Here comes the weekend. There’s nothing on the show radar tonight.
Tomorrow night (Saturday), the weekly free concert series continues at fabulous O’Leaver’s with Mono in Stereo and The Mudpuddles. Mono in Stereo is the new project that consists of frontman Charles McNeil (Brian Jones Was Murdered); bassist Marty Amsler (legendary ’90s Lincoln act The Millions), guitarist James MacDougall, and drummer Joe Eichoff (The End in Red). It’s scheduled to start at 9 p.m. and like I said, it’s FREE.
Sunday night, Clem Snide headlines at Reverb Lounge. The project of singer/songwriter Eef Barzelay, the band is supporting its new album, Oh Smokey, which came out last November but is now being released on vinyl May 2 via Foreign Leisure Records. .
“There’s, for sure, a soon-to-be-divorced energy in some of the themes,” Barzelay says about the record. “But mostly, I like to think of the songs as clumsy, well-meaning attempts at prayer by a lapsed Atheist raised by godless Jews.” That’s a lot. Akron’s Rye Valley and Nashville’s The Bedrock open the show at 8 p.m. $20.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
A quick note to pass along a few new tracks that caught my ear. Like I’ve mentioned before, I probably get 100 email submissions a day. These are the few that managed to avoid the delete key…
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I never listened to Ben Kweller much over the years, but his latest song, “Dollar Store,” is a straight-up banger. It was recorded with Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and is the first new music from Kweller since the death of his 16-year-old son Dorian Zev in 2023. The track is from his new album, Cover the Mirrors, out May 30 via The Noise Company. BTW, Kweller’s closest pass to Omaha on his upcoming tour is Minneapolis April 28.
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I almost skipped right over this email when I saw the band’s name was Smut, figuring it was just another metal act. But Smut is a Chicago-based shimmer-gaze band that recalls acts like The Sundays, but with a bigger punch. “Dead Air” is conventional-sounding indie rock that borders on alt, but… pretty; driven by front woman Tay Roebuck. This comes from an upcoming yet-to-be-announced album.
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Urban “anti-folk” folkie Jeffrey Lewis has a new album coming out called The EVEN MORE Freewheelin’ Jeffrey Lewis, due March 21 on Don Giovanni Records. It was recorded in four days in Nashville by Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo). “Just Fun” is the second single/video, which came out Tuesday.
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No local band has worked an album harder than Clarence Tilton is working their latest, Queen of the Brawl. Seems like they’ve dropped a new single every two or three weeks for the past few months. “Bongos” is the fourth single, released Feb. 14. The one-sheet doesn’t say when the whole record comes out, which is kind of a head-scratcher…
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Finally, for #TBT, here’s a review from 20 years ago. Just your typical night in Omaha, featuring Shelterbelt and The Golden Age. Whatever happened to those guys?
The announcement that early-aughts indie act Rilo Kiley has been booked to play The Astro in La Vista Sept. 17 (tickets went on sale this morning) has spurred speculation as to who will be headlining the 2025 Maha Music Festival. RK had been one of the front-runners.
The last time Maha hosted a festival back in 2023, organizers announced the line-up the last week of February. However, Outlandia Festival organizers — now part of the Maha Festival team — didn’t announce their 2024 festival until the end of March.
So far Maha Festival organizers have only said that the one-day festival is taking place Aug. 2 at the new RiverFront Park in downtown Omaha. I was told the headliner was booked months ago, and rumors continue to float among the “indie illuminati” as to who it is. A friend of mine who says he’s “in the know” but wouldn’t give me a name told me the headliner is a well-known band that hasn’t played here in a very long time, although several of its members have played here over the years in various side projects. That’s rather broad.
Don’t ask me, I’m out of the loop, but I can make some educated guesses based on a few factors:
As mentioned, Maha “combined forces” with the Outlandia Festival after Outlandia’s demise in 2024. That mean’s Maha’s original four founders – Mike App, Tre Breshear, Tyler Owen and Mike Toohey – are back in some capacity. What that “capacity” is, I’m not certain. These guys are all Gen X’ers and love legacy indie acts.
The production company that worked with Maha in the past and that used to produce the Outlandia Festival – 1% Productions – also will be back to produce this year’s Maha Festival. For you younger readers, 1% is a big reason Omaha became nationally known for its indie music scene in the early part of this century. And while they’ve expanded their booking focus to more mainstream pop, R&B and C&W acts for their venues (which include The Waiting Room, Reverb Lounge, The Astro and The Admiral theaters), 1% still has an immense network of indie music contacts.
Before making any guess, eliminate acts that are either already booked for Nebraska shows, nearby festivals or have played here in the past year. So strike a line through festival favorites Jack White, Future Islands, Rilo Kiley, Bright Eyes, The Faint, Gregory Alan Isakov, Bob Mould, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Bob Dylan, Mannequin Pussy, Lord Huron, Real Estate, Cursive, Black Country, New Road, Indigo Girls, MJ Lenderman, Fontaines, D.C., Of Montreal, Orville Peck, Flaming Lips, The Head and the Heart , The Lumineers and Lana Del Rey.
Also eliminate bands that are either not touring or are already playing gigs Aug. 2. This tougher list includes Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, Beck, Wet Leg, Nation of Language, Phoebe Bridgers, Jamie XX, Adrianne Lenker, Nine Inch Nails, GBV and Wilco.
So who does that leave?
– Well, on top of my list is The Pixies, who are playing the Palace Theater July 31 and Aug. 1 in Minneapolis and have the next day off on their tour. The band would be quite a get for the first Maha Fest down at the much larger RiverFront Park, and I know the Outlandia guys love them some Pixies.
– Next on the list: St. Vincent. She’s played a number of sold-out Omaha shows in the past and has an Aug. 30 date at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
– The Black Keys, who cancelled a national tour a year or so ago, are back and are playing a spring/summer U.S. Tour followed by a European tour that wraps up in mid-July, followed by an Atlanta festival in mid September. For some reason, they’re an Omaha favorite.
– And then there’s our old pals Spoon. The band reportedly has a new album coming out this year and begins a national tour at the end of August that so far doesn’t include Nebraska. This Maha Festival veteran would be a great draw.
Here are a few additional guesses that are more like wishes:
– LCD Soundsystem – The band that keeps touring despite having broken up a few years ago is playing gigs throughout the spring and early summer, but are likely out of Maha’s price range.
– The Hard Quartet, the new band from Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus with Matt Sweeney, Jim White and Emmett Kelly. Their debut album came out last year on Matador and they’re touring the US and Europe throughout the spring and summer.
– Waxahatchee – The indie folk act has managed to avoid Nebraska on all its tours, including their next U.S. tour, which kicks off in March and continues through September.
– Perfume Genius – They’ve got a hot new album coming out on Matador Records and their June tour skips Omaha.
– Sharon Van Etten – She also has a red-hot album out now on Jagjaguwar, but her early summer tour skips Omaha.
– Horsegirl – Too small to headline a festival, the band played Outlandia two years ago, but their new album is a critical smash and could make them this year’s Wet Leg.
Also-run possibilities: Japanese Breakfast, the ever-present Father John Misty,Youth Lagoon.
One last clue about Maha’s festival line-up: I’ve been told by a couple organizers that “I’ll like some of the bands but not like others.” So what else is new? Isn’t that the way with any festival?
Who do you think Maha’s headliner will be? For now, we wait…
If anything, last night’s Molchat Doma/Sextile show at Steelhouse Omaha proved that the massive, blimp-hangar-style facility can host shows that only draw 1/3 of its capacity and still feel like an important event.
Los Angeles electronic-fueled post-punk act Sextile — no stranger to Omaha — was up first and scored the better of the two performances, thanks to a shorter set and more varied and frenetic music. Sextile’s heart-racing, jittery rhythms, infectious bass lines and unlimited energy generated by three bouncing musicians did everything it could to get the (guess-timated) crowd of around 1,000 moving.
Throughout their 10-year careers, Sextile has always been more punk than post-punk, and never moreso than on their aggressive new album, Yes, Please., slated for release May 2 on Sacred Bones Records. New songs like “Women Respond to Bass,” “Kids,” “S Is For” and set closer “Resist” — wherein vocalist/instrumentalist Melissa Scaduto hoisted a flag emblazed with “Abortion Rights Now!” — were among the night’s highlights.
Long-time Sextile fans yearning for past glories were not disappointed. The set opened with 2018 favorite “Disco,” and included tracks “No Fun” and “Contortion” from 2023’s Push. Instrumentally, Scaduto and fellow front-person Brady Keehn impressed with their stick-work and knob twirling when not spitting lyrics at the crowd.
Sextile at Steelhouse Omaha, Feb. 24, 2025.
A fellow concert-goer pointed out the music would be perfect at 2 a.m. in a crowded, smoke-filled warehouse while high on some unidentified substance, instead of at 8:30 on a Monday night drinking a lukewarm microbrew. Maybe that’s why so few were moving on the floor beyond the edge of the stage. Ah, to be honest, the only band I’ve seen turn an Omaha crowd that size into a bouncing a mob was The Faint.
Shortly after 9 p.m., Molchat Doma took the blackened stage, each band member staking out his territory – bassist Pavel Kozlov stage left, guitarist Roman Komogortsev stage right, and frontman Egor Shkutko dead center. And that’s where they stayed throughout the evening while someone somewhere controlled the prerecorded synth and rhythm tracks that fueled the performance.
“We are Molchat Doma from Minsk, Belarus,” Egor quietly declared after the first song. “Dosvedanya.”
The basic song recipe involved a drone/tone intro followed by a kick-ass rhythm track, Pavel’s bassline and Roman’s guitar. It’s easy to point out the obvious influences – Depeche Mode, The Cure, Joy Division, etc. A fellow concert-goer gave nods to Nitzer Ebb and Front Line Assembly.
But despite the rump-shakingly infectious rhythms and guitars, Egor’s dark, bosso voice eventually transported listeners to a drab, Soviet-era landscape covered in brutalist architecture. It was like listening to a soldier sing mournful Russian-language anthems over a wicked EDM loop.
Early in the set, the audience, which included a lot of younger people dressed in black, many donning their best goth styles and make-up, merely nodded their heads to the beat. But as you walked deeper into the crowd, you noticed the bodies moving oh so subtly, the energy increasing closer to the stage. I’m unsure where these fans came from, as Molchat Doma has never played Omaha before and isn’t heard on local radio. The answer is probably those viral TikTok videos, apparently as popular here as in Eastern Bloc countries.
Despite shifts in rhythm and melodies — and instrumental interludes (in one instance, Pavel and Roman met centerstage and exchanged riffs) — the music’s “sameness” was unescapable thanks to being draped in dirge-like vocals. How would their music sound with English-language pop vocals? No doubt it would lose its gravitas — and to some, become more interesting — but it would never be Molchat Doma. And to that, all I can say is “Dosvedanya.”
Monday Night is Show Night in Omaha™ Now there’s a catchphrase the Omaha entertainment business community can really get behind. Or how about: Weekends Are Made for Locals™.
Listen, we can thank tour routing for the abundance of Monday night (and weekday night) touring indie shows, since we’re located between major markets like KC, Minneapolis and Chicago. Bands could simply take the night off, but they come here anyway, even if it makes for some bleary-eyed Tuesday mornings.
Glancing at Molchat Doma’s setlist from last Friday night’s show in Chicago, expect a 14-song set with 4-song encore, including their viral hit “Sudno.” I’d list the other song titles, but let’s face it – no one reading this is that familiar with the band or their catalog.
I’ve never been to a show at Steelhouse that wasn’t either sold out or close to selling out. Will tonight be a first?
When I interviewed Omaha Performing Arts President Joan Squires and Steelhouse Director of Booking Erika Hansen back in 2023 for my column in The Reader (online here), I asked how they’d handle shows that draw fewer than 1,000. Squires said the space may not be appropriate for those shows, which would be a better fit for small O-pa-operated venues like the Holland Music Club. However, Hansen said Steelhouse is flexible and has options, including the use of retractable risers. I’ve yet to see those risers in action.
The sheer fact that Steelhouse was willing to gamble on this show, however, is a credit to Omaha Performing Arts. Let’s see if the gamble pays off tonight. Tickets to the show are still available at steelhouseomaha.com. Showtime is 8 p.m. Bring your dancing shoes.
UPDATE AS OF 5:30 P.M.: This show has been CANCELLED “due to unforeseen bus issues.”
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“We still play all of our songs live, but there are only so many chords you can put into a three-chord song so many times. You can only sing about having a broken heart for so long.”
That was The Get Up Kids’ keyboardist James Dewees in 2002. Little did he know how wrong he could be, as the band heads to The Waiting Room tonight to play an album that came out 25 years ago.
When I interviewed Dewees in 2002 (read the interview here), the band was headed for a gig at Sokol Auditorium (now called The Admiral) supporting the release of On a Wire and actively running away from the “emo” tag placed on them by MTV and various music journalists.
“This is the best time in the world for emo music,” Dewees said back then. “It’s just that we don’t really want to write music like that anymore. We want to experiment with writing slower songs with acoustic guitars or organ or string parts or keyboards instead of the soft-then-loud-then-scream songs with the typical punk-rock-flourish ending.”
Dewees was a late comer to Get Up Kids, which formed in Kansas City back in mid-’90s. Also a member of the metalcore outfit Coalesce, he met the band when the two played together.
According to Wiki, when Get Up Kids broke up in 2004 Dewees played with New Found Glory, continued his work with his band, Reggie and the Full Effect, and eventually joined My Chemical Romance in 2006. He later rejoined Get Up Kids for the 10th anniversary of Something To Write Home About and stuck around for a few more albums before splitting for good in 2019. The band was never able to capture lightning in a bottle like they did with that ’99 album. Alas, Dewees will not be joining them when they play tonight at The Waiting Room.
Surprisingly, this show has yet to sell out. With the rise in popularity of “Emo Nights” at clubs around the country, you’d think second-generation emo pioneers like this band would be a red hot ticket.
Opening for Get Up Kids is The Anniversary, the Lawrence, Kansas, indie band that enjoyed a heyday in the early aughts, and included singer Adrianne Verhoeven, a former member of Saddle Creek Records band Flowers Forever and Orenda Fink’s Art in Manila. Is Adrianne still in The Anniversary? Head to The Waiting Room tonight and find out. $36, 8 p.m.
AGAIN, THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
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Tomorrow night (Saturday), newly minted post-punk band Cope Acidic headlines a free show at fabulous O’Leaver’s. I caught a few songs by these guys when they opened for Pile at Slowdown Feb. 29 and was intrigued. Very mathy; pretty good vocals that reminded me of Bob Mould. Joining them Saturday night are Jar and Softlines. Like I said, it’s free and starts at 9 p.m. (O’Leaver’s time, which means probably later than that).
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
Belarusian post-punk/cold wave/synth-fueled EDM trio Molchat Doma was founded in 2017 in Minsk. And like their origin implies, there is drama in everything they do. Even their name — translated to English — means “Houses Are Silent.” Could anything sound more foreboding?
The band — vocalist Egor Shkutko (Belarusian: Yahor Shkutko); Roman Komogortsev (Raman Kamahortsau) on guitar, synths and drum machine, and Pavel Kozlov on bass and synths — creates darkly urban, wholly modern synth-pop whose undertones and rhythms are familiar to anyone who grew up listening to Depeche Mode, Human League, The Cure, and so on.
The band sites Perestroika-era Russian groups such as Kino as an influence, and you can hear shadows of Kraftwerk in their early work. As their one-sheet oh so accurately describes: “The band gained a following with earlier albums that sound like third-generation bootlegs of banned recordings from the Eastern Bloc made after a few key entries in the Factory Records catalog were smuggled in from the West.”
Tracks off their 2017 self-released debut, S Krysh Nashikh Domov (translated via Google as From the Roofs of Our Houses), such as “Ludi Nadoeli,” (“People are Boring”), could be mistaken for early, upbeat Joy Division, except for the Russian lyrics.
According to Pitchfork, one of Molchat Doma’s early breaks came in April 2020 when their song “Судно (Sudno)” was used in a viral TikTok video clip that garnered over 6 million views, sparking listeners on Spotify. Then (according to the Chicago Reader), an Australian taste-maker uploaded the band’s 2018 album, Etazhi, onto YouTube, which caught the attention of hip Brooklyn record label Sacred Bones, who signed the band and reissued their early works.
Sacred Bones released Mochat Doma’s third album, Monument, in 2020 in the shadow of the pandemic. The band was forced to hold off on its first U.S. tour, but would eventually play major festival stages, including Coachella and Cruel World in 2022.
Over the years, their sound has evolved from shadowy, minimalist post-punk into the shiny, pulsing, black-lit EDM heard on their most recent release, 2024’s Belaya Polosa. Completed in their new home of Los Angeles, their label called it “a testament to change in difficult times, a love letter to the digital pulse of the ‘90s, and a technicolor reinvention of the band’s somber dancefloor anthems.”
The trio has been selling out venues throughout its current tour, which brings them to Steelhouse Omaha Monday, Feb. 24. They generously took the Lazy-i Ten Questions survey. Here’s what they had to say:
1. What is your favorite album?
Yahor: Moby – All Visible Objects
Pavel: Tool – Lateralus
Raman: Puma Blue – Holy Waters
2. What is your least favorite song?
“APT” by Bruno Mars and Rose
3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?
Touring. We all love touring. Every time we hit the road we feel ourselves alive.
4. What do you hate about being in a band?
Being homesick. We all have families and sometimes it’s really hard being too far from them.
5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?
We all love a lure. We are crazy about this bait.
6. In what city or town do you love to perform (and why)?
There are so many cities where we love to play. Always pleasure to play in our residence city, LA. NYC is so special too. Europe is definitely different, but Berlin, London, and Paris are so good to play.
7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?
That was several years ago in Minsk, Belarus. We were so drunk and played as shit. We still feel ashamed.
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?
Yes, it became possible when we started growing in popularity in 2020. We toured a lot and continue to tour to this day, plus streaming and merch helps us pay our bills.
9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?
Certainly none of us would like to go back to our previous jobs, which we did before music – working in construction. In fact, I don’t want to try any other professions, since we get great pleasure from what we are doing now. Well, maybe a civil aviation pilot.
10. What stories have you heard about Omaha, Nebraska?
We don’t know anything about this place, but we hope to have a very good experience and enjoy being there!
Molchat Doma plays with Sextile at Steelhouse Omaha Monday, Feb. 24. Tickets range from $27.50 to $65. For more information, go to steelhouseomaha.com
Yesterday, Saddle Creek Records released a previously unreleased song included on the upcoming deluxe reissue of The Faint’s Blank-Wave Arcade. “Brokers, Priests & Analysts” is a proggy howler that fits right in with the rest of the album and will be a blast to see performed live if you were smart enough to buy tickets to the April 3 Omaha show before it SOLD OUT.
The Faint also shared a remastered version of “Worked Up So Sexual” that jumps right out of your headphones.
The reissues of Blank-Wave Arcade and Wet From Birth drop March 14 via Saddle Creek. Preorder yours here.
What isn’t sold out is next Monday’s Molchat Doma show at Steelhouse Omaha. The tour has sold out large rooms in Minneapolis, Seattle and Los Angeles, but tickets are still available to the Omaha show. Don’t miss out…
Opening is the always fun Sextile, who today dropped the first single from Yes, Please, their new album which drops May 2 via Sacred Bones. It’s another of their classic dance floor ravers.
Well, I waited too long and didn’t get my ticket to The Faint show April 3 at The Waiting Room, and lo and behold, it’s now SOLD OUT according to the 1% Productions website.
It’s a reminder to get advanced tickets to shows you REALLY want to see (even though they cost more than walk-up tickets when you factor in the fees). I’ll be buying my ticket to the April 14 Bob Mould/Craig Finn show today.
Speaking of shows, here’s the latest calendar of upcoming touring indie shows headed our way. Let me know if I’m missing anything.
– Michigan Rattlers, Feb. 18 at The Slowdown
– The Get Up Kids, Feb. 21 at The Waiting Room
– Molchat Doma / Sextile, Feb. 24 at Steelhouse
– Buffchick, March 3 at Reverb
– Jason Anderson, March 9 at Pageturners
– Lesser Care, March 16 at Reverb
– The Velveteers, March 27 at The Slowdown
– The Faint, April 3 at The Waiting Room -SOLD OUT
– Marlon Funkai, April 3 at Reverb
– Jack White, April 5 at Steelhouse
– Lady Lamb, April 7 at Reverb
– Bob Mould Band, Craig Finn, April 14 at The Waiting Room
– MSSV, April 21 at Reverb
– Cryogeyser, April 25 at Reverb
– Vazum, April 25 at The Sydney
– Ty Segall solo April 26 at Scottish Rite
– Bright Eyes, April 27 at The Astro
– Bad Nerves, April 27 at The Waiting Room
– Nada Surf, April 30 at The Waiting Room
– Husbands, May 1 at Reverb
– Season to Risk, May 3 at The Sydney
– Future Islands, May 7 at The Admiral
– Julien Baker & Torres, May 12 at The Admiral
– Being Dead, May 13 at Reverb
– Black Country, New Road, May 14 at Slowdown
– Spellling, May 15 at The Waiting Room
– Friko, May 20 at Reverb
– Florist, May 24 at Reverb
– Southern Culture on the Skids, May 27 at Waiting Room
The hottest shows of the weekend are in Lincoln again this weekend, as the Lincoln Exposed Festival continues in five bars in the heart of downtown.
Here’s the rest of the festival schedule for tonight and Saturday. Bands to check out (because I’ve actually heard a few of their recordings and dug them) are in bold face. I’m unsure of the rest, tbo. Tickets are $15 per night and available from bourbontheatre.com. Even more info here.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 14
ZOO BAR – 21+ 5 – 5:40 – Floating Opera 6 – 6:40 – Comfy 7 – 7:40 – Dean The Bible 8 – 8:40 – Scott Severin & Stateleigh Holmes 9 – 9:40 – Love And Gumption 10 – 10:40 – No Drinking On Grounds 11 – 11:40 – Vempire 12 – 12:40 – The Said Mantics
DUFFY’S TAVERN – 21+ 6:40-7:20 – Corson Branch Buzzard Club 7:40-8:20 – Pure Brown 8:40-9:20 – Goosehens 9:40-10:20 – The Jericho Strays 10:40-11:20 – LaPerm 11:40-12:20 – Sweats 12:40 – 1:20 – The Ulcer Twins
BOURBON THEATRE – ALL AGES 6:20-7 – Witherpoint 7:20-8 – Whiskey Drinkers Union 8:20 – 9 – Drew Phillips Band 9:20-10 – Lee Bowes and the Jupiter Rings 10:20-11- Her Flyaway Manner 11:20-12 – Red Cities
BODEGA’S ALLEY – 21+
7-7:40- Gabe Nelson with Pants 8-8:40 – Vector 23 9-9:40 – Bolzen Beer Band 10-10:40 – Verse and the Vices 11-11:40 – Mustache’ 12-12:40 – Vibe Check
1867 BAR – 21+ 5:40 – 6:20 – Hansen Airship 6:40 – 7:20 – Sputnik Kaputnik 7:40-8:20 – Orion Walsh & The Ramblin’ Hearts 8:40-9:20 – Cuddlebone 9:40-10:20 – Gutbomb 10:40-11:20 – Black Ophanim 11:40-12:20 – Ezra 12:40-1:20 – Hold Your Breath
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15
ZOO BAR – 21+ 5-5:40 – Moore Brothers Band 6-6:40 – Powerful Science 7-7:40 – Happy John & the Arnold Palmers 8-8:40 – After Arizona 9-9:40 – Social Cinema 10-10:40 – Head Change 11-11:40 – Emily Bass and the Near Miracle 12-12:40 – ((Echo)) 1-1:40 – Estrogen Projection
DUFFY’S TAVERN – 21+ 6:40 – 7:20 – John Voyage 7:40-8:20 – Mono In Stereo 8:40 – 9:20 – All Knowing McGill 9:40-10:20 – Whip Sigils 10:40-11:20 – Ro Hempel Band 11:40 – 12:20 – Thirst Things First 12:40-1:20 – Fascinus Rex
BODEGA’S ALLEY – 21+
7-7:40 – Sitra Achra 8-8:40 – Crack Mountain 9-9:40 – Hangin’ Cowboys 10-10:40 – Dark Oceanz Live w/ RAWLZ 11-11:40 – Head Of Femur 12-12:40 – Turquoise 1-1:40 – Odinson B2B Poe B2B Jogga
1867 BAR – 21+ 5:40 – 6:20 – The Breakroom 6:40 – 7:20 – Carrier 7:40-8:20 – Leaves Brown 8:40-9:20 – The Hanyaks 9:40-10:20 – The Credentials 10:40-11:20 – Underbite
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Back here in Omaha, there’s nothing on the ol’ indie radar tonight.
Saturday night, former DIY punk guy now New Orleans-based indie troubadour Benjamin Booker headlines at Reverb Lounge. Booker, 35, has an eclectic musical past. Early in his career he was identified as “what comes next” by Paste magazine, having performed on Letterman, Conan and Jools Holland, according to Wiki.
He’s toured with Jack White and Courtney Barnett, and has released albums on a slew of indie labels including ATO, Rough Trade and Fire Next Time (Thirty Tigers), who released his latest album, LOWER, in January, after an 8-year hiatus. The record got a massive 8.0 rating by Pitchfork, who called it “a corroded beat-centric grunge that soundtracks stories of violence and perseverance.”
LOWER is a collection of woozy, bloozy indie rock songs with guitars that (at times) recall Lenny Kravitz buzzsaws, sung in a breathy, dreamy whisper. While there’s an undertow of R&B, Booker can fly into full-on rock, like on album standouts “New World” and “Same Kind of Lonely.”
Opener Kenny Segal is an LA-based DJ who Mixmag described as “one of the best hip-hop producers in the city.” He also produced Booker’s latest album. 8 p.m., $24.
Meanwhile, at The Astro in La Vista, St. Paul-based indie pop band Hippo Campus headlines. The band’s sound definitely falls on the soft-rock spectrum and has been compared to Porches and Pantogram whereas they most remind me of Semisonic, with a few tracks off their most recent album, Flood (2024, Psychic Hotline), coming dangerously close to country — all they need is a pedal steel.
Jazz-influenced indie artist Mei Semones, whose new album Animaru is slated for release on Bayonet Records, opens this show at 8 p.m. $36.50.
Finally, there’s another new artist showcase at fabulous O’Leaver’s Saturday night. Take a chance on something new and/or get just blasted. Either way, admission is free. Starts at 9 p.m. (probably).
That’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
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