Tobin Sprout at Reverb Lounge, July 21, 2017.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The turnout for Friday night’s Tobin Sprout show at Reverb was, in a word, disappointing. As a member of Guided by Voices, which has a huge following in our fair city, I anticipated a sell out.  In the end there were maybe 50 people on hand to listen to Sprout and his band rifle through a set of well over 20 songs from his solo catalog including “The Last Well Known to Kingpin,” “A Good Flying Bird,” “Dodging Invisible Rays” and “Sadder Than You.”

I admit to not being a huge GBV fan beyond their “greatest hits,” and know very little about Tobin Sprout. What I love about his songs and GBV songs beyond the riffs and bright, energetic melodies is their brevity. Sprout songs rarely last longer than three minutes. Get in, get out, move on.

And though the crowd was small, it was lively, comprising mostly of old-time fans who weren’t afraid to pump their fist in the air or pogo or cheer when one of their favorites began. Yelled out song names were met with a smile and Sprout giving it a try. What more could a fan ask for?

Elf Power at Reverb Lounge, July 21, 2017.

Elephant Six band Elf Power opened the show with a straight-forward set of indie rock songs. As little as I know about Tobin Sprout I know even less about the Athens band or their catalog, but enjoyed what I heard.

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Two shows of note tonight…

The Atlanta punk trio The Coathangers are at Milk Run tonight. What presumably started as a gag act in 2006 has now thrived for more than a decade, releasing five albums on Suicide Squeeze, including their latest, 2017’s Parasite EP. Residuels and Crease open. $10, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Miwi La Lupa plays at Pageturners Lounge with Oquoa. 10 p.m. and absolutely free…

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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.