Hospitality at Slowdown Jr., Oct. 3, 2012.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The presidential debate was still on the club’s big screen when I arrived at around 9:15. I guess it was the socially responsible thing to do, though there’s little doubt who most people performing on stage and in the audience will be voting for in November. About 20 people sat around and flipped through their smart phones, waiting for the debate to end, which it did at 9:30. Moments later, Teen walked on stage and said, “Hi, we’re Teen.”

The all-female 4-piece (guitar, bass, drums, keys) from Brooklyn, USA, plays a distinctly indie-style of VU-influenced rock that at times borders on shoegaze, though it’s not quite as droning and atonal as your run-o’-the-mill shoegaze (and ratchets up the tunefulness with strong vocal melodies from frontwoman Katherine Leiberson (ex-Here We Go Magic)). What it shares with shoegaze, however, is a knack for drawn-out cool sequences that repeat themselves, especially toward the tail-end of songs. It’s kind of jammy, though there’s no jamming going on, just tight, repeated riffs.

TEEN at Slowdown Jr., Oct. 3, 2012.

Hospitality’s set was plagued with a myriad of technical issues. Lead singer Amber Papini broke a guitar string on the first song, and then effectively cursed the rest of their set by saying, “I guess it’s bad luck.” Two songs later the input jack broke on the bass. Then the lead guitarist began having problem with his microphone. “That’s okay, I don’t sing much anyway,” he said.

Despite all these handicaps, the band roared through a fantastic set, raising the intensity of the songs on their debut album to an edgier, more angular level. Hospitality songs seem to come in two flavors — mild and wild. The mild stuff are straight-forward pop songs; but the wild stuff boils over on breakneck guitar riffs that are infectiously groovy. More “wild,” please. I planned on staying for only a few minutes of Hospitality but got drawn in well past my bedtime. Now all they need to do is capture the edge of their live show on their records.

Club note: Slowdown Jr. added a new velvet floor-to-ceiling side curtain to their small stage, cutting off the sight lines from stage left (toward the patio exit, the pool table, etc.). The curtain, which was being used to hide band gear, appears to be retractable. It’s an odd addition, though it does do a good job “framing” the stage…

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This week’s column is a look at the iPhone 5, or more accurately a look at why having an iPhone — or any smartphone — makes life a little easier for us loners. You can read it in this week’s issue of The Reader, or online right here.

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Tuesday night’s Desaparecidos performance on Last Call w/Carson Daly went online yesterday. You can view the clips via the links below:

“MariKKKopa”: http://videobam.com/pzUXf#.UG2xBL0i3fc.email

“Backsell”: http://videobam.com/DWJuU#.UG2xF16_T68.email

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They’re calling it “Occustock 2.” The event, hosted by Occupy Omaha tonight at Slowdown Jr., features Capgun Coup, Quantum Method and 3rd & Delaware as well as handful of comedians. Proceeds generated from the $10 tickets will go toward funding Occupy Omaha’s expenses, such as printing and supplies and food for Occupy Omaha’s food day, according to theslowdown.com. Show starts at 8 p.m.

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