Waiting for my 2024 music year in review column? You’ll have to wait one more day. Until then, and in commeration of Throwback Thursday, read the 2004 Music Year in Review. They were the best of times and they were the best of times. See how much things have changed in 20 years.
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Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas? No? Tell us all about it tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s, where PROBLEMS a.k.a. Darren Keen is headling a show that includes The Trauma Center and comic Joslyne Debonis. It’s free and starts at 9 p.m.
Also tonight, Omaha Latin-fueled indie band Las Cruxes supports experimental punk/metal band Flux Amuck at Reverb Lounge. ZENEG and the Doom Choir open the show at 8 p.m. $8 (according to the 1% website).
It was red hot inside Reverb Sunday night (figurative and literally) for Carver Jones and the American Dreamers. Reverb was packed – quite a feat for a local show on a Sunday night by a band that’s never played there before.
I was easily the oldest person in the crowd from my vantage point standing next to the sound board. A gaggle of mostly late-teen/early-20s patrons – an equal mix of guys and dolls – pushed up front as Jones and his band entered the stage along with a couple photographers who captured images throughout the night from behind them. It was Jones’ first “headlining show,” and no doubt the footage will wind up in one of his future music videos.
Jones stood tall center stage in a white polo shirt, guitar slung over his shoulders, with drummer Max Soderberg off stage right invisible behind the crowd and bassist Alec Allhijjawi bouncing to his left. I dug Jones’ well-produced, catchy pop songs on YouTube and Spotify (they don’t have a record label). Could they pull it off live?
Well, almost. Jones’s breathy vocals struggled at times to be heard above the rock, but when they broke through they were impressive, jumping from a mid-range croon to funky falsetto. Jones kicked off the set playing two songs on acoustic guitar before strapping on his trusty Fender (named “Rose”) for single “Hit the Road (Jack)” and a couple new songs performed live for the first time. Both leaned toward the Lenny Kravitz-style rock that Jones loves. Halfway through the second song, Jones strolled over and turned up his amp before ripping into a kille solo.
But just as the crowd was getting into the set, Jones shooed his band off stage and played two quiet cover songs solo-acoustic, including a whispery version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” The vibe down-shift might have worked in a more formal setting but not in rowdy Reverb, where Jones gentle coo was drowned out by party-level crowd chatter.
It wasn’t lost on Jones, who quickly waved the band back on stage, switched guitars, and launched into a sweet cover of The Beatles “Come Together” that segued into another original followed by his latest single, “Winter,” and an earlier single. “RU Still Up?,” that was welcomed with squeals from the girls when announced from stage.
Jones closed out the night with two more bluesy Kravitz-esque numbers, again turning up his amp for some wicked solos. He should have just kept the amp at 10 all night. Upon saying “goodnight,” the crowd burst into an “encore” chant and the band played one more. Hey guys, don’t you know you’re supposed to leave and come back to the stage for the encore?
In our interview last month, Jones said he and his crew have done a lot of street busking, and that seemed evident. The band was, indeed, tight, but I got the sense they’re still learning how to get the most out of a formal stage and would benefit from rehearsing with a seasoned sound man (as well as one of his producers) to get their live show in tip-top shape prior to going out on an inevitable formal tour. Something tells me you’re going to hear a lot from these guys in the future…
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Magü at The Waiting Room, Dec. 21, 2024.
A couple other notes from this past weekend…
I caught Magü’s set at the Waiting Room Friday night. The band has changed a lot since I last saw them three years ago at Petfest. Once a guitar-heavy rock band whose sound at times bordered on shoe-gaze, Magü no longer has any guitars, and their female vocalist was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Magü consists of a keyboard/vocalist, tenor sax, trumpet, bass and drums playing loungy R&B pop tunes that border on Yacht Rock (but without guitars). Quite a shift in style!
Also, an apology and a “caveat emptor”: Cover charges for both the Carver Jones and Magu shows were more than what I published in Lazy-i. I based my prices on what was posted on the One Percent website. The Magü show ended up being $10 instead of the advertise $5; the Carver Jones show was $15 instead of the advertised $12. Why the prices jumped, I do not know, but it’s something to be aware of the next time you head to a 1% show.
Musicwise, we continue to flounder deep in the the heart of the the holiday doldrums. No big “reunion” shows this year as we had in the past (last year it was Icky Blossoms). Oh well, them’s the breaks.
However, there are a few local shows worth checking out this weekend (though nothing tonight).
Saturday night, the sax-swinging combo Magü opens for Bad Self Portraits and headliner Cable Network at The Waiting Room. The last time I saw Magü was at Petfest way back in 2021. We were at the tail end of the pandemic and everyone was freaking out about the Delta Variant, except for those sunning on the white-rock Petshop parking lot.
Back then, I described Magü this way: “Stylistically they describe themselves as psych rock / shoe gaze, but I’d peg them as modern indie with touches of classic rock. I loved the sax player’s tone and style, which merely augmented the songs and didn’t get in the way.” Ah, but that was three years ago. What do they sound like now?
Cable Network is fronted by familiar sound engineer Charlie Ames; and everyone knows Bad Self Portraits by now. Just like old-school rock shows before the pandemic, this one only costs $5. Starts at 8 p.m.
Speaking of old-school rock shows, the holidays will be in full effect Saturday night at fabulous O’Leaver’s where local shit-kickers Lightning Stills headlines a show with Lincoln electronic duo Vempire and Spurney’s Hawk. Expect lots of Santa/elf hats donned by leather-clad drunks. What more could you ask for? How ’bout it’s FREE and starts at 9 p.m. (O’Leaver’s Time).
Sunday night is the long-awaited (by me, anyway) performance by Carver Jones and the American Dreamers at Reverb Lounge. I interviewed Carver back in early November upon the release of his single, “Hit the Road (Jack),” wherein I asked if he could be the “next big thing” out of Omaha. Below is his latest single, released just a couple weeks ago. I dig his music, but can he bring it on stage? Penny and the Dimes opens this one at 8 p.m. $12.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section.
For those wondering, I’ll post my annual Year in Review round-up (recap, favorite albums, favorite shows) early next week.
It was Standing Room Only at Scriptown Saturday afternoon as Omaha psych-rock band Those Far Out Arrows helped the Blackstone-based brewery celebrate its 10-year anniversary.
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the Arrows – August 2023 at Reverb to be exact. No doubt they’ve been busy living their best lives and haven’t had time to rock, but rock they did Saturday afternoon, unveiling a few new songs along with some old favorites (including TFOA classic “Snake in My Basement.” Fronted by the Keelan-White brothers of Ben and Evan on guitar and vocals, let’s hope we’ll get those new songs recorded and pressed on a new album (Their last outing was 2020 LP, Fill Yer Cup). We’re all waiting, dudes.
And I’ll say again: Scriptown should consider hosting weekend afternoon rock shows on a regular basis. They’re always a blast, always draw a crowd, and who doesn’t want to day-drink on the weekend, right?
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Dream Ghoul, A Forgotten Future (2024, self-release)
The massive Ice Storm of ’24 took its toll on Friday night’s Dream Ghoul show at Reverb Lounge. The band’s drummer ended up stranded on I-80 along with hundreds of other motorists. Max Holmquist said we might have to wait until February to get another chance to see the band again, which is a shame because I’m dying to see how they make their new album, A Forgotten Future, come to life on stage.
Released just yesterday on Bandcamp and on the usual streaming platforms (Spotify, etc.), the album is a dark, chiming totem of rock majesty that recalls acts like Interpol, Joy Division, Peter Murphy even Bowie’s Blackstar. Holmquist’s flat, tonal vocals cast warm, haunted echoes over that album’s trippy rhythm tracks and chiming guitars.
The liner notes describe the record as “an exploration of themes of Hauntology, lost futures, spectacle, weaponized nostalgia, and phenomenology against a back-drop of personal struggles with mental illness, paranoia, anxiety, and addiction.” Dark stuff… but with a beat!
Holmquist isn’t afraid of letting the tracks breath as needed, with songs like album highlight “The Being Always Was, 1997” rolling well past the six-minute mark. Recorded, engineered and mixed by James Schroeder (Mesa Buoy, David Nance Band, UUVVWWZ), A Forgotten Future is a shoe-gaze rock odyssey best heard with headphones. Download it here at Bandcamp for just $7.
In life – and in rock ’n’ roll — timing is everything.
There was no way Dream Ghoul singer/songwriter Max Holmquist could have known when he booked his band’s show for tonight at Reverb that an ice storm would be rolling through town. And yet, here we are with one of the only interesting shows of the weekend happening during the first act of Ice Station Zebra.
However, since the show has three openers (Valley Street, Western Haikus and The Ivory Claws), there’s an outside chance the ice will have melted by the time Dream Ghoul takes the stage (as temps are suppose to warm up slowly after 10 p.m., but I’m no weather man). Check road conditions before you head out. The show is slated to begin at 8 p.m.; tickets are $10.
The ice should all be gone by tomorrow morning (Saturday), making it safe to go to Scriptown’s 10th’s Anniversary celebration. To mark the occasion, Those Far Out Arrows returns to the stage with Haunted Gauntlet, starting at 3 p.m. Fun and Free!
Tomorrow night, local pop-punk band Light Speed Highway has an album release show for their latest, Maybe Tonight Could Be Different, at fabulous O’Leaver’s. An “unplugged” version of Uh Oh opens this show at 8 p.m. No cover!
And that’s it for the weekend. You can certainly tell we’re deep in the holiday doldrums. Slowdown’s stage is dedicated entirely to tribute/cover bands through the balance of the year. In fact, you’ll have to wait until the end of January for the next touring indie band to come to town (Pile at Slowdown Jan. 28). We’re in for a long, cold winter.
In the radio business, doing anything for 20 years is remarkable, but hosting a music-focused radio show for 20 years is almost unheard of. But that’s exactly what David Leibowitz has done. His radio show on 89.7 FM The River, New Day Rising, will celebrate its 20th anniversary with its Dec. 22 broadcast.
The origin of the radio show is chronicled in the following column, published in The Reader and on this website 20 years ago. It features an interview with Leibowitz’s co-host, Eric Ziegler. Ziegler would end up leaving the show after only a few months, leaving Leibowitz to continue it for all these years.
“I actually know what I’m doing after all this time!” Leibowitz said about New Day Rising, which airs from 2 to 4 p.m. Sundays on 89.7 FM in Omaha. “I understand what I want to present, and how to go about doing it.”
A glance at the show’s Dec. 9 playlist indicates he’s kept the program’s indie focus and continues to blend new indie releases with classic tracks. But Leibowitz goes beyond the indie genre on his podcast, The Dark Stuff, available exclusively on YouTube. “The Dark Stuff just expands what I can cover,” he said. “Having the radio experience definitely affects how I operate on YouTube.”
For the special Dec. 22 New Day Rising broadcast, Leibowitz said he will be playing classics from the last 20 years, interview clips and “some other surprises.” Tune in.
As I wrote in the following column, the hope was New Day Rising would encourage The River to incorporate more indie music into their regular play lists, but it never really happened. A glance at the station’s November playlist shows the same selection of alt/grunt rock staples, like Sum 41, Sick Puppies and Return to Dust alongside pop punk/emo bands and, yes, the occasional indie track from Father John Misty and St. Vincent. It’s disappointing, but does it really matter? People discover new music a lot differently than they did 20 years, thanks to satellite radio and streaming services.
Still, radio continues to be more popular than podcasts and streaming services, according to this Forbes article from earlier this year that stated while younger people are shifting to on-demand options, 45% of their listening time remains dedicated to radio. And, of course, old people still love radio, but mainly because of shitty talk radio.
Anyway, on this Throwback Thursday, here again is the column announcing the launch of New Day Rising from Dec. 9, 2004:
Dec. 9, 2004: New Day Rising: Indie Music Returns to Omaha’s Air Waves
It always seemed somewhat ironic that Omaha has become this so-called “center of the indie music world,” yet none of the music from that world can be heard on the radio waves within its borders. Important national touring indie bands come through town all the time and draw respectfully well without an ounce of radio support. The only way anyone finds out about these shows is through articles in The Reader, websites (lazy-i comes to mind), word of mouth and show posters and fliers.
All that will likely change Sunday, Dec. 19, at 11 p.m., when Omaha’s only college rock station, 89.7 FM The River, launches a new, locally produced two-hour radio show whose focus will be, believe it or not, indie music.
Omaha’s had indie radio shows before, most recently “Pirate Radio,” hosted at the same 11 to 1 a.m. Sunday night time slot on 93.3 KRCK — the grunt-rock station that became The Dam and now spins “legendary American country.” Hosted by Saddle Creek main man Robb Nansel and Good Life drummer Roger Lewis, Pirate Radio was a laid-back (some would say unstructured) two hours of indie rock, where you were bound to hear a couple songs by Cursive or Bright Eyes. My fondest memory of Pirate Radio was being a guest host and hearing callers requesting Korn, Metallica and Limp Bizkit songs throughout the entire two hours. Typical call: “Dude, something’s wrong with your station. Turn this shit off and play ‘Freak on a Leash!'”).
Now comes “New Day Rising” (For you younguns, that’s a tip o’ the hat to Husker Du), hosted by Eric Ziegler, manager of Homer’s Old Market store, and Dave Leibowitz, former head of Mafia Money Records out of Madison, Wisconsin, who just moved back to the Big O.
Ziegler says their show will plow similar ground as Pirate Radio, with a play list derived from the College Music Journal charts. CMJ has become the defacto bible of college radio stations all over the country, and indie music is at its very core. Just don’t use the “I” word around Ziegler. Call it “College music” or “Underground” or even “Alternative” (though that word was bastardized long ago by the likes of Creed and Matchbox 20, who are about “alternative” as Britney Spears).
Ziegler says the term “Indie” turns people off. It’s at once too broad (What is indie, anyway?) and too confining (Like “emo,” no one wants the term applied to their music), with baggage that conjures images of pasty scenester kids squeezed into youth medium-sized T-shirts, with dyed-black hair and thick, clunky glasses.
Instead, the show’s play list will be all over the map, even beyond CMJ. “We’ll play anything from Bauhaus to The Replacements to My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult to The Smiths and Pavement.”
Isn’t that oldie indie? “The thing is to play newer music — the stuff the kids are into — and also keep listeners our age (i.e., in their 30s) intrigued. We want to throw in a couple gems to educate people. Half the kids today don’t know who Joy Division is, but will listen to all the bands that were influenced by them.”
The key, Ziegler said, is variety — underground metal next to underground hip-hop, a Shins song followed by the new one from Mastodon. Expect local music, too, but no Saddle Creek artists. “We might stay away from Bright Eyes and The Faint,” Ziegler said. “That stuff’s already on The River’s regular play list.” They’ll also avoid music heard on The River’s local-music show, Planet O.
Could the show’s success influence The River’s regular play list? Ziegler hopes so. “I would suffer through Slipknot to hear TV on the Radio.” But considering the success of the station’s current goon-rock format, any change seems unlikely. – Originally published in The Reader and Lazy-i.com Dec. 9, 2004.
While still recovering… from throat problems, Conor Oberst has been lighting up the internet with news. On a recent Broken Record podcast, Oberst talked about trying to convince Alan and Diana Meltzer of Wind-Up Records to not sign proto-grunge band Creed to their label way back in the mid-’90s. Oberst was in Commander Venus, which was then signed to Wind-Up. Conor must have been 16 or 17 at the time. Read all about it here in Exclaim. Said Conor about the Creek record: “And then, sure enough, they put it out, and it’s the biggest thing in the world. So [that’s] another reason not to ever trust my judgement.“
Bright Eyes also just announced that Christopher Owens will be their supporting act when they kick off their North American Tour Jan. 16 in Phoenix. Owens was formerly in the S.F. duo Girls. He opens for Bright Eyes through Feb. 7, then hands the opener chores to Hurray for the Riff Raff, who eventually hands it over to Cursive in April. Those Bright Eyes/Cursive shows could be a real time machine.
Still no make-up date announced for that “postponed” Steelhouse date….
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Speaking of time machines, tomorrow night (Thursday) at 7:30 p.m., Nebraska Public Media will re-air the next installment of its 33rd Street Sessions series featuring archive performances from Mercy Rule, The Millions and Floating Opera. The old concert clips are interspersed with recent interviews with Mercy Rule’s Jon Taylor, Heidi Ore and Ron Albertson, and The Millions’ Lori Allison. Fun stuff and the recording quality is top-notch. And if you watch via the embedded player below, you can skip over all the NPM fund drive pitches!
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Finally, Dream Ghoul just dropped another track from their upcoming album, A Forgotten Future, which is being released this coming Sunday. Dream Ghoul is the latest project from Max Holmquist (Oquoa). The album was recorded and mixed by Jim Schroeder, of Mesa Buoy and David Nance Band. No doubt you’ll hear most of the album’s songs when the band performs this Friday at Reverb with Western Haikus and The Ivory Claws…
Last night’s performance of Simon Joyner’s Coyote Butterfly at The Waiting Room was a touching tribute to Joyner’s late son, Owen – the subject of the album. Every seat was taken throughout the packed house, with many standing in the back along the bar.
Megan Siebe began the evening performing a solo cello composition on the darkened stage – a solemn, dramatic, tonal piece performed over looped portions recorded via a pedal. The album’s artwork was projected behind her – a bleak snow scape in the dead of winter. The image would later be replaced with a rotating collection of photos taken near the South Omaha Bridge – beautiful landscapes with cloud-filled skies.
Sarah Adkisson Joyner, Simon’s wife, took the stage next and said a few words about Owen and how their family had grieved following his death in August 2022. She also talked about how the music we were about to hear played a role in their grieving process, before introducing the band.
Joyner, seated center stage with his guitar, was surrounded by his friends and bandmates – David Nance on bass, James Schroeder, guitar; Kevin Donahue, drums, and Michael Krassner on guitar and keyboards. They proceeded to perform Coyote Butterfly in its entirety in track order, beginning with the field recordings and Joyner’s guitar instrumental, “Red-Winged Black Birds (March 13, 2024),” that led directly into Joyner singing alone, “I’m Taking You With Me.”
The full band then joined in on “The Silver Birch,” (with Megan Siebe on violin) and continued for what was a note-perfect rendition of the album. An exception was an epic version of “Port of Call” that featured an extended instrumental introduction showcasing the band – it felt like the evening’s centerpiece leading into a performance of the album’s title track.
Joiner didn’t speak between songs, and the audience seemed initially hesitant to applaud, perhaps wondering if it was okay to enjoy themselves while Simon poured his heart out. After the buzz of cicadas heard on the concluding field recording came to an abrupt halt (as it does on the album), the crowd again applauded and Joyner thanked everyone for being there. The evening was somber but also heart-felt and special, and will likely never be repeated.
It’s the first Friday of the month, and that means Benson First Friday. Local artists will be showing their wares in art openings up and down Maple Street tonight, including at Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple Street, where we’re hosting the 2024 Dragon Invitational Open House featuring the works of a whopping 25 artists. Full list of participating artists is right here. I currently am busy this morning baking cookies for this event (Chinese Almond Cookies, Classic Toll House). The opening runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Drop by, have a glass of wine (or whine) and say hello. See you there.
It’s also Bandcamp Friday, which means it’s the best time to purchase music from your favorite artists as today Bandcamp is waving all fees and passing your hard-earned rubles directly to the bands. So whether it’s the Violenteer debut or the latest from Simon Joyner or this groovy new track from Max Holmquist’s Dream Ghoul, now is the time to buy and download.
And, though not a ska fan (except for The Specials, of course), there’s a three-band ska show happening tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s. They’re calling it “A Plastic Holiday Special,” featuring Omaha skacore band Plastic Presidents, Minneapolis ska/punk/jazz fusion act Runaway Ricochet and Omaha ska/rocksteady act The Bishops. It’s free and has a published 8 p.m. start time. Wear a checkered neck tie and your top-siders!
Saturday night is the big Violenteer EP release show at Reverb Lounge. I wrote about the album here. The four-band bill also includes Dance Me Pregnant, Lodgings and Bad Bad Men. It’ll be a crowded room fer shure. $12, 8 p.m. start time.
Meanwhile, just down the street at The Sydney, Dave Goldberg’s new(ish) metal band Prolapse is headlining a show with Blood Tower and GLOW. $10, 9 p.m. (Sydney Time).
That brings us to Sunday and Simon Joyner’s album release show for Coyote Butterfly. As mentioned in yesterday’s write-up, this will likely be the only time the album is performed in its entirety. It’s also a seated show, so get there early to both get good seats and hear opener Megan Siebe. This early show (6:30 p.m. start time) could be a gut-wrencher. $15. PS: The Waiting Room will be featuring an NA-only special menu. All the profits from the tickets will be donated to the Arch Alumni Association, a non-profit organization whose mission is supporting former members of the Arch Halfway House.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
Knowing the theme behind the recording, I dreaded listening to Simon Joyner’s new album, Coyote Butterfly (2024, Grapefruit Records).
Released last month, the record is the first collection of songs from Joyner in two years following the overdose death of his son, Owen, in August 2022. Joyner’s music is already known for leaning on the heavier topics of life; now along comes a very personal 10-track collection described as an exploration of loss through a series of imagined dialogues and raw confessions drawn from the kaleidoscopic nature of grief.
Well, after listening to the album for the past few days, my dread was unfounded. Coyote Butterfly not only is one of the most poignant collections penned by Joyner, but melodically also among the most beautiful. This is not a minor-key cry of pain, rather it’s an elegiac acknowledgement of grief, regret and acceptance from someone who has been through something no one should go through.
Despite its bleak subject matter, a number of the album’s songs could become staples in Joyner’s future set lists such as “The Silver Birch” and “Port of Call” where Joyner leans on long-time comrades and friends to accompany him – a backing band consisting of David Nance, James Schroeder, Kevin Donahue, Ben Brodin and Michael Krassner.
On the other hand, many of the songs that feature only Joyner, his guitar and voice — especially the gut-wrenching “My Lament” and the heart-breaking title track — are difficult to get through, but are far from maudlin.
AllMusic.com critic Fred Thomas, in an incisive review of the Coyote Butterfly, concluded: “The album does an amazing job of conveying how dealing with death is a journey with no destination, one spent looking for slivers of understanding and acceptance but knowing there will never be resolution. The way Joyner shares his pain with honesty and fearlessness makes these songs some of his most beautiful and connective and life-affirming even in their unimaginable grief.”
Joyner and his band will perform the album at a special seated show this Sunday at The Waiting Room. According to the One Percent Productions’ website, it will likely be the only performance of the album in its entirety. And if my notes are correct, it’ll be the first time Joyner has performed on a formal Omaha stage in almost a decade.
Singer/songwriter Megan Siebe, who has played on a number of Joyner’s previous albums, opens Sunday’s show at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15.
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