by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There was buzz at Saturday night’s Digital Leather/Agent Orange show about what’s going on at Pageturners Lounge, the new bar owned and operated by Conor Oberst and Phil Schaffart located right next to Goldberg’s on 50th and Dodge. Scuttlebutt is that they’ve been hiring staff and are preparing to open very soon. Schaffart confirmed both rumors yesterday, saying they’re hoping for an early-mid September opening, and have indeed done some hiring.

I took the opportunity to try to pin Schaffart down on what style of bar Pageturners will be. Will the menu focus on hoity-toity craft cocktails? Nope. OK, well will you be trying to emulate the style (and success) of Benson’s Krug Park with a million beers on tap? Nope again. More details could be forthcoming when Schaffart and Oberst get back from the Desaparecidos tour, which starts Saturday in Seattle. Until then, click on over to the Pageturners Lounge Facebook page and give it a “like.”

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In the column this week: What do Bob Kerrey and Herman Cain have in common? Both played a role in destroying some very precious teenage food memories. Read about it in this week’s issue of The Reader, or online right here.

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Everyone’s favorite troubadour/singer-songwriter/good guy Jake Bellows (ex-Omahan, ex-Neva Dinova) takes the stage at O’Leaver’s tonight with Sam Martin (Capgun Coup) and Reagan Roeder. Plus, PBR & Grainbelt bottles for a $1. Get messed up and sing along! $5, 9:30 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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Did a little bit of bar-hopping last night in Benson. I started out early at The Barley Street for the debut of Killer Blow. The duo of Genie Molkentine on drums and vocals and Todd VonStup on electric guitar came on around 10 and played about 15-20 minutes of sweet guitar garage jams that recalled bands like Oblivians and Urinals. I’m not sure which songs were originals and which were covers because, well, I’m not the most well-schooled in classic garage/punk. Molkentine has a gritty riot grrrl snarl that’s dead-on for this style of music, as much yelp as growl. Plus she’s cute as a button and can play drums standing up while singing (though her drum set only consisted of a snare, tom and crash cymbal). Her drumming at times was kind of shaky, but give her a break — this was their first show. VonStup played guitar with his usual raunchy panache, and together they made a cute team. In fact, they’re married, which made it all that much cuter. Keep an eye on them…

After their set I high-tailed it over to The Sydney to catch Digital Leather. The Sydney crew cleared out the tables and chairs prior to opening to give the room more space, and in fact it felt like a punk show. I got there just in time to catch the last couple songs by (who I assume was) Video Ranger — fun punk that prominently featured trombone, which got me thinking about ska, which they weren’t playing (when I was there). Then on came Digital Leather playing a better-than-usual breakneck set of garage rock that got a few guys doing a circle mosh-step (Were the mosh-dance guys from Agent Orange? I don’t have a clue as I didn’t stick around for their set). It was one of the more high-energy DL gigs in recent memory. The only disappointment was that the set list didn’t vary much from the last time I saw them play (except for the inclusion of “Sponge,” which created a lull in the middle of the set). They’re sticking with the new stuff, which is fine, though I’d love to hear something off one of the earlier albums thrown in for fun. Come on, guys, it’s ’bout time you reintroduce “Please Be Quiet.”

* * *

Danse Macabre Deluxe Edition, The Faint (Saddle Creek, 2012)

Yesterday The Faint and Saddle Creek announced that they’re reissuing the 2001 classic Danse Macabre as a remastered and limited edition offering. According to the press release: “The remastered release, which features six bonus tracks from the era as well as an extensive booklet, will be available on CD in a triple-disc format with a DVD, and on double vinyl that also includes the CDs and DVD. Additionally, the DVD will include archival video footage from the band, live projection videos from that era’s tour dates, the ‘Agenda Suicide’ music video, some live footage, and more. Copies of the physical album will be limited to 5,000 for the 2xCD/DVD package and 3,000 for the 2xLP/2xCD/DVD package.”

Street date is Oct. 30. The band also announced a tour to support the release starting November 8 in Denver that will find the group performing Danse Macabre in its entirety for the first time ever, along with the usual set of old favorites. The tour ends with a show at Sokol Auditorium Dec. 14 with upstarts Icky Blossoms opening. In fact, IB will be tagging along for 14 dates on this tour. I can’t think of a better way to introduce the band to the world.

Some thoughts on Danse Macabre on its 10th anniversary. And check out the remastered “Take Me to the Hospital” right here. You can pre-order the album right here at the Saddle Creek online store.

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This being a semi-quiet Tuesday, I’m taking this opportunity to clean out the ol’ in-box. Bear with me…

Despite a release date of Sept. 4, the Saddle Creek Shop down at the Slowdown complex today announced that it’s selling right now copies of Azure Ray’s new CD/LP As Above So Below, very likely to the consternation of the folks at Homer’s Records. The shop also will have the limited edition (of 250) pink vinyl version of the record, only available at the shop or from the Saddle Creek online store. Pricing breakdown: CD – $7; LP – $13, and Limited Edition LP – $19.

* * *

Doom Town Records, in cooperation with Rainy Road Records, says it will be releasing Baby Tears’ first full-length LP, Rusty Years, this Thursday, Aug 24, when all pre-orders will be shipped. The band plans to host a release show Oct. 7 at Barley Street Tavern. Until then, order your copy of Rusty Years right here.

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The Iggy Pop Bobblehead

Drastic Plastic is expanding on its  merch offerings with new a label, Silver Saucer CDs. “Silver Saucer’s mission is to do for CDs what Drastic Plastic Records does for vinyl: ensuring the continued availability and best possible sound for seminal recordings,” quote-eth their press release. “Our first release is Agent Orange’s classic Living in Darkness. The CD features the original LP track list with a limited initial run of 1,000 copies.” Street date is Sept. 18.

In addition, Drastic Plastic records announced the Oct. 2 vinyl-only release of The Gun Clubs’ classic from 1984, The Las Vegas Story

, as a remastered, 180-gram, opaque-green vinyl offering limited to just 500 pressings.

And if that wasn’t enough, Drastic is in the bobblehead business with a 7-inch tall Iggy Pop bobblehead. Limited to 1,000, it’s the second in their bobblehead series, with George Clinton and Fulci Zombie slated for the bobblehead treatment in the near future. Street date on the doll is Oct. 9. I’m assuming you’ll be able to pick up all these items down at Drastic Plastic or go to impactmerch.com

* * *

Now onto tonight’s shows, and there’s a ton…

Digital Leather returns from their West Coast swing tonight for a gig at The Sydney in Benson. They open for Agent Orange (now on Silver Saucer CDs), along with Video Ranger. $10, 9:30.

Killer Blow is a new duo debuting tonight at The Barley Street Tavern. Featuring Todd VonStup on guitar (Baby Tears, ex-The Shanks) and Genie Molkentine on drums and vocals, their sound has been described as mix of garage pop and British New Wave. Check out there cover of “Love Rules,” by Pens, below. Also on the bill are Moses Prey and Daikaiju from Hunksville. $5, 9 p.m.

Killer Blow, “Love Rules”

Also tonight, ’80s post-wave alternative icons The Fixx plays at The Waiting Room with Lonely Estates. 8 p.m., $25.

La Armada, who just opened for Strung Out last week, plays again tonight at The Sandbox with Living Victim, Bad Vibes and Red Lion. $7, 8 p.m.

Finally, Japanese punk band Mugen Hoso turns up tonight for a free show at The Hideout. Opening is The Big Al Band. Starts at 9:30.

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Faint at The Slowdown, Aug. 18, 2012.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

What to say about The Faint’s performance last Saturday at The Slowdown other than “same as it ever was”?

Team Faint came on around 11 dressed in normal street clothes — a contrast to the old days when they wore dramatic all-black stagewear. Yes, they’ve given up on the costumes, unless you count Todd Fink’s droopy fishing hat (a tribute to Jack Klugman?) and funky, onesie-style jumpsuit complete with exo fabric wrap around his left knee, which was either a fashion statement or a therapeutic device (I tend to think it was the latter).

Top of mind (at least to me) was how they would sound without Faint ex-pat Joel Petersen on bass. I doubt any of the bouncing sold-out crowd that turned the Slowdown’s dance floor into a giant trampoline noticed a difference. Saturday night Dapose handled bass most of the time when a bass was needed, though Todd strapped on a bass for one song (see above action photo). The Faint use a lot of low-end programmed synth parts, so there’s never a loss for any bottom regardless of a bass being on stage.

Overall, if there was a difference soundwise to this new four-piece version of The Faint it was subtle. There were points where the music sounded slightly less dense. And as a whole, the set was less overwhelming than, say, when The Faint played at The Waiting Room and the low end was so excruciating that every organ in my body turned to guava jelly. I did not feel my organs vibrate with bass Saturday night, but that may have more to do with The Slowdown’s acoustics and/or the sound guy rather than what was happening on stage.

Like I said, most fans won’t notice a difference other than seeing one less person on stage bouncing around like a coke-addled marionette. The Faint sound like The Faint, and that’s what matters. They played all the “hits” from their past albums, i.e., what people came to hear. But unless my Faint knowledge is flawed (and considering that I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of all their recordings, it very likely is) they launched their set Saturday night with a new song (“An Unseen Hand”?) that swayed oh so slightly from their typical sound to something more “Manchester-ish” in its rhythm and style. View a bootleg vid of the new song here on YouTube. Very promising.

They closed with a three-song encore of “Glass Danse,” “Victim Convenience” and, of course, “Agenda Suicide.” The crowd wanted more. No doubt many returned Sunday night to catch them again. If there’s a criticism of Saturday night’s show it was that the band seemed more stripped down, less “theatric,” and as a result, less sinister. At their best, there is a darkness to The Faint, a layer of dread that adds depth to everything they do. Hopefully, as they move forward, that dread will return.

* * *

What is the opposite of dread? Why Andrew Bird, of course. And tonight Mr. Bird takes the stage at The Holland Performing Arts Center with Bloodshot/ANTI- artist Kelly Hogan. Tickets are still available for the 8 p.m. show for $33 at Ticket Omaha

.

Also tonight, Red City Radio (Oklahoma City, Paper + Plastick) plays at Slowdown Jr. with Dummy Head Torpedo, Arliss Nancy, and Divided Heaven. $8, 9 p.m.

Red City Radio, “Two for Flinching”

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Faint are back.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

FYI, The Faint are back.

The band let it slip this past April that it was reforming after announcing last September that it was on hiatus, partially due to Joel Petersen’s move to the West Coast. The Reader‘s Chris Aponick caught up with the band about what we’ll see on stage this weekend. Needless to say, Joel won’t be there.

From the story:

The band and Petersen are working toward a formal, legal agreement ending his involvement in the Faint and letting the other four members continue the band without any lingering hang-ups. “He doesn’t want to be in the band and he doesn’t live in the state. We want to do the band, so there’s really not much to talk about,” (frontman Todd) Fink says.

But the most interesting quote in Chris’ story:

“We’re mostly just a band and we’re going to make some stuff,” Fink says. “We feel like we’re in a good place. We have new ideas and I feel like they fit into what we think the Faint is.”

It’s been just over four years (Aug. 5, 2008, to be exact) since Fasciinatiion was released on The Faint’s blank.wav label. It’s high time we got some new material, gentlemen, though the crowd at Saturday’s and Sunday’s long sold-out shows at The Slowdown would be just as content to hear the hits once again. Like any good music, The Faint’s songs are somewhat timeless; but they’ve aged well especially in an era that values electronic dance music more than ever.

Openers for Saturday night’s Faint show are Capgun Coup and Touch People (Darren Keen, ex-The Show Is the Rainbow). Opening Sunday’s Faint show is Icky Blossoms, who has gained a reputation for creating a dance vibe similar to The Faint’s, and the always amazing Solid Goldberg. Both start at 9. Get there early. And like I said, both have been sold out for weeks.

* * *

The Faint shows aren’t the only thing going on this weekend.

Tonight friends of Javier Ochoa remember the local legend in song. A former member of The Get, Blah Buddha and Goodbye, Sunday, the 43-year-old drummer was known more recently for his work in Led Zeppelin tribute band The Song Remains the Same. Javier passed away in June. Performing tonight are Never Trust The Living, Diana And The Maries, The Get / Ground Tyrants, Janglepop, The Filter Kings, Song Remains The Same and Secret Weapon. The benefit concert starts at 8 p.m. $7.

Also tonight in Benson, Secret Cities and I Am the Navigator play at The Sydney. The show is free and starts at 10.

Saturday night House of Loom House celebrates its 1-year Anniversary with a party featuring Philly/NYC DJ Rich Medina. $5, 9 p.m. Details at their Facebook invite. (RSVP to info@houseofloom.com for FREE entry before 10:30 p.m.).

Also Saturday night John Klemmensen and the Party play at The Barley Street Tavern with Marmalakes (Austin, TX) and Travelling Mercies. $5, 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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The Maha Blackbird

In this week’s column, sizing up Maha and getting a bead on its future from Maha organizer Tre Brashear. With this year’s record crowd, does the festival have room to grow or will it be content being a one-day concert event? Read it in this week’s issue of The Reader

or online right here.

Some other thoughts about Maha…

One of the most successful things about this year’s festival had nothing to do with the performances. Two years ago, no one knew what Maha looked like. This year with the help of Oxide Design, Maha became a recognizable brand that resonates with its audience. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like that blackbird emblem. You don’t get 40 people tattooing that symbol on their bodies unless they think it’s cool. It looks good on posters on T-shirts on everything and I have a feeling we’re going to see it all over town all year ’round. I don’t know what it cost the Maha folks, but it was worth every penny. Maha now has a graphic identity, and I can’t even begin to tell you how important that is.

In its fourth year, Maha took its first real step in defining itself. As successful as it was, Maha can’t be satisfied with merely repeating what it accomplished this year. If year five is just another one-afternoon/evening concert event it’ll be wasting any momentum gained last weekend. They’ve got to do something different and better in 2013.  So what would I do if I was running Maha and didn’t have to concern myself with such things as budgets and schedules and sponsors and vendors and the legacy the festival has built?

— Raise the ticket price. If what they’re saying is true, Maha is henpecked by its thirty-something-dollar ticket price when it comes to being able to draw larger-name band(s). Price the festival in conjunction with what your biggest name’s tickets would sell for. Jane’s Addiction is $45-$65. Morrissey is $55+. We gladly pay for these shows that feature really only one band (We don’t even think about who’s opening). With Maha, you could pay for the headliner and get the rest of the festival for free. That’s a good deal, especially if you’ve got a couple additional kick-ass bands on the docket.

— Ease into expansion. When they talk about goals, the Maha folks rarely mention attendance numbers; instead they talk about wanting to expand the festival to a full weekend. What’s the easiest way to expand Maha to two days? Start it the night before. Book the park for two (or three) days. Set up the stages on Day One and work the bugs out of the system by hosting an evening of bands the night before the main day. Maybe only use the small stage. Bring in the vendors; open the beer garden. Make it a pre-show party from 7 to 11. Get people psyched about tomorrow. You might even sell some more tickets to the big show. (And yes, get a headliner for the preview night, and charge for it. Sell a package that gets you into both.)

— Decide on a theme. The Maha folks seem to have more luck booking legacy indie acts than current indie high fliers. Look at the past four years of headliners; Garbage (’90s band), GBV (’90s band), Superchunk/Spoon (’90s bands) Dashboard Confessional (dreadful ’90s band). I see a theme here, and it ain’t necessarily a bad one. To my knowledge, there’s no festival that’s declared itself as “thee” national classic indie rock festival. Maha could be that festival. We’re talking booking ’90s legends like The Pixies, Pavement, Cat Power, Sonic Youth, Dead Can Dance, Ride, Daft Punk, Pulp, Jesus Lizard, Stereolab, Weezer, Portishead, GYBE, Aphex Twin Cocteau Twins, Sugar/Bob Mould, Magnetic Fields, Built to Spill, Chavez, Jeff Mangum/NMH, The Lips, friggin’ Fugazi, heck just about anyone on Matador / Touch and Go / Sub Pop / Merge / Mute / Thrill Jockey / 4AD / Drag City from the ’90s (or before), The trick, of course, is getting more than one, and market them as if they were gods.

And no, I’m not suggesting this because I’m an old guy who likes “his music.” If given a choice between listening to a new album recommended by Chris Aponick or Jeff Runnings or that scores high on Album of the Year versus listening to a ’90s album I’ll pick the new album every time. The fact is that  Lolla, ATP, Pitchforkfest, Coachella and SXSW have cornered the market on attracting the hottest new indie acts (not to mention all the UK festivals). There’s only so many weekends per summer and you’re never going to be able to compete with those huge festivals for those weekends. But as Maha has proven, they can get the ’90s bands. And believe me, folks in their 30s and 40s will take time off work and travel if they think they’re getting something that can’t get anywhere else.

— Reunited (and it feels so good). To coincide with that ’90s theme, host at least one, if not two, classic Omaha or Lincoln band reunions. Think about the possibilities: Mousetrap, Sideshow, Ritual Device, Secret Skin, Cellophane Ceiling, Digital Sex, Grasshopper Takeover/The Kind, Secret Skin, Cactus Nerve Thang, Culture Fire, Commander Venus, Fullblown. A one-time reunion of one of these bands would actually sell tickets versus Maha’s current model, which places bands that play regularly around town on the second stage. Icky Blossoms was awesome and one of my favorite performances from this year’s festival. They’re also playing Sunday night at Slowdown.

— Get them there early. I know I know I know I know — no “headliner”-quality band wants to play at 2 p.m. You’ve got all this money riding on a band, you can’t afford to waste it by putting them on stage to play for crickets. I’m just saying, for one year, try it. Maybe you can get a band headed to Lawrence or KC willing to play an early afternoon show on their way to Missouri. Imagine how much your vendors would appreciate have a few thousand people in the park at 2 p.m.

What else?

I realize this was their fourth year, but in a lot of ways, this was Year 1 for Maha. It’s emerged with a new identity and is riding a wave of success. The organizers are going to face some big decisions in the coming months that will determine if Maha will become the festival that they want it to be, or will remain just another concert in the park…

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s a quiet Wednesday…

I fell across this item about indie folk band Murder by Death and was surprised at the amount they’ve raised via Kickstarter: More than $187,000. Which made me wonder what exactly are the limitations for Kickstarter campaigns? This one was created to fund a deluxe vinyl edition of their latest album, which they’ll self release and which augments the digital/CD release on Bloodshot. Look at some of the premiums you can receive for donations: Tattoos on band members. A Kentucky bourbon distillery tour. A day of riding roller coasters at Cedar Point Amusement Park with the band.

$187,000. I’ve asked before, I’ll ask again: Is Kickstarter how independent bands will survive (or thrive) in the future?

* * *

House of Loom sent out an announcement today about their 1-year Anniversary party this Saturday featuring Philly/NYC DJ Rich Medina. Details at the Facebook invite. I can’t believe it’s been a year since the club opened. If you haven’t checked out the chillest bar in Omaha, you’ll never have a better opportunity.

* * *

Tonight at The Sydney in Benson it’s the always entertaining So-So Sailors with Hers (formerly known as Honeybee & Hers) and Kelly King. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight in Benson, chamber-pop band The Last Bison plays with Skypiper. $8, 9 p.m.

* * *

Tomorrow: The final word (for now) on Maha.

* * *

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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Lincoln Calling 2012

Lincoln music mogul and all-around scenester Jeremy Buckley last week announced the “initial line-up” for his ninth annual Lincoln Calling Festival. “What started as a three-day 25-band fest has morphed into what this year will be a six-day extravaganza kicking off on Oct. 9 with an opening show and ending on Oct. 14 with the Homegrown Film Festival and a special local super group that will be performing its first public show,” Buckley said. No word yet on who is in this mysterious super group. Stay tuned.

Starting yesterday, a limited number of early bird full-ride tickets are available for purchase at Kinetic Brew inside of Lincoln’s Bourbon Theatre, for $20 (age restrictions apply for some shows). “After the initial allotment is gone the price will go up to at least $30 depending on what bands I’m able to confirm between now and the fest,” Buckley said. As in past years, one-day tickets and individual show tickets will be available the week of the shows.

Bands confirmed so far for this year:

Academy of Rock (Lincoln)
Alex Walker (Lincoln)
All My Friends Are Dinosaurs (Lincoln)
AZP (Lincoln)
The Bears of Blue River (Chicago)
Betsy Wells (Omaha)
The Betties (Lincoln/Omaha)
The Big Deep (Omaha)
Carrot Carrot (Lincoln)
Christopher the Conquered (Des Moines)
Classes (Lincoln)
Cowboy Indian Bear (Lawrence)
Dark Satellites (Lincoln/Kansas City)
Dastardly (Chicago)
DEERPEOPLE (Stillwater)
Desert Noises (Provo, UT)
Drum and Disorderly (Lincoln)
Dude Won’t Die (Lincoln)
Everyday/Everynight (Kansas City)
Flashbulb Fires (Denver)
FREAKABOUT! (Lincoln)
Gayle Skidmore (San Diego)
Ghost Hollow Road (Springfield, IL)
Good Show Great Show (Omaha)
Goran Ivanovic and Andreas Kapsalis Guitar Duo (Chicago)
Great American Desert (Omaha)
Hume (Baltimore)
Hunter Valentine (Toronto, Ontario)
Ideal Cleaners (Lincoln)
Intergalactic Fu (Lincoln)
Ivan & Alyosha (Seattle)
The Kickback (Chicago)
Kill County (Lincoln)
Laetitia Sadier (Paris, France)
Low Horse (Lincoln)
Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles (Minneapolis)
Masses (Lincoln)
The Mezcal Brothers (Lincoln)
Midland Trio (Lincoln)
Minor Birds (Twain Harte, CA)
Mob Action (Quincy, IL)
My Brother (Lincoln)
Orion Walsh (Lincoln)
Poison Control Center (Des Moines/Ames)
Queen Caveat (Los Angeles)
Saint Christopher (Lincoln)
Shipbuilding Co. (Lincoln)
The Spring Standards (New York)
SS Web (Milwaukee, WI)
Stonebelly (Lincoln)
Tenderness Wilderness (Omaha)
THEMES (Portland, OR)
Tijuana Gigolos (Lincoln)
Time Hammer (Lincoln)
Universe Contest (Lincoln)
UUVVWWZ (Lincoln)
Vibenhai (Lincoln)
Voodoo Method (Omaha)
Whadawookie (Lincoln)
Zed Tempo (Lincoln)

Venues so far confirmed:

Bourbon Theatre
Duffy’s Tavern
Zoo Bar
The Alley
Mix Barcade
Fat Toad
Black Market
Yia Yia’s

That’s a lot of bands over a lot of days, and Buckley ain’t through yet. “Please make sure to note that this list of bands is about 50-60% complete,” Buckley said. “Every year bands freak out because they aren’t on the list and I get bombarded. Hopefully they’ll grasp that the lineup isn’t finalized if it’s stated in the article.”

* * *

Simon Joyner’s new album Ghosts is officially out today. Local peeps can find it at Saddle Creek Shop. I’m told The Antiquarium will have copies by Friday and Homer’s also will be getting it in sometime this week. You out-of-towners can order it from simonjoyner.net. Quit whining about this being a double-vinyl only release. Every copy comes with a download code so you can listen to it on your precious iPods. Hey, why don’t you do yourself a favor and buy a friggin’ turntable, ya dirty hippies? In case you didn’t know already, analog is the new digital. GET WITH IT!

* * *
Tonight at The Waiting Room Simi Valley post-hardcore band Strung Out (Fat Wreck Chords) headlines a show with Redondo Beach band The Darlings and Chicago Latino hardcore act La Armada. $18, 8 p.m.

Also tonight, it’s the return of Lincoln legends Ron Wax to The Brothers Lounge with Swamp Walk and Detroit band Frustrations. $5, 9 p.m.

And finally, Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals, Neon Neon) plays at Slowdown Jr. tonight with McCarthy Trenching. $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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There will be more details on Maha and its future in this week’s column. That said, here are some of my initial thoughts:

— Set up in Stinson Park involved construction of a massive second stage next to the Stinson’s permanent stage structure. I was told this was needed because of Garbage’s staging requirements. Though I’m sure it cost a fortune to erect this second “main” stage, the effect was to give the local bands a terrific second stage to play on. The set-up was hands down an improvement over last year’s second stage sitch (and much better than the Lewis & Clark Landing rinky-dink second stage from years 1 & 2). It just elevated the local bands to another more-professional level for folks who have no idea who they are. The only downside: It sounded like one of the amps/speakers was blown in the second stage’s left stack, causing some annoying crackling.

— Food options were adequate, though they could have used a second pizza vendor judging by the snaking line outside the pizza table throughout the day. Bottom line: Given a choice, most people will pick pizza every time.

— I didn’t show up until Josh Rouse. I would have liked to have seen Conduits and Eli Mardock but they were too early in the day, and I didn’t care about Frontier Ruckus or the other early-day bands. I continue to have zero interest in rural-flavored Americana/roots music. That applies to Delta Spirit, though I see them more as a throwback to leather pants ’70s freedom rock. Not my cup of tea, but I have to hand it to them for playing a good set.

— Favorite performances: Dum Dum Girls and Icky Blossoms. Lining up DDG was a coup for Maha — a fantastic band that plays modern rock music; a band that any festival would be lucky to have. Icky Blossoms will be remembered as having one of the most talked about performances of the festival — a full-on frontal dance attack played to a crowd itching to groove. Let’s see if they can make it translate outside of Omaha.

— A solid band with a national rep, Garbage still seems like an odd choice for this festival, though they were probably responsible for selling most of the tickets. In a bill that consisted mostly of indie bands, Garbage has been on Warners or Geffen up ’til their latest (and weakest) release, which came out this year on V2 (owned by Universal). Garbage is more of an alternative rock act than an indie band, and in some ways, a departure for Maha. Did it pay off? We’ll have to wait and see what the numbers say. In some ways, it only confused matters regarding what Maha is supposed to be about. Is it an indie music festival? An alternative rock festival? That said, they played a solid set that laid heavily on their radio-friendly, formulaic back catalog.

— The rain sucked. It’s hard to complain about it since we haven’t had much rain over the past summer. Throughout the last half of the day it rained just enough to annoy, eventually driving people to nearby tents only to stop after a few minutes before starting up again. But whaddyagonna do?

— I would say about a quarter or more of the crowd left before Desaparecidos began playing. Conor and Co. never sounded better as they pushed the festival’s midnight deadline. I could hear the roar of their guitars as I took off early, hightailing it back home on my bike while there was a break in the rain on the radar.

Now here’re some shitty photos taken with my iPhone. Looks like I’ll be getting that iPhone 5 when it comes along because these days my camera makes everything look like it’s covered in a London fog.

UUVVWWZ moments before they started their set. The Lincoln band was the quirkiest, arty-est band of the day. Either you were into it or you weren’t. I for one can’t wait to hear their new album.

One of the highlight performance at this year’s festival was the Dum Dum Girls. Red hot!

Maha Festival 2012 crowd mid-festival, taken from on top of the northwest hill with cars zooming by on Center Street behind me.

Mynabirds at Maha Festival 2012.

Icky Blossoms bask in a dance glow emitted from the Maha crowd.

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Garbage at Maha Music Festival 2012. Smudge on the far right is Shirley Manson. Honest.

No shots of Desaparecidos as everything looked like a blur in the night stage lighting. For whatever reason, no direct spotlights were used on either stage.

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Oh my achin’ head… It’s going to be one of THOSE weekends — a show every night… and day.

Before we get to that, even without a bass player Peace of Shit lived up to its name last night in front of a pizza-farting crowd at O’Leaver’s. The free grub was both a play on words (Pizza Shit… get it!) and a donation from a band member who works at Godfathers. All night I watched the lettuce slowly wilt on a half-eaten taco pizza that sat with its grease melting in a half-open pizza box, the cardboard slowly turning brown to black like an old diaper. Pizza shit indeed. Next time bring some friggin’ Cinnamon Monkey Bread, pizza boy.

I missed opener Watching the Train Wreck as I was home watching the train wreck that is the U.S. Olympic diving team. Traveling band Oakland’s Bonnie & the BANG BANG (an ill fit on a bill of garage music) played a set of adult contemporary indie that would have been right at home at P.S. Collective rather than O’Leaver’s, where it went mostly unnoticed by a crowd that sat outside smoking in the beer garden waiting for them to get done. POS came on at around midnight as a trio without a bass player, which was missed but not a deal breaker as the rest of the band stepped up and nailed the landing with little or no splash (That’s a diving reference for you unpatriotic sports haters, btw). I like this band and stand by yesterday’s statement that they would have made a fine addition to the Maha Festival though that will never happen as their trashy looks resemble a group police mug shot featuring Randy Travis

, Nick Nolte and Mr. Peabody. I spent the morning listening to their new cassette Business as Usual (Rainy Road, 2012) at work and getting the usual squinty, annoyed looks by people passing my veal fattening pen, a sure sign that you should seek out this tape and purchase it immediate and then play it as loudly as possible in your ’98 Trans Am (That’s a Randy Travis reference for all you unpatriotic sports haters, btw).

Tonight we do it all over again, but this time at The Barley Street Tavern where a cast of O’Leaver’s All Stars takes Barley’s hippie-fied stage. Headlining the sleazy brigade is Digital Leather who are about to embark on a mini tour of the Pacific Northwest. I don’t know if they’re the best band in Omaha but they’re my favorite. Not that it matters. Opening is New Lungs (DMax, straight from last night’s Little Brazil 400 Bar gig w/Desa) and The Fucking Party. Expect a higher-than-normal number of cop cars cruising the streets of Benson triggered by the influx of the degenerate O’Leaver’s crowd. $5, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, The Casualties play at The Sandbox with a handful of punk bands including the always dashing Cordial Spew. $15, 8 p.m., more details here

.

Then comes Maha.

The full lineup and all the particulars about this 4th annual event are available at mahamusicfestival.com.

If you’re still looking to buy tickets, a friend of mine forwarded me this offer from Daily Mav

that takes $10 off per ticket. It expires at midnight tonight. Keep your eyes peeled for other offers, or quit being a cheap-ass and just buy your tix at the Maha website (Tix will be $40 each at the gate, so better get them now).

So when you going to get there? Here’s the stage schedule:

12:10 — The Seen
12:45 — Conduits
1:30 — Eli Mardock
2:05 — Frontier Ruckus
2:55 — Universe Contest
3:30 — Josh Rouse
4:35 — UUVVWWZ
5:10 — Dum Dum Girls
6:15 — The Mynabirds
7:00 — Delta Spirit
8:10 — Icky Blossoms
9:10 — Garbage
10:40 — Desparecidos
Show ends at Midnight

Maha keeps boasting that there will be lots of parking, and I’m sure they’re right. Regardless, if you live within biking distance (as I do) I recommend pedaling it over there. Omaha Bikes is suppose to have a bike corral set up over by the Aspen Athletic Club. Check out the map at the Maha website. This should be a blast.

* * *

Your weekend ends Sunday back at The Barley Street Tavern for Capgun Coup along with Candywhompus and the always entertaining Worried Mothers. $5, 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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.