by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Tomorrow I’m off to Austin to cover a few days of SXSW for The Reader… and for Lazy-i.com. Here’s how the coverage will work: The daily “updates” will be posted at thereader.com (I’ll post a link to it here daily). However, my photos from the previous day’s adventures will appear right here the following morning (if I’m not being held in custody). The final wrap-up will, of course, appear in the printed edition of The Reader (and online there and here).

In addition to my coverage, The Reader also will have daily posts by Reader Music Editor Chris Aponick and Hear Nebraska owner/operator Andy Norman — all exclusive. That’s what you get when you provide the badges. Not included in the deal, however, is Twitter/Facebook. So for updates and comments from SXSW throughout the day — including photos — follow me at twitter.com/tim_mcmahan — Fun!

This year’s Omaha presence at SXSW is… respectable. Saddle Creek will have a showcase Friday night with Mynabirds, Big Harp and Icky Blossoms. Other Creek acts in Austin include PUJOL and Two Gallants. In addition, Depressed Buttons has a gig on Saturday, but that’s about it for official SXSW performances. Sounds like a couple other local peeps will be performing, but they’ll be playing unofficial shows not part of an actual SXSW showcase — not it matters as most people can’t tell the difference between an official and unofficial event.

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Sales numbers for Cursive’s I Am Gemini are in, and they’re a bit surprising. According to Mike Fratt, general manager at Homer’s, first week sales of I Am Gemini were 4,300 physical units, 1,250 digital for a total of 5,550. Fratt was surprised at the low percentage of digital sales. Wonder if it has anything to do with the album’s fantastic combined vinyl/CD packaging?

Fratt said 2nd week sales were off all charts (on neither top 200, nor Heatseekers chart), and off digital, which would mean fewer than 360 physical and fewer than 1,000 digital.

One more stat of note: I Am Gemini was the first Saddle Creek release that wasn’t made available on Spotify the week it was released, and last I looked it still wasn’t.

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Before I head out of town, I’m contemplating attending tonight’s big show at The Waiting Room — New Lungs will be unveiling some new material when they headline a show with Millions of Boys, Swamp Walk and Places We Slept. Quite a lineup, and the price is right: FREE. Show starts at 9 p.m.

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Finally, I keep running into people telling me they sure do miss my column not realizing that I still write a column, but that it’s exclusively published in The Reader and not here. With that in mind, I’m going to post links to my weekly column right here in Lazy-i, though I won’t be posting the actual text.

And I’m starting today with a link to last week’s column, which is particularly timely since it talks about the Equal Employment Ordinance being voted on today by the Omaha City Council. Read that column right here.

See you in Austin.

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.