by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

With no big touring indie shows on the calendar until next February (except for VIAL next Friday night at Reverb), we’ve entered into that long, cold winter of locals-only programming. Oh, there will still be a few straggling bands rolling into The Sydney at the last moment (System Exclusive, for example), but other than the proverbial “holiday shows,” it could be slim pickings for the next few months. Still, always something going on…

Like tonight. The event of the weekend is happening at Reverb Lounge tonight – the Speed! Lightning 500 album release show (which I wrote about at length yesterday). It’s a five-band line-up, a veritable Speed! Nebraska Rock Festival. The fun kicks off at 7 p.m. with UN-T.I.L., followed by Pagan Athletes, The Broke Loose, Bad Bad Men and Wagon Blasters (don’t be surprised if they switch things up). Entry fee is just $10, and you’ll have an opportunity to buy a copy of the fantastic new album pressed on Hot Wheels Orange vinyl… see you there.

Tomorrow night it’s off to fabulous O’Leaver’s for Wedding (a new project by Anna Schulte that includes Bokr Tov’s Colby Jenkins on bass, and Zachary Roland on percussion) and singer/songwriter Mitch Gettman. These weekly music shows are becoming a regular thing at The Club, which used to be known as one of the city’s hottest venues for touring indie-punk bands. They’re bringing it back! Poet Aaron Scobie starts things off at 9 p.m. $10. 

Finally, Sunday night it’s the just-announced show headlined by Pasadena duo System Exclusive, who “balance a hard-edged electronic pulse of old school synthwerks against hot-under-the-collar live drums and slashing post-punk guitars.” Their latest LP, Click, was released this past May on Le Cèpe Records. Las Cruxes, who has been busy recording a new album at ARC Records for Conor Oberst’s Million Stars label, opens the show at 9 p.m. (Sydney Time). $10. 

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend. 

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The day before the official album release show for Speed! Nebraska’s Speed! Lightning 500 album, here’s a quick rundown of the record and who you’ll be seeing tomorrow night at Reverb Lounge. 

First, a bit of history about Speed! Nebraska. “We’re a 45 record label. That’s the main thing we do,” said the label’s head honcho, Gary Dean Davis, in a 2006 feature about the label, written in conjunction with its 10-year anniversary. 

The label was named after a 1995 full-length album by Davis’ former band, Frontier Trust, and was an attempt by Davis to stay involved in music after that band broke up. 

“At the time, I figured I would never be in another band,” Davis said. “but I still wanted to do something with music. I knew that (the band) Solid Jackson had made a recording of their song, ‘Fell,’ and that they weren’t going to put it out. They didn’t have the money and had moved onto other things. I said, ‘If I start my own label, can I put it out?’” 

And so, Solid Jackson’s “Fell” was the label’s first release, with a catalog number of Speed! 100. The new album’s catalog number is Speed! 12/500, which I think Gary said means that it’s the fifth 12-inch released by the label? So they’re more than a 45 record label after all. 

Five songs per side, 10 songs by 10 different Speed! Nebraska artists. Most of them you’ll know and recognize. The album sort of represents who’s on the current roster, though some of the bands, such as newcomers Cat Piss, Pagan Athletes, UN-T.I.L, The Broke Loose and Clarence Tilton, have yet to release anything on Speed! Nebraska. Hopefully, that will change in the months/years to come. 

Every song on the album is a keeper and, in a way, the record reminds me of those ‘90s samplers put out by labels like Grass, Tim/Kerr, SST, etc.  You get a little taste of everything, but there’s a distinctly punk thread that runs through all of it. 

Most of the songs were recorded over the course of two days – March 2-3, 2024 – at Fuse Recording Service in Lincoln with Charlie Johnson and Tim Kechely behind the controls. 

The two exceptions are Wagon Blaster’s “King Richard’s Satellite,” recorded by Bryce Hotz; and Cat Piss’s “Blues Igloo Grand Prix, recorded and mixed by Rosemary Ellis. The man with bat-like hearing – Doug Van Sloun – mastered the album at Focus.

The vinyl is “Hot Wheels Racetrack Orange” in color and sounds delightful, pressed by Waxxy Poodle in Madison, Wisconsin. The Johnny Lightning racetrack sleeve was designed by John Wolf, ruggedly screen-printed by Pat Oakes at Ink Tank. It’s a rock ’n’ roll keepsake!

Tomorrow night’s (Friday’s) “Speed! Lighting” album release celebration features five bands heard on the album, UN-T.I.L. (who I mentioned yesterday), Pagan Athletes, The Broke Loose, Bad Bad Men and Wagon Blasters. Copies of the record will be available for purchase, but if you miss the show, you can find them at Homer’s, Recycled Sounds and Grapefruit Records or you can order it online for $20 at the Speed! Nebraska Bandcamp page.  The show starts at 7 p.m. and is $10. 

Here’s the full track listing.

Speed! Lighting 500

Side 1 – Race the Winner

Wagon Blasters – King RIchard’s Satellite
The Really Rottens – Four Barrel
UN-T.I.L. – Radio Love Letters
Cat Piss – Blues Igloo Grand Prix
Bad Bad Men – Dirty Clean

Side 2 – Be a Champ

Mezcal Brothers – Ragtop Cadillac
The Broke Loose – Shotgun
Clarence Tilton – Constitution Tree
Pagan Athletes – In a Race Against Time
Domestica – Drive

See you tomorrow!

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

Last Saturday, Chalis Bristol, Chair of Omaha Girls Rock!’s board of directors, announced via email that the organization’s current programming will end Dec. 15.

“Despite the incredible efforts of our entire OGR community, the reality is that a shifting funding landscape, increased costs, and decreased grant capacity mean that maintaining the organization in this form is neither responsible nor financially possible,” she wrote in the letter.

Bristol goes on to say it’s “not goodbye forever. We are moving forward with the hope that while OGR may no longer be the official organization you have loved over the years, our programming will soon continue with the support of another organization whose mission and values align with our own.”

Who or what that organization will be wasn’t stated. Certainly OGR’s mission would fit in with a number of other local 501(c)(3) organizations, and if they maintained their staff, teaching artists and volunteers, would continue to play an important role in the Omaha music scene. 

A bit of history…

Omaha Girls Rock! got its start back in 2011 by founder Stefanie Drootin, who you may know as the bass player in Saddle Creek Records acts The Good Life and Big Harp and for having played on a number of Bright Eyes albums. Her original vision went well beyond teaching girls how to rock. It was to provide a support system enabling and encouraging girls to design their own futures and to realize those designs.

In addition to teaching girls how to play instruments and be in a band, “the workshops also deal with self esteem, body image, stuff so girls feel confident no matter how they’re treated,” Drootin said in a 2011 Lazy-i/Reader column. “I feel like I was lucky that I had the confidence to be able to deal with a lot of the stuff that goes along with being a girl in a band.” 

Over the years the organization grew, hosting camps and presenting showcases at local clubs and festivals (including the Maha Festival), where camp participants rocked out in front of large audiences. Seems like everyone knows someone whose daughter was in OGR. 

A testimony to the program’s effectiveness: This Friday night, OGR alumni band UN-T.I.L. will perform as part of the Speed! Nebraska Records showcase at Reverb Lounge. The gig celebrates the release of the Speed! Lightning 500 compilation album, which collects new tracks by ten of the area’s finest punk/indie bands, including UN-T.I.L.’s “Radio Love Letters.”

U.N.-T.I.L.’s success is somewhat ironic coming as OGR closes its doors. I was unaware that OGR was in financial trouble. No doubt I and many other past contributors would have opened their pocketbooks if they knew the organization was in dire straits. It would be a real blow to the Omaha music scene if OGR can’t find a new home with another Omaha non-profit…

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A couple shows at the 1% clubs tonight…

Texan by way of Colorado Casper Allen plays at Reverb Lounge tonight. His style is Tom Waits-inspired twangy folk, just your typical cowboy with face tattoos. Opening is Shawn Hess and Trent Browns. $20, 8 p.m.

Also tonight, New York-based emo/ pop-punk band Keep Flying headlines at The Sydney. Blondo and Odd Man Out open at 8 p.m. Sydney Time. $15.

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

Onward to the weekend…

Has it really been a year since See Through Dresses played a special benefit show at Benson Theater? The band is back tonight at Reverb Lounge. Will their drummer, post-Omahan now-Californian Nate Van Fleet, be along for the ride? I gotta believe he’s in town for tomorrow night’s Bokr Tov album release show (Nate produced the tracks). It’s been seven years since the last See Through Dresses album, which means (hopefully) they’ll be rolling out some new songs. Joining STD is singer/songwriter Mitch Gettman, who opens the show at 8 p.m. $10.

Also tonight, Midwest Dilemma takes over the Down Under stage (How will they get all 12 of them in that tiny space?). Joining them are Tom Bartolomei and Katie Kasher. $8, 9 p.m. 

As mentioned, tomorrow night (Saturday) Bokr Tov celebrates the release of their sophomore album, The Way a Tree Shakes, at Reverb Lounge.  Geno Beach and Bad Self Portraits are also on the bill. 8 p.m., $15. 

Meanwhile, down the street at The Sydney, it’s the stage debut of Housewares, the new project by Fromanhole’s Doug and Daryl Kiser. The five-piece is rounded out by Jason Koba of Thunder Power on drums, Scott Klemmensen of Reset on vocals, and Andy LaChance on keyboards. Doug described their sound as: “melodic, probably technical, with elements of post whatever, jazz, blues and maybe some country.  There is a lot of counting, that’s for sure.” Sounds mathy! Joining them are Minne Lussa and In Tongues. $10, 9 p.m. (Sydney Time). 

But wait, there’s more…

Mono in Stereo, the new project by The Millions’ Marty Amsler, is headlining a free show Saturday night at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Joining them are The Jericho Strays and Tony LaMar. 9 p.m. start time…

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

My inevitable return to Steelhouse Omaha takes place tonight at the Modest Mouse concert. How has Omaha Performing Arts’ massive “rock club” improved since my last go-round, seeing Fleet Foxes in July 2023? I’ll let you know.

Modest Mouse’s tour celebrates the 20th anniversary of their “breakthrough” album Good News for People Who Love Bad News, and based on last night’s show in Denver (via setlist), they’ll be playing that album in its entiret and in track order. That’ll be followed by a second, 9-song set that includes two songs off their best album – The Lonesome Crowded West. While “Doin’ the Cockroach” and “Trailer Trash” are better than nothing, the band’s epic remains “Styrofoam Boots/It’s All On Ice, Alright” and by decree should close out every MM show. Who knows, maybe they’ll change it up tonight after they read this (haha…). 

It’s hard to describe how wonderfully odd Modest Mouse was when Lonesome Crowded came out almost 27 years ago to the day. The band had a low-fi recklessness and a trailer-park lyrical sensitivity, and were, to some extent, mysterious ‘round these parts. They rarely did interviews, but Isaac Brock agreed to one with me after I kept pestering his publicist. And The Reader published it (thanks, then music editor Curt Grubb), despite the fact that the band wasn’t coming to town and few people knew who they were (including Grubb). You can still read that story online at Lazy-i, here. 

Opening for Modest Mouse at 7 p.m. is San Diego’s The Black Heart Procession. Not sure why they’re on this tour as they haven’t released an album in 15 years. They played a short 7-song set last night in Denver. Modest Mouse goes on at 8, and tickets are still available for $51.

Also tonight,  psychobilly star The Rev. Horton Heat returns to The Waiting Room. Jason D. Williams opens at 8 p.m. $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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There’s a funky little ’60s-inspired almost alt-country show tonight at Reverb Lounge featuring Appleton, Wisconsin, band Dusk. Their latest, Glass Pastures, was released in 2023 by respectable indie label Don Giovanni, and has a sort of Flying Burrito Brothers vibe to it built on classic harmonies, twangy pedal steel and some rocking solos. 

Opening for Dusk is Velvet Velvet, the solo project of Omaha singer/songwriter Roman Constantino. (Garst). His latest is the self-released Why Try. 

UPDATE: As of an hour ago, One Percent posted that Minneapolis indie rock band Visual Learner has been added to this bill.

8 p.m. $12.

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Bit of a rough day for everyone yesterday, eh? Just when you get busy doing something and forget – *bam!* – you suddently remember what happened election night and start all over again.

How about some music tonight to take your mind off things?

Tonight at The Admiral, Pedro the Lion a.k.a. David Bazan, is doing a solo set before City and Colour’s headlining gig. I reversed the order here because I prefer Bazan’s music over Dallas Green’s (he’s the Canadian dude behind City and Colour, who are out supporting their latest album, The Love Still Held Me Near (2023, Still Records). Green’s also known for his work in post-hardcore and Alexisonfire. 

I’d be surprised if anyone who goes to see City and Colour has even heard of Pedro the Lion or Bazan, though anyone who’s been involved in the indie music scene in Omaha throughout the 2000s-2010s knows exactly who he is. He’s played Omaha countless times, from Sokol Underground to people’s living rooms. 

Pedro the Lion’s latest, Santa Cruz, was released by Polyvinyl this past summer. I would not be surprised if he sings the first track, “It’ll All Work Out,” which lyrically sounds like it was written for all of us after the results of Tuesday’s election. Bazan opens this show at 8 p.m. $46.

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Also tonight, Omaha hardcore band Nowhere celebrates the release of their new LP, New Pain, at Reverb Lounge. Joining in the celebration are Nebraska indie punkers Size Queen and Western Haikus. $12, 8 p.m.

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And Iowa City via Chicago singer/songwriter Elizabeth Moen headlines at The Sydney in Benson. Moen is a past Lincoln Calling performer and has had luck placing songs on TV shows like Shameless and Roswell New Mexico, which is impressive considering most of her music appears to be self-released. Opening is Wedding, a new project by Anna Schulte that includes Bokr Tov’s Colby Jenkins on bass, and Zachary Roland on percussion. $15, 8 p.m. (Sydney time).

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I guess today is Election Day? How did that sneak up on us? 

My intention is to vote this afternoon and then turn off all the media, because after I vote (and you, and you, and you, and you, and you vote), it doesn’t matter. We’ll have done all we could to keep the dot blue surrounded by all this red. There’s no reason to suffer the endless analysis. We (probably) won’t know anything until a day or two anyway…

If you’re looking for somewhere to hide tonight away from the election hoopla, Reverb has a show that might fit the bill. Rootbeer Richie & The Reveille (could the name be any cheesier?) is an 8-piece “soul-swamp” pop band from Denver. It will be entertaining just to see how they all fit on Reverb’s tiny stage. Joining them are local folks Cowgirl Eastern and OJAI. This distraction only costs $10 and starts at 8 p.m., right when the polls close. 

Now get out there and vote!

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

So why did Portland musician quickly, quickly cancel last night’s scheduled show at Reverb Lounge? 

The whole episode was sort of a mystery. I noticed something was up when I went to double-check the show’s start time on the One Percent Productions website. The listing was gone. Did I get the date wrong (again)?

I checked the Facebook invitation, which confirmed the Sunday 8 p.m. start time. It didn’t mention a cancellation. I found the answer at Twitter in the form of a message from quickly quickly’s Graham Jonson):

“Hey U guys. Unfortunately we’ve decided to cancel the remaining 4 shows on this tour (Milwaukee, Chicago, Omaha, Denver). The reason you may ask? I have completely run out of money! 

“This tour was entirely self funded which was a financial risk from the beginning but due to lower than expected ticket sales and overall cost of touring, it turned out to be way more expensive than I had bargained for lol. I am so sorry to the openers for these 4 shows and anybody who was planning on coming to see us play. We will be back and better! Thank you to my incredibly talented and supportive band members and our lovely tour manager leah for sticking with me through all this crazy shit.”

Big U.S. tours cancelling due to ticket sales is nothing new, but this might be the first time I’ve heard a small indie tour cancelling midway through due to lack of funds. Since almost all of them are “self-funded,” I’m surprised it doesn’t happen all the time, especially with the rising costs of gas, food, lodging and other tour expenses (as well as rising ticket prices – this was an $18 show). Is this the beginning of an unfortunate trend?

One of the biggest draws for last night’s show was the opening act — Carver Jones — another performer I’d never heard of prior to this gig, but whose YouTube videos caught my attention. 

Turns out Jones actually lives in Omaha (or so I’m told), and today announced a new show at Reverb Lounge with his band, Carver Jones and the American Dreamers, for Dec. 22.

This is a developing story… more to come…

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Expect some Halloween hangover tonight and this weekend at the clubs – Omaha loves its costumes… Certainly there will be costumes galore tonight in Benson during Benson First Friday (#BFF), that monthly event where local artists show what they’ve been working on in galleries and venues up and down Maple Street.

If you’re out doing the #BFF thing, stop by the Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple Street, for The Jenowe Show, featuring the work of David, Jack and Julie Jenowe. The opening runs from 6 to 9 p.m. See you there.

Afterward, head on over to The Sydney for the stage debut of Dream Ghoul, the new project from Max Holmquist (Oquoa, The Great American Desert). Opening the show are Face and GoodView. $10, 9 p.m. (Sydney Time). 

Speaking of costumes, there’s a costume party going on at fabulous O’Leaver’s tonight, along with performances by Frankie Chiaro, BB Sledge, Edward Spencer and Oh God Damn. $10, 9 p.m. 

Saturday night Minnesota emo/pop-punk band Tiny Moving Parts headlines at The Slowdown. Joining them are Action/Adventure, Greywind and After Arizona. It’s a mini pop-punk fest and should make for a crowded front room show. $25, 8 p.m. 

Also Saturday night, folk artist Mariee Siou headlines at Reverb Lounge.  Donnie Coco opens at 8 p.m. $22. 

The weekend’s biggest show is Sunday night at The Waiting Room: Oklahoma City indie-metal band Chat Pile is basking in the limelight these days. Their new album, Cool World, continues to get critical huzzahs from the likes of Paste (“The OKC noise rockers expand their sonic and subjective scope to prove just how desperate of a situation we’re all in” to The Needle Drop (“Cool World hits hard as fuck.”). Even Pitchfork said the album “paints a panoramic view of human suffering.” It is, indeed, heavy stuff, so bring your earplugs! Opening are LA black metal act Agriculture and Austin noise-rock band Porcelain. $27, 8 p.m. 

Also Sunday night, Portland bedroom psychedelic soul act quickly, quickly (a.k.a. Graham Jonson) headlines at Reverb Lounge. His last LP, The Long and Short of It, was released on Ghostly International to somewhat critical acclaim. Get there early for singer/songwriter Carver Jones, who opens at 8 p.m. $18. 

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.