by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Back in June I blogged about “the new normal” of having to go out of town to see your favorite bands because of the shift in Omaha booking trends. The usual promoters and clubs simply aren’t willing to take as many chances on new and up-and-coming touring indie acts. It’s a financial decision. When you can pack the house with a country act, tribute band or an “emo night” / Taylorfest playlist, why bother risking a guarantee on an out-of-town band that might be packing them in on the Coasts but is an unknown quantity in Omaha? It ain’t 2007 anymore, folks.

The cost of booking these high-end touring indie acts continues to rise. The younger crowds they attract also drink less alcohol, and that’s where venues make their biggest coin — not from soda pop or water sales.

We continue to see quality touring indie bands routing past Omaha. Tour announcements frequently list KC, Minneapolis, Chicago, Des Moines and Denver as par tof the central states tour, and leave out Omaha. Are we an afterthought? Did no promoter take them up on their offer? The world may never know. Meanwhile, Omaha keeps building enormous venues like Steelhouse, The Admiral and The Astro to host country acts and legacy bands whose heydays were 30+ years ago.

I’m rehashing. You can read more about this in my August column in The Reader.

Anyway, I was planning my next out-of-town trip for Oct. 9 to see Rotterdam indie quartet Lewsberg play in Lawrence on their first-ever North American tour. But lo and behold, Lewsberg has added Omaha to their tour — Oct. 8 at Grapefruit Records in the Old Market.

The record store owned and operated by internationally recognized singer/songwriter Simon Joyner has hosted small shows in the past where bands played in a corner and patrons jammed themselves among the record racks. Joyner said there’s been a ton of approvements to Grapefruit since my last outing.

Grapefruit has installed an elevated performance stage, bought a new PA, and moved its record stock into new bins (purchased from Drastic Plastic) that have wheels, allowing them to be moved into the hallway during shows, creating an open space in front of the stage.

Joyner said they’re doing a lot of things to attract more touring (and local) shows.

“The good thing for bands is we give 100% of the door to them (and guarantee all some living fee even if no one were to come) so they make a lot more than they would at a ‘venue,’” Joyner said.  “And we feed the band.”

In addition, for a donation during a show you might receive a beer (get it?). This donation will “add money to our band fund for sound improvements and paying for our own sound guy and buying food and drinks for the riders when needed, we’d never take that out of the door money,” Joyner said.

This Sunday’s show boasts hot openers, including a young local act called Western Haikus. “Then, David Nance and Noah Sterba and Myke Marasco and Kevin Donahue’s first band — The Prairies — are reuniting,” Joyner said. “Should be killer to see them do their first tape after all these years.”

As for Lewsberg, the band releases their music on Gerard Cosloy’s 12XU label. Their 2019 album In This House is one of my all-time favorites. Their latest, Out and About, was released last month. From their one-sheet: “Compared to their first three albums, ‘Out And About ‘feels lighter, calling to mind the The Feelies, Marine Girls and Young Marble Giants, whilst remaining distinctly Lewsberg.” I will attempt to buy a vinyl copy Sunday. Check out some tracks below.

Doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30. Lewsberg will go on at 9:15. Limited advance tickets are $12 and available by stopping into Grapefruit Records.

It’s great to see places like Grapefruit and Pageturners fill these gaps for shows that used to be hosted by traditional Omaha bookers or at O’Leaver’s or The Brothers. You can help out by GOING TO THE SHOWS!

* * *

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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.