Tonight, Minneapolis indie punk all-female trio VIAL headlines at Reverb Lounge. Maybe you were lucky enough to catch them this past summer at GRRRL Camp Festival. Their new album, Grow the Fuck Up (2024, Trout Hole Records), drops today, so this is sort of an album release show! Eight songs in under 18 minutes. Fun! Richmond punkers Destructo Disk is in the center slot, whole Omaha phenoms UN-T.I.L. opens the show at 8 p.m. $17.
Tomorrow night (Saturday), Criteria returns to The Waiting Room. Last time through, just a month or so ago, they played a ton of new songs. As a headliner, expect a brisk mix of old and new. Joining them is Omaha indie legends Little Brazil and Prospect Avenue. 8 p.m., $10.
Meanwhile, down the street at The Sydney, Nashville’s Thelma and the Sleaze play a return engagement. Spotify describes them as “an all-female, queer, southern-rock and roll band.” Their latest is the self-released Ain’t Country. Western Haikus open at 9 p.m. (Sydney Time). $15.
Finally, no one enjoys the holidays quite like fabulous O’Leaver’s, where Saturday night they’re hosting a free show with Cupholder, Pagan Athletes and Your Own Knife. No start time is listed, but they never get rolling until at least 9 p.m. at The Club.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
I used to call them “Omaha alt-country band” Clarence Tilton, but these days the band has all but swayed away from the “alt” moniker altogether and is merely “Omaha country band Clarence Tilton.” You can certainly hear it in their music and by the artists they’re now working with.
Tilton recently announced via an embargoed press release that their latest single, “Flyaway Cafe, released last Friday, is a duet with Presley Tucker, daughter of country music legend Tanya Tucker.
For those who don’t pay attention to country music or who were born in the 21st Century, Tucker was a staple on C&W radio stations throughout the ‘70s, thanks to hits like “What’s Your Mama’s Name?” and “Texas (When I Die),” but is most well known for her mega-hit “Delta Dawn,” which was on constant rotation on KFAB-AM back when KFAB played music.
The press release doesn’t say how Clarence Tilton landed Presley Tucker to perform on this duet, only that Tucker said the first time she played with the band, “it felt like I’d know them all along. Their music gives you that nostalgic feeling, like you’ve been there and done that. Grateful to be part of it.”
This is the second time Clarence Tilton landed a big-name guest on one of their songs. In October they released the single “Fred’s Colt,” which features country music icon Marty Stuart on vocals and guitar. Both songs will be included on the band’s new LP, Queen of the Brawl, slated for a 2025 release.
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Conor Obert and Shudder to Think’s Craig Wedren dropped a new song last Wednesday, “Justice to a Scream,” that also is the end-title track from documentary short Alok, from executive producer Jodie Foster.
The film is a portrait of non-binary author, poet, comedian Alok Vaid-Menon. From the press release:
“I am a longtime admirer of ALOK,” said Oberst. “Their powerful writing, art and advocacy for transgender people and all people who suffer from the lunacy of ignorance and bigotry that permeates our society is inspirational. So when the opportunity to work on this song with Craig Wedren came along I was thrilled. I am also a big time, lifelong fan of Craig – from the amazing Shudder to Think records through his various projects and solo work. He possesses a truly one of a kind musical mind and a voice as unique and iconoclastic as he is. He has also been a great and treasured friend of mine for many years. This is all to say I loved working on this project with these two incredible pioneers.”
The track already is on heavy rotation on Sirius XMU.
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We’re entering the Thanksgiving countdown and thus, the more-intense portion of the holiday season, which means we’ll be sadly lacking for shows (specifically, touring indie-rock shows) for the balance of the year and into next February. Instead, prepare for the usual annual locals-reunion gigs, assorted album release show and tribute performances, such as the one happening tonight.
This evening, Reverb Lounge is hosting Stigmata Martyr, a tribute to Bauhaus. The band features Randy Cotton and Mike Saklar, former members of ’90s legendary Omaha punk bands Ravine and Ritual Device, and Benn Sieff of Bennie and the Gents fame in the Peter Murphy role. Joining them are 138: A Tribute to Misfits, and Abscence+Alchemy. 9 p.m., $12.
Meanwhile, down the street at The Sydney, Denver-based electronic/industrial performer Sell Farm performs. No opener listed for this 9 p.m. show (Sydney Time, that is…). $10.
One last-minute gig of note: Los Cruxes is headlining a gig at The Tavern, 514 So. 10th St., tonight. Joining them are Megadestroyer, Trees with Eyes and Neva Dinova’s Jake Bellows. 9:30 star time, no price listed, so you’re on your own…
If I don’t run into you before tomorrow, have a happy Thanksgiving.
The biggest news over the weekend is that the Maha Music Festival is alive and well and could be bigger than ever next year.
Maha will return as a one-day event Aug. 2, 2025, at its new Omaha RiverFront location. In fact, I’m told by two reliable sources that the headliners already have been booked. Among the big changes for 2025: One Percent Productions once again is involved in the festival’s booking.
No doubt the festival wouldn’t be possible unless Maha (a 501(c)(3) organization), was able to line up the necessary sponsors. Will that include Union Pacific? I was told Medical Solutions, who was the main sponsor in 2023, withdrew its sponsorship, which was part of the reason last year’s festival was cancelled.
As of 10 a.m., I’ve yet to have any of this confirmed by a member of the Maha Festival Board, despite reaching out to two board members over the weekend, so take this information for what it’s worth.
One other bit of news: The Outlandia Festival, held at Falconwood Park in Bellevue, will not return in 2025. I’m not sure the specifics, though low numbers at last year’s festival likely played a role in the decision.
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The Speed! Lightning 500 album release show Friday night at Reverb Lounge was a crowded rock ’n’ roll gathering of Speed! Nebraska Records fans, both old and new. How do I know this? Because no other label (local or otherwise) has offered such a wide variety of merch over the years, and still does.
Right when you walked into Reverb, you were hit by a wall of Speed! Nebraska-branded merch, ranging from T-shirts to hats to jackets, not to mention a wide selection of the label’s music released in all formats. Folks in the crowd proudly wore their Speed! Nebraska gear, including me in my Monroes T-shirt.
You see, Speed! Nebraska is more than a record label; it’s a local punk-rock co-op whose members are treated like family by the label’s major domo, Gary Dean Davis. Every band testified from stage how proud they are to be part of a record label that’s been so core to the Nebraska music scene since the late ‘90s.
Some highlights from Friday’s show (sorry, UN-T.I.L., I missed your set this time):
Pagan Athletes at Reverb Lougbe, Nov. 22, 2024.
The synth-and-drums duo of Pagan Athletes continues to hone its sound and has come a long way since the first time I saw them perform five years ago at Almost Music’s farewell in-store. Vocalist/keyboardist Griffin Wolf and brother, drummer Nathan Wolf, have evolved their primitive digital noise-rock into a hard, rhythmic, punk wall of sound that must be seen and heard to be believed. Check them out this Saturday at O’Leaver’s.
The Broke Loose at Reverb Lounge, Nov. 22, 2024.
The Broke Loose, a four-piece fronted by guitarists/vocalists Glenn Antonucci and Matt Evans, with Corey Randone on bass and Doug Kabourek on drums, plays indie power-pop with a throwback flair that reminded me of something you’d hear on a Titan Records compilation. Antonucci has a distinctively nasal vocal style sort of like Too Much Joy’s Tim Quirk that compliments the jangle-pop goodness. Standout moment was a solid take on their song “Just Like I Told You,” that was an evening highlight.
Wagon Blasters at Reverb Lounge, Nov. 22, 2024.
I’ve seen Wagon Blasters at least a hundred times (OK, maybe more like a dozen times) and Friday night’s set was one of their best performances. Proud frontman Gary Dean Davis, decked out in trademark necktie and Speed! Nebraska trucker cap (which you, too, can buy at their Bandcamp site), was at his high-flying best, yelling above guitarist Will Thornton’s tractor-punk power chords. Imagine how these folks would be received at something like Gonerfest or Coachella… or Maha!
Bad Bad Men at Speed! Lighting album release show, Reverb Lounge, Nov. 22, 2024.
Finally, Bad Bad Men closed out the night with another blistering set of psych-fueld punk rock. The power triad of Wolf, Siebken and Hug are Nebraska music scene elder statesmen who have created a natural extension of the heavy sound they’ve created all their lives, fronted by Wolf’s snarling vocals and ripping guitar riffs.
All-in-all, it was a very satisfying rock show performed in front of a crowd of adoring fans featuring just a few of the label’s newest talent. There could have been six more bands on stage who contributed to the new Speed! Lightning 500 compilation (which you can buy at Homer’s, Grapefruit, Recycled Sounds or online at Bandcamp). Without a doubt, the label’s future is as bright at lightning.
With no big touring indie shows on the calendar until next February (except for VIAL next Friday night at Reverb), we’ve entered into that long, cold winter of locals-only programming. Oh, there will still be a few straggling bands rolling into The Sydney at the last moment (System Exclusive, for example), but other than the proverbial “holiday shows,” it could be slim pickings for the next few months. Still, always something going on…
Like tonight. The event of the weekend is happening at Reverb Lounge tonight – the Speed! Lightning 500 album release show (which I wrote about at length yesterday). It’s a five-band line-up, a veritable Speed! Nebraska Rock Festival. The fun kicks off at 7 p.m. with UN-T.I.L., followed by Pagan Athletes, The Broke Loose, Bad Bad Men and Wagon Blasters (don’t be surprised if they switch things up). Entry fee is just $10, and you’ll have an opportunity to buy a copy of the fantastic new album pressed on Hot Wheels Orange vinyl… see you there.
Tomorrow night it’s off to fabulous O’Leaver’s for Wedding (a new project by Anna Schulte that includes Bokr Tov’s Colby Jenkins on bass, and Zachary Roland on percussion) and singer/songwriter Mitch Gettman. These weekly music shows are becoming a regular thing at The Club, which used to be known as one of the city’s hottest venues for touring indie-punk bands. They’re bringing it back! Poet Aaron Scobie starts things off at 9 p.m. $10.
Finally, Sunday night it’s the just-announced show headlined by Pasadena duo System Exclusive, who “balance a hard-edged electronic pulse of old school synthwerks against hot-under-the-collar live drums and slashing post-punk guitars.” Their latest LP, Click, was released this past May on Le Cèpe Records. Las Cruxes, who has been busy recording a new album at ARC Records for Conor Oberst’s Million Stars label, opens the show at 9 p.m. (Sydney Time). $10.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
The day before the official album release show for Speed! Nebraska’s Speed! Lightning 500 album, here’s a quick rundown of the record and who you’ll be seeing tomorrow night at Reverb Lounge.
First, a bit of history about Speed! Nebraska. “We’re a 45 record label. That’s the main thing we do,” said the label’s head honcho, Gary Dean Davis, in a 2006 feature about the label, written in conjunction with its 10-year anniversary.
The label was named after a 1995 full-length album by Davis’ former band, Frontier Trust, and was an attempt by Davis to stay involved in music after that band broke up.
“At the time, I figured I would never be in another band,” Davis said. “but I still wanted to do something with music. I knew that (the band) Solid Jackson had made a recording of their song, ‘Fell,’ and that they weren’t going to put it out. They didn’t have the money and had moved onto other things. I said, ‘If I start my own label, can I put it out?’”
And so, Solid Jackson’s “Fell” was the label’s first release, with a catalog number of Speed! 100. The new album’s catalog number is Speed! 12/500, which I think Gary said means that it’s the fifth 12-inch released by the label? So they’re more than a 45 record label after all.
Five songs per side, 10 songs by 10 different Speed! Nebraska artists. Most of them you’ll know and recognize. The album sort of represents who’s on the current roster, though some of the bands, such as newcomers Cat Piss, Pagan Athletes, UN-T.I.L, The Broke Loose and Clarence Tilton, have yet to release anything on Speed! Nebraska. Hopefully, that will change in the months/years to come.
Every song on the album is a keeper and, in a way, the record reminds me of those ‘90s samplers put out by labels like Grass, Tim/Kerr, SST, etc. You get a little taste of everything, but there’s a distinctly punk thread that runs through all of it.
Most of the songs were recorded over the course of two days – March 2-3, 2024 – at Fuse Recording Service in Lincoln with Charlie Johnson and Tim Kechely behind the controls.
The two exceptions are Wagon Blaster’s “King Richard’s Satellite,” recorded by Bryce Hotz; and Cat Piss’s “Blues Igloo Grand Prix, recorded and mixed by Rosemary Ellis. The man with bat-like hearing – Doug Van Sloun – mastered the album at Focus.
The vinyl is “Hot Wheels Racetrack Orange” in color and sounds delightful, pressed by Waxxy Poodle in Madison, Wisconsin. The Johnny Lightning racetrack sleeve was designed by John Wolf, ruggedly screen-printed by Pat Oakes at Ink Tank. It’s a rock ’n’ roll keepsake!
Tomorrow night’s (Friday’s) “Speed! Lighting” album release celebration features five bands heard on the album, UN-T.I.L. (who I mentioned yesterday), Pagan Athletes, The Broke Loose, Bad Bad Men and Wagon Blasters. Copies of the record will be available for purchase, but if you miss the show, you can find them at Homer’s, Recycled Sounds and Grapefruit Records or you can order it online for $20 at the Speed! Nebraska Bandcamp page. The show starts at 7 p.m. and is $10.
Here’s the full track listing.
Speed! Lighting 500
Side 1 – Race the Winner
Wagon Blasters – King RIchard’s Satellite The Really Rottens – Four Barrel UN-T.I.L. – Radio Love Letters Cat Piss – Blues Igloo Grand Prix Bad Bad Men – Dirty Clean
Side 2 – Be a Champ
Mezcal Brothers – Ragtop Cadillac The Broke Loose – Shotgun Clarence Tilton – Constitution Tree Pagan Athletes – In a Race Against Time Domestica – Drive
Last Saturday, Chalis Bristol, Chair of Omaha Girls Rock!’s board of directors, announced via email that the organization’s current programming will end Dec. 15.
“Despite the incredible efforts of our entire OGR community, the reality is that a shifting funding landscape, increased costs, and decreased grant capacity mean that maintaining the organization in this form is neither responsible nor financially possible,” she wrote in the letter.
Bristol goes on to say it’s “not goodbye forever. We are moving forward with the hope that while OGR may no longer be the official organization you have loved over the years, our programming will soon continue with the support of another organization whose mission and values align with our own.”
Who or what that organization will be wasn’t stated. Certainly OGR’s mission would fit in with a number of other local 501(c)(3) organizations, and if they maintained their staff, teaching artists and volunteers, would continue to play an important role in the Omaha music scene.
A bit of history…
Omaha Girls Rock! got its start back in 2011 by founder Stefanie Drootin, who you may know as the bass player in Saddle Creek Records acts The Good Life and Big Harp and for having played on a number of Bright Eyes albums. Her original vision went well beyond teaching girls how to rock. It was to provide a support system enabling and encouraging girls to design their own futures and to realize those designs.
In addition to teaching girls how to play instruments and be in a band, “the workshops also deal with self esteem, body image, stuff so girls feel confident no matter how they’re treated,” Drootin said in a 2011 Lazy-i/Reader column. “I feel like I was lucky that I had the confidence to be able to deal with a lot of the stuff that goes along with being a girl in a band.”
The big finale at the Omaha Girls Rock! 2013 summer camp showcase.
Over the years the organization grew, hosting camps and presenting showcases at local clubs and festivals (including the Maha Festival), where camp participants rocked out in front of large audiences. Seems like everyone knows someone whose daughter was in OGR.
A testimony to the program’s effectiveness: This Friday night, OGR alumni band UN-T.I.L. will perform as part of the Speed! Nebraska Records showcase at Reverb Lounge. The gig celebrates the release of the Speed! Lightning 500 compilation album, which collects new tracks by ten of the area’s finest punk/indie bands, including UN-T.I.L.’s “Radio Love Letters.”
U.N.-T.I.L.’s success is somewhat ironic coming as OGR closes its doors. I was unaware that OGR was in financial trouble. No doubt I and many other past contributors would have opened their pocketbooks if they knew the organization was in dire straits. It would be a real blow to the Omaha music scene if OGR can’t find a new home with another Omaha non-profit…
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A couple shows at the 1% clubs tonight…
Texan by way of Colorado Casper Allen plays at Reverb Lounge tonight. His style is Tom Waits-inspired twangy folk, just your typical cowboy with face tattoos. Opening is Shawn Hess and Trent Browns. $20, 8 p.m.
Also tonight, New York-based emo/ pop-punk band Keep Flying headlines at The Sydney. Blondo and Odd Man Out open at 8 p.m. Sydney Time. $15.
Regular Lazy-i readers may have noticed that show listings posted on the site for The Sydney typically end with the language “start time, xx p.m., Sydney Time.” I began doing this because whenever I went to shows at The Sydney scheduled to start at, say, 9, they ended up starting at around 10:30, leaving me with 90 minutes to nurse my Rolling Rock and dead-scroll my iPhone.
Late start times were a normal thing in the pre-COVID days. Most rock shows didn’t start until well after 10 p.m. (and usually closer to 11) in an effort to draw the largest crowd (or sell more drinks). Then came COVID and shows went away. Upon their return a year or so later, venues began to run with strict military precision; specifically The Slowdown, Reverb and The Waiting Room. What used to be three-band bills that began at 10:30 and wrapped up at 1 a.m. have become two-band bills that begin at 8 p.m. and rarely run past 10. It’s a strange but welcome change, especially for old-timers who like to get to bed early.
The exception, of course, is The Sydney, who has kept operating like the pre-COVID days with late nights and multiple bands. And irregular start times.
The reason for this enormous preamble: I showed up at The Sydney at 10:30 this past Saturday night (after having drinks with an old pal of mine) to see In Tongues, Housewares and Minne Lussa, figuring at worse I’d miss part of whoever played the opening slot. I paid my $10 and rushed inside only to hear Housewares’ frontman say (paraphrasing): “Good night! Thanks to In Tongues for opening. Minne Lussa is next.”
For whatever reason, this night The Sydney decided to start the music right at 9 p.m., as advertised, typical “Sydney Time” hi-jinx.
The good news is I was able to catch an entire set by Minne Lussa, who I’ve seen perform many times over the years, but this night they never sounded better. Dressed in their finest Grand Ol’ Opry outfits I guess for irony’s sake (since they don’t play an ounce of either Country or Western music), the band shimmered both literally and figuratively beneath their Spencers Gifts-quality mood lighting.
At the heart of their music is the intricate guitar interplay between Matt Rutledge and Eric Bemberger, with Bemberger providing the more fluid, gossamer licks. This will seem uncharacteristic to anyone who only knows Bemberger from his former band, Beep Beep, whose specialty was blaring, angular post-punk. Here, Bemberger weaves his glowing, gorgeous guitar lines with Rutledge’s complimentary counters or rhythms, creating a dense, ethereal soundscape, driven forward at mid-tempo by the ace rhythm section of drummer Eric Ebers and bassist Alan Legge.
Their songs could hold up as instrumentals, but Rutledge adds warm, grotto vocals throughout, that unfortunately were undecipherable due to the poor vocal mix/PA. Bemberger provided contrasting lead vocals on one very cool song.
I guess you could call their sound dream-pop or ornate shoe-gaze, comparable to, say more laid-back My Bloody Valentine or (more appropriately) Slowdive. One fan standing next to me said they reminded him of ‘90s Portland instrumental band Pell Mell, which got us talking about Sokol Underground acts like Tresteza and The Mercury Program, though for my money, Minne Lussa is more innovative and interesting.
They closed out their set with a glowing cover of “Alison” by Slowdive, met with a nice round of applause by the 40 or so on hand. Rutledge said the band enters the recording studio Dec. 7 with producer/engineer Jeremy Garrett. More to come…
Has it really been a year since See Through Dresses played a special benefit show at Benson Theater? The band is back tonight at Reverb Lounge. Will their drummer, post-Omahan now-Californian Nate Van Fleet, be along for the ride? I gotta believe he’s in town for tomorrow night’s Bokr Tov album release show (Nate produced the tracks). It’s been seven years since the last See Through Dresses album, which means (hopefully) they’ll be rolling out some new songs. Joining STD is singer/songwriter Mitch Gettman, who opens the show at 8 p.m. $10.
Also tonight, Midwest Dilemma takes over the Down Under stage (How will they get all 12 of them in that tiny space?). Joining them are Tom Bartolomei and Katie Kasher. $8, 9 p.m.
As mentioned, tomorrow night (Saturday) Bokr Tov celebrates the release of their sophomore album, The Way a Tree Shakes, at Reverb Lounge. Geno Beach and Bad Self Portraits are also on the bill. 8 p.m., $15.
Meanwhile, down the street at The Sydney, it’s the stage debut of Housewares, the new project by Fromanhole’s Doug and Daryl Kiser. The five-piece is rounded out by Jason Koba of Thunder Power on drums, Scott Klemmensen of Reset on vocals, and Andy LaChance on keyboards. Doug described their sound as: “melodic, probably technical, with elements of post whatever, jazz, blues and maybe some country. There is a lot of counting, that’s for sure.” Sounds mathy! Joining them are Minne Lussa and In Tongues. $10, 9 p.m. (Sydney Time).
But wait, there’s more…
Mono in Stereo, the new project by The Millions’ Marty Amsler, is headlining a free show Saturday night at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Joining them are The Jericho Strays and Tony LaMar. 9 p.m. start time…
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!
Looks like Bright Eyes is back and they’re bringing some close friends with them on the road. The band announced additional North American dates, but no make-up date for the cancelled Omaha show (due to Conor Oberst’s “voice issues”). Will the resched happen? Who knows.
The band also announced that Cursive will be joining them on the road in April for 18 gigs, including an April 26 show at Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines. In addition, Grrrl Camp 2024 stand-out band, Hurray for the Riff Raff, is touring with Bright Eyes in late February and most of March.
Now we all wait to see if this tour actually happens….
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Don’t get me wrong. It still rates a “Yes” on the Lazy-i scale, but you have to be in the mood for it…
The Cure, Songs of a Lost World (2024, Polydor)
The Cure, Songs of a Lost World (2024, Universal) — It would be a shame if this winds up being The Cure’s finale as Songs of a Lost World is mostly a dismal rehash of the dense, drone, downer music the band invented with Disintegration. But unlike that landmark album, Songs has no contrasting “Pictures of You” or “Lullaby” or “Lovesong” to counterbalance the endless thundering murmur.
The closest thing to a deviation from the drone-goth recipe are the crack-bounce “Drone:Nodrone,” which could have been the album’s biggest single, and buzz-saw rocker “All I Ever Am,” which would have been a better album closer than “Endsong,” a 10-minute black-draped snooze that highlights the biggest problem with this record – these songs just seem to crawl on and on. Whereas the 9-plus-minute “The Same Deep Water as You” from Disintegration never bores thanks in part to its sweet, playful lyrics.
Don’t go looking for anything playful in these odes to doomsday, with lines like “We toast with bitter dregs, to our emptiness” (opening track “Alone”), or “As you hold me for the last time / In the dying of the light” from “And Nothing Is Forever” or “It’s all gone, it’s all gone I Nothing left of all I loved” from album closer “Endsong.” You get the idea. Someone’s feeling old.
So who is the audience for this album? Certainly long-time Cure fans desperately looking to relieve their personal dread from 30 years ago will be satisfied as this is their best effort since 1992’s Wish. And then there’s the new, young fans who will discover The Cure for the first time. For those sad young goths, this may become their Disintegration… Rating: Yes.
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Way back in October, The Red Pears reached out for support for their show at The Waiting Room (reviewed here). I offered the Ten Questions survey. Unfortunately, they didn’t get around to filling it out until after the show had come and gone. I sat on the interview, mainly because the responses were less than forthright, but their publicist keeps asking “where is it?” so here you go, for your reading pleasure:
The Red Pears at Reverb Lounge, Oct. 12, 2024.
Ten Question with The Red Pears
These 10 questions inspired by the Pivot Questionnaire (you might remember this from Inside the Actors Studio):
1. What is your favorite album?
The Red Pears’ Jose Corona: There are many to choose from. Something we all definitely agree on are those early releases from the early 2000’s garage/indie bands. The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Interpol, and even things from earlier eras like Pixies and Black Sabbath. I wouldn’t say it was one album that changed everything and is above the rest. But it’s a culmination of albums.
2. What is your least favorite song?
I don’t think there is a least favorite song. I think every song and art is admired in its own ways for its own reasons. And that can change on a day-to-day basis. It’s all in the mood of things.
3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?
I think just being able to play music with your friends. Creating art. Sharing that art. And being able to do that across states and regions and countries. And meeting other bands and people that are doing the same thing. I suppose it’s our “job,” but it honestly doesn’t feel like one. Maybe it’s a very cheesy thing that is said, but it’s true. When you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like a job.
4. What do you hate about being in a band?
I wouldn’t say hate. Hate is a strong word, haha. Things can be tiring and stressful and frustrating, but what isn’t, you know? I feel like when you encounter obstacles and problems with things that you’re not passionate about, it feels like a real chore. That’s when you hate it. But when it’s something you’re really passionate about, you find ways to overcome those obstacles and problems.
5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?
Water! Haha, it’s been saving our lives.
6. In what city or town do you love to perform (and why)?
Hometown shows always hit differently. But it’s also nice to receive warm welcomes when we’re far from home.
7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?
I wouldn’t say there’s been a worst gig. Even ones where things go wrong or don’t go according to plan aren’t the worst. They end up more so becoming lessons to learn from. Things can always be worse.
8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?
We fortunately are able to. It took a lot of years and risks and sacrifices. It still requires risks and sacrifices and just smart financial management. It’s honestly a great feeling to say that this is what we do for a living. That is something that we really cherish.
9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?
Hmm…nothing really comes to mind. There isn’t a path that one would say is better. And if the path isn’t the path we’re on, then those are probably the paths that would bring unhappiness and dissatisfaction.
10. What stories have you heard about Omaha, Nebraska?
Nothing really! I think a nice part about touring is the traveling aspect of it. I believe this is our second time coming to Omaha. The people have been very welcoming and supportive. It’s nice to see sights and meet people that you normally wouldn’t have the chance to if it weren’t for music.
A year and a half after its grand opening and Steelhouse Omaha has lost its new-car smell. It’s been replaced with a dank, moist, pot stench that permeated the venue’s foyer and area around the bathrooms at last night’s Modest Mouse concert.
I’m told by someone “in the know” that Modest Mouse is popular with pot smokers. This is news to me, but then again, isn’t all rock music popular with pot smokers? The pot-funk disappeared once inside Steelhouse’s main hall, but the skunk eventually arrived during the band’s second set. I guess all of us non-tokers who go to concerts better get used to the scent. Imagine how bad it’ll get once grass is legalized?
That pot musk was the only thing different about Steelhouse since last July’s Fleet Foxes show. Same metal-barn atmosphere; still no place to sit down, though it appears they added new reserved seating off stage left (or I never noticed it before). The section was filled, as was most of the balcony last night, while the main floor was far from sold out (guestimate: 1,200?).
I caught the last two very low-key songs by opener Black Heart Procession. No earplugs were needed for those guys. That would change when Modest Mouse took the stage.
Playing as a six-piece with a drummer, percussionist, two guitarists, bass and keyboardist who also played cello (actually, everyone was a multi-instrumentalist), the band was razor sharp and workman-like throughout the evening. As mentioned yesterday, Modest Mouse played their breakthrough album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, in its entirety and in track order, stopping only once to acknowledge the audience.
They followed the material note-for-note, rarely swaying from the recorded versions. Frontman Isaac Brock, looking like an older version of Roman Roy from Succession in his blue poly suit, was in perfect voice last night on songs that required more rant than range. His guitar-work was exceptional, but he really shined when he switched to banjo on a few songs starting with “Bukowski” and “The Devil’s Workday.”
I admit to never giving this album the credit it deserves, due mainly to the single “Float On,” which became the soundtrack to a million television commercials. I re-listened to the album while making dinner before the concert and realized, despite being 20 years old, its angst and paranoia has never felt more appropriate as we enter the next Trump Dark Age. Good News marked a shift from MM’s weird, chaotic, uncomfortable noise (that I loved) to more streamlined, commercial rock you might hear over the PA while shopping at your local Kroger’s. Festival gigs followed.
A stirring version of personal fave “Blame It on the Tetons” was the evening’s highlight, along with set-closer “The Good Times Are Killing Me,” which had part of the mostly-staring-still crowd singing along.
Following a 10-minute intermission, the band returned for an 8-song, proggy second set, with many songs taken from the band’s weird 2009 EP No One’s First and You’re Next, including “Satellite Skin,” “The Whale Song” and “History Sticks to Your Feet.” Unlike the previous night’s audience, we got no songs from my favorite MM album, The Lonesome Crowded West, which was a bummer.
Another bummer: I guess bands that headline these large-venue shows don’t do encores. I know, I know… in most cases encores are three-song pre-meditated extras tacked on to the main set that the band was going to play no matter what, but there was always something charming about the guys and gals walking back on stage to give a cheering crowd just a couple more. Not in this cyincal age, eh?
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Tonight at Reverb Lounge, New York-based “queer punk” band Sorry Mom headlines. Among their most popular songs are “I Fucked Yr Mom” and “Molly Sells Molly by the Seashore.” Funny, fun, more pop than punk. Sonya Luxe and Gemini Luxe open at 7:30. $18.
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