Just posted, an interview with Landing on the Moon (read it here). The band talks about the making of their debut full-length, We Make History Now, and working with engineer/producer Curt Grubb (yes, that Curt Grubb). They also talk about finding and signing with fledgling New York label Young Love Records. It’s a fun read, so check it out, and then get ready for their CD release show this Saturday at The Waiting Room.

* * *

Tonight at O’Leaver’s, It’s True is scheduled to play after the Husker game, along with The Photo Atlas and Epilouges. With the game starting at 8:05, we could be waiting until 11:30 until someone actually takes the stage. How is O’Leaver’s going to figure this one out? $5.

Also tonight, everyone’s favorite ’90s-scented punk band The Coffin Killers is playing at The Sydney with TBA (you remember those guys, right?). Will the Husker football game also influence when this show starts? I highly doubt it. 9 p.m., $5.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

It’s been a busy year for festivals. The ones I can remember: OEA Summer Showcase, Lincoln Invasion, MAHA, RatFest, Nebraska Pop Festival and last weekend’s Lincoln Calling Festival, which is the subject of this week’s column. And it’s not over yet. The OEA Fall Showcase is Nov. 13 in Benson.

Column 241: Turning the Corner
Best year ever for Lincoln Calling…

After word got out that a reunion of legendary ’90s-era rock act Mercy Rule was going to replace Domestica last Saturday night at Lincoln Calling, I knew that I was going to make my first excursion to the festival after writing about it for the past six years.

Jeremy Buckley, Lincoln Calling organizer and “A-No. 1 Ass-kicker” (as designated from stage by Mercy Rule’s Jon Taylor) had texted me with the details. Ron Albertson — Mercy Rule’s drummer who had moved to Brooklyn all those years ago — was back in town to stay, and Mercy Rule was a band again. In Ron’s absense, Taylor and his wife, bassist/vocalist Heidi Ore, had formed Domestica with drummer Boz Hicks. I guess Boz simply stepped aside, understanding the obvious historical implications.

They were scheduled to play at 9 p.m., so we left Omaha at 7:30 in the Cooper. I can’t remember there being so much construction on I-80 — the speed limit shifted from 55 to 65 to 75 to 55 and so on, which didn’t matter since I was driving 85 anyway, and still almost missed the show when we flew past the 9th St. exit, not realizing our mistake until we got to Crete with the city in the rear-view mirror.

For many, Mercy Rule would be the highlight of the five-day festival. But not for Buckley. “The best thing I saw was Ideal Cleaners doing ‘Go, Go Big Business,’ a song that I always ask for but they never play,” he said.

It was the cherry on top for Buckley. This is the year that Lincoln Calling “turned a corner” from being a nice weekend of shows put together for the locals who probably would have been at the bars anyway, to an “event” that drew new blood in the form of people completely outside of the Lincoln/Omaha music scene.

Buckley called Monday night after spending the entire day in bed recovering from the weekend. He reported that total Lincoln Calling attendance was 3,590 patrons, a thousand more than the 2,500 he had been shooting for. Cash from the event’s ticket sales totaled $9,063 — an average of about $2.50 per patron. “(I) should probably try and figure out how to get that ‘per person figure’ higher next year,” he said.

Regardless, everyone that performed got paid — something that’s unheard of for most local music festivals. The worst-paying night was Sunday, where the light draw meant each band only pocketed about $15. For the rest of the weekend, “a couple solo artists got $30, and the rest of the bands got between $50 and $200,” Buckley said, explaining that their take was based on door splits. Every performer also received a free $30 all-access pass that let them into every show throughout the festival.

In the end, Buckley said most bands were happy with the way things turned out, except for Eagle Seagull, who had a “melt down” on the The Bourbon Theater stage on the festival’s opening night. Buckley said Eagle Seagull frontman Eli Mardock “left the stage in the middle of the third song and watched from the side. I think he made it through four or five songs total. People were in a bad mood afterward and talked about it all weekend. Eli said he was sorry, and that they would do a makeup show in December in Lincoln for free. Other than that, there were no major disasters.”

Statistically speaking, the highest grossing show was Sarah Benck’s Saturday night performance at The Zoo, which she had announced would be the swan song for her band. The room was a crush mob, and after only a few minutes of being in everyone’s way, we left with claustrophobia setting in.

From a pure attendance standpoint, Buckley said Friday night’s UUVVWWZ show at Duffy’s or The Killigans show at the 12th St. Pub took the prize. Each drew well over 300.

But forget about the numbers. Buckley pointed to other signs that Lincoln Calling is growing into a real festival: He watched as someone actually scalped an all-access pass outside of Duffy’s. Like Austin’s South by Southwest Festival, an “unofficial Lincoln Calling show” was held after hours at a nearby house for Bandit Sound. And two radio stations and a local TV affiliate approached Buckley to cover the event — another first.

Buckley said the seventh annual Lincoln Calling Festival would be “the year of sponsorship and board of directors and volunteers.” He missed too many of the shows this year because he was constantly being texted to put out fires along O St. Next year he wants to place a volunteer at every venue to handle flare-ups. He also is fielding offers to help with the event’s marketing.

For me, the festival’s highlight was that Mercy Rule show — something I never thought I’d see. But there they were on Duffy’s famous stage, Jon, Heidi and Ron, illuminated in the glow of their trademark floor floodlights, tearing into four classics (including “Summer” and “Tell Tomorrow”) and pointing toward their future with four new songs that were as loud and angry as anything in their crowded oeuvre. Taylor’s homemade guitar was still ringing in my ears as we made the long drive back home.

* * *

Tonight at The Waiting Room, Skypiper opens for Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins. $12, 8 p.m. Matt Whipkey opens for The BoDeans at The Whiskey Roadhouse/Horseshoe Casino. $23.50, 8 p.m. And Sarah Benck is playing solo at The Barley St. with PennyHawk and Adam Faucett. $5, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

A complete recap of Lincoln Calling is the subject of this week’s column, which will be online tomorrow. The short version is that the festival drew 3,590 people — about a 1,000 more than organizer Jeremy Buckley had hoped for. In other words, it was a success. More data and quotes tomorrow.

I actually went down for one night of Lincoln Calling this year, to catch the Mercy Rule reunion and the final show of Sarah Benck and her band (the band formerly known as The Robbers). Mercy Rule brought the goods to Duffy’s stage, playing four old songs (including “Summer” and “Tell Tomorrow”) and four new songs that absolutely ripped. It was fun to see Ron Albertson behind a drum set again, and to see the band lit up in their trademark floor-floodlights (see photo). The question now is when will a new Mercy Rule album be released (presumably on Speed! Nebraska)?

The Sarah Benck show at The Zoo Bar was a mob scene, crazy packed, overheated, insane (see blurry photo). We made it through one song before we had to get out of there as the walls seemed to be closing in. It has been pointed out to me by a couple folks in other bands how ironic it is that Benck and her band are breaking up as it is one of the few non-Creek Omaha bands that consistently makes money (and good money at that).

Anyway, more tomorrow. Also this week (Thursday), look for a sweet interview/feature with Landing on the Moon.

* * *

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., it’s the return of Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies with The Matt Cox Band and Kyle Harvey. $6, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Last night’s show at Slowdown Jr. was the first-ever performance by The Mynabirds, though you’d never have known it by the way they played. The band is fronted by Laura Burhenn — half of the late, great Georgie James. Burhenn apparently just moved here from Washington, D.C., so I assume the other four Mynabirds are from around here. In fact, on bass was singer/songwriter Dan McCarthy, and I recognized the guitarist, but can’t for the life of me tell you who he was.

Anyway, Burhenn and her band came on at around 10:30 and played a short set of well-crafted indie rock songs that sounded like a cross between Jenny Lewis (the upbeat, strutting stuff) and Azure Ray (thanks to a terrific harmony vocalist). The band rocked like it’d been around for years — very tight with only one noticeable miscue (To start off their last song, the drummer did a 4/4 count-off. Laura turned around with a “no” look, and da-da-da’d a waltz-time beat that the drummer mimicked to get them started). Burhenn’s voice is indie gold, and I could see any number of labels clamoring to get he band on their books, but I have to believe that she’ll end up at Saddle Creek, where she’d be a perfect fit. Nansel would be a fool to let this one go… (See photo)

When I got to the bar, Jake Bellows had already begun his opening set of solo electric lonely-guy ballads that we’ve all come to love. I’m starting to think he has a million of these lovely, sad songs filed away in the back of his mind, enough to perform a set that would last an entire weekend, and no one would mind. Bellows is a crooner; on stage he looks like an everyday Joe who woke up one day to discover that he had this dreamy, heart-breaker voice, the kind of voice that would have made him a star in the 1950s, bigger than Bobby Darin. Instead, he’s slowly edging his way into the indie foreground, sneaking in under the radar. It’s just a matter of time, and considering that Neva Dinova’s been around since the ’90s, time is something Bellows seems to have plenty of.

The crowd of around 70 was oddly mannered — everyone was seated and no one talked at all. Dead silence between Bellows’ songs, it was awkward. People were afraid to get up and get a beer while he was playing. I felt strange standing up at the edge of the bar, like I was out of place. The odd behavior carried over to the Mynabirds’ set, and toward the end, Burhenn pleaded to the crowd to get up and walk toward the stage, which about a dozen people did.

I didn’t stick around for These United States. Instead, I high-tailed it across town to The Waiting Room where I caught most of the set by Tortoise. The show wasn’t a sell-out, but the crowd was pretty good, maybe 150 (I’m guessing), a majority filling in the main room, staring up at the five-piece as they traded off turns on drums. Tortoise’s instrumental-only music is intensely rhythmic (at times, brutally so) at once hypnotic and groovy and unpredictable in its changes and sounds. It’s like ’50s beatnik jazz-lounge infused with a post-punk attitude and a touch of art/prog. Which makes me wonder why the band appeals so much to the neu-hippie culture. When the band came through a couple years ago, I don’t remember seeing so many white-guy dreads, so much hurdy-gurdy dancing, I expected to find someone back by the pinball machines making tie-dye t-shirts. I bet the only ones more perplexed by the onslaught of hippie nation was the band itself, who looked like a bunch of very cool, aging Chicago artists who grew up listening to really good college music, music from bands like Tortoise. (See photo).

* * *

This Saturday’s Lincoln Calling performance by Sarah Benck and the Robbers will be the last for the band, as they’re breaking up afterward. Benck said the decision to end the band came about quickly, and that she’s disappointed by the situation but realizes that people’s lives change. “My bandmates are all great friends, and I’m sure that will remain. Six years was a great run, and that’s what makes it so bittersweet,” she said.

Moving forward, Benck said she intends to play solo shows until she decides if, when or with whom she’d like to play again. I don’t think she’ll have much trouble pulling together another band. For me, the real question is whether she’ll keep creating music in her current style or use this crossroads as a touchstone for moving in a different direction. Time will tell.

The Benck/Robbers Lincoln Calling show is slated for 10 p.m. at The Zoo Bar. If you want to catch it, you may want to show up early.

* * *

Speaking of Lincoln Calling, festival organizer Jeremy Buckley texted me to say that attendance has been strong for the first few days. Wednesday attendance was 395 while Thursday drew 690. Tonight should be just as strong and Saturday should be crazy, with the Benck/Robbers farewell and the Mercy Rule reunion at Duffy’s.

Here’s tonight’s schedule:

Duffy’s Tavern
Early — 6-9 p.m.
Women of Music First Friday featuring art and photography from:
Teal Gardner
Courtney Nore
Alexandra Matzke
Natasha Richardson
Kayleigh Speck

Late — 9 p.m., $3 suggested donation, 21+
9-9:45 Honeybee
10-10:45 Sat in What
11-11:45 Flowers Forever
12-12:45 UUVVWWZ

Zoo Bar
Early — 5 p.m., $5 for 21+
5-7 p.m. Tijuana Gigolos

Late — 9 p.m., $8 for 21+
9-9:45 The Bellflowers
10-10:45 Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies
11-11:45 Frontier Ruckus
12-1245 The Allendales

12th St. Pub — 9 p.m., $3 for 21+, $5 for 18-20
8:30-9:30 Triggertown
9:45-10:30 Cowboy Dave Band
10:50-11:30 The Filter Kings
11:45-1 The Killigans

Bricktop — 10 p.m., free for 21+
Dr. Zhivago
Tres
Brent Crampton
DJs will decide rotation

Bodegas — 9 p.m., $5 for 21+
10-1 Lazer Wolfe

Duggan’s Pub — 9 p.m., $5 for 21+
9-9:40 Tendead
10-10:40 Hellanova
11-11:40 The Lifeless Design Norfolk
12-1 Deadechoes

Songwriter Power Ranger — 6 p.m., free for all ages
6:30-7 Das Hoboerotica (Spindle)
6:50-7:20 Adam Jameson (Duffy’s)
7:10-7:40 Jonathan Dell (Spindle)
7:30-8 Saint Christopher (Duffy’s)

Marz
Early — 6 p.m., free for 21+
7-9 p.m. Lucas Kellison and the Assembled Soul

Late — 10 p.m., free for 21+
Bookworm
Ol’ Moanin’ Corpse
DJs will decide rotation

* * *

OK, so what’s going on in Omaha tonight?

O’Leaver’s has a nice little post-punk/indie show going on with Ketchup and Mustard Gas, Driftless Pony Club and godshamgod. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Saddle Creek Bar is presenting a much more conventional punk show with Officially Terminated, The Shidiots and Youth and Tear Gas. There’s never a cover charge at the SCB. Show starts around 9 p.m.

The biggest show tonight is The Get Up Kids (read my 2002 interview) with Youth Group and Pretty and Nice. $23, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Who are The Mynabirds (who are opening tonight’s These United States show at Slowdown Jr.)? Well it’s the new project by former Georgie James member Laura Burhenn. Her yet-to-be-released new album, What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood, was recorded with singer/songwriter/producer Richard Swift. You can hear a bit of it on the Mynabirds myspace page, or better yet, come down to Slowdown and hear it live. Also opening is Jake Bellows. $7, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, as if you didn’t know, is Tortoise at The Waiting Room. I didn’t think we’d see these guys again after their last show at TWR (in June 2007) didn’t sell out (read my comments here), but here they are, better than ever with a brand new album on ThrillJockey called Beacons of Ancestorship. Opening is Prefuse 73. $15, 9 p.m

O’Leaver’s has Static Static tonight with Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship and The Prairies. $5, 9:30 p.m.

And then there’s Day 2 of Lincoln Calling. The sched is below. The big LC news, announced just yesterday, is that the reunited Mercy Rule — complete with drummer Ron Albertson — will be performing Saturday night at Duffy’s as part of Lincoln Calling. I just figured out which night I’ll be heading down to Lincoln.

Bourbon Theatre — 8 p.m., $8 for 18+

9:15-9:45 Talking Mountain
9:50-10:20 Capgun Coup
10:25-10:55 Conchance
11-1 Goo DJs

Duffy’s Tavern

Early — 6 p.m., $5 for all ages

6-8:30 Academy of Rock celebrates Banned Book week

Late — 9 p.m., $3 suggested donation for 21+

9-9:45 Techlepathy
10-10:45 Ideal Cleaners
11-11:45 Fromanhole
12-12:45 Masses

Zoo Bar — 9 p.m., $5 for 21+

9-9:45 Mal Madrigal
10-10:45 Loup River Band and Street Choir
11-11:45 Matt Cox Band
12-1 Son of 76 and the Watchmen

12th St. Pub — 9 p.m., $3 for 21+. $5 for 18-20

9:30-10:30 Andrews Ave
10:50-11:30 Jodie Loves Hinckley
11:45-1 Tempo

Bricktop — 10 p.m., free for 21+

Ol’ Moanin’ Corpse
DJ Relic
Jacob Smith

DJs will decide rotation

Duggans Pub — 9 p.m., $5 for 21+

Bandit Sound
Dethmask
To the Grave

Songwriter Power Ranger street corner stomp

6:30-7:00 Jon Wesley Crusher
6:50-7:20 Rebecca McPherson
7:10-7:40 Manny Coon
7:30-8:00 Grant Centauri

Marz Bar

Early — 6 p.m., free for 21+

7-9 p.m. Son of 76 and the Watchmen

Late — 10 p.m., free for 21+

Dr. Zhivago
Conrad

DJs will decide rotation

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

The self-titled debut by Monsters of Folk sold 34,547 physical copies in its first week of sales, good enough to weigh in at No. 15 on the Billboard chart, according to Homer’s General Manager Mike Fratt. The album by the so-called indie supergroup that features Conor Oberst, M.Ward, Jim James and secret weapon Mike Mogis also sold 17,369 digital copies since it became available a few weeks prior to the physical release. That put Monsters of Folk at No. 7 on the digital sales charts.

Those aren’t bad first week numbers, but it’s no Bright Eyes. Fratt pointed out that of the three amigos releasing music on their own, Bright Eyes is the clear best seller, followed by M. Ward then My Morning Jacket. “Conor (as Bright Eyes) is a few thousand units away from gold (500k) with Wide Awake,” Fratt said. “Ash is around 250k, and Lifted is around 300k. M. Ward has nothing over 100k and MMJ’s biggest is in the mid-100k’s.”

Fratt added that Oberst’s solo CDs with Mystic Valley Band are at 100k for the debut and 40k for Outer South.

* * *

The sixth-annual Lincoln Calling Festival kicks off tonight with a full slate of shows. Tonight’s schedule and prices are below, or you can get details at the Lincoln Calling Facebook page.

Pricewise, the right answer is to get a $30 wristband that lets you into all the shows for the entire five days. It’s available from e-tix right here.

If I were heading to Lincoln tonight, I’d definitely be checking out the duo-stages at the Bourbon featuring SF glam act Sleepy Sun and Nebraska’s very own Eagle Seagull. Actually, I’d also scamper on over to the Zoo Bar for New York rock-folkies The Rosewood Thieves. And of course, I’d check out the streetcorner buskers (including the fetching Nicole LeClerc outside the Bourbon at 7:10).

Here’s the sched…

Wednesday, Sept 30

Bourbon Theatre — Doors at 8 p.m., $10 for 18+
9-9:45 Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound (main stage)
9:45-10:15 Gold Lions (front room)
10:20-11:20 Sleepy Sun (main stage)
11:25-11:55 Life of a Scarecrow (back of main room)
12-1 Eagle Seagull (main stage)

Duffy’s Tavern — doors at 9 p.m., $5 for 19+
9:30-10 Sundays Best
10-10:30 Diamond Kazzoo (beer garden)
10:30-11:15 The Wildbirds
11:30-12:30 The Amalgamators

Zoo Bar

early — doors at 6 p.m., $4 for 19+
6-6:45 Ember Schrag
7-7:45 Tsumi
8-8:30 Once a Pawn

late — doors at 9 p.m., $8 for 19+
9-9:30 Manny Coon
9:40-10:20 Outlaw Con Bandana
10:40-11:20 Dead Trees
11:40-12:40 The Rosewood Thieves

Bricktop — doors at 10 p.m., free for 21+
DJ Spence
Jim Reilly (bday DJ set)
Bentone
Note: DJs will determine rotation

Duggans — doors 9 p.m., free for 21+
Open mic night; Rob from Duggan’s will facilitate

Songwriter Power Ranger street corner stomp — free (obviously)
6:30-7 Darren Keen (Bourbon)
7:20-7:50 Son of 76 (Duffy’s)
7:10-7:40 Nicole LeClerc (Bourbon)
7:30-8 Chanty Stovall (Duffy’s)

* * *

This week’s column is an opportunity to catch up on some of the news that has appeared in this-here blog over the past couple weeks. So if you’re a regular reader, you’ve already seen a version of this mashed-up commentary. I include it here for posterity’s sake (there have been a couple adds and edits).

Column 240: Ship Jumpers
But what price of fame?

A couple weeks ago, Tokyo Police Club announced that it had signed an exclusive U.S. recording deal with record label mom+pop, ending its relationship with Saddle Creek Records that began in July 2007. “The band is currently recording its second full length album, with an expected release projected for early 2010,” said the band’s PR folks.

Mom+pop was formed in 2008 by the owners of Qprime, “one of music’s most respected management firms, with a roster featuring the likes of Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snow Patrol, Muse, Silversun Pickups and The Mars Volta,” the release said. The record label’s roster, however, is tiny, and includes Josha Radin and An Horse.

Not surprisingly, Saddle Creek Records was not mentioned in the press release. None of this made sense to me. Why would TPC jump ship? Did this have more to do with Qprime than mom+pop?

“The band wanted a label with the resources and willingness to put a large amount of money into a commercial radio campaign, and that’s not something that we as a label have traditionally bought into or were willing to do,” said Saddle Creek label executive Jason Kulbel, who runs the label with Robb Nansel.

So this tiny mom+pop has the cash for something like that, or are other deep pockets involved? “I would assume that being backed by Qprime would mean they have some money to spend and experience in the commercial radio world,” Kulbel said.

Conversely, I would assume that everyone at Saddle Creek was disappointed, considering that TPC’s 2008 effort, Elephant Shell, is one of the label’s best-selling recent releases.

“I can’t say that we are not disappointed,” Kulbel said. “You don’t really start working with a band to only do one record. That said, we were well aware of the situation. It’s not like we were blindsided or anything. We have been talking on and off for months, and when the band decided on a road to go down, we were made aware and they asked us if it was something we would be interested in doing.”

The answer was no. Incidentally, Kulbel said Saddle Creek got nothing (no buy-out or whatever) as a result of TPC going to mom+pop.

The whole thing is depressing. To some, TPC represented a new wave of powerhouse indie bands that would guide Saddle Creek into the next decade after the label lost two of its triple-crown acts — The Faint (who left to start their own label) and Bright Eyes, a band that Conor Oberst announced would be sunsetted after a final album on Saddle Creek sometime in the future. Oberst’s solo albums with Mystic Valley Band are released on Merge Records, and the new album by Monsters of Folk was released on LA’s Shangri-La Music, a label owned by millionaire/international playboy (I’m not kidding) Steve Bing, who I’ve been told made Oberst and his compatriots an offer they simply could not refuse.

As far as major earners go, that leaves Creek with the ever-faithful Cursive/The Good Life, and the upcoming Azure Ray album. And of course, there’s that extensive back catalog, which is probably enough to sustain them as another generation discovers The Faint and Bright Eyes (and Cursive). Creek has the luxury of owning these musicians’ best albums.

Still, it would be nice if even one of Saddle Creek’s recently signed acts — Old Canes, UUVVWWZ, Rural Alberta Advantage or Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson — could ignite as brightly as TPC did out of the gate.

Speaking of Monsters of Folk, over the past couple of weeks dozens of reviews of their new album have been printed and posted. The only one that will be looked upon as “relevant” went live last week at Pitchfork. The undisputed king of tastemakers gave the album a 6.5 (out of 10) — a luke-warn rating that’s become standard-issue for all Omaha-affiliated indie rock releases.

Pitchfork (along with everyone else) compared the “super group” to The Traveling Wilburys — which is apt, right down to the production on some of the songs. I’ll play along. For me, Jim James, with his irresistible voice, is Roy Orbison. Oberst, who wrote the best songs on the album, is (of course) Dylan, which puts M.Ward in the George Harrison slot (some might say inappropriately, as James just released a sleepy Harrison tribute EP). That makes Mike Mogis a modern-day Jeff Lynne — in fact both produced their respective albums.

While Mogis’ production and the fact that the four members played all the instruments were efforts designed to “hold it all together,” the record still sounds like a collection of songs by the individual artists instead of a cohesive album by a singular band. The M.Ward songs sound like Hold Time rejects, the Conor songs could have come off a Mystic Valley album, and Jim James is Jim James. For fans of those records, this could be a real coup rather than a let-down.

For me, it’s all somewhat… predictable. “Say Please” — their “Handle with Care” — is the most radio friendly of the bunch. And since they decided to go with the millionaire (Shangri-La Music), efforts will be made to get the track shoved down radio programmers’ throats, and placed in “heavy rotation” in hopes of hypnotizing The Great Wad that needs to be told — over and over again — what to listen to. I guess that’s what these guys and TPC wanted after years of flourishing in indie obscurity.

Oh, but what price fame? TPC and the Monsters will find out soon enough. Because there’s one thing that Saddle Creek provided that money can never buy, something that has to do with the ability to look at yourself in the mirror.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

A few newsy items from the Googlenet:

An interesting interview was posted today on U.K. website egigs.co.uk with Alessi Laurent-Marke, the charming U.K. singer songwriter who briefly made Omaha her home a couple summers ago. Alessi talks about Nebraska, Saddle Creek and what she’s up to now — which includes a December tour of Germany with Neva Dinova’s Jake Bellows.

“…we became friends when I was in Nebraska and he’s the fellow that sings on ‘The Horse’ and does all the harmonies and backing vocals for that record and he’s a fantastic singer in his own right, and I thought it would be fun to play some solo stuff together in December, both here and in Germany,” said Alessi in her typical never-ending-run-on-sentence speaking style. “It will be the first time either of us have played in Germany, so it will be good to share it with a friend.” Read the whole interview here.

* * *

Tim Kasher’s latest stage apparel: Flip-flops, according to this review in the Las Vegas Weekly of Cursive’s Sin City show last Thursday. Critic Laura Davis raved about the performance that included Kasher making a dive into the mosh pit and the band playing a cover of “Get Me To the Church on Time.” Ironic? Only the insiders know for sure.

* * *

A kind reader posted on the webboard (here) that one of the opening bands for tonight’s Thursday concert at Slowdown — Young Widows — canceled (including the rest of the tour) for personal reasons. The band’s myspace page confirms this. The show will go on, however, with the headliner and the other openers — The Fall of Troy and La Dispute. Tickets are $20; show starts at 7:30.

Also tonight, Wovenhand, a project by former 16 Horsepower frontman David Eugene Edwards, plays at The Waiting Room with Fathr^ featuring Clark Baechle (drum), Dapose (electronics, guitar), James Cuato (saxophone) and Willy (saxophone). $10, 9 p.m.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Oh what it must feel like to be a touring band that’s played sold out shows for months opening for other bands and to finally get your own headlining tour and then show up in Omaha and play to an empty room. Such was the case for Amazing Baby. There was only around 20 people in Slowdown Jr. last night (including members of the opening band and bar help). That’s got to be a let-down and feel a bit demoralizing, but is something that every new band has to go through. I blame last night’s Flogging Molly show, as well as the band for not allowing a local opener on the bill, and myself for not giving the details about opener The Entrance Band in my Amazing Baby write-up.

Fact is, I didn’t know anything about The Entrance Band before last night. I found out while talking to one of the few patrons before their set that the band consists of frontman Guy Blakeslee, who’s past bands include The Convocation Of…, and Paz Lachantin — who in addition to being super-model attractive in her 5-inch high heels is something of a legend who can count among her former bands A Perfect Circle, Zwan and The Chelsea — a band with Melissa Auf de Maur. Lachantin also played on albums by Queens of the Stone Age, Jenny Lewis, Jarboe (of Swans) and many more. It seemed like more people were at the show for The Entrance Band than Amazing Baby.

As it turned out, their set was just as riveting as AB’s. The trio played a blistering — but short — set of psychedelic burn-out music that screamed, thanks to Blakeslee’s unreal guitar histrionics and Lachantin strutting around like a Bryant Park amazon holding the entire set together with her bass work.

Amazing Baby followed shortly afterward at around 10:30 and played a half-hour, six-song set. I thought maybe they short-changed us because of the crowd, but they only played six songs at The Troubadour last week, too. Despite the embarrassingly empty ambiance, their performance was “spirited” (to say the least) with a blinding LED/laser light show and fog machine (see photo). Yeah, they deserved a better crowd, but what are you gonna do? It was a Sunday night after a hard-rocking weekend. Hopefully the empty room won’t discourage them from coming back…

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I skipped Os Mutantes Saturday at The Waiting Room and am sorry I did. I’m told by people who were there that it was an amazing show and a decent-sized crowd. Friday night I hung out at The Saddle Creek Bar and caught a set by The Foghorns, a Seattle-based anti-folk roots rock band complete with tuba whose influences — John Prine, The Velvet Underground and Violent Femmes — were apparent in their music — a great set played in front of a smattering (maybe 12) of people.

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Tonight at Sokol Auditorium, it’s the return of Social Distortion — a band that you gotta love because all you need is one of their albums (or songs?) and you’ve got the entire catalog. No openers are listed on the Sokol website. Show starts at 8 p.m., tickets are an unreal $30.

Also tonight, LA indie band Sea Wolf, riding high after one of their songs was used in a Chevy Malibu commercial (another was in a RadioShack ad), is playing at Slowdown Jr. with Port O’Brien & Sara Lov. $10, 9 p.m.

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What to do tonight?

Legendary Brazilian psychedelic band Os Mutantes is playing at The Waiting Room. They just released their first new album in 35 years, Haih Or Amortecedor, on ANTI-. The odds are pretty good that you’ll never get another chance to see them in Omaha. With that in mind $20 is a steal. Get your tickets while you can. The show starts at 9 with opener DeLeon.

Tonight’s The Airborne Toxic Event show at The Slowdown is sold out, so if you don’t have tix yet, you’re out of luck. Opening is Red Cortez and The Henry Clay People. 9 p.m.

Other options tonight include Rhymes with Orange and Andrew’s Ave. at The Sydney; $5, 9 p.m. And The Foghorns, John Fino and Western Electric at The Saddle Creek Bar, where there’s never a cover charge. Starts at 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) Yuppies is playing at The Sydney with Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship and Lightning Bug. $5, 9 p.m. Yuppies will be hocking their fresh new 7-inch with Noah’s Ark for $5. Editor’s Note: UUVVWWZ was originally supposed to play this show.

Meanwhile, up the street at The Waiting Room, it’s a night of independent hip-hop with Brother Ali, Evidence, Toki Wright and BK One. $13 now/$15 DOS. 9 p.m.

Everyone’s favorite local power-pop band, The Third Men, are playing at The 49’r Saturday night with Spartan Apartments. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Finally, Mitch Gettman, OK Hemmingway and Lisa Donnelly are playing at The Saddle Creek Bar Saturday, where there’s never a cover charge. Show starts at 9.

Last but not least, Amazing Baby is playing at Slowdown Jr. on Sunday night with The Entrance Band. Tickets are a mere $8 (cheap!) and the show starts at 9.

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A correction to my Phoenix live review that was posted on Tuesday…. I said that the band was on V2 Records in the U.S. Jesse Stensby, vice president/radio rep at Vitriol Radio Promotion, e-mailed to point out that Phoenix’s U.S. label is Glassnote. That’s what I get for half-assing it by using Wikipedia as a source instead of AMG (another Wiki entry said that Astralwerks was their U.S. label).

So what/who exactly is Glassnote? I did a Google search and discovered their website, which listed Phoenix’s labelmates as Secondhand Serenade, Jonas Sees in Color, The Temper Trap and Justin Nozuka — all bands that I’ve never heard of, though many apparently have appeared on television. According to the site, “Glassnote Entertainment Group is a full service independent music company founded by Daniel Glass, one of the most accomplished and respected music people in the industry.”

The site goes on to say that “Through Glassnote, Mr. Glass has created the next-generation Music Company. It can be looked at as a rebirth of the great independent record companies, Chrysalis, Motown, Atlantic and Island, but built for the ever-changing marketplace.”

Maybe so. Certainly Phoenix was a great catch. The question, of course, is how did they do it. Here, we turn again to Wikipedia, where we discover that Daniel Glass worked at Chrysalis Records back in 1983 as the director of new music marketing, where he worked with Pat Benatar and Huey Lewis and the News, among others. He next headed to SBK Records where he was vice president of promotion, responsible for bringing us such break-out acts as Jesus Jones and Vanilla Ice. After that, he started Rising Tide Records for Universal, and then joined Danny Goldberg at Artemis Records in ’99. Which brings us to Glassnote, where he’s the CEO.

With that kind of provenance, it all makes sense, sort of. Anyway, apologies for the error.

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Just posted, an interview with Amazing Baby frontman Will Roan. He talks about the band’s first headlining tour, musical influences (among them, T.Rex — no surprise) and the making of their latest album. Read it here.

They’ve got a huge amount of buzz surrounding them, considering that they’ve been around less than two years. I mentioned this to Roan, who was quick to point out that they’ve all been in other bands. He says their quick rise to national attention has more to do with hard work. “I’ve been playing music since high school, and everyone else for longer than that,” Roan said, “and we’ve never worked as hard as we have on this project.”

It doesn’t hurt to have a label like Shangri-La Music, the same label that also released the Monsters of Folk album. “They are a new label that has a lot of hard-working strong music lovers and lot of energy at their disposal, so to speak,” Roan said. “They’re interested in trying to keep music alive, where I think a lot of labels that have been around for awhile don’t know their asses from their elbows.” Maybe so, but it also doesn’t hurt that the owner of Shangri-La is a multi-millionaire who appears to be doing this for the fun of it. I pointed this out to Roan, and didn’t get any arguments.

None of that is in the story. Also missing is the routine question about Omaha. Roan has never been here before, but has some connections. “I got kicked out of a band that had Willy Mason in it,” he said. “His brother, Sam (Mason) was in one of my first bands, too. Willy signed to Team Love at the time Bright Eyes was really big. SPIN had just done a huge article on Saddle Creek in 2003 when I was a freshmen in college. And Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (who just signed to Saddle Creek) is a close friend of mine from Brooklyn. I always have a beer with him before I go away on tour. I know Omaha is kind of a speck on the radar of the world, but it’s had a huge impact.

Anyway, read the story, then go out and get your tickets to their show Sunday night at Slowdown Jr. It’s a mere $8.

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Tonight at O’Leaver’s, Boy Noises plays with San Francisco band Rademacher. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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