by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Here it is, the annual music predictions column, easily the most popular blog entry of the year, and for good reason – who doesn’t want to know what will happen before it happens? Ah, but only one person in the Omaha music scene is gifted with that knowledge (even if his predictions last year were kinda stink-o). 

So, before I gaze into my mystical crystal Fender Squire, let’s take a look at last year’s predictions:

2024 Prediction: With criminally low streaming royalties making musicians’ lives unsustainable, musicians will finally organize to force streamers to pay up. 

Reality: As always, lots of musicians complained about Spotify royalties, but none took action. 

Prediction:  Musicians also will take a unionized approach toward live music, resulting in better income streams for touring indie artists.

Reality: Lots of musicians complained about rising touring costs (and cancelled tours for financial reasons), but, again, no action was taken.

Prediction: Musicians will come up with innovative ways to package merch to increase revenue. Leveraging the collectors’ market, bands (and labels) will start packaging T-shirts and other non-music-related items with their vinyl releases. 

Reality: One nod to the collectors’ market — producing “vinyl variants” of the same record with different album covers or colored vinyl — was a hot seller (I’m looking at you, Tay-Tay). So much so that Billie Eilish publicly criticized the practice.

Prediction: To draw larger audiences to the Maha Music Festival’s new Riverfront concert space, the festival will aggressively stray from its traditional indie-focused line-up.

Reality: Maha didn’t even happen in 2024; but it’ll be back in ’25 for a big one-day festival that’s being marketed as a “merger” with Outlandia Festival.

Prediction: Not to be outdone by Maha, Outlandia will continue to become bigger and better, expanding to a three-day festival.

Reality: For its final year, Outlandia stayed the course as a two-day festival. 

Prediction: With the loss of The Reader (and the inevitable shuttering of the Omaha World-Herald), a new publication will emerge in ’24 focused on art, entertainment and dining, and will even include a (very limited) print edition. 

Reality: No new print publications launched; however, the music-focused Omaha Buzz started this past year, helmed by Homer’s Records manager MarQ Manner. The Substack site already has more than 1,000 subscribers. Also, watch for the return of The Reader (online) in 2025…

Prediction: The Astro Theater will battle head-to-head with Steelhouse Omaha for the exact same music-loving audience. Is this town big enough for both of them?

Reality: So far, it is, though there were rumors the venues’ separate promotion companies (Live Nation for Steelhouse, 1% and Mammoth for The Astro) actively bid against each other for shows.

Prediction: As if we didn’t already have enough music venues, next year watch for an announcement of the creation of a brand new high-dollar music venue to be located in the heart of Omaha, catering to a youth market.  

Reality: Not yet…

Prediction: An entrepreneur will team with an out-of-town company to open a new jazz-focused music venue that will act as an extension of Kansas City’s successful jazz scene. 

Reality: Not yet, though The Jewell reopened under new management.

Prediction: Is there a merger in Saddle Creek Records’ future?

Reality: Not yet…

Prediction:  Following the current trend, the number of local indie-rock bands will sadly continue to decline. Watch as metal and hardcore bands fill the void. 

Reality: As highlighted in the 2024 Music Year in Review, local indie bands continued to flourish in number; so did metal bands.

Prediction: A number of new female singer/songwriters will emerge from our scene to receive national attention. 

Reality: Instead we got the first Omaha Girls Rock band to stand on its own: UN-T.I.L. 

Prediction: Other performers we’ll be talking about this time next year:  Low, David Nance, HAIM, Spoon, Alvvays, Desaparecidos, The Faint, Wet Leg, Talking Heads, Waxahatchee, Vampire Weekend, Neva Dinova, The Strokes, Interpol and Cactus Nerve Thang. 

Reality: We got new albums by Nance, Waxahatchee, Vampire Weekend and Neva Dinova. Talking Heads reunited (but didn’t perform), Saddle Creek reissued The Faint’s Doom Abuse LP, and Low’s Alan Sparhawk began performing again after the passing of his wife and bandmate, Mimi Parker, in 2022. 

Prediction: We’ll find out whatever happened to Eric Clapton.

Reality: “God” is still alive and kicking.

Prediction: A local music journalist will finally begin writing his long-awaited history of the Omaha music scene circa 1993-present.

Reality: Author Emma Kemp is wrapping up a biography of Conor Oberst that she began writing back in 2017. As for the more inclusive, all-encompassing history of Omaha music, the wheels are turning oh so slowly…

Prediction: Conor Oberst won’t appear on Saturday Night Live but will appear on another prime-time TV show — masked or unmasked….

Reality: Conor didn’t appear on The Masked Singer, but if he’s lucky, he’ll have his shot in 2025…

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So, giving myself much leeway, I was 7 for 16 – uh, not good. Let’s see if I can do better in 2025:

2025 Prediction: With singing competition shows like American Idol, The Voice and The Masked Singer reaping high ratings — and last year’s Grammy Awards viewership up 34% — a cultural icon will return to the airwaves: American Bandstand. The new program will feature performances by hot recording artists as well as TikTok and Youtube phenoms. What we really need is the return of Burt Sugarman’s Midnight Special…

Prediction: Time is running out for TikTok… or is it? Congress passed a law to effectively ban the online video service that’s become a launching pad for homegrown performers and pop stars. But even if the ban does go into effect Jan. 19, TikTok will survive, thanks either to Presidential decree or Supreme Court action. 

Prediction: The incoming Trump/Musk Administration will (once again) attempt to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities and this time will succeed. As a result, private nonprofit arts organizations will step up to try to fill the funding gaps. One outcome will be the creation of a new nonprofit organization who’s mission will be to support musicians, similar to the Canada Music Fund. 

Prediction: One of Omaha’s primary live music venues will be sold and will go under new management in 2025, further impacting access to touring indie bands.

Prediction: The popularity of the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” — along with actions by the Trump Administration — will generate new interest in folk / protest music, ultimately resulting in a Neu-Folk Movement.

Prediction: Unlike the Urban Cowboy Movement that swept the U.S. in the early ‘80s leading to a boom in pop-country music, the current “Country Wave” that spawned Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter will be short-lived nationally. Ah, but here in Omaha, which is always three steps behind national trends, the country music revival is just getting started. Country bars like Bushwackers and Guitars & Cadillacs will be red hot — at least for a year — before people put away their cowboy hats. Can a Swing Revival be far behind?

Prediction: With small-town Omaha returning to its “flyover country” status as far as national touring indie bands are concerned, nearby big cities Minneapolis, Kansas City, Chicago and Denver will begin to actively cater to Omaha music fans by offering concert-and-lodging packages and dedicated websites that provide tips for out-of-town show goers. 

Prediction: The new, one-day Maha Music Festival, slated for Aug. 2 at RiverFront Park in downtown Omaha, will maintain its indie music focus but will also incorporate a national pop-country artist in its line-up. Also, look for a third “locals only” stage that will highlight up-and-coming local artists as well as legacy Omaha bands. 

Prediction: Bandcamp will go out of business in 2025 following its acquisition by B2B music platform Songtradr and constant declines in online music downloading revenues. Attempting to take Bandcamp’s place will be Subvert, a new artist-owned music downloading platform that will be operated like an artist coop.

Prediction: A sort-of holdover from last year’s predictions: Another new music venue will be announced later this year, to be located in the heart of Omaha. The all-ages venue will cater to the youth market, but unlike other DIY all-ages spaces, it will have proper funding and a long-term management structure in place.  

Prediction: Someone will pick up the banner of fallen nonprofit organization Omaha Girls Rock!, which ended its current programming Dec. 15. The reinvented OGR! program will maintain its underlying mission of empowering youth through music education — something that’s too important to let fade away. 

Prediction: No world-famous rock star will leave us in 2025. Hurray!

Prediction: The long-sought-after reunion of The Smiths will finally happen next year thanks to an enormous pay day. They’re not the only ones reuniting. Look for reunions (if only for one night) by R.E.M., The Police and Talking Heads.

Prediction: Other performers we’ll be talking about this time next year: Car Seat Headrest, Big Thief, Interpol, U2, Phoebe Bridgers, The Faint, Courtney Barnett, Pavement, The Cure, Spoon, Nine Inch Nails, Wet Leg, Criteria, Lana Del Rey, So-So Sailors, The Dirts and Little Brazil.

Prediction: Finally, forget SNL, it ain’t happening. Instead, a number of local bands will make network TV appearances next year, including David Nance and Mowed Sound and good ol’ Bright Eyes. 

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Hey, if you own a CD player and would like a copy of the Lazy-i Best of 2024 complication CD, drop me an email. They’re free, while supplies last. All you have to do is send your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. 

Here’s the track list:

1. Cindy Lee, “Diamond Jublilee,” from the album Diamond Jubilee (Realistik) 
2. Sasami, “The Seed,” from the album Blood on the Silver Screen (Domino)
3. Kylie V, “Lucky Streak,” from the album Crash Test Plane (Royal Mountain)
4. Adrianne Lenker, “Sadness as a Gift,” from the album Bright Future (4AD)
5. MJ Lenderman, “”She’s Leaving You,” from the album Manning Fireworks (-Anti)
6. Neva Dinova, “One More Mile,” from the album Canary (Saddle Creek)
7. David Nance and Mowed Sound, “Credit Line,” from the self-titled album (Third Man)
8. Rosali, “Rewind,” from the album Bite Down (Merge)
9. Cola, “Pulling Quotes,” from the album The Gloss (Fire Talk)
10. Cursive, “Dark Star,” from the album Devourer (Run for Cover)
11. The Last Dinner Party, “Sinner,” from the album Prelude to Ecstasy (Universal)
12. Fontaines D.C., “Bug,” from the album Romance (XL)
13. Mannequin Pussy, “I Don’t Know You” from the album I Got Heaven (Epitaph)
14. GIFT, “Wish Me Away,” from the album Illuminator (Captured Tracks)
15. Charlie xcx, “Von dutch,” from the album Brat (Atlantic)
16. Real Estate, “Flowers,” from the album Daniel (Domino)
17. Carver Jones, “Crazy 24,” digital single
18. Kim Deal, Nobody Loves You More, from the album Nobody Loves You More (4AD)
19. Major Murphy, “Fallout,” from the album Fallout (Winspear)

The playlist also is available in Spotify (with the first two songs missing). Simply click this link or search “Tim McMahan” in Spotify, then select Profiles, then Public Playlists. You’ll find it, along with a few from past years.

Happy New Year!

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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.–

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com 

This year’s recap was going to be a stark elegy about the end of Omaha’s “Creative Era,” about the noticeable drop-off in the number of local indie bands compared to pre-pandemic days.

To illustrate this, I intended to point toward The Reader’s old Top 20/Next 15 list — an annual wrestling match among the paper’s music writers to define the best Omaha / Lincoln bands from the past year. We used to get into ugly, bare-knuckle brawls over who would make the cut. As a critic / reporter who covered the Omaha “indie music scene,” my list would fight it out with everyone else’s list. Fun, controversial stuff.

Certainly (I thought), with so few active indie bands these day, it would be tough to make such a list. But I quickly discovered, yikes!, there are more indie bands playing around town now than ever before. In fact, here is my Top Bands list for 2024, broken into three categories: 

The Old Guard – Bands and performers who have been at it for over a decade and are still actively performing and recording music:

Simon Joyner
Criteria
Wagon Blasters
Little Brazil
Midwest Dilemma
Matt Whipkey
See Through Dresses
Domestica
McCarthy Trenching
Matthew Sweet
Dereck Higgins
Head of Femur

The Seasoned Veterans – Performers who have established a firm beachhead and – along with The Old Guard – are the backbone of Omaha’s indie music scene:

David Nance & Mowed Sound
Those Far Out Arrows
Leafblower
Uh Oh
Mitch Gettman
Minne Lussa
Las Cruxes
Mike Schlesinger
Clarence Tilton
BIB
Lodgings
Sean Pratt/Sweats
Megan Siebe
Jim Schroeder/Mesa Buoy
Healer
The Broke Loose

The Up-and-Comers – Performers who have emerged in the past few years that are still defining their sound and their audience:

Heavy Clippings
Dream Ghoul
Violenteer
Pagan Athletes
Bad Bad Men
UN-T.I.L.
Vempire
Carver Jones
The Dirts
B.B. Sledge
Cat Piss
Indian Caves
Size Queen
Estrogen Projection
Bad Self Portraits
In Tongues
Western Haikus

That’s 45 indie acts, and I realize some are missing, including bands and performers I’ve either yet to hear or that I simply don’t like.

Perhaps reports of the Creative Era’s demise have been highly exaggerated. 

The problem with the current indie music scene isn’t the number of bands, it’s the number of opportunities for those bands. Most haven’t recorded a new album in years; many aren’t signed to a record label. Even fewer have toured outside the state. Some reasons for this were outline back in my 2019 Music Year in Review column: 

“Never has there been a worse time to be a start-up band. The new music business model: Record an album, upload it to Bandcamp, post a link to social media and get plenty of compliments, but no sales. I heard that story too many times last year from too many artists. Eventually, those artists may post their recordings to Spotify or YouTube, only to earn (if they’re lucky) a few bucks in streaming revenue. Touring for them has become a nonsensical money-losing endeavor especially if they don’t have merch to sell. Even established indie artists are beginning to struggle to make money on tours. That, in a nutshell, is the music industry at the end of the 20-teens decade. Where will it go in the next 10 years?”

Nothing in the above statement has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, and yet, more people are creating music than ever. Or, as music business economist Will Page, a former executive at Spotify and PRS for Music, said in MusicRadar:

“More music is being released today (in a single day) than was released in the calendar year of 1989.” 

The statement sounds astounding until you consider the reason: The ability to easily record, mix, upload and distribute music is now firmly in the hands of artists and non-professionals. Analysts predict consumer-focused products (computer software) will make recording music as ubiquitous as photo and video creation, with nearly 200 million people recording music by 2030. 

Ah, but no one said any of that music would be any good. For proof, spend an hour listening to DIY music posted on TikTok, but that hasn’t stopped TikTok acts from becoming global superstars. 

The recorded music biz in general has grown continually since the pandemic. According to the RIAA’s 2024 mid-year report, recorded music revenue grew by 4% to $8.7 billion, with the vast majority — 84% — coming from streaming. Physical music formats — vinyl and CDs — made up 11 percent of the revenue pie with around a $1 billion in sales – up 13% vs. the prior year. 

However, digital download sales — a bread-and-butter revenue generator for indie bands – continued its downward trend (for the 14th straight year), with only 2% of the revenue pie – a measly $88 million. 

Another area of declining opportunity for local indie artists comes with a touch of irony. 

I can’t recall when Omaha had more music venues, and yet most of these shiny new concert halls only cater to touring national acts who won’t share the stage with a local band. Steelhouse Omaha, The Admiral and The Astro rarely if ever feature local artists. And midsize and smaller clubs seem to be booking fewer touring indie acts who also don’t want locals on their bill. 

During the city’s indie-music glory days earlier this century, touring indie bands made sure to route through Omaha. Today, Omaha has returned to its “flyover country” — or “route-around country” — status for many touring indie bands because few of them remember those glory days. 

Despite this, a handful of local indie bands are making a living with their music. David Nance and his band Mowed Sound not only released a fantastic album on Jack White’s Third Man record label but also played on Rosali’s last album as well as on Simon Joyner’s recent masterpiece. Nance and Mowed Sound, Rosali and Joyner all toured nationally last year. 

It’s also worth mentioning “Nebraska-adjacent” acts – bands with clear ties to our state though not all band members still live here. Bright Eyes released a critically lauded album last year. Frontman Conor Oberst now (reportedly) spends most of his time in LA, but still has a house in Fairacres, as does Mike Mogis. Members of Neva Dinova, who also released a great album last year on Saddle Creek Records, also live in Omaha (I’m looking at you Megan Siebe). And Cursive, who is still known for their Nebraska roots (though most of the band moved away years ago), released their best album in years.

But that’s it for the success stories. Believe me, it wasn’t always this way. When we had an active, nationally distributed local record label signing local bands — along with a reputation that drew out-of-state musicians “to work and exploit the booming music scene” — our creative class thrived. Today, after hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into new music venues (with more to come), the focus has shifted from the creative to the commercial. And that’s a shame.

One last comment before we get to the favorites: 

We lost a local hero last year with the passing of John Heaston, editor/publisher of The Reader, Omaha’s only arts and entertainment newspaper. The Reader folded late last year, but despite fighting his own battle with cancer, John fought to keep the paper’s memory alive. He negotiated a deal with Nebraska Public Media to continue to host The Reader’s online content. And beginning next year, The Reader will begin publishing new content supplied by an army of freelance contributors (including yours truly). John would be proud.

Now, onto my top-10 albums of 2024 — the ones I listened to the most last year:

• Cindy Lee, Diamond Jubilee (Realistik) – Laidback psychedelic balladry.
• David Nance and Mowed Sound, self-titled (Third Man) – Dundee-porch acid blues.
• Fontaines D.C., Romance (XL) – This generation’s (smart) U2.
• GIFT, Illuminator (Captured Tracks) – DIIV meets New Order but better than both.
• The Last Dinner Party, Prelude to Ecstasy (Universal) – Ecstatic London rock cabaret. 
• MJ Lenderman, Manning Fireworks (Anti-) – This generation’s Jackson Browne.
• Rosali, Bite Down (Merge) – Folk-rock song-stories backed by a bunch of Cornhuskers.
• Cursive, Devourer (Run for Cover) – The return of the (emo) kings.
• Neva Dinova, Canary (Saddle Creek) – Jake Bellows is God…sort of.
• Simon Joyner, Coyote Butterfly (Grapefruit) – A broken-hearted masterpiece.

Honorable mentions: Kim Deal, Nobody Loves You More (4AD); Charli xcx, Brat (Atlantic); Speed! Lightning 500, various artists (Speed! Nebraska), Real Estate, Daniel (Domino); Adrianne Lenker, Bright Future (4AD); Kylie V, Crash Test Plane (Royal Mountain); Major Murphy, Fallout (Winspear); DIIV, Frog in Boiling Water (Fantasy); The Cure, Songs of a Lost World (Polydor); Hovvdy, self-titled (Arts & Crafts); Waxahatchee, Tigers Blood (Anti-); Savak, Flavors of Paradise (Peculiar Works)

Top Rock Shows 2024

Even though some of the country’s best touring indie bands bypassed Omaha last year, we still got a nice chunk of shows. Of the more than 60 I attended, these were my favorites:

Matthew Sweet Feb. 17 at The Waiting Room – The roaring greatest hits set may be the last time we get to see Sweet on stage after he suffered a debilitating stroke later in the year. 

Color Green March 18 at Reverb Lounge – With two members from Nebraska, they took their Midwestern sound and fused it with ’70s Southern psych rock to create something strikingly beautiful.

The Dirts April 3 at Reverb; Aug. 15 at Slowdown – They’ve become one of my favorite local bands, thanks to their groovy shoe-gaze with great hooks, riffs and trippy arrangements.

Sheer Mag April 25 at The Sydney – Lead singer Tina Halladay sounds like a very young Michael Jackson, but it’s lead axe man Kyle Seely’s guitar that draws the Thin Lizzy comparisons.

Ritual Device May 2 at Reverb – Omaha’s original gutter-groove punkers kicked off a three-day reunion run that gave long-time fans their “hits,” one last time.

Eric Bachmann May 27 at Ming Toy Gallery – Special beyond the fact that it was hosted at our art gallery, Bachmann’s 90-minute performance featured the best Crooked Fingers, Archers of Loaf and solo material.

Whippets June 17 at The Sydney – Highlight: Frontman Bobby Hussy jumped from the tiny stage, dropped his guitar, doused it with lighter fluid and set it ablaze. Rock ’n’ roll!

Roger Daltrey June 28 at Memorial Park – At age 80, Daltrey could still hit (most) of the high notes and was smart enough not to try when he couldn’t. Maybe the best Memorial Park show I’ve attended. 

GRRRL Camp July 22 at Falconwood Park –  With its fantastic indie line-up and Falconwood’s gorgeous facilities, GRRRL Camp’s audience exceeded beyond what the name implied.

Buffalo Tom Aug. 19 at Outlandia Festival – Outlandia signed off (forever) with a golden performance from a seminal act from the ’90s.

Petfest, Aug. 17 behind Petshop Gallery – The Benson-based bacchanal did not disappoint, with a highlight performance by Flamboyant Gods.

WHY? Sept. 24 at The Slowdown – Yoni Wolf’s nasal vocals had a similar hang-dog style as Dave Berman or Stephin Merritt. Magnetic.

Fontaines D.C. Oct. 5 at The Slowdown – Fontaines’ frontman Grian Chatten was the ultimate showman, egging on fans for what felt like an old-time rock concert.

Cursive Oct. 12 at The Waiting Room – The ageless Tim Kasher put his soul into every song whether howling out classics or new ones. He and the band haven’t lost a step in nearly 30 years.

Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain Oct. 22 at The Astro – Both bands admirably played through their catalog of ancient hits inside what is arguably Omaha best-designed new music venue.

Speed! Nebraska Records showcase Nov. 22 at Reverb – A celebration of its long history, bands both old and new showcased the label’s storied past and bright future. 

Simon Joyner Band Dec. 8 at The Waiting Room – Performing Joyner’s Coyote Butterfly in its entirety, the evening was a touching tribute to Joyner’s late son, Owen. Somber, heart-felt and special, it likely will never be repeated.

Finally, the year wouldn’t be complete without giving away copies of the annual Lazy-i Best of 2024 compilation CD! This is the 30th Anniversary Edition. What started as a Christmas mixtape way back in ’94 continues on (seemingly forever) as a collection of the best and brightest bands (local and otherwise) featured here at Lazy-i.com.

If you own a CD player and would like a copy, drop me an email. They’re free, while supplies last. All you have to do is send me your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.

Here’s the track list:

1. Cindy Lee, “Diamond Jublilee,” from the album Diamond Jubilee (Realistik)
2. Sasami, “The Seed,” from the album Blood on the Silver Screen (Domino)
3. Kylie V, “Lucky Streak,” from the album Crash Test Plane (Royal Mountain)
4. Adrianne Lenker, “Sadness as a Gift,” from the album Bright Future (4AD)
5. MJ Lenderman, “”She’s Leaving You,” from the album Manning Fireworks (-Anti)
6. Neva Dinova, “One More Mile,” from the album Canary (Saddle Creek)
7. David Nance and Mowed Sound, “Credit Line,” from the self-titled album (Third Man)
8. Rosali, “Rewind,” from the album Bite Down (Merge)
9. Cola, “Pulling Quotes,” from the album The Gloss (Fire Talk)
10. Cursive, “Dark Star,” from the album Devourer (Run for Cover)
11. The Last Dinner Party, “Sinner,” from the album Prelude to Ecstasy (Universal)
12. Fontaines D.C., “Bug,” from the album Romance (XL)
13. Mannequin Pussy, “I Don’t Know You” from the album I Got Heaven (Epitaph)
14. GIFT, “Wish Me Away,” from the album Illuminator (Captured Tracks)
15. Charlie xcx, “Von dutch,” from the album Brat (Atlantic)
16. Real Estate, “Flowers,” from the album Daniel (Domino)
17. Carver Jones, “Crazy 24,” digital single
18. Kim Deal, Nobody Loves You More, from the album Nobody Loves You More (4AD)
19. Major Murphy, “Fallout,” from the album Fallout (Winspear)

The playlist also is available in Spotify (with the first two songs missing). Simply click this link or search “Tim McMahan” in Spotify, then select Profiles, then Public Playlists. You’ll find it, along with a few from past years.

Next week – PREDICTIONS!!!

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Waiting for my 2024 music year in review column? You’ll have to wait one more day. Until then, and in commeration of Throwback Thursday, read the 2004 Music Year in Review. They were the best of times and they were the best of times. See how much things have changed in 20 years.

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Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas? No? Tell us all about it tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s, where PROBLEMS a.k.a. Darren Keen is headling a show that includes The Trauma Center and comic Joslyne Debonis. It’s free and starts at 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Omaha Latin-fueled indie band Las Cruxes supports experimental punk/metal band Flux Amuck at Reverb Lounge. ZENEG and the Doom Choir open the show at 8 p.m. $8 (according to the 1% website).

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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.

by TIm McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It was red hot inside Reverb Sunday night (figurative and literally) for Carver Jones and the American Dreamers. Reverb was packed – quite a feat for a local show on a Sunday night by a band that’s never played there before. 

I was easily the oldest person in the crowd from my vantage point standing next to the sound board. A gaggle of mostly late-teen/early-20s patrons – an equal mix of guys and dolls – pushed up front as Jones and his band entered the stage along with a couple photographers who captured images throughout the night from behind them. It was Jones’ first “headlining show,” and no doubt the footage will wind up in one of his future music videos. 

Jones stood tall center stage in a white polo shirt, guitar slung over his shoulders, with drummer Max Soderberg off stage right invisible behind the crowd and bassist Alec Allhijjawi bouncing to his left. I dug Jones’ well-produced, catchy pop songs on YouTube and Spotify (they don’t have a record label). Could they pull it off live?

Well, almost. Jones’s breathy vocals struggled at times to be heard above the rock, but when they broke through they were impressive, jumping from a mid-range croon to funky falsetto. Jones kicked off the set playing two songs on acoustic guitar before strapping on his trusty Fender (named “Rose”) for single “Hit the Road (Jack)” and a couple new songs performed live for the first time. Both leaned toward the Lenny Kravitz-style rock that Jones loves. Halfway through the second song, Jones strolled over and turned up his amp before ripping into a kille solo.

But just as the crowd was getting into the set, Jones shooed his band off stage and played two quiet cover songs solo-acoustic, including a whispery version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” The vibe down-shift might have worked in a more formal setting but not in rowdy Reverb, where Jones gentle coo was drowned out by party-level crowd chatter. 

It wasn’t lost on Jones, who quickly waved the band back on stage, switched guitars, and launched into a sweet cover of The Beatles “Come Together” that segued into another original followed by his latest single, “Winter,” and an earlier single. “RU Still Up?,” that was welcomed with squeals from the girls when announced from stage. 

Jones closed out the night with two more bluesy Kravitz-esque numbers, again turning up his amp for some wicked solos. He should have just kept the amp at 10 all night. Upon saying “goodnight,” the crowd burst into an “encore” chant and the band played one more. Hey guys, don’t you know you’re supposed to leave and come back to the stage for the encore?

In our interview last month, Jones said he and his crew have done a lot of street busking, and that seemed evident. The band was, indeed, tight, but I got the sense they’re still learning how to get the most out of a formal stage and would benefit from rehearsing with a seasoned sound man (as well as one of his producers) to get their live show in tip-top shape prior to going out on an inevitable formal tour. Something tells me you’re going to hear a lot from these guys in the future…

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A couple other notes from this past weekend…

I caught Magü’s set at the Waiting Room Friday night.  The band has changed a lot since I last saw them three years ago at Petfest. Once a guitar-heavy rock band whose sound at times bordered on shoe-gaze, Magü no longer has any guitars, and their female vocalist was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Magü consists of a keyboard/vocalist, tenor sax, trumpet, bass and drums playing loungy R&B pop tunes that border on Yacht Rock (but without guitars). Quite a shift in style!

Also, an apology and a “caveat emptor”: Cover charges for both the Carver Jones and Magu shows were more than what I published in Lazy-i. I based my prices on what was posted on the One Percent website. The Magü show ended up being $10 instead of the advertise $5; the Carver Jones show was $15 instead of the advertised $12. Why the prices jumped, I do not know, but it’s something to be aware of the next time you head to a 1% show. 

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Musicwise, we continue to flounder deep in the the heart of the the holiday doldrums. No big “reunion” shows this year as we had in the past (last year it was Icky Blossoms). Oh well, them’s the breaks.

However, there are a few local shows worth checking out this weekend (though nothing tonight).

Saturday night, the sax-swinging combo Magü opens for Bad Self Portraits and headliner Cable Network at The Waiting Room. The last time I saw Magü was at Petfest way back in 2021. We were at the tail end of the pandemic and everyone was freaking out about the Delta Variant, except for those sunning on the white-rock Petshop parking lot. 

Back then, I described Magü this way: “Stylistically they describe themselves as psych rock / shoe gaze, but I’d peg them as modern indie with touches of classic rock. I loved the sax player’s tone and style, which merely augmented the songs and didn’t get in the way.” Ah, but that was three years ago. What do they sound like now?

Cable Network is fronted by familiar sound engineer Charlie Ames; and everyone knows Bad Self Portraits by now. Just like old-school rock shows before the pandemic, this one only costs $5. Starts at 8 p.m. 

Speaking of old-school rock shows, the holidays will be in full effect Saturday night at fabulous O’Leaver’s where local shit-kickers Lightning Stills headlines a show with Lincoln electronic duo Vempire and Spurney’s Hawk. Expect lots of Santa/elf hats donned by leather-clad drunks. What more could you ask for? How ’bout it’s FREE and starts at 9 p.m. (O’Leaver’s Time). 

Sunday night is the long-awaited (by me, anyway) performance by Carver Jones and the American Dreamers at Reverb Lounge. I interviewed Carver back in early November upon the release of his single, “Hit the Road (Jack),” wherein I asked if he could be the “next big thing” out of Omaha. Below is his latest single, released just a couple weeks ago. I dig his music, but can he bring it on stage? Penny and the Dimes opens this one at 8 p.m. $12. 

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. 

For those wondering, I’ll post my annual Year in Review round-up (recap, favorite albums, favorite shows) early next week. 

Have a great weekend!

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It was Standing Room Only at Scriptown Saturday afternoon as Omaha psych-rock band Those Far Out Arrows helped the Blackstone-based brewery celebrate its 10-year anniversary. 

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the Arrows – August 2023 at Reverb to be exact. No doubt they’ve been busy living their best lives and haven’t had time to rock, but rock they did Saturday afternoon, unveiling a few new songs along with some old favorites (including TFOA classic “Snake in My Basement.” Fronted by the Keelan-White brothers of Ben and Evan on guitar and vocals, let’s hope we’ll get those new songs recorded and pressed on a new album (Their last outing was 2020 LP, Fill Yer Cup). We’re all waiting, dudes. 

And I’ll say again: Scriptown should consider hosting weekend afternoon rock shows on a regular basis. They’re always a blast, always draw a crowd, and who doesn’t want to day-drink on the weekend, right? 

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The massive Ice Storm of ’24 took its toll on Friday night’s Dream Ghoul show at Reverb Lounge. The band’s drummer ended up stranded on I-80 along with hundreds of other motorists. Max Holmquist said we might have to wait until February to get another chance to see the band again, which is a shame because I’m dying to see how they make their new album, A Forgotten Future, come to life on stage. 

Released just yesterday on Bandcamp and on the usual streaming platforms (Spotify, etc.), the album is a dark, chiming totem of rock majesty that recalls acts like Interpol, Joy Division, Peter Murphy even Bowie’s Blackstar. Holmquist’s flat, tonal vocals cast warm, haunted echoes over that album’s trippy rhythm tracks and chiming guitars. 

The liner notes describe the record as “an exploration of themes of Hauntology, lost futures, spectacle, weaponized nostalgia, and phenomenology against a back-drop of personal struggles with mental illness, paranoia, anxiety, and addiction.” Dark stuff… but with a beat! 

Holmquist isn’t afraid of letting the tracks breath as needed, with songs like album highlight “The Being Always Was, 1997” rolling well past the six-minute mark. Recorded, engineered and mixed by James Schroeder (Mesa Buoy, David Nance Band, UUVVWWZ), A Forgotten Future is a shoe-gaze rock odyssey best heard with headphones. Download it here at Bandcamp for just $7.

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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.

by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

In life – and in rock ’n’ roll — timing is everything. 

There was no way Dream Ghoul singer/songwriter Max Holmquist could have known when he booked his band’s show for tonight at Reverb that an ice storm would be rolling through town. And yet, here we are with one of the only interesting shows of the weekend happening during the first act of Ice Station Zebra.

However, since the show has three openers (Valley Street, Western Haikus and The Ivory Claws), there’s an outside chance the ice will have melted by the time Dream Ghoul takes the stage (as temps are suppose to warm up slowly after 10 p.m., but I’m no weather man). Check road conditions before you head out. The show is slated to begin at 8 p.m.; tickets are $10.

The ice should all be gone by tomorrow morning (Saturday), making it safe to go to Scriptown’s 10th’s Anniversary celebration. To mark the occasion, Those Far Out Arrows returns to the stage with Haunted Gauntlet, starting at 3 p.m. Fun and Free!

Tomorrow night, local pop-punk band Light Speed Highway has an album release show for their latest, Maybe Tonight Could Be Different, at fabulous O’Leaver’s. An “unplugged” version of Uh Oh opens this show at 8 p.m. No cover!

And that’s it for the weekend. You can certainly tell we’re deep in the holiday doldrums. Slowdown’s stage is dedicated entirely to tribute/cover bands through the balance of the year. In fact, you’ll have to wait until the end of January for the next touring indie band to come to town (Pile at Slowdown Jan. 28). We’re in for a long, cold winter.

Have a great weekend. 

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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.

by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

In the radio business, doing anything for 20 years is remarkable, but hosting a music-focused radio show for 20 years is almost unheard of. But that’s exactly what David Leibowitz has done. His radio show on 89.7 FM The River, New Day Rising, will celebrate its 20th anniversary with its Dec. 22 broadcast. 

The origin of the radio show is chronicled in the following column, published in The Reader and on this website 20 years ago. It features an interview with Leibowitz’s co-host, Eric Ziegler. Ziegler would end up leaving the show after only a few months, leaving Leibowitz to continue it for all these years. 

“I actually know what I’m doing after all this time!” Leibowitz said about New Day Rising, which airs from 2 to 4 p.m. Sundays on 89.7 FM in Omaha. “I understand what I want to present, and how to go about doing it.”

A glance at the show’s Dec. 9 playlist indicates he’s kept the program’s indie focus and continues to blend new indie releases with classic tracks.  But Leibowitz goes beyond the indie genre on his podcast, The Dark Stuff, available exclusively on YouTube. “The Dark Stuff just expands what I can cover,” he said. “Having the radio experience definitely affects how I operate on YouTube.”

For the special Dec. 22 New Day Rising broadcast, Leibowitz said he will be playing classics from the last 20 years, interview clips and “some other surprises.” Tune in. 

As I wrote in the following column, the hope was New Day Rising would encourage The River to incorporate more indie music into their regular play lists, but it never really happened. A glance at the station’s November playlist shows the same selection of alt/grunt rock staples, like Sum 41, Sick Puppies and Return to Dust alongside pop punk/emo bands and, yes, the occasional indie track from Father John Misty and St. Vincent. It’s disappointing, but does it really matter? People discover new music a lot differently than they did 20 years, thanks to satellite radio and streaming services. 

Still, radio continues to be more popular than podcasts and streaming services, according to this Forbes article from earlier this year that stated while younger people are shifting to on-demand options, 45% of their listening time remains dedicated to radio. And, of course, old people still love radio, but mainly because of shitty talk radio.

Anyway, on this Throwback Thursday, here again is the column announcing the launch of New Day Rising from Dec. 9, 2004: 

Dec. 9, 2004: New Day Rising: Indie Music Returns to Omaha’s Air Waves

It always seemed somewhat ironic that Omaha has become this so-called “center of the indie music world,” yet none of the music from that world can be heard on the radio waves within its borders. Important national touring indie bands come through town all the time and draw respectfully well without an ounce of radio support. The only way anyone finds out about these shows is through articles in The Reader, websites (lazy-i comes to mind), word of mouth and show posters and fliers.

All that will likely change Sunday, Dec. 19, at 11 p.m., when Omaha’s only college rock station, 89.7 FM The River, launches a new, locally produced two-hour radio show whose focus will be, believe it or not, indie music.

Omaha’s had indie radio shows before, most recently “Pirate Radio,” hosted at the same 11 to 1 a.m. Sunday night time slot on 93.3 KRCK — the grunt-rock station that became The Dam and now spins “legendary American country.” Hosted by Saddle Creek main man Robb Nansel and Good Life drummer Roger Lewis, Pirate Radio was a laid-back (some would say unstructured) two hours of indie rock, where you were bound to hear a couple songs by Cursive or Bright Eyes. My fondest memory of Pirate Radio was being a guest host and hearing callers requesting Korn, Metallica and Limp Bizkit songs throughout the entire two hours. Typical call: “Dude, something’s wrong with your station. Turn this shit off and play ‘Freak on a Leash!'”).

Now comes “New Day Rising” (For you younguns, that’s a tip o’ the hat to Husker Du), hosted by Eric Ziegler, manager of Homer’s Old Market store, and Dave Leibowitz, former head of Mafia Money Records out of Madison, Wisconsin, who just moved back to the Big O.

Ziegler says their show will plow similar ground as Pirate Radio, with a play list derived from the College Music Journal charts. CMJ has become the defacto bible of college radio stations all over the country, and indie music is at its very core. Just don’t use the “I” word around Ziegler. Call it “College music” or “Underground” or even “Alternative” (though that word was bastardized long ago by the likes of Creed and Matchbox 20, who are about “alternative” as Britney Spears).

Ziegler says the term “Indie” turns people off. It’s at once too broad (What is indie, anyway?) and too confining (Like “emo,” no one wants the term applied to their music), with baggage that conjures images of pasty scenester kids squeezed into youth medium-sized T-shirts, with dyed-black hair and thick, clunky glasses. 

Instead, the show’s play list will be all over the map, even beyond CMJ. “We’ll play anything from Bauhaus to The Replacements to My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult to The Smiths and Pavement.”

Isn’t that oldie indie? “The thing is to play newer music — the stuff the kids are into — and also keep listeners our age (i.e., in their 30s) intrigued. We want to throw in a couple gems to educate people. Half the kids today don’t know who Joy Division is, but will listen to all the bands that were influenced by them.”

The key, Ziegler said, is variety — underground metal next to underground hip-hop, a Shins song followed by the new one from Mastodon. Expect local music, too, but no Saddle Creek artists. “We might stay away from Bright Eyes and The Faint,” Ziegler said. “That stuff’s already on The River’s regular play list.” They’ll also avoid music heard on The River’s local-music show, Planet O.

Could the show’s success influence The River’s regular play list? Ziegler hopes so. “I would suffer through Slipknot to hear TV on the Radio.” But considering the success of the station’s current goon-rock format, any change seems unlikely. – Originally published in The Reader and Lazy-i.com Dec. 9, 2004. 

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Cleaning out the ol’ email basket…

While still recovering… from throat problems, Conor Oberst has been lighting up the internet with news. On a recent Broken Record podcast, Oberst talked about trying to convince Alan and Diana Meltzer of Wind-Up Records to not sign proto-grunge band Creed to their label way back in the mid-’90s. Oberst was in Commander Venus, which was then signed to Wind-Up. Conor must have been 16 or 17 at the time. Read all about it here in Exclaim.  Said Conor about the Creek record: “And then, sure enough, they put it out, and it’s the biggest thing in the world. So [that’s] another reason not to ever trust my judgement.“

Bright Eyes also just announced that Christopher Owens will be their supporting act when they kick off their North American Tour Jan. 16 in Phoenix. Owens was formerly in the S.F. duo Girls. He opens for Bright Eyes through Feb. 7, then hands the opener chores to Hurray for the Riff Raff, who eventually hands it over to Cursive in April. Those Bright Eyes/Cursive shows could be a real time machine. 

Still no make-up date announced for that “postponed” Steelhouse date….

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Speaking of time machines, tomorrow night (Thursday) at 7:30 p.m., Nebraska Public Media will re-air the next installment of its 33rd Street Sessions series featuring archive performances from Mercy Rule, The Millions and Floating Opera. The old concert clips are interspersed with recent interviews with Mercy Rule’s Jon Taylor, Heidi Ore and Ron Albertson, and The Millions’ Lori Allison. Fun stuff and the recording quality is top-notch. And if you watch via the embedded player below, you can skip over all the NPM fund drive pitches!

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Finally, Dream Ghoul just dropped another track from their upcoming album, A Forgotten Future, which is being released this coming Sunday. Dream Ghoul is the latest project from Max Holmquist (Oquoa). The album was recorded and mixed by Jim Schroeder, of Mesa Buoy and David Nance Band. No doubt you’ll hear most of the album’s songs when the band performs this Friday at Reverb with Western Haikus and The Ivory Claws…

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Last night’s performance of Simon Joyner’s Coyote Butterfly at The Waiting Room was a touching tribute to Joyner’s late son, Owen – the subject of the album. Every seat was taken throughout the packed house, with many standing in the back along the bar.

Megan Siebe began the evening performing a solo cello composition on the darkened stage – a solemn, dramatic, tonal piece performed over looped portions recorded via a pedal. The album’s artwork was projected behind her – a bleak snow scape in the dead of winter. The image would later be replaced with a rotating collection of photos taken near the South Omaha Bridge – beautiful landscapes with cloud-filled skies.

Sarah Adkisson Joyner, Simon’s wife, took the stage next and said a few words about Owen and how their family had grieved following his death in August 2022. She also talked about how the music we were about to hear played a role in their grieving process, before introducing the band. 

Joyner, seated center stage with his guitar, was surrounded by his friends and bandmates – David Nance on bass, James Schroeder, guitar; Kevin Donahue, drums, and Michael Krassner on guitar and keyboards. They proceeded to perform Coyote Butterfly in its entirety in track order, beginning with the field recordings and Joyner’s guitar instrumental, “Red-Winged Black Birds (March 13, 2024),” that led directly into Joyner singing alone, “I’m Taking You With Me.” 

The full band then joined in on “The Silver Birch,” (with Megan Siebe on violin) and continued for what was a note-perfect rendition of the album. An exception was an epic version of “Port of Call” that featured an extended instrumental introduction showcasing the band – it felt like the evening’s centerpiece leading into a performance of the album’s title track.

Joiner didn’t speak between songs, and the audience seemed initially hesitant to applaud, perhaps wondering if it was okay to enjoy themselves while Simon poured his heart out. After the buzz of cicadas heard on the concluding field recording came to an abrupt halt (as it does on the album), the crowd again applauded and Joyner thanked everyone for being there. The evening was somber but also heart-felt and special, and will likely never be repeated. 

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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.