Halloween on a Monday night is kind of weird. Actually, any holiday on a Monday kind of sucks because you have to go to work (or school) the next morning.
It’s the same problem with great shows on work nights. Like tonight, when The Faint close out their month-long tour with Gang of Four at Sokol Auditorium. Faint shows are always spectacular, and judging by the reviews and photos that have been posted throughout this tour (like this Westword review of Saturday’s show) tonight’s will be no exception.
There are those who pointed out that Gang of Four’s only original member is guitarist/vocalist Andy Gill, and thus discount this as not a true Gang of Four show. More like Gang of One. Regardless, it sounds like they’re as brittle and off-kilter as ever. Do not miss if you can avoid it. Tickets are $28. Pictureplane opens at 8 p.m.
To help you get psyched for tonight’s show, The Faint released a new video for “ESP,” directed by Omaha filmmaker (and member of Icky Blossoms and InDreama) Nik Fackler. This one features choreography by Nik’s wife, Kat. Check it out at Stereogum.
Omaha band The Broke Loose’s new EP, Who Are You Wearing? (2016, self release), is a collection of ’90s-flavored indie rock powered by the dual-guitar attack of Matt Evans (Kris Lager Band) and Glenn Antonucci (Dego Red). Frontman Antonucci’s nasal vocals, along with the album’s ever-present pop riffs, remind me of ’90s jewels Too Much Joy, or upbeat Soul Asylum and Goo Goo Dolls.
And while the record was produced by Grammy nominated producer Ken Coomer (ex-Uncle Tupelo/Wilco) there’s nary a twang to be heard on the EP’s five tracks. That said, the band references Son Volt and Wilco on its one sheet along with Replacements and Husker Du and Tom Petty and Springsteen — a broad spectrum. The four-piece is rounded out by the white-knuckled rhythm section of bassist Corey Randone (Jimmy Skaffa) and legendary Omaha punk drummer Tim Cox (RAF). It’s always good to have at least one legend in the band, right?
It’s good stuff, though they’re not exactly blazing a new trail in the rock wilderness, but who is these days? If you’re looking for solid, straight-up, guitar-fueled power-pop, you’d be hard-pressed to find better in these parts. Find out for yourself tonight when The Broke Loose celebrates its EP release at Reverb Lounge with Anthems and Edison & the Elephant. $5, 9 p.m.
According to Broke Loose’s one-sheet, these guys have been playing since 2012, and somehow I’ve managed to miss them the entire time. It’s impressive that they traveled to Nashville to record this EP and are releasing it themselves on vinyl and CD — that a pricey commitment. On top of that, they’ve already laid down a second batch of songs at Make Believe Studios for release next year. Here’s hoping it all pays off for them…
What else is happening this pre-Halloween weekend?
Well, PWR BTTM, a self-described queer punk duo originally from upstate New York, now in Brooklyn, are headlining at Milk Run. They released their debut, Ugly Cherries, on Father/Daughter, but they’re headed to Polyvinyl for the follow-up, which should be out early next year. Joining them tonight are Bellows (Double Double Whammy) and Lisa Prank (Father/Daughter), as well as Jade Lacy. $10, 9 p.m.
Also tonight, the Hi-Fi House, 3724 Farnam St., is hosting an invitation-only performance by The Twilight Hours, a band that includes Matt Wilson (Trip Shakespeare and The Flops) and John Munson (Trip Shakespeare, Semisonic). While the 8 p.m. show is free, it’s not open to the general public. You must RSVP via a member of the secured Hi-Fi House Facebook group. I asked Kate Dussault how people can get involved with Hi-Fi House. Her response: “Membership is invitation only, interested parties can reach out to us via our website once it launches. In the interim they can contact me via email at kate@hifi.house.”
Meanwhile, over at fabulous O’Leaver’s, there’s a Halloween-themed show featuring Des Moines heavy metal act Druids, instrumental synth-horror act Night Stories, our very own Haunted Gauntlet doing “art synced visuals to original and horror soundtrack beats ranging from hip hop to full on punk surf,” and Stephen Nichols doing “video game dungeon horror bass guitar visuals.” They’re calling the event Spew II. $5, 9:30 p.m.
It’s back to O’Leaver’s tomorrow night (Saturday) for the return of Laura Burhenn of The Mynabirds. Burhenn just released a couple solo tracks from what I assume (hope) is an upcoming album. Joining her is Anna McClellan and Annie Dilocker. $7, 9:30 p.m.
Also Saturday night, The Brothers Lounge is hosting its annual Halloween Bash. Lude Boys (Social Distortion tribute) and No Thanks perform. $5, 10 p.m.
Finally Sunday night Beach Slang returns to Omaha, this time to Reverb Lounge. Their latest album has been compared to The Replacements, but I think it’s much harder than that — definitely a next-level recording. Opening is Bleached, who I wrote about yesterday, and HUNNY. $16, 8 p.m.
ADDENDUM: Someone pointed out that I missed that Screaming Females show at Milk Run Sunday night — a yuge show. With Moor Mother and Bien Fag. $15, 9 p.m.
That’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
Comments Off on The Broke Loose EP release show, PWR BTTM, Twilight Hours tonight; Laura Burhenn, No Thanks Saturday; Beach Slang, Bleached, Screaming Females Sunday…
Life can be rough in LA, just ask the members of Bleached. Around the time guitarist/bassist Jessie Clavin was evicted from her house, her sister and bandmate, singer/guitarist Jennifer Clavin ended a torrid, unhealthy romance. The frontwoman struggled and escaped the pressures with drinking and partying, sometimes to excess, feeling like she was losing herself altogether.
The product of that tailspin was Welcome the Worms (2016, Dead Oceans), a 10-song LP created with drummer Micayla Grace (ex-Leopold & His Fiction) and producer Joe Chiccarelli (Morrissey, The Strokes). It’s a snarly, raw pop rock that sounds like Weezer meets Dog Party backed by a California sunrise.
We caught up to Bleached’s Jennifer Clavin and gave her the Ten Questions treatment:
1. What is your favorite album?
Jennifer Clavin: That’s an insanely difficult question… Three Imaginary Boys by The Cure.
2. What is your least favorite song?
“Tears of a Clown” by Smokey Robinson. The thought of a clown crying is so disturbing and depressing.
3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?
Playing a different show to new fans every night. I kinda get like a high off of it. At first I get nervous and then it all goes away and I feel really excited and empowered playing our songs and seeing people dance and sing along. It’s really cool.
4. What do you hate about being in a band?
Not getting enough sleep. We just flew over 24 hours to get to Australia and I’m just sleeping when I can.
5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?
It used to be alcohol but I’m sober now so my new drug of choice is Chai Tea with steamed soy milk and also La Croix soda water flavor orange.
6. In what city or town do you love to perform?
Los Angeles! It’s our home town and the shows are always so crazy. Also I can’t forget our last show in Gothenburg Sweden because it was next level wild. The whole room was singing along to our song “Wednesday Night Melody.”
7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?
That’s hard to answer because even when there is a malfunction like someone’s guitar strap breaks or an amp stops working it’s all part of the show. But my least favorite would be this show we played in a town outside of Detroit and mainly because it was a really awkward room with fake trees everywhere and I couldn’t hear my vocals at all. Not enough vocals in my monitors always majorly stresses me out.
8. How do you pay your bills?
Playing music. I keep my bills to a minimum but all the touring helps pay them.
9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?
Fashion design. I always thought that was going to be my lifetime career. I still plan on it.
As for the profession I would hate, being a security guard in a prison.
10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?
I haven’t heard many stories. However, I have one of my own. The first time I ever went there with my old band Mika Miko we found a random lake to go swimming in. The second I jumped in I broke my toe and had a broken toe on the rest of that tour. :/
Bleached play with Beach Slang and Hunny Sunday, Oct. 30, at Reverb Lounge. Tickets are $16. Showtime is 8 p.m. For more information, go to onepercentproductions.com.
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Looking fashionably disheveled, Conor Oberst was on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night doing a couple numbers from his new album, Ruminations. Joining him on stage for the appropriately stripped-down performance was Miwi La Lupa. Someone said the new record is Oberst’s Blood on the Tracks, but in this performance I was reminded more of Randy Newman than anyone else. See for yourself.
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Laura Burhenn of The Mynabirds yesterday debuted a new song on NPR’s All Songs Considered. From the NPR website:
“The Mynabirds singer wrote this song as a reaction to what she described as her confronting the ‘yawning black void’ of her future. But rather than fearing the darkness, she took comfort in it. She says ‘Apples & Oranges’ is about not knowing anything and being OK with it. Mike Mogis, known for his work with Conor Oberst, helped produce Burhenn’s new single.” Pretty stuff. Check it out below.
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Tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s, Crushed Out — the husband-and-wife team of Frankie Sunswept on guitar and Moselle Spiller on drums — headlines a show that also includes The Sub-Vectors, Bruiser Queen and Huge Fucking Waves. $5, 9 p.m.
Conor Oberst’s latest solo album, Ruminations (2016, Nonesuch), continues to get rave reviews from press. Paste released its review this morning, giving the album a massive 8.6 rating.
Also this morning, Warner Bros. and its affiliate labels announced some Black Friday offerings. Among them, a limited edition Black Friday-exclusive of “Afterthought” b/w “Tachycardia” 7-inch black vinyl by Conor Oberst. The recording features a new full-band recording of the Ruminations track “Tachycardia,” paired with “Afterthought,” an unreleased track from the Ruminations recording sessions and pressed at Record Industry.
Black Friday is Nov. 25, in case you haven’t already marked it on your calendar. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more about Black Friday releases in the coming weeks…
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Tonight at Milk Run Lupines drummer Javid Dabestani (ex-Bright Calm Blue) opens a show with Ridgelines and Tom Bartolomei + Alex Loth. It’s part of Milk Run’s CounterSound program. $5, 9:30 p.m.
Friday night was the debut of Wrong Pets, the new band fronted by Reagan Roeder with Landon Hedges (bass), Danny Maxwell (guitar) and Ryan Haas on drums. The band took its cues from ’90s indie with a whole lot of grunge thrown in for good measure. Heavy stuff, but what did you expect from a Maxwell/Hedges production, the same folks who brought you Little Brazil?
It’s been years since I’ve seen him on stage, but Roeder continues to hold his own with great, growling flair. For an act that hasn’t played together long, they sounded remarkably tight performing their short, six-song set. Debuts are always fun because you never know what to expect, but this was pretty much what I expected, or certainly what I hoped for. What this crew does next is anyone’s guess; keep your fingers crossed that they play again soon.
BTW, it was big crowd, a packed crowd, especially for the early band, though Wrong Pets didn’t get rolling until around 10:30. One can only guess how crowded it got as the night edged closer to the Her Flyaway Manner 20th anniversary set, which, alas, I was unable to see.
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One show of consequence on this Monday night — NOBUNNY headlines at Milk Run. Nobunny is musician Justin Champlin, who has released his brand of garage rock on such vaunted labels as Goner and Burger Records. The show has a crowded bill with Articles, Lemmons, and Relax, It’s Science opening. 9 p.m., $10.
The Speed! Nebraska executive team, circa 2006. The label celebrates its 20 year anniversary Saturday night at The Brothers Lounge. Photo by Bill Sitzmann.
I dropped the ball. The immensely talented Andrew Spellmon reached out earlier in the week and asked if I would contribute my thoughts to a story he was working on for Hear Nebraska. His one and only question:
What is Speed! Nebraska’s legacy/impact on the local/national scene?
I immediately responded to Andrew saying I’d be happy to comment. The deadline was Wednesday night. And things being what they are in my life these days, I completely forgot to send him anything. It didn’t slow ol’ Spellmon down, however, and yesterday Hear Nebraska published a very lengthy, detailed story called “Racing at 45 RPM: SPEED! Nebraska reaches 20 year milestone.” You can read it right here.
The feature includes “stories and memories” from the artist and collaborators who have taken part in the Speed! Nebraska history, including Jon Taylor (Domestica, Mercy Rule), Dan Jenkins (Ideal Cleaners), Lee Meyerpeter (Filter Kings), George Peek (Solid Jackson), Mike Tulis (co-creator of Speed! and member of The Monroes), as well as people like Dan Schlissel, who created competing label -ismist and now runs Stand Up! Records, and Trey and Lallaya Lalley, who ran the Capitol Bar & Grill and now run The Brothers Lounge.
Ten years ago, when Speed! Nebraska was celebrating its 10-year anniversary, I penned this story for The Reader that highlighted the label’s origins. At the time, Speed! was enjoying its high-water mark. Or as Jesse Render, the label’s “special project coordinator,” put it: “We’re like a family. You do whatever job needs to be done. This is kind of the Golden Age of Speed! Nebraska.”
So to answer Stellmon’s original question, I’d have to say Speed! Nebraska’s legacy is not only the 37 vinyl and CD releases that it put out over the course of 20 years, it’s also the people who made the music heard on that stellar catalog of rock ‘n’ roll. Most of them are still doing it, and doing it well. Certainly Speed! Nebraska record executive Gary Dean Davis is going strong, as is the rest of the executive team mentioned in that 2006 article.
In fact, you can see for yourself Saturday night at The Brothers Lounge when Gary’s band, Wagon Blasters, is joined by Mike Tulis’ band, Lupines, for a 20 year anniversary celebration that should be epic in its awesomeness.
What else is happening this weekend?
Tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s another group is celebrating a 20th anniversary — Lincoln band Her Flyaway Manner. Watch as these fossils sling their guitars over their walkers and wheel chairs for a set that should go down in geriatric history. Joining them are Jump the Tiger and Wrong Pets (members of Little Brazil). $5, 9:30 p.m.
Also tonight, See Through Dresses headlines at Milk Run. Joining them are New York band Haybaby (Tiny Engines Records) and The Way Out. No price listed, show starts at 9 p.m.
And lest we forget, tonight is the annual OEAA nominee showcase in Benson featuring more than 40 bands playing at six venues. Your $10 wristband gets you in to all shows all night. More info here.
Tomorrow night (Saturday) is the aforementioned Speed! Nebraska 20th anniversary bash at The Brothers Lounge. Wagon Blasters vs. Lupines. $5, starts at 9 p.m.
Also Saturday night, The Felice brothers headline at The Waiting Room. They’re out supporting their latest, Life in the Dark (2016, Yep Rock). Shelby Earl opens. $15, 9 p.m.
Finally Sunday afternoon is the Benefit for Standing Rock at O’Leaver’s. The line-up includes Dark Diamond, DJ Machmuller, Noah Sterba and Pro Magnum. The benefit kicks off at 3:30 p.m. $5. Find out more about the benefit right here.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
This being Throwback Thursday, here’s a dip into the Lazy-i Wayback Machine to 2006, a few days after Omaha’s first smoking ban went into effect. Hard to believe it’s been 10 years. There is an entire generation of music-goers who have no concept of what I’m describing in the following column from 2006, and even now it seems strange that smoking once was allowed in restaurants, and Sokol Underground (which, at the time, was the primary indie rock music venue in Omaha). The citywide smoking ban for all bars would come more than a year later.
Column 95 — The stench of rock… – Oct. 5, 2006
Just when you thought you’d heard all you care to about Omaha’s new pseudo-smoking ban that went into effect Sunday, here’s another comment, this time from the musicians’ perspective. What wasn’t pointed out in the column below was the scorecard as to where smoking is and isn’t allowed. Smoking isn’t allowed at Sokol Underground, Sokol Auditorium and Mick’s — that’s the extent of the ban’s impact. It’s still allowed for the next five years at O’Leaver’s, The 49’r and The Saddle Creek Bar. If you don’t know the rules, here’s an abbreviated explanation: Smoking is allowed in bars that don’t serve food (O’Leaver’s, The 49’r) and isn’t allowed in multi-use facilities (Sokol) or bars that serve food unless those bars offer keno (The Saddle Creek Bar). Mick’s, which doesn’t have a kitchen, voluntarily banned smoking.
Column 95: The Smell of Rock Is smoking part of rock ‘n’ roll?
Before we move forward, we must understand and agree on this one conceit: Smoking holds no value in a human being’s life. None. It is not essential for your continued existence. In fact, it’s unquestionably destructive. It shaves the very essence of life away from the individuals that imbibe in its behavior.
Anyone who smokes cigarettes knows this, and has known it from the first puff. Just like those who drink bottle after bottle of beer and/or wine know that their lives are in no way being enhanced by the activity. There is no argument for drinking alcohol, especially when the endeavor taken to excess results in inebriation, loss of reasonable judgment and motor skills, and a painful hangover. Anyone who drinks knows this, and has known it from their first under-age beer.
To say that second-hand smoke is more dangerous than the secondhand effects of a drunk smashing into your car is to ignore the fact that more people are killed driving than by almost any other activity, and that a huge number of those deaths are the result of drunken driving.
That said, smoking and drinking are a part of rock and roll right along with sex and drugs. Always have been. Always will be? Who knows, but probably, in some form or another, regardless of any awkwardly developed citywide ban that says it’s okay to smoke in some bars but not in others.
Part of the experience of going to rock shows for as long as I can remember has been going home afterward and stripping off my tar and nicotine-soaked clothing so as not to contaminate the sheets before passing out, then picking up my t-shirt in the morning and smelling the previous night’s stench. Now that’s rock and roll. And it’s going to become a thing of the past, eventually.
No one knows this more than the people who make a living performing in the smoke dens, but even among them, there is no agreement that the smoking ban is good or necessary.
Take Matt Whipkey, lead singer/guitarist of Anonymous American (Who, by the way, will be releasing a new album by the end of the year). Whipkey’s down with the smoking ban. “In terms of my personal dexterity, you smell better after you get done,” he said of playing gigs in smoke-free bars. “When playing out of state or at smoke-free places like The Zoo Bar (in Lincoln), I’m not absolutely disgusting afterward.”
Whipkey says the smoking ban might even bring more people to gigs, people who have avoided going to shows because they can’t stand the smoke. “Times are changing,” he said. “You can’t do it in Minneapolis, Lawrence, New York, Madison, California or Lincoln. I assume you can’t do it in most cities. It’s just how it goes.”
And then there’s Dave Goldberg, guitarist/keyboardist/drummer/vocalist of The Terminals (Who, by the way, have a new record coming out on Cleveland’s Dead Beat Records). “It’s like taking the smut out of Time’s Square,” he said of the ban. “I’m against it. Rock and roll is supposed to be bad for you. Smoking has been a part of it since its inception. And this is coming from a non-smoker.”
Forget about the sanitized confines of a smoke-free lounge. A punk from back in the day, Goldberg prefers the grime. “I’m partial to a seedy atmosphere, and smoking is definitely part of it,” he said. “I’ve gone to blues clubs for years now, and it seems to go hand-in-hand. Smoky rock clubs — it’s almost like that’s how it should be.”
Unlike Whipkey, Goldberg thinks the ban will have a negative impact on audiences. “In Lincoln, you noticed the effects immediately,” he said of the Capitol City’s ban, which has been around for almost a year. “Duffy’s, for example, has a beer garden, and a lot of times a band will be playing to a partially full or worse-sized audience on account of everyone being outside smoking.”
The one thing Whipkey and Goldberg do agree on: Playing in smoky bars has never impacted their performance quality, or so they think. “Part of my vocal style is the accumulation of secondhand smoke caked on my lungs over the years,” Whipkey said. “Maybe now I’ll sound like a choir boy.” Let’s hope not.
Goldberg, who just finished touring the country as drummer for theater-rock legend Thor, has played in both smoke and smoke-free environments. “I’ve never noticed a difference,” he said, “but I spent a lot of time in smoky bars, perhaps I’m used to it.”
So who’s right? Smoking is indefensible. Banning it in clubs like Sokol Underground will only save lives and keep my clothes and hair smelling better after a night of noise. But you know what? I’m still going to miss it. — Lazy-i, Oct. 5, 2006
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Yeah, well, guess what, I don’t.
Back to the future….
Today The Good Life released via Stereogram (here) a new track recorded during the Everbody’s Coming Down sessions called “Are You Afraid of Dying?” The Good Life hits the road with Jake Bellows beginning early next month for a tour that concludes Nov. 28 at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Speaking of outtakes, here’s another one from the same sessions that dropped last month (and that somehow I missed):
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Tonight at Reverb, LA’s Vinyl Williams headlines with Oquoa and Chemicals. $7, 9 p.m.
This may be the year I return to SXSW. Two Omaha bands already have been invited to the Austin party in March: High Up and Closeness. No surprise, really, considering they’re probably the best indie bands going from ’round these parts. To the best of my knowledge, both bands are still without a label, which could all change after the festival.
Looking at the first wave of artists invited to SXSW, a few others stood out: The Drums, Joan of Arc, our old friends Minus the Bear and Thigh Master from Australia, which is in the early running for best band name at SXSW 2017. Read the whole list here.
The deciding factor regarding my participation may be if Saddle Creek hosts a showcase this year. They skipped last year, but the label has a rather rich new stable of artists — Sam Evian, Big Thief, Hop Along — not to mention comp reissues for The Faint and Bright Eyes. Todd Fink will be in Austin for Closeness; imagine what a Faint show would be like at SXSW…
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The Saddle Creek Shop is having a big clearance sale this week. It’s an effort to make room for “an exciting new business.” They’re keeping the name of that new business on the down low (I’ve got a feeling something big is brewing).
In the mean time, the store has 40% or more off non-Saddle Creek vinyl stock. That’s quite a discount. I’m surprised Homer’s or Almost Music didn’t sweep in, make an offer and take the whole thing off their hands and resell it at a profit. Well, their loss is your gain. The shop is open daily through Friday until 6.
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Maria Taylor, In the Next Life (2016, Flower Moon)
Maria Taylor released the first single off her upcoming album, a song called “If Only,” via Stereogram this morning. Her old pal Conor Oberst provides guest vocals. Taylor’s new album, In the Next Life, comes out Dec. 9 on her own Flower Moon Records.
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Tonight, Alkaline Trio’s Dan Andriano brings his solo set to O’Leaver’s. You read about Dan here yesterday. Opening the show is our very own Ted Stevens, along with Dan P (of MU330) and Derek Grant (of Alkaline Trio). $12, 9 p.m.
Dan Andriano is probably best known for his role as vocalist/bassist for seminal ’90s pop-punk band Alkaline Trio, for which he’s still very much a member. The official name of his solo project is Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room, a moniker in which he released his most recent album, Party Adjacent (2015, Asian Man).
Produced by Jeff Rosenstock and influence by the likes of Elvis Costello and Paul Westerberg, Party Adjacent is more more mainstream and radio-friendly than the harder stuff heard on Alk Trio releases, and that’s just the way Dan wants it.
I caught up with Dan to get his take on the ol’ Ten Questions survey. Here ya go:
1. What is your favorite album?
Dan Andriano: The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths
2. What is your least favorite song?
“She’ll Be Comin Round The Mountain”
3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?
Traveling, making up and playing songs, winding up in bizarre situations.
4. What do you hate about being in a band?
I don’t really hate anything about it… but it’s a little disappointing when you book a tour, get all excited to see some far off part of the world. And then, once you get there, not having enough time to actually see it.
5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?
Hard to say… what was the bad terminator in T2 made out of?
6. In what city or town do you love to perform?
Pretty much anywhere that’ll have me! Chicago is home so that’s really nice…
7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?
8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?
I feel very fortunate to say yes… For now, anyway. I got a head start on touring with a band when I was still in high school, and I think I was quitting my last job when I was 22.
9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?
I think I’d like to be a chef… but I’m not sure I could handle the stress. And, I could never be one of those guys that has to put on a HazMat suit and go in a clean up a house after a super hoarder has died…
10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?
I can’t say I’ve heard any! But I’ve been to Omaha and it rules… people are always super nice, and really appreciative of bands coming through. There’s been such a great underground music scene there for decades, it’s really great to roll through and try and channel some of that energy… See you there!
Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room plays with Dan P (of MU330), Derek Grant (of Alkaline Trio) and Ted Stevens (of Cursive) Wednesday, Oct. 19, at O’Leaver’s, 1322 So. Saddle Creek Rd. Tickets are $10 Adv/$12 DOS. Showtime is 9 p.m. For more information, go to liveatoleavers.com.
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That one above is tomorrow night. Tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s Lung headlines. The duo consists of Daisy Caplan of Foxy Shazam and electric cellist/vocalist Kate Wakefield. Bonghammer and Trench open. $5, 9 p.m.
Also tonight, LA ska/punk band The Interrupters headlines at Lookout Lounge with Bad Cop / Bad Cop and Mad Dog & the 20/20s. $14, 8 p.m.
Texas Is the Reason’s only album, Do You Know Who You Are?, was one of those records that stood out in the late ’90s when there wasn’t a lot of records that stood out. It’s considered a landmark emo album, recognized by Rolling Stone and NME among others as among that genre’s best. I just remember being unable to escape it in the late ’90s.
Garrett Klahn quickly moved on from TITR after the band broke up at the end of ’97. Klahn formed New Rising Sons and now plays in Atlantic/Pacific. His solo album was released earlier this year on Rise.
Noisey had a rather lengthy interview with Klahn published this January when the record was released. His best quote deals with trying to escape his emo past:
After Texas Is the Reason broke up, did you try to escape emo?
Klahn: It’s kind of inescapable, man. [Laughs] In our world, there’s no escape from it. I started that band New Rising Sons and we got signed to Virgin, and pretty much right out of the gate, any and everything written about the band, there’s no escaping it. Even if I really tried I don’t think I could have. It’s just fucking there. [Laughs] Whatever you call it, emo, hardcore, whatever. Shit, I’m 41 years old and I’m still talking about it.
Check out Klahn tonight at Reverb Lounge for what has been billed as Garrett Klahn & The Surrounding Areas U.S. Tour (I’m not sure why One Percent Productions hasn’t mentioned the band). Virgin Mary Pistol Grip opens. $12, 9 p.m.
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