Lawrence invasion: Blanky, Virga with The Dirts, Garst at Reverb tonight…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , — @ 7:49 am April 3, 2024

Lawrence band Blanky plays tonight at Reverb Lounge.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Two Lawrence, Kansas, bands make the long trip up I-29 today to play at Reverb Lounge tonight.

Blanky has been described as an “alt-country shoegaze” band. Alt-country? Um, nah. Shoegaze? Maybe. Languid, distorted, feedback-fueled, drunken, surf-guitar songs that feel like a morning-after hangover? Sure, especially on their latest album, 2022’s Blood Harmony

Blanky frontman Anthony Cunard has a deep, dry, low voice that sings sordid tales of cautionary love with lines like, “You fell to your death in your baby’s arms / I guess that’s one way to get away,” that sound like a distorted funeral procession… but in a good way. Cinematic murder films shot in black-and-white. 

Very likely driving to Omaha in the same van as Blanky is Virga, who according to The Pitch, classify themselves as “gothic Americana,” which for me sort of misses the mark. Their sound is reminiscent of ‘90s acts like Madder Rose, Lisa Germano, Cowboy Junkies and Kristen Hersh. Stark, slow, indie rock songs that build over their four-minute lifespans, guided by frontwoman Faith Maddox’s gorgeous voice that recalls Margo Timmins. 

T’was a time in the early ‘90s when LinOma and Lawrence swapped bands on a regular basis, almost as if the two regions were part of one post-punk alt-indie scene. Maybe we should get back to that?

Like all the best shows, tonight’s is a study in contrasts considering the Omaha bands that are also on the bill. Garst plays a more straight-forward, riff-fueled indie that borders on alt-rock. The Dirts includes a member of Garst, but the band, who I saw open for Hotline TNT, is something completely different. You’ll see. 

Four acts on a Wednesday? It’s going to be a long night. Bands take the Reverb stage at 8 p.m. — and please be prompt! Those Lawrence folks have a long way to drive back home. $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.

Lazy-i

Indie legend John Vanderslice is playing somewhere in Dundee this Friday (4/5); LA LOM tonight…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , — @ 9:18 am April 1, 2024

John Vanderslice performs April 5 at a Dundee house show.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The last time I saw John Vanderslice perform was back in October 2005 at Sokol Underground when he was touring with Matador Records experimental noise artist The Double. I don’t know whatever happened to The Double. Vanderslice, on the other hand, is playing an Undertow concert this Friday somewhere in Dundee.

Vanderslice came in hot back in 2001 with Mass Suicide Occult Figurines, released on then super-hot indie label, Barsuk Records. It would be followed by about an album a year, peaking with career highlights Cellar Door (2004, Barsuk) and Pixel Revolt (2005, Barsuk). 

In 2009, Vanderslice switched labels and began releasing albums on red-hot indie Dead Oceans, and these days he’s releasing albums on his own Tiny Telephones label, including last year’s CRYSTALS 3.0

In fact, Vanderslice might be more well-known as owner/operator of Tiny Telephone, a studio in the Mission District of San Francisco that recorded a plethora of indie giants including Death Cab for Cutie, Sleater-Kinney, Deerhoof, Moutain Goats and Spoon — artists whose albums many of which Vanderslice contributed to. That studio closed during in 2020, according to Wiki, though a second Tiny Telephone studio still operates in Oakland and is run by Vanderslice.

He’s one of those guys who has always had has finger on the pulse of indie music and is credited with bringing a number of today’s indie heroes on the road with him, including Sufjan Stevens and St. Vincent.  And now you have a chance to see him play in someone’s living room in what can only be described as “an intimate solo performance.”

The location of Undertow shows are kept secret except for their zip code, which is why I know this one is taking place in Dundee. You’ll get the actual address after you buy a ticket, which is $25 and available here at the Undertow website. Don’t worry, I can pretty much tell you the house where this is happening is amazing (though I’ve never been there); the owner has hosted many Undertow shows. 

Give it a shot. This guy really is an indie legend. 

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Tonight, instrumental trio Los Angeles League of Musicians (LA LOM) plays at Slowdown Jr. Their style is Cumbia Sonidera, ’60s soul ballads and classic romantic boleros. Pretty cool stuff. DJ C-Record opens the show at 8 p.m. $25.

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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.

Lazy-i

The Flaming Lips, Head and the Heart, The Revivalists headline 2024 Outlandia Festival…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , , — @ 8:50 am March 29, 2024
Flaming Lips at The Maha Music Festival, Aug. 17, 2013. The band headlines the 2024 Outlandia Festival Aug. 9.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Well I did call them “totally wrong guesses” in yesterday’s blog, didn’t I?…

About four hours after I posted my totally wrong guesses yesterday I received the embargoed line-up announcement for the two-day 2024 Outlandia Festival, Aug. 9-10. Only two bands mentioned in the blog are in the line-up. 

Among them, the Flaming Lips, who will headline the first night. As mentioned, the band just played at Steelhouse Omaha last summer. That show wasn’t a sellout; in fact Steelhouse offered BOGO tickets leading up to the date. Despite that, the Lips are known for their pageantry and outrageous well-staged special effects, confetti, that sort of thing, moreso than their music, which is a shame because their pre-Yoshimi albums are prog-rock gems. Expect grand spectacle.

The Saturday night headliners are The Head and the Heart and The Revivalists – a band I’d not heard of prior to this announcement. Head and the Heart just played Pinewood Amphitheater seven months ago with Father John Misty. They have a huge fanbase for a style of music that can only be described as Adult Contemporary. The Revivalists is an 8-piece “collective” that describes its sound as “soulful.” Their mega-hit, “Wish I Knew You,” — a song destined to be heard the next time you’re shopping at your neighborhood Baker’s — topped the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart. Fun fact: Revivalists used to be on Wind-up Records, the original home of the band Commander Venus (but that’s another story); now they’re on Concord Records. Hmmm. 

Here’s the remainder of the line-up for this year’s festival: 

Friday, with The Flaming Lips: 

Men I Trust – Yet another band I hadn’t heard prior to this announcement. Led by singer/songwriter Emma Proulx, the Canadian trio’s last studio album, Untourable Album, was self-released in 2021 — warm, shimmery, electro-indie-pop that reminds me of Khruangbin, which makes sense since they released a split live album with Khruangbin last year.  

The Faint – Our hometown heroes are back. Next month, they celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the release of Doom Abuse, and the 20th anniversary of Wet From Birth. If you’re thinking ‘Hey, didn’t they play Outlandia last year?’ you’d be right. And I bet that performance is what got them asked back for an encore this year.

Aussie band Vacations has been kicking around since 2010 but only recently broke through in the states with “Next Exit,” a song they’ve been playing the shit out of on Sirius XMU. Veterans of Nettwerk Records, their latest, No Place Like Home, was released on No Fun Records this past January. I’m beginning to see a trend with all this adult contempary-style indie pop. 

Real Estate – They played the inaugural Outlandia Festival in 2022 and their latest album, Daniel (2024, Domino Records), is an early favorite of mine so far this year – sweet, laid-back indie rock. A band that frankly used to bore the shit out of me, their sound has really grown over the past couple years. 

In the local band spot opening the day is Twinsmith, who released a couple albums on Saddle Creek Records, including 2017’s Stay Cool

Saturday with The Head and the Heart and The Revivalists:

Dinosaur Jr. J Mascis and company are ‘90s rock royalty whose albums Green Mind (1991, SST), Where You Been (1993, SST), and Without a Sound (1994, Blanco y Negro/Sire), were part of every young college dude’s CD collection. I’ll be curious to see who’s playing with Mascis in this interation of D Jr.

Flipturn – If you’re thinking, “Hey, didn’t Flipturn just play at The Slowdown a couple weeks ago?” you would again be right. I hadn’t heard of them before that show. Again, easy-going indie-pop, this time influenced in part by Vampire Weekend. After listening to some tracks, I kind of wish I’d seen them down at Slowdown earlier this month; now I’ll have another chance.

Buffalo Tom — I didn’t know this classic ‘90s college rock band was even still together. Back-to-back albums Let Me Come Over (1992) and Red Letter Day (1993) were impossible to miss at the time of their release. Their sound encampsulated early post-grunge college music and Let Me Come Over was one of the first records I reviewed for The Note, a music magazine based out of Lawrence where I did my first tour of duty as a music critic. The band just released a new single earlier this month, “New Girl Singing,” and their last proper studio album was 2018’s Quiet and Peace. No doubt this band alone will draw a share of Gen X-aged college music fans.

DeVotchKa – The rousing gypsy folk-rock act has played The Slowdown a number of times over the years. Their last studio album was 2018’s This Night Falls Forever, released on Concord Records (the same label as The Revivalists). Lots of local fans and a rep for putting on a good show.

Kelsey Waldon – Here’s another new one on me. Country music. Waldon is on John Prine’s Oh Boy label. 

The Eye has the honor of being the local band that opens Saturday’s festivities. Fronted by Tyler Owen, one of the folks behind the Outlandia Festival, they play at The Waiting Room every six months or so. I’ve yet to see them, but have heard their cover of New Order’s “Leave Me Alone.”

Overall, this line-up feels more like adult contemporary than indie, though Saturday has a couple Gen X-era aces up its sleeve with D. Jr. and Buffalo Tom. Look, these folks know what they’re doing and this line-up is consistent with what they’ve done the past couple years. For me, the highlights are Buffalo Tom, Real Estate, Vacations, The Faint and D. Jr.

Single-day General Admission tickets are $99 while weekend GA tix are $179 (plus fees, etc.). This year in addition to their VIP tix ($269 single; $469 weekend), Outlandia is offering Ultra VIP tix that include a “merch pack” and a camping pass along with “other surprises” that include exclusive campground performances by as-yet-to-be-named artists. Outlandia says it also revamped its parking layout “to ease the flow of traffic in and out of the park.” VIP/Ultra VIP tix will get direct access from the lot to the VIP area. GA parking will be free again this year. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today at outlandiafestival.com.

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Tonight, Pasadena-based two-piece synth-heavy outfit System Exclusive plays at The Sydney in Benson with Carrellee, Jeff in Leather and Specter Poetics. This four-band bill doesn’t start until 9 p.m. so it’s gonna be long night for someone. $12.

That’s I have for this weekend. 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.

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Lazy-i

Totally wrong guesses for Outlandia 2024 (actual headliners to be announced this afternoon)…

Category: Blog — @ 11:10 am March 28, 2024

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The 2024 Outlandia Festival line-up will be announced late this afternoon. You won’t be able to miss it if you follow Outlandia on Facebook or, for that matter, if you use Facebook at all and are a music fan. A couple days ago, I asked folks on Facebook to make a guess, and got a few takers.

Among them, someone suggested The War on Drugs as a possible headliner. That would, indeed, be a huge “get” for Outlandia and right down the middle of an Outlandia “taste zone” that includes former headliners like The National and Lord Huron. And I love me some War on Drugs. That said, the band will be on the road doing an arena and stadium tour (they’re playing United Center in Chicago) as well as playing large festivals. Is WODs within Outlandia’s budget? I’m skeptical but hopeful.

Others had suggested The Flaming Lips will be a headliner – another good guess, especially considering Outlandia posted on Facebook that this year “is going to be flame.” However, The Flaming Lips just played at Steelhouse Omaha last summer. Would Outlandia really book a band that played here so recently? 

So my guesses, in no particular order, are based on past Outlandia headliners, which have included Modest Mouse, Lord Huron, The National and, of course, Wilco. 

First on the list: An unnamed headliner whose music I’ve never listened to. Lord Huron fell into that category last year, and couldn’t have been a bigger surprise to me. Turns out the band has a mega-hit that flew under my radar that a bunch of folks from my old office loved. Could this happen again this year with a different band? Bet on it.

  1. Father John Misty – I think he also was just here last year (at The Admiral?), but again, he’s right in the Outlandia taste zone. 
  2. Future Islands – They’ve played Omaha a number of times in the past, including at The Waiting Room (and if my memory serves, once even played Lincoln Calling back in the day). They have a new album, are on the road, and have been avoiding Omaha the last few years. Would be a great get.
  3. Spoon – Again, right down the middle. Plus, they’re very familiar with Omaha (They even have an early single that was released on Saddle Creek Records). They’re scheduled to play a handful of U.S. shows this fall.
  4. Of Montreal – Brand a new album out in May, has a massive summer tour booked and has played Omaha a zillion times. 
  5. Decemberists – They also has a new album coming out June 14 and will be on a massive U.S. tour this summer.

Alternative guesses – Cold War Kids (They have a new album out and are playing fests); Sparta (because wherever the Mars Volta goes…); Kim Gordon (because it’s about time Outlandia have a female headliner and Lana Del Rey is probably outside their budget, but then again, so is Kim).

And let’s not forget the usual legacy acts who always get mentioned: Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr./J Mascis, GBV, Pavement (who would be a huge get)…

The guessing game ends in a few hours. Stay tuned…

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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.

Lazy-i

New Blondshell, Pond, Merce Lemon, How???, Hovvdy, Ellis; Jenny Haniver, Healer tonight…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , , , , , — @ 11:42 am March 27, 2024

Jenny Haniver plays tonight at The Sydney in Benson.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There was an inordinate amount of new music hitting my in-box overnight. I clicked through and noted some of the more interesting indie submissions. Seems like the marketing plan these days calls for making a YouTube video (and, no doubt, a Tik Tok vid, but I don’t Tik Tok, so…). It’s got to be an expensive endeavor for these bands, and judging by how they all look in the videos, something that’s not terribly fun anymore…

Anyway, here are a few. Most of these acts also announced U.S. tours — but none are coming to little ol’ Omaha…

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Blondshell teams up with Bully on a new song that’s another corker. She announced a massive tour, that’s not coming here. 

Whatever happened to Deleted Scenes? Well their bass player, Matthew Dowling, is now in How???, who’s self-titled album is due April 26 on Misra Records.

Hovvdy released another single from their upcoming self-titled double album that drops on Arts & Crafts April 26. I love this album, though not necessarily this song. 

Pond is a bunch of dudes from Perth who have a new album called Stung! out June 21 on Spinning Top Records. That silver paint must have been a bitch to get off, eh Tin Man…

Pittsburgh’s Merce Lemon will be supporting Water From Your Eyes and Babehoven later this year, after coming off tours with Feeble Little Horse and Horse Jumper of Love (who are playing at Blind Spot May 12). 

Hamilton, Ontario’s Ellis (Linnea Siggelkow) has a sophomore album, No Place that Feels Like, coming out April 26 (self-released? She used to be on Fat Possum). 

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Tonight at The Sydney in Benson it’s Portland’s Jenny Haniver who calls their style “bummer music for bums.” Their new new album, Haunt Your Own House, drops April 15 on Landland Records. That’s Eric Nyffeler on bass and synths, Randall Taylor on guitar/synths and Jenny on drums and lead vocals. The new album was mixed by local genius Ian Aeillo at A Sunroom in Omaha! Check out the first track below. Dan Brennan’s Healer gets things going along with Teetah starting at 8 p.m., $10. Bring youse some ear plugs, yo?

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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.

Lazy-i

News Bits: Saddle Creek noms; Conor/Phoebe reunion; Ritual Device in Omaha; new Pat Buchanan; Outlandia announcement imminent…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , , , — @ 9:41 am March 26, 2024

Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Obersts reunited for a few numbers at Oberst’s show at Teragram Ballroom in LA March 21.

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Time to clean out ol’ in-box. Hold onto yer hats… Much of this you may already have seen on the socials; some you haven’t. Here we go…

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Once again, our hometown record label – Saddle Creek Records – has been nominated for a Libera Award — the annual awards handed out by the American Association of Independent Music. Saddle Creek was nominated in the Label of the Year category for labels with 6 to 14 employees. Also in their category: Captured Tracks, City Slang, Lex Records, Light in the Attic, Mack Avenue Music Group and Photo Finish Records. Seems like Saddle Creek is nominated every year. Could this be the year they take home the prize?

In addition, Saddle Creek Records artist Indigo De Souza was nominated in the Breakthrough Artist, Best Singer-Songwriter Records, and Music Video of the Year categories. The 13th annual Libera Awards ceremony will take place June 10 at Gotham Hall in New York City. More coverage at Variety.

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The indie music world was thrown in a tizzy last week when Phoebe Bridges joined Conor Oberst on his “Conor Oberst and Friends” residency show at Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom – a series that heads east to Bowery Ballroom in NYC next month. The best coverage of the incident appeared in Them, an online publication that purports to be the “best of what’s queer.” 

Them’s James Factora reported that Bridgers walked on stage during the show’s encore and together with Conor performed Bright Eyes classic “Lua,” Oberst’s “Double Life” from 2014’s Upside Down Mountain and Better Oblivion Community Center tune “My City.” The occasion marked the first time the two have performed together since October 2020. Factora wonders whether, with the announced hiatus of Boygenuis (Bridgers’ project with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus), if this unannounced reunion could be a sign of future BOCC things to come… 

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I already mentioned that legendary ‘90s-‘00s Omaha punk band Ritual Device is among the performers at this year’s Lincoln Calling May 3 and 4 (the festival schedule has yet to be released). Now comes word that RD will be playing back-to-back nights at Reverb Lounge in Omaha May 2-3 leading up to the LC weekend gig. The shows feature the band’s original lineup of Jerry Hug, Mike Saklar, Eric Ebers and Tim Moss. 

It’s been a decade since the band has taken the stage stage, and I’m sure there’s a good reason for this reunion. More to come…

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Speaking of artists from Omaha’s first golden age of indie music, Patrick Buchanan, the frontman of another ’90s-’00s legendary punk band, Mousetrap, yesterday released a new 5-song EP from his project House of Transgressor called Ain Soph Aur, which, along with the eerie album cover artwork, seems a wee bit satanic. Check it out on Spotify (I don’t see a Bandcamp or YouTube link), and here’s the first song on YouTube: 

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Finally, word from on high is that the fine folks who putting together the Outlandia Festival will announce the line-up for the August 9-10 festival sometime Thursday evening. No doubt you’ll see it blasted all over the socials that night, but I’ll be writing about it the following morning in Lazy-i

Who do you think will be this year’s headliner? After last year’s Lord Huron / Modest Mouse headliners (a festival that also included The Faint, Cat Power, Criteria, The Good Life and Horsegirl, among others), I can’t even imagine what they have up their sleeves — prior to this festival, I had never heard of Lord Huron.

With the Maha Music Festival taking the year off due to financial issues (according to their press release), Outlandia controls the board as the only indie music festival in the Omaha area this year. As it enters year 3, will it maintain its indie focus? We’ll find out Thursday night…

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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.

Lazy-i

Sun June, Wild Pink tonight at Reverb Lounge…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , — @ 7:54 am March 22, 2024

Sun June plays tonight at Reverb Lounge.

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Only one touring indie show of note this weekend…

Austin-based Sun June call their sound “regret pop,” I guess because there’s an overhanging sense of ennui that permeates all their songs. At the creative heart of the matter is vocalist Laura Calwell and guitarist Stephen Salisbury, who (according to their record label – Run for Cover Records), are a “couple,” or at least were when the band’s second album, Somewhere, was released in 2021. However, according to Wiki, Calwell and Salisbury lived 1,300 miles apart when they created Bad Dream Jaguar (2023, Run for Cover) – another introspective, melancholy collection.

Playing at Reverb tonight with Sun June are New Yorkers Wild Pink. The band just released their new single, “Air Drumming Fix You,” on Fire Talk Records, but have spent most of their career on sturdy indie label Tiny Engines Records. Fronted by singer/songwriter John Ross, songs like “Amalfi” and “The Wind Was Like a Train” from 2021’s A Billion Little Lights are remiscent of acts like Destroyer and Strand of Oaks. A little more upbeat than Sun June for sure, but no less sentimental. 

This is really a double-headliner bill and a bargain at $25. Showtime at Reverb is 8 p.m. 

Also tonight, at The Waiting Room hosts local headliner Fontenelle for a show that also includes Wake Sessions and Ebba Rose. $12, 8 p.m. 

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.

Lazy-i

#TBT: Statistics’ Leave Your Name turns 20; Kim Darling, Dream Machine tonight…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , — @ 10:59 am March 21, 2024

Statistics, Leave Your Name (2004, Jade Tree)

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This Tinnitist story captured in my Google Alerts web caught my attention: A reposting of that publication’s 2004 review of Statistic’s Leave Your Name, an album released on venerable label Jade Tree Records on Jan. 20, 2004. Omaha was in the middle of its second indie golden age with Saddle Creek Records gaining global notoriety and Omaha being hailed as the next Seattle. What better time for Denver Dalley to venture out from his role as guitarist in Desaparecidos to release a solo album? 

A glance at the Album of the Year archive indicates that the record got decent reviews, including a very respectable 4-star review from AllMusic and a “B” grade from SPIN. But it was Pitchfork who really drug down the review matrix with a lowly 4.0 out of 10 rating (Pitchfork would go one step further, giving the follow-up, Often Lie, a rare 1.0 ratingharsh!). 

Re-listening to the CD promo copy I received from Jade Tree 20 years ago, I think Leave Your Name holds up pretty well, certainly right up there with the Saddle Creek stuff released during the same era. A number of Creek regulars took part in the recording (and is that an uncredited Conor Oberst adding the vocal to “Accomplishment” or is Denver just trying to sound like Conor?). Not to be outdone, here’s the Lazy-i review of the album from 2004, with the obligatory pull-quote: “Though this is far from where he wants to be, it more clearly defines his position on the musical map.”

Check out Leave Your Name on Bandcamp, below: 

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A couple things happening tonight in Benson:

Tonight our art gallery, Ming Toy at 6066 Maple St., is hosting an artist reception for Kim Darling’s Unleashed show. Kim was out of country when the show opened March 2, but she’s back and will be on hand tonight for this special reception that runs from 6 to 8 p.m. 

Also tonight, Netherlands-based psych-rock group Dream Machine headlines at Reverb Lounge. They’ve released stuff on Castle Face Records, though their latest, Living the Dream, was self-released. It’s throwback synth-prog. Joining them tonight is Cole Eisenmenger of Wyrmwood and Doom Lagoon. 8 p.m., $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.

Lazy-i

Ojai, Ione Saturday; St. Patrick’s Sunday; Color Green, The Dirts, Heavy Clippings, Chew, Size Queen Monday…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , , , — @ 8:41 am March 15, 2024

LA Band Color Green plays at Reverb Monday night.

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Get a load of this: The best shows of the weekend are actually next Monday night. 

Briefly, there are (again) no touring indie rock shows in Omaha this weekend. 

Only one show is worth your attention tonight and it’s in Lincoln: The Speed! Nebraska “Winternationals” showcase at The Zoo Bar, featuring Bad Bad Men, Wagon Blasters and Pagan Athletes. If you’re in the Capitol City, it’s definitely worth your time. $10, 9 p.m. 

Tomorrow night (Saturday), Omaha indie band Ojai headlines a free show at fabulous O’Leaver’s. I know very little about this act, other than they’ve been around for a long time. Maybe it’s time I catch their set? Joining them is singer/songwriter Ione (Who also performs around town as Safe Space — I’m not sure why she oscillates between the two names – maybe it has something to do with whomever is accompanying her?). Like I said, FREE, and starts at 9 p.m. 

Also Saturday night, local rock band Safari Room plays Reverb Lounge with Bad Self Portraits and Steady Wells. 8 p.m., $18. 

Sunday is, of course, St. Patrick’s Day, which just happens to be the lousiest day to have St. Patrick’s Day. i think we need to make a command decision and forever make St. Patrick’s Day the second Friday of March. My usual go-to on this national holiday (for us Irish folk, anyway) has always been The Dubliner, who this year features “three fantastic sets of live Irish music.” The main act on St. Patty’s Day always plays in the afternoon, and this year Lincoln act Out of the House gets that honor from 1 to 5 p.m. 

And that’s it for the weekend, so let’s talk about Monday. I generally wait until Monday to tell you about Monday, but considering the lousy weekend, here’s something to look forward to:

Top of the list Monday night is Los Angeles indie band Color Green at Reverb Lounge. The band features Noah Kohll, who has been involved in a number of local indie acts over the years, including Staffers and Nathan Ma. He’s been doing Color Green with Corey Madden for a few years. Their latest is a self-titled album released in 2022 by ORG Music and Aquarium Drunkard that sounds like a modern version of Allman Brothers crossed with The Byrds. Also on the bill are up-and-coming Omaha bands The Dirts and Heavy Clippings (who we saw last weekend at Goatfest). This one’s jam-packed and starts at 8 p.m. $15. 

Meanwhile, just down the street Monday night at The Sydney, Atlanta psych/electronic/noise act Chew headlines. Their latest is 2022’s Horses (Stolen Body Records). Opening for Chew is a new LinOma band Size Queen, whose members include Lincoln Calling booker Sam Crisler. I don’t think they’ve played in Omaha before, so consider this their Omaha debut. 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.

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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.

Lazy-i

#TBT: March 17, 2020 – The beginning of what came next…

Category: Blog — Tags: , — @ 8:34 am March 14, 2024

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I was among those who thought “This is a passing thing, like flu season or an outbreak of the chicken pox. Give it a month, maybe two, things will get back to normal.” 

Little did we know.

But we quickly found out. And I have to admit that, at first I didn’t mind it that much. Sure, it meant the world was going to close down, but it also meant I didn’t have to go into the office every day. We still had food and the internet and our dogs. I was one of the lucky ones: No one close to me died. In fact it would take many more months before anyone I knew even caught it. That would come later.

Instead, March 2020 was like living in a science fiction short story that would become a novella that turned into a novel that stretched into a trilogy. And though we’ve mostly come back from it, the scars are still visible. Businesses, restaurants, venues closed forever. “Remote work” lingered and office buildings continue to be half-empty (and I quickly realized I don’t like working in half-empty buildings). And a few million people died. But we didn’t see that coming in March 2020. Little did we know…

Psst… this was only four years ago…

Sign o’ the times?

When the party’s over… O’Leaver’s, Sydney among those closed for COVID-19…

Originally published March 17, 2020

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

You know shit’s getting real when they close down O’Leaver’s. That’s exactly what the club announced on its Facebook page today, and what choice did they have if they’re limiting gatherings to 10 people?

Slowdown already cancelled shows through the month of March, though all indications are the venue is still open (for now). One Percent Productions’ clubs still appear to be open as well, though their next scheduled event isn’t until March 24. No doubt you’ll continue to see show cancellations as bands cancel tours.

The Brothers also appears to still to be open. Their next scheduled event is the big March 28 Bad Bad Men gig. But The Sydney has closed its doors for the time being.

And that about does it for live music, at least for awhile. How long it’ll really last, who can say? It’ll definitely be longer than the end of this month and probably well into next month and maybe the month after that.

Next up is enforced curfews. Social distancing is kind of like what happens when the power goes out. The first night it’s fun; it’s like camping out! You discover new and interesting things to do in the dark. The second night without power, it becomes somewhat annoying. By the third night you’re ready to kill someone.

It’s going to be tough to expect folks in their 20s to be good little girls and boys, especially as the weekend rolls around. If the bars are closed (or limiting occupancy), that just means someone else is going to have to host the party. And that’s when the cops get involved.

Not being able to go out on St. Patrick’s Day — my favorite holiday — definitely hurts. But I have plenty of Guinness at home and my favorite Waterboys album to keep me in the Irish spirit.

We’ve got enough doom and gloom online to go into any more other than to say this too shall pass. And the rock shows that happen on the other side are bound to be epic.

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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.

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