by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s been too long since I’ve been to The Waiting Room. Fact is, lately the club just hasn’t booked many shows that interested me. Well, TWR is welcoming me back this week, starting with a sneaky little show going on tonight.

Portland band Typhoon plays dense, intricate, layered chamber rock that recalls bands like The National, Sufjan and good ol’ Bright Eyes. They tour with as many as 14 players including strings and horns, and have performed on Letterman.

I listened to their last two albums via Spotify and was impressed, though their music can be overly dramatic / dour / “important.” Lots of earnest songs about love and death interspersed with hand claps and group choruses.

They’ve been grouped in with Decemberists, which isn’t bad company, though Typhoon’s music isn’t nearly as hook-filled. Never heard of their label (Roll Call) either, but with the proliferation of online indie, anonymous labels are becoming commonplace. Tonight’s show is certainly worth your $10 if you’re into big-sound-production indie rock. Opening is Portland band Radiation City (or Rad City). Starts at 9.

Some Typhoon:

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/89352531″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

…and Radiation City:

Here’s how the rest of the week is shaping up for national touring shows. Could be lots of long nights and painful mornings:

Blitzen Trapper headlines w/ Oquoa at The Waiting room tomorrow night (Tuesday).

Joan of Arc Wednesday at O’Leaver’s (yep, Joan of Arc).

Best Coast and Bleached are at The Waiting Room Thursday.

Friggin’ Titus Andronicus is at tiny Sweatshop Gallery Friday night (How they gonna pull that one off?).

Brother Ali is at The Waiting Room Friday night.

Yo La Tengo at The Waiting Room Saturday.

What a week…

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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.