Tony Molina at Sweatshop Gallery, July 11, 2015. Molina plays at O’Leaver’s Sunday night.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Crazy weekend backloaded with a very busy Sunday night line-up. We’ll get there.

First, tonight is the annual Memorial Park Concert, this year featuring Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul and Chris Isaak — a step up over the usual thread-bare ’70s heritage acts booked in the past. I’m not a Little Steven fan (the only song I know by him is the cheesy “I’m not gonna play Sun City” MTV song) and I only know two Isaak songs, so like most folks, I’ll be there for the fireworks. Have fun. Stay off my lawn.

Getting out of my neighborhood after the annual fiasco can be a challenge, but if I’m able, there’s a couple shows tonight.

At The Brothers Lounge, No Thanks plays with KC punkers Red Kate and opener The Natural States. $5, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, down at fabulous O’Leaver’s there’s a songwriters’ showcase with Those Far Out Arrow’s Ben Keelan-White, Hussies’ Tom Bartolmei, Andy Holmes and Mark Johnson. $5, 10 p.m.

Saturday night is looking mighty thin from an indie perspective. If you know something, say something.

Then comes Sunday night and four shows/events.

The first is the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony being held at the Ramada Inn at 3321 So. 72nd St. Among the dozen inductees is legendary bassist Dereck Higgins (Digital Sex, R.A.F., a million other projects). Nine inductees will be performing at the program, which starts at 4 p.m. Tickets are $20.

The Sydney in Benson is hosting a couple nationally touring dark-synth acts Sunday night headlined by Columbus, Ohio, act Child of Night and Brooklyn’s Shanghai Beach. Omaha legend Solid Goldberg (Why isn’t Dave in the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame?) and Lowercase Tres also are on the bill. $5, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, O’Leaver’s has a heavy-duty line-up Sunday evening for an early show that starts at 6 p.m. The headliner is Young Guv, the project of Fucked Up guitarist Ben Cook. Cook plays power-pop summer-of-love psych rock, gorgeous and catchy. Also on the bill is Slumberland Records label mate Tony Molina. Add to that Nathan Ma, Dross and opener Putter & Co. and you have a veritable mini-festival for a mere $7.

Finally, with the College World Series finally over, The Slowdown is back hosting rock shows again. Sunday night they have Grapetooth in the front room, a pop project with Chris Bailoni and Twin Peaks’ Clay Frankel. Their 2018 debut was released on Polyvinyl. Also on the bill are James Swanberg and Jessica Hottman’s Sun Cycles. $16, 8 p.m.

And that’s all I got. If I misssed 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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The following Over the Edge column also is in the printed version of the June issue of The Reader. It hasn’t gone on their site yet, and I don’t know if it will (but it probably will). Perfect for #TBT…

Lasting Impressions
A Look Back to 2008 Shows the More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

By Tim McMahan

As I was putting together my top 20 list of favorite local bands for this, the annual Music Issue of The Reader, it dawned on me that many of the names looked, um … familiar.

I did a little research and discovered we began putting together top 20 lists way back in the October 2006 issue of The Reader. It was a novel idea that, if memory serves me, came about after bouncing concepts back and forth between myself and then-Reader music editor Andy Norman (who these days heads stellar nonprofit Rabble Mill, including remnants of Hear Nebraska, which I’m told will rise again, but that’s another story …).

Despite digging through my closet of yellowed Reader back issues, I couldn’t find that 2006 issue or that first top 20 list. I did find in my archives my 2008 top 20 and “Next 15” lists, and to my surprise discovered many of the same acts are on my 2019 list.

How did those 2008 top 20 bands fare a decade later? Let’s take a look:

Brad Hoshaw — Hoshaw, who’s on the 2019 list, is putting the finishing touches on an album recorded in Redwood Studio in Denton, Texas.

Brimstone Howl — Fronted by John Ziegler, the band evolved into The Lupines, who are on the 2019 list.

Conor Oberst remains Conor Oberst, and is on the 2019 list.

Eagle*Seagull — Fronted by singer/songwriter Eli Mardock, at the time the band was thought to be Nebraska’s “next big thing,” but broke up in 2010. Mardock and his wife, Carrie, also a former member of Eagle*Seagull, now run the Royal Grove in Lincoln. Eli just released a new project on Warner Music Germany called The Kiez with Hamburg native Lucas Kochbeck.

The Faint — Also on the 2019 list.

Filter Kings — Omaha’s favorite (and only?) outlaw-country band disappeared a few years after making this list, but occasionally makes a stage appearance fronted by the legendary Gerald Lee Jr.

Flowers Forever — Led by Derek Pressnall, who also was a member of Tilly and the Wall. Pressnall now fronts Saddle Creek Records band Icky Blossoms, which hasn’t produced new music since 2015’s Mask.

For Against — The ’80s-era Lincoln dream pop band re-emerged in 2008 and 2009 with new records, and then submerged itself once again. Indie labels Captured Tracks and Saint Marie Records reissued a number of their early recordings in recent years.

The Good Life — The other project of Cursive’s Tim Kasher currently is on hiatus while Cursive barnstorms the country supporting its new album, Vitriola. Cursive is on the 2019 list.

Malpais — Whatever happened to frontman Greg Loftis? Check the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

McCarthy Trenching — Dan McCarthy remains Omaha’s favorite troubadour, recently having one of his songs covered by none other than Phoebe Bridgers and Jackson Browne.

Midwest Dilemma — The folk-rock project by singer/songwriter Justin Lamoureux has yet to follow up the release of 2008 album Timelines & Tragedies.

The Monroes — One of the many musical projects of Gary Dean Davis, former frontman of ’90s tractor-punk legends Frontier Trust. The Monroes folded, and Davis re-emerged in The Wagon Blasters, who are on the 2019 list.

Neva Divona — The project of frontman Jake Bellows appears to be on permanent hiatus. Bellows now lives in Los Angeles and plays in Supermoon with Morgan Nagler of Whispertown.

The Show Is the Rainbow a.k.a. Darren Keen is living and working in Lincoln again after spending years in Brooklyn.

Son, Ambulance is still alive and kicking and, rumor has it, working on a new set of songs.

Thunder Power continued to play and record music through 2012 before disbanding.

Tilly and the Wall — The tap-dance powered phenoms haven’t released an album since 2012’s Heavy Mood (Team Love Records).

UUVVWWZ — The Lincoln-based art-rock project followed its self-titled Saddle Creek Records debut with 2013’s The Trusted Language. Last I heard frontwoman Teal Gardner was living and making art in Boise, Idaho. Guitarist Jim Schroeder is in a number of Omaha projects, including The David Nance Group, which is on the 2019 list.

The Whipkey Three — Matt Whipkey is on the 2019 list.

From 2008’s “The Next 15” list, Simon Joyner, Little Brazil and Talkin’ Mountain’s Jason Steady all made the 2019 list.

That makes 11 artists from 2008 with connections to this year’s top 20 list.

Back then, I introduced these lists with an essay that said, to paraphrase myself, “Lists don’t matter,” written (I suppose) to appease those who weren’t on it. A decade later, I can tell you that lists do matter if only to provide a guidepost in an era when we’re surrounded by too many paths.

Beyond the fundamental arguments we’re all familiar with about streaming music — that the sound quality is sub-par, that it cheats artists who could have made money by selling physical copies (which is bogus for young acts. How many bands do you know with unopened cases of their albums moldering in their basement?) — the biggest conundrum is there’s just too much of it. Anyone can release an album on Bandcamp or one of the streaming services, but few can get people to actually listen to it.

Lists like the top 20 point people to the good stuff, at least as it’s perceived by the publication or critic. It cuts through a mighty dense fog, and you can either follow the light or move on to the next lighthouse.

The fact that 12 of the Top 20 artists this year were on the 2008 list can be viewed as evidence of the lethargy of our scene, of how little things have changed in a decade.

But it also can be viewed as proof of that old list’s accuracy. These artists are still around, they’re still creating high-quality music, they’re still making a difference — if not with their own creations, then by influencing others on the list who have joined them.

Over The Edge is a monthly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.

First published in the June 2019 issue of The Reader. Copyright © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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If that wasn’t #TBT enough for you, Built to Spill returns to The Waiting Room tonight to perform seminal 1992 album Keep it Like a Secret. Orua and Clark and the Himselfs also are on the bill. $25, 8 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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

David Nance Group, “Meanwhile” b/w “Credit Line” (2019, Third Man Records

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Been pretty quiet the last couple days.

Only bit of news is that last week David Nance Group announced it has a new 7-inch out on Jack White’s Third Man Records. Says the press release: “‘Meanwhile’ is 4 minutes of post-everything rock n roll death race to the bottom of the sea of tape hiss and Wiper-ian broken space riffage. Backed with the honky tonk punk stance of ‘Credit Line”s 2019 debt wite-out anthem, this is an essential 2-sider for everyone who ever stared in their dad’s closet at his faded denim jacket and DREAMED.”

Check it below and order your copy from thirdmanstore.com.

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Every time Mike Schlesinger books a gig it reminds me of his sweet Live at O’Leaver’s set from 2015. The shining moments from that recording are Schlesinger’s heart-breaker “Coolie Trade” and his cover of Gillian Welch’s “Look at Miss Ohio.” I don’t know anything about Schlesinger other than this recording. He always plays first on a bill, which means I always miss him. He’s playing first again tonight at The Sydney for a show that includes Philly ambient duo All Boy/All Girl and Omaha’s own Hussies. $5, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Chicago post-punk band Dendrons headlines at Reverb Lounge. This is the first night on a national tour that runs through August. There’s not a helluva lot online from these guys, but with such a large tour I have to believe they’ve worked up an album’s worth of material. Joining them is the keyboard/drum madness of Pagan Athletes, and two bands new on my radar: Roman Constantino and Baby Sledge. $7, 8 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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Legendary Los Angeles punk band X plays at The Waiting Room Sunday night.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Summer colds are the worst.

Here’s what I’d be doing this weekend if I wasn’t sick as a dog:

Tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s Detroit indie/electronic/art rock project Summer Like the Season headlines. High-tone digital pop. Joining them are And How, Magu, and Ben Eisenberger. $5, 10 p.m.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) Omaha legacy punk band R.A.F. headlines at The Brothers Lounge. In the traveling band position is St. Louis band The Browncoats, who are probably most well-known for singing the theme song to Science Fiction TV show Firefly (“To the Black”). I have a feeling no at the Brothers will know this, however. Relax, It’s Science opens at 9 p.m. $5.

Finally, Sunday night is X at The Waiting Room. I’m told this might be the last chance you get to see this line-up with Billy Zoom. Legends, they are. Folk Uke opens at 8 p.m. $30.

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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Four of the Top 20, clockwise from top left, Clarence Tilton, David Nance Group, Thick Paint and Jason Steady.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The annual “music issue” of The Reader is out now and includes my annual Top 20 favorite bands list. A few people have found it in print on the newsstands, screen-capped the article and posted it in Facebook, and among the feedback are comments on the woeful number of female musicians/bands on the list. That lack of female representation crossed my mind, especially after I wrote in last year’s Year in Review article how women dominate the indie and pop music charts.

When it comes to Omaha female musicians, many of my favorites have moved away or are no longer performing (among them, Orenda Fink, Laura Burhenn, Rachel Tomlinson Dick, Anna McClellan and Stefanie Drootin-Senseney come to mind). As someone said in Facebook, the list underscores the importance of projects like Omaha Girls Rock!, which is developing the next generation of Omaha women indie rockers. If you haven’t checked it out, you should.

Anyway, the list is online at The Reader here, and, of course, is below:

The Lazy-i / Reader Top 20

By Tim McMahan

This is about as unscientific as it gets. For this year’s Top 20 list we’re submitting our teams, ur … bands, and letting you sort it out. The criteria? For me, the band has to be either: 1) actively recording music, 2) actively touring, and/or 3) actively playing gigs in the Omaha/Lincoln area. If asked at gunpoint, I’d guestimate there are somewhere north of 100 bands in the Omaha/Lincoln area that fit the above criteria, and I’ve seen and/or heard from only half. And that half plays indie and/or garage rock, because that’s the genre I most closely cover in my blog at lazy-i.com. So, no pop-punk bands, no metal/death metal, no hip-hop, no country and western.

That’s a long-winded way of saying this ain’t a “best bands in Omaha” list. It’s a list of my favorite bands in Omaha. Your mileage may vary.

So, in no particular order:

Lodgings — The five-piece indie rock act just released Water Works, an eight-song LP recorded and mixed by the legendary Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago. Gritty indie punk.

David Nance Group — Playing a unique blend of psychedelic, garage and heavy rock, the band released Peaced and Slightly Pulverized last fall on Chicago label Trouble in Mind Records and has been on the road off and on since.

Thick Paint — Fronted by Graham Patrick Ulicny (of Reptar fame), their trippy, proggy sound hinges on his eccentrically high voice and inventive song structures. Their first formal album, A Perennial Approach to Free Time, was released in April.

Cursive — One of the original Saddle Creek Records’ crown jewels, the band (centered on Tim Kasher, Matt Maginn and Ted Stevens) released its latest album, Vitriola, on its own 15 Passenger label.

Conor Oberst — The former frontman of Bright Eyes, which is another of the Saddle Creek crown jewels, joined forces with indie wunderkind Phoebe Bridgers to form Better Oblivion Community Center, whose self-titled debut was released on Dead Oceans Records this year.

The Faint — Last of the three Saddle Creek crown jewels, the No Wave New Wave electro-rock act returned to the Creek fold this year with the release of Egowerk and then hit the road (in Todd Fink’s case, permanently).

Those Far Out Arrows — The Nuggets-flavored psych-garage act broke out last year with Part Time Lizards, its full-length debut on Kansas City’s High Dive Records.

See Through Dresses — Omaha’s shoe-gaze darlings recently re-emerged after a brief performance hiatus that begun after touring nationally in support of their 2017 release Horse of the Other World (Tiny Engines Records).

Matt Whipkey — One of the area’s most prolific singer/songwriters self-released his Driver LP last year and then switched genres, forming punk-protest act Unexplained Death, whose debut LP is slated for later this year.

Domestica — The trio of former Mercy Rule members Heidi & Jon Ore and Sideshow drummer Pawl Tisdale continues to blaze new paths of anthemic punk rock on Lincoln and Omaha stages.

Wagon Blasters — Fronted by former Frontier Trust and Monroes band leader Gary Dean Davis, with William Thornton, Jesse Render and Kate Williams, the Omaha tractor punk powerhouse released the four-song Pandemonium Paradise EP last year on Speed! Nebraska Records.

The Lupines — This soaring garage-rock four-piece is working on a follow-up to 2017’s Mountain of Love LP, which you can hear portions of as they burn down one Omaha stage after another with their incendiary live show.

Twinsmith — One of the only Omaha-based Saddle Creek Records bands in recent years, the indie-pop act released a new single, “Feels,” in April.

Brad Hoshaw — The singer/songwriter headed to Redwood Studio in Denton, Texas, to record the formal follow-up to 2014’s Funeral Guns, and it should see a release later this year.

Matthew Sweet — The nationally recognized indie rocker followed his 2017 return, Tomorrow Forever, last year with Tomorrow’s Daughter, released on his own Honeycomb Hideout Records.

Josh Hoyer — After the 2017 season of The Voice, Hoyer and his band, Soul Colossal, recorded the 10-song LP Do It Now, released this year on Silver Street Records.

Jason Steady — Omaha’s most lovable singer/songwriter rejoined forces with former colleague in The Cuterthans and Talking Mountain — Chris Twist of Nobunny — to record and release The Return of the Paisley Angels, and then they hit the road on tour.

Simon Joyner — One of Omaha’s longest-running singer/songwriters continued touring last year in support of his 2017 album Step into the Earthquake, released on Shrimper Records.

Clarence Tilton — The Americana/alt-country act released the six-song EP World Rolled In last year and continued to be a staple on Omaha stages.

Little Brazil — The long-running and hardest-rocking indie act last year saw the release of Send The Wolves on Max Trax Records — its first new LP in nine years.

This originally appeared in the June 2019 issue of The Reader. Copyright © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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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.

The Cult of Lip at O’Leaver’s, June 15, 2019.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Walking up to O’Leaver’s Saturday I noticed they painted the building black, and then upon walking in… new carpeting! When’d this all happen? I asked the kindly young lady taking my $5. Oh, about a month ago. What? Has it been that long since I’ve been to O’Leaver’s? I guess so… 

Double Grave at O’Leaver’s June 15, 2019.

Anyway, the place never looked better, but it’s still the same ol’ Club we all know and love. Double Grave took the stage moments after arrival / Rolling Rock’d. The Minneapolis three-piece sounded closer to ’90s slacker rock / Pavement than I remember on their latest recordings. Frontman/guitarist Jeremy Warden has a loopy vocal style but knows how to punch out cool guitar lines atop a solid rhythm section. 

Fellow Minneapolis trio The Cult of Lip was next-level good. I’d love to tell you who’s in this band but there’s no info about them anywhere (that I could find). A young dude in a Greek sailor’s cap surrounded by two panels of floor pedals absolutely destroyed on guitar, playing an array of effects, many sounding like Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine (his Loveless T-shirt was the first clue). His vocals were deep and thick with reverb, real voice-of-god stuff. He shared vocals with a bass player, whose voice was as distorted and, as a result, lyrics were undistinguishable, more tones than words. 

Two songs into the set they shifted to Sonic Youth territory, and again, blew the place away, before heading back to that distorted MBV style. The drummer also played in Double Grave — and kept it solid in both. One of the coolest bands I’ve seen this year…

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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.

Minneapolis band Double Grave plays O’Leaver’s Saturday night.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Unless you’re submerged in an isolation tank you already know that the College World Series kicks off this weekend. As a result, downtown has become a dead zone for the next two weeks. The Slowdown will be hosting cover/party bands for the duration, playing (I assume) either on stage or under a big white tent in the parking lot. Meanwhile, a number of conference rooms in the Slowdown Compound have been secured and converted into high-tech “counting rooms” used to sort the overstuffed trashbags filled with money that will drop like manna from the heavens for all businesses surrounding TD Ameritrade park… at least for these two weeks. 

For the rest of us, there’s always fabulous O’Leaver’s… which is hosting a couple hot shows tonight and tomorrow. 

Tonight’s show at The Club is headlined by Ratboys, which you read about Wednesday (right here). Omaha rock band (indie band?) Uh Oh and Bedrest kick it off at 10 p.m. $10.

Also tonight, Omaha’s favorite alt-country band Clarence Tilton opens for Grammy Award winning C&W artist Marty Stuart at the Scottish Rite Hall downtown at 202 So. 20th St. 8 p.m., $45. Watch out for scooters.

Meanwhile, The Sydney in Benson tonight is hosting “Queer Night” with Cult Play, Pittsburgh’s Hot Pink Satan and Richmond VA band Gothic Lizard. $5, 10 p.m. 

It’s a Minneapolis invasion Saturday night at O’Leaver’s. tion 

Double Grave is a Minneapolis trio that calls their sound “prairie grunge.” They just released a 6-song EP on Forged Artifacts called Ego Death Forever that concludes with an 8-minute track called “Sunlight” that’s reminds me of early Luna. You can find it on their Bandcamp page (below).  The Cult of Lip is another Minneapolis band, this one with a serious My Bloody Valentine vibe, at least based on their 2018 release Sleep Receiver (Records DK). There are moments on the EP that sound like they were recorded under water (literally). This four-band bill kicks off at 9 p.m. with Jacob James Wilton (ex Super Ghost) and is headlined by Hussies. That’s a lot of bands for just $5.

Also Saturday night, Lawrence act JC and the Nuns plays at Brothers Lounge. The band just released a 5-song EP called God Did Weed. And as you can imagine, it’s pretty trippy. Cat Beret headlines; Tame Suns opens at 10 p.m. $5. 

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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Ratboys plays at O’Leaver’s Friday, June 14.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Ratboys’ publicist described the duo as a “‘post-country’ meets indie rock group from Chicago.” After listening (many times) to their last full-length, GN (2017, Topshelf), and the follow-up EP, GL (2018, Topshelf) — the titles stand for Good Night and Good Luck — I can’t find much “post-country” about them. But then again, I’ve never considered Wilco, who frontwoman Julia Steiner references as among her influences, to be countrified, post or otherwise.

Instead, Ratboys reminds me ’90s college acts like Belly, Throwing Muses, That Dog, The Breeders and upbeat stuff from Azure Ray and Hop Along. That said, you get plenty of pedal steel on standout EP song “You’ve Changed,” though I prefer the rattle-rock of the EP’s title track and closer, “After School.” Steiner’s warm, soft coo makes it all work no matter what genre label you hang on her music.

Guitarist David Sagan is listed as the duo’s other half, though the band performs live as a four-piece, which we’re likely to see Friday night at O’Leaver’s. We caught up with Steiner and gave her the Ten Questions survey. Here’s what she had to say:

1. What is your favorite album?

Julia Steiner: A Ghost is Born by Wilco.

2. What is your least favorite song?

“Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” by The Offspring.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Playing music with my friends all the time!

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Trying to tell people what our music sounds like.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Bread

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Boston, MA

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Fort Collins, CO, in 2015, we hadn’t slept and we were all really grouchy

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?

Not yet, all of us have a variety of side jobs to supplement our income from the band. Dave and I deliver groceries, Sean is a freelance journalist, etc.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

My dream job would be some sort of radio sports analyst. I wouldn’t like to work construction.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

Not many to be honest! I have a couple friends who grew up in Omaha, but they’ve been pretty tight-lipped about any craziness.

Ratboys plays with Uh Oh and Bed Rest Friday, June 14, at O’Leaver’s, 1322 So. Saddle Creek Rd. Showtime is 10 pm., tickets are $10. For more information go to liveatoleaver’s.com.

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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.

Simon Joyner & Friends, Low Fidelities & Infidelities (Demos/Covers/Collaborations) (2019, Grapefruit Record Club)

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Out of the blue yesterday Simon Joyner released a new album, Low Fidelities & Infidelities (Demos/Covers/Collaborations) via Grapefruit Record Club and Bandcamp. The 21-song collection includes Simon Joyner demos from his upcoming album Pocket Moon, due on Grapefruit in October, as well as covers of songs from some of his songwriter heroes including Lee Hazelwood, Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, Vic Chesnutt, Randy Newman, Richard Thompson, Phil Ochs and more.

The album is actually by “Simon Joyner & Friends” because the music was created in collaboration with his musician pals The Bruces, Pearl Lovejoy Boyd, The Bingo Trappers, Noah Sterba, Fred Lonberg Holm, Dennis Callaci, Sean Pratt & Megan Siebe, Roy Montgomery, Michael Krassner, Meg Baird, L. Eugene Methe, The Renderers and Irma Vep.

“I had all these covers in my (phone’s) voice memos from times when I felt like playing guitar but was unable to write anything myself,” Joyner said. “When I was heading out on this tour I just completed, I thought about putting together a CD of demos so I’d have something new to sell, and while digging through the phone, I found all the covers and had the idea to take my live recordings of the covers and send them to musician friends for them to add their own tracks to, as a kind of through-the-mail collaboration.”

Joyner and his guitar are at the center of all the songs, but his friends add subtle touches of cello, keyboards, pedal steel, drums, harmony vocals and other instruments to make for a surprisingly rich yet personal recording.

Joyner is donating all the digital download proceeds through Bandcamp to abortion access organizations in Alabama, Georgia and Missouri. People can pay what they want beyond the $7 suggested price, and all will be donated.

You can order either the digital album or the CD from Joyner’s Bandcamp page.

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Tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s Bethlehem, Pennsylvania’s Slingshot Dakota headlines. The duo has a new album, Heavy Banding, out on Community Records (after years of being on Topshelf). Joining them is Muscle Cousins. 9 p.m. $12.

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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.

Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship at The Waiting Room, April 20, 2013. The band plays Saturday night at The Brothers Lounge.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s a shame there are so few shows this weekend, since the weather will be knock-out. Only one music-related gig tonight — Glow in the Dark plays at the Summer Arts Festival, 13th and Mike Fahey Street. Joining them is Dereck Higgins (DHX). This free event begins at 9 p.m.

Also free tonight is Benson First Friday (#BFF). We’re hosting an opening at The Little Gallery from 6 to 9 p.m. featuring the art of Trudy Swanson. The show, called aMErIca, repurposed items easily recognizable in American culture — i.e., pop art. The Little Gallery is at 5901 Maple Street, the east bay below the Masonic Lodge building. Stop by and say hi.

Saturday night quintessential Omaha punk band Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship returns to Brothers Lounge. Indie rockers Eric in Outerspace and TFOA open at 9 p.m. $5.

And that’s it for a quiet little Omaha 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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.