The Wombats at The Waiting Room, Sept. 29, 2016

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I don’t go to as many shows as I used to. I blame my work schedule, my fitness schedule and the lack of quality shows for this. But the fact is, popular music has changed in a way that I simply don’t find interesting.

The Wombats are an example. The UK trio played a packed show last night at The Waiting Room. I’d never heard of the band prior to this gig, and the only reason I went last night was because the promo company behind the opening act offered me a spot on the list (and the fact that I had today off work).

While I’ve never heard of The Wombats a lot of people clearly have. You know you’re in for a crowded show when the club has cleared out all the tables and chairs, which was the case last night. Where these folks came from and how they heard of Wombats is a mystery. Maybe they’re getting radio play on The River (a station I avoid); because despite being hyped as an indie band, they’re certainly not played on Sirius XMU.

Though it’s been a few months since I’ve been to a Waiting Room show, I figured I’d see at least one person I knew in the mammoth (though not sold out) crowd. Instead, it was all new faces, most all younger than mine. So I was prepared to hear what’s hot with the next generation.

What I heard was a well-played set of songs that sounded like they were written to be used in car or restaurant commercials — gleamingly slick pop-rock anthems beautifully sung by frontman Matthew Murphy with sweet backing harmonies by the bassist and drummer. We’re talking an arena-quality performance of some of the blandest, most formulaic rock songs you’re likely to hear selling Taco Bell glop or Ford Fiestas. And the crowd loved it.

It’s odd that this kind of pre-fab pop music is being passed along as indie these days. Even Pitchfork has written about the Wombats last record (though they panned it). After hearing variations of the same anthem four or five times, I hit the door.

What about that opener I came to see? The band, Mona, is label mates with The Wombats but shares little else.

Mona at The Waiting Room, Sept. 29, 2016.

Frontman Nick Brown has a vocal presence similar to Roger Daltrey on the band’s records, and it came through on stage, though Brown is nowhere near the showman Daltrey is. A three-guitar five-piece, their bread and butter is slick mainstream rock anthems in the Kings of Leon / post-Pop U2 vein, which makes their sound somewhat dated, though no doubt compelling to a radio-fed audience like the one in TWR last night.

In the end, I was more impressed with Mona than Wombats, if only because they veered somewhat closer to something that resembles authenticity. All’s they need is to dirty up their sound a little, maybe find a nice, greasy garage and listen to some classic Oblivians albums, then see what happens…

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Here’s a quick rundown on the weekend…

The hottest show has to be The Mountain Goats at The Waiting Room tonight. The band is on the road supporting their latest, Beat the Champ (2015, Merge). Opening the show is Oh Pep!, which you read about in yesterday’s Ten Questions. $25, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, legendary Omaha outlaw country band The Filter Kings gets together again for a gig opening for Americana punk-country band The Punknecks at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Jeremy Mercy also is on the bill $5, 9:30 p.m.

If that wasn’t enough, check out the twisted, leather-clad porn-noise of Plack Blague at Reverb. With Ruby Block and Chalant. $6, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night’s looking a bit thin. If you got ideas, put them in the comments section, otherwise it’s going to be a long night at The Brothers.

Sunday night Chicago folk rocker Ryley Walker plays at Reverb Lounge. His latest album, Golden Sings That Have Been Sung (2016, Dead Oceans) has been kicking my ass for the past few weeks. They call it blues rock — very brooding, very good.

Ryley did my 10 Questions survey. Here’s his take:

1. What is your favorite album?

Ryley Walker: Pink Floyd – Meddle

2. What is your least favorite song?

Joan Jett – “I Love Rock n Roll”

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

The happiness

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

The sadness

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Yeah right, copper

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Savannah, Georgia

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Dallas. Every awful thing came to a head there.

8. How do you pay your bills?

Press “ignore” on my phone

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Something in film. Would never want to be a bus boy again

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

Simon Joyner tells the best ones

Opening for Walker is Circuit des Yeux and our very own Simon Joyner. $12 Adv./$14 DOS. Showtime is 9 p.m.

That’s all I got. Like I said, if I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great 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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Oh Pep! plays Friday night at The Waiting Room.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Oh Pep! is the Aussie duo of Olivia Hally and Pepita Emmerichs. They started as pop folkies but evolved into an indie band influenced by acts like Paul Kelly, Leonard Cohen, Glen Hansard, Elbow and Arcade Fire. Their latest, Stadium Cake (2016, Dualtone) is an acoustic-powered folk-rock album that recalls acts like early Jenny Lewis, upbeat Azure Ray or laid-back Angel Olsen — gorgeous melodies eclipsed by gorgeous-er harmonies.

We caught up with the band via the interwebs with our Ten Questions survey. Here’s what they said:

1. What is your favorite album?

Pep: Shrek, the soundtrack.

2. What is your least favorite song?

Liv: You haven’t heard it, but we wrote it the other day.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Pep: Writing music, performing music, travelling.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Liv: Being intimately aware of which direction your band members are breathing in when travelling in the van.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Pep: Water.

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Pep: Melbourne, our home town. New York City, our second home. Omaha, our third home.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Pep: There have been a couple of pre-show pukes, but we can’t pin that on one particular place.

8. How do you pay your bills?

Pep: …with money.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Liv: Well, I went to law school for a brief minute. In saying that, maybe I wouldn’t have liked being a lawyer so much, who knows…

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

Pep: I heard there’s a killer gig coming up there at The Waiting Room. Oh, and that Bright Eyes are from Omaha, Nebraska!

Oh Pep! opens for The Mountain Goats Friday, Sept. 30, at The Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. Tickets are $25; showtime is 9 p.m. For more information, go to onepercentproductions.com

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NPR today started streaming the new solo album by Conor Oberst, Ruminations (Out Oct. 14 on Nonesuch Records). It’s been marketed as a spare, solitary record featuring Conor and his guitar or piano and a harmonica, and that’s pretty much what it is — a throw-back of sorts to the early days, though there’s nothing low-fi about the recording (but one old-school touch is back on a few of these tracks: Conor’s classic shaky bray).

It’s what we used to call a bedroom recording, the same way I guess that Springsteen’s Nebraska was a bedroom album. You get a vision of Conor sitting alone in one of the many rooms in his Fairacres estate with a glass of something sitting next to a burning cigarette and a tape recorder. Quite a contrast to the big-production recordings of the last few Oberst / Bright Eyes records. It crossed my mind what Mogis would have done with these songs if given free reign.

I’ve only listened through it once. It’s good. Check it out at NPR.org…

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Liverpool band The Wombats play at The Waiting Room tonight. Though defined as an indie band, their records have reportedly sold more than a million copies world-wide. Their latest album, Glitterbug, came out last year on 14th Floor Records / Bright Antennae. Label mates MONA from Nashville opens. $20, 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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The Faint released what I believe is the third new song off their upcoming CAPSULE:1999-2016 album, out Oct. 28 on Saddle Creek. Consequence of Sound got the honors. This one might be my favorite. The tour kicks off tomorrow in Minneapolis, headed to Omaha and Sokol Auditorium on Halloween.

And yesterday SPIN debuted the video for “Young and Realistic,” the second new song off the new record, directed by Faint frontman Todd Fink and Nik Fackler of Icky Blossoms. It’s creepy.

Feels like old times…

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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.

Metropolitan Farms, featuring Joe Kobjerowski on drums.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’ve been burning a hole in my iPhone listening to the new album by Portland rock band Metropolitan Farms. Wha? Never heard of them?

Metropolitan Farms is the latest project by legendary former Nebraska drummer Joe Kobjerowski. Joe was the drummer in seminal ’90s Omaha tractor punk bands Frontier Trust and Pioneer Disaster as well as Darktown House Band, among others. He moved to Portland a long time ago (more than a decade ago?).

Metropolitan Farms, Oafish Twist (2016)

Out of the blue last week I saw that Metropolitan Farms is having a CD release show at Portland’s The Foggy Notion this weekend for their latest album, Oafish Twist, which is available on Bandcamp. It’s the best $7 I’ve spent this year. The album  is loaded with well-crafted jangle-pop rock songs reminiscent of acts like The dBs, Tommy Keene and The Smithereens.

I asked Joe how he met the guys in Metropolitan Farms.

“I was playing in a band out here called The Lodge Club (with Dave Sullivan and Nancy Wieblehaus…both Nebraska folks also…Dave played in the legendary Lincoln band, Trout Mystery, and Nancy played with Dave Cosgrove in a couple different bands) and one night we played with a band called Metropolitan,” Kobjerowski said. “They were a weird and quirky pop band with great songs.  But, more importantly, they were _super_ awesome people.”

He said they all quickly became friends. “A year or so later, Metropolitan was in the middle of a recording project when they asked if I wanted to come by, learn two or three songs, and record with them.  After that, I just sort of kept forcing myself on them until I was in the band permanently.  Eventually, Metropolitan dissolved and Josh (Mayer, guitar), Linc (McGrath, bass) and I became Metropolitan Farms.”

Kobjerowski said the band has been working on this new album for three years. Will we ever get a chance to see and hear them play on an Omaha stage? Highly doubtful, Joe said. The band’s never toured before, and isn’t likely to. So you’ll just have to enjoy them on your stereo system. Go to their Bandcamp page and download a copy. You’ll thank me later.

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Milk Run is on a roll. Tonight their hosting Porches, who I described back in April as: “Porches is Aaron Maine, a NYC musician who recorded his debut full-length, Pool (2016, Domino), mostly in his Manhattan apartment before sending it to LA to be mixed by Chris Coady (Beach House, Grizzly Bear). The production is crisp with bouncing rhythms and glowing synths that sit beneath Maine’s bright vocals.”  Also on the bill are Japanese Breakfast (Michelle of Little Big League) and Rivergazer. $10, 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.

Flowers Forever at O’Leaversfest, Sept. 23, 2016.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Another O’Leaversfest has come and gone. Alas, I was only able to take part in Day 1, last Friday night, and only for the closing band. If the rest of the weekend was as well attended as Day 1, organizers may want to consider adding a camping option for the festival — let all those out-of-towners pitch their tents in the volleyball courts.

On warm evenings like Friday, it’s become more and more common for the majority of the crowd to be out in the new beer garden, and that was certainly the case, all basking in the glow of Tyrone Storm’s deft DJ skills. So crowded and hectic was it that I escaped to the old front beer garden, where only a few people sat around and smoked and waited for the band to play. Old-school O’Leaver’s… for the beautiful people…

Flowers Forever drew everyone back inside. In the old days, Flowers Forever was Derek Pressnall and whoever joined him on stage (but with a couple regulars). Friday was the same thing, with original member Craig Dee on drums. Third original member. Chris Senseney, was not in the house (or at least I didn’t see him). The other five slots were filled with a few familiar faces, including Annie Dilocker on keyboards and Sarah Bohling of Icky Blossoms on bass.

The set kicked off with an rousing version of “American Dream” off the 2008 debut (and as far as I know, the only Flowers Forever album released) and barrelled through a number of other songs off the album including “Black Pope” and “Strange Fruit.” I’d forgotten how much I liked the record when it came out. To me it always felt like an outsider coming into the cloistered Nebraska scene and creating his own, new thing from the bits and pieces that resonated with him. The outsider being Pressnall, the bits and pieces being the more upbeat moments from Bright Eyes’ early 2000s offerings.

Of the unknown players on stage, a standout was the lead guitarist, a young guy who absolutely shredded throughout the set. The next day Craig Dee told me the guy was Cubby Phillips, who, upon further research, I discovered is a jazz dude who won the Outstanding Soloist Award at the 2013 Great Planes Jazz Festival. Head-spinning skills, he has. (Update: Dereck Higgins just pointed out that he’s the guitarist in Chemicals).

I never found out what inspired this Flowers Forever “reunion,” though I must say the music has aged well. I’m told this wasn’t just a one-shot, and I’d certainly pay to see them again, though reunion bands have a way of fading if they don’t augment their past with something new. Pressnall now has Icky Blossoms as a creative outlet these days, and for him, maybe that’s enough…

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Jackie Greene plays at Slowdown Jr. Tuesday, Sept. 27.

Roots / American singer-songwriter Jackie Greene is known as a musician’s musician, having played with a ton of people over the years, including as a member of the last iteration of Black Crowes and with Joan Osborne in Trigger Hippy. His latest album, Back to Birth (2015, Yep Roc), was produced by Los Lobos member Steve Berlin, and will appeal to Black Crowes fans or anyone who enjoys dense, guitar-infused American Trad rock.

I sent Greene the ol’ Ten Questions and this is what he had to say:

1. What is your favorite album?

Exile On Main Street

2. What is your least favorite song?

“Lovin Cup”

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Spooning the merch girl.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Spooning the bass player.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Chipotle-flavored anything.

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Osaka, Japan.  A distant second would be Perth.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Somewhere in rural South Dakota.  It was winter and the gear froze.

8. How do you pay your bills?

Online, generally.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Someday, I’d like to open my own typewriter repair shop.  We’d only service post-war American-made machines. We’d have limited hours. I probably wouldn’t like to do anything involving a nail salon.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

I have a friend from Omaha.  I’ve heard lots of stories.  Most of them good.

Jackie Greene plays with The Cordovas Tuesday, Sept. 27, at Slowdown Jr.,  729 No. 14th St. Tickets are $18 Adv./$20 DOS. Showtime is 8 p.m. For more information, go to theslowdown.com

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It’s a night of emo rock at Milk Run this evening. Headlining is Omaha’s own Super Ghost, whereas the traveling band is Minnesota act Weathered. Altura and Medlock open. 9 p.m. $5.

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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.

Cursive at The Waiting Room back in Dec. 2013. The band plays O’Leaversfest Sunday.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Our summer of music festivals continues this weekend with O’Leaversfest, held at fabulous O’Leaver’s, natch… It’s not so much a festival as three nights (and days) of music with some strong headliners every night.

The fest kicks off tonight with a four-band lineup headlined by the return of Flowers Forever — a band Derek Pressnall formed in the wake of Tilly and the Wall and preceding Icky Blossoms. At its height, FF released its debut album on Team Love Records in 2008 and I believe did some brief touring. Primary personnel in addition to Pressnall included Craig Dee and Chris Senseney. Who will make up the band tonight is uncertain. And why Pressnall decided to dust off this project now also remains a mystery.

Also on tonight’s bill are Bien Fang (Rachel Tomlinson Dick); Eric in Outerspace and Fun Runner, with the mighty Tyrone Storm spinning in the beer garden. $7, 8 p.m.

O’Leaversfest Day 2 tomorrow night (Saturday) starts in the afternoon with a beer garden show featuring James Maakestad, Mike Schlesinger and CJ Mills. That starts at 4 p.m.

Then, of course, the fest makes room for the Husker Game *sad trombone*.

The evening show is headlined by red-hot indie soul band High Up. Also on the bill are All Young Girls Are Machine Guns and experimental jazz act Chemicals, which demands that you get there at 10 p.m. sharp. Dramatron DJs in the garden. Your $7 entrance fee gets you in all day.

O’Leaversfest closes out Sunday afternoon with a Sunday Social program starting at 4 p.m. with Silversphere (new electronic project by the folks in The Lepers), Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship and headliner Cursive — yes, that Cursive. Your $7 cover will include food (and fun).

O’Leaversfest isn’t the only thing happening this weekend.

Tonight Milk Run is hosting a Noise and Electronic Fest with Ruby Block, Satanic Abortion and Plack Blague (and more). $10, 7 p.m.

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers headline at The Waiting Room tonight with Enormodome. $20, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) indie electronic dance giants Junior Boys are playing at Slowdown Jr. The band is on the road supporting its latest, Big Black Coat (2016, City Slang), a record that Pitchfork gave a massive 8.0, saying “Big Black Coat leaves behind introverted electronica of previous Junior Boys records. There’s some mid-era Kraftwerk in its place, as well as a big debt to Detroit techno, that sweet spot in the mid-’70s when krautrock met disco, several of Arthur Russell’s many house aliases, and even Prince circa Controversy.” Sounds tasty. Egyptrixx and Borys opens the show at 8 p.m. $16 Adv./$18 DOS.

If you want a preview of Sunday’s Cursive set, the band will be playing down in Lincoln Saturday as part of Hear Nebraska’s Beer Nebraska event. Five bands, five breweries, one price of $30. Also on the bill are Criteria, Universe Contest, Columbia Vs. Challenger reunion and Better Friend. The event runs from 2 to 9 p.m. at Zipline Brewing Company in Lincoln. No address listed, so get out your Google maps. More info here.

Finally Sunday night Destroyer (solo) plays at Reverb Lounge. I assume this is a Dan Bejar solo show. Mac McCaughan opens. $15, 9 p.m.

That’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend and I’ll probably see you at O’Leaver’s!

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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.

#TBT: Guess what this is…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

On this Throwback Thursday, from Lazy-i, Sept. 25, 2006. Can you believe it’s been 10 years?

Finally, after months of sitting dormant, serious work has begun again on the Slowdown compound. I was surprised to see steel beginning to go up last week from my office window and felt compelled to take a few snappies as I drove by the property yesterday afternoon (see above photo). If the 24-Hour Fitness on 77th and Cass is any indication, once the steel arrives it’s only a matter of weeks before the whole damn thing is framed and walls become enclosed, and before you know it, they’ll be working on the interior. I’m hearing from various sources that one of the retail bays is now spoken for by a coffee shop, though the folks at Slowdown deny that any tenant has signed a lease. At first blush, a coffee shop seems like an ill fit for an indie music venue, offices and film house, until you realize that there will be a couple hotels right across the street (to the north, which I suspect at the rate they’re going up, will be open for business before the first band takes the Slowdown stage). I’ll continue to take pics as construction progresses. — Lazy-i, Sept. 25, 2006

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A quick note in case you have noticed it (and why would you?): In the last week or so, The Reader launched a new website design at thereader.com. This one actually makes sense, especially if you’re reading it on your phone. In addition to being easier to read, the site is responsive, which means it looks just as good on your phone as your tablet as your desktop. Take a look.

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A couple hot ones tonight…

At The Brothers Lounge, KC heavy stone band Chasm headlines with metal dudes Super Moon and one of the area’s most talked about noise-punk bands — Bib. Come see what all the hype is about. $5, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, UK punk legends The Vibrators headline at Lookout Lounge. The full docket includes Tiananmen Squares, Buggy Lewis and The Rabbit Grenades. $8, 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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Mild High Club plays Reverb Lounge tomorrow night (9/21). Photo by Jamie Wdziekonski.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Talk about your bands whose name perfectly suits their sound, Mild High Club takes the cake. We’re talking smooth, jazzy, indie-fied Yacht Rock from a band with roots in both Chicago and Los Angeles. Skiptracing, their new album on Stones Throw Records, would fit in heavy rotation with any run-of-the-mill ’70s AM rock radio.

The band says the album’s story arc is that of a “private investigator attempting to trace the steps of the sound and the spirit of American music.” One assumes it’s a story that takes place in LA, dressed in polyester, behind the wheel of a tan Chevy Nova, and airing right after The Rockford Files.

I sent Mild High Club the Ten Questions survey. The band’s founder, Alexander Brettin, took the bait:

1. What is your favorite album?

Alexander Brettin: I can’t narrow it down to one currently it’s The Nightfly by Don Fagen.

2. What is your least favorite song?

“Happy” by Farrell.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Kicking out the jams, learning, seeing the world, freedom.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Witting in the passenger seat of the van gives me anxiety.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)? favorite substance?

Jazz harmonies

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Omaha, baby

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Pasadena – didn’t have the full band, struggled through a living room set.

8. How do you pay your bills?

With cash

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Would attempt working as a budtender; would hate to be a garbage man.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

Actually, I’ve never heard a story about Omaha!

Mild High Club plays with Fullbloods and Ojai Wednesday, Sept. 21 at Reverb Lounge, Tickets are $10 Adv/$12 DOS. Show starts at 9 p.m. For more information, go to onepercentproductions.com.

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Speaking of Reverb Lounge, the club is hosting a rock show tonight with post-punk/hip-hop band Show Me The Body (Universal). Opening is our own post-core hip-hop artist, Conny Franko (M34N STR33T), and Jocko. $8, 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.

Eros and the Eschaton at Reverb Lounge, Sept. 16, 2016.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It must be a pleasure for local musicians and bands who have moved away to return to their homes on tour and see all their comrades again. No doubt that was the case Friday night at Reverb for Adam Hawkins when his band, Eros and the Eschaton, played a sort of homecoming show.

With old friends scattered in the audience, Hawkins and his crew rifled through a deep selection from the band’s new album, Weight of Matter (2016, Bar None), closing with my two favorites from the recording: The spacey, floating “Center of the World” (wherein I could have sworn Hawkins changed the lyric on the main line of the song) and the brazen, post-punk burner “Rxx” that highlights co-frontperson Kate Perdoni barking out the staccato lines in all her feral glory.

Here’s a band that changes your perception of them when they perform live. Like, for example, Hawkins sang a lot more of the leads than I thought he did on the album. You could argue he has a higher voice than Perdoni. I also was impressed at the amount of guitar work Perdoni performed, spending a lot of time kneeling down, bending her strings alongside a bank of foot pedals.

I also learned (I think) how bands create that underwater, shimmy guitar sound so prominent on My Bloody Valentine albums. Hawkins grasped his whammy bar the entire time he stroked that guitar, which I assume constantly loosens and tightens the strings, causing that uneasy, drunken shimmy effect. Or maybe not. I’ll let the guitarists chime in to clarify. A final surprise was how little Hawkins and Perdoni harmonized — a lot of the harmonies were provided by the keyboard player.

Now a full band (including a dynamic drummer) Eros and the Eschaton have evolved beyond the duo-centric performance I saw a few years back. The band wraps up this tour tomorrow night in Chicago before heading out East again in a few weeks, closing out the tour with a gig at Cake Shop in Manhattan. Here’s hoping a solid album and all this touring helps them break through the waves.

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Culture site vulture.com this morning posted a lengthy feature on Conor Oberst that also appeared in the September issue of New York magazine. In it, Oberst recaps the last year or so of his life in Omaha, as well as the years leading up to it, including his health scare and rape allegation bullshit that turned his world upside down. You get a snapshot of what it’s like in La Casa Oberst as well as a sense that Omaha represented a necessary healing environment amidst a time of chaos. It’s an interesting read.

The article precedes the Oct. 14 release of his next solo album, Ruminations, which comes out on Nonesuch, as well as the release of the massive Bright Eyes box set, which was slated for release by Saddle Creek Records last Friday but has apparently been pushed back (due to manufacturing delays) until Oct. 21.

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There’s a couple hot shows happening tonight…

At fabulous O’Leaver’s it’s the return of Baltimore duo Dog Party (Asian Man, Burger Records).  Joining them are fellow Baltimore-ites Wing Dam, Every Goddess Wanted and Muscle Cousins (the Matz brood of Andy, Mari and Collin). $7, 8 p.m.

Also tonight, classic Bay Area punk band Swingin’ Utters (Fat Wreck Chords) plays at Lookout Lounge with Lincoln’s The Killigans and our very own Hand Painted Police Car. $12, 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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Eros and Eschaton at Slowdown Jr., Sept. 22, 2013. The band plays tonight at Reverb Lounge.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Colorado Springs shoe-gaze band Eros and the Eschaton got its start right here in Omaha. At its core are former Omahans Kate Perdoni and Adam Hawkins. Hawkins used to be a regular on the local club circuit, playing under the name It’s True. Perdoni and Hawkins joined forces in 2012, and then hit the road to Greensboro, North Carolina, before releasing their debut album, Home Address For Civil War (2013, Bar None), a record that earned 3.5 starts from All Music, which called it a “warm, delirious product of two creative souls deeply in love.” Awww….

Three years later and Eros and the Eschaton now live in Colorado Springs, have expanded to a five-piece band and just released their sophomore album, Weight of Matter (2016, Bar None), which is just as shoe-gazey and ethereal as the debut without ever losing sight of its gorgeous melodies.  Although there are moments of rhythm and grit, at its core Weight is a collection of hazy, cloud-covered tunes that you might hear in the background when you’re about to enter those pearly gates.

We caught up with Eros and the Eschaton’s Adam Hawkins, who graciously answered my Ten Questions survey. And since he’s a former Omahan, he qualified for the bonus round.

What is your favorite album?

Adam Hawkins: Right now it’s a tie between Electric Warrior and The Slider.

2. What is your least favorite song?

“My Brother Thinks He’s A Banana”

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

I love my fat Spotify checks. I almost have enough to replace the hood on my 2000 Toyota Avalon.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Interviews

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

2% milk

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

All of them, unless they suck.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Kearney. I also played great shows there, but this particular door was the worst. I was playing solo. It was a packed show. I was just starting out. I started playing and nobody cared. Usually you at least get a minute or so where everyone quiets down before starting their conversations again. But I said, ‘My name is Adam Hawkins, and I am It’s True,’ and nobody even turned to the stage. Nobody even gave me a courtesy clap after any song. After the third song I threw my guitar across the stage and just screamed the lyrics to the rest of my songs.

8. How do you pay your bills?

I record bands and make pizza.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

At one point, I was considering going to school to be a counselor. I couldn’t do the nurse thing. Too much poop and blood.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

I’ve heard some things

Bonus Round:

11. What do you miss most about Omaha?

I miss my buddies. Although most of them don’t live their anymore. I miss the music scene. I miss having so many cool places to play shows and go to shows.

12. What don’t you miss about Omaha?

I don’t miss playing a show on Husker game day.

13. What was the best part about making Weight Of Matter?

The la Croix.

14. What was the toughest part about making Weight of Matter?

la Croix ain’t cheap.

15. What do you hope to bump into when you return to Omaha and what are you going to tell him/her?

There are too many to list. I’m hoping to see as many of my old buddies as possible so I can pretend I don’t recognize them.

Eros and the Eschaton plays with Lonely Estates and Edison & the Elephant Friday, Sept. 16, at Reverb Lounge, 6121 Military Ave. Tickets are $8; showtime is 9 p.m. For more information, go to onepercentproductions.com.

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Eros and the Eschaton is the highlight of a very sparse weekend show-wise.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) you’ve got a big emo show at The Waiting Room featuring Taking Back Sunday and You Blew It! It’s $35 Adv/$40 DOS and starts at 8 p.m.

Sunday night Cali psych/garage band The Growlers are playing at The Waiting Room. The band’s new album, City Club (2016, Cult Records) was co-produced by Julian Casablancas (The Strokes and founder of Cult Records) and Shawn Everett (this year’s Grammy Award winner for his work with Alabama Shakes). This show lists no openers. Not sure what the deal is. $15, 9 p.m.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great 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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.