Tennis at Slowdown Jr., Feb. 22, 2012. The band plays tonight at The Waiting Room.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

My one comment on last night’s election results (seeing as this is a music blog and not a political blog):

I won’t pretend I know anything about politics, but I thought I knew history. As a country, we’ve watched unemployment drop consistently over the past four years. The stock market is at record highs. Gasoline prices are below $3 a gallon for the first time in I don’t know how long. Historically, these issues have benefited the party in office, but President Obama’s approval ratings are at historic lows for any period during his presidency, and Republicans, as of last night, control both houses of Congress. My only observation is the same observation I made in this blog on Oct. 23.

But let me add one more comment to the mix, one that has implications that involve the Nebraska music scene: I believe one of the reasons quality musicians (who also are quality people) move away from Nebraska to places like Los Angeles and New York and Chicago and the Pacific Northwest is the political climate here. Nebraska politics are a natural repellant to anyone who values creativity over greed. If Nebraska faces a challenge in nurturing and keeping its talented “creative class,” it faces an even bigger challenge attracting those who look at our state from a distance, see who represents it, and wonder, “Why in the world would I want to live there?”

Actually, after last night, you could say the same thing about the United States (except for the presidency, of course). Hilary is going to have her hands full when she takes over the office in 2016.

Anyway…

Tonight Tennis returns to Omaha, this time to The Waiting Room. The band’s new album, Ritual in Repeat (Communion), is a departure of sorts for a duo whose music has always been a bit too simplistic and run-of-the-mill for my tastes. Their new record is more eclectic, more upbeat, more interesting then their previous releases. So will their live show, which historically has been pretty dull, be more interesting as well? Find out tonight.

Opening is Pure Bathing Culture, who had a ton of buzz at this year’s South By Southwest music festival. I had to go to the Wayback Machine to see what I thought about their performance in Austin. From The Reader‘s website…

We emerged on 6th Street later than expected to catch PURE BATHING CULTURE, one of the most talked-about acts at this year’s SXSW. Seems everyone had caught their set and loved it. We found them at Hype Hotel, a makeshift club with an alley entrance that gave away sponsored drinks (Miller Fortune for me) and Taco Bell.

The Portland band’s music has been compared to Kate Bush and Cocteau Twins, two bands they don’t resemble. Instead, PBC strives for a Lilith stage with its feature-less music. They were amazingly boring, still people were nodding their heads to the streamlined, lite beats.

Ugh, now I remember. Maybe that was just a bad show? Get there early and see. $12, 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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.