by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

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. 

This Monday night is all about the EDM (as in electronic dance music) of Molchat Doma and Sextile at Steelhouse Omaha. I won’t rehash what I already said last week. Go back and check out the Lazy-i Ten Questions interview with Molchat Doma.

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. 

And here’s a review of the Oct. 19, 2023, Sextile show at The Waiting Room. Attendance was a wee bit light that evening, and as I wrote in the review, I could only imagine how the performance compared to, say, a sold-out Terminal 5 show in Brooklyn. For the record, Sextile played 12 songs at their Feb. 19 Toronto gig. Here’s the setlist. 

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.

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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.