Lupines at O’Leaver’s Feb. 9, 2019…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Quite a coincidence that two Grammy winners also played at O’Leaver’s Saturday night.

Lupines frontman John Ziegler accepted the award for Best Rock Performance last night surrounded by the rest of the band. Ziegler thanked the academy and “his team” that includes his record label and its army of marketing personnel that have made Lupines a household name. Wearing a classic Nudie Cohn suit, bassist Mike Tulis saluted fellow nominees Artic Monkeys and Greta Van Fleet before flipping off the star-studded audience to roars of applause.

On the other hand, after accepting their award for Best New Artist, Chase the Ghost members Brian Tait and Reagan Roeder were immediately detained by federal law enforcement agents the moment they walked off stage. I’m told they’ve since escaped custody and currently are hiding out at Grammy President Neil Portnow’s plush Malibu compound.

Chase the Ghost at O’Leaver’s Feb. 9, 2019.

That Best New Artist award was a real surprise for everyone as Saturday night’s O’Leaver’s gig was (I believe) only the second performance ever by Chase the Ghost. The duo puts an extra helping of “psychedelic” in their psych-rock style, resulting in a strange outer-body experience. Reagan was in his usual good voice on these stripped-down indie-flavored hoe-downs. Tait, looking like a young Hunter S. Thompson in white cowboy hat, white glasses and white patent-leather shoes, sported one of the more unique drumming styles in recent memory, bashing out rhythms while adding backing howls. Great stuff, though the duo only played four songs after Roeder’s guitar suffered a technical mishap.

Reagan couldn’t put a date on when they’ll play again. Neither could Tait, though he said they hope to release a recording (possibly even on vinyl). And they have this video (below), which encapsulates the duo’s essence quite accurately.

They were followed by the always awesome Lupines. I’ve seen these guys a million times and every time I walk away saying to myself, “They deserve a Grammy for Best Rock Performance.” I don’t know what more to say other than, along with David Nance, they’re my favorite rock band from this area. If you haven’t seen them (especially if you’re a fan of Nance’s sound, which is currently grabbing national attention), you owe yourself the favor.

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Speaking of The Grammys, I’ve been listening to the big winner Kacey Musgrave’s album, Golden Hour, all morning. I know it’s been said before (by Kevin Coffey last night, for example), but this isn’t what I consider a “country” album. It’s more like a middle-of-the-road folk-rock record. Anyone who remembers when KFAB used to play music back in the ’70s and ’80s will recognize this sound — harmless 4/4 background music perfect for an evening of grocery shopping at your local Hinky Dinky. Well done for sure. Nice. Who remembers Crystal Gayle? Anne Murray? Juice Newton?

Even Pitchfork gave this record a great review (strangely). I guess the country classification comes from her slight twang? The occasional banjo? The single “Space Cowboy”? Or is this where country music resides these days? Maybe it has for awhile. Or maybe it’s because Musgraves music doesn’t fit in any other category…

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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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.