Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies at The Waiting Room, Nov. 12, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A couple weeks ago, Brad Hoshaw “released” a new collection of songs titled Spirit of the Lake via his Bandcamp page (You can find it here). The recordings are homemade demos that capture the bare essence of Hoshaw’s latest songwriting output. Last Friday night we got to hear a number of those songs “fleshed out” with his band, the Seven Deadlies, and it’s safe to say Hoshaw could have another hit on his hands if he’s ever able to scratch together enough money to get his band into a studio to make a “proper” recording.

Case in point: “New Tattoo,” a desperate, downright creepy song about the aftermath of love gone wrong that Mr. Cash would have been proud to perform during his darker days. On the home recording, Hoshaw comes off lonely and broken as he sings the lines, “So tell me how you think you’ll feel / When I carve your name beneath my heel.” But on stage with his posse at The Waiting Room Saturday night, the song turned into a blistering, angry threat, a pointed finger of redemption made bold and bloody by a band lost in the same homicidal red-mist as Hoshaw. It was, indeed, a perfect moment.

As satisfying as his ’09 debut album was, I was afraid Hoshaw might be a one-and-done flash in the pan whose flash was never seen much beyond our city limits. The fact that that album never reached the audience it deserved is one of the great tragedies of our local music scene, though in all honesty, I don’t know who else to blame other than Hoshaw and an industry that, despite technology that makes almost any music available to a global audience, is unable to find and expose the greater talent to the greater masses.

The way his debut was left to languish in obscurity, one couldn’t blame Hoshaw if he decided to hang it up and walk away from his dreams. Instead, he’s created another stellar collection of songs, which are almost hidden in those home recordings but are completely realized when performed on stage by his full band. Maybe instead of wasting thousands of dollars in a studio, he and his cohorts should simply polish these chestnuts to a fine sheen and record them live from The Waiting Room stage. Or maybe it’s time for Hoshaw to head to Nashville with these songs in his pocket and see if any of the current C&W elite will bite. He and his songs certainly deserve better than they’ve been getting hanging around here.

Hoshaw was followed by the show’s headliner, Lonely Estates, who was celebrating the release of their new CD by giving away copies to anyone who came through the door (a business plan that seems rather… flawed, though I’m sure they’re happy just to get the music in people’s hands).

Frontman Braden Rapp was an inspiration — how he stands up there and does what he does is amazing to me. First, the vocal lines are as vein-poppingly high-reaching as anything Stephen Pedersen sang in Criteria. He’s going to have to stay young if he’s going to hit those notes in 10 years. Then there’s his stage presence. Alone with only a microphone to lean on instead of a guitar, Rapp seemed completely exposed, forced to fill the space with dance steps and hand gestures, and yet he pulled it off. He is, indeed, a portrait in courage.

Lonely Estates’ music is well-crafted indie pop performed with almost formulaic perfection, every corner perfectly rounded, every direction well charted. Like all good radio music, you know exactly where each song is headed, almost as if you’ve heard them all before. I compared them to Little Brazil in my writeup last week, but their influences likely are more commercial. About halfway though the set, the band did a spot-on cover of Cutting Crews’ “(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight” that tipped their hand and made me think they’d make a great cover band (I was later told that some of the musicians are part of the city’s premiere cover band, Secret Weapon). The standout was guitarist Phil Reno, who put on a clinic with his solos and riffs that placed him on the summit with the area’s most talented musicians.

* * *

Speaking of frontmen, remember how I gushed about Samuel T. Herring of Future Islands when his band played at The Waiting Room a couple weeks ago (here)? Now you can see for yourself what I was talking about in this HearNebraska Live video shot by Andrew Norman and Daniel Muller the night of the show. Check it out.

* * *

Who else heard the snippet of Cursive’s “The Radiator Hums” last night during NBC’s Sunday Night Football? The song came on as Al Michaels was going to commercial; I had to rewind it a few times on my DVR before I figured out what I was hearing. Something like that probably means nothing if it were to happen to a Bieber, Gaga or American Idol winner (loser), but for a band like Cursive and its fans, the five-second snippet is a very big deal indeed.

* * *

Tonight at The Waiting Room, it’s the return of Merge recording artist Crooked Fingers with Strand of Oaks. $10, 9 p.m.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Lupines at O'Leaver's, Nov. 10, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

First up last night was the screening of The Adventures of Prince Achmed to what looked like a more-than-half-filled crowd at Film Streams. Jake Bellows, Ryan Fox and Ben Brodin set up shop in the first row of the facility’s big auditorium, where amps glowed just under the screen. I’m happy that I remembered to bring earplugs. It was loud. Not painfully loud, but loud for such an enclosed space.

It also was trippy. Very trippy. The images by themselves were a psychedelic head-trip without Bellows & Co’s innovative “score,” which glided between somber ambient tone shifts, electro-dance mantras, space-folk feedback and chord-driven mountain rock. I wouldn’t say the styles seamlessly matched the screen, but most of the time I found myself lost in Achmed’s weird Eastern netherworld filled with wizards and monsters and proud people doing magical things.

BTW, next up in the Silents in Concert series Dec. 1 is the 1966 surf classic The Endless Summer, featuring music by Matteah Baim, whose ’09 album, Laughing Boy (Dicristina Records), got a 7.2 at Pitchfork.

* * *

Next, it was off to beautiful O’Leaver’s for the debut of The Lupines. While writing this before work this morning, I listened to Brimstone Howl’s Big Deal

 album, trying to ascertain the “differentiators” between that band and this, John Ziegler’s new project. There were obvious similarities, not the least of which was Ziegler’s big-shouldered vocals delivered with its familiar dead-pan snarl on garage rock songs that dwell on the downside of love.

If you like Brimstone, you’ll like Lupines. The real difference (to me) was Mike Friedman’s guitar. Friedman has always been a secret weapon in any band he’s played in — one of Omaha’s best unheralded guitarists. The “unheralded” status may be at risk now that he’s in this band, especially once people hear his freak-out solos and their interplay with Ziegler’s own frenetic guitar style. Holding it together was Iron Mike Tulis’ rock-steady bass lines and  Javid Dabestani’s forward-leaning drums.

If anything, The Lupines seem less campy and more punk than Brimstone ever was, and at the same time (ironically) more serious and more refined. For a debut performance, they were tight as tics and sounded ready to enter a studio, but I guess that’s what you’d expect from this band of rock veterans.

Openers, Detroit rockers Gardens, were a by-the-numbers garage band with brief forays into psych rock and a gift for between-song gab. “We just drove from Denver,” said the drummer. “There was nothing to see. Not even any trees. Just cow concentration camps. This next one’s a big kiss for Omaha.” Unfortunately I didn’t see any of the dozen or so people on hand puckering up.

* * *

Busy, busy weekend.

On top of the list tonight is, of course, the Speed! Nebraska 15th Anniversary rock show at The Brothers Lounge, which you read about yesterday. On the bill: Ideal Cleaners, The Wagon Blasters, Domestica, Techlepathy and The Filter Kings. Show starts at 9 and will run you $5. This one should be a hoot.

Also tonight being held at clubs throughout Benson is the OEA Nominee Showcase. The $10 entry fee gets you into The Waiting Room, Burke’s Pub, Benson Grind, The Barley Street Tavern and PS Collective all night. For the full run-down of bands, go to http://oea-awards.com/

Also going on tonight in Benson (but not affiliated with the OEA event) is the Down with the Ship CD EP release show at The Sydney with Arrah and the Ferns (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Bazooka Shootout. $5, 9 p.m.

Also tonight (but not in Benson) is Ragged Company’s CD release show at The Side Door Lounge. 9 p.m. and absolutely free.

And jeeze… did I almost forget Depressed Buttons are performing down at House of Loom tonight? Brent Crampton opens. $5, 10 p.m.

On Saturday night the decisions become even tougher.

At The Waiting Room, Lonely Estates has its CD release show for their new self-released album The Invertebrate. Lonely Estates is former members of Malpias (minus Greg Loftus) and includes David and Luke Backhaus, Phil Reno, Scott Evans and fronted by Braden Rapp, The album was recorded by AJ Mogis at ARC Studios. I’ve been listening to it off and on for the past couple of weeks and would say its sound is huddled under the same indie rock umbrella as Criteria and Little Brazil. Big, soaring anthems with big, soaring vocals and guitar solos and lots of harmonies. Worth checking out. Opening the show is Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies, New Lungs and Blue Bird. Quite a lineup. $8, 9 p.m.

But…

Over at O’Leaver’s Saturday night it’s the return of Digital Leather — and I’ve never seen a bad O’Leaver’s Digital Leather show. Add to that Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship and you’ve got another solid rock bill. $5, 9 p.m.

Can I go to both shows? No, I can’t.

Also going on Saturday night, Lincoln instrumental rock trio Machete Archive plays at The Sandbox with Fetal Pig, Super Invader, Class M Planets and 13th Year. $8, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at The Barley Street Tavern Saturday night, Jake Bellows breaks away from his work at ARC studio to perform along with The Betties and one more band. $5, 9 p.m.

The weekend ends Sunday night at The Slowdown when City and Colour takes the stage with Hacienda and David Romano. Tickets are $22/$25 DOS (and I hear they’re going fast). Show starts at 9.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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A.A. Bondy at The Waiting Room, Nov. 4, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Remember last week when I said that I wanted to avoid seeing a “stand-and-play” performance? Well, what I meant was when a band comes on stage, takes their positions, and then proceeds to perform a replica of their current album, note-for-note, all the while just standing there playing the songs as if the audience wasn’t in front of them. We’ve all been to one of those shows. You realize about 10 minutes into the set that this is all you’re going to get; and that other than the extreme volume and being able to smell the people standing next to you, you might as well have stayed home and listened to the record on your hi-fi.

So it was last Friday night for A.A. Bondy at The Waiting Room. As I’ve said, I dig his new album — very moody, very dark, and perfect with the headphones on or driving home at night along a deserted highway. How well would it translate to the stage was anyone’s guess.

Shortly after the opener finished and the necessary sound checks were done, the stage lights were turned off and a projector was fired up. Onto a draped sheet behind the band were projected serene images of the ocean — wave upon wave, soothing. That projector would be the only thing to illuminate the band with the exception of one small orange floor light.

Onto the dark stage stepped Bondy and his three sidemen to the applause of the crowd. They took their places and leaned into the first sleepy track of the evening, something off the new album. It was followed by another sleepy track, and then another, as Bondy and Co. stood there in the dark and played, presumably oblivious of the audience in front of them.

Well, it didn’t take long until the chatter began, which is what’s going to happen when there’s nothing for the crowd to see and no reason for them to be drawn into the performance. While the band played the songs spot-on, note perfect, who really wants that? Yes, there were a few rousing Crazyhorse-style moments later in the set, but all of it was played mid-tempo or slower while the band stood slumped in the dark, waves gently lapping behind them. But the only ocean that could be heard was the ocean of people talking throughout the club. Bondy just ignored them, just like the crowd was ignoring Bondy.

I left before the end of the set thinking how much I liked listening to Bondy’s music… in my car on the drive home.

* * *

Tonight at, of all places,  The Omaha Community Playhouse it’s Manouche Moustache, a gypsy jazz trio performing acoustic jazz/vaudeville standup. According to the Playhouse website

, “The brothers Guy, Pierre and Julian immigrated from a gypsy caravan meandering about rural France with an occasional stop in the capital to sell their wares and play for a crowd of young professionals. They made their way to Omaha to become well-paid jazz musicians and respected U.S. citizens. (They are still working to achieve both of those goals.).” The 21+ show is free to the public (with an opportunity for donation) at the Howard Drew Theater inside the OCP. Show starts at 7:30, no reservation or tickets required.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Future Islands at The Waiting Room, Nov. 2, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Decisions, decisions… Of the two, Real Estate was probably the hottest ticket of the night last night (from what I’ve been told, it was the bigger draw); but to be honest, their latest album (despite the raves) left me cold, and judging from their YouTube stuff, I was afraid of getting a run-of-the-mill “stand-and-play” performance.

Which is exactly what I didn’t get from Future Islands. I don’t think any of the 30 or so people at The Waiting Room expected what they got from frontman Samuel T. Herring. Never mind that the trio’s music, half of which was pre-recorded samples (including the synth-drum-percussion), is like an homage to early Factory Records / New Order dance tracks — dramatic and fun. It was Herring that was the centerpiece, an absolutely mesmerizing frontman intent on connecting with the audience eye-to-eye from the stage.

He looks like a young Streetcar Brando combined with Deliverance Burt Reynolds and Kirkian Shatner, but with the intensity of a Rollins or Morrissey. He owned the stage like a Shakespearean actor performing a spotlight soliloquy with a voice that ranged somewhere between Richard Burton, Pee Wee Herman (in la-la-la-la mode), a monster and Billy Idol. Like a caged gorilla pacing with knuckles dragging on the floor, Herring leaned down trying to glean any sort of eye contact from anyone who would look at him, shifting from one to one to one to one. Dramatic, and the stage lighting only added to the drama — colored floor-mounted flood lights (think Mercy Rule but with colored gels).

But then between songs, Herring turned into a bro’ just chilling with his roomful of new friends, laughing and talking about the road and how much he loved being on stage (despite, he said, his recent misgivings about performing). Charming. While all this was going on, keyboardist Gerrit Welmers and bass player William Cashion were stone. They never cracked a smile or changed expression. Welmers merely stared straight-faced at his battery of synth/computer equipment, poking out melodies while Brando pounded his chest and slapped himself in the face and bounced on all fours and held his hand skyward as if singing to a Hamlet skull or to an invisible moon. You can tell this guy was once an art student — or a closet thespian.

One of the best performances I’ve seen this year.

* * *

Column 348: Third Quarter Reviews Roundup

Just like when Christmas decorations begin popping up at your local grocery store, critics know they’re on the home stretch when record labels begin sending out reminders of releases to consider in their year-end “best of” lists. Ah, but it’s still only November. We’ve two months left for records to hit the shelves (digital or otherwise). That said, I think we’ve probably already heard the best of ’11. Below are some of the third quarter releases that have been burning up my earphones. Who knows if any of them will make the “best of” final cut. By the time we find out, the labels will be lauding the first releases of 2012, and the grocery stores will be replacing those Christmas decorations with Valentine’s Day candy

A.A. Bondy, Believers (Fat Possum) — The former Verbena frontman may be best known as an opening act for Bon Iver a few years ago. Since then, Bon Iver has ascended to indie rock sainthood, while Bondy continues to toil in the clubs, waiting for the attention he deserves. With a voice strangely resembling Jackson Browne’s, Bondy’s music is a moody midnight throb headed to 3 a.m. all alone. There’s a simplicity in the music’s loneliness — both in sound and lyrics — that his fellow loners will find both familiar and comforting. Inspirational lines like “You didn’t know there was a killer inside / Won’t get to heaven tonight” from the title track are part of the reason why I like this better than Bon Iver’s latest (Sacrilege!). Who knows, maybe someday Bon Iver will open for Bondy (though he won’t be when A.A. Bondy plays at The Waiting Room this Friday night. You should go.).

Eleanor Friedberger, Last Summer (Merge) — Has the distinction of being the first album I purchased after discovering it on Spotify (Merge doesn’t send me promos, the cheap bastards). Those who expect the wonky art rock of her main gig, Fiery Furnaces, are in for a big surprise. Friedberger has left the proggy chord/key changes behind for a collection of songs that are SONGS, complete with melodies and choruses and playful lyrics that bounce atop piano chords, hand claps and the occasional sax riff. I’m reminded (strangely) of smart, laid back Hunky Dory-era David Bowie. My wife thinks she sounds like Carly Simon. She might be right (again). Has the distinction of being one of the best records of 2011.

PUJOL, Nasty, Brutish, And Short EP (Saddle Creek) — Saddle Creek surprised all of us when it announced it signed this Nashville phenom back in August. Who was PUJOL? The only thing we knew was that Jack White liked him and that Nashville Scene called him “The Socrates of the house show circuit” (whatever that means). Creek’s first stab at releasing anything resembling garage, PUJOL embraces a ’60s psych aesthetic on this slim 7-song collection that clocks in at just under 18 minutes. Its stripped down, grinding guitar rock owes a lot to early Beatles and is oh so catchy, probably the catchiest thing the Creek has released since… well, ever.

Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, Mirror Traffic (Matador) — With all the Pavement reunion talk earlier this year, a few of us were worried that Malkmus may be leaving his solo work behind. Silly rabbits. After a couple brilliant out-there releases (’08’s Real Emotional Trash, ’05’s Face the Truth) Malkmus returns to the more straight-forward, less adventurous and more tuneful style that marked his ’01 solo debut. In fact, Malkmus always came off (to me, anyway) as a more tuneful version of Lou Reed — deceptively simple melodies that belie some of the smartest (and this time, strangest) lyrics that cynically capture a life lived in America. Now that he’s “40 with a kid / Living on the grid,” his lyrics are more obtuse than ever. You may not understand what he’s singing about, but you’ll sing along anyway.

Matthew Sweet, Modern Art (Missing Piece) — Matthew Sweet returns after… wait a minute, Sweet didn’t go anywhere. He’s been steadily releasing music on Shout! Factory since ’06, though two of the last three releases were covers albums made with Susanna Hoffs. One would think reworking all those classic hits would put the pop back into Sweet’s step. Instead, there’s a psychedelic tang and guitar-noodling quality that recall the Altered Beast years (the meandering “My Ass is Grass” and “A Little Death,” the layered, synth-symphonic title track). Still, Sweet knows his sweet spot lies in pure, sing-along tracks like the pretty “Baltimore,” and the Byrds-ish “She Walks the Night,” which he could have used more of this time ’round.

M83, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute) – Sprawling, ambitious to a fault at 74 minutes, Hurry Up takes M83’s penchant for dreamy, ghostly pop and blows it up to sonic mountains. Like any great epic, it has its perfect moments, like dance floor chestnut “Claudia Lewis,” and triumphant “Steve McQueen.” But there’s also a lot of tonal fluff designed to build cinematic Tangerine Dream-flavored drama (“Another Wave from You,” “When Will You Come Home” “Klaus I Love You”) that lie somewhere between aural interlude and filler. It’s as if M83 is trying to become a modern generation’s version of The Cure, but skipped over the Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me era and went straight for Disintegration. Or maybe they’re just reversing the order. I’m willing to wait and see.

* * *

Tonight at House of Loom it’s Conduits with Pony Wars. I was told that Loom doesn’t really have a “stage,” so it will be interesting to see how they set up the bands. If you haven’t been down there yet (it’s in the old Goofy Foot space) this would be great time to check it out. $5, 9:30 p.m.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Maria Taylor at The Slowdown, Oct. 30, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Notes from last night’s Maria Taylor/Big Harp show at The Slowdown…

Big Harp at The Slowdown, 10/30/11.

Big Harp continues to be a special project. Chris Senseney has a unique, memorable voice. When it reaches way down low it sounds like a bull frog trying to seduce a butterfly, all deep and buttery. That voice stands slouched at the center of Big Harp. It’s the band’s defining statement, more so than the songs, which are good in a neo-traditional Townes Van Zandt sort of way — nice, pleasant tunes, bluesy and fun. And more so than the instrumentation, which is better than good. Senseney always was one of the area’s best guitarists as well as a fine keyboard player (which he proved again last night). But it’s that voice that stands out; especially on stage. You can hear it in fits and starts on the record, but on stage, it’s startling, the kind of voice people discover and never forget.

On the other hand, I always get the sense that Maria Taylor is holding back oh so slightly on stage and in recordings, like a woman on the verge of a “Communication Breakdown.” Yeah, that’s a weird reference to Zep. Because despite being known for her sleepy, Sunday-morning folk ballads, Taylor can rock. Really. She did last night during “Xanax” (from 11:11) propelled by her new brother-in-law, Taylor Hollingsworth, whose band Dead Fingers opened last night’s show. For those five minutes or so during “Xanax,” Taylor unclenched the reigns on her voice, on her band, and let go. I wish she’d do that more often. The rest of the set was the usual collection of pleasant Maria tunes, laid back but restrained, as if she’s hiding something just below the surface. If she was, the smallish crowd (especially for a “big stage” show) didn’t mind at all.

* * *

Two big shows tonight, the biggest of which is Cold War Kids at The Slowdown with Young Man. CWK is touring on Mine Is Yours, released in January by V2/Interscope, the record sounds like an obvious stab at the mainstream. $18, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, it’s a night of Americana at The Waiting Room with Joshua James, HoneyHoney and Levi Lowrey. I’m told by a certain person who works at Homer’s that “HoneyHoney is about to explode.” We’ll see. The band is playing a free in-store at Homer’s today at 6 p.m. Tonight’s gig at TWR is $10, 8 p.m.

Neither show has been promoted as a costume thing, so hand out the candy then head to the club.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Icky Blossoms at The Waiting Room, Oct. 21, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It was apparent last July that Icky Blossoms is poised to take The Faint’s place as thee party-fun-dance band from Omaha that will conquer the world. If you don’t remember me saying it then, go reread that review right now

(don’t worry, we’ll wait until you get back).

Nothing’s changed since that July show, except that the band has refined its sound to the point where they’re now ready to tour, if only they had an album recorded and released. Saddle Creek, please take note.

Friday night’s show at a packed Waiting Room was your typical high-energy dance-a-romp-a-thon Icky Blossoms set, though a couple things stood out. First, the band came out dressed in drag. I’m not sure if that was a one-time thing or a spur-of-the-moment decision or a whole new approach to their staging. The extent of the drag queen shtick only extended to wearing dresses and wigs (the band also wore its usual warpaint). When it comes to playing in drag, the New York Dolls did it better, guys.

Secondly, shortly after Icky started its set, a couple girls bounced on stage to dance with the band. By mid-set there were about 20 people up there, including a hilarious Sam Martin from Capgun Coup, who now has a more intimate knowledge of guitarist/vocalist Nik Fackler.

While I was watching, I wondered if the band was setting a new precedent for its performances — how are they going to keep people from running onto stage now? While I guess it adds to the overall festive nature of the show, it has to be hugely distracting (and annoying) for the band. Ah well, I guess that’s show business, right? Just as long as it doesn’t take away from the performance. That’s one difference between Icky and The Faint — no one ever went on stage during a Faint show (Joel would have physically tossed them off).

Just like in July, the burning question is where Icky goes next. The band’s following continues to grow, but until they get a record out, I’m not sure how much larger it will get. They need to strike while the iron is hot. The indie world desperately needs another fun dance band.

* * *

Sun Settings, who recently opened for Ty Segall, takes the headlining spot tonight at Slowdown Jr. The band’s style is distinctively indie slacker, but also pushes into garage and new wave territory. Quite a variety, at least on their SoundCloud demo tracks. Check out “Too Gold,” below:

Also on the bill are a handful of bands I’ve never heard of: Hot Ashes, The Howl, and Howard. $7, 9 p.m.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Tie These Hands at Slowdown Jr., Oct. 20, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I walked into Slowdown Jr. last night for the Take Cover benefit (for Hear Nebraska) just in time to see Tie These Hands cover a song by Her Flyaway Manner (a member of HFM working behind the bar gave it a thumb’s up) and a tune by Mr. 1986 (fantastic, intricate instrumental, hat’s off for tackling such a complex number, guys).

Who doesn’t love the cover show concept — a local band covering another local band’s song? Unfortunately, I didn’t know who the next two solo-acoustic performers were, or what they were covering (strike that — one did a cover of a Neva Dinova song). I asked the guy next to me, who’s been around the scene for years, if he knew who the guy was on stage. “Never heard of him.” So, in essence, we were hearing a cover performed by someone we didn’t know of a band we never heard of, which kind of defeats the purpose of a covers night. Regardless, later Mitch Gettman pulled off a fine solo acoustic version of Bright Eyes’ “Road to Joy” along with an Elliott Smith song (Smith was born in Omaha).

While most of the seats in Slowdown Jr. were filled, I don’t know how many were paying customers and how many were performers waiting their turn. I’ve written about the Take Cover production before (right here) so I won’t belabor the point. I’d love to see someone put one of these together but instead of inviting a dozen or more performers, pick only five or six (or three or four, if that’s all you can get) well-known local acts and in addition to letting them pick the songs, assign them a song or two that most of the crowd is probably familiar with. And then publicize the combinations. You’ll get a crowd there to see both the performers and the songs to be performed.

I’m sure the organizers feel humble, fortunate and thankful to have anyone willing to perform at their benefit for free. However, Hear Nebraska exists for one reason only: To promote Nebraska music. And that includes the big-name touring acts with record deals that call Nebraska home. HN is their PR staff, their marketing agent, their promotional arm. And the folks behind it don’t make a penny from their efforts. Everything HN does comes from the heart. Surely the organizers could get at least one or two of the area’s bigger-drawing acts to participate. Maybe not. Regardless, the show was a success, people had a good time, and who knows how big it will get next time…

* * *

And so, the weekend…

It kicks off tonight with Icky Blossoms headlining a gig at The Waiting Room that also features Somasphere and Lawrence band Cowboy Indian Bear. I can’t remember Icky headlining a show before, so this could be special, especially if Derek Pressnall and Co. roll out some new material. IB reminds me of an early version of The Faint, not necessarily musically, but from the band’s dance-party energy. People become intoxicated with fun at Icky Blossoms shows, and that’s a rarity in these days of endlessly droll vibe bands that are more about setting a scene than having a good time. $7, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Lincoln legends Domestica (Jon & Heidi from Mercy Rule with the amazing Boz Hicks) plays tonight at O’Leaver’s with Ketchup & Mustard Gas and headliners The Answer Team. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Tomorrow night it’s back to The Waiting Room for The So-So Sailors, with Con Dios and The Matt Cox Band. $7, 9 p.m.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Column 346: Re-Magnetized: The Return of Magnet Magazine

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

About three or so years ago, in what was a reflection not only of the dwindling music industry but the downward spiral of the print magazine world, I received what I thought was the final issue of Magnet magazine.

What is Magnet? Magnet was the quarterly bible of the indie music world, a slacker’s guidepost to everything cool, a critical lighthouse in a sea of audio mediocrity. Every issue was a snapshot of what was hot and happening right now in indie music. Each issue launched with an in-depth cover story that led into smaller profiles on bands and musicians just getting noticed, updates on those that have been around awhile, and, of course, pages and pages of reviews of records that you hadn’t heard before, all capped off with an essay by acerbic scribe Phil Sheridan, who wrote from a vantage point every one of us could recognize.

Magnet launched in 1993, and I have no idea how I found my first issue, which I still have, stuffed in a box somewhere in my attic (I probably bought it at Homer’s). It joined an already crowded magazine rack that included hip, cool, but physically unreadable (because of its design) Raygun, the slick and concise Option, and the other bible of indie, Alternative Press. Of those three, only A.P. is still around. Magnet was the best of the bunch, the most in-the-know and the most critically important and accurate.

For a band to be featured in Magnet, well, that was a big deal, especially if it was an Omaha band. And to be reviewed in Magnet was sort of an honor. Remember, this was before the prominence of the internet (Yes, kiddos, there was a time before Pitchfork, when people actually read these things called magazines).

We all knew, for example, that Saddle Creek Records was onto something when Magnet began to take notice.

“Magnet was one of the first magazines to do a Bright Eyes feature,” said Saddle Creek Records executive Robb Nansel. “I remember I was working my ‘real’ job when Magnet called me at work to set up the photo shoot for that article (right around the release of Letting Off the Happiness (in 1998)). There was a lot going on for the label at that time, and it wasn’t long after that phone call that I put in my resignation.”

Reviews and features about other Saddle Creek artists soon followed in Magnet, and shortly after that, the rest of the world began to take notice of what was going on in Omaha. Those reviews weren’t always terribly positive. In fact, Magnet didn’t offer a rating system, just narrative and descriptions, which oftentimes left you wondering if the writer liked the album or not. But that was part of the appeal (to me, anyway) — Magnet left it up to you do decipher.

Anyway, about three years ago, new issues of Magnet quit arriving at my door. No real explanation was given but I knew the magazine hadn’t folded. In fact, their website — magnetmagazine.com — continued to be updated. After a year went by, however, I figured I’d seen the last of the printed version.

And then out of the blue last Friday there it was, peeking out of my mailbox, a fresh new issue of Magnet featuring those shaggy boys from Wilco on the cover — same design, same slick perfect-bound publication, as if it had never gone away.

Magnet Editor-in-Chief Eric T. Miller explained it all on page 4. It turned out that the declining music and publishing industry had finally caught up with them. The publication took a short hiatus to redesign the Magnet website. That hiatus became extended when injuries sustained by the publication’s art director — Miller’ wife — put a wrench in overall operations. Things looked bleak as to the magazine’s return, and then out of the blue, Miller ran into Alex Mulcahy, an old friend whose company, Red Flag Media, publishes metal magazine Decibel. And the next thing you know, Magnet was back, but this time as a monthly instead of a quarterly.

There are a few other changes. The publication seems thinner and some sections are missing along with some writers, but the profiles are there (including stories on Neon Indian, Tommy Keene, Spank Rock, Beauty Pill, Mac McCaughan, Das Racist amd Thundercat), a Q&A with Blondie’s Debbie Harry, and a lengthy cover story with Wilco. And of course, those reviews. Though now each review also includes a 10-star rating, which takes away a lot of the mystery. But I guess in this era when bands live and die by a Pitchfork 10-point rating system, adjustments had to be made, even though ratings dissuade people from reading the actual reviews.

My favorite part is the return of Phil Sheridan’s “Back Page” column, which starts off: “We know what you’re thinking, and it’s wrong, as usual: Now that 1995 is back, here comes Magnet to cover the bands it already covered to death. Literally.”

So true, Phil, so true. All’s I know is that Magnet is back, and hopefully this time it’s for good. Because in an age when we’re all tethered to electronic gizmos that put every conceivable piece of information at our fingertips — including the music that we listen to — it’s nice to be able to turn off the screen, unplug the electronic world, pull back the cover of something tangible that we can hold in our hands — whether it’s a book, or a copy of The Reader, or an issue of Magnet — and just read.

And, Robb Nansel put it, “Magnet exposed us to tons of great music when we were growing up, and I am definitely happy to see them carrying on.”

So am I.

* * *

At the end of her interview with Arizona State University’s State Press, Maria Taylor (of Azure Ray, Bright Eyes and her own solo fame) dropped this little unexpected tidbit:

State Press: What is the first thing you are going to do for yourself once your tour is over?

Maria Taylor: Well, the first thing I am going to do is find out if I am having a boy or a girl! I haven’t really told any of the press yet, so why not? I can tell people now, you know, it’s been three months. I feel like, I might have to sit down sometimes during the set so I might have to explain anyway. This is going to be a different tour, very different. No drinking, I’m just tired and kind of sick. But I just decided, “No, I gotta do this, this is what I do. I gotta go on tour.” But now I’m kind of like, “Oh my god, did I take on too much?” It’s going to be kind of hard. So, literally the day after the tour I’m going to the doctor to find out if it’s a boy or girl. Ah, crazy!

There were no obvious follow-up questions asked (read the whole interview here). Ask them yourself when Maria comes to town for a show at The Slowdown Oct. 30.  Congratulations, Maria!

* * *

Milagres at The Waiting Room, Oct. 19, 2011.

Counting myself and the opening band, there was probably around 20 people on hand for last night’s Milagres show at The Waiting Room — disappointing, but is anyone surprised?

The band isn’t exactly a household name. They obviously don’t get any radio play. The show didn’t get any press other than blog mentions (You call that “press”?). And it was a Wednesday night, with an opener — South of Lincoln — that’s new to the scene. So why did I think anyone would be there?

Milagres, by the way, was fantastic — a real find for anyone into the whole Beach House/Arcade Fire indie dream-rock sound. The Brooklyn five-piece, which included two keyboards, was honed but angelic, floating just beneath frontman Kyle Wilson’s brassy, sometimes falsetto vocals. I sat back and wondered which song they’ll perform during their inevitable appearance on Letterman or Kimmel (My pick would be the echoing, endless frontier melody of “Halfway,” the opening track to their latest release, Glowing Mouth, which you should track down and buy).

Despite the sparce crowd, the band was charming and gracious, playing a number of songs from the new album during their 45+ minute set, sprinkling in heartfelt compliments about Omaha along the way. “This is our first time in Omaha; hopefully it won’t be the last.”

There’s a lot of very good under-the-wire acts coming through over the next couple of weeks; including Future Islands (Wednesday, Nov. 2 at TWR), Peter Wolf Crier (Tuesday, Oct. 25 at TWR) and A.A. Bondy (Nov. 4 at TWR). Any of these bands, along with Milagres, would have been a coup for something like the MAHA Festival; all are bands I would seek out if I was going to SXSW next spring. Terrific bands with terrific albums. But I’m afraid no one is going to show up for these shows, either.

What’s the answer? The Reader no longer covers every good indie band that comes through town. Blame it on page count. Blame it on editorial direction. The same is probably true at the other local publications that cover music.

How does the word get out to the masses that they’re missing something that’s phenomenal, that we’re lucky to even get here? I don’t know. Lazy-i ain’t the answer. Maybe there isn’t an answer?

* * *

Tonight Hear Nebraska brings Take Cover to The Slowdown. The program’s concept is simple: Nebraska musicians take turns covering a song by another Nebraska musician of their choice. Among the performers on this mostly solo acoustic night of music: All Young Girls Are Machine Guns, Eli Mardock, The Lepers, Anniversaire, Justin Lamoureux and Mitch Gettman along with a bunch of Lincoln performers playing songs by acts including Neva Dinova, Bright Eyes, Matthew Sweet and It’s True. The show starts at 8 and winds up around 1 a.m. (or later). Your $5 cover gets you in and goes to support Hear Nebraska. Seriously, you should go. More info here.

Also tonight, Lawrence band Major Games plays at The Barley Street Tavern. Major Games is a new project by Jeremy Sidener, a former member of classic ’90s bands Zoom and Panel Donor as well as Arthur Dodge and Danny Pound Band. Major Games carries on the ’90s noise-rock tradition (check out a track on the band’s Bandcamp page). Opening is Spell Talk and third TBA band. $5, 9 p.m.

And in addition to that, Peace of Shit returns to the O’Leaver’s stage tonight with Duluth band Low Forms, described as “Pete Biasi’s (Falcon Crest, Total Fucking Blood, Signal to Trust, tons of other shit) new band. Husker Du/Wipers style punk rock.” $5, 9:30 p.m. More info here.

And finally, tonight at The Brothers Lounge, it’s Joe Jack Talcum of The Dead Milkmen with Sam Locke-Ward & the Boo-Hoos and Well-Aimed Arrows. $5, 10 p.m. More info here.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Smashing Pumpkins at The Slowdown, Oct. 11, 2011

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I have to start this review by saying that I’m not the biggest Smashing Pumpkins fan in the world. I do have a copy of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness around here somewhere, along with a copy of Siamese Dream that I bought used at Pickles a few years after it was released. So I can’t tell you if the first hour of songs were taken from earlier or later albums or not. All I know is that I didn’t recognize many of them, not until the end, when we got a half-assed, perfunctory version of “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” that featured Ol’ Baldy looking as if he was told to play it. I wonder if the crowd was expecting an hour of Billy Corgan’s personal jams when they hustled in front of their computers two Saturdays ago to “win” their tickets. Probably not.

I will say this in Corgan’s defense — just because he continues to fly the Smashing Pumpkins banner at his shows instead of simply going on the road on a solo tour (that likely wouldn’t sell out quite as quickly, but would still sell out a venue the size of Slowdown) doesn’t mean he’s required to play the “hits” that he penned 15 or more years ago. Read Kevin Coffey’s Q&A with Corgan that appeared on Omaha.com (here). Corgan implies that he’s moved on, but is still reticent to drop the name. After all, it’s his band. “The question then becomes, ‘Why continue under The Smashing Pumpkins name?‘” he says in the Q&A. “A, I want to play Smashing Pumpkins music. B, I want to make new Smashing Pumpkins music. And C, Who are you to tell us who The Smashing Pumpkins are?” I guess the answer to C is “We’re the fans.”

The unfortunate by-product of touring as Smashing Pumpkins and not playing Smashing Pumpkins “hits” is that you’re going to disappoint the fans that paid to hear them. Corgan obviously could care less. And the fans have no room to complain. They knew the line-up, and they’ve (presumably) heard the recent, rather flat SP output. Whenever you pay to see a legacy band with less than half of its original members that is still recording new music, you’re taking a risk unless the band flat-out says it’s going to play the oldies. Is Corgan milking the Pumpkins name for profit? Who are we tell him?

Which brings us to the actual performance. Though most of the rock riff-based material was unfocused and lacked a central melody, you have to admit it was well played. Corgan’s new band is remarkably proficient — good players all. His classic Chester Cat-in-heat voice was as good as it was back in the day. And the sound was huge; painfully huge. As always, I had my earplugs. I pity those who didn’t, as the gear stacked on either side of the stage looked powerful enough to fill a good-sized theater instead of humble ol’ Slowdown. You felt the bass.

And then there were the lights. I was situated in my usual perch behind the rail along stage left, a space that affords a good view of the band (but for whatever reason, is never crowded). With all the gear stacked along the side, I couldn’t get a glimpse of the drummer. Instead, I was in the direct line of a pair of blazingly bright stage lights, like looking into the heart of a thousand suns. Imagine someone popping a flash bulb directly into your eyes, all night long. Toward the end of the set, I had moved to the back of the room and discovered that a different set of painful strobe lighting was shooting directly into the crowd from the back of the stage. A lot of people in the crowd were shielding their eyes. Fun!

Because I couldn’t watch the stage a lot of the time, I watched the audience — a mob of 30+ white people who looked mesmerized by the performance, though they never seemed terribly engaged. A few held up their hands during high points. Most just stood and squinted. After the first 30 minutes of nondescript riffage, things began to get boring, and I began to realize I wasn’t likely to hear “Tonight, Tonight,” “1979,” “Today” or Corgan growl the endearing opening line “The world is a vampire.” But toward the end, I recognized a couple songs from Siamese Dream

, and my vampire wish came true during the two-song encore. The true, die-hard fans got their money’s worth.

* * *

Busy week. Lots going on tonight.

Over at The Waiting Room, Portland psych-pop band Portugal. The Man (formerly of Fearless and Equal Vision Records, now with Atlantic) is playing with Alberta Cross. $15, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at O’Leaver’s, Capgun Coup is headlining a four-band bill with Cartright, Paleo and Honeybee & Hers. $5, 9:30 p.m. More info here.

While downtown at Slowdown Jr., Well Aimed Arrows and The Prairies open for The Dead Ships. $7, 9 p.m. More info here.

And finally, down in Lincoln, the first full night of Lincoln Calling kicks off with a hum-dinger of a lineup that includes McCarthy Trenching and So-So Sailors at Duffy’s. The full schedule is here.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Head and the Heart at The Waiting Room, Oct. 9, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

If last night’s sold out The Head and the Heart show at The Waiting Room taught us anything, it’s that in this age of endless “vibe” bands, people are thirsting for songs that they can sing to.

I mean, seriously, who wants to sing along to Animal Collective or Toro Y Moi or Neon Indian or Girls or Grizzly Bear or even St. Vincent? The current wave of indie is more about setting a mood than songwriting. So when a band like The Head and the Heart comes along and creates simple songs with simple lyrics about simple things like love and loss and longing — all sung to super catchy choruses and refrains — well, people just can’t help themselves but join in. And that’s exactly what they did during last night’s show.

The six-piece band was joined by a chorus of a few hundred who sang along to almost every song, sounding like a warm ocean lapping gently on the shores of the band’s acoustic folk. I haven’t heard so much singing since Dashboard Confessional circa 2003, only these songs weren’t cheesy heartbreak anthems sung by children. Instead the crowd was mostly in their mid-20s, with more women mixed in than I’m used to seeing at typical indie rock shows. Credit the nature of their music, which is more soothing than rousing, though it had its moments of exultation.

I leaned over and asked one music pro in the crowd if this was the coming of the next Arcade Fire. He said more like the next Mumford and Sons. I think they meet somewhere in between, with enough modern touches to please Arcade fans, and those song-along choruses for the Mumford crowd (but, thankfully, without the brogue and side order of Gouda). Where they go next is anyone’s guess, but who knows what happens after they perform on Letterman Oct. 28.

By the way, word going ’round last night before the show was that the band had a little meltdown the night before in Minneapolis, where one of the guitarists/vocalists walked off stage in anger, forcing the band to finish without him. Maybe last night was a “healing set” for them.

Fizzle Like a Flood at The Barley Street Tavern, 10/8/11.

I said last week that we wouldn’t be hearing my favorite song from the new Fizzle Like a Flood record, “Cutters,” performed at the CD release show as it was recorded. And I was right. Instead, we got a Pixies version of “Cutters” played by Doug Kabourek’s other band, At Land. As much as I enjoyed hearing acoustic Fizzle Like a Flood, the revved up and rocking version was more fun.

When he’s out there with just his guitar, Kabourek channels John Darnielle a.k.a. The Mountain Goats, though Doug’s songs are less story telling and more emoting from the heart. When he’s behind the drum set with At Land, Kabourek pushes the songs closer to territory heard on records, though nothing can compare to those multi-tracked marvels. Despite that, my favorite moment of Friday night’s CD release show, played to only about 20 people at The Barley Street, was Doug solo singing “Believe in Being Barefoot” from his watershed release, Golden Sand and the Grandstand, an album that has still yet to get its due.

* * *

It’s going to be a very tiring week for yours truly and anyone else who loves going to rock shows. It started last night, it continues tonight with Melt Banana at The Waiting Room with openers InDreama and Flesh Eating Skin Disease. $12, 9 p.m.

Then it’s Smashing Pumpkins tomorrow, Portugal. The Man Wednesday, The Matt Bowen Benefit Thursday, and MEN (members of Le Tigre) on Friday. I’m going to need an IV drip to make it through work this week…

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.