Omaha noise-rock four-piece Violenteer is headlining tonight at The Sydney in Benson. They top off a four-band bill that includes Kansas City noise/art-rock band Jorge Arana Trio, Lawrence Kansas punkers Jackoffs and Omaha art-noise duo Pagan Athletes. 8:30, $10. It’s gonna be a long night.
And that about does it for shows. No touring indie shows. Nineties rockers Primus and Coheed and Cambria are playing at The Astro Sunday. Who remembers “Jerry was a Race Car Driver”? Great song. I bought Primus’ Sailing the Sea of Cheese CD in ’91 on that strength of that song. It was an era when buying albums was a gamble, and I certainly lost on that bet. $55, 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, Benson Days is going on this weekend — it’s the usual parade Saturday morning, pancake feed and street vendors. I don’t see anything about live music. More info here.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great, hot weekend.
Massachusetts post-rock instrumental outfit Caspian headlines tonight at The Waiting Room. The band has been kicking around for more than 20 years; in fact, they played a headlining gig way back in 2016 with The Appleseed Cast as an opener. Their latest, 2023’s On Circles: The Complete Sessions (a follow-up to 2020’s On Circles), was released by Triple Crown Records. Their style is classic start-small-and-build-mountains instrumentals a la Explosions in the Sky. You know the drill.
Opening is Belfast-based prog rockers And So I Watch You from Afar. While the band also mostly does instrumentals, there’s some spoken word mixed in for good measure. They’ve had music released on Sargent House and Equal Vision. Their latest 3-song single, Years Ago, came out just a couple weeks ago on Pelagic Records and combines intricate guitar lines with Mogwai-style wall-of noise goodness. $30, 8 p.m.
When nothing’s going on, I like to update the list of upcoming touring indie shows. Not much has changed over the last update except the addition of MJ Lenderman & The Wind at The Waiting Room Oct. 10. The Asheville, NC, singer/songwriter has a new album coming out on Anti- Sept. 6 called Manning Fireworks. The first single, “She’s Leaving You,” is burning up college radio. You may remember him from playing in the band Wednesday back in May at The Slowdown.
Other adds include Foxing Sept. 26 at Slowdown; Odie Leigh at The Slowdown Oct. 1; Saturdays at Your Place at Reverb Oct. 7; Boris at The Waiting Room Oct. 8; Melt at The Slowdown Oct. 10; The Red Pears at Reverb Oct. 12 and Kate Nash at The Slowdown Oct. 23.
Hottest up-and-coming is SNÕÕPER at Reverb July 31. And Outlandia is just around the corner Aug. 9-10…
July 24 – Caspian @ The Waiting Room
July 31 – SNÕÕPER @ Reverb
July 31 – Mountain Movers @ Grapefruit Records
Aug. 3 – Orville Peck @ The Admiral
Aug. 3 – Shiner @ Reverb
Aug. 7 – Cults @ The Waiting Room
Aug. 9-10 – Outlandia Music Festival @ Falconwood
Aug. 15 – PACKS @ The Slowdown
Aug. 17 — Petfest @ Petshop Gallery
Aug. 19 – King Buzzo @ The Slowdown
Sept. 5 – A Giant Dog @ Reverb
Sept. 12 – Soft Kill @ The Slowdown
Sept. 21 – Built to Spill @ The Waiting Room
Sept. 22 — Bright Eyes @ Steelhouse
Sept. 24 – Why? @ The Slowdown
Sept. 25 – Descendents @ The Admiral
Sept. 26 – Foxing @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Odie Leigh @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Jungle @ The Astro
Oct. 4 – Brigitte Calls Me Baby @ Reverb
Oct. 4 – Turnover @ The Slowdown
Oct. 5 – Fontaines D.C. @ The Slowdown
Oct. 7 – Saturdays at Your Place @ Reverb
Oct. 8 – Boris @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 10 – MJ Lenderman & The Wind @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 10 – Melt @ The Slowdown
Oct. 12 – The Red Pears @ Reverb
Oct. 16 – Mdou Moctar @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 17 – Superchunk @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 18-19 – Cursive @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 22 – Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Astro
Clockwise from top left, Mannequin Pussy, Shannon and the Clams, Hurray for the Riff Raff and Indigo de Souza are the headliners for this year’s Grrrl Camp Festival July 19-20 at Falconwood Park.
Grrrl Camp starts today at Falconwood Park in Bellevue. Here’s the deal: Over the past five years (or more), women artists have dominated indie music (actually not just indie, all pop music). So the idea of having a festival focused solely on female indie artists is, well, almost redundant in its very nature.
This is the third time I’ve made this point – Grrrl Camp is not a girls-only event. But it doesn’t matter how many times I say it, there’s going to be dudes who won’t attend because they think they’re not welcome. Tis a pity, because, as I said above, women artists have dominated Indie/pop/rock music for a long time, and this is the best indie-centric line-up I’ve seen at any local festival this year.
Both nights’ line-ups are solid. If I had to differentiate, tonight’s line-up is more punk and heavier than tomorrow’s more folk/singer/songwriter fare. Your mileage may vary.
I posted a description of every band back in April, which you can read right here. Bands I’m most looking forward to seeing most for the first time: Annie DiRusso, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Mannequin Pussy. I can already vouch for the greatness of Shannon & the Clams, Rosali and Indigo De Souza, having seen them perform before.
Tonight’s schedule:
4 p.m. – Gates open
5 – 5:35 – Pictoria Vark
6 – 6:35 – Estrogen Projection
7 – 7:35 – Mint Green
8 – 8:45 – VIAL
9:10 – 10:10 – Shannon & the Clams
10:35 – Midnight – Mannequin Pussy
Saturday’s schedule
Noon – Gates open
1 – 1:35 – Krissy
2 – 2:35 – Madeline Reddel
3 – 3:35 – Keo & Them
4 – 4:45 – Rosali
5:10 – 5:30 – Omaha Girls Rock
5:55 – 6:55 – Girl Rey
7:20 – 8:20 – Annie DiRusso
8:45 – 9:45 – Hurray for the Riff Raff
10:15 – 11:30 – Indigo De Souza
There are DJ sets and after-hours hi-jinx as well. See the full list of activities at grrrlcamp.com, where there’s also rules, directions, etc.
Let’s talk tickets. Weekend GA Passes are $85. Friday single-day passes are $45. Saturday single-day passes are $65. No VIP options. Camping options are available at the grrrlcamp.com website.
The website says there will be “100+ vendors,” though none are listed, but the FAQ states “We will be featuring some of the area’s most delicious eats, femme-owned and/or operated, too! Vegan/Vegetarian options will be available.” That includes a full bar.
Weather-wise, tonight should be OK but Saturday is looking wet. Keep your fingers crossed that the rain passes us by. Grrrl Camp is a rain or shine event, but organizers say there is a rain option (Falconwood Lodge) that can be used as a last resort if weather is severe.
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That’s really all I have for this weekend. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!
The folks at Falconwood Park in Bellevue no doubt are gearing up for the season’s first music festival that features indie bands – GRRRL Camp July 19 and 20. Why mention this on Monday? Just to get the word out for those who haven’t been paying attention. This festival has the best indie line-up of any local festival, especially with Maha taking the year off. Headliners are Indigo de Souza and Mannequin Pussy, but the entire weekend line-up is solid.
When I talk about this festival with folks I continue to get quizzical looks by dudes who think it’s an Omaha Girls Rock event. OGR does, indeed, host a summer camp program. That ain’t what this is. Yes, men, you are invited along with everyone else. All the details are available at the event’s website – grrrlcamp.com.
I’ll be writing about the participating bands throughout the week.
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Speaking of shows, there’s another great Monday night offering at The Waiting Room tonight.
Etran de L’Aïr translates to “the Stars of the Aïr,” the mountainous region of Northern Niger. The band is based in the town of Agadez, an urban center renowned for the electric guitar and the Western named “desert blues.” In the Sahara, this electric guitar genre is intertwined with social function, and as such, these folks play a lot of weddings and other fun gatherings.
They remind me of a less guitar-heavy, more danceable version of indie darlings Mdou Moctor. Etran de L’Aïr, however, is still very much under the radar. The New Yorker picked their cellphone recorded debut, No. 1, as their album of the year in 2020.
Sez the New Yorker: “No. 1 was recorded live, outside of the band’s compound in the outskirts of Agadez, and it contains absolutely everything I have desperately missed about non-virtual concerts: heady, spontaneous grooves, the sound of people clapping, involuntarily loosed whoops. I put it on whenever I need to be reminded of what it feels like to be outside, among friends, happy, dissolving into sound.”
The band played an in-store at Grapefruit Records in the Old Market a year or so ago; I can’t imagine many folks around here know about them – they’d be hard-pressed to fill Reverb let alone The Waiting Room, especially on a Monday night.
That’s all the more reason to get yer ass to Benson tonight and see this show. Opening is local indie psych-rock newcomers Cowgirl Eastern. $25, 8 p.m.
Violin-playing singer-songwriting whistler Andrew Bird is headlining tonight at The Astro in La Vista. He’s one of those guys who has always flown under the radar for me, despite being a major force in indie music for well over a decade, starting out on Rykodisc and Grimsey Records before moving on to Mom+Pop, Fat Possum, and finally Loma Vista for the last few LPs. His most recent, Sunday Morning Put-On, is a collection of jazz covers. It’s interesting to see he’s playing at such a large venue, but I guess Bird graduated to the whole Fleet Foxes/Decemberist/Feist league of indie year’s ago.
This is a split-headliner show with country/bluegrass act Nickel Creek (Nonesuch). Singer/songwriter Haley Heynderickx opens at 6:30. Tickets range from $50 to $100.
That’s it for national touring indie-esque acts this weekend.
Tonight (Friday), Mitch Gettman opens for Charlie Ames’ band Cable Network at Slowdown Jr. Always interesting to see what Mitch has been up to, though I know he’s been working on a follow-up to last year’s Tilde. Omaha alt rockers Dear Neighbor opens at 8 p.m. $10.
Tomorrow is the second Saturday of the month which means Blackstone Second Saturday (It just doesn’t roll off the tongue like Benson First Friday). The day’s highlight is at Scriptown Brewing Company. They’re calling it “Summer Smash Vol. II,” and includes a punk rock flea market, tie-dye station and culminates in live performances by tractor-punk mavericks Wagon Blasters and C&W cowboys Lightning Stills. It’s free, and the music starts at 3 p.m. More info here.
Later Saturday night it’s back to Slowdown Jr. for another evening of up-and-coming locals that includes the arcane synth-and-drum noise-punk of Pagan Athletes. Indie stalwarts Bad Self Portraits headlines, while psych rock newcomers Cowgirl Eastern opens this show at 8 p.m. $10.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
On this Throwback Thursday: This is a 30-year-old photo of Lincoln rock band Sideshow, taken after an interview conducted for a cover story for the defunct Lawrence, Kansas, music magazine The Note, which was published in November 1994. From left are Pawl Tisdale, Rich Higgins and Bernie McGinn. Their van smiles in the background. These days Tisdale plays drums for Domestica (the current incarnation of Mercy Rule), McGinn lives somewhere in San Francisco and I have no idea of the whereabouts of Rich Higgins. We all await their next reunion concert…
I found this photo digging through my files as I continue to work though research surrounding a book about the history of Nebraska music, circa 1990s to now. I’m looking for photos, folks, so I’ll be bothering many of you soon for pics from back in the day. Time creeps slowly until it’s passed you by…
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I don’t know a shit-ton about The Wallflowers other than frontman Jakob Dylan is Bob’s son, and that they had a mega-hit back in 1996 with “One Headlight.” This was an alt-rock era when bands like Counting Crows were holding court and a lot of the bands on FM radio sounded alike. Listening to The Wallflowers most recent album, Exit Wounds (2021, New West), their sound hasn’t evolved much over the past couple decades.
That’s something you’ll no doubt discover if you go see Wallflowers tonight at The Astro in La Vista. Opening is Omaha alt-indie band Virgin Mary Pistol Grip, in what will likely be one of the biggest audiences they’ve played in front of (though folks at Memorial Park waiting for Roger Daltrey take the stage a couple weeks ago were treated to seeing VMPG’s latest music video). 8 p.m., $45-$80.
I have still yet to step foot in The Astro, though I’ve purchased tickets for the upcoming Psych Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain concert and am a bit… concerned I may have f-ed up the tickets…
Cursive dropped a new video yesterday for the song “Botch Job,” a track off their upcoming album, Devourer, which comes out Sept. 13 on Run for Cover Records. Local boy Tony Bonacci was the cinematographer for the video, directed by Travis Stevens. Jim Johnson (of 1% and The Admiral Theater) and Django Greenblatt-Seay (of Love Drunk fame) also are listed in the video’s credits.
This song and the entire album is a return to old-school Cursive and I would love to see the band play the entire record in order during their upcoming shows at The Waiting Room Oct. 18 (w/Little Brazil) and 19 (w/Criteria). Gladie also opens both shows.
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Also thought I’d mention that Cursive’s former record label, Saddle Creek Records, just announced that it’s reissuing on vinyl Eric Bachmann’s solo album, To the Races, on Aug. 9. The album was originally released in August 2006 and was one of my faves that year. Bachmann mentioned the reissue at his recent Ming Toy Gallery concert, but said to keep it secret until the label announcement (I’m not sure why). Preorder here.
BTW, we’ve got another concert coming up at Ming Toy Gallery in September. More info on that one soon…
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Speaking of Saddle Creek reissues, our hometown label also announced it’s rereleasing on vinyl two classic albums by The Faint – 2008’s Fasciinatiion (originally released on the band’s blank.wav imprint) and 2014’s Doom Abuse (originally released by SQE Music). The drop date is Aug. 16. This brings all of The Faint’s releases back into the Saddle Creek fold. Order your copies here.
I got reverse Omaha’d last night, but it’s all good.
I weighed my options: Do I go see the classic ‘70s/‘80s punk band that’s on their last tour who I’ve seen before in a place that’s bound to be a crush mob or do I see the new band who’s just coming through town to play for what I expect to be a mostly empty venue?
I chose the latter, mainly because if I had to pull a CD from either band to listen to right now I’d chose TV Stars, who played at Reverb Lounge last night. Nothing against X, who played at The Waiting Room last night. They’re great. Good luck in your retirement, John, Exene, Billy and DJ.
Anyway, i decided to watch the end of the Yankees game (they lost) before showing up at around 9 p.m., figuring with three bands I’d only miss the opener, Cupholder, who I’ve also seen before. Heavy Clippings was just taking the stage when I arrived.
Playing in front of a audience that numbered a grand total of 10 patrons, Noah Sterba and his crew ripped into an amazing set of music that to me sounds like a reimagined version of The Feelies meets latter-day VU/Lou Reed combined with New Morning-era Bob Dylan and Simon Joyner to create something wholly unique and captivating. In honor of this performance I wore an Almost Music T-shirt, which was the music store that carried on a tradition of The Antiquarium, and was the kind of place where members of this band either hung out or worked (after it closed, that tradition is continuing at Grapefruit Records in the Old Market, which is a magnet for the area’s most creative, inspiring indie bands).
Noah Sterba is at the helm on guitar and vocals with former Yuppies sideman Jeff Sedrel. The band is rounded out by Vince Franco and Tanner Rogerson. To my knowledge, their music is not available in any recorded format, but they must be recording somewhere because their songs are polished and they play just enough songs to fill a traditional vinyl LP – a make-believe LP that I long to play on my vintage/shitty Technics turntable.
The set was flawless. Sterba was in fine form in his ?-mark ball cap and Birkenstock sandals, clearly having a great time despite the tidy little crowd that included two young women who danced throughout their entire set, a young, bookish couple seated along the wall and a two or three dudes who stood in the center of the floor properly nodding their heads to the beat.
They wrapped up their set and I sat back down in one of the booths when, boom, the lights came up. The show’s over? The bartender said Cupholder played a short set and TV Star came on second. I wonder if they were afraid of getting Omaha’d. Who knows; all I know is that I missed their entire set. Still, I got my money’s worth seeing Heavy Clippings, who are on the top of my list of favorite local bands.
The Baseball Project plays tonight at The Waiting Room.
There’s no chance of that happening tonight at The Waiting Room. The Baseball Project, tonight’s headliner, doesn’t have an opener – or at least none is listed on the One Percent Productions website.
The Baseball Project is a dyed-in-the-wool supergroup made out of the remnants of ’80s indie pop bands. But can you call it a supergroup if only two of its members were part of a megaband? Peter Buck and Mike Mills are world-renowned members of R.E.M., a band who re-emerged in the natinonal zeitgeist recently with their induction into the “songwriters hall of fame” which culminated with a one-song R.E.M. reunion at the ceremony.
Steve Wynn, who handles most of singing in The Baseball Project, was the frontman to ‘80s band The Dream Syndicate, but I remember him best as the guy in ‘90s band Gutterball. Steve McCaughey was a member of The Minus 5 and Tuatara with Buck. Wynn’s wife, Linda Pitmon of Zuzu’s Petals, rounds out the band on drums.
They’re on the road in support of last year’s album, Grand Salami Time! (Omnivore Recordings). The band lives up to its name – they play songs about baseball, with names like “Pete Rose Way,” “Ted Fucking Williams,” “Monument Park” and “New Oh in Town,” which is a tribute to Dodgers’ superstar Shohei Ohtani. The music sounds like what you’d expect from such a supergroup playing songs with lyrics about our national past-time. Don’t go to the show tonight thinking you’re going to hear covers of R.E.M. or Dream Syndicate songs cuz it ain’t happening.
As mentioned, no opener is listed. The show is slated for 8 p.m. Tickets are $30.
Before we get to this weekend’s rock shows, a reminder that it’s the first Friday of July which means Benson First Friday (#BFF). Galleries and other businesses up and down Maple Street will be celebrating art openings tonight. Among them, our very own Ming Toy Gallery, which this month features the amazing art of Jenna Jaffery. Read my feature profile on Jenna and stop by the gallery (located at 6066 Maple Street, right door to Legend Comics and Coffee) between 6 and 9 p.m. to check out her art, have a drink and say hi. See you there.
After you swing by Ming Toy, head on over to Reverb Lounge for the GRRRL Camp showcase headlined by LinOmaha noise-rock band Size Queen. KC self-described “queer dark-pop band” Boxknife is also on the bill. Lincoln’s Ghostlike opens the festivities at 8:30 p.m. $10. BTW, GRRRL Camp is right around the corner – July 19-20 at Falconwood Park. More info here.
Saturday night it’s back to Reverb Lounge for another three-band bill this time with local, laid-back indie from Bazile Mills, Minne Lussa and Fox (Jessica Errett, Marta Fiedler and Co.). $15, 7:30 p.m.
Also Saturday night, fabulous O’Leaver’s continues its free concert series with Radical Sabbatical and Aircraft Grade. 9 p.m. and, uh, FREE.
And then along comes Sunday and two competing shows in Benson.
On top of the list is the last hurrah concert by Los Angeles first wave band, X. This concert features the original line-up — Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom and DJ Bonebrake — in what we’re being told will be their last tour ever. Opening is Jesse Ahern (Dummy Luck Music/PIAS). This is it, folks, last stop on the X train. I’m a little surprised it isn’t sold out yet. $40. 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, around the corner at Reverb Lounge, Seattle shoegaze band TV Star headlines. These guys sound like they grew up listening to Teenage Fanclub for sure. This ticket line-up, again, is loaded with local noise-punk bands Heavy Clippings and Cupholder. $10, 8 p.m. Choose wisely.
And that’s all I got. I’m praying to the rock gods that we don’t get any hailstone/flooding weather this weekend so I can go to these shows! If I missed yours, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!
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