Generally when I’m this late with an update I just skip it, but I would be remiss in not mentioning one of the best benefit shows I’ve seen scheduled in a long time. Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s Tunes for Townsend, a benefit for 12-month-old Townsend Holan. One Percent has all the details, but here’s the line-up: Beginning at 7 it’s Kyle Harvey, Lincoln Dickison, Brad Hoshaw, The Filter Kings, McCarthy Trenching, Black Squirrels, Satchel Grande and Sarah Benck and the Robbers. Cover is $10, with all the money going to the Holan family. Definitely check it out.

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Heard walking from my car to The Waiting Room Friday night: Voices and laughter coming from every direction, almost as if there was a street festival going on. Looking down Maple or that cross-street that runs by Jake’s lounge — people were standing around on the sidewalks, smoking. It was the first weekend without cigarettes, and the effect was to create a sort of camaraderie. Smokers are a jolly bunch. And the weather was terrific. If it could only be that nice outside all year ’round… but it won’t be.

The smoking ban certainly didn’t impact the draw at TWR — it was packed with hippie-folk and middle-aged suburbanites for Satchel Grande — a band I never figured for having a hippie fan base. Nothing wrong with hippies — at least they like to dance and have a good time — which is a stark contrast to the typical slump-shouldered, intense indie crowd I’m used to seeing. SG has emerged as the city’s best all-around party band fueled by their own hot original disco-funk songs — it’s hard to not have fun at one of their shows, unless you get slapped in the face by some guy’s nasty dreads.

Without smoke, TWR smelled like a hotel room that recently went non-smoking — a strange musk of detergent, nicotine and dirty orange peels. It’s going to take time to air out the place.

So how does O’Leaver’s smell? I intend to find out tonight when Brimstone Howl plays, along with Fontana. $5, 9:30 p.m. Meanwhile, over at The Waiting Room, it’s the maniacal metal of Bloodcow with Back When, The Clincher and North Carolina’s Black Skies. $7, 9 p.m.

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Show-wise, there’s not a lot going on this weekend. The show that was listed at O’Leaver’s tonight appears to have been cancelled, according to O’Leaver’s Myspace, which also says that out-of-town band Leeches of Lore has moved their set to The 49’r. I plan on dropping in at O’Leaver’s anyway just to see how the place smells now that the new smoking ban has gone into effect. Same with The Brothers, a bar I can’t even imagine walking into without being overcome by a wall of hazy smoke. Biggest show of the weekend is at a place that’s always been smoke-free — Slowdown Jr. — featuring Midwest Dilemma, Brad Hoshaw, Reagan and the Rayguns and Band of Annuals. $7, 9 p.m.

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Photographer/rocker Tony Bonacci and I recently chatted about his photo show hanging down at the Nomad ultra-lounge. The interview was for a story for The Reader. Here’s the outcome:

Natural Light
Photographer Tony Bonacci captures sound with a lens.

If you follow Omaha’s celebrated indie music scene, chances are you’ve seen photographer Tony Bonacci’s work before.

Bonacci quietly is becoming a go-to guy for some of the scene’s most important musicians, including Saddle Creek Records acts Mayday, Criteria and the long, lost duo Azure Ray.

A collection of 30 of Bonacci’s portraits (15 rock subjects, 15 non-rock) is currently on display at trendy Nomad Lounge in the Old Market. Among the show’s images are Mayday’s Ted Stevens working an exer-cycle, Orenda Fink in tribal face paint, Tilly and the Wall pounding out a tune on piano, and Baby Walrus hidden in a field of cattails.

One of the most striking photos is a black-and-white portrait of Tomato a Day’s Brian Poloncic sitting on the front stoop of his South Omaha home while his faithful German Shepherd looks on. The photo was used as the inner-sleeve artwork for Tomato a Day’s most recent album, The Moon Is Green.

Among the non-rock portraits (though you’ll recognize a few local musicians among them) is a quirky photograph of Bonacci’s neighbor smoking a cigarette with lipstick smeared across his lips.

Bonacci, 24, has been taking portraits since he was 18. Largely self-taught (He took one photography class which he never completed), his influences include indie film directors Harmony Korine (Gummo, Mr. Lonely) and Larry Clark (Kids) and fringe portrait photographer Diane Arbus. While obviously constructed, Bonacci’s images capture subjects in settings both natural and oddly juxtaposed, rarely altering the surroundings. Using a Minolta XG-M 35 mm SLR, Bonacci depends on minimal fill lighting and performs only the most benign Photoshop post production on his images.

The simple hand’s off method is key to his matter-of-fact approach. “I think natural photos are interesting,” said the soft-spoken artist. “I’m not interested in altering them after the shoot, and that’s something you don’t see very often anymore.”

Bonacci’s role as rhythm guitarist for indie band Hyannis provided a convenient entry into Omaha’s music world, though “My photography is the main thing,” he said. “The music provides instant gratification. I like the idea of doing both, and wouldn’t give either one up.”

Still, his goal is to broaden his photography portfolio with national magazine assignments as well as more consignment work for bands. He’s also considering commercial photography, “If I can do it in my own style,” he said.

The show, titled Mach Shau! The Photography of Tony Bonacci, closes June 26 with a special event from 6 to 10 p.m. featuring a live music performance by one of Bonacci’s portrait subjects. Nomad Lounge is located at 1013 Jones St.

You can see an example of Tony’s work online at tonybonacci.com.

A slew of shows are slated for tonight:

At O’Leaver’s, Reagan Roeder and Mike Friedman open for touring band Little Pieces. $5, 9:30 p.m. Over at The Waiting Room, At the Drive-in co-founder and Sparta frontman Jim Ward’s side project, Sleepercar, plays. Sleepercar has been described as “alt country, similar to Wilco.” Opening is Flight Metaphor and Civicminded. $8, 9 p.m. Down at Slowdown Jr. it’s Javelins with Pomegranates and Honeybee. $7, 9 p.m.

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Tonight at The Saddle Creek Bar it’s G.G. Allin’s former backing band The Murder Junkies with Koffin Kats (Detroit horror psychobilly), Skinny Jim & the 9 Blacktops (Illinois rockabilly), Shot Baker (Chicago hardcore), Filthy Few (the RUSH of pornobilly!), and Officially Terminated (Lincoln punks). The mayhem starts at 7:30 and will run you $10. (thanks to Tuco for the data).

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There’s something about Scottish and Irish bands… whether you’re talking about a more straightforward rock act like U2 or a Celtic-leaning band like The Waterboys, something rooted in their heritage always manages to bubble up in their music no matter how hard they rock. It’s subtle, but it’s always there. Maybe it’s the brogue, but I think it has more to do with a natural sensibility toward green-hilled melodies. Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison certainly has an unmistakable, charming brogue, which became more pronounced as the band’s set wore on Saturday night at The Waiting Room.

Opening was Mal Madrigal. Actually, Techlepathy was up first, but I missed them, just as I missed the first half of MM’s set. Steve Bartolomei and Co. sounded their usual folk-rocking self, though they ended their set with a couple South o’ the Border-flavored numbers that took Bartolomei’s melodies to a whole different (and amazing) place. Maybe they should try an entire album of Latin-flavored music.

Sub Pop trio Oxford Collapse came on next and sounded like someone from that label circa the late ’90s — solid bass-driven college rock that sort of reminded me of Minutemen, though they weren’t nearly as heavy.

Frightened Rabbit hit the stage at around 11:30. Their music floats closer to mainstream rock than indie, again probably because of their Scottish heritage. While ringing and loud, there were moments that weren’t far removed from, say, Counting Crows. But there also was a rootsy, faraway quality that I recognized from other bands that have called the northern British Isles their homes — a lonely, heart-aching sound that burns through no matter how loud the guitars are turned up. Part of it is the rapid, rhythmic strumming. Part of it is Hutchison’s rich, throaty voice that would sound at home belting out an Irish (or Scottish) folk ballad (just add fiddle). Great stuff enjoyed by a crowd of around 70 (by my estimate).

* * *

Blogger Annie Dilocker mentioned yesterday that there’s a special event going on tonight at Pulp in Benson. Called “Runaways,” the event features local writers reading their essays about music, with musicians performing in between readings. Hand-made journals designed by local artists will be auctioned off (silently). Writers include Katie Wudel, Christin Goetz and Dilocker herself. Musician participants include Sam Martin (Capgun Coup), Bear Country, Honeybee and Oui Bandits. Artists include Joey Lynch, Tony Bonacci and Jill Rizzo. The free event (which free wine and beer) starts at 7. Find out more.

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So, another semi-quiet weekend for shows. The one that stands out tonight is Dereck Higgins and Scott Severin opening for Shinyville at The Barley St. SLAM Omaha says the cover is $4 (there’s rarely a cover at Barley). 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night’s marquee show is Frightened Rabbit, Oxford Collapse, Mal Madrigal and Techlepathy at The Waiting Room. Frightened Rabbit is a Scottish band that records for Fat Cat Records (distro by Caroline). They’ve been compared to Arcade Fire, The Shins and The Long Winters (i.e., they sound like an indie band). I halfway expected Brooklyn Sub Pop band Oxford Collapse to be headlining this show. They’re certainly more well-known around these parts. Methinks the majority of the crowd will be there for the openers — Omaha’s own Mal Madrigal and newcomers Techlepathy (which features among its members guitar virtuoso Lincoln Dickison). $8, 9 p.m.

You might have trouble finding parking for the above show, as the Benson Summer Festival also is going on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Among the featured bands are Shiver Shiver and Satchel Grande. It’s all outside and it’s all free.

Also tomorrow night, the Saddle Creek Bar is hosting a night of punk featuring Lincoln Celtic-core band The Killigans with KTP, Vandon Arms and The Upsets. $6, 9 p.m.

And Slowdown’s hosting a show Saturday night featuring emo-pop band Cobra Starship, along with three other bands I’ve never heard of. $14, 7 p.m.

Finally, Sunday night, it’s back to O’Leaver’s for The Shanks, The Dinks and Minnesota band The Short Cuts. The last time I bumped into a member of the Shanks, he mentioned that they recently had a personnel change. Better see what that’s all. $5, 9 p.m.

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If there’s one thing The Reader doesn’t do very well, it’s keeping its readers up to date as to who’s running the paper. Andy’s last issue at the helm of The Reader was a couple weeks ago. He’s now relegated to watching from the sidelines like the rest of us. He was always a good sounding board both for the column and for feature stories that I pitched to the paper. He also had the advantage of coming to The Reader from outside Omaha’s indie music scene, which gave him a more sober perspective about what was going on. Something tells me that when he returns to Omaha, he’ll do so a wealthy man, if there’s anything to this whole “Global Warming” bugaboo. Incidentally, no one has been named to Andy’s old position, and the powers that be at The Reader are still in the process of working out the details as to who will guide its music coverage going forward. Something tells me that you’re going to see some more changes at the paper in the near future…

Column 177: Parting Shots
Andy Norman exits stage left…

And so, we say goodbye to Managing Editor Andrew Norman.

Why, I remember first meeting Andy three years ago, only days after he left The City Weekly to take on the editing chores at The Reader. He was a wee lad, sprightly in stature with pork chop sideburns and a haircut that made him resemble a small, wide-eyed tree monkey or Frodo from the Peter Jackson film The Lord of the Rings. It seems like only yesterday that throngs of tattooed, ebony-haired groupies breathlessly yelled the battle cry “Save Frodo!” when Andy strapped on a bass with his band Jaeger Fight at O’Leaver’s. Writer, editor, rock and roll god. And now… now he’s gone.

Waitaminit. This isn’t an obit. Norman ain’t dead. I mean, his career might be dead, but he’s alive and kicking and living in Ashland… for now.

About a month ago, Norman, who’s been The Reader’s acting managing editor and ad hoc music editor (and, as a result, my editor) announced that he was leaving the paper and headed back to school at Michigan State, where he’s pursuing a master’s degree in “Environmental Journalism,” whatever that is. He’s spending his summer taking on the self-flagellating role of a construction worker, cooking in the hot summer sun, far away from the e-mail and the deadlines that will plague him for the next few years in East Lansing, Michigan, where he’ll also be the editor of his program’s publication, EJ Magazine.

But before we let him go, someone had to conduct the exit interview.

Norman, 28, took over the paper’s music section in 2005, shortly after the Omaha music scene had reached its zenith of national notoriety and began heading down the other side of the arc. A graduate of UNL, Norman somehow managed to know next to nothing about Omaha’s indie reputation or Saddle Creek Records. I still remember him asking who “this Bright Eyes” was. “The only thing I knew about Omaha’s music was that a lot of good punk bands came through town,” he said. “There was a lot of metal, and I suppose one of the first things I did was listen to 89.7 The River, which gave me a bad impression.”

Ah, the smell of bridges burning.

Anyway. Norman preferred the harder stuff, specifically bands like Lagwagon, Good Riddance, Operation Ivy, The Melvins, just about any band on labels like Fat Wreck Chords and Alternative Tentacles.

He said he learned about the local music scene by reading newspapers and blogs and by going to shows and talking to people. He discovered that Omaha and Lincoln are known for their artist-friendly venues, like Box Awesome, the Waiting Room and Slowdown. “Bands want to come back here because they’re treated well,” he said. “I don’t think that was always the case.”

Norman said he discovered a diverse music scene that included “good hip-hop and a strong DJ culture.” As for indie, he never bought into the standard definition. “I don’t think of indie as a genre, but as a way of doing business,” he said. “Record labels like Speed! Nebraska and Boom Chick are indie to me.”

So what was the biggest pain in his ass as music editor? Norman first pointed to the bands. “In a cultural scene where you deal with artists of any kind, you realize they’re often flakes,” he said. “It’s hard to get them to call you back or send you a photo. All we want is a decent bio, the actual band members’ names, a couple songs to listen to and a photo. It made your work a helluva lot harder if you went online and couldn’t find much about a band, or if they had a ridiculous Myspace page that took forever to load. That was pretty irritating.”

Another irritant was trying to find writers who knew about something other than the indie scene. Everyone wants to write about The Faint. Try finding an authority on hip-hop or country music. “Typically, people who could write were too tied to the scene,” he said. “They were either best friends with bands or in bands, and couldn’t separate themselves. Just as the scene grows and young kids need to start bands, there needs to be kids who want to write about music. Someone needs to document what’s going on.”

The most rewarding part, Norman said, was watching local bands put out albums and start doing “big things” like touring. “I felt proud to be from Nebraska and Omaha where all this stuff is going on,” he said. “I would feel comfortable putting music produced by Omaha and Lincoln bands up against music from anyplace else.”

He leaves this veil of tears bearing a significant amount of guilt — for not listening to stacks of CDs on his desk, for not going to enough shows. “I was never able to devote myself to the music editor thing,” he said. “My priority was writing news as far as (publisher) John Heaston was concerned. In my opinion, a music editor has to be fully engrossed in the scene.”

But there’s no time for looking back now. After three years, Norman said it was time for a new challenge. He moves away Aug. 1, and Omaha loses yet another valuable piece of talent.

“The coolest thing about the job was being this country kid from Imperial, a town of 2,000, and ending up in the middle of Omaha’s cultural scene,” he said. “I’ll miss working with the most creative, smartest people in town — the many writers and fellow editors and staff — being around that creative power.”

Ah Andy, we hardly knew ye…

Tonight at the glorious Orpheum Theater, An Evening with Sigur Rós. It’s the opening night of the band’s five-city U.S. tour, and tickets are still available for $30 from omahaperformingarts.org. Show starts at 8 p.m. I’ll let you know how it goes.

And a brief update on yesterday’s blog entry, Midwest Dilemma’s new album, Timelines & Tragedies, has climbed 50 spots to No. 112 on the CMJ charts. How high will it go?

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