Emily: Really Charles, people will think–
Charles Foster Kane: –what I tell them to think.

• At The Brothers, it’s Now Archimedes with one other band, whose name escapes me. Thornton says his band will play first and should get started after 10.
• Right across the street, at 3821 Farnam to be exact, Bombardment Society is playing a benefit gig with Outlaw Con Bandana and Oui Bandits (details here).
• While, over at The 49’r, it’s OEA nominee Little Brazil with No Blood Orphan.

A few random thoughts about last night’s Omaha Entertainment Awards at the Holland Center…

I was both pleasantly surprised and impressed at the turn-out (even though no one I spoke with actually paid for a ticket). We showed up at the VIP pre-party at the downtown library just after 6 p.m. and found the place packed to the gills with one of the most odd, eclectic mixes of people I’ve seen at any local event, everyone decked out in suits, sport jackets, tuxes and dresses, with a few rebels exceptions in jeans and the usual Midwestern rock gear.

When we got to the Holland at 7, the place, again, was jammed. My first impression: Somehow, some way, John Heaston — the main guy behind the award show after organizer Tony Lange flew the coop — pulled it off. High-brow, storied public figures and dignitaries stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the bar line with the cream of the Omaha and Lincoln music scenes. When was the last time that happened?

The program started at the stroke of 7:30 — on time thanks to television. And for the first 45 minutes — maybe an hour — I felt like I was at a real, big-time gala awards show. Despite the usual technical glitches and miscues (the TelePromTer was either broken or poorly operated) the presenters were professional, the voice-over announcer was first-class and the stage direction kept things rolling along. Spotlights, music, glam.

The entire first half of the show — the better-produced, better-run half — was dedicated solely to theater awards. Unfortunately, I know nothing about local theater, having not seen a stage play since Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Blue Barn a couple years ago. So while the awards were classy and the acceptance speeches perfectly sincere, I had no idea who I was being honored, nor did I care.

Conversely, those on hand for the theater awards obviously did not care about the live music awards that would follow, because after the theater portion of the program concluded, about half the audience got up and left. The live music awards got Omaha’d. Note to Heaston for next year’s show: Stagger the categories between theater and live music throughout the entire evening, forcing everyone to sit tight ’til the end.

I guess I can’t entirely blame the theater folks for leaving early. Just like a real awards show, after about two hours the whole thing became tedious and boring, and I, too, just wanted to get the awards awarded and go home. You can’t really expect people to sit tight for three and a half hours. If Heaston keeps this format, next year I shall arrive at around 9 p.m.

Of the music performances, the stand-outs were Little Brazil, who unveiled a new song from their upcoming album that blew up the stage (literally having blown out an amp during the rehearsals the day before). All LB band members wore shirt and ties, except frontman Landon Hedges, who wore his uniform-like white underwear T-shirt and black jeans — the same get-up you’ll see him in on any given night at O’Leaver’s. The other stand-out was the entry (and winner) for the night’s best cover band honor, Acoustic Groove. On the whole, half the acts were pretty good, the other half was real amateur-hour fodder, but that’s what you get when you put a show like his together. I wasn’t surprised to find, when I stepped out during the Jazzwholes song, that the lobby filled with people drinking, chatting, smoking outside, missing the entire performance.

Anyway, as far as the awards themselves, I batted around .500 on my guesses in yesterday’s blog. Here are last night’s winners:

Adult Contemporary: Sarah Benck. The Robbers got left off the nomination announcement and the graphic used on the huge big screen over the stage. They came up and accepted the award with Sarah anyway.

Alternative Indie: Bright Eyes, much to the consternation of the presenters. Conor Oberst came on stage (a surprise in itself that he even showed up) and thanked Satan, “who’s responsible for all of this.” This was a response to a previous winner’s acceptance speech, which thanked God for the same reason. Oberst also took a moment to recognize the performers who are just getting started, the ones playing two-dollar shows or the kids with the demo CDs. It was the nice sentiment.

Bluegrass Country: Forty Twenty. I don’t know if the music they play could be categorized as bluegrass, but regardless, I like what they do.

Blues: Kris Lager Band. The crowd seemed pleased.

Classical/Symphony: The Omaha Symphony. Nice acceptance speech. Where was Thom Wilkins?

Coverband: Acoustic Groove. They thanked their rhythm section.

Folk Americana Roots: The surprise winner, to me anyway, was Anonymous American. I knew Whipkey and Co. were going to snag at least one award last night. I didn’t think it would be this one, since their music isn’t folkie, rootsie or Amiericana-y. Whipkey beseeched people to go to more shows.

Gospel: Heidi Joy. Eek. She said she was shocked. She should be. She also announced that The Jazzwholes are her backing band, which explains a lot.

Hard Rock/Metal: Venaculas. Again, the presenters sounded disappointed when they read the name.

Hip-Hop/Rap: Another big surprise, the award went to a bleach-blond-headed Buck Bowen. Bowen seemed rather out of it when he accepted his award, saying that it should have gone to Surreal for everything he’s done for the scene. He then went on to mumble through a list of names before being cut off by the music and then forcibly removed from the stage. (Seriously).

Jazz: In one of the more bizarre wins of the evening, The Jazzwholes took the prize, even though the band all but admitted in their acceptance speech that they don’t play jazz music, and their performance on the stage earlier that evening underscored their sentiment. The win wasn’t the Jazzwholes fault, it was the Academy’s fault, and it was an embarrassment to them and the OEAs, especially when you consider that jazz legend Luigi Waits was in the house and hadn’t even been nominated.

Live Music Event: Bright Eyes in Memorial Park. Oberst accepted the award saying, “You’re off to a good start…” even though it came at Hour Three of the shows. It would be the last we would Conor on stage that evening.

Punk: Straight Outta Jr. High.

R&B/Funk: The Jazzwholes. Ironic, again, when you consider that they also don’t play R&B or funk.

Rock: Perhaps the most surprising win of the evening, the award went to Grasshopper Takeover, a band that hasn’t produced an original album in a few years. Grubb and Co. graciously accepted, saying something like “I didn’t think anyone gave a shit about us anymore…”

Slam Poetry: Johnny Tornado

Techno/Electronic (DJ Category): Brent Crampton

Traditional/Indigenous: Ellis Island

In the academy-chosen categories, the winners were:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Luigi Waits. Waits, I’m told, had to fly in from Atlanta to accept the award. He seemed genuinely touched by the recognition.

New Artist of the Year: Ladyfinger. Accepting the award, front man Chris Machmuller said, “I’m happy I wore my award cardigan.” Nice.

Best Musical Ambassador: The Omaha Blues Society’s Terry O’Hallaron.

Artist of the Year: Bright Eyes. By this time in the evening, Oberst apparently had tired of going on stage to accept awards, and who can blame him? No one seemed to mind that he wasn’t there, though. I saw him afterward in the hallway carrying around his hardware.

Album of the Year: Cursive’s Happy Hollow. Tim Kasher and Matt Maginn graciously accepted the award.

So in retrospect, was the event a success? It’s hard to argue that it wasn’t. People seemed to be having a good time, everyone I talked to was impressed (initially) with how everything was handled. I didn’t hang around to ask anyone their impressions after the show, as all I wanted to do was get home and get out of my shirt and tie.

The biggest flaw from the awards standpoint was in the categorization of bands. Again, it wasn’t The Jazzwholes’ fault that they got nominated — and then won — an award in the jazz category (and the R&B category for that matter). The nomination process itself is flawed. While public input is the right thing to do, it shouldn’t matter if 2,000 people write in to nominate Indigenous — a blues-rock band from South Dakota — in the Indigenous music category. Someone with some knowledge has to draw a line and throw out bands that don’t belong or else the whole thing becomes embarrassing both for the nominated band and the award process. In the end, Indigenous was thrown out. Unfortunately, a number of miscategorized bands were overlooked.

As for the program, next year they should only have performers, musicians, actors and actresses present awards — not media members, business owners and sponsors. One presenter was the guy who runs a local formalwear shop — what does that say about the award he’s presenting? It makes the whole thing look cheap, commercial, shoddy.

See you next year.

Tonight at O’Leaver’s, perhaps one of Omaha’s biggest buzz bands, Cloven Path, opens a show for Latitude Longitude and Kite Pilot. $5, 9:30 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

The Omaha Entertainment Awards presentation is tonight at The Holland Center. If you can’t afford a ticket, you can watch along at home (if you have Cox digital cable) by tuning into Cox 248. In the interest if full disclosure, as an academy member, here is who I voted for in each category, along with who I think will win:

Adult Contemporary: Singer-songwriter Scott Severin got my vote. Of all the candidates, he reaches the furthest in his music and lyrics. The winner, though, will be Sarah Benck, who has the largest following among the nominees.

Alternative Indie: With the nomination timeframe going all the way back to January 2005, I had to vote for Bright Eyes, whose dual releases in January 2005 were probably the best records released out of Omaha in the past two years. The rest of the academy will agree.

Bluegrass Country: Of the nominees, South Paw Bluegrass band is probably the closest to what the genre should represent. The academy will likely agree (if they listened to all the nominees’ music).

Blues: I consider blues bands to be defacto cover bands, and taking that approach, it’s impossible for me to not vote for Blue House. The award, however, will go to Sarah Benck, again based on sheer popularity.

Classical/Symphony: The Omaha Symphony is top of the list. The academy will agree.

Coverband: A category that shouldn’t be included and likely won’t be next year, I didn’t cast a vote having not seen/heard any of the nominees. The winner will be Acoustic Groove.

Folk Americana Roots: Folk to me is either interpreting classic/traditional folk songs by Guthrie, Dylan and others, or writing songs in the folk style. Since none of the candidates perform traditionals, my vote goes to the best songwriter of the bunch, Simon Joyner. The academy will select Charlie Burton, who is another local hero and pals with a lot of the academy members.

Gospel: Again, I didn’t vote here (We were instructed not to vote if we didn’t know what we were voting for). The winner will be Heidi Joy, who I think is one of the worst performers in the area, but who has the largest following among the candidates.

Hard Rock/Metal: Just based on momentum, I had to vote for Stigmata, who have solid backing from The River and from live shows (and they played the OEA show at Shag). The winner will be Venaculas, however, based on their longevity in the scene.

Hip-Hop/Rap: Buck Bowen is the only one that really speaks in a voice that represents the world I live in. Is Omaha a gangsta haven? Hardly. The winner, however, will be Surreal the MC, as an acknowledgment of everything he’s done for the local music scene.

Jazz: Again, a no-vote for me. I would have voted for Luigi Waits had he been nominated. Steve Raybine will likely win as he’s the closest of all the nominees to playing real jazz.

Live Music Event: Bright Eyes in Memorial was the most important of the five nominees. The winner will be the Jazzwholes Whole-a-ween show.

Punk: None of the nominees are punk bands. That said, I voted for JV Allstars. The winner, however, will be Straight Outta’ Jr. High based on their exposure on The River.

R&B/Funk: Satchel Grande, which isn’t really an R&B band, still got my vote. The winner will be The Jazzwholes.

Rock: For pure beer-bottle rock, you can’t beat Anonymous American. The rest of the academy will agree.

Slam Poetry: I have no idea why this is a category. Slam Poetry is like a sad, sick combination of amateur poetry and stand-up comedy. Horrible. No vote. No idea who’ll win.

Techno/Electronic (DJ Category): Having heard none of the nominees, I didn’t vote. No idea who will win.

Traditional / Indigenous: Again, I did not vote. The winner will be Mariachi y Luna based on the exotic quality of their name.

Finally, the six academy-only categories. There was no list of nominees, we were instructed to give our top two or three in each category. Here’s what I put down:

Best Live Music Event of the Year: 1. Bright Eyes in the park, 2. Whole-a-ween.

New Artist of the Year: 1. Ladyfinger, 2. The Terminals, 3. Eagle*Seagull

Best Musical Ambassador: 1. Conor Oberst, 2. Tim Kasher, 3. Thomas Wilkins

Artist of the Year: 1. Bright Eyes, 2. Cursive, 3. Tilly and the Wall

Album of the Year: 1. Bright Eyes, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning; 2. Cursive, Happy Hollow; 3. Simon Joyner and the Fallen Men, Skeleton Blues.

Lifetime Achievement Award: 1. Preston Love, 2. Luigi Waits

See you at the show.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Here it is, bigger and better than ever — my annual music predictions for the coming year (read it here). The story is split in two in this week’s issue of The Reader, with the “look-back” segment used for this week’s column. They’re joined as one here, for your convenience. Someone once asked me how many of these predictions are pure shot-in-the-dark guesses, how many are rumors and how many do I already know as a fact will happen. The answer: There’s a little truth to everything, either based on what I know or my intuition (which is probably more accurate than my general reporting). Regardless, it’s all done in fun… isn’t it? Take a look.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Could there be a quieter way to start the new year? There’s nothing going on this week. Well, almost nothing. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Omaha’s own awards pageant extraodinaire — the Omaha Entertainment Awards this Thursday at The Holland Center. A little bird (named Greg Edds) told me that the featured band for the night’s final performance is none other than Little Brazil, who will be capping off an evening that will include performances by The Jazzwholes, Chris Saub Trio and… well, I’ve never heard of the rest of the performers… Regardless, it should be a fun evening filled with pomp and circumstance, gleeful winners and sad, heart-broken losers (at least four losers for every winner), as well as lots of booze (They sell booze at The Holland, don’t they?). Tickets, believe it or not, are still available from ticketomaha.com for $25, or you can watch it live on Cox Channel 248. Expect a full run-down of what happened the next morning at Lazy-i.

A little Bright Eyes new to pass along: Seems you won’t be hearing Conor Oberst crooning on an iPod of Chevy commercial (or any commercial for that matter) anytime soon. According to this piece in The Houston Chronicle, Oberst doesn’t license his music for commercials or TV, which was a problem for the producers of crappy NBC series Friday Night Lights. They loved Bright Eyes’ cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Devil Town” so much that they wanted to use it on the show. Unfortunately for them, Oberst said no. So instead, they hired California musician Tony Lucca to cover Bright Eyes covering Daniel Johnston — making it perhaps the first cover of a cover to ever air on national television.

In other Bright Eyes news, NME is reporting (here) that Bright Eyes will perform at “Bring ‘Em Home Now,” an anti-war benefit to be held March 20 at NYC’s Hammersmith Ballroom. Also performing are Michael Stipe, Chuck D, Rufus Wainwright, Fisherspooner and Peaches.

Tune in tomorrow for what has become the year’s most popular feature on Lazy-I: The annual “predictions” article, where I’ll look back on how well I predicted ’06 (catch up here) while showing you lucky readers what will happen in ’07. Don’t miss it. And while we’re talking about ’06, you may want to take a moment to enter the Lazy-I Best of 2006 Comp CD giveaway. This year’s disc includes tracks by Yo La Tengo, Simon Joyner and the Fallen Men, Scissor Sisters, Junior Boys, Cursive, Cat Power, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Royskopp, Ladyfinger, The Terminals and more (see the track listing here). Judging by the number of entries I’ve received so far, you’ll never have a better chance of winning this valuable collector’s item! All you have to do is e-mail me (tim@lazy-i.com) with your name and mailing address and you’ll be entered into the drawing. You can’t win if you don’t enter!

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Lot of shows this weekend. Tonight it’s Hyannis with Nik Fackler (The Family Radio, filmmaker extraordinare) and Baby Walrus (which may be Le Beat) at The Saddle Creek Bar. $5, 9 p.m. Meanwhile, down at O’Leaver’s, it’s Outlaw Con Bandana with Chris Yambor, The Tall One Behind and Death and Flowers. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Tomorrow night it’s Matt Whipkey and Anonymous American at Sokol Underground for their CD release show, along with Sarah Benck and The Robbers. $7, 9 p.m. Meanwhile, Mick’s is hosting the Joe Budenholzer Annual Tribute Night. This year, Joe and his band (consisting of local musicians) will be performing Talking Heads’ Fear of Music in its entirety. The show starts at 9 p.m. with a performance of Back World songs (Budenholzer’s project), followed by Fear of Music, then the stage will be open for local musicians to come up and jam. $5.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

This version of the 2006 Year in Review is unabridged (vs. the version in today’s issue of The Reader, where I was forced to cut about 500 words). Included in the story is the annual Top-10 CDs list as well as a list of the best shows of ’06. Read it here.

While you’re there, make sure you enter to win a copy of the coveted Lazy-I Best of 2006 Compilation CD! All you have to do is e-mail me (tim@lazy-i.com) with your name and mailing address and you’ll be entered into the drawing. Tracks include songs by Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Junior Boys, Ladyfinger, Röyskopp, The Terminals, Two Gallants, Simon Joyner and the Fallen Men, Cursive and more. Details and track order are right here. Enter today! Deadline’s January 17.

And speaking of “best of” lists, Kyle Munson of The Des Moines Register has put together his annual list, which also includes his annual critics’ panel that included yours truly. Check it out here.

There is a show scheduled tonight at O’Leaver’s, I’m just not sure exactly who it is. According to their website, it’s McCarthy Trenching, but according to SLAM Omaha it’s The Slats and Beati Paoli. Either way, it’s $5 and starts at 9:30 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Column 107: Leggo My Ego
Matt Whipkey no longer anonymous.

Omaha’s favorite high-flying beer-bottle Americana rock ‘n’ roll experience, Anonymous American, has changed its name to Matt Whipkey and Anonymous American. This change prompted one person to rename the band Ego and The Maniacs.

Whipkey, who has been performing either solo or as a frontman for almost a decade, is aware of his reputation for enjoying his own music. He laughed off the “Ego and The Maniacs” comment (only to ask, moments later, who said it), admitting that there was a time when the label fit like a pair of tight slacks.

“I plead guilty to being an asshole and over-arrogant in the past,” he said over coffee at Caffeine Dreams. “But I don’t feel that way now. There are people I meet nowadays who (afterward) I say, ‘I hope I wasn’t like that.'” He wisely wouldn’t say who those people are.

Fact is, you have to have a certain amount of ego to be a musician, singer-songwriter or front man (or, for that matter, a music columnist/critic). How else would anyone have the balls to stand up in front of a crowd and sing little stories, hoping that their message will “touch your life”? Bravado is a necessity.

Whipkey, of course, agrees. “It takes a certain amount of ego to ask people to pay money to hear your music, but you can take it past that.”

So it seems. Whipkey said the band’s name change, which will appear on their new record, has more to do with logistics than ego. Turns out that the rest of his band have lives of their own. Guitarist Corey Weber and his wife had a baby a few weeks ago. Drummer Wayne Brekke recently got engaged, while bassist Bobby Carrig is trying to finish up his degree. Their busy schedules, however, aren’t stopping Whipkey from promoting their new album with a three-week West Coast tour — as a solo artist.

“After The Movies (Whipkey’s former band), I didn’t want to make a record and have the band break up again,” he said. “We’re still very much a band. We still get along. We still play together. But now I can have an album, go on the road, and not confuse the bookers and the audience when I try to sell a CD that doesn’t have my name on it.”

The new record, Don’t Be Late, easily is the poppiest thing Whipkey has produced with any band. Songs like the bouncy “CTA,” his duet with blues-rock diva and girlfriend Sarah Benck “Don’t Be Late for the Rest of Your Life,” and the Christmas love song “Here With Me” are slick, three-minute rockers with a hint of John Hiatt twang. They’re also somewhat removed from the usual over-the-top let’s-get-this-party-started vibe of his live show.

“I went out of my way to not be bombastic,” Whipkey said of the new record. “It’s great that certain people enjoy that aspect, but I wanted to make a record that was well-crafted. When you see us live, we don’t have three background harmonies, we don’t have a piano or organ player. The beauty of making a record is you can do things you can’t do on stage.”

Or used to be able to do. A bizarre accident Oct. 20 nearly ended Whipkey’s guitar-playing career when he accidentally severed the tendon of his left index finger with a pair of scissors. After surgery, Whipkey underwent three weeks of physical therapy at Midwest Orthopedic. He says he still struggles to play an F chord, which is in all of his songs.

“What used to be automatic I have to think about, and that’s kind of weird,” he said. “I’m not going to live forever. I’m mortal. In retrospect, there are worse injuries that can occur to a person. It’s just the fact that I couldn’t do what I wanted to do. I could always go home and play guitar. When I couldn’t do that, it was pretty maddening.”

And humbling. Whipkey said stabbing himself also cut away at his self-esteem. “But before it happened, I was already losing some of that ego, stepping down from my high horse, thinking I’m the best thing ever. I’ve come to the conclusion that some people won’t like what I want to do.”

Still, Whipkey couldn’t help himself. Before the interview ended, he pointed out that he’d love to pursue a career as a song writer for other artists. The caveat: “I could do the songs better than any artist could perform them. I guess I have an ego because it’s true. We’re a great band and I write fantastic songs. Sorry.”

Now that’s the Whipkey we know and love.

Things are kind of quiet ’round these parts after the holidays. We’re heading into that after-the-holidays dead-zone void musicwise after this weekend. Newswise, there’s not a lot to report, so I thought I’d take a quick look at the mailbag.

— A reader who goes by the name RJ Sak wrote me with his top-10 list, which included MC Lars, Fiona Apple, Basement Jaxx, Three-6 Mafia and Hayes Carll, who topped it at No. 1. He’s “The real deal,” says Sak. “Found him playing a bar in Austin. His music and lyrics confirmed my hometown hunch: Saddle Creek Records is finished. The whole ‘I’m-a-sensitive-nervous-little-tea-pot’ routine was cute. But when the kiddos outgrow their Batman undies and Superman PJ’s, the party is over. Time for Hayes and I to watch some football and change the air filter.” Ouch! I listened to a couple Hayes tracks on Myspace. His stuff is on Lost Highway and reminds me of BJ Thomas. Not bad, though I don’t know how his music is related to Saddle Creek, which doesn’t do this sort of thing. No reason to lash out, RJ, just change the channel quietly. Speaking of top-10 lists, mine will go online as part of the annual Year in Review article tomorrow morning.

— Matt Beat, of local band Electric Needle Room, writes to confirm that Omaha radio is indeed a-hurtin’. Says Matt, “…Here I come to Omaha and, I must say, I was VERY disappointed. Sometimes I wonder if I was destined to come here and somehow start my own station — it was something I always wanted to do, for I loved radio the three years I was in the business.” Good luck with that one, Matt. If you or anyone else gets the bread together to create a broadcast college-style radio station in this market, they’ll have at least one volunteer to give them a hand.

— Todd Hanton wrote to give me a head’s up that Kite Pilot will be back in January, performing as a trio. The band has written six new songs along with two others they wrote with Austin Britton before he moved to the West Coast. Kite Pilot has gigs lined up at O’Leaver’s Jan 5 (with red hot local band Cloven Path and Latitude Longitude), and the Saddle Creek Bar Jan 19 (with Eagle*Seagull and Landing on the Moon) and Feb. 23 (with Spring Gun and Adam Weaver and the Ghosts).

— Finally, Greg Edds of Little Brazil writes to say his band has one of their new tracks posted on their Myspace page. “The track is called ‘Shades.’ The record, Tighten The Noose, has been pushed up to a Feb. 6th release date,” says Edds. Little Brazil also have a gig slated for Sokol Underground Jan. 22, opening for The Appleseed Cast and Asobi Seksu.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Was the three-day Eastern Nebraska Tour a sell-out like it said on the T-shirts (with a question-mark added)? They didn’t sell out in Lincoln and last night’s show, while close, probably didn’t (but I don’t have the numbers either way, at least the SCB show sold out). That said, it was still a remarkable set from a band that has taken their live show from being something of a snooze to a real killer.

The Good Life unveiled seven new songs (at least) that take their sound to a different place than the circus-barker off-Broadway theatrics of Album of the Year (which is the best soundtrack to a musical that was never staged). In interviews with me and Niz at the OWH, the band talked of stripping it all down for the next album. After what I heard last night, that seemed to mean building songs around Steph Drootin’s simple, melodic bass lines. Throughout the evening she was the center of my attention, the backbone to every new song. Drootin led the charge with one arm figuratively around Roger Lewis’ crisp, kicky drums. Ryan Fox added tasty chits of guitar while Kasher did his usual soulful emoting (in terrific voice) — this time, with less frown and more wide-eyed wonder.

The up songs were downright poppy (and brief, around three minutes, no more), while the slow numbers were bluesy and laid-back, slouching forward on Drootin’s bass, which leaned with the posture of a low-down reggae band. Clearly the band has decided to edit everything down to the bare essentials. The effect is the most straight-forward, cohesive music that Kasher has created with either band (the other being Cursive). Gone is the over-the-top shimmering drama that characterized (and sometimes cluttered) the songs (especially on the pre-AOTY/Lawyers material). Lyrically, Kasher’s narratives nonchalantly get to the point, with no filler and plenty of clever double entendres to keep you smiling at just how clever he can be, telling stories of love debauched with regret (usually).

The contrast between old and new was startling and, for me, downright abrasive. Or maybe it was just the preponderance of more bombastic, dramatic selections from the back catalog that filled out the night’s set list.

I don’t think I was the only one who recognized how the two styles didn’t quite mesh. After playing two new songs, Kasher started an older one only to stop dead in his tracks after the first phrase. He wanted to take a moment to thank the crowd, saying (I’m paraphrasing here, I didn’t take notes) “I don’t really like performing, I like writing songs. So I’m still getting used to doing this. Sometimes after shows, someone asks if I liked the set and I usually say that I wasn’t really feeling it. But tonight I’m really enjoying myself.” It was a charming — if odd — moment that felt prompted by the sheer awkwardness of the gear-grinding shift between new and old, casual and dramatic.

With the new music, Kasher no longer oversells his angst. It’s as if he doesn’t care if you get it or not, he’s just gonna lay it out there for you to fill in the blanks. There is no effort to make you feel sorry for him because he no longer feels sorry for himself. This matter-of-fact style is more simple, more pure, more honest – and to me, more tuneful. This seems to be where Kasher wants to go from now on. After playing the first “oldie” last night, he responded to the crowd by saying “I’m glad that you applauded less for that one than the new ones.” The crowd laughed, but after a few moments, Kasher added, “I’m serious.” I think he was.

If I don’t see you tomorrow, Happy Holidays from everyone at Lazy-i.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—