by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Mark Burgess of Chameleons is no stranger to Omaha. He came through and played accompanied by Dereck Higgins way back in 2003 (and had a scheduled concert three years later that he cancelled). Now he’s back, this time playing tonight at new downtown/midtown bistro performance spot The Berkley, 1901 Leavenworth (just down the street from Shuck’s, by where The Milk Run used to be). Alexis DeBoer (Drakes Hotel, who were also on the bill, cancelled due to Covid) opens. Show starts at 8 p.m. $25.

Some background for those of you wondering who Burgess is, here’s my 2006 Q&A with Burgess and my 2003 feature on Burgess. Enjoy.

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And here’s an early head’s up for this weekend’s Maha Music Festival.

I’ve been going back and forth with people about this year’s eclectic line-up. Is it great or the worst ever? I guess it depends on how you define success. From a forward-looking new band perspective, it’s pretty on point, considering Princess Nokia, Sudan Archives and Geese are definitely indie buzz bands. Beach House remains on heavy rotation on Sirius XMU, as is late addition Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Car Seat Headrest is a personal favorite, but an odd choice considering they played Maha just a few years ago. Indigo De Souza is another personal favorite, though she also just played at Slowdown just last year. PUP’s performance will likely be the one that people will talk about the next day. As for Sweeping Promises, well, this will be my introduction to that band. 

I think it’s a solid line-up, though I don’t foresee it selling out.

The only local act on the bill that piques my interest is Las Cruxes, certainly one of our best local punk bands. I’ve mentioned this before — Maha seems to have ignored what I consider to be the best indie bands in the area, a list of which you can see right here. Ah well, I guess that’s OK seeing as so few people are on hand early in the day for the locals (still, it’s probably a nice pay day). 

The sched for the two day festival:
Friday
Las Cruxes – 5:30 p.m. 
Bad Self Portraits – 6:15 p.m. 
Sweeping Promises – 7 p.m. 
Indigo De Souza – 8:15 p.m. 
Car Seat Headrest – 9:30 p.m. 

Saturday
DJ Short-T 1:30 p.m. 
Dominique Morgan – 2:15 p.m. 
The Real Zebos – 3 p.m. 
Omaha Girls Rock – 3:35 p.m. 
Marcey Yates – 4 p.m. 
Geese – 4:45 p.m. 
Sudan Archives – 5:45 p.m. 
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – 6:45 p.m. 
PUP – 7:45 p.m. 
Princess Nokia – 9 p.m. 
Beach House – 10:30 p.m. 

VIP and General Admission tickets are both still available. Those GAs are $85 for both days, $35 for Friday and $65 for Saturday. See you there. More info here.

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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 © 2022 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.