The Lupines at The Barley Street Tavern, April 14, 2014.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I guess you could say The Lupines got Omaha’d Saturday night at The Barley Street Tavern.

Early in the evening, the place was as packed as I’ve ever seen it, there for singer/songwriter Danny Sabra. What was the draw? I’m not sure, though I think it might have had something to do with the fact that Sabra musically interprets Psalms from the Bible (along with Glen Hansard songs). The crowd was made up of a lot of kind-looking older people in Hawaiian shirts and khakis — not your typical Lupines crowd.

Sure enough, right after they finished their set, the Hawaiian shirts vanished, reducing the Barley to its more familiar-sized audience of around 12 people for the next band, Scruffy and the Janitors.

Scruffy/Janitors was a power trio hailing from St. Joseph, MO. Not knowing a thing about them, I wasn’t expecting much but was pleasantly surprised by a style of rock that sort of merges The Strokes with standard garage fare. Nice stuff. They say they’ll be back, and they’re worth checking out.

Lupines’ new T-shirt design.

By the time Lupines made it to the stage, there were six of us left in the crowd, not counting the Janitors. What canI  say other than the rest of you missed a great set of music highlighted by guitarist Mike Friedman, who was on fire not only from his blazing guitar solos but also by the Barley’s stage lighting, which he said was like roasting under a heat lamp. If you missed them (and most of you did) you’ll get another chance to see The Lupines this Saturday at Almost Music’s Record Store Day show. More info on that later this week — it’s gonna be a doozy.

BTW, also unveiled Saturday night was The Lupines new T-shirts, which are among the coolest I’ve seen from a local band. Buy them while you can.

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Stir announced a handful of additional shows for their summer concert line-up. The most interesting of the bunch: Foster the People  Aug. 5 and Arctic Monkeys July 30. That AM show is quite a surprise…

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Tonight at The Waiting Room, it’s Bowling Green band Sleeper Agent (Mom + Pop Records) with Holy Child and Pagiins. $15, 8 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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.