Pleasures at O’Leaver’s, Aug. 6, 2016. The band plays tonight at The Sydney in Benson.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Yesterday someone (the city? Metro Credit Union?) announced that rock ‘n’ roll fossils Starship and Survivor will be playing this year’s Memorial Park concert June 29.

And while we all know that no one goes to the park for the music (They go for the fireworks), wouldn’t it be nice if Metro Credit Union set aside 30 minutes on the June 29 program and a grand or two of what has to be a multi-thousand-dollar budget and book an actual local act to open this show? Who knows, maybe they are and they just haven’t announced it yet.

Just a thought…

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Q1 2018 CD reviews continue. Read them all here at The Reader website.

Caroline Rose, Loner (New West, 2018)

Caroline Rose, Loner (New West) — This sassy New Yorker calls her style “schizodrift,” which I guess means it tries to capture her ever-shifting moods that range from anger to sarcasm to irony to humor. Actually, three of those are attitudes more than moods. Imagine Alvvays or La Roux but with a darkly wicked sense of humor and a bracingly accurate view of this modern world. It could become my summer album for 2018.

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Tonight at The Sydney in Benson psych-rock noise band Pleasures headlines. Hussies open at 10. $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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Thermals at Slowdown Jr., May 6, 2016. The band announced its break-up yesterday.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The Thermals yesterday announced that they’re breaking up. I first read about it here at Brooklyn Vegan though it was announced via their Facebook page. The reason given: “we feel our band has reached far beyond our initial expectations and goals, and are stepping away from it while we still cherish it.”

It got me wondering why bands make these sorts of announcements; especially if they’re not contractually obligated to do anything like record another album or tour. The Thermals are on Saddle Creek Records, which historically has worked with bands on an album-by-album basis — i.e., I’m not aware of any three-record deals with Saddle Creek (then again, I’m not privy to their contracts).

I guess with some bands there would be concern over owning the name. What if Hutch Harris decided to record a solo album and call it a Thermals album? Is that really possible, would he do such a thing? I can’t imagine it. It would be like Tim Kasher releasing a solo record and calling it a Cursive album. No way. I can see that being an issue with arena acts maybe, but not indie bands at this level.

So why announce that you’re breaking up? Just go off and do your thing, be it a solo album or some other project, and if/when the mood strikes and the timing’s right, get together with your comrades and do shows or write another record.

Bright Eyes, which is really a loose-knit collection surrounding Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott, never really announced a break-up. The Faint went for years between records. Cursive has been known to “go on hiatus” while members do other things like The Good Life or Mayday.

I’m rambling now. The Thermals are gone, but I wouldn’t count them out. Or heck, maybe they’ll never play together again…

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Speaking of Cursive, the band has been named among those performing at Fest 17 in Gainesville, Florida Oct. 26-28. I’ve heard Cursive has been busy recording a new album slated for release on their new label, 15 Passenger Records. With this fest date now in the books, can a full tour announcement be far off?

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High Up, Orenda Fink, Jake Bellows and Maria Taylor are among the artists on the upcoming 2-LP comp album Friends and Family Volume 1 , out May 11 on Taylor’s Flower Moon Records.

“These are all musicians I greatly respect and have been fans of for years – but what makes the compilation unique is that they are also part of a collaborative community of friends and family members who have been working together and supporting one another for years. I wanted this compilation, and Flower Moon Records, to be a vehicle to continue to support, promote, and celebrate their work.” The quote is unattributed, but I assume it’s Maria Taylor saying that.

There’s a lot of other familiar names on the 16-track list, including Whispertown, Nik Freitas, Umm and Taylor Hollingsworth. Full track listing and preorder info here.

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Q1 2018 CD reviews continue. Read them all here at The Reader website.

Anna McClellan, Yes and No (2018, Father/Daughter)

Anna McClellan, Yes and No (Father/Daughter) — More than any other female indie singer-songwriter doing piano-driven confessionals, my heart hurts when I hear her slightly off-kilter voice warble through a set of yearning love notes. McClellan unashamedly holds nothing back when she belts out her stories unpolished and beautiful. She’s a broken-hearted nerd who deserves to win, just like the rest of us.

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Tonight The Waiting Room hosts Erika Wennerstrom of Heartless Bastards fame. her new album rocks. Jessica Errett opens at 8 p.m. $17.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Digital Leather at The Sydney, April 6, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

For Friday night’s show at The Sydney, Digital Leather was configured as a trio with Shawn Foree in front playing synth and bass, Greg Elsasser on synths and long-time DL drummer Jeff Lambelet. If the plan was to get the crowd dancing, it was a winning combination, maybe the most danceable version of DL I’ve seen live.

Lambelet, one my favorite drummers, is a massive upgrade to the synth beats heard on Headache Heaven, DL’s latest, which sounds like a collection of bedroom-recorded demoes. With Lambelet, and Foree adding bass, along with Elsasser, the songs were fully-realized New Wave-esque dance tracks. Their set was helped along with a dense layer of smoke-machine haze cut through by lazer lights — I haven’t seen this much smoke and lazers since that last Talking Mountain concert.

It’s also worth noting that Friday night’s crowd was one of the largest I’ve seen at The Sydney for a rock show. The audience built up throughout the evening, starting with a gorgeous set by Son, Ambulance.

Son, Ambulance at The Sydney, April 6, 2018.

I’ve always thought Joe Knapp had an interesting voice, a sort of indie version of Elvis Costello, but as he gets older his voice only gets better and more in control. Good thing, too, because he’s fronting one of the best line-ups I’ve heard from Son, Ambulance over the years, including a sweet three-piece horn section and a rock-solid rhythm section swinging on a set of new material that’s begging to be recorded.

Her Flyaway Manner at The Sydney, April 6, 2018.

Lincoln’s Her Flyaway Manner owned the center slot Friday night. The trio headed by vocalist/guitarist Brendan McGinn crushed a set of angular post-punk rock that reminded me of Fugazi and an earlier age of Nebraska punk rock. All said, a terrific night of music brought together by between-set sets from DJ Tyrone Storm that had me tapping my Shazam app.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been in The Sydney, and was surprised to discover they’ve taken out all the back booths, effectively clearing out that music room giving it more space for rock shows and dance nights. Even the high-top tables were gone on Friday…

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Q1 2018 CD reviews continue. Read them all here at The Reader website.

Nap Eyes, I’m Bad Now (2018, Jagjaguwar)

Nap Eyes, I’m Bad Now (Jagjaguwar) — This warm, melodic indie rock comes from an act out of Nova Scotia who played in Omaha last year opening for Fleet Foxes (a show I missed). They remind me of The Feelies, especially because lead vocalist Nigel Chapman’s drab, nasal delivery matches Feelies’ Glenn Mercer, though Nap Eyes lacks Feelies’ driving, relentless rhythms that rise and rise and explode. This just sort of lays there from song to song.

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Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s The Bronx. The band is out supporting their new one, V, out last year on ATO. The record was produced by Rob Schnapf (Beck, FIDLAR, Elliott Smith) and has a very pro sheen to it. Still rocks hard. No Parents and No Thanks open. 8 p.m. $17.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Built to Spill at The Waiting Room, Oct. 18, 2013. The band returns tonight.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

t’s a jam-packed weekend for shows. Too bad the weather sucks so much, but we’ll have music to keep us warm.

Biggest show of the weekend is the return of Built to Spill to The Waiting Room. Seems like these guys pass through town on an annual basis, which is all right with me.

If you’re going, get there early. Opening act Portland’s Black Belt Eagle Scout is Katherine Paul, who plays all the instruments on her debut Mother of My Children (2017, Good Cheer). Rituals of Mine (formerly known as Sister Crayon) is the duo of vocalist Terra Lopez with Dani Fernandezhas. Their sophomore album was co-produced by Omar Rodriguez Lopez of At the Drive In. $25, 8 p.m.

Also tonight, a massive triple bill at The Sydney in Benson headlined by Digital Leather with Son, Ambulance and Lincoln’s Her Flyaway Manner. On top of that Tyrone Storm will be spinning. $5, 10 p.m.

BTW, its Benson First Friday, so if you’re headed to Benson, why not stop in at The Little Gallery, 5901 Maple St. (the east bay of the Masonic Lodge building), and check out this month’s show: Elements, featuring the work of 15 members of the Midwest Fiber Art Alliance. It’s free and runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Free beer! See you there.

If that weren’t enough, The Brothers Lounge is hosting Thick Paint tonight with Olympia WA band Oh, Rose and Effluvium. $5, 10 p.m.

Which brings us to Saturday night and the Phoebe Bridgers show at fabulous O’Leaver’s.

Bridgers is a red-hot indie artist whose new record, Stranger in the Alps (2017, Dead Oceans), includes a track with Conor Oberst. So will there be a special guest tonight? (One special guest I do know will be there is former Omahan and Tilly and the Wall member Nick White, who plays keyboards in Bridgers’ band).

The show is officially sold out of advanced tickets, but there will be a “limited number of tickets available at the door at 8 p.m.” I’m told that number is somewhere around 20, so if you’re into it, you may want to get to the club before 8 and get loaded. This is a stacked show with Nashville act Daddy Issues opening along with our very own McCarthy Trenching. $10, 9 p.m.

A nice warm-up for that Bridgers show is “A Visit with Buck Meek” at Hi-Fi House. The lead guitarist of Saddle Creek Records band Big Thief returns to HFN on tour for his debut Solo LP, out May 18 on Keeled Scales records. Show starts 7 p.m. and you must register to attend by submitting your name via the form located here on the HFH’s web calendar.

If that weren’t enough, doom metal/stoner-rock legends Sleep plays at The Waiting Room Saturday night. Subrosa opens. $28 Adv/$30 DOS. 9 p.m.

And finally, over at The Brothers on Saturday night it’s Sun-Less Trio with Relax, It’s Science and Bled Notes. $5, 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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Marie/Lepanto (yes that’s Will Johnson on the right) is playing a house show tomorrow night…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I just found out today about this living room show with Marie/Lepanto tomorrow night, and I mention it here because it probably has had zero promotion.

Whereas I like the idea of these traveling troubadours doing living room shows across the country (I think Eric Bachmann might have one coming up?) they’re not booked through a promoter or a club so it’s hard to find out about them. I’d hate for this duo — Will Johnson (of Centro-Matic fame) and Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster — to play to an empty room, so here’s the link to the show info. I have no idea who’s hosting, but it’s probably someone cool.

It’s gonna be tough sledding because it’s already is a pretty crowded weekend for shows.

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I mentioned the Maha Festival yesterday, I feel I should mention Lincoln Calling 2018 today. The 15th annual concert series is slated for Sept. 17-22, and this year is being presented by Allo and Evol Empire Creative. Last year it was a Hear Nebraska joint, but that org has stepped away.

The big question: Who is booking the festival this year? Last year’s stellar line-up was the result of hard work from Sam Parker, who as reported last week, don’t live here no more.

Anyway, the initial LC line-up will be announced April 16, with a second line-up announcement July 16.

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Q1 2018 CD reviews continue. Read them all here at The Reader website.

Car Seat Headrest, Twin Fantasy (2018, Matador)

Car Seat Headrest, Twin Fantasy (Matador) — The first time I listened to their last album, Teens of Denial, I had the lyrics sheet resting on my lap and followed along word-for-word. It made for a satisfying hour of headphone bliss, like reading a series of depressing short stories written by a precocious, bashful teen outsider who doesn’t have enough to complain about. I don’t have the lyrics sheet for Twin Fantasy, which actually is a re-recording of an earlier CSH album. As a result, it’s hard to stay focused for the hour-plus collection of dense lyrics and power chords. Will Toledo could be this generation’s Elvis Costello, but a much more unsatisfied one.

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Tonight at Reverb Lounge The Show Is the Rainbow headlines. Cult Play and John Friedel open. $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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

M34N STR33T’s Don Quixote’s Lance album/audio book hits the streets April 13 and 14.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

More new music news:

M34N STR33T is releasing their second album, titled Don Quixote’s Lance, April 13 via streaming services and April 14 at Omaha Zine Fest. Why at zine fest? Because the 14-track album, which consists of recordings from 2013 to 2018, includes a limited-edition 34-page illustrated book from Oddities Prints. There are only 100 copies available and it could sell out at zine fest, but some might be available in record stores on Record Store Day.

This news comes via Adam Robert Haug, who adds, “We plan to book live performances again later this spring, and have even newer music on deck.” Omaha Zine Fest is April 14 at the Union for Contemporary Artists, 2423 No. 24th St. More info here.

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Max Trax Records launched a new website at maxtraxrecords.com (duh), where you can pre-order Little Brazil’s new LP, Send the Wolves, on ginchy blue vinyl. Album comes out June 1. Check it out.

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The folks at the Maha Music Festival yesterday said they’ll be announcing this year’s line-up Tuesday, April 17, at 7 p.m. That’s also when early-bird tickets go on sale. Maha has expanded the festival to two days on this their 10th anniversary year, Aug. 17 and 18.

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The April issue of The Reader is out, though I haven’t seen it on the stands yet. This month’s Over the Edge column is a Q1 2018 music recap with 12 short album reviews — or more accurately, notes about new releases I’ve been listening to. You can read them all online right here. But I’ll be posting a different review from the column every day for the next few weeks, starting today.

Yo La Tengo, There’s a Riot Going On (2018, Matador)

Yo La Tengo, There’s a Riot Going On (Matador) — I assume the title was supposed to be ironic? I’ve been listening to Yo La Tengo since the ’90s, and while every album has a few sleepy tracks, there’s also always a handful of Velvet Underground-style rockers. Not so much this time. With the exception of the grinding “Out of the Pool” and the bouncy “For You Too,” this was the most yawn-inducing YLT album ever, like listening to breezy airport music — warm, pleasant and easy to ignore.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Lucy Dacus at Reverb Lounge, April 2, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’ve been trying to see Adult Mom, the indie music project of Stephanie Knipe, since I reviewed the Sometimes Bad Happens cassette four years ago. Seems like the band cancelled once and/or I didn’t make it to another. They were worth the wait. Fine singer/songwriter stuff that would have been better if the sound were tweaked enough to hear the lyrics.

I could hear Knipe fine when singing alone or with the bassist, but when the full band came in, Knipe was somewhat submerged. Adjustments were made and it got better in the end. Knipe’s an example of someone who will do well on a solo acoustic tour, but that’s not a downgrade on the band, which was tight and good throughout.

Adult Mom at Reverb Lounge, April 2, 2018.

I almost skipped the second band, And the Kids, resenting they were on the bill (I still swear the original line-up had only two bands), but am happy I didn’t. Call them an indie power trio with vocalist Hannah Mohan reminding me a bit of Angel Olsen. She wowed the audience with her guitar work including some fancy behind-the-back strumming and an Indian wrestling match flat on her back with her bass player. I will be doing further investigation via Spotify over the coming days.

Finally it was Lucy Dacus’ turn. They had a sound problem with the lead guitarist’s pedals that forced her to do a solo acoustic number, which actually was a great way to start the set anyway.

Despite the fact she’s on my favorite record label (sorry Robb) I’m not too familiar with her music and that likely hurt the set for me. The strength is more in the lyrics than the melodies (which were somewhat par for the course for indie singer/songwriter stuff), while the turn of the phrases I did catch were stunners.

If the show wasn’t sold out it had to be darn near as Reverb was elbow-to-elbow packed with a crowd mesmerized by Dacus and her band. And as one person put it, the crowd’s age was “refreshingly older,” I’m told thanks to her NPR status.

I only caught about half the set as I turn into a pumpkin at 10:30 on work nights, but I think I got the gist of it (if you know what I mean).

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Thick Paint at Slowdown Jr., March 30, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I don’t remember Thick Paint’s  duo drummers in the past incarnation (at O’Leaver’s) or maybe I didn’t notice. I noticed Friday night at Slowdown Jr.

We could argue the pro’s and con’s of two drummers over a beer. My take is: Does the second drummer add anything to the sound that a single drummer couldn’t provide by just playing louder? The answer in this case is yes, most of the time. It certainly isn’t a gimmick, and they’re always fun to watch. Isn’t that the main appeal of two drummers?

I’d tell you those drummers’ names but Thick Paint doesn’t list personnel on its Facebook page except for frontman Graham Patrick Ulicny (and everyone knows bass player Sarah Bohling from Icky Blossoms). In addition to having a similar beard configuration as Jim James, Ulicny shares James’ voice. Actually, I tapped into my iPhone notes “Geddy Lee,” that’s how eccentrically high Ulicny’s voice is, and that’s not the only thing the band shares with Rush. There were times during the set that I could drop this band into the prog-rock bin thanks the chord choices and guitar lines, which actually reminded me more of Fripp-y ’80s-era King Crimson.

They’re at their best when they look past the intricacies of their guitar lines, lean back on those duo-drummers (and bass) and just swing, as they did on the last couple songs of their set.

Mothers at Slowdown Jr., March 20, 2018.

Headliner Mothers was a departure from the usual female-led indie band in their embracing of dark, arch melodies. Three songs into their set Friday night they played their poppiest number “It Hurts Until it Doesn’t,” off their last record. The rest of the night was dedicated to  mostly slower, ominous and powerful compositions that would make for great headphones listening (moreso than catching it live).

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When I bought tickets to tonight’s Lucy Dacus show at Reverb I could swear that the booking only listed two bands — Dacus and Adult Mom (who I’m actually more interested in seeing). In fact there’s three bands on tonight’s bill, with And the Kids. So even though this starts at 8 p.m. it could go past 11, which will force me to cut the Dacus set short (Some of us have to work in the morning).

Dacus’ latest album, Historian, was released this year on the mighty Matador label and received a rollicking 8.1 rating from Pitchfork. Adult Mom’s 2017 release Soft Spots (Tiny Engines) made Rolling Stone‘s Rob Sheffield’s list of the best albums of that year.

Note that someone from 1% posted a “low ticket warning” on this show over the weekend, so if you’re interested, better get on it…

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.