The men of Ladyfinger, from left, are Pat Oakes, Dan Brennan, Chris Machmuller and Jamie Massey.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Love and Aliens: Ladyfinger Releases Errant Forms

The evolution of Ladyfinger can be heard from the first track of the band’s new Saddle Creek Records release, Errant Forms.

“Renew” opens with brittle, electric guitar chords before the rhythm section of drummer Pat Oakes and bassist Dan Brennan slides beneath warm keyboards, Jamie Massey’s smokey, twirling guitar and frontman Chris Machmuller’s cool growl.

You could say Machmuller also sang on the band’s 2006 debut, Heavy Hands, but not like this. These days Machmuller really sings, confident on the ghostly, glowing high notes that follow the song’s prophetic line, “I will grow old.”

If it sounds “pretty” compared to the howling noise of Ladyfinger’s early years that’s because it is. Still, the music is no less bracing or powerful, just easier to grasp in its clarity.

Or as Machmuller put it, “There’s more space between the parts on this record.”

A brief history: Ladyfinger (also known by the legal restriction Ladyfinger (ne)) formed in 2004 out of three other bands: Massey from Race for Titles, Machmuller from Bleeders for Treats, and Oakes and bassist Ethan Jones from Putrescine The original foursome produced two albums, Heavy Hands and the 2009 followup, Dusk. After that, Jones left Ladyfinger to be replaced with “new guy” Brennan, formerly of rock band The ’89 Cubs.

Ladyfinger, Errant Forms (Saddle Creek, 2013)

Back to the present: Better singing means understandable lyrics. Good thing Machmuller knows how to tell a story. On Errant Forms‘ first single, “Dark Horse,” he spins a non-autobiographical yarn about a wild, irresponsible party hound who’s “looking for a road I ain’t ever gonna find” but finds it when he discovers his wife or girlfriend is carrying his baby. Coincidentally, Machmuller discovered his wife was in a “family way” shortly after writing the song.

Then there’s “Galactic” — also not auto-biographical…probably. The brutal rocker describes a guy who picks up signals in his head — numbers and images — obviously messages about an alien coup, which he explains with the line: “I’m a space invader and I think I can save this planet from galactic destroyers from space.” Rush’s 2112 has nothing on these guys.

Like their previous albums, Errant Forms was recorded by their old pal Matt Bayles, whose track record includes working with Mastodon, Minus the Bear, Pearl Jam and fellow Saddle Creekers Cursive.

Working with such an accomplished producer puts pressure on the band, Oakes said, especially when the band isn’t sure it’s ready to enter the studio.

“This record seemed like it was pieced together out of random parts more than the last ones,” Oakes said. “When we went in for Heavy Hands, we knew exactly what we wanted to do, and had played those songs a million times, but for this one, we asked ourselves, ‘Are we ready to record? What if this whole thing falls apart?’”

When it comes to working with Bayles, uncertainty could spell trouble. “Matt does not indulge you,” Machmuller said. “He refers to our sessions as ‘abridged.’ He’s used to having six to 12 weeks in the studio. We only had two weeks (at Omaha’s ARC Studio) to track 13 or 14 songs.”

“He’s very thorough, very meticulous, and that’s what makes him a good producer and engineer,” Oakes said. “If you push back, Matt will stand his ground and be a dick about it. He knows that time is of the essence, and he’s not going to negotiate with you.”

Good thing he likes these guys.

“He doesn’t do our records to make money” Massey added. “He’s been good to us when he didn’t have to be. He bends for us and we appreciate it.”

While the way they make records hasn’t changed much, the way the band and label sells them has. In the old days bands simply released records and hit the road, hoping college radio and good reviews piqued people’s interest.

These days marketing is all about online placement and social media. “The social network sphere is completely different than when Dusk came out,” Oakes said. “As a result, we’re seeing things happen with this record that have never happened before.”

Things like first single “Dark Horse” being selected as the “Daily Download” at rollingstone.com, where readers can listen to and download the track for free. Massey credited Saddle Creek’s Jeff Tafolla, in charge of licensing and new media, for the increased exposure, including Errant Forms being available as a digital stream from taste-making music blog AbsolutePunk.net.

But these new-fangled sales methods go beyond blogs. Tafolla suggested Ladyfinger launch a Twitter account (@ladyfingerne) as well as a Facebook page (@facebook.com/ladyfingerne).

“All four of us have access to these accounts and can do what we want with them,” Oakes said, “but it gets complicated.”

“I’ve been signed up to six brand new things that I have to figure out,” Machmuller said. “I’m worried about keeping all the passwords straight.”

With fans now able to hear the entire album from their computers for free, some of the “specialness” that comes with buying an album has faded. That’s one reason Errant Forms is being offered on vinyl in addition to digital download. “We considered going the vinyl route with Dusk,” Machmuller said. “Vinyl has become less of a novelty and more of a collectible. We saw the trend even back then.”

Saddle Creek says Ladyfinger’s combined sales for their past two releases was somewhere north of 1,200 units, far from what’s needed to make a living. All four band members have day jobs. Brennan, 34, is a sound engineer at The Slowdown when he isn’t on the road working sound for bands like Cursive. Massey, 37, is an art director at Turnpost Creative Group and proprietor of The Sydney in Benson. Machmuller, 32, launched Workers Take Out and now runs O’Leaver’s Pub, while Oakes, 35, is a production manager at Ink Tank Merch, a custom screen printing company owned by Saddle Creek.

With families to support and a music industry in decline, why keep putting out records?

“At the end of the day, for me, it’s all about playing shows,” Oakes said. “And if we sell more albums, that could mean playing bigger shows.”

“None of us have never not been in a band,” Machmuller said. “I love hearing things in my head and hearing them become recorded music. That’s the best part.”

Ladyfinger plays with The Seen and Hussies this Friday, Feb. 1, at The Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. Tickets are $8. Show starts at 9 p.m. For more information and tickets, go to onepercentproductions.com.

First published in The Reader. Copyright © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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More Ladyfinger… The fine folks at Love Drunk today released the new video for Ladyfinger’s “Away Too Long.” If you ever wondered what Saddle Creek Records’ world headquarters look like, here’s your chance to get a peek. Check it out below:

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The Thermals, Desperate Ground (Saddle Creek, 2013)

Saddle Creek Records announced via Pitchfork (Who needs to issue a press release when you’ve got Pitchfork?) that the label signed (former) Sub Pop act The Thermals. The details, from the actual press release issued by the band:

“The Thermals are pleased to announce they have signed to Saddle Creek, a label the band has known and admired for many years. The Thermals and Saddle Creek have a long history of sleeping on floors together: The Thermals have toured with Cursive and Ladyfinger, and Hutch and Kathy organized the first Bright Eyes show in Portland way back in 1999.

“The band formed in 2002 and has released five records and toured 15 countries. The Thermals’ sixth LP and debut for Saddle Creek, Desperate Ground, will be released April 16 and is available now for pre-order at the Saddle Creek Online Store. The album was produced by John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth) in Hoboken, NJ. Agnello and The Thermals completed the record and evacuated the studio just hours before Hurricane Sandy ravaged New Jersey, a fate quite fitting when you consider the product. Desperate Ground is a true scrappy and scratchy return-to-form for The Thermals, with all the raw power and unhinged adolescent energy that made their early LP’s so insanely enjoyable.

“Lyrically, Desperate Ground is a brash and irresponsible ode to human violence, a black celebration of the inevitability of war and death. A dark and yet joyous affair, Desperate Ground tells the (murky) tale of a lone rogue in the night. One man, one path, one sword. An unceasing urge to destroy. A never-ending battle against the forces of nature. A destiny impossible to avoid.”

The signing could be good timing for Saddle Creek, as Sub Pop announced last week that it’s reissuing the band’s first three albums on vinyl. “On March 5, fans can own limited-edition, colored vinyl copies of 2003’s More Parts Per Million, 2004’s Fuckin’ A, and 2006’s The Body, the Blood, the Machine. The triple-reissue (which also includes the rare “No Culture Icons” 7″) comes on the 10th anniversary of the release of More Parts Per Million.”

The only Thermals album I’ve owned was More Parts… which reminded me a ton of Superchunk. I haven’t heard their last couple of albums. After 2008’s “Returning to the Fold” single, the band jumped ship from Sub Pop (or was pushed) and landed at Kill Rock Stars for two more LPs, the last of which was Personal Life in 2010.

The Thermals are no strangers to Omaha stages. They last played in Omaha at The Waiting Room in May 2011. Before that, they played Slowdown Jr. in April 2009, and before that, Sokol Underground with Thunder Power back in November 2007.

Hey Maha, here’s another band for you to consider for this year’s festival…

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The Whipkey Three opens tonight for touring Columbus, Ohio band Red Wanting Blue (Fanatic/EMI/Caroline) at The Waiting Room. $10, 9 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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There’s a bit of Conor Oberst news bouncing around the internet.  Both SPIN and TwentFourBit have stories that include links to an unreleased Oberst song called “Night at Lake Unknown” (Do you think he was talking about Lake Manawa?). They also recap details about an upcoming Monsters of Folk film and music project that Jim James discussed on his Reddit AMA. Oberst made news last week with a massive Q&A at Drowned In Sound (right here) where he confirmed that we’ll be getting some new Desaparecidos material sometime in the future.  Desa plays Europe and stateside for nearly a month starting Feb. 7 in Dublin, right after Oberst finishes up some European solo dates.

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Check out The Faint performing “Agenda Suicide” and “Glass Danse” on Pitchfork.tv, below:

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The Waiting Room’s $3 showcase series continues tonight, this time sponsored by Boulevard Brewing Co. and featuring InDreama, Universe Contest and Arrows, which I’m told is a brand new Omaha band whose members include a recent Detroit transplant. Just $3 gets you in. Show starts at 9. Don’t let the snow, cold and wind slow you down.

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Tomorrow: Ladyfinger.

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Gordon at The Side Door Lounge, Jan. 26, 2013

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I figured the easiest way to finally catch a set by Gordon was to drop in at their show at The Side Door Lounge Friday night. It’d also be a chance to see what the club, located on Leavenworth just a couple blocks from my old apartment (The St. Regis), was all about. The Side Door has become a sort of go-to spot for singer songwriters, at least it appears to be based on the number of shows they book, acts I’ve never heard nor seen before that rarely play at the usual indie music clubs. So there was that… and the fact that the show was free — I had nothing to lose.

I was surprised when I was able to park my shit-car in the club’s adjacent parking lot. I’m not sure where I would have parked otherwise. The neighborhood has a seedy reputation these days, just like it did back when I lived there twenty-some years ago. Once inside the long, narrow, concrete box of a building I almost turned around and left. The place was belly-to-butt. Every table was filled and people were crowded all the way to the bar.

I’ll say this up front: It’s a helluva nice place, well designed, clean, a giant leap from the dinge-holes I’m used to. In fact, it was downright romantic, warmly lit with dim track lighting pointed at tasteful black-and-white art photos along one wall and large ironic pastel drawings of cars along the other. I made a mental note to come back sometime just to drink.

But as a music venue, The Side Door has its share of challenges, mostly due to the layout. The room is filled with short tables that crowd right up to the “stage” in the back. An exit off stage right leads to the beer garden, but forget about going outside to burn one — you’ll never make it through the maze of tables, at least on this night. With no space in front of the stage there’s nowhere for people to stand and watch the band, and if they did, they’d block out everyone sitting down since there’s no stage riser. This likely isn’t a problem during one of club’s many open-mic nights, but for a punk show…

Gordon had posted on Facebook that they would play at “10 sharp,” but it was well past 10:30 before the opener — a duo called I Am the Navigator — finally packed up and left. Then it took another 20 minutes before members of Gordon began skulking out of the back room with their instrument cases and pieces of drum set.

With nowhere to sit, I found the least conspicuous place to stand against the far wall and aimlessly flipped through my iPhone to kill time. The crowd of young hipsters gave me more than my share of ‘who-the-fuck-are-you’ looks.

Finally at around 11:30, the Men of Gordon assembled in the cramped spot it the back of the room between a couple pair of speakers that make up the club’s PA. Before they started, the frontman — a tall drink of water with a big ol’ head of hair — asked the sound guy to turn off all the lights except for the bar lights, which he quickly did, leaving the room lit only by the tiny electric candles on the tables and the penlight attached to lead singer’s microphone, which didn’t last long.

Gordon’s music was as grinding and abrasive as what you’ll hear on their Soundcloud page — a slop-mire of drums and guitar and lead guy’s slurred vocals made raw by a cheap condenser microphone. The sound is pure slacker, a bastard child of Pavement and Galaxy 500 and whatever dark-light indie rock band you can remember from the ’90, which is probably why I like it so much.

The frontman’s mic light still burned brightly as he introduced the first cover of the night. “This next song’s by Nirvana,” he said. “Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994. Good riddance.” And with that the band launched into a scuzzy cover of “Territorial Pissing” recognizable by the guitar chords rather than his screeching.

Between songs a short, weathered-looking woman wearing layers of coats pushed through the crowd right up to the stage. “Hello pretty lady,” said the frontman as she shuffled right past him and into the back room, only to emerge halfway through the next song carrying a couple loaded plastic bags.

At about that time, the microphone broke — along with the penlight and the breaker that powered the left side of the stage. Frontguy stood shirtless in the dark asking the audience to touch his nipples as the band tore into a wasted version of their own “No Masters, No War.” By the end of the set he was laying flat on his back barking out a cover of The Smiths’ “This Charming Man” plagued by the backup mic’s drop outs.

It was a lovely train wreck the likes of which I haven’t seen since The Shanks farewell two-night stand at O’Leaver’s a year or so ago. In a lot of ways Gordon reminds me of The Shanks, albeit a cute furry animal version without the blood and gore. Just like them, Gordon contains unmeasurable raw talent that has a habit of spinning gloriously out of control on stage, or at least it did last Saturday night…

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By the way, Gordon has been named to open for powerhouse Brooklyn post-hardcore band The Men when they play at Slowdown April 27. If you can’t wait that long, you catch them Feb. 7 at the Grant Curtz Benefit show at Slowdown with Video Ranger and Brigadiers.

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Speaking of The Shanks, top Shank Todd VonStup wrote to say that The Shanks “Complete Discography” is available from their Bandcamp page as a free download, at least for the next week. After that, the download will cost you 7 bones. Run on over there and get it while it’s hot.

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Finally, word leaked out Sunday that Morrissey has been diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer, which will sideline him for the next couple weeks including the Feb. 6 Lincoln/Rococo show, which has been postponed (and not cancelled) again. Hold on to your tickets folks and stand by for the rescheduled date, which (if it happens) won’t be at least until mid-March…

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Lots of stuff happening this weekend, but not until Saturday night.

Band Build Benefit

Maybe the biggest show is the Band Build benefit for Habitat for Humanity at The Waiting Room. The lineup: Icky Blossoms, Blue Bird, Life Is Cool and John Klemmensen. Tickets are $10 today, $12 tomorrow and all proceeds (including money generated in the event raffle) go to Habitat Omaha. Starts at 8 (that’s right, 8 p.m.).

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Foxygen, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic (Jagjaguwar, 2013)

Not much to report other than the new Foxygen album, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic (Jagjaguwar), is somewhat fantastic and should be sought out at any fine record store. It was produced by Richard Swift, who worked on the last two Mynabirds albums. Track “In the Darkness,” with the classic line: “There’s no need to be an asshole / You’re not in Brooklyn anymore…” is pure ’70s Stones, as Stonesy as you can get without dragging Mick into the studio.

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Sun Settings has changed its name to Ego Death. Is the name better? Will the band sound different? Find out at O’Cursive’s Feb. 9.

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In this week’s column, I make the argument that Figure Skating is, indeed, a sport (and who else is going to the championships this weekend?). Read it in this week’s issue of The Reader or online right here.

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The $3 showcases at The Waiting Room continue tonight, this time brought to you by Odell Brewing Company and featuring Snake Island with creepy Lincoln guy Plack Blague, Swamp Walk and Ruby Block. Starts at 9.

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

LVC Underground at The Waiting Room, Jan. 22, 2013.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

What to say about The Waiting Room’s recent upgrades? Well, the LED-powered stage lighting looked brighter. The stage and the floor in front of it seemed bigger with the addition of new walls that led backstage and the elimination of those huge black drapes. The sound was as good as ever — I didn’t notice a change, but then again, my focus last night was on a three-piece folk band and not a full blown rock show.

That band was LVC Underground — the trio of Greg Loftis, Bret Vovk and Nick Carl with a fourth person filling in on guitar (who would lose his guitar after one of the amps blew halfway through the set). The focus was on the three balladeers seated across the stage, passing an electric guitar between them as they shared leads during the six-song set — each one singing lead on two songs while the other two provided some fine, fine harmonies.

The style shifted from lead to lead. Vovk’s songs had the same lilt heard on his solo work. Carl’s songs were the twangiest of the bunch and the most low-key (and most romantic), while Loftis provided the rock flair, which was heaviest on the set closer. As a whole, their laid-back style recalled CSNY, Will Johnson, very early Eagles and/or Jackson Browne and a touch of Wilco. Every song had something going for it, and the trio sounded like old pros rather than a band of friends who have playing together only for a short time.

Credit the songwriting, which was simple, straight-forward but with dense layers of harmony and sparse accompaniment that at times included Vovk on tom drum and tambourine. Carl and Vovk are among the most under-appreciated talents in the Omaha scene, flying under the radar (Carl has no recordings that I know of) whether by choice or by circumstance, while Loftis continues to nurture his urban legend status. Hopefully this trio will finish a record before Loftis takes flight once again, to points unknown.

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The Waiting Room’s $3 showcases continue tonight, this time sponsored by New Belgium Brewing and featuring blues man Kris Lager covering the Beastie Boys. Opening is Touch People (a.k.a. Darren Keen, formerly of The Show Is the Rainbow). Keen recently made all three Touch People albums available for free download on Soundcloud. It’s some weird, groovy shit. Check it out here. Show starts at 9.

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Greg Loftis

Greg Loftis is something of a local legend. Maybe “local legend” isn’t the right word. How ’bout urban legend?

I first interviewed him in 2006 for my column where Loftis talked about his new band An Iris Pattern as well as his association with Idlewild, Greg Dulli and Tommy Hilfiger (read it here). Shortly thereafter, Loftis’ band became Malpais. And then I lost track of him. He went off somewhere out east I believe. Now he’s back — tonight to be exact, when Malpais headlines a show at The Waiting Room.

Says Loftis via Facebook: “We have been held up rehearsing and make our re-debut at the grand reopening of (The Waiting Room). We are sounding exponentially better than we ever did and have plans to tour, record and release this year.”

But in addition to Malpais, Loftis has a new band with Bret Volk (Underwater Dream Machine) and Nick Carl called LVC Underground. “It is a fantastic harmony-drenched Americana-esque affair with leanings toward Simon and Garfunkel, Ryan Adams, Nick Drake (but sonically denser), The Twilight Singers, The Beach Boys and The Brian Jonestown Massacre!!! In short, it rules.”

You can see LVC Underground’s stage debut tonight as well, as they’re opening at The Waiting Room along with Moses Prey.

While both of those stories are interesting, leave it to Loftis to outdo himself with talk of his solo record, which he says, he’s been recording at Levon Helm’s home studio, “The Barn,” over the last few months and includes contributions from Chris Robinson of the Black Crows, Steve Earle and members of The Band.

Wait, what?

“Steve lives three miles away so it’s kinda cheating,” Loftis explained. “The assistant engineer up there works with the Crows, who did a disc up there. The crazy legends that just pop in and out to say ‘Hi,’ honestly just desensitized me after a while.”

Loftis said Helm had just passed a few weeks before he went up to record, “so it was a divinely spiritual time to be recording at his house. He was most definitely there… I became a REAL singer up there honestly, and I know for CERTAIN I owe that to Levon. I was just terrified to do my first vocal takes and I swear I felt this enormous hand on my back and heard a raspy ‘Relax and sing your song, son’… and I could do no wrong after that. Ripping through 3-5 part harmonies in 1 to 2 takes a piece. Stuff I never in my life could approach doing before. Then singing with those guys around … You get a nod from a Black Crow about your Americana-styled singing and you know you can feel alright about it. They know something about it. That hippy Chris has a set of lungs that just bellow. He has all the gears.”

Loftis said he plans to return to The Barn to mix, overdub and do a couple more songs. But right now, he’s back in Omaha, and specifically, in Benson, and he couldn’t be happier.

“I am just so fantastically happy/excited/euphoric about Benson. BENSON!!! Woo!!! It was our dream before I left that it would live,” Loftis said. “I am so glad it needed not a damn thing from me to grow and come alive!!!… I feel like I left the town that was empty and on the backside of the ‘Saddle Creek national high’… and returned to find this epic, diverse creative wonderland I am sooooo down to get lost in for an extended period of time… at least get a few baby records gestating within Benson’s belly!!! Watch em’ pop out of her in the summer!”

If you think Loftis sounds exciting in print, wait ’til you see and hear him tonight at The Waiting Room. The show is sponsored by Shiner Beers, which means it’s only $3. Starts at 9.

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Lee Meyerpeter and Josh Dunwoody at Take Cover Omaha, Vol. 2, at The Sydney, Jan. 18, 2013.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Nearly 300 people paid $5 to attend a Take Cover show this past weekend. Omaha drew the best crowd, with nearly 200 paid at The Sydney Friday night, and if you were there, you could feel it. Crush mob. I showed up about halfway through the evening’s line-up, just in time to catch the Lee Meyerpeter & Josh Dunwoody (of The Filter Kings) and Landon Hedges (of Little Brazil) do their one original/one cover. The Filter Kings’ dudes covered a Killigans’ tune, while Landon took on a Lullaby for the Working Class song. The crowd dug them both and so did I, but by the end of Landon’s song I was feeling pretty claustrophobic…

The final tally was nearly $2,000 raised for Hear Nebraska to help support their mission, which is pretty simple: To make the state a globally recognized cultural destination. Hear Nebraska’s only job is to support Nebraska music. That’s it. If you’re in a local band, or just love local music, get your ass behind the HN cause. If you didn’t get a chance to drop in at either showcase, you can still donate $5 (or more) by going to the Hear Nebraska donation page and making a donation. You can even do it using PayPal — just designate the payment to Hear Nebraska, Inc. How simple is that?

Or if you’d rather get a tchotchke in return for your donation, go to the Hear Nebraska store and buy one of their fancy new T-shirts or a koozy. Do it.

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The only thing else to report on this quiet MLK Day is that everyone’s favorite band of degenerates, Peace of Shit, has decided to change its name to something I guess they think is much less offensive: Dumb Beach.

Dumb Beach frontman Austin Ulmer confirmed that the name change is no joke. He said they may play a few remaining smaller shows under the old Peace of Shit moniker, but after that, look for Dumb Beach on the gig calendars. I’m trying to talk him into playing one final show as Peace of Shit — a heart-rending farewell performance that would rival The Last Waltz. Why not? It worked for Sun Settings…

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Brigadiers at The Waiting Room, Dec. 27, 2012.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Here we are on the verge of yet another weekend.

As mentioned yesterday, tonight is the Take Cover Omaha, Vol. 2 benefit show for Hear Nebraska at The Sydney in Benson. Fourteen performers, 14 covers, one low price of $5, which goes to support Hear Nebraska programs. Show starts at 9 p.m. See you there.

Also tonight, The Brigadiers headlines a show with New Lungs at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Brigadiers is Shane Lamson, guitar, vocals; Mark Weber (ex-Box), lead guitar, vocals; Vic Padios (ex-Calico, ex-Gymnastics), bass, vocals; and Clint Schnase (ex-Cursive) on drums. New Lungs have a self-released EP coming out Feb. 9 called You’re Not Gonna Recognize Me that is red frickin’ hot. The Lungs are Danny Maxwell, vocals, guitar; Craig Fort, bass, and Corey Broman, drums. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at The Brothers, Yuppies headline a show with Lincoln madman Ron Wax and Iowa City’s Solid Attitude. This is the last time you’ll see the Yuppies on stage until next fall. $5, 9 p.m. More info here.

Also tonight, The L. Eugene Band, a jazz trio featuring Methe on keys, Mike Tulis on fuzz + tremelo guitar, and Brian Poloncic on drums, is playing a set at The Side Door lounge with Love Technicians, Guilty Is the Bear and Paris When It Sizzles. SDL Facebook page says it starts at 8 and no word on cover.

And finally, over at The Waiting Room tonight, Skypiper is headlining with Quiet Corral & Mike Schlesinger. $7, 9 p.m.

Not so crowded tomorrow night:

San Francisco electro-dream-pop band Geography plays at The Slowdown with On An On. $10 Adv./$12 DOS.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/54306922″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

And if you’re in Lincoln Saturday night, check out Take Cover Lincoln, Vol. 2 at The Zoo Bar. Same deal as the Omaha version but with 16 bands. $5, 9 p.m. More info here.

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Take Cover poster

We haven’t had a show worth a shit all week and then tomorrow there’s an avalanche. Needless to say, I already have commitments for tomorrow night in the form of Take Cover Omaha, Vol. 2 at The Sydney in Benson. Just like last year, each performer will play one original song and cover one song by another Nebraska-based band and/or performer they admire. The line-up as of this writing:

Dan McCarthy (McCarthy Trenching) covering Bill Hoover (Dark Town House Band)
Landon Hedges (Desaparacidos, Little Brazil) covering Lullaby for the Working Class
Luke Pettipole (Envy Corps) covering Great American Desert
John Larsen covering John Klemmensen
John Klemmensen (… and the Party; Landing on the Moon) covering Ladyfinger
Ted Stevens (Cursive)
Laura Burhenn (The Mynabirds)
Heather Berney (The Betties) covering Matt Cox
Django Greenblatt-Seay covering The Good Life
Rebecca Lowry (All Young Girls Are Machine Guns) covering Paul Williams
Rachel Tomlinson Dick (HERS) and Teal Gardner (UUVVWWZ) covering Outlaw Con Bandana
Aaron Parker (Gordon)
Max Holmquist (The Great American Desert) covering Neva Dinova
Lee Meyerpeter and Josh Dunwoody (Filter Kings)

Your $5 cover will go to support Hear Nebraska, a little ol’ music-lovin’ organization in which I’m a board member. So, you know, you should go. Show starts at 9.

There are at least three more shows going on tomorrow night (which I’ll talk about in tomorrow’s blog). Why can’t you people figure out a way to spread the love over a few more days?

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This week’s column is about gun laws and the bluster about changing them, which will result in nothing happening because people got to have their toys, no matter how dangerous they are. You can read it in this week’s issue of The Reader or online right here. Lock and load.

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Uh, I swear that tonight’s show wasn’t on the One Percent website earlier this week, but there it is now. Tonight at the new, improved Waiting Room, it’s Bear Stories with Millions of Boys, Thirteenth Year and Fumescrew. It’s a chance to check out the club’s improvements to the sound, lights and stage, which Kevin Coffey writes about today’s OWH (right here).

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.