Well-Aimed Arrows at The Barley Street Tavern, April 7, 2012

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

No photos from Saturdays show because my Mac’s OS is being rebuilt again. What a pain in my ass. Maybe it’s time to get a new computer? I was way in back of a crowded Barley Street Tavern anyway and the photos weren’t exactly primo, as you can see by the crappy, off-kilter pic of Well-Aimed Arrows, above. WAA followed the very good six-piece known as We Live In Sod Houses, who opened the show, a rousing Americana punk band, sort of Decemberists meets Neil Young meets ’90s indie rock from somewhere in southwest Iowa. I only caught their last four songs, and was told that they’d been on for about 45 minutes before I got there — super long set. Sorry I missed the first part.

Well-Aimed Arrows’ set was the usual 30 minutes of angular post-punk that harkens back to greats such as Gang of Four/Wire/Minutemen/Fugazi. I love this band (as you know), whose members include Clayton Petersen and Koly Walters of The Protoculture (Erica Hanton of Kite Pilot, then Erica Petersen, also was in the band). Their album, Adult Entertainment, reviewed last July, will be the subject of a vinyl-release show May 25 with Millions of Boys and Dads at Slowdown Jr. Mark your calendars.

Finally, it was Kite Pilot reborn as a power trio featuring Todd and Erica Hanton and drummer Jeremy Stanoschek. Their new sound is much more post-punk and less poppy than the old version that was kicking around last decade. Todd’s trumpet is gone. Instead, he’s busy on keyboards and the occasional bass and providing very tasty vocal harmonies, while Erica’s bass and guitar work never sounded better. Performing all new material, their finest moments were ripping full-bore into blistering rockers that were among the best things I’ve ever heard them play, but they floundered when they tried their hand at arty, experimental prog, which suffered from awkward time changes and poor arrangements. As a whole, the trio has entered into an exciting new stage in their career despite the fact that they’re still trying to define this new sound.

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Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s Americana rockers Good Old War with The Belle Brigade and Family of the Year. $12, early 8 p.m. start.

Also tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s it’s Tucson band Seashell Radio with The Debts. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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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.