Poliça at The Waiting Room, April 23, 2013.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Pixie-ish Channy Leaneagh looked like a young Mia Farrow (back when Farrow was married to Sinatra, circa Rosemary’s Baby) doing a jerky genie ballet, her tiny hands casting quirky spells on the mesmerized crowd, with a voice like a Twin Cities’ version of Bjork of Sinead. Behind her a band that consisted of two drummers and a bass player named Chris Bierden, who carried the burden of melody on his back.

As such, Poliça, who played at The Waiting Room Tuesday night to a medium-sized crowd (125?), relied more on rhythm than melody. Leaneagh also added her own sounds via a small electronics panel that housed synth samples and effects, but it was her voice at the center of it all, a cooing tone at times layered by technology. The set held a gorgeous, sexy vibe, like a deep-night strut laced with shot-gun echo, with Leaneagh leading the way through the pitch-black tunnel, holding your hand.

My only gripe — the delay in her vocals made it impossible to understand what she was singing, which likely wasn’t a problem for those already familiar with Poliça’s songs. I’m only now discovering them, so the set held a bit more mystery.

Night Moves at The Waiting Room, April 23, 2013.

Opening act Night Moves had a Beach House thing going on, especially from vocalist John Pelant, but musically it would be hard to confuse the two bands. Beach House’s music is more ethereal compared to Night Moves’ more rooted psych rock sound. The band was at its best when Pelant was given room to lean back on his guitar and open up late verses with floating solos. Laid-back indie at it’s finest.

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Kevin Coffey has a feature in today’s Omaha World-Herald that partially outlines the financial structure of the Maha Music Festival. The only thing missing is the dollar signs, though Kev did get them to cough up that year one cost $250k. The money involved is, indeed, substantial. We’re lucky to have these four talented entrepreneurs willing to take the risk. Watch for the big stage announcement this Sunday night.

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In this week’s column, with all the bad shit going down these days, should we just avoid the news? And who else gets bummed out by NPR? The story is in this week’s issue of The Reader or read it online 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.