by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

No shows for me over the weekend. In planning, I did my usual calendar review. Dance Me Pregnant’s Friday night gig at The Sydney was not listed on the Sydney’s online calendar or on The Sydney’s FB calendar. I found out too late (from a member of the band) and missed that show! Ah, next time, dudes. 

But that’s the science behind these calendars – I’m at the mercy of the promoters and venues to list their shows on their websites, though I can still sometimes find out directly. At last count, there are at least three or four websites and blogs that have show calendars. My go-to beyond Facebook is MarQ Manner’s Omaha Buzz, which has an intense calendar focus. 

The difference between Lazy-i and these other calendars is Lazy-i is curated exclusively toward indie music, both in its previews and reviews.

Anyway, it’s time for that look ahead at the touring indie rock calendar, which is extremely thin for the month of June (partially due to the College Word Series?). It’s not that indie bands aren’t touring, either (check out the First Avenue calendar, for instance – if I lived in Minneapolis, I’d very likely be broke due to all the shows they book). 

Two Omaha shows stand out this week. Tonight, The Mars Volta headlines at The Admiral. For you young folk, The Mars Volta was formed in the early 2000s by Omar and Cedric of the El Paso post-hardcore band At the Drive-In – a band that had a big impact in the late ’90s peaking in 2000 with the release of the epic Relationship of Command (They played a crazy show at Sokol Underground back in the day). 

The Mars Volta is more of a prog/experimental band that never captured the same frantic/chaotic energy of AtD-I nor really escaped its shadow, though they seem to have eclipsed it as far as record sales, thanks to a shift toward more commercial alt rock. 

Opening tonight’s show at The Admiral is sometimes Omar collaborator Teri Gender Bender. $55, 8 p.m. 

The other show of note this week is Night Moves at The Waiting Room Friday night, but that performance is part of the One Omaha Festival. I’d like to see this band, but I’m not interested in the rest of the festival line-up, so what to do?

Here’s are the other touring indie show dates on my radar. Things get better in July. Please plan accordingly: 

• June 10 – The Mars Volta at The Admiral
• June 14 – Night Moves at The Waiting Room (One Omaha Fest)
• June 15 – Wedding at O’Leaver’s
• June 20 – Aquarian Blood @ Grapefruit Records
• June 25 – French Cassettes @ The Slowdown
• July 7 – X @ The Waiting Room
• July 8 – The Baseball Project @ The Waiting Room
• June 14 – Whippets @ The Sydney
• July 15 – Etran de L’Air @ The Waiting Room
• July 19-20 – Grrrl Camp @ Falconwood
• July 31 – SNÕÕPER @ Reverb
• Aug. 3 – Orville Peck @ The Admiral
• Aug. 3 – Shiner @ Reverb
• Aug. 7 – Cults @ The Waiting Room
• Aug. 9-10 – Outlandia Music Festival @ Falconwood
• Aug. 15 – PACKS @ The Slowdown
• Sept. 12 – Soft Kill @ The Slowdown
• Sept. 21 – Built to Spill @ The Waiting Room
• Sept. 24 – Why? @ The Slowdown
• Sept. 25 – Descendents @ The Admiral
• Oct. 1 – Jungle @ The Astro
• Oct. 4 – Brigitte Calls Me Baby @ Reverb
• Oct. 4 – Turnover @ The Slowdown
• Oct. 5 – Fontaines D.C. @ The Slowdown
• Oct. 17 – Superchunk @ The Waiting Room
• Oct. 18-19 – Cursive @ The Waiting Room
• Oct. 26 – Porches @ Reverb

Am I missing something? Let me know…

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.