Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at The Slowdown, May 17, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’m told they did not roll in on motorcycles, but they looked like they could have. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club took the stage in Slowdown’s main room last night to a large, older, darkly clad crowd come to see these ’90s alt rock giants.

Starting out as a trio, they ripped through new stuff and old, including a tasty version of “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” that had the crowd doing some overhead clapping. Listening to the band what came to mind was how many other acts (including a lot of grungy outlaw-country bands) have stolen their twangy blues-rock style. I could see how people initially compared them to early Led Zeppelin (in their blues-rock song structure) but also heard a Skynyrd and swamp-rock influence.

Guitarist Peter Hayes (who also played a small drum set) and bassist Robert Levon Been (who also played acoustic guitar) shared the mumbled vocals from song to song. A keyboardist joined them about 20 minutes into the set, filling out the sound especially on newer songs. Drummer Leah Shapiro kept the throaty, mid-tempo beat going all night. Fun set, and what little variety came from Hayes and Been switching off instruments or Hayes’ strange vocal microphone used for a few numbers I guess to give him an even grittier growl.

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Lots o’ shows happening this weekend…

Tonight Closeness — Todd and Orenda Fink’s dreamy electronic rock project — headlines at fabulous O’Leaver’s for what could be a spectacle as the Tbd. Dance Collective will perform in the center slot. What that entails within the basement-like confines of The Club is anyone’s guess. Opening is Nik Fackler’s prog-psych-rock project InDreama, who hasn’t gigged in many a moon. $7, 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at The Brothers Lounge, Max Trax Recording artist Leafblower headlines. Universe Contest opens at 10 p.m. This one’s $5.

Tomorrow night it’s back to O’Leaver’s for Velveteers — Demi and John Demitro out of Boulder playing a style that would have fit right in opening for BRMC. This is a loaded bill with the local stoner-rockers Ocean Black and Bad Bad Men (Hug, Wolf, Siebkin, say no more) . $8, 9 p.m.

What else… oh yeah, there’s a little band called U2 playing at CenturyLink Center tomorrow night (Saturday). I’m seeing tickets as low as $9 for this (behind the stage in nosebleed-land). Still, it’s U2. 8 p.m. start time.

Finally, Wye Oak plays at The Waiting Room Sunday night. Their new album, The Faster I Call, the Faster It Runs (2018, Merge) is a departure from their past stuff in that it actually kind of rocks in an electronic sort of way. Their best record yet? You be the judge. Palm (Carpark Records) opens a 8 p.m. $15.

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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Bob’s Daisy Glaze at The Brothers May 4, 2018. Bob Garfield is seated right.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There’s a problem with one-off performances like the Bob’s Daisy Glaze gig at The Brothers last Friday night: Even if the gig kicks ass, you’re likely never to see or hear it again. And man, I’d love to hear the band again.

This was a special performance held in conjunction with Bob Malave-Garfield’s 50th birthday. Bob is a veteran of Omaha’s ’90s Golden Age, having played bass in Frontier Trust, Acorns and Dude Wyoming, among others. He’s something of a local treasure, and when you’re a local treasure, you can surround yourself with talent.

For this gig, Garfield, on guitar, was joined by guitarist David Nance, arguably one of the most important talents to emerge from the Omaha music scene in the past five years. Mike Tulis, who handled bass, has been a music scene fixture for more than a decade, currently riding high in Lupines. Drummer Susan Hendrick was the wildcard. Tulis tells me she used to play with Todd Grant, Matt Rutledge and Mike Fratt in Compost during the early ’90s.

Together they sounded like a tight classic rock band with indie rock flair — I was reminded of heavy Yo La Tengo or maybe Crazy Horse, though neither of those quite fit. The six-song set included five Garfield originals that throbbed with locomotive intensity. Garfield handled the vocals while seated on stage, belting out the words to songs like “She Was a Millionaire” and “Charm School.”

It all came together for the final song, a cover of T Rex’s “20th Century Boy” that took that riff-fueled tune and stretched it into a massive noise jam. Teresa and I were seated over by the bar beyond the crowd of standers and tables. About four minutes into the song the guitar solos began — both Garfield and Nance. People got out of their seats to see what was going on, it was one of these moments where you knew you were hearing and seeing something special. Keeping it rolling was Hendrick and Tulis, pounding out a solid rhythm line. Hendrick absolutely killed that drum set and I have to wonder where she’s been and why we don’t see more of her. Any band would be lucky to have her behind the kit.

After the smoke cleared, the entire club sang happy birthday to Bob and enjoyed some cake. It was just another in a long series of special evenings at The Brothers. Now if we could only get these four together again…

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A couple of shows tonight…

Over at The Brothers Lounge Thick Paint headlines a show with David Nance. In the center spot is Asheville, NC band Nest Egg. Via the trio’s Facebook page: “Nest Egg has already made a name for themselves with their amazing fog-heavy, zoned and honed live show. Warping minds and winning fans with their heady, atmospheric take on progressive, ethereal vibed-out rock music.” Their sound is kinetic and fun. Check out the track below. $5, 9 p.m.

There’s also a heavy rock show at fabulous O’Leaver’s tonight with Des Moines psych-metal trio Druids. Locals Bonghammer and The Long Awaited open. $5, 9 p.m.

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Q1 2018 record reviews continue. Read them all here at The Reader website.

Preoccupations, New Material (2018, Jagjaguwar)

Preoccupations, New Material (Jagjaguwar) — From the guys who used to be called Viet Cong. I listen to a lot of SiriusXM First Wave, which plays post-punk/New Wave music from the ‘80s and ‘90s, and some of these tracks could be dropped into rotation and no one would notice. Opener “Espionage,” for example, sounds like ‘80s Gary Numan synth rock crossed with Interpol. On the other hand, “Antidote” is Eno-esque modern and dissonant while “Solace” sounds like reimagined New Order. A favorite.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Eleanor Friedberger, Rebound (2018, FrenchKiss)

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Q1 2018 record reviews continue. Read them all here at The Reader website.

Eleanor Friedberger, Rebound (FrenchKiss) — The former Fiery Furnaces’ frontwoman’s solo debut Last Summer was a fave of 2011, but the follow-ups have been mostly yawners. This synth-heavy collection is loaded with simple, sing-along pop ditties like the sun-shiny “Make Me a Song” and “The Letter.” The arrangements are so simple they sound like demos, with rhythms akin to beat box programs, but Friedberger’s sweet coo keeps you listening. Drops May 4.

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Friedberger’s on tour, but her closest pass is Kansas City’s Uptown Theater May 23.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Catching up on some email…

The first video from the Friends and Family Volume 1 comp, out May 11 on Maria Taylor’s Flower Moon Records, dropped last week. It’s for a Jake Bellows track called “Tattoo,” and is actually a short film (more than 9 minutes long) directed by Martin Kenna. Very well shot, but missing from the frame is Jake Bellows himself (and we all know Jake can light up any room… or video).

Check it below:

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A new EP by Jason Steady & the Soft Ponies also dropped last week, called This Is Where I Am.  It’s described by Mr. Steady as “Songs about adventure, girls, smoking pot, waking up in the sun, and vegetarianism, but not necessarily in that order.”

The band, which includes Knife de la Garza and Aaron Lee, is heading out on a 14-city tour in May, which doesn’t include Omaha. What are you afraid of, Jason? Come on!

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And then there’s a new cassette by Ben Eisenberger called Three Islands. Ben also plays guitar in Hussies, Screaming Plastic and FiFI NoNo. The acoustic folk on this pretty 7-song LP is quite a departure from those projects.

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Q1 2018 record reviews continue. Read them all here at The Reader website.

High Up, You Are Here (2018, Team Love)

High Up, You Are Here (Team Love) — This Omaha act has been working up to a full-length debut for a couple years, and a number of these songs have been released as different recordings on their debut EP last year. Most notable is “Two Weeks,” which gets a different arrangement that brings the horns up front and feels louder and more confident. Unlike their past EP (and live performances) the band keeps the energy pumping even on the ballad-heavy numbers like the cover of Bright Eyes’ “Make a Plan to Love Me” and the gospel-organ fueled “Blue Moon” that sounds like an FM radio single. “Domino,” another stand-out, is  a punchy sequel to “Two Weeks.” When will a bigger audience discover these guys?

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Rusty Lord at Almost Music during Record Store Day, April 21, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Rusty Lord continues to be one of the bad-ass-iest acts blowing up the Omaha scene these days. Brazen though not angry; aggressive, hard and noisy, they’re a rock band more than a metal act, and though they’re likely to get herded in with the rest of the O’Leaver’s garage scene, they sound nothing like a garage band.

Needless to say, they blew the roof off Almost Music during the shop’s Record Store Day festival last Saturday. And they were just one of many, and the only band I caught. And even then, I listened more than watched their set as I was digging through the bins for hidden treasures. RSD brings out the greedy in all of us.

That said, this was the least cash I spent in recent years on RSD merch. My only purchase was that Cure Torn Down remix double LP, which I feared would be tough to find but was stocked in every shop I visited. I guess I overestimated the band’s appeal.

The RSD folks need to figure out a way to prolong the consumer-fueled intensity of this money-making holiday. I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell them that. My guess is they fear if they put something together monthly instead of just twice a year it would water down the “specialness” of the promotion. Maybe, maybe… But by doing it quarterly or monthly, they could possibly alleviate the pressure put on the vinyl producers and the shops, and maybe even cut down on the flipping/eBay effect.

There’s nothing stopping the shops from putting on their own promotions, I suppose. Almost Music could do a music festival a few times a year. And Homer’s and Drastic could do more in-stores and other events. Or maybe they’re content to have only two huge harvests a year…

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I’m headed out of town again this week on biz, which  means updates will be few between now and Friday.

That said, let me glance at the calendars and point you toward the hot shows going on while I’m out.

Glancing at the 1% schedule, the only show that stands out is The Nadas on Thursday night. The Des Moines band has made Omaha a regular tour stop since forming 25 years ago. Evan Bartels and the Stoney Lonesomes opens at 8 p.m. $20.

Ain’t nothing happening at O’Leaver’s or The Brothers through Thursday. The Slowdown has a country-Americana show Tuesday night with The Native Howl, Daniel and the Deliverance and Omaha’s own Ragged Company opening. $10, 8 p.m.

I’m trying to think about what else…

Oh yeah, tonight is the big Jack White concert at Baxter Arena. I can’t tell you a thing about it because I don’t know shit about Jack White or his bands. I can tell you there’s a slew of $22 tickets at Stubhub if you’re interested. I had someone offer to give me a couple tickets (thanks Paul) but like I said, I can’t make it.

If you go to Jack White, don’t forget that it’s a non-smartphone show, which means you’ll have to lock your phone away if you want in the door. If anyone goes, let me know how that went…

See you Friday.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Digital Leather at The Sydney, April 6, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

For Friday night’s show at The Sydney, Digital Leather was configured as a trio with Shawn Foree in front playing synth and bass, Greg Elsasser on synths and long-time DL drummer Jeff Lambelet. If the plan was to get the crowd dancing, it was a winning combination, maybe the most danceable version of DL I’ve seen live.

Lambelet, one my favorite drummers, is a massive upgrade to the synth beats heard on Headache Heaven, DL’s latest, which sounds like a collection of bedroom-recorded demoes. With Lambelet, and Foree adding bass, along with Elsasser, the songs were fully-realized New Wave-esque dance tracks. Their set was helped along with a dense layer of smoke-machine haze cut through by lazer lights — I haven’t seen this much smoke and lazers since that last Talking Mountain concert.

It’s also worth noting that Friday night’s crowd was one of the largest I’ve seen at The Sydney for a rock show. The audience built up throughout the evening, starting with a gorgeous set by Son, Ambulance.

Son, Ambulance at The Sydney, April 6, 2018.

I’ve always thought Joe Knapp had an interesting voice, a sort of indie version of Elvis Costello, but as he gets older his voice only gets better and more in control. Good thing, too, because he’s fronting one of the best line-ups I’ve heard from Son, Ambulance over the years, including a sweet three-piece horn section and a rock-solid rhythm section swinging on a set of new material that’s begging to be recorded.

Her Flyaway Manner at The Sydney, April 6, 2018.

Lincoln’s Her Flyaway Manner owned the center slot Friday night. The trio headed by vocalist/guitarist Brendan McGinn crushed a set of angular post-punk rock that reminded me of Fugazi and an earlier age of Nebraska punk rock. All said, a terrific night of music brought together by between-set sets from DJ Tyrone Storm that had me tapping my Shazam app.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been in The Sydney, and was surprised to discover they’ve taken out all the back booths, effectively clearing out that music room giving it more space for rock shows and dance nights. Even the high-top tables were gone on Friday…

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Q1 2018 CD reviews continue. Read them all here at The Reader website.

Nap Eyes, I’m Bad Now (2018, Jagjaguwar)

Nap Eyes, I’m Bad Now (Jagjaguwar) — This warm, melodic indie rock comes from an act out of Nova Scotia who played in Omaha last year opening for Fleet Foxes (a show I missed). They remind me of The Feelies, especially because lead vocalist Nigel Chapman’s drab, nasal delivery matches Feelies’ Glenn Mercer, though Nap Eyes lacks Feelies’ driving, relentless rhythms that rise and rise and explode. This just sort of lays there from song to song.

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Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s The Bronx. The band is out supporting their new one, V, out last year on ATO. The record was produced by Rob Schnapf (Beck, FIDLAR, Elliott Smith) and has a very pro sheen to it. Still rocks hard. No Parents and No Thanks open. 8 p.m. $17.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Marie/Lepanto (yes that’s Will Johnson on the right) is playing a house show tomorrow night…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I just found out today about this living room show with Marie/Lepanto tomorrow night, and I mention it here because it probably has had zero promotion.

Whereas I like the idea of these traveling troubadours doing living room shows across the country (I think Eric Bachmann might have one coming up?) they’re not booked through a promoter or a club so it’s hard to find out about them. I’d hate for this duo — Will Johnson (of Centro-Matic fame) and Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster — to play to an empty room, so here’s the link to the show info. I have no idea who’s hosting, but it’s probably someone cool.

It’s gonna be tough sledding because it’s already is a pretty crowded weekend for shows.

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I mentioned the Maha Festival yesterday, I feel I should mention Lincoln Calling 2018 today. The 15th annual concert series is slated for Sept. 17-22, and this year is being presented by Allo and Evol Empire Creative. Last year it was a Hear Nebraska joint, but that org has stepped away.

The big question: Who is booking the festival this year? Last year’s stellar line-up was the result of hard work from Sam Parker, who as reported last week, don’t live here no more.

Anyway, the initial LC line-up will be announced April 16, with a second line-up announcement July 16.

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Q1 2018 CD reviews continue. Read them all here at The Reader website.

Car Seat Headrest, Twin Fantasy (2018, Matador)

Car Seat Headrest, Twin Fantasy (Matador) — The first time I listened to their last album, Teens of Denial, I had the lyrics sheet resting on my lap and followed along word-for-word. It made for a satisfying hour of headphone bliss, like reading a series of depressing short stories written by a precocious, bashful teen outsider who doesn’t have enough to complain about. I don’t have the lyrics sheet for Twin Fantasy, which actually is a re-recording of an earlier CSH album. As a result, it’s hard to stay focused for the hour-plus collection of dense lyrics and power chords. Will Toledo could be this generation’s Elvis Costello, but a much more unsatisfied one.

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Tonight at Reverb Lounge The Show Is the Rainbow headlines. Cult Play and John Friedel open. $8, 9 p.m.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Lucy Dacus at Reverb Lounge, April 2, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’ve been trying to see Adult Mom, the indie music project of Stephanie Knipe, since I reviewed the Sometimes Bad Happens cassette four years ago. Seems like the band cancelled once and/or I didn’t make it to another. They were worth the wait. Fine singer/songwriter stuff that would have been better if the sound were tweaked enough to hear the lyrics.

I could hear Knipe fine when singing alone or with the bassist, but when the full band came in, Knipe was somewhat submerged. Adjustments were made and it got better in the end. Knipe’s an example of someone who will do well on a solo acoustic tour, but that’s not a downgrade on the band, which was tight and good throughout.

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Adult Mom at Reverb Lounge, April 2, 2018.

I almost skipped the second band, And the Kids, resenting they were on the bill (I still swear the original line-up had only two bands), but am happy I didn’t. Call them an indie power trio with vocalist Hannah Mohan reminding me a bit of Angel Olsen. She wowed the audience with her guitar work including some fancy behind-the-back strumming and an Indian wrestling match flat on her back with her bass player. I will be doing further investigation via Spotify over the coming days.

Finally it was Lucy Dacus’ turn. They had a sound problem with the lead guitarist’s pedals that forced her to do a solo acoustic number, which actually was a great way to start the set anyway.

Despite the fact she’s on my favorite record label (sorry Robb) I’m not too familiar with her music and that likely hurt the set for me. The strength is more in the lyrics than the melodies (which were somewhat par for the course for indie singer/songwriter stuff), while the turn of the phrases I did catch were stunners.

If the show wasn’t sold out it had to be darn near as Reverb was elbow-to-elbow packed with a crowd mesmerized by Dacus and her band. And as one person put it, the crowd’s age was “refreshingly older,” I’m told thanks to her NPR status.

I only caught about half the set as I turn into a pumpkin at 10:30 on work nights, but I think I got the gist of it (if you know what I mean).

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Thick Paint at Slowdown Jr., March 30, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I don’t remember Thick Paint’s  duo drummers in the past incarnation (at O’Leaver’s) or maybe I didn’t notice. I noticed Friday night at Slowdown Jr.

We could argue the pro’s and con’s of two drummers over a beer. My take is: Does the second drummer add anything to the sound that a single drummer couldn’t provide by just playing louder? The answer in this case is yes, most of the time. It certainly isn’t a gimmick, and they’re always fun to watch. Isn’t that the main appeal of two drummers?

I’d tell you those drummers’ names but Thick Paint doesn’t list personnel on its Facebook page except for frontman Graham Patrick Ulicny (and everyone knows bass player Sarah Bohling from Icky Blossoms). In addition to having a similar beard configuration as Jim James, Ulicny shares James’ voice. Actually, I tapped into my iPhone notes “Geddy Lee,” that’s how eccentrically high Ulicny’s voice is, and that’s not the only thing the band shares with Rush. There were times during the set that I could drop this band into the prog-rock bin thanks the chord choices and guitar lines, which actually reminded me more of Fripp-y ’80s-era King Crimson.

They’re at their best when they look past the intricacies of their guitar lines, lean back on those duo-drummers (and bass) and just swing, as they did on the last couple songs of their set.

Mothers at Slowdown Jr., March 20, 2018.

Headliner Mothers was a departure from the usual female-led indie band in their embracing of dark, arch melodies. Three songs into their set Friday night they played their poppiest number “It Hurts Until it Doesn’t,” off their last record. The rest of the night was dedicated to  mostly slower, ominous and powerful compositions that would make for great headphones listening (moreso than catching it live).

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When I bought tickets to tonight’s Lucy Dacus show at Reverb I could swear that the booking only listed two bands — Dacus and Adult Mom (who I’m actually more interested in seeing). In fact there’s three bands on tonight’s bill, with And the Kids. So even though this starts at 8 p.m. it could go past 11, which will force me to cut the Dacus set short (Some of us have to work in the morning).

Dacus’ latest album, Historian, was released this year on the mighty Matador label and received a rollicking 8.1 rating from Pitchfork. Adult Mom’s 2017 release Soft Spots

(Tiny Engines) made Rolling Stone‘s Rob Sheffield’s list of the best albums of that year.

Note that someone from 1% posted a “low ticket warning” on this show over the weekend, so if you’re interested, better get on it…

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.