From my window in the crow’s nest on the 15th floor I can see the tents rise….
It’s College World Series time again, and all of us who work in downtown Omaha will have to suffer through it together. The traffic. The idiots. The traffic. Ah, but it’s a small price to pay to support this national event that for two weeks turns Omaha into ground zero for a college sport no one cares about.
For The Slowdown, CWS is the harvest season, the time of year when their Green Room is converted into a “count room,” and when Wells Fargo armored trucks circle the facility like elephants in a Shriner parade picking up bushel-baskets filled with wrinkled currency. Needless to say, the indie music comes to a halt at Slowdown for the next two weeks. In fact, unless you’re into beer tents and college baseball, your best bet is to stay clear of downtown Omaha altogether until they fold up their tents and go home.
But who cares about what’s NOT happening this weekend? Here’s what IS happening. And it’s mostly at fabulous O’Leaver’s, where tonight the Josh Berwanger Band is playing. Berwanger is a former member of Lawrence band The Anniversary. I caught his band’s set at SXSW this year when they played the Saddle Creek/Nicodemus showcase and was duly impressed by their very clean, very tight take on indie rock. You’ll like it. Also on the bill are Saturn Moth and Anonymous Henchman. $5, 9:30 p.m.
Also going on all weekend is Junkstock, waaaay out at 315 So. 192nd St. Vendors, plus live music. $6 per day admission. It already started today and runs until 7 p.m. Music is primarily local folk bands. Check out the schedule here.
Moving on to Saturday, it’s back to O’Leaver’s for Lupines (coming off a red hot set at my birthday bash last week), Laughing Falcon and Lincoln’s Dirty Talker, who’s celebrating an album release. Dirty Talker is Brendan McGinn (drums) and Adam 2000 (guitar) of Her Flyaway Manner. Justin Kohlmetscher rounds out the trio on bass and vox. $5, 9:30 p.m.
Also Saturday evening, toy piano player Stacey Barelos is playing a set at Almost Music in Benson. Joining her is Jared Brown on percussion. 8 p.m., $5.
Bazile Mills headlines at Reverb Lounge with Kait Berreckman Saturday night. $7, 9 p.m.
Finally, UTW Day is being celebrated at Jerry’s Bar in Benson. The all-day art, food and music event runs from noon to midnight Saturday and closes out with performances by John Klemmensen and the Party and Hand Painted Police Car (starting at 8). Admission is by donation. More info here.
That’s what I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
With nothing else happening today (or tonight), here’s a little Throwback Thursday action, from the Lazy-i Wayback Machine, April 19, 2001. Looking forward to seeing The Good Life folks return to stage…
Live Review: Spoon/The Good Life
April 19, 2001
Sokol Underground, Omaha
There were two notable distractions the night of Spoon/The Good Life at Sokol.
Distraction No. 1 — Someone had “remodeled” the Underground since the last show I attended (only a few weeks earlier). Gone were all the rock posters from shows over the past 10 years or so. Gone were the band stickers and the markered graffiti. Gone was the flat-black paint job. All had been covered by cheesy faux-pine paneling, washed-out brown and grooved, hardly rock. I asked the promoter about the decor change, and he said it had been like that for a long time. It hadn’t, but he’s not one to notice the details.
Distraction No. 2 — the promoter decided to try a different sound system for tonight’s show. More streamlined and not as loud, I could actually listen in comfort with my earplugs kept cozy in my pocket. The promoter thought it actually sounded louder than the usual system (but he’s not one to notice details). Of the 200 who showed up, the ones I asked either gave the PA a thumbs-up or complained because they thought the drums sounded bad. You can’t please everyone. I thought it was the best sound the venue’s ever had.
Especially on The Good Life’s set. Tim Kasher’s Robert Smith-like vocals never sounded better, or maybe he’s been working on his annunciation, because I could understand every word he sang. They played a number of songs off their current Better Looking Records release (the dreamy Novena for a Nocturn), as well as a few what I assume were new songs that pretty much fit into TGL’s regular canon of moody, poppy indie songs of love and loss. The sound was remarkably full, thanks to a couple extra accompanists including a guy on accordion and woman (from Bright Eyes?) on keyboard. Vivid memory from the set: drummer Roger Lewis, sitting off the side of the drum riser, smoking a cigarette and looking almost forlorn while the drum machine provided the tick-tock accompaniment for one of the tracks.
The house lights were still up, the between-set music still on and people still getting beers, talking and generally mulling around when Spoon began playing their set. “Is he actually starting?” the guy next to me asked. We thought they were still tuning. But no, Britt Daniel had started playing what would be a string of intense rock songs, one after the other, with only the briefest of pauses between them.
Before the set, a guy I was talking with while standing by the entrance, trying to look inconspicuous amid the youngsters (I wasn’t alone — Spoon’s Daniel had also been skulking around during TGL’s set, sitting on the soundboard stage or leaning against a wall, chatting up the girls at the merch table, etc.), had said he came to see The Good Life and only knew about Spoon from what a friend had told him: That they sounded like The Pixies. I told him that their new CD Girls Can Tell, was actually much poppier, more Beatle-esque. As the set ran on, the guy must have thought I was an idiot or didn’t know who the Pixies were, because live, even those pop ditties from the new CD sounded Pixie-ish, certainly harder, faster and, well, modder than recorded. This four-piece version of Spoon were well-oiled and road hardened, tight as a unopened pickle-jar lid. Daniel and company sweated out almost the entire new album plus about a dozen “greatest hits” before leaving the stage, only to come back and do a 3-song encore — a rarity for any band at Sokol Underground.–April 19, 2001
If this review seems light on the bands that played later in the evening it’s because I only went to The Waiting Room last night to see the opener, Bully — a band that’s getting a bit of a buzz lately — and not co-headliners Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Best Coast.
I knew virtually nothing about UMO; never listened to a single track from the band prior to last night. And yet for a few people I’d talked to, they were the main attraction on the bill. When you go into a show knowing nothing you expect even less, which is what I got from UMO. Though they’re compared to Tame Impala and MGMT, they sounded like a noodling jam band to me with a tip o’ the hat to beachy Jack Johnson. Not my bag, but unless my eyes deceived me, the crowd peaked during their set so they must be doing something right.
After three or four songs I found myself paying more attention to the score of the Cavs/Warriors game on my iPhone than the stage, so I hightailed it down to St. Andrew’s to catch the last five minutes of the 4th quarter (which stretched out to 15 in real time), where I saw a few more show ex-patriots waiting out the UMO set. BTW, who knew that Lebron James and the Cavs were so loathed?
Made it back to The Waiting Room in time for the start of Best Coast. I don’t know if it’s an endorsement of the band or an indictment of SXSW, but Bethany Cosentino and Co. were on point last night, playing way better than when I saw them in Austin in March, where they looked bored as if fulfilling a commitment (which they were). Last night they were into it, ripping through one song after another, Cosentino’s long hair (along with sideman Bobb Bruno’s) floated ethereally alongside her head, blown skyward by electric fans Cosentino said they were trying out for the first time on tour. Whereas I liked Best Coast’s energy, the band did little more than play through their set list, which isn’t enough to keep me engaged, especially since I don’t own any of their albums.
Bully at The Waiting Room, June 9, 2015.
On the other hand, I knew nothing about Bully prior to last night and left a fan (or at least entertained). The band is centered on frontwoman Alicia Bognanno, whose high, sometimes-scratchy vocals border on novelty. In fact, Bognanno’s voice would be perfect for the role of a cute woodland creature in an animated TV show; something tells me she does a spot-on impression of Bart Simpson.
More often when she’s singing, however, Bognanno channels Kurt Cobain on music that is straight out of 1992. Is there a grunge resurgence going on (already)? Bully’s songs, especially during the first half of the set, sounded like they could have been written by Cobain (or Courtney), thanks to their bass/rhythm lines, the loud-quiet-loud dynamics and Bognanno’s howl/screech that was pure Teen Spirit.
Bognanno was at her best when she throttled down the howl and simply sang. Toward the end of the set she introduced a song saying she was “slowing it down” and getting all “romantically.” The tune was pulled back, controlled, but took flight toward the end, and was the best song of the night (by any band). Bully’s debut LP comes out June 23 (a crowded date for releases). Where will they go next?
* * *
Seems like a decade ago that I interviewed Metric, because it was. The band has done nothing but grow since then, winning a handful of Juno Awards, which is sort of the Canadian version of the Grammy’s. Thanks to this success, Metric is now placed as an opener for arena shows, like the Imagine Dragons show tonight at the CenturyLink Center. Needless to say I won’t be attending, but felt compelled to mention it as Metric played at Sokol Underground once upon a time.
A show I’m more apt to attend is Street Eaters tonight at Sweatshop Gallery. Chris Aponick of Perpetual Nerves, the company promoting the show, described them as “a two piece that plays noisy stripped down rock that steers clear of garage rock’s worn out tropes.” Also on the bill are Navy Gangs, CJ Mills and Our Lady of Perpetual Help. $7, 9 p.m.
By the way, they don’t call it “Sweatshop Gallery” for nothing. It will be hotter than hell in there tonight. You may want to show up in your skivvies.
Also, here’s an early head’s up about tomorrow’s Hear Omaha event, which takes place over the lunch hour (noon) at the public space at 13th & Howard streets in the Old Market. This week’s featured artist is Orenda Fink. Come down and check it out. It’s free and there (probably) will be food trucks. Of course it’s brought to you by the fine folks at Hear Nebraska…
Desaparecidos dropped yet another track yesterday and today from their upcoming album, Payola, which comes out June 23 on Epitaph. In fact, according to Diffuser, there’s more to come. Says Diffuser:
“The Underground Man” — which dates back to 2013 when it was distributed as a 7-inch — is the second Payola cut to emerge this week, following the upcoming album’s opening track, “The Left Is Right.” Epitaph has plans to drop a new song from the album every day this week ahead of Payola’s release to those who have pre-ordered the LP.
Just how big will this album be? Time will tell…
* * *
Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s the return of Best Coast. I saw the band play a half-hearted set at SXSW this year. Let’s see if they can top it tonight. Opening is Unknown Mortal Orchestra (they have a new album out on Jagjaguwar), and I actually know more people excited to see them then Best Coast. I’ll be there to see Bully, a Nashville four-piece whose debut album, Feels Like, comes out June 23 on StarTime International/Columbia. Also on the bill is J. Fernandez, who played a great, if not short, set at Almost Music this past March as a warm-up to a gig at O’Leaver’s later that night. That’s four bands for $20. The fun starts at 8 p.m.
The weekend was spent recovering from the week — the birthday show and the opening of the Polecat Little Gallery Friday night. If you missed the gallery opening, you can still check out the show, which features local artist/musician/entrepreneur Brian Tait of Midtown Art Supply. Tait spent Friday evening creating a two-story-tall portrait of State Senator Ernie Chambers on a discarded Spearmint Rhino billboard hung from the outside wall of the gallery. While painting with with spray cans, Tait also performed with turntable, electric guitar, microphone and mixer. It was a surreal experience to say the least. It was fun. Thanks to everyone who stopped by.
Anyway, after multiple nights out we decided to take it easy on Saturday night and catch a movie, Love & Mercy, the Brian Wilson biopic showing at the AMC 24 way out west. It was a solid movie, this from a guy who isn’t the biggest Beach Boys fan in the world. Paul Dano will be mentioned when Oscar time comes rolling ’round, and possibly Paul Giamatti, who plays another in a series of slime balls. John Cusack in the role of Wilson in the ’80s seemed to be channeling Daniel Johnston rather than Wilson.
The best moments of the film were Dano playing Wilson during the making of Pet Sounds in the studio — in control, creative, working with a bunch of unheralded studio musicians as they made what arguably is one of the best albums ever released. I could have watched those sequences all night. The film is definitely worth the drive out west to catch while you can.
* * *
Clay Masters of Iowa Public Radio strikes again with a strong story on the current state of the Omaha music scene that features Conchance, Laura Burhenn and Simon Joyner, who had the best line in the story: “The train stopped here for a minute and moved on…” Indeed it has. We hear why Conchance and Simon still live in Omaha; missing from the story is why Laura moved to Los Angeles over a year ago… I have to believe our brutal winters had something to do with it. The story aired on NPR. Listen below:
* * *
There’s lots going on for a Monday night…
Kansas City indie act The Life & Times headlines at Reverb Lounge. It’s been awhile since these guys came through town. Opening is Little Brazil and nanaHara. $10, 9 p.m.
On the other side of the One Percent Complex (at least that’s what I’m calling it) Canadian indie band Mother Mother (Last Gang Records) headlines at The Waiting Room. Opening is the always entertaining John Klemmensen & the Party. $15, 9 p.m.
* * *
Finally, Pageturners in Dundee is hosting The Derby Birds and All Young Girls Are Machine Guns for a free gig that starts at 9 p.m. It’s part of Pageturners’ summer concert series — which boasts an impressive line-up. The rest of PTL’s summer schedule looks like this:
June 15 – The Felice Brothers
June 17 – Matt Amandus Jazz trio
June 22 – Rig 1
June 29 – The Burkum Boys
July 1 – Mitch Gettman & Pleiades and the Bear
July 6 – Cubby Philips / Michael Frederickson Quartert
July 7 – Carl Miller and the Trillers
July 8 – Sam Martin
July 13 – The Sun-less Trio
July 15 – Sean Pratt & David Kenneth Nance
July 20 – Super Ghost and Tie These Hands
July 22 – Kill County
July 27 – The Burkum Boys
July 29 – The Sunks and Mark Johnson
Aug. 3 – One Eye White
Aug. 4 – Carl Miller and the Trillers
Aug. 5 – Agronomo and the Ascenders
Aug. 10 – Oquoa
Aug. 12 – Simon Joyner and Danny Pound
Aug 17 – Omaha Guitar Trio
Aug. 19 – Luke Polipnick
Aug. 24 – Linemans Rodeo
Aug. 31 – The Burkum Boys
Comments Off on Tait at Polecat; Brian Wilson biopic; Omaha makes NPR (again); The Life & Times, Little Brazil, John Klemmensen/Party, Derby Birds tonight…
Hop Along is a fantastic band. Certainly one of the best bands I’ve seen this year (and I’ve seen a lot already) and definitely one of the best bands that Saddle Creek has signed in recent years. If you haven’t heard Painted Shut, their new album on Saddle Creek, do yourself a favor. There’s a link to a stream of the entire album at the bottom of yesterday’s blog entry.
I like the record; specifically I like how it sounds, I like the crunchy guitars, I like the straight-forward indie-rock rhythms, I like the chord changes, but most of all I like Frances Quinlan’s guttural, scratchy, feral-cat growl of a voice. It has become the hallmark of their sound, the one thing people point to when they talk about Hop Along’s music. The only thing I can think of comparing it to is Janis Joplin’s screechy yowl that leads up to the chorus in “Piece of My Heart.” You know, “Come on, Come on, Come on, Come on and TAKE IT…” Quinlan’s voice captures Janis’ yearning energy and somehow stretched out throughout entire songs, entire albums.
Her voice was on display last night at Slowdown Jr. in pure Janis mode throughout their entire set last night. I didn’t think it was possible; I figured no one could sing like that all night, that scratchy screech has to be turning her vocal chords to bloody ribbons. Others around me in the rather large crowd (though not a sell-out) wondered the same thing. “That’s gotta hurt,” they said. But I figure Quinlan must approach singing the same way an opera singer is able to basically scream for two hours straight (because, let’s face it, opera singing is really precisely directed yelling, is it not?). Quinlan knows what she’s doing. She’s been doing it now for years. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have made it through her first tour.
Her voice is a thing to behold; it is indeed mesmerizing. So is the rest of Hop Along. Drummer Mark Quinlan (Frances’ brother) is hands-down one of the best drummers I’ve ever heard — huge, pounding out the backbone of every song all night, a thing to marvel at. We’re talking ’70s-era arena quality drumming, not paradiddle precision noodling; big, throaty, heavy-sticked wonder. Dare I mention the great Bonham? No, because it’s not that kind of music. But it was deep and thick and luscious.
The rest of the band was pretty good, but the highlights were the Quinlan brood; the drums, that voice, remarkable. Missing from the discussion, of course, are the songs. Hop Along is a great band to listen to live, but I couldn’t tell you what any of the songs were about. I didn’t walk away from the show with any song stuck in my head, which is odd when you consider I’ve been listening to Painted Shut for weeks.
While Quinlan puts it all out there effortlessly climbing octave after octave there rarely if ever was a central melody to hang onto and, dare I say it, sing along to. In that vein it’s kind of like scat singing, or melodies made up after the song’s chord progressions have been determined. But isn’t that a primary attribute of indie rock and what sets it apart from straight-up pop music? Probably, but the best indie rock, the stuff we remember and that resonates for years to come, has a hook. The rest of it is tonal, blues or effect, where lyrics are secondary (ferinstance, I couldn’t tell you a single My Bloody Valentine lyric).
I don’t think that’s the case with Hop Along. That band is so fucking good —she’s so fucking good — that it’s only a matter of time before they write a song that pushes past their current boundaries. That song isn’t on Painted Shut, a good album that lacks a song that strikes a universal chord with a huge audience. They will write that song, the one that gets played to death, the one that will represent a season or year in the life of its listeners, that turns into an instant time machine that will take us back to whatever was happening in our lives back when everyone was playing it. Maybe it’ll be on their next album; hopefully it’ll come out on Saddle Creek, but it hasn’t happened yet. Until then, we’re left to marvel at the sound, if not the songs.
* * *
The rabid possum by Brian Tait that stares at me in my office.
A quick non-music aside about something important to me.
Tonight is the grand opening of the Little Gallery in Benson, coinciding with Benson First Friday. The proprietor is my wife, Teresa Gleason. The gallery, located at 5917 Maple Street right across the street from The Sydney, doubles as the offices of Polecat Communications, Teresa’s PR/communications firm that specializes in supporting non-profits as well as profits. Teresa and I found the space a few months ago and began tearing it apart shortly there after, transforming it into a sublime gallery space.
The first artist to grace the gallery is none other than Brian Tait. Yes, that Brian Tait, the skateboarding rockstar graffiti-fueled sign painter who also operates Midtown Art Supply. We bought a handful of Taits recently (one of them is staring at me with its angry possum eyes as I type this) and couldn’t think of a better artist for the gallery’s debut.
Want to know more about Tait? Read the brief profile I wrote about him right here. The show’s title is “Without a Chute,” and as part of the tonight’s festivities, which begin at 6 p.m., Tait will be doing a live painting outside the building. It will be a giant portrait of State Senator Ernie Chambers. Upon its completion, the painting will be sold to the highest bidder, whether the bid is $1 or $1,000 or $10,000.
Fun starts at 6. There will be a keg on tap. And food. And maybe even leftover birthday cake from Wednesday’s Big 50 shows. Drop by and say hello.
And for those who have asked, yes, the firm’s name, Polecat, was partially inspired by the classic pre-Saddle Creek band that featured Ted Stevens, Boz Hicks and Oli Blaha. We call that a tip o’ the hat to past greatness…
* * *
One other art show going on I want to mention: Mousetrap’s Patrick Buchanan emailed to tell me that his pop, Sidney Buchanan, is hosting a show at his house at 1202 So. 62nd St., that kicks off tonight at 6 p.m. Buchanan is known for his enormous sculptures (one of which is on UNO’s campus right outside the arts building). This show features new collages and assemblages and runs tonight and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Go!
* *
All right back to music.
Tonight and tomorrow night is the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award (OEAA) showcase in Benson. It’s a chance to check out a shitload of new local bands as you stumble from six venues along Maple Street. The schedule follows. Admission is $10 per night or $15 for the entire weekend.
I don’t know most of these bands, which I suppose is the point of an emerging-artist showcase. That said, there are a few that I am familiar with and can recommend which are in bold, if you’re looking for some direction.
FRIDAY, June 5
The Waiting Room – all ages
8:00-8:40 Unscene Patrol
8:55-9:35 Pleiades and the Bear
9:50-10:30 Belles & Whistles
10:45-11:25 All Young Girls Are Machine Guns
11:40-12:20 Rothsteen
12:35-1:05 Oketo
The Sydney
8:00-8:40 24 Hour Cardlock
8:55-9:35 Bazile Mills
9:50-10:30 Michael Campbell
10:45-11:25 Loveland
11:40-12:20 GetchaSum
12:35-1:05 Like Noise But Louder
Barley Street Tavern
8:00-8:40 Polka Police
8:55-9:35 Mola-B
9:50-10:30 Aly Peeler
10:45-11:25 Hand Painted Police Car
11:40-12:20 Shivering Flowers
12:35-1:05 The Ronnys
Burke’s Pub
8:00-8:40 Jazz Brown and the Afterthought
8:55-9:35 Naked Sunday
9:50-10:30 Township & Range
10:45-11:25 Sebastian Ghostbachz
11:40-12:20 Pancho & The Contraband
12:35-1:05 Prairie Gators Band
PS Collective – all ages
8:00-8:40 Thumper & Generation One
8:55-9:35 Emily Ward
9:50-10:30 Virginia Tanous
10:45-11:25 Escape From Alcajazz
Reverb
8:00-8:40 Jessica Errett
8:55-9:35 Kait Berreckman
9:50-10:30 Jus.B
10:45-11:25 Citizens Band
11:40-12:20 Marcey Yates
12:35-1:05 Latin Threat
SATURDAY, June 6
The Waiting Room – all ages
8:00-8:40 Fallible
8:55-9:35 Coincide
9:50-10:30 A Wasted Effort
10:45-11:25 The Bishops
11:40-12:20 Low Long Signal
12:35-1:05 Carson City Heat
The Sydney
8:00-8:40 Grumble
8:55-9:35 Exit Sanity
9:50-10:30 P-tro
10:45-11:25 Stereo Rocket
11:40-12:20 Black Velvet
12:35-1:05 The Clincher
Barley Street Tavern
8:00-8:40 Calling Cody
8:55-9:35 Battling Giants
9:50-10:30 Virgin Mary Pistol Grip
10:45-11:25 Phoenix Rising
11:40-12:20 Uh Oh
12:35-1:05 Two Shakes
Burke’s Pub
8:00-8:40 Steve Byam
8:55-9:35 The Impulsive
9:50-10:30 The Willards Band
10:45-11:25 CJ Mills
11:40-12:20 Swampboy Blues Band
12:35-1:05 ShooK on3
PS Collective – all ages
8:00-8:40 R0Y0
8:55-9:35 Clark & Company
10:45-11:25 Orion Walsh
11:40-12:20 Baker Explosion
Reverb
8:00-8:40 The Midways
8:55-9:35 Mitch Gettman
9:50-10:30 Dominique Morgan
10:45-11:25 The Sub-Vectors
11:40-12:20 The Electroliners
12:35-1:05 Lucas Kellison
Schedule subject to change (and probably will).
* * *
OEA’s isn’t the only thing going on this weekend.
Des Moines band Karen Meat and the Computer is headlining tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s. The band includes former members of Talking Mountain. Also on the bill is Calm Fur and Haunted Gauntlet (featuring members of M34N STR33T). Jason Meyer of Calm Fur forwarded me this rather disturbing promo for tonight’s show, which you should watch as risk to your fragile psyche. $5, 9:30 p.m.
Tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) is another Bar Stool Record Swap at The Brothers Lounge. Always tons of good vinyl on hand. Vendors include Almost Music, Basement Treasures, D-Tour Records, Hipstop and Homer’s. It’s a must for record collectors. 4 to 7 p.m. and free.
Saturday night at O’Leaver’s it’s Commander Kilroy with Stories of the Sun, Faded and Jake Simmons. $5, 9:30 p.m.
That’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section (of the blog, not my Facebook post!). Have a great weekend and I’ll see you tonight at the Little Gallery.
Whoa, what a night. Thanks to everyone for coming out to the Big 50 concert at Reverb last night. It was a great way to welcome in the next half-century — great friends, great bands, great times. Now what am I going to do for 51?
The Lupines at The Reverb June 3, 2015 — the Big 50 benefit for Hear Nebraska.
Wagon Blasters at The Reverb June 3, 2015 — the Big 50 benefit for Hear Nebraska.
And there was some news at the show. All three bands either have recorded or are recording new music. When they will release it, none could say, but based on what we heard last night, we’ll all be adding lots of new music to our record collections very soon. Thanks again to the bands for playing the gig. It was a blast!
* * *
There’s another rather huge show tonight, this time at Slowdown Jr., where Saddle Creek’s latest and greatest signing, Hop Along, makes its Omaha stage debut. The band’s just-released album, Painted Shut (Saddle Creek, 2015) sits at No. 16 on the College Music Journal Radio 200 chart and No. 18 on the KEXP Variety Music Chart. Not to mention the record is getting air time on Sirius XMU, which is becoming sort of an ad hoc national indie radio station. This could be Saddle Creek’s biggest non-Omaha signing since Rilo Kiley. Here’s your chance to see them on a small stage. Opening are fellow Philly bands Lithuania and Field Mouse. $10, 9 p.m.
Also tonight Dallas alt-country band Old 97’s play at The Waiting Room with Oil Boom. $25, 9 p.m.
* * *
And this just in over the lunch hour, Matt Whipkey and his band kicked off this season’s Hear Omaha concert series in the Old Market (right underneath the atrocious sculpture of the Husker kid in a baseball cap). The series, brought to you by Hear Nebraska and various sponsors including First National Bank, features a different local band performing over the lunch hour every Thursday.
Whipkey rocked a crowd of around 100 consisting of dudes and women in business suits, local hipsters who live in the surrounding lofts and other tourists/curiosity seekers wondering what all the good-time noise was about. Next week Orenda Fink plays the Hear Omaha stage. Check out the full schedule here.
Matt Whipkey at Hear Omaha in the Old Market, June 4, 2015.
Tonight’s the night at Reverb Lounge, 6121 Military Ave. in Benson. It’s an early show — 8 p.m.
The amazing Lupines kick things off — one of my all-time favorite Omaha bands.
They’re followed by the tractor-punk stylings of The Wagon Blasters, a band that features the legendary Gary Dean Davis in the driver’s seat.
The evening closes with a very special set from Son, Ambulance, one of the most storied bands of the Saddle Creek era, playing music that is as vital today as it was a decade ago.
That’s three great bands for $10, and every penny goes to support Hear Nebraska, an organization near and dear to my heart. Plus, there will be cake! RSVP here.
Thanks to my wife, Teresa, for putting this together.
It felt like the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life” yesterday after Hear Nebraska posted this very kind profile/interview with myself, conducted by the esteemed Jon Taylor of the band Domestica (and Mercy Rule before that). Jon’s story talks about why I’ve spent the first half of my life writing about music and recaps some of my reporting over the years.
For the article, Jon and I met at an Old Market antique store — fitting, I suppose. He was determined to buy me a birthday present, but he just couldn’t find the right “thing.” Writing this story was gift enough. Give it a read.
Also yesterday, The Reader posted my Over the Edge column, which will appear in the June issue (which should be in the racks soon if it isn’t already). It also talks about why I still listen to new music and, more importantly, why I continue doing so despite the fact that rock ‘n’ roll is considered a young man’s sport. Give it a read here.
And a reminder that we’re just one day away from the Big 50 concert at Reverb, June 3, 8 p.m., Lupines, Wagon Blasters, Son Ambulance, a benefit for Hear Nebraska. Cake will be available. You should go! RSVP here.
The 50th Birthday Concert at Reverb, June 3, 2015. A benefit for Hear Nebraska.
* * *
Today and tonight is the No Coast Music Festival at Westfair Amphitheater. The event is sponsored by 89.7 The River, which explains the commercial-leaning line-up (ironic, considering The River isn’t a “commercial” radio station (It’s a public radio station, in case you didn’t know)).
Here’s the schedule:
Gates at Noon.
1:30 – Twinsmith
2:30 – In The Valley Below
3:45 – Saint Motel
5:00 – Icky Blossoms
6:15 – Joywave
7:30 – Bleachers
9:00 – Cage The Elephant
It’s worth the effort to arrive early. Details about facilities, parking, re-entry rules, etc. are here (leave your spiked bracelet at home). Tickets are $15 (despite what their website says).
It’s not the only show happening tonight. Will Butler of Arcade Fire is playing at The Waiting Room. Remember, this is Will, not Win. I caught his set at South By Southwest this year and while it in no way resembled an Arcade Fire concert, it was still plenty of fun (in a dance-music sort of way). Opening is Jo Firestone. $12, 9 p.m.
Also tonight, Oakland stoner metal band Connoisseur plays at fabulous O’Leaver’s with Flak, Cube, Vasty Andrews. $5, 9:30 p.m.
Friday night’s crowd at the Beth Israel show at Sweatshop Gallery was the largest I’ve seen in the tiny artspace/garage/performance area. As per usual, as many people were outside enjoying the evening as inside enjoying the music. Sweatshop’s back parking lot felt like an old-school outdoor party. The only thing missing was a bonfire and a keg.
Working Man at Sweatshop Gallery, May 29, 2015.
I caught the last two numbers by Working Man, the noise/jazz/experimental trio anchored by Dereck Higgins on bass and featuring John Evans on drums and Luke Polipnick on guitar. Evans, a 19-year-old from Jamaica, is a percussion major at UNO. Their music reminded me of free jazz with its unbridled improvisation reigned in only by each song’s dynamic ebb and flow. Trippy stuff that bent the edges of structured music.
Then came Beth Israel, an Austin trio whose sound falls somewhere between slacker indie and garage, heavy on rhythms and barebones riffs. The band played an intense, if not short, set that included songs from their Dull Tools debut. Not bad, though I had a hard time getting a handle on their songs whilst pressed into a wee corner of the room.
BTW, Sweatshop is an art space that holds live performances. It’s not a bar and, as such, doesn’t sell beer. The trick to going to shows there (and drinking) is to bring your own. I brought along a couple cans and noticed unmanned six-packs lying about along the ledges. It’s fun, though it felt strange walking around the streets of Benson with a couple beers stashed away in the pockets of my hoodie. It felt like old times…
Saturday night was Mini-Maha at River’s Edge park. Here’s another trick to keep in mind…
We figured we’d do the “smart” thing and park somewhere along the Nebraska side of the river and simply walk over the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge to the park. Bad idea. Traffic was snarled for a half-mile in every direction of the bridge and the Century Link Center parking lots. Remember, Taste of Omaha also was going on at the same time. Nightmare.
Before giving up, I decided to drive over the river and took Exit 0 to the Council Bluffs side where I found plenty of parking just a few hundred yards from the park. Lesson learned.
There were two stages set up Saturday night – a small stage which (I guess) was for Taste of Omaha and featured a band belting out Journey and Boston covers, and a larger Mini-Maha stage. Though they were fairly close together, surprisingly they didn’t “compete” with each other, unless you stepped into the sonic vortex between stages.
Let me take a moment to tell you how much I detest Taste of Omaha. The “food festival” is a con job that sells food-truck quality fare at airport restaurant prices. Payment is handled via tickets, and ultimately is a rip-off when you realize you’re paying $8 for a small plate of cold nachos. No matter what combination you come up with, you’re going to wind up at the end of the evening with a handful of unusable tickets — enough to buy a bag of chips but not enough for a beer. Bad food at bad prices, and yet, huge crowds.
The Dodos at Mini-Maha at River’s Edge Park, May 30, 2015.
We stuck around only for The Dodos, an indie-rock drums-and-guitar duo who records for Frenchkiss and Polyvinyl, among others. Their style is sort of Panda Bear meets Vetiver, and is generally well done though none of their songs were terribly memorable. It wasn’t a huge crowd, but I have a feeling a lot more people showed up later on for Ben Kweller, who has a sizable following ’round these parts. After the sun dropped below the Omaha skyline the winds picked up, and it got colder — my signal to head back to The Good Life side of the river.
* * *
Look for a feature/interview with yours truly, written by the esteemed Jon Taylor of Domestica, dropping sometime today at HearNebraska.com Find out once and for all why I got into this whole, crazy writing business…
* * *
Tonight, Austin-based electronic trio Holiday Mountain headlines at Slowdown Jr. The band compares itself to MIA, Santigold, DEVO, Little Dragon and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Opening is the electronic edge of local hero Stephen Nichols. $8, 9 p.m.
Also tonight, Denver experimental industrial noise trio Echo Beds headlines at fabulous O’Leaver’s. They compare themselves to ’70s-era Suicide. Opening is Minneapolis band Weak Wick, Violator X and Ruby Block. $5, 9:30 p.m.
And lest we forget, the Big 50 concert at Reverb is just two days away!
The 50th Birthday Concert at Reverb, June 3, 2015. A benefit for Hear Nebraska.
Recent Comments