We all already sort of knew Jake Bellows and his band, Neva Dinova, had a new record in the can. Today they officially announced that the new album, Canary, is set for release Sept. 27 on Saddle Creek Records.
Interestingly, the press release leads with “Omaha greats Neva Dinova have announced…” Jake moved to Los Angeles a number of years ago, but still identifies with his hometown (as he should!). In fact, the entire press release is feels very Omaha-centric maybe because drummer Roger Lewis and bass player Megan Siebe, who round out this iteration of Neva Dinova, still live here.
Canary is the first new material by the band in 16 years, and in my humble opinion, it’s the fastest, heaviest stuff Jake and Co. have done. Recorded at Make Believe Studio, “The songs on Canary were honed on the road allowing for a largely live recording session that captures the visceral energy of the band.”
Check out the revised lyric video for first single “Edge of Something,” and pre-order your copy here.
I just walked the dog through our neighborhood. Good god, it still looks like a war zone, with downed power lines lying in the streets. With that in mind, who knows when the 90,000 folks without power this morning will be back up and running. That includes Benson’s business district, which was still in the dark as of 10 a.m. Friday morning.
Despite that, it’s still the first Friday of the month, and by all accounts, still #BFF, though I don’t know which galleries or businesses will be open tonight.
There is one gallery I know will be open: Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple Street, where we’re hosting an opening for artist Lew Lunbeck, titled “Seeing Greatness + Kicking It in the Teeth.” Lew’s post-impressionistic paintings revolve around dreamlike characters in imaginative places, a sense of style he developed while traveling as a self-described vagabond. Of course we don’t have power at Ming Toy, either, so we’ll be hosting by afternoon light and battery-powered boombox, with a cooler of beer and other drink-stuff. The show runs from 6 p.m. to whenever it’s too dark to see (probably around 8 or so). If you’re in Benson, drop by and say hi.
Rockshow-wise, it’s gonna be a hit-and-miss weekend. No idea what’s happening at The Waiting Room, The Sydney and Reverb – it depends on if they have power. Slowdown does have power, as does The Astro in La Vista, but The Admiral in south Omaha appears to be in the dark, or so it seems as tonight’s Admiral show has been cancelled and the Orville Peck show, scheduled for The Admiral Saturday, has been moved to The Astro.
The Gin Blossoms/Toad the Wet Blanket show at The Astro is still listed as happening at The Astro Amphitheater tonight, according to the One Percent Productions website. The Kros Strain Outlandia Beer Launch with The Eye and 3BX also is listed as happening tonight at Reverb Lounge.
As mentioned, Saturday’s Orville Peck concert at The Admiral has been moved to The Astro. Jaime Wyatt and Gold Star open at 8 p.m. This show is long sold out. Tickets are now available for what was a sold-out show.
Back in Benson Saturday night, KC post-punk band Shiner headlines a show at Reverb Lounge with Healer and Violenteer (which shares a frontman with Shiner). 8 p.m., $20, that is if they have power, right?
It appears they have power at fabulous O’Leaver’s, and as such, The Wrinkles in Time w/ Sgt. Leisure and Bare Bear are playing Saturday night. 8 p.m., $10.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Try to have a great weekend…
Petfest 2024 is just around the corner, Aug. 17 to be exact, and among the bands playing is the debut of Lincoln act Vempire. Who is Vempire? It’s Thirst Things First frontman Mike Elfers and Ghostlike’s Lindsey Yoneda, and last week the duo released a new video for the song “Blattodea,” which is below. Their debut album, Your Steps, drops Aug. 16. Don’t forget get your Petfest tickets in advance and save $10 vs. DOS.
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Two shows tonight, which I’m dying to attend, though I’m a wee bit afraid of the hail-storms being forecast…
Snõõperis a freshly minted Nashville five-piece punk band fronted by vocalist Blair Tramel whose debut album, Super Snõõper, was released last year by Jack White’s Third Man Records.
Wiki calls their genre “egg punk,” which is a new one on me, but they say is a subgenre “influenced by new wave band Devo” this is attributed “to a community of DIY midwestern American punk rock artists from the early 2010s, including The Coneheads and Lumpy and the Dumpers.”
It just sounds hard, fast, old-school punk to me, with each song clocking in at a little over a minute or less. Madcap fun. Joining Snõõper tonight at Reverb Lounge is our very own Pagan Athletes and Size Queen. $18, 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, also tonight New Haven, Connecticut, psych-rockers The Mountain Movers are playing an in-store at Grapefruit Records in the Old Market. Consisting of guitarist/vocalist Dan Greene, bassist Rick Omonte, guitarist Kryssi Battalene and drummer Ross Menze, the band has been together for over a decade. Their latest, the double-vinyl Walking After Dark, was released this past May by Trouble in Mind Records. Heavy man! Local hero Megan Siebe opens this show at 8 p.m. $10. Grapefruit Records is located at 1125 Jackson Street.
It’s Tuesday and time for the touring indie calendar update.
The big addition this week is a performance by singer/songwriter/author David Dondero Sept. 18 at Ming Toy Gallery.
Dondero’s music history goes back to the early Saddle Creek Records days as he’s been cited by Conor Oberst as one of his primary influences, specifically referencing Dondero’s work with his ’90s-era band Sunbrain, which released albums on Grass Records (which released records from a number of Omaha bands, including Commander Venus, Mousetrap and Cactus Nerve Thang).
Dondero’s latest is 2023’s Immersion Therapy (Fluff and Gravy Records). But in addition, David just wrote a book – Chaos the Cat – which, according to the description, “takes readers on a journey into the heart of California’s cannabis legalization era, where a secluded pot farm becomes the backdrop for a clash between preservation and exploitation… The tale is narrated by Chaos, the cat, reincarnated from an artist deeply connected to the farm.”
In addition to a performance by Dondero, the evening will include readings from his new book as well as a Q&A conducted by Rob Walters. 7 p.m. start time, $15 suggested donation or $25 gets you in and a copy of David’s book.
Ming Toy Gallery is located at 6066 Maple St. Attendance is limited to 40 and there’s NO SEATING. That’s right, you’re gonna have to stand up, sit on the floor or bring a small folding chair or pillow to sit on. It’s gonna be fun! RSVP and more info here.
Here’s the rest of what’s coming up. Nearest and dearest is SNÕÕPER at Reverb tomorrow night. And Outlandia is looming – Aug. 9-10…
July 31 – SNÕÕPER @ Reverb
July 31 – Mountain Movers @ Grapefruit Records
Aug. 3 – Orville Peck @ The Admiral
Aug. 3 – Shiner @ Reverb
Aug. 7 – Cults @ The Waiting Room
Aug. 9-10 – Outlandia Music Festival @ Falconwood
Aug. 15 – PACKS @ The Slowdown
Aug. 17 — Petfest @ Petshop Gallery
Aug. 19 – King Buzzo @ The Slowdown
Sept. 5 – A Giant Dog @ Reverb
Sept. 12 – Soft Kill @ The Slowdown
Sept. 18 – David Dondero @ Ming Toy Gallery
Sept. 21 – Built to Spill @ The Waiting Room
Sept. 22 — Bright Eyes @ Steelhouse
Sept. 24 – Why? @ The Slowdown
Sept. 25 – Descendents @ The Admiral
Sept. 26 – Foxing @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Odie Leigh @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Jungle @ The Astro
Oct. 4 – Brigitte Calls Me Baby @ Reverb
Oct. 4 – Turnover @ The Slowdown
Oct. 5 – Fontaines D.C. @ The Slowdown
Oct. 7 – Saturdays at Your Place @ Reverb
Oct. 8 – Boris @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 9 – Jeffery Lewis @ Grapefruit Records
Oct. 10 – MJ Lenderman & The Wind @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 10 – Melt @ The Slowdown
Oct. 12 – The Red Pears @ Reverb
Oct. 16 – Mdou Moctar @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 17 – Superchunk @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 18-19 – Cursive @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 22 – Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Astro
Omaha noise-rock four-piece Violenteer is headlining tonight at The Sydney in Benson. They top off a four-band bill that includes Kansas City noise/art-rock band Jorge Arana Trio, Lawrence Kansas punkers Jackoffs and Omaha art-noise duo Pagan Athletes. 8:30, $10. It’s gonna be a long night.
And that about does it for shows. No touring indie shows. Nineties rockers Primus and Coheed and Cambria are playing at The Astro Sunday. Who remembers “Jerry was a Race Car Driver”? Great song. I bought Primus’ Sailing the Sea of Cheese CD in ’91 on that strength of that song. It was an era when buying albums was a gamble, and I certainly lost on that bet. $55, 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, Benson Days is going on this weekend — it’s the usual parade Saturday morning, pancake feed and street vendors. I don’t see anything about live music. More info here.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great, hot weekend.
Massachusetts post-rock instrumental outfit Caspian headlines tonight at The Waiting Room. The band has been kicking around for more than 20 years; in fact, they played a headlining gig way back in 2016 with The Appleseed Cast as an opener. Their latest, 2023’s On Circles: The Complete Sessions (a follow-up to 2020’s On Circles), was released by Triple Crown Records. Their style is classic start-small-and-build-mountains instrumentals a la Explosions in the Sky. You know the drill.
Opening is Belfast-based prog rockers And So I Watch You from Afar. While the band also mostly does instrumentals, there’s some spoken word mixed in for good measure. They’ve had music released on Sargent House and Equal Vision. Their latest 3-song single, Years Ago, came out just a couple weeks ago on Pelagic Records and combines intricate guitar lines with Mogwai-style wall-of noise goodness. $30, 8 p.m.
When nothing’s going on, I like to update the list of upcoming touring indie shows. Not much has changed over the last update except the addition of MJ Lenderman & The Wind at The Waiting Room Oct. 10. The Asheville, NC, singer/songwriter has a new album coming out on Anti- Sept. 6 called Manning Fireworks. The first single, “She’s Leaving You,” is burning up college radio. You may remember him from playing in the band Wednesday back in May at The Slowdown.
Other adds include Foxing Sept. 26 at Slowdown; Odie Leigh at The Slowdown Oct. 1; Saturdays at Your Place at Reverb Oct. 7; Boris at The Waiting Room Oct. 8; Melt at The Slowdown Oct. 10; The Red Pears at Reverb Oct. 12 and Kate Nash at The Slowdown Oct. 23.
Hottest up-and-coming is SNÕÕPER at Reverb July 31. And Outlandia is just around the corner Aug. 9-10…
July 24 – Caspian @ The Waiting Room
July 31 – SNÕÕPER @ Reverb
July 31 – Mountain Movers @ Grapefruit Records
Aug. 3 – Orville Peck @ The Admiral
Aug. 3 – Shiner @ Reverb
Aug. 7 – Cults @ The Waiting Room
Aug. 9-10 – Outlandia Music Festival @ Falconwood
Aug. 15 – PACKS @ The Slowdown
Aug. 17 — Petfest @ Petshop Gallery
Aug. 19 – King Buzzo @ The Slowdown
Sept. 5 – A Giant Dog @ Reverb
Sept. 12 – Soft Kill @ The Slowdown
Sept. 21 – Built to Spill @ The Waiting Room
Sept. 22 — Bright Eyes @ Steelhouse
Sept. 24 – Why? @ The Slowdown
Sept. 25 – Descendents @ The Admiral
Sept. 26 – Foxing @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Odie Leigh @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Jungle @ The Astro
Oct. 4 – Brigitte Calls Me Baby @ Reverb
Oct. 4 – Turnover @ The Slowdown
Oct. 5 – Fontaines D.C. @ The Slowdown
Oct. 7 – Saturdays at Your Place @ Reverb
Oct. 8 – Boris @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 10 – MJ Lenderman & The Wind @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 10 – Melt @ The Slowdown
Oct. 12 – The Red Pears @ Reverb
Oct. 16 – Mdou Moctar @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 17 – Superchunk @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 18-19 – Cursive @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 22 – Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Astro
Clockwise from top left, Mannequin Pussy, Shannon and the Clams, Hurray for the Riff Raff and Indigo de Souza are the headliners for this year’s Grrrl Camp Festival July 19-20 at Falconwood Park.
Grrrl Camp starts today at Falconwood Park in Bellevue. Here’s the deal: Over the past five years (or more), women artists have dominated indie music (actually not just indie, all pop music). So the idea of having a festival focused solely on female indie artists is, well, almost redundant in its very nature.
This is the third time I’ve made this point – Grrrl Camp is not a girls-only event. But it doesn’t matter how many times I say it, there’s going to be dudes who won’t attend because they think they’re not welcome. Tis a pity, because, as I said above, women artists have dominated Indie/pop/rock music for a long time, and this is the best indie-centric line-up I’ve seen at any local festival this year.
Both nights’ line-ups are solid. If I had to differentiate, tonight’s line-up is more punk and heavier than tomorrow’s more folk/singer/songwriter fare. Your mileage may vary.
I posted a description of every band back in April, which you can read right here. Bands I’m most looking forward to seeing most for the first time: Annie DiRusso, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Mannequin Pussy. I can already vouch for the greatness of Shannon & the Clams, Rosali and Indigo De Souza, having seen them perform before.
Tonight’s schedule:
4 p.m. – Gates open
5 – 5:35 – Pictoria Vark
6 – 6:35 – Estrogen Projection
7 – 7:35 – Mint Green
8 – 8:45 – VIAL
9:10 – 10:10 – Shannon & the Clams
10:35 – Midnight – Mannequin Pussy
Saturday’s schedule
Noon – Gates open
1 – 1:35 – Krissy
2 – 2:35 – Madeline Reddel
3 – 3:35 – Keo & Them
4 – 4:45 – Rosali
5:10 – 5:30 – Omaha Girls Rock
5:55 – 6:55 – Girl Rey
7:20 – 8:20 – Annie DiRusso
8:45 – 9:45 – Hurray for the Riff Raff
10:15 – 11:30 – Indigo De Souza
There are DJ sets and after-hours hi-jinx as well. See the full list of activities at grrrlcamp.com, where there’s also rules, directions, etc.
Let’s talk tickets. Weekend GA Passes are $85. Friday single-day passes are $45. Saturday single-day passes are $65. No VIP options. Camping options are available at the grrrlcamp.com website.
The website says there will be “100+ vendors,” though none are listed, but the FAQ states “We will be featuring some of the area’s most delicious eats, femme-owned and/or operated, too! Vegan/Vegetarian options will be available.” That includes a full bar.
Weather-wise, tonight should be OK but Saturday is looking wet. Keep your fingers crossed that the rain passes us by. Grrrl Camp is a rain or shine event, but organizers say there is a rain option (Falconwood Lodge) that can be used as a last resort if weather is severe.
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That’s really all I have for this weekend. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!
The folks at Falconwood Park in Bellevue no doubt are gearing up for the season’s first music festival that features indie bands – GRRRL Camp July 19 and 20. Why mention this on Monday? Just to get the word out for those who haven’t been paying attention. This festival has the best indie line-up of any local festival, especially with Maha taking the year off. Headliners are Indigo de Souza and Mannequin Pussy, but the entire weekend line-up is solid.
When I talk about this festival with folks I continue to get quizzical looks by dudes who think it’s an Omaha Girls Rock event. OGR does, indeed, host a summer camp program. That ain’t what this is. Yes, men, you are invited along with everyone else. All the details are available at the event’s website – grrrlcamp.com.
I’ll be writing about the participating bands throughout the week.
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Speaking of shows, there’s another great Monday night offering at The Waiting Room tonight.
Etran de L’Aïr translates to “the Stars of the Aïr,” the mountainous region of Northern Niger. The band is based in the town of Agadez, an urban center renowned for the electric guitar and the Western named “desert blues.” In the Sahara, this electric guitar genre is intertwined with social function, and as such, these folks play a lot of weddings and other fun gatherings.
They remind me of a less guitar-heavy, more danceable version of indie darlings Mdou Moctor. Etran de L’Aïr, however, is still very much under the radar. The New Yorker picked their cellphone recorded debut, No. 1, as their album of the year in 2020.
Sez the New Yorker: “No. 1 was recorded live, outside of the band’s compound in the outskirts of Agadez, and it contains absolutely everything I have desperately missed about non-virtual concerts: heady, spontaneous grooves, the sound of people clapping, involuntarily loosed whoops. I put it on whenever I need to be reminded of what it feels like to be outside, among friends, happy, dissolving into sound.”
The band played an in-store at Grapefruit Records in the Old Market a year or so ago; I can’t imagine many folks around here know about them – they’d be hard-pressed to fill Reverb let alone The Waiting Room, especially on a Monday night.
That’s all the more reason to get yer ass to Benson tonight and see this show. Opening is local indie psych-rock newcomers Cowgirl Eastern. $25, 8 p.m.
Violin-playing singer-songwriting whistler Andrew Bird is headlining tonight at The Astro in La Vista. He’s one of those guys who has always flown under the radar for me, despite being a major force in indie music for well over a decade, starting out on Rykodisc and Grimsey Records before moving on to Mom+Pop, Fat Possum, and finally Loma Vista for the last few LPs. His most recent, Sunday Morning Put-On, is a collection of jazz covers. It’s interesting to see he’s playing at such a large venue, but I guess Bird graduated to the whole Fleet Foxes/Decemberist/Feist league of indie year’s ago.
This is a split-headliner show with country/bluegrass act Nickel Creek (Nonesuch). Singer/songwriter Haley Heynderickx opens at 6:30. Tickets range from $50 to $100.
That’s it for national touring indie-esque acts this weekend.
Tonight (Friday), Mitch Gettman opens for Charlie Ames’ band Cable Network at Slowdown Jr. Always interesting to see what Mitch has been up to, though I know he’s been working on a follow-up to last year’s Tilde. Omaha alt rockers Dear Neighbor opens at 8 p.m. $10.
Tomorrow is the second Saturday of the month which means Blackstone Second Saturday (It just doesn’t roll off the tongue like Benson First Friday). The day’s highlight is at Scriptown Brewing Company. They’re calling it “Summer Smash Vol. II,” and includes a punk rock flea market, tie-dye station and culminates in live performances by tractor-punk mavericks Wagon Blasters and C&W cowboys Lightning Stills. It’s free, and the music starts at 3 p.m. More info here.
Later Saturday night it’s back to Slowdown Jr. for another evening of up-and-coming locals that includes the arcane synth-and-drum noise-punk of Pagan Athletes. Indie stalwarts Bad Self Portraits headlines, while psych rock newcomers Cowgirl Eastern opens this show at 8 p.m. $10.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
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