A screen capture from Of Montreal’s video for “Fugitive Air,” the first single off their latest album.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Welcome to November.

And that’s all I have to say about that, other than get ready for a solid weekend of shows.

It starts tonight with Deer Tick at The Slowdown. I kind of lost track of Deer Tick after I interviewed them in 2009. The band has released three albums since then, including their latest, Negativity (2013, Partisan), which pulls them further from the folk rock category to whatever genre Wilco is known for. Opening is Nashville’s Robert Ellis (New West Records). $17, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Omaha’s monsters of punk Pro-Magnum play at The Sydney with red hot electro-dance newcomers Routine Escorts and the always entertaining Touch People. $5, 9 p.m.

BTW, it’s Benson First Friday again, so you may want to try Larkin’s Parkin’ right across from Jake’s if you can’t find a spot. It’s valet — fancy!

Saturday’s marquee event is Of Montreal at The Waiting Room.

You could say Of Montreal’s latest album, Lousy with Sylvianbriar, is more organic than what we’re used to. Frontman Kevin Barnes downshifted his songwriting to something less ornate (and confusing) and more sonically straightforward. In addition, he threw out the technology and recorded the whole thing on a 24-track tape machine, in fact most of it was recorded live with the band in a single room. The result sounds like a ‘70s glam album welded to an indie rock underframe. Barnes has always reached for Bowie stylistically, but usurped it with his trademark layered harmonies (reminiscent of ELO). Yeah, this is a ‘70s record, and I mean that in a good way.

But forget about the record, Saturday night’s show is about staging. The last time I saw Of Montreal a couple years ago at Slowdown it was, indeed, a spectacle, with iridescent metallic body suits, a simulated wrestling match, a giant blob, a pig person, a 12-foot-tall shimmering thing with four arms, all done with campy flair. I ‘spect we’ll get more of the same, though the new record — which seems more serious and backs away from dance beats — is better suited for a hippie pageant than a space odyssey. Regardless, an Of Montreal show is always worth the price of admission.

Opening is the strutting, sexy, spy-guitar-fueled garage stylings of Seattle’s La Luz (Burger, Hardly Art, Suicide Squeeze). $18 Adv/$20 DOS. Starts at 9.

Finally, country folk twangster Robbie Fulks is playing at The Waiting Room Sunday for an early 5 p.m. show. $17 Adv/$20 DOS.

If I forgot something, put it in the comments section.

Have a good 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.