Domestica at O’Leaver’s, July 13, 2013.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

If you’re even passibly interested in post-punk, especially bands with a ’90s Homestead-style flair, you’ve got to check out Domestica. The band’s history is legend. Born out of the ashes of classic Nebraska band Mercy Rule, Domestica is a power-punk trio whose forte is guitar-driven buzz-saw rock songs about living and loving in the great, dusty Midwest. At the trio’s core is Capital-city-based husband/wife combo of bassist/vocalist Heidi Ore and guitarist Jon Taylor — the First Family of Nebraska punk.

Domestica has been around for a while, taking a brief hiatus when Mercy Rule returned for a short time a few years ago. The band’s last recording was the digital-only Domestica 2, released last year. Based on what I heard Saturday night at O’Leaver’s, it’s time for them to get back into the studio. Now with former Sideshow drummer P. Tisdale (I don’t know if he spells it Paul or Pawl, I’ve seen it both ways) they’re playing on a whole new level.

I’ve heard Heidi sing at least a couple dozen times over the decade, and she’s never sounded better than Saturday night. Part of the reason is, believe it or not, O’Leaver’s new PA, which does a good job with separation. I usually can’t hear Heidi because she’s buried beneath Jon’s guitar. This time she gave Jon a run for his money. In fact, I would have preferred Jon turn it up a bit more. He tweaked it about halfway through the set (but I could have used even more).

The set’s final song was (I believe) a new one. The band rarely leans back on riffs, preferring to keep with a short-shock chorus/verse format. On this one they repeated the guitar/bass lines in a way I can’t quite remember hearing before. I’d love to see them take off on a riff and repeat it over and over and over. Domestica as a jam band? Not quite…

Before they left the stage, they gave out one final treat. Earlier in the set a woman ran up to Heidi and told her it was her birthday, and (I think) made a request — Mercy Rule classic “Summer.” Heidi rolled into a verse of the song by herself as the rest of the band joined and transformed it into something slutty and psychedelic. Happy Birthday indeed.

Before Domestica I caught Sons of O’Leaver’s set, which was as cock-sure as always. They’re like Omaha’s unique version of The Replacements minus the booze and drugs (well, minus the drugs anyway). Don’t get lost in the fog of rhythms — both guitarists have some of the most clever guitar licks you’ll likely hear at The Club. Pay Attention!

This was the annual Speed! Nebraska showcase featuring all S!N bands. Missing from the festivities, however, was label co-founder Gary Dean Davis, who it was announced from stage, was at UNMC recovering from surgery. More details I cannot say, other than it sounds like Gary’s going to be all right.

On the other hand, I never heard why this year’s Soapbox Derby was cancelled, though I did hear rumors of a fill-in event in the near future involving other juvenile modes of racing transportation…

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What’s this, a new local-focused record store?

The news of this new venture came via Facebook yesterday, headlined “Make Believe Music Shop Grand Opening (and free 2nd St. Creamery Ice Cream)“.

“Make Believe Music Shop and 2nd St. Creamery are coming together to celebrate the latest venture from the people who brought you Make Believe Studios in Little Italy. Just as the studio serves Omaha-area bands, so too will the record store, aiming to line our shelves with primarily Nebraska artists. Opening day is set for Friday, July 19.”

The shop is asking for help getting area musicians – as many of the 1,000 local artists as possible – into the store the first few days to bring in their records to sell.

“In addition, there will be free ice cream, BBQ and cold drinks. Join us in celebrating a new addition to the Omaha music scene.”

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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.

A still from the Twinsmith video for “The Thrill.”

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Well, it looks like another O’Leaver’s weekend, with the “little bar that could” putting on two of the hottest local indie shows Friday and Saturday.

Tonight it’s the Twinsmith CD release show for the band’s self-released debut. Consisting of former members of Betsy Wells and drummer Oliver Morgan (formerly of Little Brazil), Twinsmith has a modern indie-pop style that combines touches of Band of Horses, Beach House and Vampire Weekend. Check out the Lovedrunk video for “The Thrill” below. Opening is the always entertaining Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship, and hot next-wave band Gordon (get there early). $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight, 2012 Maha Music Festival alum Josh Rouse plays at The Waiting Room. Matt Whipkey opens. $20, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, down at The Barley Street, John Klemmensen plays with a handful of locals including John Larsen, Andrew Jay and Morse Code (from Plattsmouth). $5, 9 p.m.

Finally, tonight at Slowdown Jr. it’s a $2 show featuring Detroit band Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas. Local newcomer Phantom Scout opens. $2, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night, it’s back to O’Leaver’s for the annual Speed! Nebraska Records showcase. In year’s past this was accompanied by a soapbox derby, but I guess so many racers are still on the DL that they’re skipping it this year. No matter, the party continues with The Killigans, Sons of O’Leaver’s Domestica and The Filter Kings. Good times. $5, 9 p.m.

The other big local show Saturday night is at The Waiting Room where Snake Island is hosting its tour kick-off and album release show for their Make Believe Recordings debut, Evil Music. Their month-long tour will take them to Seattle, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and more. Opening is Lincoln’s Universe Contest, Plack Blague and Eric in Outerspace. $8, 9 p.m. Check out the new Snake Island video for “Evil Music.”

Meanwhile, The Sweatshop Gallery (right next to the Barley Street) is hosting Milwaukee’s Rio Turbo, described as “TRASHY Dance PARTY, Frontman of CATACOMBZZ.” Opening is local legend Solid Goldberg and Jailbate. $5, 9 p.m.

It’s back to Sweatshop Sunday night for what could be the strangest show of the weekend headlined by San Francisco’s Bad News. According the invite: “The cross-geographical pair, Sarah Bernat and Alex Lukas weld industrial hymns out of gritted synth tones, mutilated samples and darkly protracted guitars. Working within limitations, the two have an affinity for hardware, dead-panned vox and loaded, unpredictable live performances. Bad News has proved their penchant for unsavory frequencies, achieved with artful brutality and control of their uniquely industrial sound.” Opening is the death metal guitar of Fathr^ (Dapose from The Faint), Violator X, Ruby Block and Progress. $5, 9 p.m.

Last but not least, this weekend marks the grand opening of The Berry and Rye, a new craft cocktail bar brought to you by Loom-inaries Brent Crampton and Ethan Bondelid, in the former Myth space at 1105 Howard St. We’re talking fancy frickin’ awesome drinks. To be part of it, you need to make a reservation at 402.613.1331.

Did I forget anything? Add it to the comments section. Have a hot weekend…

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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

Lincoln band Tie These Hands announced today that their 2011 Japan-only release, Come On (Kilk Records) will be self-released stateside Aug. 6. Check out the album’s title track, recorded live at the KZUM studios June 30, below.

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In the column, remembering local golf legend Tom Sieckmann and touring the city’s finest 9-hole muni’s. It’s in this week’s issue of The Reader, or read it online right here.

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The folks in Icky Blossoms have been on the Twitter talking up their new high-tech lighting rig they’ll be rolling out for the first time tonight at their O’Leaver’s debut. Three new IB songs could also be debuted tonight in what is sure to be a sweat-soaked, drunken nightmare of a show that you won’t want to miss.

Tonight’s show, btw, is an Eyeball Promotion (discussed here earlier), and also is the record release party for rock band Places We Slept. OWH‘s Kevin Coffey has some data on that band here. The only thing I know about them comes via their Bandcamp page, and the attached Vimeo video for “Sewage Bay Atlantic” (below). Rounding out the bill is Chicago band Outer Minds (HoZac Records, FDH). The stinky, sticky fun begins at 9:30 p.m. and will cost you $5 (as per usual).

“Sewage Bay Atlantic” – Places We Slept from Emma Penrose on Vimeo.

Also tonight, surf rock legend and Dick Dale returns, this time to The Waiting Room. Opening is Huge Fucking Waves. $20, 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

The 402 logo

Tonight’s show at The Waiting Room is being promoted as “402 Rock Academy Presents…” According to TWR website, the Rock Academy is part of the 402 Arts Collective, which includes the 402 Project — or maybe they’re all just different names for the same thing?

No. Here’s how I think it breaks down:

The 402 Rock Academy was launched to mentor musicians. “Through the Arts Education Connection we are partnering with public, private, and home schools across the Omaha area to supplement the consistently downsized art curriculum,” according to TWR website.

“The 402 Project” is actually the building located in Benson along Maple Street that used to be The Foundry.

“The 402 Project will provide space for musicians to perform and artists to display their work. The building includes lesson studios that are already being utilized by the 402 Rock Academy and for individual and group lessons. Upstairs you’ll find a phenomenal recording studio and on the main floor we will soon have an Aromas Coffeehouse and an all-ages space for the community to gather and artists to collaborate,” says the site.

The 402 Arts Collective, a 501(c)3 non-profit entity, apparently incorporates all these things, or as their website says, it’s a “vibrant network of artists who are committed to impacting the culture and serving the community.” A noble mission indeed.

So who is involved in the 402 Arts Collective? Well, Skypiper is the only one associated with this project that I’ve heard of. I’ve never seen/listened to the other talent on tonight’s bill — Northern Lights, Midnight Pacific, The Downcast Perfumes, & Jessica Vogt, but seeing as it’s being billed as the “End of Semester Show,” maybe they’re students involved in the Academy? No idea. I’m not familiar with anyone on the 402 Leadership Staff page.

I have, however, heard of Aromas Coffeehouse. They have a location on 10th and Jones. Don’t bother Google-ing their website because it’s broken; instead check out the Yelp entry.  Benson used to not have any decent coffee shops. Now they might have two, Omaha Bicycle Co. and (eventually) Aromas…

Tonight’s Waiting Room show is $5, starts early at 7 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

With everything else that’s been released so far this year, it’s strangely satisfying that the German edition of Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lloyd Cole’s new album, Standards, as the best album for the first half of 2013. I’m not sure the record has even landed on record store shelves in the U.S., though you can buy it (as I did) directly from Lloyd Cole’s website. I’m contemplating writing a full review of the record, which is Cole’s best since 2003’s Music in a Foreign Language (which, for my money, was only eclipsed by Rattlesnake).

It’s interesting to see how other albums ranked in the German pages. The new Vampire Weekend was No. 2, followed by Iron & Wine, Daft Punk and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (which gets my vote for best of the first half of ’13). See the full German Rolling Stone list right here.  And check out my reviews roundup for the first two quarters here and here (Lloyd Cole will be included in the third quarter round-up).

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Jake Bellows “I Know You” was the “free song of the day” at Pure Volume last week. You can still listen and download the groovy track right here, or simply check it out below. Jake’s Saddle Creek debut, New Ocean, comes out Aug. 6.

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Two shows of note tonight:

Big Al of The Big Al band wrote to say that Japanese punk rockers Mugen Hoso is playing tonight at The Barley Street Tavern with Lincoln punkers Crap Detectors and, of course, The Big Al Band. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight is the Maha Music Festival Showcase at The Waiting Room featuring Funk Trek, Midtown Marauders and winner of the Maha battle of the bands, Purveyors of the Conscious Sound, who will be opening this year’s Maha Fest. This free 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

Didn’t do much music-wise over the weekend. I spent Friday night at Benson First Friday, where I caught part of a set by John Klemmensen and AYGAMG at “Brad’s Corner” at Military Ave. and Maple Street. Nothing quite like some outdoor acoustic to give the event some “festival flair.”

We did the usual walking tour of Maple Street (Walking all the way past the construction to the new rock garden on 68th street). Lots of music, lots of noise (the DJ outside of Beercade was way too loud). Not a lot of art, though Star Deli had a particularly nice collection of art.

We walked past the new Benson Brewery and even stepped inside only to find out it would take a half hour for a table. Good for them, but not for me as I didn’t want to wait. Unfortunately, there still isn’t a lot of food options in Benson beyond Baxter’s (another crush mob), Lot 2 (um, no) and the tapas place (expensive). I hoped we’d see food trucks parked along Military, but no luck. Are the food trucks avoiding Benson or are Benson restaurants keeping them away? I was told a couple trucks/vendors showed up much later in the evening, well past the dinner hour. Benson needs food trucks. Anyway, we ended up at ol’ reliable Pizza Shoppe, where I preceded to get lit on Blue Moon ale (and no, I wasn’t driving).

Beyond that, I took a tour of The Sweatshop Gallery, the hot (literally) new art / music space right next door to The Barley Street Tavern. The performance space is in the back, a small room that opens to the back alley via overhead doors. When I say “small” I mean really small. Capacity of, what, 50? If that. Seems a tad cramped for a live show of any magnitude. In fact, I was told that Parquet Courts was a crush scene, and that the “Sweatshop” moniker should have been changed to “Sweatlodge” that night. Even empty the room is oddly stuffy, including last Friday night when only three of us were in there with the doors wide open, I can’t imagine it sandwiched with 100 people…

I bring it up because Titus Andronicus, who drew at least 100 people the last time they played at Sokol Underground, is booked to play at Sweatshop Sept. 19. I heard the venue was chosen because TA wants to do DIY rooms on this tour.

Eyeball Promotions

The Titus show is an Eyeball Promotion. Eyeball is run by none other than Craig D. and Derek Pressnall of Tilly and the Wall. The last Eyeball show was last week’s Pleasure Adapter/Toys that Kill show at O’Leaver’s, and Eyeball has another big one this Thursday: Icky Blossoms at O’Leaver’s.

With Slowburn Productions now defunct (or at least on an extended hiatus), Omaha needs another promoter to attract small and medium-sized indie shows to our market, and Eyeball may be just what the doctor ordered. Check out the Eyeball Facebook page and “like” them to keep up with their schedule.

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Speaking of shows, tonight at O’Leaver’s Hear Nebraska Presents Frontier Ruckus with Skypiper and Gerardo Meza of the Mezcal Brothers. $5, 9:30 p.m. Yeah, I know it’s Monday night, but go anyway…

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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

O’Leaver’s needs those chimes they use at large theatrical stage productions, the tri-tone bells that indicate intermission is almost over, stub out your cigarette, finish your drink and get back to your seat because the next act is about to begin.

Wednesday night I was outside talking shit with a couple friends, just enjoying the night after a nice set of embraceable punk from touring band Toys That Kill. We got carried away arguing about R.E.M. when I figured out the next band had begun their set. It can be hard to discern between live music and the club’s super-loud house music that plays between sets. “Well, have to catch Pleasure Adapter,” I said, cutting it short. He concurred and we made our way into the club only to discover a couple people rolling on the “stage” floor fiddling with something technical.

That’s when frontman Jeff Ankenbauer announced he’d had it, the set was over. He had a baby waiting for him at home and didn’t have time to deal with what appeared to be a blown amp. It couldn’t have been 10 minutes into their set, but that was it, I’d missed it. I’ve seen Pleasure Adapter before so it wasn’t a huge loss, but there had been a lot of people there to see them Wednesday night who hadn’t. As I was leaving, I ran into one of those people, a local veteran from a number of touring bands, and asked what he thought. “Kind of punk to end the set that way,” he said. “Then again, maybe not.”

O’Leaver’s is turning into thee place for bands to debut. Two new bands will be debuting there in August consisting of members who crawled from the wreckage of fallen bands (including The Stay Awake and Conduits). As my musician friend suggested, bands need to be able to “sell out” or at least “pack” O’Leaver’s before heading to The Waiting Room or Slowdown. The nice thing about O’Leaver’s is that it doesn’t matter if anyone shows up, he said, the guys that run the club don’t care. Maybe that’s true.

There seems to be a lot of “churn” going on musicwise in Omaha, a changing of the guard. Bands like Pleasure Adapter, Coaxed, Gordon, The Dad, Worried Mothers, See Through Dresses, Twinsmith are establishing a new beach head alongside first-tier next wavers like Universe Contest, Digital Leather, So-So Sailors, Solid Goldberg and Eli Mardock and current flavors from Saddle Creek like Icky Blossoms, Big Harp and Mynabirds. These bands, along with a few that I haven’t mentioned either because I haven’t seen them or simply forgot to, are redefining Nebraska music while the old ghosts — Oberst/Desa, Kasher/Cursive, The Faint — carry on a tradition they started, like a pack of tenured professors with the hard part behind them.  Meanwhile, we wait for the next break-out indie band to catch fire outside of Nebraska. And we wait, and we wait, and it may never happen…

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It’s another quiet weekend show-wise, especially from a touring band perspective.

If the weather holds out, I might ride up to The Waiting Room tonight to see John Klemmensen and the Party open for Tara Vaughan. Also on the bill are Tenderness Wilderness and Michael Wunder. $7, 9 p.m.

It’s Benson First Friday, by the way.

Over at The Barley Street, Underwater Dream Machine  (Who I’m told has an amazing set of new music) plays with Island Alumni. $5, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at fabulous O’Leaver’s, Saturn Moth plays with Small Houses. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday night at Barley Street Blue Bird plays with The Ground Tyrants and Sam Vicari. Ten O’Clock Scholars headlines. $5, 9 p.m.

And that’s about it. Let me know if I missed anything in the comments section…

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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

For once Omaha got it right when it comes to pre-holiday shows. Since we all have tomorrow off (Well, maybe not all of us), there’s nothing stopping us from checking out some shows tonight…

First on (my) list is one of the city’s hottest up-and-comers, Pleasure Adapter at O’Leaver’s. This one starts at 7:30 with a BBQ pot-luck. Music starts at 9:30 with opening bands Toys That Kill (members of skate-punk band Five Year Plan) and Co-Axed. $5. See you there

Meanwhile, at The Waiting Room, Uncluded is a clever combination of Kimya Dawson (Moldy Peaches) and Aesop Rock (indie hip-hop royalty). The result is acoustic hip-hop balanced by Dawson’s happy-lonely singing, each providing personal lyrics that take you inside their thrift-store world. Opening is funny, acerbic, political Hamell on Trial. $18, 9 p.m. BTW, has anyone asked Kimya if she’s pissed about the Prius commercial that  steals her musical style to sell cars? Whenever that commercial gets to the “Oh-oh-oh” part I want scratch some Madison Avenue whore’s eyes out.

Marilyn Manson? I forgot about ol’ ghoul-eyes, who knifed his way to pop-culture stardom by first tightly clinging onto Trent Reznor’s leather smock and then by trying to “shock” the world with miss-matched contact lenses and Kabuki make-up and his take on growly “industrial” music. Manson’s (real name Brian Warner) claim to fame was a cover of a Eurythmics song and a follow-up single ironically titled “The Beautiful People.” At the time, some were saying he was “his generation’s Alice Cooper,” forgetting of course Cooper’s “horror”-laced campy stage shows that, while over-boiling with cheese, managed to entertain an intellectual crowd who got off on fake beheadings, bored pythons and overplayed radio rock. Manson had none of the above. It didn’t take long for people to forget Manson even played music as his private life took center stage with his marriage to even-less-talented Rose McGowen, the two often showing up at red carpet events like a couple unchained circus geeks. And now… what? Well, Mr. Warner is still making records, though Interscope has dropped him, but who needs a record label in this do-it-yourself era of the music industry, especially when you’ve still got a legion of goths willing to pay $50 to see you prance about like a poorly wigged transvestite with a bad case of vocal cord nodules? Opening is Picture Me Broken, a sort of pop-metal version of Pink without the hits. Show starts at 8.

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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.

Pat Benatar at Memorial Park, June 28, 2013.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Above photo, taken last Friday from the far edge of stage right at Memorial Park, Pat Benatar but a blur. It could be anyone standing up there, but only one person has that voice, retained in all its guttural glory at age 60. What to say about the show beyond that she played all the hits, and her husband, Neil Giraldo, is one helluva guitar player. Yeah, I could have done without their between-song stories, many of which had no point or were cheesy crowd-fodder (The intro to “Hell Is For Children” was particularly dreadful).

The crowd was unusually rough for this sort of “funday in the park” entertainment. Lots of leather-skinned grifters with bad teeth, crazy-eyed women wearing over-sized, stained tank-tops with unwashed hair lying flat and greasy against their backs, flashing rolls of belly flesh or the awkward thumb-bruise on their thigh. One could write a very lengthy novel if one merely copied all the verbiage scrawled in permanent ink on the necks of their husbands. How did neck tattoos get so popular? When did we as a society decide that face tattoos are appropriate for anyone but carnies and inmates?

One stand-out moment: A young woman in pig tails and stoned-red eyes stumbling back and forth along the plastic snow fence like a real-life zombie, holding her left knee. She purposely tripped over our blanket (and my feet), saying “Sorry, my knee,” holding her lower leg as if it were an unattached, dirty, bruised prosthetic. The young couple in front of us looked genuinely disturbed and concerned, until they noticed she wasn’t looking for help, but rather making rounds through the crowd.

I know, I know, no one forced me to go to a free concert in the park. What did I expect? Still, the event is literally steps from my front door. And besides, where else am I going to get a chance to see bands like Benatar or Huey Lewis last year or Cheap Trick the year before? And for free? I could have gone to Billy Idol Friday night at Stir Cove (where all three above-mentioned performers have played in past years), but why pay $50 for tickets when he’ll eventually wind up at Memorial Park?

Ah, remember when the city put on a “youth concert” in the park a few years ago? Past performers included Bright Eyes, Feist and Gomez. For whatever reason, that concert went away, probably due to loss of a major sponsor (seems like a cellphone company was behind them). It would be nice to have it back, however that concert could be viewed as competition for Maha, who struggles as it is to book a festival-sized indie show (it’s just around the corner, btw). But I don’t see the free “youth concert in the park” returning anytime soon, certainly not with a new shiny mayor dead-set on cutting taxes…

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Tonight at The Waiting Room, acclained singer/songwriter Jame McMurtry plays with The Bottle Rockets. $20, early 8 p.m. start time.

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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.