They Might Be Giants at The Slowdown, June 5, 2013.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Here’s a surprise coming from a veteran band with a handful of gold (and platinum) albums throughout their legendary career: The best song of the night came from their new album.

Sure, you got usual run of faves: “Istanbul,” “Birdhouse in Your Soul” (How many thousands of times have they had to sing that song throughout their lives? I wonder if they would have written it had they known beforehand), “The Guitar,” etc., but the real connection came from a revved-up version of “You’re On Fire,” the first song of the encore (and the first song on Nanobots, their new release) and first time I felt any real energy coming off the stage.

The duo have grown old before our own aging eyes. Instead of the dapper, pipe-smoking Mad Man extra we remember from their early videos, Flansburgh now looks like a shaggy Kevin Smith bouncing around all roly-poly with his guitar; while ol’ slouched Linnell is finally beginning to resemble the 53-year-old guy that he is, shuffling between his keyboard and accordion, rarely smiling or looking up, tired. Maybe he was saving his energy for his voice, which has a darker timbre than on the early recordings but still carries that same unique, woody quality (Flansburgh’s nasal croon hasn’t changed a bit).

I’ve always (wrongfully) written these guys off as novelty nerd music, chock full o’ odd syncopated rhythms, tight-riff guitars, countless lurching breaks and odd lyrics that sound like they were written by a couple Mathletes killing time during detention (for doing something wise-ass like correcting their history teacher in front of the rest of the class). But perhaps the two Johns had a plan all along, and knew they’d be able to sing these unconventional, wonky tunes ‘til very late in their lives without sounding like a couple pervs (see Rolling Stones recent viral vid of “As Tears Go By” featuring Taylor Swift).

There was genuine charm as they ran rapid-fire through their set of short, sharp pop songs like a couple hip teachers singing a hyper-active version of Schoolhouse Rock to an audience of their nerdy disciples (I’ve never seen more people wearing eyeglasses in one room). Even when they switched to hand puppets during the mid-set break you couldn’t help but smile.

The fact that they’re creating some of their best material at this point in their career (Nanobots is their best album since Flood, which is their best album) is a testament to their creative spark. “You’re On Fire,” could be a conventional hit if there was a way to get it heard now that radio has all but died. Despite a few kooky moments, this album is closer to a straight-forward rock album, and Linnell’s keyboards (especially live) remind me of early Steve Nieve (Elvis Costello). And while EC’s songwriting trajectory over the past decade has been spotty (and boring), TMBG’s songs never fail to bounce with characteristic spark and whimsy.

That said, maybe it had something to do with my view of the stage (the usual stage left wing) but Linnell tottered around like he was fulfilling an obligation. Flansburgh, however, still looked and sounded like someone having fun, at least as much fun as the folks in the near capacity crowd, come to see some old friends.

* * *

Speaking of reviews, this week’s column is a the second-quarter CD reviews roundup, featuring a few reviews regular Lazy-i readers have already seen along reviews of new Low, Daft Punk, Art Brut, BIg Star, Statistics, John Klemmensen and the Party, etc. You can read it in this week’s issue of The Reader, or online right here.

* * *

That sexy, sassy guitar-playing troubadour Jake Bellows, formerly of the late, great Neva Dinova, announced yesterday that his debut solo album New Ocean will be released on Saddle Creek Aug. 6.

According to the press release, the album was recorded at ARC Studios with engineer Ben Brodin (Before the Toast and Tea, Conor Oberst),  Ryan Fox (The Good Life), Todd Fink (The Faint), and Heath Koontz (Neva Dinova). New Ocean is available for pre-order on CD & LP via Saddle Creek and limited edition cassette through Majestic Litter (yes, cassette!).

The back story:

“After fronting Neva Dinova for more than 15 years which included five full-lengths, a split EP, and countless tours, he packed up his dog and moved from his native Omaha to his girlfriend’s hometown of Los Angeles. Two days before he left he recorded 18 demos with musician and engineer Ben Brodin at Brodin’s insistence. Once in L.A., Bellows got a job installing sliding-glass doors and sold his Les Paul to buy a Datsun pick-up truck.

“Though he had no plans to form a new band, he played the occasional solo show, performed with Whispertown, and continued to write songs. In early 2011, an invitation arrived from Omaha’s Film Streams Theater for Jake’s old friend Ryan Fox also living on the West Coast, to perform an original live film score. Fox enlisted Bellows and Brodin to collaborate and the trio began to compose and discuss improvisational ideas over long-distance. Since they were all going to be in Omaha and had a long history of playing in each other’s bands, Brodin and Fox nudged Bellows into booking studio time to record some of his dormant songs.

“Fox and Bellows drove from LA to Omaha that November in a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle that didn’t have heat, a speedometer, a fuel gauge, seatbelts, or radio. They made it as far as Lincoln, NE, before the car caught fire at 4 in the morning. Later that week the trio performed the score to The Adventures of Prince Achmed. That weekend, they entered ARC Studios for a feverish recording session, arranging and writing parts on the fly with an impromptu band including Heath Koontz, Todd Fink, Whispertown bandmate Morgan Nagler and other old friends. Committing quickly to intuitive arrangements the band recorded 17 tracks in a little more than a week. They worked remotely on the record throughout that winter and spring, adding overdubs in basements and bedrooms across western North America.

“The group reunited in Omaha to debut the new songs at a couple of shows one week the following June. Excited to release the new material on their own terms the band put out a preview EP on cassette, Help, at the end of 2012. The new music is underpinned by philosophical conviction and shaped by an interest in physics, cosmology and mythology. Bellows returned to music with a renewed sense of the intrinsic value of art and its ability to express the commonality of human experience. His debut full-length, New Ocean, offers a mix tape of different kinds of songs hanging out on one record – love songs that are not necessarily ballads despite their introspective gauziness, with left turns into drunk-in-the-sun bossa nova and blue-eyed-soul ruptured by fuzz guitar. Bellows believes that songs change the fabric of the universe through the very frequencies they emit. As such, the record attempts to create the world he wants to see instead of reflect the world that is. ‘Our theory of the beginning of the universe is the big bang – a sound,’ Bellows said. ‘What gave birth to the universe is our one tool that we can change the universe with.'”

I’ve got a feeling he’ll be headed back to good ol’ Omaha on the upcoming tour. Call it a victory lap.

* * *

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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

You going to Friday night’s 1200 Club show at The Holland Performing Arts Center? Well, you should.

It’s a joint production by Omaha Performing Arts, NET Television and Hear Nebraska (an auspicious organization to which I’m a board member). The show’s called Hear Nebraska LIVE and features three bands we’re all very familiar with: Digital Leather, Big Harp and Kill County. NET is recording the entire show, creating TV shows from the material which will be sort of inspired by Austin City Limits. The shows will be broadcast within Nebraska, and could possibly have national distribution through PBS. Imagine that?

Anyway, you can be a part of this historical program and broadcast (as an audience member) for a mere $25.

Or — better yet — enter promo code HEARNE13 when buying here from Ticket Omaha and get $2 off (that’s $23 for you math-impared). What a friggin’ steal!

I’ve never been to 1200 Club. I don’t even know where it is in conjunction with the rest of The Holland, but I’m sure there will be signs pointing the way. I’m trying to imagine what Digital Leather has up its sleeve. I know they’re planning something special. BTW, it’s an early show (7:30 p.m. start).

* * *

Two noteworthy shows are happening tonight, both with early start times.

At The Slowdown, it’s the return of They Might Be Giants. Seems like they were just here a year ago. The band just got back from “down under” touring in support of their new studio album, Nanobots (Idlewild Records). Brooklyn horn ensemble Moon Hooch opens. $23, 8 p.m.

Also tonight, Peter Case (The Plimsouls (“A Million Miles Away”), The Nerves) performs “an evening with…” at The Waiting Room as part of the Sunday Roadhouse series. $20, 7:30 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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Baths at The Waiting Room, June 2, 2013.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It was a three-day weekend for me, thanks to my birthday (and thanks again to all you Facebook peeps who sent good wishes). Monday off meant I was free to attend Sunday night’s shows at the good ol’ Waiting Room

We grew up thinking of a future where musicians will be able to create any sound using their computers. We landed there Sunday night — three bands whose sound was mostly driven by computers and synths, which meant lots of people on stage bouncing around, looking down at their gear and furiously twisting knobs and stabbing buttons.

Opener D33j created electronic soundscapes behind his work panels. He looked like a DJ, but I didn’t see any turntables or hear any specific samples. Instead, he created his own sounds / beats / melodies adding vocals mostly as just another layer of sound. Very trance-y.

He was followed by Houses, a more “traditional” band in that they actually had a lead guitar player who can shred with the best of them. I described Houses’ record last week as sounding like a more upbeat version of The National (thanks in part to Dexter Tortoriello’s vocals). But that comparison was lost Sunday night as Houses brought a much denser dreamscape sound augmented (in a New Order sort of way) by that amazing guitar. Despite modern beats and sounds, Houses owes a lot to late-era Cure (Disintegration, for example).

Headliner Baths gets grouped with the chillwave outfits, where it doesn’t really fit. Will Wiesenfield is the mad genius creating all the sounds from two panel racks, with the help of one other guy who “played” alongside at his own rack of electronic gear, occassionaly threatening to play guitar (but he if he did, I didn’t hear it in the din). Wisenfield’s “music” is an intricate proggy blend that reminded me of early, trippy Peter Gabriel mixed with the chaos of other electronic outfits like Grimes. When he isn’t shrieking in falsetto, Wisenfield’s voice bears an eerie resemblance to Adam Goren (Who remembers Atom and His Package?).

I wasn’t a follower of Baths (as most people who I spoke to at the show beforehand were) and found Wisenfield’s sounds take some… adjustment. In addition to having the deepest, loudest low-end I’ve heard at The Waiting Room since the last Faint show, Wisenfeild’s melodies were abrasive and tricky but worked their way into my psyche. What starts as awkward and ugly becomes big and beautiful by the end.

It was surprising how entertaining a guy standing (or sitting) behind a laptop, keyboard and pedal rack could be. I could ask you if this is the future of rock and roll, but it’s already here. And while artists like Baths and Houses and D33j can recreate almost any sound you can imagine, they can’t equal the energy of a traditional rock band, nor would they want to try. There’s an intentional soullessness to it all, a weird hollow trancelike quality, which I’m guessing is so appealing to their biggest fans.

And then there was Friday night.

Last Good Tooth at O’Leaver’s, May 31, 2013.

Opening band Last Good Tooth might have the worst name in the music business but they’re still a darn good band. I said their lastest album was in the M. Ward vein, and that’s pretty much what the four -piece (including a tasty fiddle) brought to O’Leaver’s in one of the oddest, diverse line-ups I’ve seen at a show in a long time.

LGT was followed by Malaikat dan Singa, whose rhythmic, violent style bordered on confrontational performance art, except that the lead guy could play a mean bass clarinet.

Finally, it was the return of Touch People a.k.a. Darren Keen. Keen’s current sound mixes his own electronic creations (rhythms, noises, clicks, beats), with his electronically augmented voice (on helium). I’ve seen Touch People before and got lost in the noise due to sounds coming at me too fast, too disconnected, too dissonent. Keen’s finding his sweet spot with these new songs that not only have a more cohesive central rhythm/melody, but incorporate Keen’s abbrasively honest real-world views (which I just happen to agree with). Keen would have been right at home at TWR Sunday night.

* * *

Pseudo indie (but not really) popsters Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros headline at Stir Cove tonight. The show starts at 7:30 and will run you a cool $42 (with fees).

* * *

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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Benson Beerfest

Be aware that Benson Beerfest is happening tomorrow. The area around Krug Park, The Waiting Room and Jake’s will be crowded with fun-loving, beer-gargling drunks. There are a few details about the event at bensonbeerfest.com, but not much other than the price: $30 Adv/$35 Day of Event. That gets you (apparently) all the beer you can drink? What else is involved in this event, I do not know.

Moving on…

Tonight, Hudson NY band Last Good Tooth (Team Love Records, you remember them) plays at O’Leaver’s (and could very well be opening). The band plays jangling Americana acoustic folk rock much in the same vein as Matt Ward. We’re talking guitar, drum, bass and fiddles. Check out some LGT sounds below. Also on the bill is Olympia, WA band Malaikat dan Singa (K Records / Pine Cone Alley). They call their sound “trance-punk outfit featuring bass clarinet, guitars, multiple drummers and his trademark wild vocals.” Headlining is our very own Touch People (Darren Keen). $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight (Friday) Omaha rock band Witness Tree celebrates the release of its self-released EP Breathe In at Slowdown Jr. with Bullet Proof Hearts, Two Drag Club and Thunder Power. $7. 9 p.m.

The band has asked for a review of the EP, despite the fact that Lazy-i’s focus is indie music and Witness Tree — while without a record label — is anything but an indie band. Their sound borders on last-decade alt-radio rock that leans heavy on the pop side. Lots o’ big riffs, radio-friendly vocals and lyrics like “You could be my miracle tonight” and “You’re a bullet from a gun / You’re the fire from the heat” and “Ready or not, here I come.” You get the picture. Their songs emulate the kind of music I remember from the early ’80s, the kind of fun-time high school rock that Z-92 used to play. They’re not plowing new ground, in fact their soil is a couple generations old, and I can’t imagine they want it any other way. Harmless fun.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship headlines at The Sydney with opener bands Des Moines’ Fetal Pig and The Brigadiers. $5, 9 p.m.

Over at The Waiting Room, Satchel Grande is playing as part of Beerfest along with Touch People. It’s $7, but $5 with your Beerfest wristband. 9 p.m.

Finally, Sunday night — or should I say Sunday afternoon — Simon Joyner and the Ghosts, So-So Sailors and curry sausages are on the O’Leaver’s menu. as part of the Sunday Social Club. Food (from The French Bulldog) starts at 2 p.m., music starts at 5 p.m. $5

Also Sunday night, Dead Oceans Records indie dream-pop band Night Beds plays at Slowdown Jr. No opener is listed. $10, 9 p.m.

Did I miss anything? Put it in the comments section. Have a good weekend.

ADDENDUM!!!

Someone e-mailed with “WTF, no love for Baths/Houses?”

I completely forgot about that show, which is happening at The Waiting Room Sunday night. Houses’ new album, A Quiet Darkness (Downtown Records) is a dark and seething as anything by The National but with more modern rhythms. Gloomy, but very good indeed. Baths is Will Wiesenfeld of [Post-Foetus] and Geotic fame. His latest, Obsidian

, was released on the Anti-Con label. Also on the bill is EDM guy D33j, also on Anti-Con. Tix are $10 Adv./$12 DOS. Show starts at 9.

* * *

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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

In this week’s column, a review of River’s Edge Park (during Playing With Fire). The size, location, set-up could change the area’s live music landscape. Read it in this week’s issue of The Reader or online right here.

One addendum to that review: Part of the Monday event was supposed to be a “Food Truck Festival.” By my count, there was only six vendors there (if you count two ice cream vendors). Not much of a festival. Why this part of the event fell through the cracks is anyone’s guess, but maybe the storm had something to do with it. Omaha (or CB) needs a real Food Truck Festival. Maybe Maha will fill that order.

* * *

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., electronic dream-pop one-man band Indians (4AD Records) headlines with See Through Dresses (Sara Bertuldo of Millions of Boys). $10, 9 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Word spread via the social media yesterday afternoon that the Kanrocksas festival — which was supposed to be celebrating a return after taking a year off — has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

Festival acts were to include Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Avett Brothers, Kendrick Lamar, Passion Pit and MGMT, among others. According to this Kansas City Star story, the fest drew 50k attendees in 2011 — with Flaming Lips as one of its key headliners — but still managed to lose “significant money” (I’ve heard in excess of $1 million). This year they decided to take a “Moneyball” approach. “We felt like we could buy four to five great bands for the price of one,” said festival organizer Bill Brandmeyer. “It was like a small-market philosophy to get the most of our money and offer something special.” Tix were priced at $99 one-day, $175 two-day.

That price point for a collection of mid-tier acts seemed rather steep, until you consider that Cheap Trick at Stir last weekend was fifty freakin’ bucks. Last night’s Bloc Party show was $25, and I have a feeling you can expect to pay at least that much for quality mid-tier acts (i.e., those that could draw Slowdown big-room or TWR crowds) moving forward.

So is Kanrocksas’ failure a reflection of the weakening interest in indie music? Maybe, but consider how massive festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza sold out almost immediately (though there are still plenty of tickets available to Pitchfork Fest), and how quickly Maha moved its pre-sale tix. Kanrocksas’ fatal error may have been in that Moneyball strategy. They needed at one one huge act each night.

That said, I’m not convinced interest in indie isn’t waning with this Spotify generation that expects to get everything indie for free or at reduced prices. There are fewer touring indie shows coming through town these days, which may reflect apprehension by a certain local promoter to take high-dollar chances in a market that doesn’t even have a radio station that regular airs indie music.

* * *

That said, Phoenix just got booked to play at the Music Hall Aug. 6, and guess who’s opening for them? None other than local electronic dance rock heroes Icky Blossoms. Tix go on sale Friday via Ticketmaster.

* * *

Couple shows going on tonight…

At fabulous O’Leaver’s McCarthy Trenching headlines a show with NC band JKutchma & the Five Fifths, and Brad Hoshaw. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, Gordon (who seems like they’re playing gigs twice a week these days) is headlining at The Waiting Room tonight with Red Lion and Timecat. If you haven’t checked out Gordon, this may be the perfect chance as this one is FREE. Starts at 9.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Skypiper at The Waiting Room, May 25, 2013.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I might have put my finger on who Skypiper reminds me of. I had to dig around in my feeble brain through most of their set at Saturday night’s EP release show at The Waiting Room, but (I think) I finally figured it out: Frontman Graham Burkum’ s voice bears a striking resemblance to David Baerwald’s.

Who is David Baerwald? Well, once upon a time in 1986 there was pop band called David and David. They had an album called Boomtown that was a huge hit. I loved that record, which today is all but forgotten despite the plethora of pop anthems it provided. David and David was a songwriter’s band; I don’t know if they even performed live. Skypiper also borders on being a songwriter’s pop band, though its songs aren’t as lyrically sophisticated (or as darkly personal) as Baerwald’s. That lack of lyrical intimacy might be what separates Skypiper from folks like Dan Wilson or Jeremy Messersmith, who have a similar embraceable pop style.

Saturday night’s show felt like a homecoming event, with the band creating its own stenciled stage backdrop complete with hand-made decorations. I didn’t realize Skypiper was simply going to give away their new EP. Sure enough, the Burkum Bros. told the crowd to take as many copies as they wanted from the back merch table. How are you ever going to become rich rock stars that way?

Opening band Cowboy Indian Bear put on their usual tight set. Their music seems to be constantly evolving, stretching to keep up with indie le style actuel, and while there’s plenty of sonic resonance to their sound, I’m beginning to lose the songs amidst their colorful noise. I walked away remembering the cacaphony, but not knowing what they were trying to say. Simpler is (almost) always better, which means you don’t need three people on stage pounding on a drum.

* * *

Satchel Grande at River’s Edge Park, May 27, 2013.

In other weekend coverage, look for a review of River’s Edge Park in my column in this week’s issue of The Reader. Needless to say, the park is going to be a gamechanger in terms of live outdoor facilities. I only caught Satchel Grande (the usual feel-good dance stuff) and Josh Hoyer’s new band, the Shadowboxers, which sounded like the reincarnation of James Brown. Get on the good foot, Josh.

* * *

News from Lincoln: Ideal Cleaners broke up… last November. In an email that arrived in my old AOL account, Dan Jenkins announced that the Cleaners’ Nov. 24, 2012, show at The Waiting Room was the band’s finale. “We sure had a good time in that band and played together for 9 1/2 years or something like that,” he said.

On the plus side, Jenkins announced that his new band, Halfwit, will be debuting June 7 at The Sydney. Fellow band members include former members of Mother Pile, Life of a Scarecrow and Machete Archive.

* * *

Two shows of note tonight:

Down at Slowdown, it’s the Bloc Party (yes, that Bloc Party) with Vancouver band Bear Mountain (Last Gang Records). $25, 9 p.m. Tickets are still available.

Meanwhile, over at The Waiting Room tonight, it’s John Klemmensen’s “Songwriter Death Battle,” an intriguing concept wherein 30+ local songwriters take a turn playing one song on stage using Mr. K’s acoustic guitar. Among the battlers: Dane Sybrant, Greg Loftis, Jon Jerry, Kendra Senrick, Sam Houser, Edward Spencer, Koby Good, Sarah Benck Tardy, Bret Vovk, Andrew Janousek, Scott Severin, Tara Vaughan, Jessica Errett, Jeremy Mercy, Nick Carl, Vern Fergesen, Reagan Roeder, Justin Neal, Justin Lamoureux, Stephanie Krysl, Doug Kabourek, Matt Cox, Rebecca Lowry, Matt McLarney, Eliza Doo, Brad Hoshaw, Matt Whipkey, Landon Hedges, Sara Bertuldo, Michael Wunder, and John Klemmensen. That’s a lot of entertainment for $5. Show starts at 9.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Three-day weekend. Too bad it’s supposed to rain. And that the highlight of the weekend — Sharon Jones + The Dap Kings at River’s Edge Park — has been cancelled.

Anyway…

First, tonight at the Sweatshop Gallery in Benson, it’s the 7-inch release show for The Dad (formerly Dads). Also on the bill: Fletch (Mike Schlesinger of Gus & Call, a band which no longer exists for reasons that have not been made clear to me but which I find unfortunate); Pro-Magnum (Paul Hanson (Perry H. Matthews, Fucking Party), Pat Oakes (Ladyfinger), Johnny Vredenburg (Digital Leather); and Sister-Kisser. $5 cover gets you in and beer (for a limited time), an additional $5 gets you a copy of The Dad 7-inch. Show starts at 9.

Also tonight, So-So Sailors returns to Fabulous O’Leaver’s for a gig that includes the production of the play “Wu World Woo,” which will be accompanied by Electric Chamber Music (more ex-Gus & Call members James Maakestad along with Aaron Markley, Daniel Ocannto and Dan McCarthy). Should be weird fun. Everything at O’Leaver’s is weird fun. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Lest we forget, Cheap Trick is playing at Stir Cove tonight. Tickets are a whopping $50 for a band that played for free in Memorial Park two years ago. 8 p.m.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) it’s the Skypiper EP release show at The Waiting Room with Twinsmith (new Betsy Wells w/Oliver Morgan (ex-Little Brazil) on drums) and Lawrence faves Cowboy Indian Bear. $7, 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, Max Fischer has his EP release show w/ Downtown James Brown at The Sydney. Gig includes pals Touch People (Darren Keen), M34n Str33t and possibly a plethora of others. 9 p.m.

Also Saturday, Killer Blow returns to The Brothers Lounge with Pleasure Adapter and Howard. This one’s a knock-out. $5, 9 p.m.

Also finally on Saturday, Snake Island headlines at O’Leaver’s with LA’s Vinyl Williams and Monarchs of Speed. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, what would have been a perfect night for shows (since most of us don’t have to get up to go to work the next day), has nothing happening. Drag.

Then it’s Memorial Day and what was supposed to be the big free Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings show at River’s Edge Park. Unfortunately, the band cancelled Monday’s show along with their gig at the Santa Cruz Blues Festival due to “an urgent family matter,” according to their Facebook page. The rest of what has been marketed as the re-introduction of the Playing With Fire concert series will go on as planned Monday, along with the “Food Truck Festival,” but the loss of Jones/Dap Kings was a real knee-capper to my weekend.

Anyway, if you’re headed over there, the festivities are all part of what’s being marketed as “Loessfest,” It starts Saturday with the ultra-lame Mike Love version of The Beach Boys featuring creepy John Stamos. The Playing with Fire portion Monday kicks off at 4 p.m. with a handful of blues bands, Satchel Grande, and then something called Vintage Trouble. More details, including parking information, are available at http://loessfest.com/

Also Monday, O’Leaver’s is hosting a Memorial Day show with Arless Nance, Brian Detweller and ManCavesAreForCaveMen. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Have a good holiday. Stay dry.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

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Skypiper, Troubledoer EP (self-release, 2013)

I don’t know where Skypiper fits into the mosaic of music styles that make up the Omaha / Lincoln / Nebraska music scene. They’re not part of Saddle Creek, aren’t involved in the city’s burgeoning dirty garage rock world, don’t fit into the folk/Americana scene and certainly aren’t dance / EDM. To my knowledge, they’re also not aligned with the city’s Christian rock scene.

And so, I’m left scratching my head as to where they fit in. Do we have to put labels for everything? No, we don’t, but it makes it easier for lazy music journalists to describe music.

I don’t know how to describe the new Skypiper EP Troubledoer other than to say it’s as good an indie-pop recording as I’ve heard this year, just straight-up hook-filled songwriting and tight musicianship. Quite a surprise considering their forgettable 2011 full-length debut.

The highlight of this new 4-song collection is track 3, “Free Spirit Woman,” a cute little rock shuffle with a plethora of clever lines that paint the portrait of a local scenester who (thinks) she’s cooler than you and may well be — a woman so free that she doesn’t have time to deal with her own problems. I think I’ve met this person before (Haven’t we all?).

Frontman Graham Burkum has a crisp, unadorned rock voice thankfully lacking any affected accoutrements. This is free-and-easy stuff without a hint of angst and/or cynicism, which will instantly relegate it outside of the sardonic audience that follows today’s indie or punk or anything else with an edge. There’s nothing dangerous about Skypiper. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing interesting about their music. It’s pure feel-good pop that begs you to sing along.  Add a super-crisp recording and you’ve got a promising new player in an already crowded scene, one that stands outside of the usual categories.

Skypiper celebrates the release of Troubledoer Saturday night at The Waiting Room with Twinsmith and Lawrence band Cowboy Indian Bear.

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Unread Records homepage

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

If you’re on Facebook and you live in Omaha than you’re already tired of being inundated with people asking you to give money today as part of the Omaha Gives event. I will not pile on, other than to point you to what I said last week during Lincoln’s version of this same fund drive, i.e, give some cash to Hear Nebraska (by clicking here

), and here’s why. Other charities to consider: Omaha Girls Rock, the Maha Music Festival (which you may not know is a non-profit) and FilmStreams. The rest is up to you. Do your duty. Give. And then do what I plan to do: Turn off Facebook for the rest of the day. Here are the give links:

• Hear Nebraska
• Maha Music Festival
• Omaha Girls Rock
• Film Streams

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Max Larson, drummer of rock group The Dad (formerly know as Dads), emailed a head’s up about the band’s 7-inch release show (and tour kick off) this Friday night at Sweatshop Gallery in Benson.

“We will be playing with Fletch (aka Mike Schlesinger of the late Gus & Call), Pro-Magnum (hippie-hating members of Digital Leather & The Fucking Party) and Sister-Kisser (female-fronted anger),” said Larson. “The record is $5, admission is $5, and I believe that all-you-can-drink keg beer will be available for $5 (This might have been a cruel joke, though).” This should be massive fun.

Larson also added this very useful PS: “P.S. I’m not sure if you’re a follower of Unread Records, but a week or two ago Chris put a large handful of his releases up for stream on Bandcamp. It is my understanding that, until now, a number of these recordings have suffered from limited digital representation. Most of these bands/singers are from Omaha (including Simon Joyner of course), so if you want to listen you should. The link is http://unreadrecords.bandcamp.com/“

“Chris” is Chris Fischer, who I spoke with way back in 2000 for an article in the Omaha Weekly. I was going to post a link to that story (which still exists on Lazy-i), but you’d have to scroll around to find it and I figured what the heck, I’ll just post it below. Unread Records started out as a tape label and still is, though they also sell other media, including vinyl, as evidenced by The Dad 7-inch that Unread is releasing. According to the Unread Records website, the label’s world headquarters is now located in Pittsburgh. Check out the Bandcamp page for some very rare recordings, go to Unread to order / buy some awesome stuff, and keep up with the label on their Facebook page

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Now, into the Wayback Machine, from The Omaha Weekly, Sept. 14, 2000:

The roster of fall releases by Omaha’s Unread Records is crowded with a number of … wait-a-minute, you’ve never heard of Unread Records? That’s probably because the label is part of the underground world of cassette-tape-only record labels, a music scene so obscure that it makes an indie label like Saddle Creek Records look like DreamWorks in comparison.Operated by Chris Fischer out of his house/performance space known as Gunboat, Unread Records has produced cassette and vinyl releases from some of the underground’s most famous unknowns, including a tape by South Carolina’s “king of banjo” Charlie McAlister, as well as a 7-inch single by Shrimper and Catsup Plate recording artist Will Simmons.

Fischer says there are “zillions” of tape only labels. Some more-famous artists who have put out tape-only releases include Sebadoh’s Lou Barlow, folk-music favorites The Mountain Goats, and even undisputed funk-groove indie rocker Beck, Fischer said.

“I started my label three years ago to put out tapes for me and my friends,” said Fischer, who recently moved to Omaha from Lancaster, Penn. “I don’t have any artists signed to anything, and I don’t ever want to put out a thousand units of anything.”

That shouldn’t be a problem for the 20-year-old entrepreneur. Most his 27 releases include hand-made cassette shells or screen-printed jackets. Though promotion is usually through word of mouth or the Internet, Fischer has placed ads in fanzines and sent flyers to a handful of record labels that pass them onto their customers. His most popular release thus far is the McAlister cassette Turn of the Century Photograph of, which moved more than 300 units.

Fischer said the label will branch out to CDs this fall, with a release by Fizzle Like a Flood (Omaha singer/songwriter Doug Kabourek, who also performs as The Laces). Also look for a split 7-inch vinyl release by Park and A Boy Named Thor, a split-label CD with Twee Kitten Records, a Jarbaby one-sided LP, as well as cassettes by Church of Gravitron, Park, Caleb Fraid and others.

Just as obscure as Unread Records is Gunboat, Fischer’s performance space located in the basement of the house he rents at 301 So. 38th Ave. Past Gunboat performers include most of the Saddle Creek Records’ stable of artists, who have made house shows a staple on their recent tour schedules.

“House shows are a different kind of scene, a more personal performance that allows the fans to hang out with the people who play,” Fischer said. “There’s no stage, it’s kind of one-on-one.”

Gunboat shows attract a mostly under-21 crowd made up of house show regulars or people who have heard about the shows either by visiting the Saddle Creek Records website (www.saddle-creek.com) or by spotting a flier at The Antiquarium or Drastic Plastic. Fischer says his largest show drew about 70 people.

One recent night at Gunboat included performances by Bright Eyes, Philadelphia’s Jen Turrell (Rabbit in Red), and Pennsylvania band Chauchat. Last week, Fischer hosted Jarbaby from Normal, Ill.

Among the bands slated for Gunboat’s upcoming Sept. 20 show are The Good Life (a new project by Cursive’s Tim Kasher), Boston’s Kolya, Omaha emo-rockers Secret Behind Sunday and Lincoln’s Her Flyaway Manner (slated to release a CD on Caulfield Records) Fischer says the cover is usually two or three dollars, all of which goes to the touring band to help cover their expenses.

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Ah, those were the days…

Speaking of blasts from the pasts, I just got word that Mousetrap has been booked to play a return engagement at The Waiting Room Aug. 16 for what I’m told is being billed as a “Pre-Maha Party” (the Maha Music Festival is the following day). No idea who else will be playing this gig, but I’m told we should expect to hear some new Mousetrap material along with old favorites. Mark it down on your calendar.

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Finally, Maha Music Festival and The Slowdown are hosting an Omaha Gives Showcase tonight. Among the acts are current favorite, Gordon. Also on the program are A Wasted Effort, Rock Paper Dynamite and The Seen. It’s a free show, but you’ll be hit up to give money (and you should, you cheap-ass). Gordon I believe plays second, so get there early.

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.