by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Shortly after the conclusion of the scorching opening set by Heavy Clippings Friday night at Reverb Lounge, a concerned-looking man in his 30s walked up as I perused the merch table and asked who just played. 

“They’re Heavy Clippings. They’re from here,” I said. The guy nodded and asked if they had an album and if he could buy it. I’m not sure why he was asking me, but I said the band indeed had a new album, but they don’t have physical copies that I was aware of. “It’s on Bandcamp, and probably on Spotify,” I added.

He nodded again, then walked away. I noticed other folks examining the unmanned merch table, likely also looking for a copy of a record that didn’t exist. 

This prompted a discussion with another band on the bill, wherein I asked when they were going to put out their next record. The band member simply asked, “What’s the point?”

It’s a good question, especially if you’re at a certain level of the indie music food chain or a local band with few or no aspirations of “making it big” and/or “getting to the next level” and/or making any real cash playing music. 

For them, the live performance is the heart of their artistic passion; and while it would be great to record physical formats — vinyl, CD or (ugh) cassette — doing so is almost always a big money-loser at a time when money is becoming harder to come by. For the most part, vinyl albums are for collectors; most people listen to recorded music via streaming or downloads. 

This is the point in the review where I should be writing “despite that, I would have bought a copy of Heavy Clippings’ new album, Dog & Bird in Grass.” But that would be a lie. I wouldn’t buy a copy, not because the album isn’t awesome (it is, along with their performance Friday night), but because I don’t have the money or space to keep buying vinyl. 

However, bands still need to keep recording and releasing recorded material, even if it’s only digitally. As I told Mr. “What’s the Point?” — how else will anyone hear your music other than going to your infrequent shows? We gotta have new music, and bands need to document their creations. And while we all know Spotify and Apple Music are hardly revenue distributors, we can still support bands by buying digital downloads from Bandcamp, which everyone who doesn’t buy physical media should do. 

So… back to the show. I only caught the last 20 minutes of Heavy Clippings’ set, but I’ve seen them at least three times in the past, and Friday night’s performance was right up there. The band consists of two former members of the band Yuppies — Noah Sterba and Jeff Sedrel — along with Vince Franco and Tanner Rogerson. Their new album was produced and recorded by Jim Schroeder of Mesa Buoy and David Nance and Mowed Sound.  They sounded “heavier” than their usual hypnotic post-punk – which is sort of Midwestern version of Lewsberg or The Feelies with Sterba providing plenty of folkie drawl — good stuff.

Minne Lussa, who followed Heavy Clippings, is easily the best dream pop / shoe-gaze band from ‘round these parts. Dense and dreamy, they remind me of early Galaxie 500 or Luna, with warm, glowing instrumentals that add an Album Leaf flair. The guitar interplay between frontman Matt Rutledge and guitarist/vocalist Eric Bemberger (ex-Beep Beep) is masterful and otherworldly, but Friday night the band introduced new member, Zoie, who added yet another shimmering layer of guitar as well as vocals on a new song she wrote. The band appropriately ended with a gorgeous cover of “Alison” by Slowdive that left the crowd wanting more. If you haven’t seen Minne Lussa in a while, it’s time to get reacquainted. 

Closing out the evening was Matt Focht and his band Head of Femur, a project that has been around for well over 20 years. They started as a four-piece and have since expanded to as many as eight players, though Friday night there were only six on stage. 

Combining guitars, keyboard and other assorted instruments including violin and bongos, their unique sound touches on a variety of styles, from ‘70s prog acts like King Crimson and Moody Blues to post-punk bands like early Talking Heads to modern-day progressive indie acts like The Dear Hunter or Panda Bear. 

Focht’s energy ignites the band into an exuberant celebration that naturally invites the audience to come along for the ride, and most of the around 50 on hand certainly did. Halfway through the set, Focht and company threw out a tasty, unexpected cover of the Bee Gee’ “Nights on Broadway” that fit right in with everything else they were doing, and added to what was another very fun evening at Reverb Lounge.

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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.