.S. citizen, how is it that she’s not able to return to the United States for 10 years?  I don’t know much about immigration law, but I always thought that if a citizen of another country married a U.S. citizen, that person also becomes a U.S. citizen. That, apparently, isn’t the case. A quick search at WikiAnswers brought this back: “If the person was illegally in the country for more than a year, than he or she is barred from ever coming back for 10 years (known as the “10-year-bar”) The only way to overcome having the 10-year-bar is by the US citizen spouse filing a petition for a waiver of the bar.”

I’m sure there’s even more to the story. And that’s the problem when a celebrity becomes the center of a cause such as this one — there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going to confuse more people than you convince. Immigration law is complicated. It’s multi-faceted and multi-layered, with jurisdictions inside of jurisdictions. The issue that seems to be impacting Oberst’s family friend is a federal immigration issue. The Fremont immigrant law is a local issue that resides within a federal framework. Do the kids who will be rocking out to Desaparecidos know or care about any of this? Very unlikely. All’s they’ll know is that the Fremont law is “a bad thing.” Do they need to know more than that?

That said, it’ll be impossible for those young fans to ignore the hate groups that will be set up along the parameter of the concert. If those fans thought they lived in a world free of racism, they’re in for a sobering civics lesson tomorrow afternoon. And maybe that shot of reality alone will make this concert worthwhile.

* * *

There are a lot of other shows going on this weekend other than Conor-fest.

A brand new band is being unveiled tonight at Slowdown Jr. Conduits is a supergroup of sorts. The line-up: Guitarist J.J. Idt (Eagle Seagull), guitarist Nate Mickish (Kite Pilot, The Golden Age), bass/keyboardist Mike Overfield (Eagle Seagull), drummer Roger L. Lewis (The Good Life, Our Fox), and vocalist Jenna Morrison (Son, Ambulance). The band describes its sound as “moody, atmospheric, shoegazey, drone pop.” Headlining is Our Fox, who are going on hiatus after this show, and the always amazing Jake Bellows. $6, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, down at Sokol Underground, its Fat Possum band and critics’ darlings Heartless Bastards. This show has been flying under the wire, probably because it’s not being presented under the One Percent banner. Also on the bill are Builders and the Butcher and Peter Wolf Crier. $12, 7 p.m.

The Sydney is hosting a little pre-Conorfest party tonight with Statistics frontman and Desparecidos guitarist Denver Dalley doing his thing on the turntables. Starts at 10 and no cover.

Tomorrow night, of course, is the Concert for Equality. Watch my Twitter feed for updates and photos throughout the afternoon and evening (Yes, I’m a “deluxe” ticket holder).

Here’s the schedule for Saturday’s concert, by way of One Percent Productions:

Outside:
Flowers Forever – 5:00-5:30
Vago – 5:45-6:15
The Envy Corps – 6:30-7:00
Bright Eyes – 7:15-8:00
Gillian Welch – 8:15-9:00
Cursive 9:15-10:00
Desaparecidos – 10:15-11:00

Inside:
Fathr^ – 5:00-5:40
Simon Joyner – 6:00-6:40
The So-So Sailors – 7:00-7:40
Conchance – 8:00-8:40
David Dondero – 9:00-9:40
Closed from 10:00 – 11:00
Lullaby for the Working Class – 11:30-12:15
Hootenanny – 12:30-2:00

And finally, Sunday Tokyo Police Club returns to Slowdown with Freelance Whales and Arkells. $15, 9 p.m.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Looks like Conor’s doing press for Saturday’s Concert for Equality in Benson. KETV posted an article and video yesterday (right here) where a newly bearded Oberst is interviewed and basically repeats what he’s already said about the Fremont immigrant law — “It’s a human rights issue,” “It’s un-American, it’s unconstitutional and it’s immoral,” and so on. They never get to the actual reason why Conor is involved in this cause. Oberst explaining his real motivation would give all of this a strong emotional anchor that it’s currently lacking. Maybe Kevin Coffey of the OWH will get the real story when his interview with Conor goes online “later this week” at Omaha.com. KETV also spoke with Susan Smith of the Nebraska Advisory Group, who supports the Fremont immigrant legislation. The report says that she’ll be at the concert, protesting. But unless she and her followers bought tickets, I’m skeptical that they’ll be “at the concert.” Maybe outside the concert… It’s easy to discount people with signs that read “Deport Conor Oberst” as a bunch of loons, but these days, with the Internet, a bunch of loons can turn into a movement. Just look at the Tea Party.

* * *

Spinner yesterday posted a nice review of Tim Kasher’s solo set at Tonic Room Tuesday night. TK apparently ran through a number of songs off his forthcoming solo album The Game of Monogamy. Said critic Anna Deem: “Utilizing only trumpet, keyboard, drums, bass and violin, Kasher’s new songs were more reminiscent of his previous records with the Good Life rather than the more hard-hitting sound of Cursive. As always, his commanding howl was the real fixture of the hour-long performance, resounding throughout the entire bar with force.” She said Tim ended the performance saluting the audience with, “You’re a bunch of sweet ass motherf—ers.” Nice. Read the whole review here. The new record comes out Oct. 5 on Saddle Creek.

* * *

Tonight at The Waiting Room, Sub Pop space-rock trio Happy Birthday is playing along with LA pop rockers Residual Echoes (Holy Mountain). $10, 9 p.m. Meanwhile, at fabulous O’Leaver’s, Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship headlines a show featuring Mumfords, Utopia Park and Adam Robert Haug. $5, 9 p.m. And The Sydney is doing a rare during-the-week show tonight with Down with the Ship. According to the recently redesigned Sydney website, the other bands on the bill are Where Astronauts Go to Hide, and OK Hemmingway. On the other hand, SLAMOmaha’s calendar says the undercard is Minneapolis band Holyoke and Cass Fifty and the Family Gram. Either way, it’s $5, 9 p.m.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

And now, the final word on the 2010 MAHA Music Festival. Even though it was only a few days ago, it already seems like it was last year, especially with the next big music event looming on the horizon.

Column 281: Review: MAHA Music Festival

Better the second time ’round.

It's True at the MAHA Music Festival, July 24, 2010.

Year two of the MAHA Music Festival already was a success by the time the first band took the main stage, even though things had gotten off to a rocky start.

A giant bitch of a storm named Bonnie had taken its toll on the airlines. Main stage artist Ben Kweller had tweeted at 2 a.m. Saturday that his flight had been canceled, causing a loud, low groan from the collective mouths of everyone involved with the festival. Cell phones lit up like hand grenades, and Kweller found himself driving by car from one airport to another, desperately trying to find a connection to Omaha. He made it, as did fellow main-stager Superchunk, who also got caught in the same shitstorm of flight cancellations.

As a result, the entire MAHA program was pushed back by more than an hour. City officials gave an OK to let the party run ’til midnight. Kweller and Old 97’s swapped stage times and everybody won.

When I arrived at around 2:30, It’s True already was on stage, playing to a smallish crowd that was downright monstrous compared to last year’s tiny gathering for Appleseed Cast’s afternoon set. It was the second to last stage appearance by It’s True, the band on the verge of a nervous breakdown only a few months after releasing its debut full-length and just as a nation was beginning to take notice. No one knows for sure why frontman Adam Hawkins, who now lives in central Iowa, wanted out, and no one had the courage to ask.

MAHA limbo contest winner Betsy Wells was up next on the festival’s pseudo “second stage,” which was nothing more than a stack of amps set up on a wall adjacent to the main stage. After last year’s debacle, there was talk of moving the second stage to somewhere more “fan friendly,” so that people could watch bands without having to stare into a burning hot sun. But that never happened. A bigger problem: The second stage sounded louder than the main stage, with the overdriven stack at the perfect height to shear the eardrums off anyone stupid enough to stand in front of it without earplugs. A couple girls in hot pants leaned over and held their ears as they shuffled away in their flip-flops.

I didn’t pay much attention to Old 97’s, who sounds like a thousand other bands that play that style of easy-to-ignore alt-country-pop. But isn’t that the way with festivals? You can’t love them all. The hippies dancing jigs to Old 97’s were going to be making phone calls during Superchunk.

Landing on the Moon, another MAHA battle-of-the-bands winner, played a solid set on the ear-splitter stage. Then things began to really heat up. MAHA organizers trotted out a grinning Mayor Jim Suttle to declare, “This is what we mean by quality of life in Omaha. Music tonight, tomorrow, forever!” The crowd reacted with a smattering of disinterested applause, only to lock in when Ben Kweller was introduced.

Ben Kweller at the MAHA Music Festival, July 24, 2010.

Wearing crazy-clown red pants and a Panama hat, a sleep-deprived Kweller looked like Flying Tomato Shaun White as he launched into a set of singer/songwriter Americana backed by drums and bass. The stage crowd — probably the same people there to see Old 97’s — dug his grinning, folky hick-rock.

By now the crowd had ballooned to a few thousand, and the Lewis and Clark Landing was beginning to look like a music festival. Cheap fold-out lawn chairs formed wall fortresses around dirty tasseled stadium blankets. A walk from the entrance to the stage meant finding your way through the maze of encampments without being scowled at for stepping on someone’s shit. By the end of the day, the little tent city near the stage would be pushed aside as the crowd took over.

The Mynabirds, who along with Satchel Grande managed to avoid humiliating themselves at a “contest” to get their second stage slot, played a confident set while the sun blazed over cute frontwoman Laura Burhenn’s shoulder.

Superchunk at The MAHA Music Festival, July 24, 2010.

The last of the afternoon light was spent on Superchunk. I looked at my iPhone afterward for notes but didn’t find any — I had been too enraptured by the band. For me and the rest of the crowd in their 30s and 40s standing in front of the stage, Superchunk were conquering heroes playing for their first time in Nebraska. This was our Perfect Moment, and we were soaking it in.

Then, The Faint. Despite becoming their own tribute band these days, since they no longer write new music, their set was what festival goers will remember about MAHA II. The crowd was at its peak, and dancing — it was the kind of spectacle that MAHA organizers had dreamed of.

Headliner Spoon came on at 11 p.m. and never caught hold, but by then, it didn’t matter. MAHA already had gone into the books as a success. MAHA organizer Tre Breshear said scanned ticket attendance was just over 4,000, slightly below their target but a big improvement over year one.

Spoon at The MAHA Music Festival, July 24, 2010.

In retrospect, this year’s main stage roster was a tip o’ the hat to ’90s-’00s indie — the kind of music that the organizers grew up listening to (presumably). Old ’97s, Superchunk, Spoon, The Faint, even Ben Kweller had his best music in the earlier half of the ’00s. The festival will garner a younger audience if it tries to book more up-and-coming acts next year, such as Sleigh Bells, MIA, Wavves, The National, Foals, Band of Horses, New Pornographers, along with the usual legacy acts. If they want to extend this event to two days, they’ll need to book a couple huge bands — one to anchor each day. And I mean Pixies/REM/Wilco huge. That’s pricey. And risky. There also are those who think the line-up should be more diverse stylewise. Bottom line: They’re never going to please everyone, and they’ll only fail if they try.

* * *

The schedule for Saturday’s Concert for Equality has been announced, but first, the news…

The Associated Press reported last night (right here) that the Fremont City Council voted unanimously to suspend a voter-approved ban on hiring and renting property to illegal immigrants. “The council also unanimously decided to hire Kansas-based attorney and law professor Kris Kobach, who drafted the ordinance and offered to represent Fremont for free to fight the lawsuits. Kobach also helped write Arizona’s new controversial immigration law,” the AP story said.

The story went on to say Fremont faces lawsuits from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund, which both expected to ask a federal judge today to temporarily block the ban from taking effect.  ACLU of Nebraska said it and the city will ask the judge to block the ordinance pending a final court resolution.

So despite the fact that the law has been suspended, the lawsuits will go on, which makes the Concert for Equality just as relevant from a fund-raising standpoint as ever. The court battle could drag on for years.

With that, here’s the schedule for Saturday’s concert, by way of One Percent Productions:

Outside:
Flowers Forever – 5:00-5:30
Vago – 5:45-6:15
The Envy Corps – 6:30-7:00
Bright Eyes – 7:15-8:00
Gillian Welch – 8:15-9:00
Cursive 9:15-10:00
Desaparecidos – 10:15-11:00

Inside:
Fathr^ – 5:00-5:40
Simon Joyner – 6:00-6:40
The So-So Sailors – 7:00-7:40
Conchance – 8:00-8:40
David Dondero – 9:00-9:40
Closed from 10:00 – 11:00
Lullaby for the Working Class – 11:30-12:15
Hootenanny – 12:30-2:00

If there are any “special guests,” they’ll likely be showing up during the “Hootenanny” portion of the program. Rumors are rampant as to who those special guests would be. So… where do we park? I’ll pass on more info about the show as I get it.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The Associated Press is reporting (right here) that the Fremont immigrant law that is the focus of Saturday’s Concert for Equality in Benson may be on the verge of being suspended.

According to The AP: “The (Fremont) City Council is scheduled to vote on suspending the ban on Tuesday night, a day before the city goes to court over the measure. The city faces lawsuits from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund. City officials have estimated that Fremont’s costs of implementing the ordinance — including legal fees, employee overtime and improved computer software — would average $1 million a year.”

Money raised from this Saturday’s concert is earmarked for the Nebraska ACLU to help fight the Fremont immigrant law. N-ACLU’s director Amy Miller said in the article, “If the City Council decides to stop the law from going into effect themselves, that would be a step in the right direction.”

Is it possible that by Saturday’s concert, the Fremont law could be dead before it had a chance to go into affect? Regardless of what happens, I have no doubt that the show will go on, but it could take the sting out of the day’s rhetoric.

* * *

Tonight at The Waiting Room, it’s Jagjaguwar recording artist Black Mountain, whose frontman, Stephen McBean, you might remember from head-buzz band Pink Mountaintops. With The Dodos (Frenchkiss). $12, 9 p.m.

For those of you in Lincoln, For Against is playing a warm-up show tonight at Knickerbockers with Pharmacy Spirits before they head off to Brooklyn to play at The Big Takeover Magazine’s 30th Anniversary Festival this Saturday with Mark Burgess (ex-Chameleons), Jon Auer of The Posies and a ton of other bands. This is the first Lincoln For Against show in two years, and the first Lincoln show since the release of their eighth LP, 2009’s Never Been. Show starts at 9, no idea on the price.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Superchunk at The MAHA Music Festival, Omaha, 7/24/10.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A more comprehensive review of MAHA’s music will appear as Wednesday’s column/blog entry, (though I found that 1,000 words wasn’t enough). The lead for that column: Have the MAHA Music Festival organizers gotten the monkey that was last year’s failure off their backs? The answer, probably, is yes.

I think no matter how you look at it, the festival worked. I certainly had a good time and so did the folks I spoke with. My personal highlight was Superchunk, whereas I think The Faint was probably the big winner — they’ll be the ones that people remember most. Spoon was merely OK, but I’ve never thought Spoon was a very good live band (I think they’re a very good recording project, though their new album is limp).

MAHA organizer Tre Brashear said that scanned ticket attendance was just over 4,000 (They won’t give actual ticket sale info). I thought the crowd seemed larger than that, especially during The Faint (When Spoon started its set, people began to head home). For a crowd that size, everything ran smoothly, which is a credit to Brashear, his team and their crack staff of volunteers.

Still, as is the case with any festival, there were problems. A couple people were arrested: “One idiot punched his girlfriend.  Another idiot punched the son of the Omaha City Prosecutor,” Brashear said. And apparently MAHA was unable to provide free waterbottle refills throughout the entire day — which is a concern at any outdoor festival. Brashear said it’s “the thing we’re most disappointed in ourselves about.” I didn’t notice it and didn’t hear about it until I read a complaint on Twitter after the show.

From a profitability standpoint: “Even though our attendance was below the 4.5K we were planning on, we came out ahead because of our beverage sales,” Brashear said. “We sold out of everything.  At the end, all we had left was Bud Light.” This underscores one obvious tragic misstep by organizers: I was unable to find a Rolling Rock anywhere on the festival grounds. Along with the water problem, this is something the MAHA committee must solve in 2011.

Brashear said he and the rest of the MAHA brain trust are going to “decompress” over the next couple of weeks and then begin planning for next year’s event. The two questions that burn brightest in my mind: Where will it be held and who will they invite?

I assume that they consider this year’s event a smashing success. Still, one has to consider that concerts like River Riot (or whatever it’s called) sell three to four times as many tickets as MAHA, thanks to the shitty pop bands that they book. If MAHA is going to keep its refined indie focus, it could take a long time until they hit those kinds of numbers — such is the nature of indie music. I’d hate to see them buckle under and book an 89.7 FM-style roster of bands to boost ticket sales.

In retrospect, this year’s main stage roster was a tip o’ the hat to ’90s-’00s indie — the kind of music that the organizers grew up listening to (presumably). Old ’97s, Superchunk, Spoon, The Faint, even Ben Kweller had his best music in the earlier half of the ’00s. The festival would garner a younger audience if it tried to book more up-and-coming acts, such as Sleigh Bells, MIA, Wavves, The National, Foals, Band of Horses, New Pornographers, along with the usual legacy acts. If they want to extend this event to two days, they’re going to need to book a couple huge bands — one to anchor each day. And I mean Pixies/REM/Wilco huge. That’s pricey. And risky. There are also those who think the line-up should be more diverse stylewise. Bottom line: You’re never going to please everyone.

Interestingly, the most modern bands were on the second stage, which is another thing MAHA needs to fix in 2011. The second stage was an abomination both soundwise and viewing-wise (unless you like your retinas burned off by the setting sun). If MAHA decides to stay at Lewis & Clark Landing, they’ve got to figure out the second stage “problem.” Maybe they can merely move it to the east side of the main stage, with the Mighty Mo as a backdrop.

More likely, MAHA will move to a new location that allows camping — that’s certainly part of the organizers’ vision. So is getting more involved in “the local scene.” The No. 1 criticism with the festival is their process for selecting the small stage bands — no one likes battle-of-the-bands contests where entrants perform for free. It’s cheap and humliating. It’s time that MAHA grow a pair and start selecting the bands themselves, or work with someone involved in the local scene to help select local bands. Considering the amount they pay bands for the event, they have their pick of the best Lincoln and Omaha have to offer.

Anyway… more recap Wednesday.

Forever Shredding

Superchunk’s legend is more than their longevity.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

To put the importance of Superchunk into some sort of context, let’s turn to Ira Robbins, who in his Trouser Press Guide to ’90s Rock, said:

“Although Superchunk has never been revolutionary, the North Carolina quartet has done more to foment the indie-pop revolution than nearly any other band extant, feeding its flames with a steady stream of releases, an incessant appetite for touring and a voracious fandom that’s seen it underwrite numerous kindred spirits on its own Merge label. Like missionaries bringing the word to the outback, Superchunk ushered in an era in which ethics and avowed self-determination were just as important as artistic productivity — a stance that’s probably influenced far more culturalists than the band’s sound.”

They also made some pretty damn fine records.

Anyone who grew up loving college rock in the ’90s has a Superchunk album in his/her collection. My first was 1993’s On the Mouth, whose opening track, “Precision Auto,” with its chugging guitar, crash-bash rhythms and barked out lines: “Do not pass me just to slow down / I can move right through you,” fueled way too many reckless two-lane passes in my ’78 Ford Fiesta.

Superchunk arguably put the Chapel Hill music scene on the map, producing eight full-lengths and countless singles since its debut 45, “Slack Motherfucker,” came out in 1990. The term “legendary” comes to mind.

Superchunk guitarist Jim Wilbur, however, will have none of it.

“We’re not the beginning of anything,” said the self-proclaimed Larry David of the band from the deck of his home in Durham, North Carolina. “There were always tons of bands around Chapel Hill at the same time, like Polvo and Archers of Loaf. No one was doing anything to be part of a scene. It just kind of worked out that way. It’s hard to figure out what was going on, but after the fact, people want to write and talk about it. But in the middle of it, it was organic. It was people in their early 20s doing what comes naturally.”

Wilbur said he moved from Connecticut to North Carolina 20 years ago to join Superchunk for three months, and never left. “There might be something to being in a place where you’re not New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. Clearly you’re not there to exploit an opportunity,” he said. “You’re doing it for your own reasons. For fun or laziness. I don’t think many people who are really good at music do it as a career. It just becomes one. You have better chances at making a living buying a lottery ticket.”

Despite that, Wilbur and the rest of Superchunk — frontman/guitarist Mac McCaughan, bass player Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster — were anything but lazy when it came to the band. “It’s work; it’s tough work to be in a band and tour,” Wilbur said. “You can’t stop and think about who’s paying attention to you. As long as they’re paying you to go on the road and put out records, people must be paying attention.”

The band’s work ethic defined Superchunk as much as their music. Although their records have been released on a few labels including indie powerhouse Matador Records, its McCaughan and Ballance’s own Merge Records that is their home. Along with bands like Fugazi, Superchunk was a standard bearer of the Do It Yourself approach to music, turning its back on major labels in a move that was a decade ahead of its time.

Asked if DIY is more important now, in an era when record labels are slowly decaying into obsolescence, Wilbur replied, “What do think?”

“It’s proven itself as a business method, maybe not for people who want to be Michael Jackson or Madonna, but if you want a career in rock and want to tour, you better get your shit together and know what you’re doing by yourself, because no one is helping you without taking a big cut,” he said. “We just wanted to be sustainable, and we were smart enough to know that we were going to have to do a lot of it ourselves. We all eat if we do our jobs. But in the ’90s, after Nirvana, there were so many bands getting into horrible deals where they were never going to be able to recoup the assloads of money that they would owe. This isn’t ideological. I don’t want to owe a multinational corporation lots of money. It never made sense, any offer we got. We knew we could always do better on our own.”

And they did, for years. But each year, Wilbur said, the band sold fewer and fewer CDs. After Here’s to Shutting Up was released on Merge in 2001, Superchunk began to slow down.

“We haven’t toured since 2001 really,” Wilbur said. “The last time was when that record came out. We did do one other thing after that with the Get-Up Kids that was demoralizing.”

Wilbur said the band agreed to do a tour opening for the then-popular Kansas City emo band. “None of us had any expectations, we never do,” he said. “They were nice guys and looked at us like, ‘You’re the reason we’re in a band,’ but it didn’t translate in a live setting. We were old farts playing loud, fast music. Their fans didn’t care about us. There were always girls in the front row on cell phones. That was not what we were about.”

But it wasn’t that tour that slowed them down, it was changes in their lives. “Over the years nothing’s really changed personality-wise with the band; everyone just has different priorities,” Wilbur said. “Mac had kids, Jon (Wurster) moved away. It was difficult to get together and make time.”

Superchunk, Majesty Shredding

Despite the distance, the band has never been dormant. They’ve continued to perform live at least once year, always writing new songs when they got together, Wilbur said. The product is Majesty Shredding, the band’s first album in nine years, slated for release Sept. 14 on Merge.

“It took us a year and a half to record,” Wilbur said. “We used to (make albums) in two weeks. It was easier when we were a full-time band and practiced three times a week. Now Mac sends out demos of songs, and we all have to figure out our parts and try to make it coalesce. In some ways, it sounds better. People seem to enjoy (the new record), and I like it, but I have no concept of it. I have no memory of playing or recording it.”

Wilbur said that moments before our interview July 7, he had picked up a guitar for the first time in three weeks, and — as always — had to figure out what he’d played during the recording sessions. “I can’t remember where my fingers were. What was I doing?” he said. “That’s always been the case. Even when we were in a band that worked all the time, we always forgot things. We don’t write anything down, except for Laura, but she plays bass and all she writes is ‘D minor.’ I don’t know what my fingering was, and Mac is even worse at it, but he’s a better player.”

Needless to say, Wilbur and the rest of Superchunk will have it all figured out before Saturday’s show. As the release date for Majesty Shredding creeps closer, the band is spending more time together, at least on the phone. “We now have business to attend to on a day-to-day basis, and it’s an incredible pain in the ass,” he said. “For the past 10 years we’ve been friends that didn’t have to talk to each other every day. Now we have to agree on everything. I try to stay out of it when I can. Mac and Laura run Merge, so I assume they know what they’re doing.

“I guess the reason we’re getting any kind of attention is that there’s a story about us, about the label and that we have a new record for the first time in years,” he said, adding that there’s nothing noteworthy about longevity.

“I’ve loved music my whole life. I loved The Byrds and Springsteen and New Order and they never went away. Even The Byrds stuck around past their prime. (Roger) McGuinn is still playing folk festivals somewhere. Springsteen is doing it, and it’s not newsworthy; it’s natural. I’ve always felt that way with this band — we’re just people playing this music, and as long as we enjoy doing it, we’re going to keep doing it.”

* * *

Talking to Jim Wilbur really is like talking to a rock ‘n’ roll version of Larry David. Here are a few extra bits of Wilbur Wisdom that I simply didn’t have room for in the story. Enjoy…

On touring: “I always think of it this way: I work in a book store selling things on ebay, and in the back room I work with this guy who likes to wear cowboy hats and snakeskin boots, and he’s always saying things like, ‘Rock and roll!’ and ‘You gonna pick up any pussy?’ I always say, ‘Barry, you just don’t get it. That’s not what this is all about.’ He’s joking around; he pays my health insurance, so I love him. People think this thing is glamorous. I tell them it’s work. It’s personalities and being sane and not having an inflated ego or an inflated sense of selves.”

So there are no crazy road stories to share?

“The stories all have to do with people we’ve hired to come with us to sell T-shirts. We’re the people bailing other people out of jail. The band was always trying to find time to sleep. You’re on tour to perform, not to do anything else. Everything else is peripheral. John the drummer started to say this recently about five hours before (showtime): ‘No one cares if I went out and had a good time before the show. They only care if we’re good. So I’m going to get my head together.’ He says it as if he’s a guru joker kind of guy. We’re not there to see who can do the most Jaeger shots.”

On technology: “What’s sad about progress is that recording studios are going under and engineers who have a specialized skill are being usurped by the fact that anyone can record at home with a computer and sound decent. But it’s not the same as going to the studio. I don’t think in 1982 anyone saw where the music industry would be in 2010.”

On side projects: “I don’t have any interests. I record stuff by myself sometimes and end up sometimes being part of Portastic (Mac’s side band) as a bass player. I’m the last person in the world that would want to pursue music. I do it purely for myself. I have no ambition whatsoever. I think it’s important to work. For a long time in Superchunk, I didn’t have a job and I sat around trying to figure out what to do all day when we weren’t on tour. It sucks to have two lives — two kind of realities — that you have to deal with, but you’ll be hard-pressed to get any sympathy.”

On returning to touring after nine years: “Now when I have to go on tour I kind of hate it. I miss not being home. I have a wife, two dogs, two cats, a beautiful house. I’m sitting on my deck now and am looking across my lawn. I have a huge yard with 30 pine trees. We have three bathrooms for the two of us. I live really nice, and now I have to go on tour? I like it because it’s good work. I see it as work.”

On being on the Jimmy Fallon show in the very near future: “I’ve never actually seen the show before. It’s always interesting, but it’s not like ‘I’ve never been kissed before.’ I have had sex, I’m not a virgin. I can do this. We’re all going to die. This isn’t going to go on forever. It takes a lot to get me excited. Being on the Jimmy Fallon show is not something that does that.”

On never playing in Omaha before: “We’ve never played in Nebraska or Omaha. It’s weird. We’ve talked about it many times. ‘What state haven’t we played? We’ve got a lot of friends in Omaha. How could this happen?’ Maybe our booking agent had an issue with someone or someone had an issue with him. It’s always about routing. Omaha is off the beaten path, the same way Iowa City is. We’re hugely excited about coming to Omaha. I’m looking forward to going. I want to see it, even though we’ll be there less than 24 hours.”

* * *

In case you missed it, the MAHA Music Festival is this Saturday. The schedule went online yesterday here at Lazy-i. Someone asked if you could come and go throughout the day. The answer, according to MAHA head honcho Tre Brashear, is yes, you can leave and return. I assume you’ll have to wear a wristband to get in and out (and to drink).

Tickets are $33 today, but the price jumps to $38 tomorrow. Either price is a bargain when you consider it costs $20-$30 just to see Spoon in other cities, and you’re also getting The Faint (usually $20-$25) and Superchunk (priceless), along with Kweller, Old 97’s and a plethora of local acts. If the forecast is accurate, it will be a gorgeous day for a concert. Look for tweet updates and photos throughout the day at twitter.com/tim_mcmahan

But that’s tomorrow. What’s going on tonight?

Over at the 1020 Lounge (formerly Trovato’s) Ted Stevens of Cursive (and Lullaby for the Working Class) will be doing two full solo sets (according to the promoter) tonight starting at 9. And there’s no cover (it’s free). This could get packed — this Stevens guy is pretty good.

Also tonight, Capgun Coup is headlining a show at the old Orifice Warehouse at 2406 Leavenworth (where Ratfest was held last year at around this time). Joining Capgun is New Jersey band Home Blitz, Omaha’s own Yuppies and the amazing Well-Aimed Arrows. This is a fun place to see a show. $5, 9 p.m.

And finally, indie rock band Dim Light plays at Stir Lounge tonight with headliner Scott Severin and the Milton Burlesque. $5, 9 p.m.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Appleseed Cast performs at the 2009 MAHA Music Festival. Organizers expect larger crowds this year.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The last time I looked at the weather map, the forecast called for partly cloudy skies and temps in the mid-80s Saturday. I think it’s time you went ahead and bought those MAHA tickets. One thought that crossed my mind when writing this article: MAHA has 250+ volunteers. How many volunteers will there be on hand at Conor’s Concert for Equality in Benson, which could have nearly 3,000 people in attendance? 

2010 MAHA Music Festival: All Systems Go

Omaha’s all-day indie music feast is slated for this Saturday.

With the second annual MAHA Music Festival a few days away, the only thing left for organizers to do is pray for sunshine.

Well that, and work out the kinks involved with organizing 250+ volunteers.

With a line-up that includes massively influential ’90s college rock band Superchunk, Omaha electro-dance punks The Faint, good-time alt-country rockers Old 97’s, singer/songwriter Ben Kweller, and headlined by indie powerhouse Spoon, tickets sales have been brisk.

“We already have sold more tickets than last year, and last year we sold two-thirds of our tickets the day of the show,” said MAHA organizer Tre Brashear last Saturday. He said that while their goal is to sell out the event — 6,000 tickets — their realistic expectations are to sell 4,500 tickets, adding that last year’s ticket sales totalled 3,000.

“We feel good about where we are,” Brashear said. “Selling out is a possibility. It would send a great message to our sponsors.” Those sponsors include presenting sponsor Alegent Health, main stage sponsor TD Ameritrade, and local stage sponsor Kum & Go.

Since this year’s line-up was announced in April, there have been a few ups and downs for Brashear and MAHA Festival organizers. On the upside: Immediate vindication that they choose the right bands. “No one has said a bad word (about the line-up), or said that we missed the mark,” he said. “Realistically, we did as well as we could, considering our budget and fiscal discipline. We wanted to make sure we didn’t spend more money than we could generate.”

But on the downside, only days after MAHA’s announcement, Des Moines’ two-day 80/35 Festival announced that it also would host Spoon as its headliner on July 3. “When we learned about it, it was ‘Holy Cow. This cannot be happening,'” Brashear said. “It is what it is. We’ll have better dialogue with 80/35 in the future. We agreed not to advertise our (festival) in Des Moines and they agreed to not advertise theirs here.”

Then just a couple weeks ago, Conor Oberst announced his Concert for Equality fund-raiser in Benson to be held the following Saturday, July 31. It will feature a plethora of classic Saddle Creek Records bands, including Bright Eyes and Cursive. Brashear brushed off any suggestion that it was “competition,” saying it only brings more awareness nationally to the area’s music scene. “Our job is to make sure people are aware of us, and don’t lose track of our event,” he said.

And with ticket sales reportedly going strong, apparently they haven’t. Now there’s just that little question regarding the weather. The MAHA Festival will go on rain or shine. There is no rain date and bands will perform — and get paid — no matter what the conditions.

“We’ve tried to cover every contingency,” Brashear said. “The weather is why we do this in July, and why we chose Lewis & Clark Landing as our site, where we don’t have drainage or mud issues. That area could handle a huge downpour in the morning and still be usable in the afternoon.”

Brashear suggested MAHA patrons bring a lawn chair, camera and sun block, but leave the coolers, pets and handguns at home. For those not taking advantage of the many food and drink vender options, bottles of water will be available for $2 that will be refilled for free all day, Brashear said. No outside food and drink are allowed.

The MAHA Music Festival is Saturday, July 24 at Lewis & Clark Landing, located directly east of Rick’s Cafe Boatyard, at 515 North Riverfront Drive, in downtown Omaha. Parking is open to the public in Gallup’s parking lots to the north (free) and Qwest Center’s Parking Lot A off of Riverfront Drive ($8/day). Advanced tickets are available for $33 at etix.com; tickets are $38 day of show.

Here’s the schedule:

Noon – Gates Open

TD Ameritrade Main Stage

1:15 – It’s True!

3:00 – Ben Kweller

4:45 – Old 97’s

6:35 – Superchunk

8:35 – The Faint

9:40 – Spoon

11:00 – Show Over.

Kum & Go Local Stage

12:30 – Voodoo Method

2:15 – Betsy Wells

4:00 – Landing On The Moon

5:55 – The Mynabirds

7:45 – Satchel Grande

* * *

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., McAllen, Texas, indie band Dignan plays with The King and the Thief, Get Down and Skypiper. $10, 9 p.m. Meanwhile, over at The Waiting Room, Conchance and his hip-hop orchestra plays with Maxilla Blue and Rajeev Wins. $7, 9 p.m.

* * *

Tomorrow: Superchunk

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

BTW, a quick glance at Craigslist yesterday showed Deluxe Concert for Equality tickets were being offered for as much as $200 each, while general admission tix were being offered for $100 each. There are 25 listings there now, and most are “want to buy” ads.

Column 280: Goodbye, OEAAs…

It’s better than beating a dead horse…

I just finished writing a 1,000-word critical review of this past weekend’s Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards showcase in Benson, and then I threw it out.

It dawned on me after adding the -30- (a traditional, out-dated way of ending news stories) that I should take the same tact that I take for bands that I don’t care for — just don’t write about it. There’s no point in tearing down the OEAAs. The bands that participate aren’t indie bands, aren’t bands that I cover in my column and website, and aren’t the kind of bands Nebraska has become nationally known for.

In truth, the OEAAs don’t target any specific “type” of band. The organization’s showcases are open invitations to anyone willing to play for free, with apparently no criteria that eliminate anyone from consideration. As a result, the showcase has become a two-day open mic night, where truly talented performers like Ember Schrag, Ground Tyrants and a couple others, get lost in the overwhelming fog of mediocrity.

Even the annual awards process has become somewhat misguided. As an OEAA Academy member, I found myself not voting in a number of categories last year because the nominees simply didn’t fit the category definition — and I’m not talking about from a genre standpoint, but as representing the best bands from the Omaha/Lincoln area in a specific category. I have no interest in voting for the least mediocre among five mediocre bands, while the area’s real talent — the bands that release albums on nationally distributed record labels, the bands that go out of state on tours — are consistently ignored by the process or refuse to participate.

When the OEAAs began four years ago as a non-profit, there was some discussion that money generated from the effort could some day support a scholarship fund or some other worthy cause. But that never happened. Conceivably, money raised from the showcases is funneled into covering costs involved in putting together the annual awards banquet — a program that’s supposed to showcase the best and brightest, but where the best and brightest rarely perform.

Despite all of this, there’s no question that folks enjoy the OEAA showcases and awards banquet, whether I do or not. Who am I to begrudge anyone for having a good time? So with that, I wish the OEAAs the best of luck as I resign my position as an Academy Member, put down my gun and slowly walk away…

* * *

Speaking of the OEAA’s, the MAHA Music Festival filled its final opening slot for bands performing on the Kum & Go Local Stage from those participating in last weekend’s OEAA showcase. In an open vote of OEAA patrons, the winner was R&B act Voodoo Method, a band that harshly clashes with the national acts chosen to perform on the main stage. I guess that’s what the MAHA committee gets when it leaves a decision as important as who will perform at their concert up to someone else.

* * *

If you were on the fence as to whether or not to buy tickets to the Concert for Equality, being held July 31 in Benson and featuring Bright Eyes, Cursive, Desaparecidos, Lullaby for the Working Class, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, The Envy Corps, David Dondero, The So-So Sailors, Conchance, Simon Joyner, Flowers Forever and Vago, along with some TBA superstars, you can forget about it. The event sold out last week. Deluxe Tickets, which originally cost $50 each, were being listed on ebay for $315 a pair last week, and I suspect you’ll see even higher prices as the event gets closer. Could the concert be moved from one of Benson’s side streets to Maple Street, freeing up more tickets? We’ll have to wait and see.

* * *

Finally, I skipped Day 2 of the OEAAs to attend the Speed! Nebraska showcase at a crushed-full O’Leaver’s — the epilogue to the Soapbox Riot soapbox derby held at Seymour Smith track earlier that day (and won by Wagon Blasters’ frontman Gary Dean Davis). Speed! Nebraska Records boasts arguably the best roster of pure rock bands in Nebraska — including Mercy Rule, Ideal Cleaners, Techlepathy, The Third Men, Mezcal Brothers and Wagon Blasters, all of whom performed that night (and none of whom played the day before at the OEAA showcase). Note to the MAHA committee: Any of those bands would have been an amazing addition to the Kum & Go stage. Maybe next year?

* * *

It’s a night of nightmare music at Slowdown Jr. tonight with Gunnison Beach, New Jersey noise band East of the Wall (proggy, syncopated rhythms, monster vocals, loud), Name (crazy fast guitars, metal, screaming), Masses (pounding instrumentals, violently loud, torturous), and Techlepathy (intricate, tense, free-fall explosions). Earplugs highly recommended. $8, 9 p.m.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Ground Tyrants at The Sydney, OEAA Summer Showcase, July 16, 2010.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

So where’s the review of last weekend’s OEAA summer festival and the Speed! Nebraska showcase? You’ll just have to wait until tomorrow’s column, where the reason for the delay will be revealed. Until then, above is a lovely photo from the OEAA’s of The Ground Tyrants playing at The Sydney. Of the bands that I saw on Friday (including Civicminded, After the Fall and Jes Winter), The Ground Tyrants were the clear winner. Too bad they lost to mediocre R&B act Voodoo Method, who will now perform at The MAHA Festival. But I’ll talk more about that decision tomorrow.

Also in Lazy-i this week, look for a MAHA overview/interview with board member Tre Brashear and an extensive feature story/interview with Superchunk. Those stories go online Thursday and Friday.

* * *

Among the spectators at O’Leaver’s worshipping at the alter of Speed! Nebraska Records Saturday night was Cursive’s Tim Kasher, whose solo debut, The Game Of Monogamy, is set for release Oct. 5 on Saddle Creek Records.  Recorded this past January at a rental home in beautiful Whitefish, MT, and also at SnowGhost Music, the album marks the first time Kasher has written, recorded and produced an album under his own name, according to publicist, Cobra Camanda. Sayeth the press release:

The Game Of Monogamy is more of an arranged record than any of Kasher’s past releases, filled with theatrical arrangements and lush instrumentation to create his own blend of classic pop. Ornamented with strings, harp, oboe, flute, and trombone, among other instruments, the songs vary in sound from vibrant and catchy (“Cold Love,” “I’m Afraid I’m Gonna Die Here”) to sweeping and grand (“No Fireworks,” “Monogamy”), and from hushed and spare (“Strays,” “The Prodigal Husband”), to urgent and fraught (“A Grown Man,” “Bad, Bad Dreams”). This moody orchestral pop evokes a 1950s-esque, conservative atmosphere, setting the stage for a dilemma that remains thoroughly modern.  The protagonist’s arc in The Game Of Monogamy spans the wide range of distinctly human emotions tangled up around relationships in a starched shirt society.  Call it the score for our collective sexual plight: expression routinely becomes repression in the name of romance.

If you say so, Amanda. Kasher enlisted Patrick Newbery (trumpet/keys for Cursive; also of Lacona and Head of Femur) to help with the arrangements, the production, and to play on the record. Erin Tate (Minus The Bear) and Matt Maginn (Cursive) also stopped by to add some drum and bass parts, respectively, and members of the Glacier National Symphony were recruited for the classical instrument parts.

The only question I have is: Where’s my promo copy?

* * *

Tonight at O’Leaver’s, it’s  Watching the Trainwreck, The Goodnight Loving, Peace of Shit and The Prairies. $5, 9 p.m.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Gary Dean Davis takes the plunge at last year's Soapbox Riot, July 18, 2009.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s a busy weekend for music and violence.

The highlight is Saturday’s second annual Soapbox Riot at Seymour Smith soapbox track, 72nd and Washington, brought to you by Speed! Nebraska Records and the fabulous O’Leaver’s Pub.

Like last year, a cadre of racing daredevils will risk it all in a series of suicide runs down the track riding on top of — and inside of — some of the most frightening pieces of rolling wreckage that you’ll ever see outside of a blazing downtown Baghdad street. I’m sure there’s some sort of trophy that goes to the winner, but the real prize is the right to brag that you’re the stupidest, craziest sumbitch in Nebraska. Last year, Mercy Rule’s Jon Taylor took that honor after donating a foot-long strip of his own skin directly to the burning asphalt. Who is bat-shit crazy enough to knock this idiot-king from atop of the blood-soaked soapbox mountain? Find out when racing begins sometime between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Beer garden and grilled food will be available (of course).

Later that evening, after the survivors are released from the UNMC Emergency Room, a post-race concert by some of Nebraska’s mangled finest is happening at O’Leaver’s. On the showbill will be the scab-covered Speed! Nebraska All-Stars: Mercy Rule, Ideal Cleaners, The Wagon Blasters, Mezcal Brothers, The Third Men and Techlepathy. The rock show starts at 9 p.m. and is the usual $5. Event of the summer? You decide!

Also going on this weekend…

Tonight and Saturday is the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards (OEAA) showcase in Benson — two nights of bands and musicians showing their wares to OEAA academy members in consideration for this year’s awards, and also vying for a slot as an opening band at next Saturday’s MAHA Festival.

Wondering why no Saddle Creek, Slumber Party, Speed! Nebraska and other local touring bands aren’t on the schedule for an event that’s supposed to highlight the best and brightest talent in Omaha? In a response to a blog entry that criticized the lack of the above talent — and called the showcase a “Benson thing” — OEAA board member MarQ Manner said:

“As far at the Summer Showcase goes we only used submitted bands this year — no one from those labels submitted — there are a lot of acts from North O, Mid-Town, Benson, West Omaha, Lincoln, some from just outside of the metro small towns in Iowa-bands that rarely if ever play Benson venues-etc — I wanted bands that were excited about the event itself this year – so we didn’t do any invites.”

In other words, no one from those labels was invited because no one at all was invited. Instead, an open call went out for bands to participate (I wonder if anyone was turned down.)  And of course, none of the bands will be getting paid, presumably because the OEAA’s are doing them a favor by letting them take part in the showcase. Well, at least the bands aren’t being charged to play the showcase… yet.

Judging by a recent Facebook post that was hastily taken down after it got too much attention, there are a number of musicians who are irritated about an event that is basically a fund raiser for the Benson bar scene — see, while the bands aren’t making a penny (and in fact, Lincoln bands are out gas money and other expenses) all the bars involved will be raking in cash from booze sales thanks to the free entertainment on their stages.

Am I kicking a dead horse here? Yeah, probably. As I’ve said before, I don’t think you’re going to notice any guns sticking out of the ears of the bands that are taking part. If you’re irritated about not getting paid, then don’t play the event. And that’s exactly what’s happening — no serious label acts are participating, and only a couple notable touring musicians (mostly Benson regulars) are involved. As the overused saying goes: It is what it is. And it’s also $10 per night for a wristband that gets you into all the bars all night long — a good deal, and actually a pretty good time.

Here’s the schedule:

Friday, July 16

Louie’s Bar
8:50-9:25-Furiosity
9:40-10:15-MANNA
10:30-11:05-Matt & Ben
11:20-11:55-Black On High

Burke’s Pub
8:00-8:35-Latin
8:50-9:25-Doug Kabourek
9:40-10:15-Western Electric
10:30-11:05-Matt Banta
11:20-12:05-Daniel Christian
12:20-12:55-W.E.R.D.

The Sydney
8:10-8:45-The 9’s
9:00-9:35-Scott Severin & The Milton Burlesque
9:50-10:25-Brad Hoshaw (solo)
10:40-11:15-ASO
11:30-12:05-Civic Minded
12:20-12:55-Ground Tyrants

The Waiting Room
8:10-8:45-All Young Girls Are Machine Guns
9:00-9:35-Voodoo Method
9:50-10:25-Betsy Wells
10:40-11:15-Jes Winter Band
11:30-12:05-After The Fall
12:15-12:55-Paria

PS Collective
8:00-8:35-Rachel D.
8:50-9:25-Hello From Ghost Valley
9:40-10:15-Travelin’ Mercies
10:30-11:05- Ember Shrag
11:20-11:55-Lonely Estates
12:10-12:45-The End In Red

Barley Street Tavern
8:10-8:45-MC Gringo
9:00-9:35-Orem
9:50-10:25-Carli Alexandra
10:40-11:15-Allendales
11:30-12:05-Ben Sieff & The Murder Of Crowes
12:20-12:55-Adelaide

Saturday, July 17

Louie’s
8:50-9:25-Dive Kings
9:40-10:15-The Minnahoonies
10:30-11:05- Army Of 2600
11:20-11:55-Emotional Baggage
12:10-12:45-Disposable Heroes

Burkes Pub
8:00-8:35-Scrybe
8:50-9:25-Enjoli
9:40-10:15-Sack Of Lions
10:30-11:05-Jill Marie
11:20-12:05-Broken Truth
12:20-12:55-DJ Oddible

The Sydney
8:10-8:45-Vonchi
9:00-9:35-Analog
9:50-10:25-High Art
10:40-11:15-Answer Team
11:30-12:05-Matt Whipkey Trio
12:20-12:55-Rock Paper Dynamite

The Waiting Room
8:10-8:45-Witness Tree
9:00-9:35-Lucas Kellison & The Assembled Soul
9:50-10:25-Mitch Gettman Band
10:40-11:15-Midwest Dilemma
11:30-12:05-Korey Anderson Band
12:20-12:55-Oxygen

PS Collective
8:00-8:35-24 Hour Cardlock
8:50-9:25-Matt Amandus
9:40-10:15-Shannon Marie
10:30-11:05- Citzens Band
11:20-11:55-Cass Fifty & The Family Gram
12:10-12:45-OK Hemingway

Barley Street Tavern
8:10-8:45-Gordan Shumway
9:00-9:35-Vern Fergesen
9:50-10:25-Edge Of Arbor
10:40-11:15-Chantilly Reign
11:30-12:05-Platte River Rain
12:20-12:55-Big Al Band

What else is going on?

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., Lawrence band Cowboy Indian Bear — one of the Midwest’s best indie pop acts — returns with local acts Anniversaire and Skypiper. Show starts at 9 p.m., and the price is right: FREE.

Sunday night, former Sub Pop band (now on Brushfire Records) Rogue Wave plays at The Waiting Room with Gamble House. $12, 9 p.m.

* * *

Finally, despite having broken up, and with their last-ever live appearances taking place next Saturday as part of the MAHA Festival, It’s True has just released a new video for “Take This One From Me” — one of the highlight tracks of their recently released debut full-length. I’m not sure who directed it (presumably Zac Eubank), but he did an impressive job shooting the entire video in one well-choreographed take — Robert Altman would be proud. Take a look.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.