Conor Oberst at Sokol Auditorium, June 4, 2014.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Last night’s performance at Sokol Auditorium was the most relaxed — and happy — version of Conor Oberst I’ve seen on stage.

In his early Bright Eyes days, Conor was a brooding mess, angrily spitting out lines as if he just had a fight with his girlfriend moments before walking out. On top of that, a steady draw of whatever it was he used to keep in the jug next to the drum riser — I assume it was wine — made him edgy and even more belligerent until by the end of the set he was stumbling around like a bitter zombie oblivious to the flock of girls (and shy guys) crying only a few feet in front of him.

The highlight of those early concerts was the inevitable explosion or weird moment — a smashed guitar, storming off stage, a regretful utterance left unexplained — that wrapped the evening with a satisfying bow, leaving the audience content that he “left it all out there.”

But as the years went on, Conor straightened up. The performances — whether as Bright Eyes or one of his other guises — became more professional and straight forward, but often no less brooding. Worse, there were times when he ignored the audience altogether. You got the hits, perfectly played, and maybe a three-song encore along with a “thanks.” It was well done, but boring except for the mid-set political rant used to introduce whatever political-ish song came next.

Rarely did Oberst look as if he was enjoying himself. Oh sure, there was the occasional smile and banter, but it was usually directed to his bandmates, with a nod that said, “We better get back to what we came here for.”

It was different last night. Oberst looked genuinely engaged with his audience. Maybe it was the fact that his backing band was Dawes rather than the usual group of best friends he collects for his tours. Instead of the distraction of amusing his pals, Oberst let the band do its thing while he focused on the crowd… often with a smile. The result was a satisfying night of music, rife with new material and a few Bright Eyes and Mystic Valley staples.

My favorite moment was an inspired version of “I Got the Reason,” a song I didn’t even remember being on the last Mystic Valley album (Outer South). What a gorgeous song that I overlooked, along with the rest of that album. Fueling the energy was Dawes, a masterful four-piece that gave every song heft and soul. The band sounded so much like early Jackson Browne you would have sworn that was David Lindley playing those guitar solos and Craig Doerge tapping out the glowing keyboard fills. The band (along with the setlist) struck a perfect balance between personal ballads and rock anthems.

While there’s little doubt that the collection of talent Oberst draws from locally is top-notch, there might be an advantage to playing with acquaintances rather than soul mates, though you can’t blame him for taking along the folks he grew up with, especially when they’re such a talented crew.

The setlist is online right here. Favorites from the Bright Eyes catalog included “Bowl of Oranges” and “Poison Oak,” one of his more personal early works. Missing among the standards were TV commercial fodder “First Day of My Life” and fan favorite “Lua,” a song that, while one of his all-time best, is beginning to sound adolescent next to his current oeuvre.

Now a happily married man enjoying the next chapter of his career, you have to wonder if Oberst has outgrown songs about late night parties at actor’s west-side lofts. He’s quick to say his songs aren’t autobiographical, but though the characters he sings about may not be him, the sentiment certainly is.

The brooding, angry young man who embodied both his songs — and his stage presence — is fading away, leaving behind a singer/songwriter much more satisfied with his music and his life.

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Conor Oberst fronting Bright Eyes at Westfair Amphitheater, June 4, 2011. Three years to the day, he plays solo backed by Dawes tonight at Sokol Auditorium.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Last week Conor Oberst sold another 4,356 copies of his new solo album, Upside Down Mountain

, enough to land him at No. 58 on the sales charts. He’s managed to do this without selling any vinyl, because vinyl copies of his record still are not available.

Seems outrageous on the surface. Isn’t having timely vinyl production part of the reason to head to a major label like Nonesuch? Mike Fratt, general manager at Homer’s Records, says Conor’s lack of vinyl is a hangover from Record Store Day, and he’s not alone.

The hangover “also affected the Zeppelin reissues that came out yesterday with only 28 percent of the orders being filled,” Fratt said. “We (Homer’s) got lucky and got all our order except for one version of Zep III, which we should have later this week.”

Fratt said Oberst’s record also should arrive later this week, which could keep him on the charts for a couple more weeks.

BTW, find out other reasons why Conor went to Nonesuch right here.

* * *

Tonight Conor Oberst and his backing band, Dawes, take the stage at Sokol Auditorium. As of this writing, $30 tickets were still available for what is bound to be a memorable show. If the set list follows what he played at First Ave. in Minneapolis a couple nights ago, expect plenty of Bright Eyes tunes (though no “Lua”) as well as some Mystic Valley songs. Show starts at 8 p.m.

* * *

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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

First Aid Kit at The Waiting Room, June 2, 2014.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

We thought we’d beat the crowds and get a table for last night’s sold out First Aid Kit show at The Waiting Room, but by the time we got there at around 7:15 all the tables and seating were occupied, mainly by old people (and when I say old, I mean older than me). The crowd ran the spectrum in age, from the X-crossed hands of the under-21s to the elderly. I saw women who must have been pushing 70 in the crowd. But mostly it was women in general. First Aid Kit attracts a large female audience, which I guess isn’t surprising.

The duo has graduated to major-label success with the pending release of Stay Gold, which comes out on Columbia next Tuesday. Powering their popularity is their blend of folk and country, and their tightly intertwined harmonies that recall the better days of a Nashville long gone.

If you think about it, women have taken over pop music. The best and brightest stars — whether in indie or commercial radio — are all women, whether it’s Warpaint and Courtney Barnett, or Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. The biggest arena concert news these days isn’t the return of Pearl Jam, it’s last weekend’s Cher concert or the just-announced Lorde show at Stir Concert Cove.

Anyway, last night’s show kicked off with a solo electric performance by singer/songwriter Willy Mason, who played a tight 40-minute set as people filed into the club. Mason’s brassy voice has deepened dramatically since he emerged a decade ago. As proof, he played the standout track “Oxygen,” from his Team Love debut, the Ritalin-referenced lyrics betraying his lost youth. Last time Mason came through was as a solo artist, too. I’d like to see him with a band.

First Aid Kit took the stage at the stroke of 9. The Swedish duo were backed by a drummer and a guy on lap-steel and other instruments, while the sisters provided the guitar, keyboards and heavenly voices. The crowd stood motionless as they played through a set list that drew from their two previous albums and the upcoming LP.

While I like their last record, The Lion’s Roar, there’s only a few songs that really stand out for me. Among them, “King of the World,” which they played early in their set. And their other “hit,” the country music tribute “Emmylou,” which they saved for the last song of the evening, during their encore. In between the set ebbed and flowed. Whenever it got too boring they spiced it up, at one point walking to the edge of the stage to sing a tune microphone-less, somehow managing to bring the ambient noise in The Waiting Room down to a whisper.

The duo’s new music falls in line with what they’ve released in the past. The standout among the new stuff is the title track, “Stay Gold.” The rest may need time to grow on me. All said and done, the show was over by 10:30, a reasonable time for a Monday evening, and the elderly.

* * *

I have no doubt that tonight’s show, Guided By Voices at The Waiting Room, will go well past 10:30 and into the wee hours of the morning. As of this writing, tickets were still available. If you’ve never seen GBV, you will be well-rewarded in making the $30 per ticket investment. Pollard and Co. leave it all out there on stage. When they played The Black Cat in DC on May 24 they played 48 songs including three encores (see setlist). Good thing this show starts at 8 p.m. with opener Bobby Bare Jr.

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

First Aid Kit is playing tonight at The Waiting Room.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Who is Catherine Herrick and why should you care if she’s leaving Beggars Group?

Music writers depend on publicists to help line up interviews with artists, get pre-release albums and get “on the list” for shows when the talent they represent comes through town. In most cases, our access is only as good as the publicists we work with. If the publicist is a boob (and there are plenty of them) interviews drop through the cracks, records aren’t received and — worst of all — we get left off lists (and there’s nothing more demoralizing than asking if you’re on the list only to be told “Nope, nothing here.”).

None of those things happened whenever Catherine Herrick was involved. Herrick has worked the past 10 years as a publicist for The Beggars Group (which includes Matador, XL, Rough Trade and 4AD, among others). She is one of the best publicists I’ve worked with over the course of my 20-some years as a music journalist. And in many ways, she carries a share of responsibility for those labels’ success.

Catherine was iron clad, a go-to person that writers could count on for keeping us in the loop and following through on everything we needed help with. You could count on her — and that’s the best thing you can say about any publicist.

Needless to say, I was bummed when Catherine announced last week that she’s leaving Beggars Group. The good news is that she’s headed out on the road with her band, The Everymen (Earnest Jennings Records), and will be playing at fabulous O’Leaver’s July 6. That gives me a chance to thank her in person for all the help she’s given me over the years, and to wish her well-deserved good luck…

* * *

As we prepare for Wednesday’s Conor Oberst concert at Sokol Auditorium (as of this writing, tickets are still available), Kevin Coffey at The Omaha World-Herald weighs in with his own Conor interview, which you can read here.

And if you haven’t already, you can also read my Q&A with Conor right here at TheReader.com.

* * *

Tonight at The Waiting Room, it’s the long-awaited Omaha debut of First Aid Kit. The band is no stranger to Omaha, having recorded their last two albums (including the upcoming Stay Gold, out next Tuesday on Columbia) at ARC.

Opening for First Aid Kit is the second person ever to sign to Team Love Records — Willy Mason (Who, btw, was the subject of the very first installment of my Lazy-i print column in The Reader 10 years ago — check it).

I’m happy I got my tickets early for this one, as it’s SOLD OUT. Show starts at 8 p.m.

* * *

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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

See Through Dresses at The Waiting Room, Nov. 30, 2013. The band kicks off its summer tour tonight at O’Leaver’s.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Billboard is reporting that first week sales of Conor Oberst’s Upside Down Mountain came in at roughly 11,000 units, enough to put him on top of the Folk charts.

“Conor Oberst starts at No. 6 on Top Rock Albums and scores his first No. 1 on Folk Albums with “Upside Down Mountain” (11,000),” says the Billboard article. “It’s Oberst’s first title credited to his name alone (as opposed to his moniker Bright Eyes, or Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band) since his eponymous album in 2008, which debuted and peaked at No. 3 on Top Rock Albums. “Mountain” is Oberst’s first major-label set, released on Nonesuch/Warner Bros. He crowned Top Rock Albums in 2007 with Bright Eyes’ “Cassadaga,” which also earned him his highest rank on the Billboard 200 (No. 4).“

According to SoundScan data, the Upside Down Mountain came in at No. 19 in overall sales with 10,674 units sold last week. FYI, Coldplay’s Ghost Stories was No. 1 selling 382,665 units. Mike Fratt, general manager at Homer’s Records, said Oberst would have finished higher on the sales charts had his vinyl been available — apparently it wasn’t and isn’t.

“There was a production issue, so vinyl is still not at retail,” Fratt said. “Just checked WEA b2b and (the record is) still not in stock. So, that hurt sales. Maybe as much as 4,000 to 5,000 units.” That would have been enough to push the record to No. 15.

Fratt’s estimate of vinyl sales seemed way high to me — 5,000 units would have represented about a third of the record’s total sales had it been available. But Fratt says his estimate is right on.

“Vinyl for an artist like Conor could be as high as 40 percent of first week sales,” he said.  “There have been a a handful of indie releases in the last year where the vinyl share has exceeded the CD or digital component. These have been releases that have sold less than 10k total for the first week. Vinyl now represents approx 30 percent of an indie store’s sales now.”

Fratt added that in Omaha alone, Upside Down Mountain sold 140 units, according to Soundscan.

* * *

Onto the weekend. Two good local shows tonight.

At fabulous O’Leaver’s, See Through Dresses kicks off its 2014 Summer Tour in support of the self-titled debut LP released last fall. Opening is personal faves Gordon along with Worn Out, which I think is the band formerly known as Adtrita fronted by the man known as Steve Micek formerly of the band The Stay Awake (I’m making a massive assumption about Worn Out based solely on the fact that the link on the show’s Facebook invite for Worn Out goes to the Adtrita bandcamp page)(And you know what happens when you assume?) $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight, Simon Joyner opens for Portland’s Marisa Anderson (Mississippi Records). Also on the bill is Mike Schlesinger. $8, 9 p.m.

Unless I’m misreading the data, that’s it for this weekend. Let me know if I’m missing something. And a Denny Lewis used to say, ‘Good living to ya.’

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

A screen capture from Conor Oberst’s new video for “Zigzagging Toward the Light.”

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Some background on the cover story / interview with Conor Oberst in this week’s issue of The Reader…

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to ask Oberst any questions. The last interview was way back in 2007 in support of Cassadaga

. Oberst — or more accurately, his presss agent, Press Here — has turned down requests for interviews by small press such as The Reader ever since.

I hadn’t even bothered to ask when it came time to do media for the release of Upside Down Mountain, figuring the request would simply be rejected again. Then Marc Leibowitz of One Percent Productions emailed saying Oberst was indeed doing interviews for this release and in support of his June 4 show at Sokol Auditorium. I emailed Press Here and was told that Conor would do the interview, but because he was so busy, he could only do it via e-mail.

E-mail interviews are difficult — you never know how the artist will reply. The answers could literally be one or two words, as were the replies from Bill Callahan from Smog when I conducted an e-mail interview with him years ago. Plus, e-mail doesn’t provide an avenue for follow-up questions. You get what you get. It was a shame because whether face-to-face or over the phone, Oberst is among the best at doing one-on-one interviews.

A couple days went by and the questions were due. So I tapped out what was on my mind, figuring because of the personal nature of the questions, he may not respond.

Among those personal questions: Way back in 2010, I received a tip from a very reliable source that Oberst had run off and got married in New York City the prior weekend. Knowing the source, I knew it was true, but didn’t want to get him in trouble. Instead, I rattled off a letter to Saddle Creek Records, recapping what I’d been told. The reply: “Conor has a new album coming out ….” it was the classic non-denial denial. I guess I could have figured out a way to look up his marriage license in NYC, but I didn’t have the resources or, frankly, the interest. Without confirmation, reporting that Oberst got married would be no more than gossip. Why was it a secret?

This was just a few months after the Concert for Equality in Benson. Oberst had emerged as a celebrity leader and voice against U.S. anti-immigrant laws in the summer of 2010. Conor was doing interviews in support of the concert, but questions would be limited to politics, so I decided to pass even though there was one burning question I was dying to ask: What was really driving the protest? Was there a personal relationship behind his political passion? In the end, no one ever bothered to ask.

I got some of my questions answered in this Reader interview. In fact, Conor answered every questions I sent him. Read the full Q&A transcript in this week’s issue of The Reader, or online right here.

* * *

Speaking of Conor, here’s his new video for “Zigzagging Toward the Light.” It’s pretty trippy.

* * *

Today is Give to Lincoln Day, the sister effort to last week’s Omaha Gives! day. That means if you live in Lincoln (or even if you don’t) it’s time to donate $10 to Hear Nebraska through the Give to Lincoln website. By giving through the site, a portion of your donation will be eligible for a match via the Lincoln Community Foundation.

I outlined the reasons last week why every musician, venue, promoter and local music fan should support Hear Nebraska (right here) so I won’t tell you again (though you can always go back and reread it). Come on. Give. It’s only $10.

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Conor Oberst on CBS This Morning last weekend.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The Omaha show calendar is a series of peaks and valleys. One week you’ll have a great show almost every night; the next week, no national touring shows at all. We’re sitting firmly in one of those valleys right now. Coming off a weekend of no national shows, we enter a week of very little going on indie-wise, and that ain’t such a bad thing when you consider what’s happening next week.

But back to this week:

Rhymesayers artist Grieves performs tonight at The Waiting Room with a couple more rappers. $14, 9 p.m.

Wednesday night Sean Lennon’s psych rock band he fronts with his girlfriend, model Charlotte Kemp Muhl, headlines at The Waiting Room with opener Syd Arthur. $15, 9 p.m. There’s some buzz behind this one.

And that’s it for the week. See Through Dresses kicks off its 2014 summer tour Friday night at O’Leaver’s with the always unpredictable Gordon. And Simon Joyner plays Friday night at Slowdown Jr.

Like I said, peaks and valleys. Next week begins with First Aid Kit, followed Tuesday by Guided by Voices and then Conor Oberst Wednesday. That’s quite a triple-header..

* * *

Speaking of Conor Oberst, the old boy performed on CBS This Morning Saturday. Check out the video below. And look for my interview with Mr. Oberst in this Thursday’s issue of The Reader. It’s been a looong time since I got to ask him any questions…

* * *

One last thing: I checked out the new, improved Beercade in Benson over the weekend. The new bar, located right next door to the old bar, is massive (I was disappointed to find out that they’re not going to call it “Super Beercade”). We’re talking two floors with two bars filled with pinball and video games

Pinball is red hot right now, and the fact that I couldn’t get on one of the eight or so tables at Beercade is testament to that. In fact, the only game I could get my hands on was Tapper. Sadly, the new location — like the old location — is woefully light on Williams video games. No Defender, no Robotron, no Stargate. I don’t know what they did with their Joust machine, but I couldn’t find it. Luckily I have a Williams multi-game stand-up in my basement, but still, it would be fun to be able to play those classics in public, along with Spyhunter, Elevator Action and Tron, all of which were unfortunately also absent from Beercade.

Is my love for Williams arcade games a generational thing? Probably. On the other hand, Beercade had loads of karate and battle games, which I never played back in my college days.

Anyway, the place is amazing and huge. It even has booth seating upstairs so you can cool your heels while you wait for the next pinball machine to open. And if it’s Friday or Saturday night, you could be waiting a long time.

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s a holiday weekend, and from a music standpoint, it’s all local.

It starts tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s where frontier rockers Travelling Mercies headlines a show with Omaha newbies Uh Oh. $5, 9:30 p.m.

And that’s it for Friday. Seriously.

Saturday night, The Electroliners bring both country & western to the Barley Street Tavern. Joining them are Southpaw Bluegrass Band and Township & Range. $5, 9 p.m. Bring your cowboy hat.

And that’s it for Saturday. Seriously.

Sunday has the only show that could be considered a “national touring band” with Jake Bellows at Slowdown Jr. Jake used to live here, though, so we still consider him “local.” Joining him is fellow Saddle Creek Records band Son Ambulance and local upstarts The Derby Birds (which I wrote about here

). $8, 9 p.m. We have Monday off so why not?

And that’s it for Sunday and the weekend. If I missed anything, put it in the comments area. Have a happy Memorial Day.

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The preliminary numbers from yesterday’s Omaha Gives effort are in, and according to the website, 508 unique donors gave Hear Nebraska $13,333.60. That’s an impressive amount, especially that 508, which validates the organization’s reach and value among its fans.

Hear Nebraska had the most donors of any charity in the “small organizations” category, which means it will receive an additional $10,000 bonus from the Omaha Community Foundation. Thanks to all who gave.

Other notable returns: Omaha Girls Rock pulled in $3,874 from 177 donors; Maha Music Festival raised $26,779 from 272 donors, and Omaha by Design drew $6,601 from 82 donors.

* * *

I got home five minutes too late from Morrissey Monday night to catch Conor Oberst on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Conor was backed by Dawes for a performance of “Zigzagging Toward the Light,” from his new album, Upside Down Mountain (Nonesuch, 2014). In case you’re wondering, that ball cap he’s wearing says Byron Bay Ballooning, an Australian company.

Remember when it was a big deal when Conor got a slot on late-night chat shows? He’s done it so often that now it seems commonplace. I’m still waiting for that Saturday Night Live performance.

* * *

Speaking of the now infamous Morrissey concert in Lincoln, here’s one last twist of the knife gleaned from the Morrissey Solo web board. Apparently Moz played “One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell” — which he’s been saving for encores on this tour and would have been the encore in Omaha — as the first song in Lawrence the following night. The webboard has other interesting details and comments about the Lincoln show, along with a lot of whining. Check it.

By the way, today is Moz’s birthday. Be Nebraska Nice and wish him a happy 55th…

* * *

Speaking of Nebraska Nice, in this week’s column, reflections on the state’s new marketing catch phrase and a suggestion for something different. You can read it in this week’s issue of The Reader or online right here.

* * *

Tonight at The Waiting Room afro-funk ensemble Orgone returns. Dopapod opens. $10, 9 p.m.

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

OmahaGives24.org

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

In case you haven’t noticed, Omaha has its begging hat firmly extended today in the form of Omaha Gives. It’s impossible to open Facebook or Twitter without being inundated with pitches from every Omaha-based 501c3.

Here’s another one. Giving to Hear Nebraska is a no-brainer for any band, fan, music venue or promoter. Why? Because Hear Nebraska’s sole mission is to promote Nebraska bands and music. That’s it. Bands, Hear Nebraska is your promotional arm. It works for you. Giving money to Hear Nebraska is an investment in your music and your scene.

All’s they’re asking for is $10 (but you can obviously give more). If you’re in a band or a music fan or run a business that supports music, it’s the best money you’ll ever spend.

BTW, I say this as a long-standing unpaid Hear Nebraska Board Member. As an “insider,” I can tell you they have some pretty cool things coming up, not the least of which is a new website design and a new internet-based radio station called Hear Nebraska Radio, which will be a conduit for getting Nebraska bands’ music heard. Ultimately, the idea is for Hear Nebraska to evolve into a hub where everyone involved in music can share information. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Andy Norman is Hear Nebraska’s full-time Executive Director, and right now is probably carrying a sign on Dodge Street that says “I’ll work for donations.” He became full-time in May, which represents a huge commitment to both Hear Nebraska and Nebraska music in general.

Anyway click here to make a donation to Hear Nebraska during Omaha Gives. And while you’re at the Omaha Gives website, drop a tenner in the hat for Omaha Girls Rock, which is brazenly creating the next generation of rock stars, and Maha Music Festival, whose quality of performers booked for its annual festival hinges on corporate donations and efforts like this. You didn’t think ticket sales covered everything, did you? Hey, if you really want Wilco to eventually play Maha, here’s your chance to help make it happen.

* * *

Speaking of Omaha Gives, the above-mentioned organizations are showing their appreciation for your donation by hosting a kick-ass concert tonight at The Slowdown. Doors open at 6 p.m. with happy hour specials until 7. The line-up:

7:30 p.m.: Edem Kegey
8:05: Amanda DeBoer Bartlett
8:30 pm: Op2mus
9:30 pm: Laura Burhenn of The Mynabirds
10:30 pm: Twinsmith

$1 from every Boulevard purchase will go toward supporting the hosting organizations thanks to Boulevard Brewing Company and Slowdown. Get loaded and help Omaha’s music scene at the same time!

* * *

One last Omaha Gives pitch: If you’re a mid-century modern fan and happen to be driving past 62nd and Dodge today (right by UNO) check out the very well-designed bus kiosk. It was put together by the fine folks at Hutch in Midtown Crossing in support of Omaha By Design, which is also asking for donations during Omaha Gives.

Omaha by Design is a non-profit that’s all about urban design. Its mission is to make our community more livable and environmentally smart. They’re the folks who helped put together the Green Streets Master Plan, The Suburban Parks Master Plan, The Cole Creek Project, Public Art Omaha, The Maple Street Corridor, The Vinton Street Project, The Benson-Ames Alliance and so on.

If you care about urban design and keeping Omaha on the cutting edge of it, give to Omaha by Design right here. It’s money well spent.

* * *

A post script to yesterday’s Morrissey concert review: I got an interesting report from someone who went to the Morrissey show in Lawrence the night after the infamous Rococo gig. This person said Morrissey came out, thanked the Lawrence crowd and then “begged us never to send him to Lincoln, Nebraska, again.” Ironically, Morrissey also tried to tell a story but the Lawrence audience kept interrupting and he never got through it. Annoyed, he said, “I’ll never understand people.” At least they got an encore.

* * *

One more show going on worth mentioning: Tonight at The Waiting Room is John Klemmensen’s Song Writer Death Battle IV. The plan: 40+ songwriters each play one song passing along the same guitar. No idea who’s participating, but it’s likely to be a large collection of Benson’s usual suspects. $7, 9 p.m.

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.