The Faint’s most recent unofficial band photo… They play tonight at Sokol Auditorium and Saturday night at The Waiting Room.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The three “F’s” are perfectly aligning tonight: Friday the 13th. Full Moon, and… The Faint at Sokol Auditorium. Be afraid, be very afraid.

I still don’t know why The Faint booked a second show for Saturday night at The Waiting Room. Conventional wisdom is that you book a second show when/if the first show sells out. But tonight’s show at Sokol ain’t sold out (though a few people I’ve talked to seem to think it is).

Tonight’s show features the legendary Solid Goldberg a.k.a. Dave Goldberg as the 8 p.m. opener. Goldberg, who you might remember from The Carsinogents (or Full Blown before that), is a consummate showman and one helluva talent. Do Not Be Late.

Playing both tonight and tomorrow night is Athens band Reptar (Vagrant Records). I’m not huge into Reptar, but they no doubt have their fans.

I am huge into Digital Leather, who plays the 8 p.m. opening slot tomorrow night (Saturday) at The Waiting Room. Expect to hear songs from their sublime new split LP they made with The Hussy. This likely means that Faint frontman Todd Fink will be pulling double-duty Saturday as he also plays keyboards in DL. The Faint at The Waiting Room is something not to miss (though I’ll probably miss it as I’m a cheap-ass bastard and couldn’t get on the list for the show).

Based on their setlist from their June 8 Roxy show in West Hollywood, expect a good blend of classic Faint songs along with new material from new album Doom Abuse. Todd said the band has a cool new LED-panel-driven light show that is sure to dazzle. You may just want to go ahead and buy your tickets now in case it, you know sells out.

There’s not much else indie-music-wise happening this weekend.

Tomorrow night (Saturday), McCarthy Trenching returns to the stage at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Joining him are Lars and Mal. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tomorrow night (Saturday) The Derby Birds open for Edge of Arbor at The Barley Street Tavern along with Township & Range and Ojai. $5, 9 p.m.

And, of course, there’s that whole College World Series thing that will be tying up downtown Omaha for the next couple weeks. If you’re stuck down there and don’t have tickets to a game, you can always hang out at the many booze tents scattered throughout NoDo (including The Slowdown’s).

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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Faint play at Sokol Auditorium tomorrow night and The Waiting Room Saturday night.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This week’s issue of The Reader features my cover story/interview with Todd Fink of The Faint. The interview was actually conducted months ago, before the band went out on tour, but as Todd said, not much happens on tour, so the data is still current.

Topics include their hiatus, their return, SQE, Saddle Creek, as well as Todd’s roll in Digital Leather and how that experience impacted the songs he wrote with The Faint. You can read the article in the paper or online right here. Go read it!

As of this writing, $20 tickets are still available for both Friday night’s Faint concert at Sokol Auditorium and Saturday night’s show at The Waiting Room. Tix info at onepercentproductions.com.

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The Brothers Lounge has a show tonight with Minneapolis double-bass band Scaphe. Powerslop and Garoted also are on the bill. $5, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Greenstreet Cycles is hosting its all-city party at its new temporary digs at 2452 Harney St. (making way for the CWS). Goon Saloon performs. Fun starts at 7:30. More info here.

And speaking of cycling, read Pt. 2 of my series on Omaha B-cycle and what it will take to make Omaha a bike-commuting-friendly city. Ben Turner of B-cycle is interviewed. It’s in this week’s issue of The Reader and 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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Since when did they start calling it ‘The College World Series of Omaha”?

Well, the College World Series kicks off Friday with an opening concert extravaganza by Young the Giant, marking the last time many of us will be stepping foot in downtown Omaha until the series wraps up June 25. The tents already are starting to dot the NoDo landscape like big white blisters atop the usually empty parking lots.

For Slowdown, this is the harvest season, the time of year when they can’t count their money fast enough. In support of the CWS, Slowdown turns into a pseudo sports bar, featuring the finest local cover bands (Secret Weapon) and this year, a special performance by Criteria right in the heart of the action.

Thinking about going to Criteria but are afraid there will be nowhere to park? Slowdown’s Jason Kulbel says that lack of street parking during CWS is a “myth” and that parking is, in fact, plentiful. We shall see.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been down to Slowdown. Checking out their calendar, they’ve got a lot of heavy shows coming up. There’s that Criteria show June 21, The Felice Brothers June 28, Ceremony July 13, Jolie Holland Aug. 8, Kopecky Family Band Sept. 5, Mike Watt’s latest project Sept. 25 and New Pornographers/Pains of Being Pure at Heart Nov. 11.

That New Pornographers show was one of slew of gigs One Percent just announced, including J Mascis Oct. 8 (TWR); Ty Segall Sept. 25 (TWR); and most controversial at all, CHVRCHES Sept. 24 at Sokol Aud. It’s controversial in that CHVRCHES is the same night as The War on Drugs at The Waiting Room. The decision as to which show you choose to attend that night will define you. I’m trying to figure out a way to see both…

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If you haven’t already heard, Morrissey cancelled the remaining dates of his current North American Tour, citing health reasons. Specifically, Morrissey said opening act Kristeen Young doused him with some sort of respiratory plague that he can’t seen to shake. Details on his unofficial website, True to You, where Moz also lists shows from the past tours he and his band consider to be “their best-ever.” For whatever reason, the Lincoln Rococo show wasn’t on the list…

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Omahan Matthew Sweet (that’s right, he lives here now) announced today that he’s working on his first studio album in three years and will be launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project sometime this month.

He also said among the material he’ll be playing on the tour that brings him to O’Leaver’s July 30 (sorry, already sold out) are “his 90s releases, with such hits as ‘Girlfriend,’ ‘Sick of Myself,’ ‘I’ve Been Waiting’ and ‘Devil With the Green Eyes’ through his most recent release, Modern Art.”

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Tomorrow: The Faint.

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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.

At Brad’s Corner during last week’s Benson First Friday festivities, from left, are Matt Whipkey, Kait Berreckman and Brad Hoshaw.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

My only music experience this past weekend was catching a few songs on Brad’s Corner during First Friday in Benson. Replacing Vern Fergesen this month was singer/songwriter Kait Berreckman. Good stuff.

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Looking north, the massive rooftop bar on top of soon-to-open Benson bar 1912.

Friday night I also got a look inside the new Benson bar 1912, located the building that used to house The Lizard King pet store right across the street from The Waiting Room. The place is massive. I was told by the team putting it together to expect a summer opening, and judging from the state of the interior, they could hit their target (they’ve been working on it for something like five years). Even more impressive than the interior is the roof-top deck. It’s frickin’ enormous. I’m talking huge, with awesome views of Benson and the surrounding area. Will 1912 be a Benson game changer? We’ll see.

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Walking out of Aksarben Cinema Saturday night after seeing “Chef” (The feel-good foodie flick of the summer) I ran smack into a wall of teary-eyed teen and pre-teen girls who’d just seen cancer/love story “The Fault in Our Stars” (This generation’s “Love Story”?).

I didn’t realize until today that the soundtrack was composed by Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott, two-thirds of Bright Eyes. They might have a hit on their hands, judging by the weekend box office numbers — the film took in $48.2 million dollars to finish No. 1 for the weekend above “Maleficent” and third place finisher “Edge of Tomorrow.” Ch-ching!

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It’s as good a time as any to mention that a second show has been added to The Faint’s Omaha tour schedule. In addition to Friday night’s Sokol Auditorium gig with Reptar and Solid Goldberg (which isn’t sold out), The Faint will be playing Saturday night at The Waiting Room with Reptar and Digital Leather. Both shows start at 8 p.m. sharp. So why the additional show? Who knows, but no one’s complaining. Get your $20 tickets while you can.

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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.

Blessed Are the Merciless at Sokol Underground, Jan. 14, 2012. The band celebrates its EP release at Sokol Underground Saturday night.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Coming off a stellar week of shows things are looking a tad bit quiet this weekend.

Tonight fabulous O’Leaver’s hosts Relax, It’s Science along with The Sun-less Trio. 9:30, $5.

Over at the Waiting Room The Fonzarellies, Mandown and The Sharks open for Thirst Things First. $5, 9 p.m.

And looking at the calendar, tonight is Benson First Friday. To celebrate, The Sweatshop Gallery is hosting a show headlined by Akron, Ohio, acoustic punkers CityCop. Opening is Skeleton Man (members of Coaxed, Yuppies), Let Alone and Lighthouses. $5, 9 p.m.

And if you’re stumbling around Benson tonight, stumble on over to Brad’s Corner under the awning where Military Ave. meets Maple St. where you can get some free rock ‘n’ folk provided by Brad Hoshaw, Matt Whipkey and Vern Fergersen all evening.

It’s back to O’Leaver’s Saturday night for a Hear Nebraska Presents show featuring Anthems, Ft. Collins folkies Sour Boy Bitter Girl, and The Super Bytes. $5, 9 p.m.

At Venue 51, 1951 St. Mary’s Ave., Lincoln’s Universe Contest headlines with El Valiente and Pure Brown. The OWH wrote about the club this week, here. If you haven’t been to this new-ish venue, this might be the night. $5, start time not listed, but probably sometime after 8.

Blessed Are the Merciless, featuring my nephew Chris McMahan on bass, celebrates their EP release show at Sokol Underground Saturday night with Eastwood, IAmtheShotgun, Live & Obey and Varmint. Your $8 cover gets you a copy of the EP.  7 p.m.

Over at The Brothers Lounge Snake Island headlines with Minnesota band Buildings and Manic Pixie Dream Girls. No price provided but I’m guessing $5; starts at 9.

Over at The Waiting Room Satchel Grande holds court Saturday night with Lucas Kellison and the Undisco Kids. $7 or $5 with Beerfest wristband. Starts at 9 p.m.

And, yeah, Benson Beefest is Saturday afternoon 3 to 7 p.m. More info here.

Sunday night at The Waiting Room it’s Detroit rockers Electric Six (Metropolis Records) with Yip Deceiver. $13, 8 p.m.

Did I miss 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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Conor Oberst at Sokol Auditorium, June 4, 2014.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Last night’s performance at Sokol Auditorium was the most relaxed — and happy — version of Conor Oberst I’ve seen on stage.

In his early Bright Eyes days, Conor was a brooding mess, angrily spitting out lines as if he just had a fight with his girlfriend moments before walking out. On top of that, a steady draw of whatever it was he used to keep in the jug next to the drum riser — I assume it was wine — made him edgy and even more belligerent until by the end of the set he was stumbling around like a bitter zombie oblivious to the flock of girls (and shy guys) crying only a few feet in front of him.

The highlight of those early concerts was the inevitable explosion or weird moment — a smashed guitar, storming off stage, a regretful utterance left unexplained — that wrapped the evening with a satisfying bow, leaving the audience content that he “left it all out there.”

But as the years went on, Conor straightened up. The performances — whether as Bright Eyes or one of his other guises — became more professional and straight forward, but often no less brooding. Worse, there were times when he ignored the audience altogether. You got the hits, perfectly played, and maybe a three-song encore along with a “thanks.” It was well done, but boring except for the mid-set political rant used to introduce whatever political-ish song came next.

Rarely did Oberst look as if he was enjoying himself. Oh sure, there was the occasional smile and banter, but it was usually directed to his bandmates, with a nod that said, “We better get back to what we came here for.”

It was different last night. Oberst looked genuinely engaged with his audience. Maybe it was the fact that his backing band was Dawes rather than the usual group of best friends he collects for his tours. Instead of the distraction of amusing his pals, Oberst let the band do its thing while he focused on the crowd… often with a smile. The result was a satisfying night of music, rife with new material and a few Bright Eyes and Mystic Valley staples.

My favorite moment was an inspired version of “I Got the Reason,” a song I didn’t even remember being on the last Mystic Valley album (Outer South). What a gorgeous song that I overlooked, along with the rest of that album. Fueling the energy was Dawes, a masterful four-piece that gave every song heft and soul. The band sounded so much like early Jackson Browne you would have sworn that was David Lindley playing those guitar solos and Craig Doerge tapping out the glowing keyboard fills. The band (along with the setlist) struck a perfect balance between personal ballads and rock anthems.

While there’s little doubt that the collection of talent Oberst draws from locally is top-notch, there might be an advantage to playing with acquaintances rather than soul mates, though you can’t blame him for taking along the folks he grew up with, especially when they’re such a talented crew.

The setlist is online right here. Favorites from the Bright Eyes catalog included “Bowl of Oranges” and “Poison Oak,” one of his more personal early works. Missing among the standards were TV commercial fodder “First Day of My Life” and fan favorite “Lua,” a song that, while one of his all-time best, is beginning to sound adolescent next to his current oeuvre.

Now a happily married man enjoying the next chapter of his career, you have to wonder if Oberst has outgrown songs about late night parties at actor’s west-side lofts. He’s quick to say his songs aren’t autobiographical, but though the characters he sings about may not be him, the sentiment certainly is.

The brooding, angry young man who embodied both his songs — and his stage presence — is fading away, leaving behind a singer/songwriter much more satisfied with his music and his life.

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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.

Conor Oberst fronting Bright Eyes at Westfair Amphitheater, June 4, 2011. Three years to the day, he plays solo backed by Dawes tonight at Sokol Auditorium.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Last week Conor Oberst sold another 4,356 copies of his new solo album, Upside Down Mountain, enough to land him at No. 58 on the sales charts. He’s managed to do this without selling any vinyl, because vinyl copies of his record still are not available.

Seems outrageous on the surface. Isn’t having timely vinyl production part of the reason to head to a major label like Nonesuch? Mike Fratt, general manager at Homer’s Records, says Conor’s lack of vinyl is a hangover from Record Store Day, and he’s not alone.

The hangover “also affected the Zeppelin reissues that came out yesterday with only 28 percent of the orders being filled,” Fratt said. “We (Homer’s) got lucky and got all our order except for one version of Zep III, which we should have later this week.”

Fratt said Oberst’s record also should arrive later this week, which could keep him on the charts for a couple more weeks.

BTW, find out other reasons why Conor went to Nonesuch right here.

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Tonight Conor Oberst and his backing band, Dawes, take the stage at Sokol Auditorium. As of this writing, $30 tickets were still available for what is bound to be a memorable show. If the set list follows what he played at First Ave. in Minneapolis a couple nights ago, expect plenty of Bright Eyes tunes (though no “Lua”) as well as some Mystic Valley songs. Show starts at 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.

First Aid Kit at The Waiting Room, June 2, 2014.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

We thought we’d beat the crowds and get a table for last night’s sold out First Aid Kit show at The Waiting Room, but by the time we got there at around 7:15 all the tables and seating were occupied, mainly by old people (and when I say old, I mean older than me). The crowd ran the spectrum in age, from the X-crossed hands of the under-21s to the elderly. I saw women who must have been pushing 70 in the crowd. But mostly it was women in general. First Aid Kit attracts a large female audience, which I guess isn’t surprising.

The duo has graduated to major-label success with the pending release of Stay Gold, which comes out on Columbia next Tuesday. Powering their popularity is their blend of folk and country, and their tightly intertwined harmonies that recall the better days of a Nashville long gone.

If you think about it, women have taken over pop music. The best and brightest stars — whether in indie or commercial radio — are all women, whether it’s Warpaint and Courtney Barnett, or Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. The biggest arena concert news these days isn’t the return of Pearl Jam, it’s last weekend’s Cher concert or the just-announced Lorde show at Stir Concert Cove.

Anyway, last night’s show kicked off with a solo electric performance by singer/songwriter Willy Mason, who played a tight 40-minute set as people filed into the club. Mason’s brassy voice has deepened dramatically since he emerged a decade ago. As proof, he played the standout track “Oxygen,” from his Team Love debut, the Ritalin-referenced lyrics betraying his lost youth. Last time Mason came through was as a solo artist, too. I’d like to see him with a band.

First Aid Kit took the stage at the stroke of 9. The Swedish duo were backed by a drummer and a guy on lap-steel and other instruments, while the sisters provided the guitar, keyboards and heavenly voices. The crowd stood motionless as they played through a set list that drew from their two previous albums and the upcoming LP.

While I like their last record, The Lion’s Roar, there’s only a few songs that really stand out for me. Among them, “King of the World,” which they played early in their set. And their other “hit,” the country music tribute “Emmylou,” which they saved for the last song of the evening, during their encore. In between the set ebbed and flowed. Whenever it got too boring they spiced it up, at one point walking to the edge of the stage to sing a tune microphone-less, somehow managing to bring the ambient noise in The Waiting Room down to a whisper.

The duo’s new music falls in line with what they’ve released in the past. The standout among the new stuff is the title track, “Stay Gold.” The rest may need time to grow on me. All said and done, the show was over by 10:30, a reasonable time for a Monday evening, and the elderly.

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I have no doubt that tonight’s show, Guided By Voices at The Waiting Room, will go well past 10:30 and into the wee hours of the morning. As of this writing, tickets were still available. If you’ve never seen GBV, you will be well-rewarded in making the $30 per ticket investment. Pollard and Co. leave it all out there on stage. When they played The Black Cat in DC on May 24 they played 48 songs including three encores (see setlist). Good thing this show starts at 8 p.m. with opener Bobby Bare Jr.

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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.

First Aid Kit is playing tonight at The Waiting Room.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Who is Catherine Herrick and why should you care if she’s leaving Beggars Group?

Music writers depend on publicists to help line up interviews with artists, get pre-release albums and get “on the list” for shows when the talent they represent comes through town. In most cases, our access is only as good as the publicists we work with. If the publicist is a boob (and there are plenty of them) interviews drop through the cracks, records aren’t received and — worst of all — we get left off lists (and there’s nothing more demoralizing than asking if you’re on the list only to be told “Nope, nothing here.”).

None of those things happened whenever Catherine Herrick was involved. Herrick has worked the past 10 years as a publicist for The Beggars Group (which includes Matador, XL, Rough Trade and 4AD, among others). She is one of the best publicists I’ve worked with over the course of my 20-some years as a music journalist. And in many ways, she carries a share of responsibility for those labels’ success.

Catherine was iron clad, a go-to person that writers could count on for keeping us in the loop and following through on everything we needed help with. You could count on her — and that’s the best thing you can say about any publicist.

Needless to say, I was bummed when Catherine announced last week that she’s leaving Beggars Group. The good news is that she’s headed out on the road with her band, The Everymen (Earnest Jennings Records), and will be playing at fabulous O’Leaver’s July 6. That gives me a chance to thank her in person for all the help she’s given me over the years, and to wish her well-deserved good luck…

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As we prepare for Wednesday’s Conor Oberst concert at Sokol Auditorium (as of this writing, tickets are still available), Kevin Coffey at The Omaha World-Herald weighs in with his own Conor interview, which you can read here.

And if you haven’t already, you can also read my Q&A with Conor right here at TheReader.com.

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Tonight at The Waiting Room, it’s the long-awaited Omaha debut of First Aid Kit. The band is no stranger to Omaha, having recorded their last two albums (including the upcoming Stay Gold, out next Tuesday on Columbia) at ARC.

Opening for First Aid Kit is the second person ever to sign to Team Love Records — Willy Mason (Who, btw, was the subject of the very first installment of my Lazy-i print column in The Reader 10 years ago — check it).

I’m happy I got my tickets early for this one, as it’s SOLD OUT. Show starts at 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.