by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

New York singer/songwriter Jeffrey Lewis and his band – Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage – are doing an in-store performance tonight at Grapefruit Record in the Old Market (1125 Jackson Street). You really should go.

Lewis and his band have played Omaha a few times over the years – way back in 2013 opening for Quasi at Slowdown, and again in 2016 with David Nance at Reverb Lounge – great shows. I spoke with Lewis for that 2016 show — that interview reads like one long, run-on sentence. I’m not sure why I didn’t edit the interview more thoroughly, except for the fact that it took place on the cusp of the 2016 elections, and let’s face it, everyone’s mind was occupied with the disaster that was about to take place at the polls. Sort of like right now.

Lewis’ Rough Trade 2001 debut LP, The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane, captures his earliest urban folk storytelling in all its glory. But I think I actually first heard Lewis’ music when Rough Trade released 12 Crass Songs (2007, Rough Trade) –a collection of covers of ’70s English punk band Crass.

Lewis’s story-songs have the same raw, matter-of-fact narrative style and humor as my favorite underground comic book writers/artists, like R. Crumb, Daniel Clowes and Harvey Pekar. And as a matter of fact, Lewis even augments his music career with his own comic book series, Fuff — or at least he did back in 2016. I’m not sure if he still does — a lot has happened since then. 

For this tour, Lewis and his band are playing as-yet-unreleased songs from an upcoming 2025 album along with “some old favorites” from his 20+ year career. Joining him tonight are touring band Grasping Straws and our very own Megan Siebe. Tickets are $20, doors at 7:30 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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.