Cursive dropped a new video yesterday for the song “Botch Job,” a track off their upcoming album, Devourer, which comes out Sept. 13 on Run for Cover Records. Local boy Tony Bonacci was the cinematographer for the video, directed by Travis Stevens. Jim Johnson (of 1% and The Admiral Theater) and Django Greenblatt-Seay (of Love Drunk fame) also are listed in the video’s credits.
This song and the entire album is a return to old-school Cursive and I would love to see the band play the entire record in order during their upcoming shows at The Waiting Room Oct. 18 (w/Little Brazil) and 19 (w/Criteria). Gladie also opens both shows.
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Also thought I’d mention that Cursive’s former record label, Saddle Creek Records, just announced that it’s reissuing on vinyl Eric Bachmann’s solo album, To the Races, on Aug. 9. The album was originally released in August 2006 and was one of my faves that year. Bachmann mentioned the reissue at his recent Ming Toy Gallery concert, but said to keep it secret until the label announcement (I’m not sure why). Preorder here.
BTW, we’ve got another concert coming up at Ming Toy Gallery in September. More info on that one soon…
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Speaking of Saddle Creek reissues, our hometown label also announced it’s rereleasing on vinyl two classic albums by The Faint – 2008’s Fasciinatiion (originally released on the band’s blank.wav imprint) and 2014’s Doom Abuse (originally released by SQE Music). The drop date is Aug. 16. This brings all of The Faint’s releases back into the Saddle Creek fold. Order your copies here.
The Baseball Project got me wondering: What are most rock songs about? Relationships, having fun, personal struggle, love and regret. Some are political anthems. Others are meaningless word salad combinations. Almost all are written from a singer/songwriter’s vantage point.
The Baseball Project’s songs are solely about baseball, the players, the history, the game itself. It’s the ultimate concept band that doesn’t sway from its subject matter, written by people who love and know the game and its history. With that in mind, The Baseball Project could be the first rock band to win a Pulitzer for its songwriting. Each song is a snapshot of America’s past time, reported – and sung – by the songwriter.
All of this was going through my head as I watched and listened – along with a couple hundred folks – to The Baseball Project at The Waiting Room last night. I mentioned yesterday that Steve Wynn sang most of the songs – that’s wrong. Each member of the band except Peter Buck sang leads on a song, with Wynn and Scott McCaughey handing the lion’s share. Mills sang leads on at least three songs, including standouts like “To the Veterans Committee” (consider Dale Murphy for the Baseball Hall of Fame) and “Stuff” (about illegal substances pitchers use to get more action on the ball).
Wynn and McCaughey have terrific complimentary voices and are commensurate storytellers. They introduced each song, explaining the history about what they were about to sing. Almost every song included a year or date for context and a lot of baseball players’ names that if you’re only a passing fan of the game, will likely be lost on you, except for heroes like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, etc.
Take out the baseball subject matter and you’ve got some of the best jangle-power-pop rock that you’ll likely hear, and you would expect nothing less from this legendary line-up (with Buck, McCaughey and Wynn all playing guitars, Mills on bass and the remarkable Linda Pitmon on drums). You have to wonder if these songs could have been big hits if they weren’t solely about baseball – an idea I’m sure has been written about in past reviews. Because many of the melodies and compositions are as good as stuff by R.E.M. or Dream Syndicate.
But I guess for these folks, if it wasn’t about baseball, it wouldn’t be fun. There is almost nothing controversial or polarizing about the game. I guess you could argue about ‘the Steroids Era,’ or Pete Rose or your personal take on the Designated Hitter Rule, but it’s mostly just harmless fun, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I got reverse Omaha’d last night, but it’s all good.
I weighed my options: Do I go see the classic ‘70s/‘80s punk band that’s on their last tour who I’ve seen before in a place that’s bound to be a crush mob or do I see the new band who’s just coming through town to play for what I expect to be a mostly empty venue?
I chose the latter, mainly because if I had to pull a CD from either band to listen to right now I’d chose TV Stars, who played at Reverb Lounge last night. Nothing against X, who played at The Waiting Room last night. They’re great. Good luck in your retirement, John, Exene, Billy and DJ.
Anyway, i decided to watch the end of the Yankees game (they lost) before showing up at around 9 p.m., figuring with three bands I’d only miss the opener, Cupholder, who I’ve also seen before. Heavy Clippings was just taking the stage when I arrived.
Playing in front of a audience that numbered a grand total of 10 patrons, Noah Sterba and his crew ripped into an amazing set of music that to me sounds like a reimagined version of The Feelies meets latter-day VU/Lou Reed combined with New Morning-era Bob Dylan and Simon Joyner to create something wholly unique and captivating. In honor of this performance I wore an Almost Music T-shirt, which was the music store that carried on a tradition of The Antiquarium, and was the kind of place where members of this band either hung out or worked (after it closed, that tradition is continuing at Grapefruit Records in the Old Market, which is a magnet for the area’s most creative, inspiring indie bands).
Noah Sterba is at the helm on guitar and vocals with former Yuppies sideman Jeff Sedrel. The band is rounded out by Vince Franco and Tanner Rogerson. To my knowledge, their music is not available in any recorded format, but they must be recording somewhere because their songs are polished and they play just enough songs to fill a traditional vinyl LP – a make-believe LP that I long to play on my vintage/shitty Technics turntable.
The set was flawless. Sterba was in fine form in his ?-mark ball cap and Birkenstock sandals, clearly having a great time despite the tidy little crowd that included two young women who danced throughout their entire set, a young, bookish couple seated along the wall and a two or three dudes who stood in the center of the floor properly nodding their heads to the beat.
They wrapped up their set and I sat back down in one of the booths when, boom, the lights came up. The show’s over? The bartender said Cupholder played a short set and TV Star came on second. I wonder if they were afraid of getting Omaha’d. Who knows; all I know is that I missed their entire set. Still, I got my money’s worth seeing Heavy Clippings, who are on the top of my list of favorite local bands.
The Baseball Project plays tonight at The Waiting Room.
There’s no chance of that happening tonight at The Waiting Room. The Baseball Project, tonight’s headliner, doesn’t have an opener – or at least none is listed on the One Percent Productions website.
The Baseball Project is a dyed-in-the-wool supergroup made out of the remnants of ’80s indie pop bands. But can you call it a supergroup if only two of its members were part of a megaband? Peter Buck and Mike Mills are world-renowned members of R.E.M., a band who re-emerged in the natinonal zeitgeist recently with their induction into the “songwriters hall of fame” which culminated with a one-song R.E.M. reunion at the ceremony.
Steve Wynn, who handles most of singing in The Baseball Project, was the frontman to ‘80s band The Dream Syndicate, but I remember him best as the guy in ‘90s band Gutterball. Steve McCaughey was a member of The Minus 5 and Tuatara with Buck. Wynn’s wife, Linda Pitmon of Zuzu’s Petals, rounds out the band on drums.
They’re on the road in support of last year’s album, Grand Salami Time! (Omnivore Recordings). The band lives up to its name – they play songs about baseball, with names like “Pete Rose Way,” “Ted Fucking Williams,” “Monument Park” and “New Oh in Town,” which is a tribute to Dodgers’ superstar Shohei Ohtani. The music sounds like what you’d expect from such a supergroup playing songs with lyrics about our national past-time. Don’t go to the show tonight thinking you’re going to hear covers of R.E.M. or Dream Syndicate songs cuz it ain’t happening.
As mentioned, no opener is listed. The show is slated for 8 p.m. Tickets are $30.
Before we get to this weekend’s rock shows, a reminder that it’s the first Friday of July which means Benson First Friday (#BFF). Galleries and other businesses up and down Maple Street will be celebrating art openings tonight. Among them, our very own Ming Toy Gallery, which this month features the amazing art of Jenna Jaffery. Read my feature profile on Jenna and stop by the gallery (located at 6066 Maple Street, right door to Legend Comics and Coffee) between 6 and 9 p.m. to check out her art, have a drink and say hi. See you there.
After you swing by Ming Toy, head on over to Reverb Lounge for the GRRRL Camp showcase headlined by LinOmaha noise-rock band Size Queen. KC self-described “queer dark-pop band” Boxknife is also on the bill. Lincoln’s Ghostlike opens the festivities at 8:30 p.m. $10. BTW, GRRRL Camp is right around the corner – July 19-20 at Falconwood Park. More info here.
Saturday night it’s back to Reverb Lounge for another three-band bill this time with local, laid-back indie from Bazile Mills, Minne Lussa and Fox (Jessica Errett, Marta Fiedler and Co.). $15, 7:30 p.m.
Also Saturday night, fabulous O’Leaver’s continues its free concert series with Radical Sabbatical and Aircraft Grade. 9 p.m. and, uh, FREE.
And then along comes Sunday and two competing shows in Benson.
On top of the list is the last hurrah concert by Los Angeles first wave band, X. This concert features the original line-up — Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom and DJ Bonebrake — in what we’re being told will be their last tour ever. Opening is Jesse Ahern (Dummy Luck Music/PIAS). This is it, folks, last stop on the X train. I’m a little surprised it isn’t sold out yet. $40. 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, around the corner at Reverb Lounge, Seattle shoegaze band TV Star headlines. These guys sound like they grew up listening to Teenage Fanclub for sure. This ticket line-up, again, is loaded with local noise-punk bands Heavy Clippings and Cupholder. $10, 8 p.m. Choose wisely.
And that’s all I got. I’m praying to the rock gods that we don’t get any hailstone/flooding weather this weekend so I can go to these shows! If I missed yours, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!
When nothing’s going on, I like to update the list of upcoming touring indie shows. Not much change over the last update except the addition of that Bright Eyes date (so rare to have a Steelhouse concert on the list!). I also added A Giant Dog at Reverb Sept. 5 and a couple others. Grrrl Camp is in just a few weeks! Get your tickets now.
July 7 – X @ The Waiting Room
July 7 – TV Star @ Reverb
July 8 – The Baseball Project @ The Waiting Room
July 15 – Etran de L’Air @ The Waiting Room
July 18 — Blanky at Pageturners Lounge
July 19-20 – Grrrl Camp @ Falconwood
July 24 – Caspian @ The Waiting Room
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
Aug. 17 — Petfest @ Petshop Gallery
Aug. 19 – King Buzzo @ The Slowdown
Sept. 5 – A Giant Dog @ Reverb
Sept. 12 – Soft Kill @ The Slowdown
Sept. 21 – Built to Spill @ The Waiting Room
Sept. 22 — Bright Eyes @ Steelhouse
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. 16 – Mdou Moctar @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 17 – Superchunk @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 18-19 – Cursive @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 22 – Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Astro
On one hand, I was surprised at the light turn-out for the Roger Daltrey/Inhaler free concert at Memorial Park Friday night. On the other hand, I had to wonder how many people under the age of 30 know who Roger Daltrey is and was.
To underscore the latter perception, Omaha Magazine posted a video on social media wherein one of their “reporters” asked random kids if they knew Daltrey’s music. You can imagine the results. Add to that week-long weather forecasts that warned of thunderstorms (the weather was beautiful, btw), and I guess I can see why the attendance was lower than I expected.
Inhaler at the annual Memorial Park concert, June 28, 2024.
It’s a shame, because Friday’s concert was somewhat awesome and maybe the best Memorial Park show I’ve attended. Opening act Inhaler featured Bono-from-U2’s son, Elijah Hewson, on lead vocals and guitar and was a solid band. It’s unfair to compare Inhaler to U2 I know, but it’s impossible not to. Hewson’s voice is a doppelgänger of his old man’s, but their pop-alt-rock music was a far cry from the power and energy heard on albums Bono was making when he was Elijah’s age. Ah, but those were different times.
Inhaler’s slick, formulaic approach to songwriting will either mean their music will remain unforgettable or, considering the pedigree and the power of Universal (their label), that they’ll be superstars. I wish the Omaha Magazine folks would have asked the same kids if they knew who Inhaler was.
Right at 8:30, on came Roger Daltrey and his band. The last time I heard him sing live was years ago when The Who played at CHI Center (or whatever it was called at the time). Back then, Daltrey was clearly under the weather – or so we were told – and his voice was a rasping, ragged ghost of its former self.
Roger Daltrey performing in Memorial Park, Omaha, June 28, 2024.
That wasn’t the case Friday night. At age 80, Daltrey can still hit (most) of the high notes and is smart enough not to try when he knows he can’t. I was astonished at how well he sang.
The setlist was a great collection of classic Who songs and appropriate covers, opening with a cover of Pete Townshend’s “Let My Love Open the Door,” which Daltrey said The Who should have recorded. Lots of old Who songs followed, including “Substitute,” “Squeeze Box” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” alongside a rarity like “Tattoo.” Daltrey did an a cappella rendition of the first few lines of “Love, Reign O’Er Me” just to sort of prove to the crowd that he could, and after the first chorus said, “That’s enough of that.”
The band, which included guitarist Simon Townshend (Pete’s son, who sang leads on “Going Mobile”), was solid, replacing pulsing organ and synths lines on songs like “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and set closer “Baba O’Riley” with violin and accordion, to great effect.
As the set ran toward 10 p.m., Daltrey said they had time for one short one, and so they ripped into “The Kids Are Alright.” A few seconds into the song, Daltrey said from stage, “They’re telling us we have to stop. They’re giving us the hook,” but despite this, the band played to the end. I don’t know if they were being directed by a curfew or the start time for the disasterous fireworks display, which came on immediately after Roger said goodnight.
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Tonight at The Slowdown, Philly band The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick headlines. The six-member band has a real throwback sound to ’00s indie, almost like early K Records chamber-pop bands (or our very own Slumber Party Records’ acts). Also on the bill are local indie bands Bokr Tov and B.B. Sledge. 8 p.m. $15.
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