John Landford and his supporting Omaha supergroup at O’Leaver’s May 28, 2017.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

What a crazy Sunday night. It felt like a Saturday with all the shows going on and with everyone having Monday off…

Over at fabulous O’Leaver’s Jon Langford of The Mekons performed a cracking set that included songs from his upcoming album as well as some Mekons gold and songs from his Waco Brothers project. I was expecting a C&W set, but Langford’s style was more of a rootsy British folk meets rock mix. He started off with a handful of acoustic tunes, including a fantastic version of “Millionaire,” which happens to be the only Mekons EP I own.

A storyteller at heart, Langford filled time between tunes with charming quips and anecdotes that reached back to his early punk rock days. Oh, the stories he must have. He said he was in town to visit inlaws that live in Omaha. That said, this show, along with a special gig at Hi Fi House the night prior, were the first times he’s played in our fair city.

Next, Langford brought up a “local super group” that included Mike Tulis on bass, Matt Rutledge on guitar and Sue Hendrick on drums. Great stuff, as you can hear from the embedded Facebook Live video, above. I’m told the band had a head’s up in terms of what they’d be playing, and did their best to learn the numbers before Langford showed up. They sounded like they’d been playing with him for years.

Kyle Harvey at the Down Under Lounge, May 28, 2017.

I didn’t catch the end of this set because I had to head off down Leavenworth to the Down Under Lounge where everyone’s favorite wandering poet musician Kyle Harvey was playing a solo set. There was Kyle and his beard on stage belting out songs from his new solo album surrounded by a packed room of fans and friends. It makes you wonder why he ever backed away from music in the first place. While the material stands strong as a solo presentation, I’d love to hear these songs fleshed out with a full band. Dare to dream…

This was my time inside Down Under since it switched over from being The Side Door Lounge. The room has a more laid-back, lived-in groove to it than its more refined previous self. It feels more inviting and less pretentious, which is what you want from a live music spot.

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One Percent has a couple interesting shows happening in their properties tonight, both are on NYC label Hardly Art.

Over at Reverb Lounge NYC artist Black Marble headlines. The project, fronted by Chris Stewart, is out their latest, It’s Immaterial. Very cook, jangly post rock. This one looks sneaky good. Cult Play and Effluvium open. $12, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at The Waiting Room, NYC dude Ian Sweet headlines. Last year’s Shapeshifter LP is kind of dreamy. Just as dreamy is opening band Thick Paint. $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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Kyle Harvey at The Waiting Room, Feb. 21, 2014. Kyle returns to Omaha Sunday night for an album release show at Down Under Lounge.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Ah, the proverbial first weekend of summer…

It starts tonight at Brothers Lounge with a show headlined by Omaha garage super-group Sucettes. Opening is Lazy Wranglers and red-hot noise-punk band BIB. $5, 9 p.m.

That’s really the only show on my radar for tonight, and there’s virtually nothing happening from an indie music standpoint Saturday. How did that happen?

Things turn around on Sunday.

We welcome back long-lost musician, poet and bartender Kyle Harvey. He’s in town for a CD release show at the Down Under Lounge Sunday night. I’ve been listening to Kyle’s new record and it’s pretty much what we’ve come to expect — warm-hearted songs about life and love with a mountain twang and a bearded croon. I assume there will be some sort of beard-off early in the evening between Kyle and the opening acts Brad Hoshaw and Justin Lamoureux. This is an early show — starts at 7:30. And it’s free!

The other big show happening early Sunday evening is Jon Langford at fabulous O’Leaver’s Langford is the founding member of the Mekons, Three Johns and Waco Brothers. The Electroliners open. This one starts early, too, at 6 p.m. and costs $5.

And that’s all I got for this Memorial Day weekend. 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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Solid Goldberg at The Barley Street May 13, 2011. DJ Dave a.k.a. Dave Goldberg spins tonight at Scriptown Brewery.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I was going to post this yesterday but decided against it because I thought the Facebook scrap was dying down. These things have a way of exploding and disappearing in a matter of days. Then it flared up again yesterday afternoon.

I have no point of view on all of it. For whatever reason, I never saw Harouki Zombi when it was staged five or six years ago.

So instead of tracking on the back-and-forth in Facebook, I’ve been busy listening to recordings by O+S, High Up and CLOSENESS. Orenda Fink is one of the most talented people who has ever graced an Omaha stage, and I would be saddened if this controversy did anything to sway her from taking a stage here again, though I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t. We may quickly forget about all this; I doubt she will…

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Speaking of CLOSENESS, here are a couple of those Q1 2017 album reviews that never got published in The Reader:

CLOSENESS, Personality Therapy (Graveface) — Whereas Faint songs (especially the early ones) have a sinister, pleatherish quality, Orenda’s sound always has been ethereal (by nature of her sterling voice). This electronic hybrid doesn’t so much combine the best of both worlds as create something new and glisteningly futuristic. The final product is more computeristic than organic. Todd is never satisfied with letting his voice stand on its own without a Mr. Roboto filter. Fine. Orenda, on the other hand, is merely enhanced by shoe-gazy delay. Whether you believe either effect is necessary is a matter of taste, though too often the tech gets in the way of the words. But do words matter when you’re reaching for such sonic drama? The lasting impression is that of the duo climbing a chrome mountain, surrounded by lasers and kliegs, never out-stepping their songs’ monolithic, mid-tempo beats. And while I like the vibe, I’d like it more if I knew what they were singing about.

jtvrdik, IRONS — Though the one-sheet suggests you’ll be reminded of the glory days of Factory Records, I more often recalled early Interpol or The Faint (thanks to Clark Baechle’s touch on these recordings) though this is synthier and even more blank wave than those. It’s also dancier in a dirty, strobe-lit, Meatpacking District sort of way. The times Tvrdik lets his voice stand in contrast to the tech (like on centerpiece “A Funeral in Moscow”), the human irony shines through the shimmer and the dense, layered  beats. Black-lit, stylish, oddly gothic, oddly futuristic, ultimately cinematic.

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I typically don’t post about DJ sets, but when it comes to Dave Goldberg…

Dave is spinning tracks tonight at Scriptown in the Blackstone. If you haven’t been there, here’s a great time to check out their outstanding beers and catch a local legend’s vinyl interpretations. 8 to 10 p.m. and free.

One other DJ note… Teresa and I had a blast Friday night at Benson Soul Society at Reverb Lounge watching/listening to DJ Tyrone Storm do his thing. We left shortly after his set (around 10), and I’m told these things don’t really heat up until midnight. We will return…

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Those Far Out Arrows at Reverb Lounge, April 14, 2017. The band opens for Cool Ghouls tonight at Brothers Lounge.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Apologies for my lack of updates the last couple of days. I’ve been working on a massive 5,000-word article for The Reader‘s Music Issue, which comes out next month. These deadlines, they’re killing me…

Today is the day when the city’s non-profit organizations take hat in hand and ask for your support. Of course I’m talking about Omaha Gives, the annual city-wide non-profit fund drive.

Among the local non-profit music organizations I’ll be donating to (which means you should donate to them as well) are:

Hear Nebraska — As a former HN Board member I know what good the organization does. As a music fan, musician or music-related business, you should know that Executive Director Andrew Norman and his team tirelessly do everything possible to promote Nebraska music. Among their primary projects are The Good Life Tour, Lincoln Calling and assorted programs that support the scene. They’ve got some massive plans in the works this year (and next) so get in on the ground floor by making your tax-deductible donation. If you want to find out more, swing by Omaha Bicycle Club in Benson, where the Hear Nebraska team will be camped out throughout the day coordinating their Omaha Gives efforts. Make your donation here.

Omaha Girls Rock! — The organization that’s all about empowering the area youth is still going strong. Help put a guitar or set of drumsticks in a young girl’s hands. Donate here.

Maha Music Festival — The state’s primary music festival has its best line-up ever for this year’s concert. But they still need cash to pull it off. Give here.

Geeze, this is one of my most expensive days of the year for me. Here are a few other organizations you should consider giving to:

• Benson Theatre
• WhyArts
• Benson First Friday
• Restoration Exchange Omaha
• Mode Shift Omaha
• Film Streams

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NPR’s All Songs Considered did a nice little write-up on David Nance’s upcoming album Negative Boogie (Ba Da Bing Records), calling it “spastic dance music for rock ‘n’ roll deviants, a jabbing pointer finger at the soullessness of the pixelated present, blown out and blown up like a basement tape.” The record comes out in July. Check out a track below.

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San Francisco garage-rock band Cool Ghouls headlines a show tonight at Brothers Lounge. The band has released records and cassettes on Burger, Empty Cellar, Melodic and P-Vine. Our very own Those Far Out Arrows opens the show. $5, 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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Domestica at The Waiting Room, Dec. 9, 2016. The band plays tonight at Brothers Lounge.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Looks like another cold, wet weekend. Let’s see what’s happening in the clubs…

Tonight at Brothers Lounge KC power punk act Red Kate headlines. Their sound is kind of a throwback to the ‘90s, which makes Domestica a great band to share the bill. DSM5 also stars. $5, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) Providence prog/emo rockers The Dear Hunter (Equal Vision Records) headlines at The Slowdown. Omaha post-rock band Fontenelle opens. $23.

Meanwhile, the mighty Montee Men opens Saturday night for Des Moines metal band Druids at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Jump the Tiger also is on the bill. $5, 9 p.m.

And progressive jazz superstars Chemicals plays Saturday night at The Blackstone Meatball. Joining them is The Tweedt/Van Fleet Jazz Quartet. 10 p.m. and FREE.

Finally, The Beat Seekers are celebrating the release of their new CD Battle Cry for a Declaration at Lookout Lounge Saturday night. Joining them are Graveyard Smash, The Shidiots, The Boner Killerz and DJ Crybaby. 8 p.m., $10 w/CD or $5 without CD.

I almost forgot — The Shins play Stir Cove Saturday night. Tennis opens. 8 p.m. Tickets are an incredible $67.

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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Chris Cornell

The death of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell is definitely on my mind.

Moreso than Cobain or Vedder, Cornell to me epitomized the Seattle grunge movement. While you could argue Kurt’s and Eddie’s voices were just as distinctive, Cornell’s was iconic, a strange, beautiful trapeze act of a voice that seemed to be daring himself and the audience to take an extra step… higher. Nirvana and Pearl Jam may have grabbed more headlines and more airplay; but Soundgarden was that flannel in the closet that you haven’t worn in too long.

At age 52, he was too young to die, but I have a feeling I’ll be saying that a lot over the coming years…

Of note, I asked a couple people in my office who are in their 20s if they knew who Cornell was. They’d never heard of him — a testimony to my years… or their lack of years, I suppose. It’s odd to talk to interns and discover they’ve never heard of Tom Jones or bands like Boston or ELO — acts that you just assume have permeated every facet of modern culture. One intern had never heard of U2. How is that possible?

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I put together a 1Q 2017 CD reviews collection for this month’s issue of The Reader, but it got pre-empted by my feature/interview with Tim Kasher. The reviews still exist in one form or another, so I thought I’d sprinkle them in blog posts (and occasionally at TheReader.com).

The Sun-Less Trio, Spirit Jar/Spirit Glass (ANT Records) — Released on cassette and Bandcamp and destined to be overlooked, which is a shame because mastermind Mike Saklar and his supporting team has never sounded better, especially on the 8+minute Zeppelin-esque burner “Spirit Glass,” at the centerpiece of which is Saklar’s blistering electric guitar work. While his voice too often still sounds tentative, his guitar never does.

Thigh Master, “BBW” b/w “Park Road Clinical” (12XU) — Brisbane, Australia, jangle-indie sounds like early Pavement sung by, well, Aussies — drunk (and or drugged) Aussies at that, judging by the line: “It was just the drugs, slipping right through me.” Can’t wait for the long-player…

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Today’s news nugget is that Matt Whipkey has released a track from his upcoming LP Best New Music, titled “One Shot.” You can hear it below via Bandcamp. The album is slated for release next month. The Whipster actually has two albums in the works — the second is a concept album called Driver, which one assumes will also be released in the near future.

Speaking of new singles releases, yesterday Courtney Barnett released “How to Boil an Egg,” part of a split singles club from Milk! Records. Enjoy…

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Tim Kasher and his glo-in-the-dark band at The Waiting Room May 12, 2017. Of note is the ghost of Dylan Ryan on drums…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I don’t have much of a review of last Friday night’s Tim Kasher show at The Waiting Room, as five songs into the set I started feeling sick, which stuck with me the rest of the weekend. What I did see of Tim and his crew was the usual awesomeness we’ve come to expect with everything Kasher is associated with. I got to hear in a couple new songs from No Resolution, which seamlessly slipped in with the rest of his oeuvre, and which the crowd, which I’d guestimate at around 150, loved.

Allison Weiss at The Waiting Room, May 12, 2017.

I did get to see Allison Weiss’ entire set. Despite being your typical solo-with-guitar performance, Weiss managed to grapple the crowd’s attention to her sweet, sad, personal folk songs about relationships gone wrong. Weiss had no issues with letting her emotional baggage hang out, and while that could have been a real drag, she punctuated her songs and her set with wry humor and witty observations and a relaxed manner that said everything’s going to be all right. Among the highlights was a fetching cover of Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend” that turned the techno ballad into a personal statement. Watch out for this one.

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That’s not all I saw this weekend. I was surprised to find two punk acts performing at Brothers Lounge Saturday night. One was a dude doing a solo performance with electric guitar that kind of reminded me of a young version of David Byrne. The other was a keyboard/synth duo that played pounding new wave. I don’t know who either of these acts were, but I dug it while I sat in the corner catching up with an old high school pal.

Speaking of The Brothers, the club has a huge show tonight. Austin punk band Xetas is on the bill. They’ve got a new album out on 12XU Records called The Tower that is absolutely relentless. Check it out via Bandcamp below.

Joining Xetas is the return of Digital Leather. These guys don’t play out much anymore, it’s got to be something special to get them plugged in. Don’t miss this chance. Also on the bill is FIFI NoNo, who is celebrating the release of a new 4-song cassette called Songs for the Anxious. Heavy, brutal hardcore noise. You get all three bands for a mere $5. Starts at 9 tonight…

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Tim Kasher at The Waiting Room, Oct. 5, 2013. He returns to The Waiting Room tonight.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The most beautiful weekend of the year? Maybe… maybe.

Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s the return of Tim Kasher and his band. You read about Tim’s new album and record label right here. Now hear what all the talk is about. Joining him are Allison Weiss and Campdogzz. $12, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) The Travel Guide, who just played at O’Leaver’s last month, headlines at Reverb Lounge. Dave Nance opens along with the double-bass attack of Relax, It’s Science.  $8, 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, Almost Music and Solid Jackson Books in the Blackstone are hosting St. Paul singer/songwriter Matthew De Gennaro. Opening is world traveler Simon Joyner and Rake Kash. $5, 8 p.m.

Finally, Sunday night Brothers hosts a free show with Nathan Ma, Kudzu and Matt Tillwick. 9:30 p.m. start time.

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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Clarence Tilton at the Parkwood Lane Bluegrass Festival, Sept. 10, 2016. The band plays this evening (6:30 p.m.) in O’Leaver’s beer garden.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Conor Oberst provided a very matter-of-fact performance of “Too Late to Fixate” last night on the Late, Late Show. Stereogum said he looked “intense” and “hungover.” He just looked tired to me, though he sounded pretty durn good. The song, like most stuff off Salutations, is something of an earworm. Check it:

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They’re talking about highs in the mid-70s this evening, which is perfect weather to kick off O’Leaver’s beer-garden season, and they’re doing it in style tonight with a performance by Clarence Tilton. $5, 6:30 p.m.

Also tonight, Buffalo NY “punk rock/melodic hardcore” act On the Cinder plays tonight at Brothers Lounge. Joining them are Vagora (Rhode Island punk) and Justified Aggression. $7, 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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.