by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I was going back and forth yesterday with booker Craig Dee about who exactly is in new O’Leaver’s supergroup Chick Pee (yet another in a series of cleverly drafted award-winning band names from the folks who brought you Peace of Shit and Dumb Beach.)  (By the way, members of Chick Pee are Johnny Vredenburg and Jeff Lambelet of Digital Leather and  Austin Ulmer of Dumb Beach, all three are former members of legendary blood-punk band The Shanks).

…when Craig asked who I was looking forward to seeing on the just-released O’Leaver’s gig calendar other than Chick Pee (who play March 21, opening for Memphis band Manatees). I turned it around and asked Craig the same question.

Among the high fliers he pointed out that are set to play on the vaunted O’Leaver’s stage:

— Athens band Mothers, who plays O’Leaver’s Feb. 16. Started as a solo project by frontwoman Kristine Leschper, the four-piece’s debut album was produced by Drew Vandenberg (who’s mixed/engineered Deerhunter and Of Montreal albums). In fact, Mothers toured with Of Montreal last fall. Their single “It Hurts Until It Doesn’t” has just shy of 600,000 spins in Spotify. They are red hot. NYC label Grand Jury will release Mothers’ debut this year.

— LA duo Dirty Dishes plays at The Club Feb. 20. Their debut, Guilty, was released on Exploding in Sound records last year and includes the single “Red Roulette,” which has around 150k Spotify spins.

— Seattle garage-glam band Wild Powwers, who plays O’Leaver’s March 4, have a new album coming out called Hugs And Kisses And Other Things.

Other March O’Leaver’s gigs include Mamiffer (Isis frontman and Hydra Head Records founder Aaron Turner) March 28, Brooklyn band TEEN (Carpark Records) on March 31, as well as two more yet-to-be-announced O’Leaver’s shows by Naytronix (member of Tuneyards) and Athens band New Madrid.

Add to O’Leaver’s list God Speed! You Black Emperor Feb 10 at The Slowdown, Eleanor Friedberger Feb. 27 at Reverb, and Titus Andronicus / Craig Finn March 11 at Lookout Lounge and the calendar starts to look impressive.

We just need to get through January first.

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There’s actually a pretty interesting show tonight at Milk Run. Burger Records Portland duo Love Cop (read about them here at Hear Nebraska) headlines a bill that includes Thick Paint, Little Ripple and The Way Out. $6, 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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.