by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

How does The Astro in La Vista — the city’s newest large-scale concert hall — compare to Steelhouse Omaha, the downtown music venue that is The Astro’s direct competition? Let’s start at the beginning…

We didn’t get to The Astro for last night’s Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain (JAMC) show until about a quarter to 8, knowing we would likely miss all of opening act Frankie Rose. Despite entering “La Vista City Centre” through the wrong entrance, we managed to find the parking garage and navigate the electronic-only payment system (just $5!), where we found a spot on the third floor.

The garage was a five-minute walk to the venue, whose “Astro” signage was turned off — maybe it’s already broken, which would be a shame since it just opened this past December.

Security and drink wristbands were handled outside the venue, and this is where we hit our first speed bump. Having not read the venue’s “fine print,” we discovered too late that they only allow purses measuring 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches. Teresa’s purse was 6.51 inches wide, barely over the limit but enough for security to tell her to take it back to the car (without asking to look inside for a concealed bomb or hidden shiv). Welp, security is security, and Teresa hoofed it back across City Centre. I waited outside, next to three or four other people whose spouses also had been turned back.

Ah, but once she returned, we got right in. You enter on the balcony level, so we were immediately directed to a stairway that led to the main floor (there must have been an elevator somewhere, though we never saw it). Down, down, down we went through the Astro’s concrete esophagus that opened to the venues bright, glistening bowels.  

The best way to describe The Astro: It kind of feels like a giant-sized Slowdown. Whereas Steelhouse is long and somewhat narrow, Astro is stubby and wide, with a huge tiered main floor surrounded by a walkway. Drink bars are located on either side and in back (the back bar was closed). Everywhere you looked, it was shiny and new with the space dominated by the enormous, eye-popping stage. 

We had “table tickets,” whatever that meant. Did they include chairs? They did – big, white high stools. We were led to our table, where one of Astro’s ushers quickly gave us a second wristband. Look, you can’t beat these seats if you don’t want to stand for three hours. They only cost a few bucks more than general admission, but are cheaper than balcony seats (We were never allowed upstairs, so I can’t vouch for the balcony, but it looked cushy up there). We must have been close to an exit, because cigarette (and pot) smoke wafted through all evening. 

Sight lines from our seats were nothing less than spectacular, but the sight lines throughout the entire concert hall were pretty great. Maybe because only about 1,000 people were in attendance, but getting around was easy.  

And so, the show itself. Like I said we missed the opener, who must have went on at the stroke of 7 p.m. The Jesus and Mary Chain hit the stage at 8 and played most of the set without front lights, so they were mostly shadows against back lighting. I guess the Reid brothers don’t want people to see their wrinkles. 

When I saw JAMC at SXSW a decade ago, the feedback-fueled set was intense, loud and frenetic, at times chaotic and threatening to cause a riot in the packed outdoor venue (The Belmont). Last night’s JAMC set was the opposite – the band rifled through the same set list they played the night before in St. Louis, barely stopping between songs, while the crowd stood and watched, motionless. It had all the energy of an industry mixer.

To the uninitiated, all JAMC songs kind of sound the same, and three or four tunes into their set folks seemed to return to their conversations, albeit at louder volumes — a very chatty crowd. Sound-wise, the mix seemed “boomy,” and when Reid said something to the audience between songs it was nothing but booming echo. Still, the actual songs’ vocals were pretty good and cut through the mud. 

During the set I got up and took a stroll to check out the sound and sight lines, making my way back to the soundboard in the back center of the floor. While a couple dudes did their thing lit up by the enormous soundboard, I noticed what I thought was a gaffer lying on his stomach with his arms outstretched working on wiring at the back of the sound area. “Good on you, bub, get in there and fix whatever’s broken,” I thought.

But when the guy rolled to his side I discovered it was actually a lady apparently passed out, her red hair soaking in a puddle of ooze. One of the sound guys noticed at the same time and took off, and within seconds a dozen cops and first-aid people surrounded the lady, who by then had come to, and I assume was rushed off to the “chill-out tent” or wherever they take people to recover. Ah, rock concerts.

JAMC wrapped up their set with no encore (neither band is playing encores on this tour), the lights came up and the stage guys immediately went into action for the switch over. The between-set drone soundtrack was indistinguishable rumble noise. 

Like JAMC, The Psychedelic Furs played the same set as they had the previous night in St. Louis. Frontman Richard Butler was in perfect voice, strolling the stage, leaning into the two young guitarists or his brother, Tim, playing bass. Again, the mix felt boomy, but the vocals were spot on and the zombie-like, mostly middle-aged crowd seemed to appreciate the hit-filled set.

The band wrapped up with the hit “Heaven,” and again rushed off the stage sans encore. The lights came up, we headed back up those stairs and were immediately ushered out of the building. What about band merch? I want my $50 T-shirt! I never saw a merch booth and didn’t try to get back in find it.

Final stages: Exiting the parking garage was a breeze. Organizers must have put a lot of thought into avoiding logjams – in and out and on your way. City Centre itself at night was desolate. While there were a few businesses aglow (a pub/restaurant, for example), we passed a lot of unoccupied buildings. One brightly lit interior exposed mounds of dirt and naked cinderblocks. 

So, back to the original question: Which is better: Astro or Steelhouse? Hands down I’d rather see a show at The Astro. Its smaller size makes for a more intimate experience while still providing a big, impressive stage with great sight lines and seating options. Sound wise, it’s hard to compare the two especially based on these bands. The Astro had a boomy, auditorium sound vs. Steelhouse’s bright, shimmery hall quality. More research is needed.

Unfortunately, based on both venues’ previous bookings, that isn’t likely to happen. This was the first (and only) show booked at Astro that attracted my attention. Let’s face it, indie music geeks are neither venues’ target audience.

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Speaking of indie geeks…

Tonight at The Slowdown, Brit-award winning singer/songwriter Kate Nash headlines. Her most recent album, 9 Sad Symphonies, was released this past summer by Kill Rock Stars. Her “breakthrough” was 2010’s My Best Friend Is You (Fiction Records), that Pitchfork called “thrillingly schizophrenic.” New Hampshire act Revenge Wife and Kill Rock Stars label mate Joh Chase open the show at 8 p.m. This one’s in the main room, I assume because Nash also starred in the Netflix lady wrasslin’ series GLOW, where she played “Rhonda “Britannica” Richardson. Sorry I missed that one. $30.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Ambitious fans of the band Cursive who attended both nights of their two-night stand at The Waiting Room this weekend were rewarded with two very different sets.

In addition to playing (only) four songs from the new album, Devourer, (including personal fave “Dark Star,”), Saturday night’s 19-song set spanned the full Cursive catalog, reaching back to their ’97 album Such Blinding Starts for Starving Eyes (“Downhill Racers”), through 2018’s Vitriola (a sublime rendition of “It’s Gonna Hurt”) as well as the usual hits (“The Martyr,” “Dorothy at Forty,” “From the Hips”). 

If you didn’t hear your favorite Saturday night, you might have heard it Friday night, when the band switched things up and played hits “Staying Alive,” “Sink to the Beat” and “The Lament of Pretty Baby,” among others. In all, the band performed 30 different songs over two nights, and still left off some favorites (“The Casualty,” “Big Bang,” “Remorse” (my personal favorite, anyway)). 

I’m not surprised frontman Tim Kasher can remember all the words to all those songs; however, I can’t understand how drummer Pat Oakes remembered every fill, flourish and slight rhythm change, especially since he’s relatively new to the band. Ah, but Oakes — like most of us in the audience — grew up listening to Cursive. Still… that’s a heavy lift, and Oakes was a standout Saturday night. 

So was cellist Megan Siebe, who provided vocals whether the songs called for them or not, singing along throughout the entire set with eyes firmly shut, head a blur hidden beneath her long hair that hung down over her strings. If Kasher is the busiest person in show business (He just sold a feature film that he wrote and directed), Siebe is the second busiest as a full-time member of Neva Dinova (fantastic new album!) as well as writing and recording her own material. 

Cursive veterans Matt Maginn and Ted Stevens remain the band’s bedrock (Ted was in fine voice and had me wondering about the next Mayday performance). Versatile Patrick Newbery seamlessly switched between trumpet and keyboards all night, and killed, as per usual.

At the heart of it all was the ageless Kasher, who put his soul into every song whether howling out a classic like “The Martyr” or a new one like “Botch Job.” He, along with this band, hasn’t lost a step in all the years I’ve been watching them – and it’s been a lot of years.

Stephen Pedersen and his band, Criteria, also has been at it for a long time. Despite an impressive catalog of songs that stretches back more than 20 years (Debut album En Garde was released in 2003), the band has their eyes firmly focused on the future, as evidenced by having played seven new, unreleased songs when they opened for Cursive Saturday night.

Each song sounded like classic Criteria, many of them swinging on an iconic 3/4 or 6/8 waltz time that forced listeners to sway to the beat as if balancing on a ship’s deck in rough waters. The new songs are love-inspired anthems, with lines like “My head / your heart,” “You make me whole”  and “Stay, at least today.”  Pedersen’s songs of devotions were quite a contrast to Kasher’s angst-filled midlife confessions. 

When Criteria finished auditioning the new material, they switched back to an older number that, quite frankly, felt stodgy and flat in comparison. Ah, but the energy returned by the time they got to perennial crowd-pleaser and (let’s face it, theme song) “Prevent the World,” which sounded much like it did the first time I heard them sing it nearly 20 years ago. 

So what will become of this new Criteria material? One assumes it’ll be recorded and released, but by which record label? Cursive, whose new album was released by Run for Cover Records, seems to have walked away from the label they run – 15 Passenger Records – who released Criteria’s last LP. Could a return to Saddle Creek be in the making for Criteria? The Creek could be so lucky…

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I showed up at Reverb Lounge Saturday night at around 9 figuring I’d missed the opener when, in fact, there were two opening acts. The door guy said High Curbs already played, and Ultra Q was up next for a short set before Red Pears. 

I always try to catch opening acts when possible, at least half their set, anyway. I’d never heard of Ultra Q and was surprised at the crowd’s size (around 100) and enthusiasm. As well as the number of older folks flecked among the kids. 

On came Ultra Q. Their website has no bio information, so I was flying blind. In the old days, you’d call their sound “power pop,” just bordering on the edge of emo, but with more straightforward – at time straight-4 – rhythms. The drummer was ultra clean and economic in his approach and drove the whole band. In fact the entire band was well-honed.

Ah, but the vocalist… while his voice was fine, he had an affected style that clearly sounded as if he was aping Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day (with the lead guitarist dropping in a few out-of-place hardcore growls). 

Looking at the notes I wrote that night: “Bay Area band, great energy, great drummer and guitarist, but… Green Day vocals.” Well, the vocal similarities can be forgiven, because it turned out the lead vocalist was Jakob Armstrong, son of Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong. You get a pass if you sing like your dad. Interestingly, the band’s music had more in common with early Cure than Green Day. No songs stood out, but with that talent it’ll be interesting to see where they take their sound.

Maybe that explained the crowd’s demographics (and why all the chairs had been removed from the club)?

The Red Pears had been advertised as a trio, but there were five dudes on stage at 9:40. Listening to their latest album, Better Late than Never (2024, Daycare Records), I couldn’t figure out where the “Latin tinged” came from in the one-sheet, other than the guys’ names (frontman Henry Vargas, bassist Pat Juarez, drummer Jose Corona). 

Their sound certainly wasn’t Latin-tinged, more like indie post-punk a la The Strokes, bordering on White Stripes’ psych-rock. Actually, they reminded me of Sheer Mag (“Expect the Bayonet”), and vocalist Vargas even sported a masculine version of Christine Halladay’s snarl. 

After a couple songs, one of the five musicians left the stage and the Pears played the rest of the set as a four-piece. And then, four or five songs or so in, Vargas sang some Spanish lyrics. Latin-tinged indeed. Great band.  

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It’s back to Reverb Lounge tonight for Advance Base, a project of Chicago singer/songwriter Owen Ashworth of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. His latest EP, The Year I Lived in Richmond (2024, Run for Cover), is a lonely, sparse collection of quiet, keyboard-accompanied memory songs. Pretty. Joining him is UK singer/songwriter Katie Malco, who has worked with the likes of Laura Stevenson and SOAK in the past. Our very own Jim Schroeder opens this show at 8 p.m. $15.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

While undoubtedly indie in nature, MJ Lenderman and his band, The Wind, really have embraced the whole classic rock persona. On stage last night at The Waiting Room they looked like they could have walked right off the back cover of a ’70s-era rock album by your choice of Laurel Canyon superstar. Why, that guy on rhythm guitar looks like he was in Buffalo Springfield! That guy on keyboards and maracas, didn’t he play with Den Felder? 

All six musicians were super talented, and I like just about all of Lenderman’s songs, especially off his new album, Manning Fireworks, which will go down as one of the best of 2024. There’s an honesty to his personal lyrics as they lean back on a layer of subtle rock that’s just shy of alt-country (thanks, in part, to that pedal steel, played by a guy who looks like he could have been in the Flying Burrito Brothers). 

Lenderman and his band rifled through their hits, and as I stood back by the bar, a guy I know leaned over and yelled, “I thought they’d be more lively than this.”

I responded, “Have you ever heard their albums?”

Lenderman’s music is best enjoyed while driving on a long road trip, the kind of music you can get lost in and sing along to (after you’ve heard it a few times). But on stage it was kind of dull. Ocassionally Lenderman would go into a feedback-driven accoutrement at the end of a song (that went on too long). In a way, he reminded me of Tom Petty, a guy whose music I love, but, live, bores the piss out of me. Or maybe I’m just jaded after last week’s Fountaines D.C. show…

That said, the near-capacity crowd soaked it in, with many up by the stage singing along. But the further back you went, the chattier the crowd became, with people having full-blown conversations back by the bar (actually, I saw a couple women carrying on about their day right up front, yelling at each other over the band). 

Much more lively was opening act Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band. I arrived late, not feeling in the mood for a set of southern or “blues” rock, and ended up kicking myself for it, because Davis and his band had more in common with acts like Silver Jews. 

Davis closed out his set with a killer version of the opening track from his 2023 album, Dancing on the Edge, called “Free from the Guillotine,” which I’m listening to right now; an album I’ll likely be listening to all weekend long…

Onto the weekend (and it’s a non-Husker weekend at that!).

Tonight on Slowdown’s big stage Provo folk-rockers The National Parks headlines. The band has grown its fanbase over the years; they’re on the road supporting their latest, Wild Spirit, another album of hand-clap-stomp folk (I’m sure there’s another name for the genre). Elias Hix opens at 8 pm. $25.

Also tonight, ’70s-style heavy-metal punkers Psychotic Reaction plays at The Sydney. Local electronic act Benjamin Gear X opens at 8 p.m. (and remember, this is The Sydney, where 8 usually means 9… or 10). $10.

As mentioned, the Huskers have a by-week, which makes for good timing for Farnam Fest. Running from 3 to 11 p.m. in the parking lot behind Scriptown in the Blackstone District, the live music line-up is:

• – 4 p.m. – Minne Lussa
• – 5:30 p.m. – Velvet Velvet
• – 7 p.m. – Cowgirl Eastern
• – 8:30 p.m. – Clarence Tilton
• – 10 p.m. – DJ Herricane Cole

$10 entry this year; with food trucks and booze, etc. 

Saturday night, Reverb Lounge is hosting garage-rock trio The Red Pears. Hailing from El Monte, California, that band calls their sound “Latin-tinged” and I guess I can hear that, though they have more in common with The Strokes, at least to my ears. They’ve played Coachella a couple time and are a good get for the tiny Reverb stage. Ultra Q + The High Curbs open at 8 p.m. $25.

Also Saturday night, The Sydney is hosting a 4-band bill headlined by Jeff in Leather with Ex-Lover, Public Circuit and Pagan Athletes. $15, 9 p.m. 

And (surprise!) there’s a show at fabulous O’Leaver’s Saturday night — metal band Living Conditions with FACE and Spurney’s Hawk. This one’s free and starts at 9 p.m. 

Finally, Sunday night it’s back to The Sydney (man, they’re booking a lot of shows!) for darkwave performer Dancing Plague. $12, 9 p.m. 

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend. 

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Though exhausting, last weekend was the best weekend of indie music Omaha has seen in quite a while. It also was a weekend of broad musical contrasts. Let’s start at the beginning…

Based on the publicity and online buzz, I thought Friday night’s Brigitte Calls Me Baby concert at Reverb would possibly sell out before I had a chance to get to the venue (as we had another successful art opening at Ming Toy Gallery earlier that evening that kept me “bartending” ’til 9). To my surprise, the club was merely comfortably full when I arrived. 

Looking more like posh ‘80s post-glam Londoners than five lads from Chicago, the band tore into their catalog, which consists mostly of their debut album, The Future Is Our Way Out (2024, ATO), a pointedly retro-sounding collection of rock songs clearly influenced by ’80s “new wave” MTV icons. Pick your favorites: Dream Academy, Roxy Music, Modern English, and yes, undeniably, The Smiths/Morrissey. 

Like most of us who grew up in that era, I love those bands and that style of music. The boys in Brigitte must love it as well, as they aped that sound with a capital A. First-rate musicians all, they were honed to recording-quality perfection, no doubt thanks to endless rehearsals and touring. 

Frontman Wes Leavins is one of the most talented male vocalists I’ve heard in some time. Flawless. He, along with the rest of the guys on stage in their black suit jackets and big hair, resembled the prom band from your favorite John Hughes coming-of-age flick — a perfect fit for an audience where middle-aged (and older) dudes outnumbered young girls by two-to-one.

But unlike those influential ’80s bands, Brigitte showed zero passion while performing. The gig felt very much like a SXSW industry event where the band shuffles on stage and plays their catalog without acknowledging the middle-aged audience of industry slubs standing in judgement. 

These talented hairdressers looked bored and disinterested as they rifled through their set, no doubt wondering what they’re doing in Omaha and where they’re going to eat afterward.  

It was like watching a super-tight tribute band, with Leavins playing the Morrissey/Bryan Ferry role without any edge or appeal, though I admit the guy is a serious crooner. He could do a killer Elvis or Roy Orbison impersonation. And as if reading my mind, for their encore the band played a knockout cover of “In Dreams” that would have made Dean Stockwell proud. 

You could not draw a bigger contrast to Brigitte’s performance than Saturday night’s killer set by Fontaines D.C. at The Slowdown. 

It was the first time I felt like I was at a rock concert since my Civic Auditorium days.  Though from Dublin City, they reminded me of ‘90s Madchester acts if only for their looks – frontman Grian Chatten bouncied like Bez in his white sunglasses and black oversized long-sleeved T while the rest of the band looked Euro cool standing back in their own shades. 

Unlike Brigitte’s Leavins, Chatten was the ultimate rock showman, leaning out to the crowd with arms outstretched atop a monitor or dancing a jig with a tambourine in hand. He was magnetic, egging on fans throughout a set that showcased mostly songs off Fontaines’ latest and greatest, Romance (2024, XL) along with a few from 2022’s Skinty Fia. 

The band’s albums are some of the best indie rock recordings of the current era, but the songs took on an entirely new life on stage – they were harder, more dynamic, more interesting. Like any band, Fontaines sound owes much to their influences. A fellow musicologist in the audience texted me during the set: “The Fall does London Calling.” A couple songs later I counter-texted: “The Fall does Disintegration” (as the band tore into “Bug”) and moments after that: “The Fall does Trompe le Monde” (as the band ripped into “Here’s The Thing”). 

Despite those comparisons, Fontaines have carved out their own timeless sound that places them on the mantle as this generation’s most important Irish rock band. 

I thought how lucky we were to see them playing live, in their prime, performing vital new music that will be just as vital 30 years from now when they’re doing their inevitable reunion tour. When that happens, the 20-somethings who made up most of Saturday night’s audience will be the age I am now, and I will be in my 80s, and we’ll both say, “I remember seeing them play Slowdown when Romance came out in ’24. That was one of the best concerts I ever saw.”

Finally, in contrast to the hullabaloo of those two rock shows, Sunday was Porchfest, the 8th annual event where local performers play for small gatherings literally from porches throughout the Gifford Park neighborhood. Porchfest has become a real festival, adding two formal stages to the porch stages, a marketplace and multiple food trucks and vendors. 

From the Yates Illuminates stage I caught a set by B.B. Sledge – a band I’ve been trying to see for a couple years. My tenaciousness was rewarded Sunday afternoon as I and around 50 neighbors enjoyed their unique brand of indie folk rock. We also wandered over to the nearby “open mic” porch and caught a few songs by someone who never identified himself but kind of reminded me of an acoustic Graham Parker. What will Porchfest become for Year 9?

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The rock keeps on rolling tonight at The Waiting Room when Kalamazoo emo trio Saturdays at Your Place headlines. Harrison Gordon and TRSH open at 7 p.m. $22. 

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A crowd of around 100 mostly young women (teens to early 20s) huddled around the edge of Slowdown’s stage last night and sang along to most of Odie Leigh’s songs. It’s easy to understand why – her lyrics are easy to remember, to memorize while listening driving in your car or sitting in your bedroom or wherever else you’re alone. The words are smart and clever and personal, sometimes sexy, more often filled with melancholy and longing – just the right combination for an audience that’s either going through whatever Leigh was singing about, or remembers what it was like.

Leigh’s music, especially the quiet acoustic songs from her early days (just a few years ago), are semi-healed wounds of memories of past loves, recollections of things that happened (or didn’t happen), and the pain of moving on to whatever comes next. 

She opened the evening with upbeat folk rockers from her new album (“My Name on a T-Shirt,” “No Doubt”) that did a good job of showcasing her band. Then Leigh set down her electric guitar and picked up her acoustic for a rendition of waltz-timed “A Month or Two” — one of her early singles about trying to forget something or someone, which ends with the reframe “Give it some time, time, time, time, time, time.”

It perfectly segued into a trio of heart-stoppers – two old ones about heartbreak and betrayal (“Nine Lives,” “Double Shift”), balanced by a new one about longing – “Either Way.” Some songs on her new album, Carrier Pigeon, feel like heartfelt antidotes to the past, testimonies (to the ones that got away) that things are better now, or will be, probably. 

Leigh’s songwriting recalls some of my favorite confessional songwriters from the ‘90s — Jonatha Brooke of The Story, Ray and Saliers, Shawn Colvin, Victoria Williams — who themselves were like the progeny of Joni Mitchell. Leigh carries on that tradition.

Realizing she had an eager choir in front of her, Leigh not only encouraged singing along, but also provided directions. Before launching into a song that she’s yet to record, she gave the audience a primer on its chorus. She did this again for the night’s encore, “Take Back,” which resulted in the entire room loudly singing the reframe – an apt ending to great evening.

I only caught the last three songs by opener Valley James, and wish I would have caught her whole set. Playing solo with an acoustic guitar, James had one of the purest voices I’ve heard on Slowdown’s stage, sounding like (as one fellow audience member told me) a young Neko Case. You’ll be seeing and hearing more from her…

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

I admit I wasn’t that aware of Cincinnati band WHY? before last night’s show at Slowdown was announced a few months ago. WHY?’s publicist had reached out asking for coverage and I offered a Ten Questions survey, which frontman Yoni Wolf masterfully filled out. For the write-up, I listened to WHY? for the first time.

Their bio, including their Wiki page, suggested WHY? was a hip-hop project, but there was very little rapping on recent release, The Well I Fell Into, the band’s eighth studio album, produced by Brian Joseph (who has worked in the past with Sufjan Stevens and Bon Iver). The record vacillates between dour heartbreak songs and more upbeat keyboard-driven bouncers, and rewards repeated listens.

Playing as a four-piece, WHY? gave new life to the album last night, providing a more lively interpretation. Wolf’s nasal vocals had a similar hang-dog style as Silver Jew’s Dave Berman or Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt (and when combined with guitarist Mol Sullivan’s harmonies, even recalled Timbuk 3’s acoustic moments). The band, filled out by Josiah Wolf on drums and Doug McDiarmid on keyboards and bass, fell into a solid, relaxed groove.

After about an hour, WHY? left the stage but returned for a three-song encore performed standing in front of a single microphone, where Yoni finally got a chance to strut his rhyming skills, performing “Early Whitney” off 2003’s Oaklandazulasylum, “Fatalist Palmistry” from 2008’s Alopecia and “Paper Hearts,” off 2012’s Mumps, Etc., while a hand-clapping crowd of around 75 looked on with glee.

Opener, Chicago’s NNAMDÏ performed solo backed by his laptop, singing with an auto-tune pedal Travis Scott-style. A handful of his fans stood in front of the stage and sang along to every word. The set ascended to the next level when he busted out an electric guitar and riffed over the tracks.

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It’s a trip back to ’78 tonight at The Admiral Theater as Descendents headline with support from Buzzcocks. Descendents’ current line-up is Bill Stevenson, drums, Karl Alvarez, bass; Stephen Egerton, guitar, and Milo Aukerman, vocals. While Steve Diggle is the only remaining original member of Buzzcocks playing tonight. Bay-area punk band Grumpster kicks things off at 7:30 p.m. $37-$75.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Indian Caves at Slowdown, Sept. 20, 2024.

by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

Indian Caves achieved its highest level of dreaminess about halfway through their set Friday night at Slowdown. The fourpiece, fronted by singer/songwriter Leslie Wells, play an alt-rock-verging-on-prog style reminiscent of ‘90s bands like Smashing Pumpkins with Wells at times sounding like a midwestern version of Billy Corgan.  

The rhythm section really drove their live sound, with bassist Dan Krueger taking the lead, or maybe it was just the initial mix hiding the guitars behind bass and drums. Things leveled out later in the set. 

The band closed out the evening in front of a crowd of around 50 with a cover of Talk Talk’s “It’s My Life” that, again, had me wondering if it was a Smashing Pumpkins cover. Oh, to hear them try “Bullet with Butterfly Wing.”

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Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s the return of M. Ward, which has me wondering what M. Ward has been up to lately.

His last studio album was Supernatural Thing (2023, Anti-), which featured guest appearances by a plethora of indie notables including Neko Case, First Aid Kit, Jim James and Shovels & Rope (who themselves will be playing The Waiting Room this Friday night). 

Merge Records earlier this month also issued For Beginners: The Best of M. Ward, and no doubt tonight’s performance will feature a collection of Ward’s “best,” such as “Chinese Translation” and “Never Had Nobody Like You.” 

Opening for Ward tonight is singer/songwriter Leslie Stevens, whose recent video for single “Blue Roses” featured Hollywood veteran Jon Hamm as a gristled, cowboy-hat-wearing cooze hound. Stevens will also join Ward on a few songs during his set. $35, 8 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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

A small but attentive crowd intensely listened to songs and stories from wandering troubadour/author David Dondero at Ming Toy Gallery last night. 

Sitting in the center of the gallery with guitar and microphone he performed tunes from his latest album, 2023’s Immersion Therapy, before diving into a reading from his novel Chaos the Cat. The night’s emcee and Q&A leader, Rob Walters, joined in the reading along with a volunteer from the crowd, backed scene-setting recording of Dondero playing acoustic guitar. 

Dondero, who has been cited by a number of artists (including Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst) as a musical influence, talked about his life traveling around the country both performing music and working in odd jobs. The novel, which chronicles the people surrounding a pot-growing operation in California, is no doubt semi-autobiographical, as is most of Dondero’s songs. 

The night concluded with a rendition of his song “Bacon, Eggs and Beer,” from his 2017 album Inside the Cat’s Eye – which tied directly to the novel, forming a perfect circle of sorts. A fun night indeed.

While a lot people RSVP-ed for the performance on Facebook, the turnout was disappointing, possibly because there were no pre-show ticket sales (despite a number of requests). Buying a ticket can be a sort of commitment – without one, it’s easier for potential patrons to instead stay home on their Wednesday night and finish their TV shows or YouTube videos or whatever they do to unwind. Dondero said he might return to Ming Toy for a more music-driven show, and if it happens, we’ll figure out a way to sell pre-show tickets…

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Yesterday afternoon, Bright Eyes posted on social media that the band has cancelled three upcoming record-release shows, including an appearance at Riotfest Saturday and Sunday’s show at Steelhouse Omaha. 

“The warm up shows we played earlier this week resulted in Conor losing his voice and, on the advice of doctors, we’ve made the difficult but sensible decision to prioritize rest and recuperation for the remainder of the month,” the post read. It went onto say they’re working to reschedule the dates.

Youtube videos shot at the warmup shows in Cleveland and Chicago featured a froggy, groggy-looking Oberst. Hopefully he’ll find a cure for what ails him because Bright Eyes has a very busy six months ahead. The band has three dates scheduled for mid-October as well as a 9-date European tour in mid-November followed by West Coast dates in January. That leads into an enormous 34-date U.S. theater tour that kicks off Feb. 26 in Fayetteville. 

The band’s new album, Five Dice, All Threes, comes out tomorrow on Dead Oceans. 

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

Professional musicians play music for a whole variety of reasons – whether it’s for the love of song, to meet chicks (or dudes) or to try to make a living (the true dreamers!). 

And some do it for the sheer joy of sharing a moment with their family, friends and fellow musicians. 

Midwest Dilemma falls into that last category. Frontman/singer/songwriter Justin Lamoureux always has surrounded himself with friends when performing on stage, all the way back to the very early days of his career 20 or so years ago. That again was the case Friday night when his band played an album release show at The Benson Theatre. There, center stage, was Justin, surrounded by 10 fellow musicians, all having the time of their lives. 

Instrumentation varied from cello to flute to tuba to stringed things I didn’t recognize. Musicians either intensely focused on their sheet music or danced alongside Lamoureux as he played songs from his new album, whose style ranges from upbeat indie rock to baroque shanty tunes to folk in its purest form, all seemingly powered by their glowing smiles. While below, seated or dancing, an adoring capacity crowd shared in the joy of the moment. It wasn’t so much a rock concert as a community gathering of friends, family and fans, brought together to celebrate Lamoureux’s music. 

Sharing in the evening were openers Kyle Harvey and Brad Hoshaw. Kyle brought his classic moody acoustic folk that highlights simple song structures and his brilliant voice for a collection of mid-tempo heartbreakers accentuated by his own funny between-song storytelling. 

Like Harvey, Hoshaw used the show to unveil a number of new songs that, while in keeping with his knack for creating hook-filled melodies, stretched their stories beyond the usual whiskey-soaked elegies that characterize his early songwriting. The former Omahan has found new life in Nashville, no doubt to the lament of an army of Benson barkeeps. 

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To my surprise, they moved this year’s Little Bo Backyard Bash from last year’s location in the parking lot and green space east of 13th Street to a blocked-off William Street west of 13th stretching to 14th. I preferred last year’s location to the rather tight confines of the caged-in street. Tents and picnic benches were crammed between the curbs overlooked by abandoned buildings, with the Omaha Mobile Stage parked on one end.

Not to be outdone by Midwest Dilemma, Head of Femur boasted seven musicians for their set, all crushed inside the tiny converted shipping container. Maybe it was the great weather or the mixed drinks or the overall camaraderie from the middle-aged hipster crowd (and their children) but it was one of the most enjoyable sets I’ve heard from Matt Focht and Company.  A standout was the amazing violin that added soaring solos that lifted the entire set. Hey, who needs a lead electric guitar when you’ve got that in your arsonal? No doubt we’ll be seeing more of Femur as Focht said from stage that the band will soon be getting a retrospective box set released by a very reputable indie label, who also will be releasing new material. 

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Finally, last night someone on the Friends of the Drumstick Lincoln, NE Facebook page posted that singer/songwriter Charlie Burton passed away yesterday morning. 

I only knew Burton from having seen him perform at the Howard Street Tavern in the ‘90s and having interviewed him after he had moved to Austin. Though far from over, Burton reflected on his career in that interview, conducted in 1998, summing it up in this story about a run-in with a record exec following an appearance at the annual South By Southwest Festival in Austin.

From the article:

Burton sums up the festival with a story that is so good, he was afraid it would dominate the article. At first, he didn’t want to tell me, either because he doesn’t want to come off as glum or because he doesn’t want it to be a metaphor for his entire career. 

“It was right after last year’s South by Southwest festival,” he said. “We played very well, and my friends from all over came to see me. It inflated my ego, stroked it, and then it was over. Suddenly it was Sunday and I had to go back to work at ABCD’s (an Austin CD store). As I opened up that morning, these lyrics just kept running through my mind — the line from P.F. Sloan’s “Eve of Destruction,” as sung by Barry McGuire: ‘You might leave for four days in space, but when you return it’s the same old place.’ It was like the day after Christmas, when you’ve opened all your presents and are already bored with them.

“So this guy walks in the store and asks for the Charlie Burton CD. ‘Do we have it?,’ I said, ‘as a matter of fact I am Charlie Burton!’ He says, ‘I saw your first 45 reviewed in Cream magazine in 1977. You sent me an autographed copy. I ordered more and gave them to all my friends. It’s still one of my favorites of all time.’

“He walks up with a copy of Rustic Fixer Upper and I offer to sign it for him. He gives me his card so I know who to write it to and the guy’s the vice president of A&R for Warner Bros. I said, ‘How come I have all these big fans in the record business and I’m starving out here?’ His response, basically was ‘You’re not 24 anymore, are you Charlie? And that’s what I’m looking for.'”

Burton sold him the CD and also sent a copy of the single “Spare me the Details,” (which will be on the One Man’s Trash compilation) along with a letter. “I realized that I had an opportunity to kiss the guy’s ass, but missed it. I haven’t even received so much as a ‘thank you.’

“I don’t know what those guys want anyway. Back when I was a kid, you either liked the Beatles or the Stones or both. Now the music buying public is so fractionalized, they want lounge or swing or urban… Yesterday’s gothic Trent Reznor kid is tomorrow’s rockabilly Dale Watson fan. The trends are run down their throats. They haven’t figured out they are being taken advantage of.”

Despite the angst, Burton knows that there’s no other kind of music he can — or wants — to play. “I still believe in myself, but the bottom line is that the industry wags know when they see a money-losing proposition. Maybe they’re right; maybe I never made it because I don’t deserve to.”

No, Charlie, they were wrong. And judging by the avalanche of loving rememberances pouring out over social media this morning, you definitely “made 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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.