by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

If anything, last night’s Molchat Doma/Sextile show at Steelhouse Omaha proved that the massive, blimp-hangar-style facility can host shows that only draw 1/3 of its capacity and still feel like an important event.

Los Angeles electronic-fueled post-punk act Sextile — no stranger to Omaha — was up first and scored the better of the two performances, thanks to a shorter set and more varied and frenetic music. Sextile’s heart-racing, jittery rhythms, infectious bass lines and unlimited energy generated by three bouncing musicians did everything it could to get the (guess-timated) crowd of around 1,000 moving. 

Throughout their 10-year careers, Sextile has always been more punk than post-punk, and never moreso than on their aggressive new album, Yes, Please., slated for release May 2 on Sacred Bones Records. New songs like “Women Respond to Bass,” “Kids,” “S Is For” and set closer “Resist” — wherein vocalist/instrumentalist Melissa Scaduto hoisted a flag emblazed with “Abortion Rights Now!” — were among the night’s highlights. 

Long-time Sextile fans yearning for past glories were not disappointed. The set opened with 2018 favorite “Disco,” and included tracks “No Fun” and “Contortion” from 2023’s Push. Instrumentally, Scaduto and fellow front-person Brady Keehn impressed with their stick-work and knob twirling when not spitting lyrics at the crowd. 

A fellow concert-goer pointed out the music would be perfect at 2 a.m. in a crowded, smoke-filled warehouse while high on some unidentified substance, instead of at 8:30 on a Monday night drinking a lukewarm microbrew. Maybe that’s why so few were moving on the floor beyond the edge of the stage. Ah, to be honest, the only band I’ve seen turn an Omaha crowd that size into a bouncing a mob was The Faint.

Shortly after 9 p.m., Molchat Doma took the blackened stage, each band member staking out his territory – bassist Pavel Kozlov stage left, guitarist Roman Komogortsev stage right, and frontman Egor Shkutko dead center. And that’s where they stayed throughout the evening while someone somewhere controlled the prerecorded synth and rhythm tracks that fueled the performance. 

“We are Molchat Doma from Minsk, Belarus,” Egor quietly declared after the first song. “Dosvedanya.” 

The basic song recipe involved a drone/tone intro followed by a kick-ass rhythm track, Pavel’s bassline and Roman’s guitar. It’s easy to point out the obvious influences – Depeche Mode, The Cure, Joy Division, etc. A fellow concert-goer gave nods to Nitzer Ebb and Front Line Assembly.

But despite the rump-shakingly infectious rhythms and guitars, Egor’s dark, bosso voice eventually transported listeners to a drab, Soviet-era landscape covered in brutalist architecture. It was like listening to a soldier sing mournful Russian-language anthems over a wicked EDM loop.

Early in the set, the audience, which included a lot of younger people dressed in black, many donning their best goth styles and make-up, merely nodded their heads to the beat. But as you walked deeper into the crowd, you noticed the bodies moving oh so subtly, the energy increasing closer to the stage. I’m unsure where these fans came from, as Molchat Doma has never played Omaha before and isn’t heard on local radio. The answer is probably those viral TikTok videos, apparently as popular here as in Eastern Bloc countries.

Despite shifts in rhythm and melodies — and instrumental interludes (in one instance, Pavel and Roman met centerstage and exchanged riffs) — the music’s “sameness” was unescapable thanks to being draped in dirge-like vocals. How would their music sound with English-language pop vocals? No doubt it would lose its gravitas — and to some, become more interesting — but it would never be Molchat Doma. And to that, all I can say is “Dosvedanya.”

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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Monday Night is Show Night in Omaha™  Now there’s a catchphrase the Omaha entertainment business community can really get behind. Or how about: Weekends Are Made for Locals™. 

Listen, we can thank tour routing for the abundance of Monday night (and weekday night) touring indie shows, since we’re located between major markets like KC, Minneapolis and Chicago. Bands could simply take the night off, but they come here anyway, even if it makes for some bleary-eyed Tuesday mornings. 

This Monday night is all about the EDM (as in electronic dance music) of Molchat Doma and Sextile at Steelhouse Omaha. I won’t rehash what I already said last week. Go back and check out the Lazy-i Ten Questions interview with Molchat Doma.

Glancing at Molchat Doma’s setlist from last Friday night’s show in Chicago, expect a 14-song set with 4-song encore, including their viral hit “Sudno.” I’d list the other song titles, but let’s face it – no one reading this is that familiar with the band or their catalog. 

And here’s a review of the Oct. 19, 2023, Sextile show at The Waiting Room. Attendance was a wee bit light that evening, and as I wrote in the review, I could only imagine how the performance compared to, say, a sold-out Terminal 5 show in Brooklyn. For the record, Sextile played 12 songs at their Feb. 19 Toronto gig. Here’s the setlist. 

I’ve never been to a show at Steelhouse that wasn’t either sold out or close to selling out. Will tonight be a first?

When I interviewed Omaha Performing Arts President Joan Squires and Steelhouse Director of Booking Erika Hansen back in 2023 for my column in The Reader (online here), I asked how they’d handle shows that draw fewer than 1,000. Squires said the space may not be appropriate for those shows, which would be a better fit for small O-pa-operated venues like the Holland Music Club. However, Hansen said Steelhouse is flexible and has options, including the use of retractable risers. I’ve yet to see those risers in action.

The sheer fact that Steelhouse was willing to gamble on this show, however, is a credit to Omaha Performing Arts. Let’s see if the gamble pays off tonight. Tickets to the show are still available at steelhouseomaha.com. Showtime is 8 p.m. Bring your dancing shoes.

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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

UPDATE AS OF 5:30 P.M.: This show has been CANCELLED “due to unforeseen bus issues.”

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“We still play all of our songs live, but there are only so many chords you can put into a three-chord song so many times. You can only sing about having a broken heart for so long.”

That was The Get Up Kids’ keyboardist James Dewees in 2002. Little did he know how wrong he could be, as the band heads to The Waiting Room tonight to play an album that came out 25 years ago. 

When I interviewed Dewees in 2002 (read the interview here), the band was headed for a gig at Sokol Auditorium (now called The Admiral) supporting the release of On a Wire and actively running away from the “emo” tag placed on them by MTV and various music journalists. 

“This is the best time in the world for emo music,” Dewees said back then. “It’s just that we don’t really want to write music like that anymore. We want to experiment with writing slower songs with acoustic guitars or organ or string parts or keyboards instead of the soft-then-loud-then-scream songs with the typical punk-rock-flourish ending.”

Dewees was a late comer to Get Up Kids, which formed in Kansas City back in mid-’90s. Also a member of the metalcore outfit Coalesce, he met the band when the two played together.

According to Wiki, when Get Up Kids broke up in 2004 Dewees played with New Found Glory, continued his work with his band, Reggie and the Full Effect, and eventually joined My Chemical Romance in 2006. He later rejoined Get Up Kids for the 10th anniversary of Something To Write Home About and stuck around for a few more albums before splitting for good in 2019. The band was never able to capture lightning in a bottle like they did with that ’99 album. Alas, Dewees will not be joining them when they play tonight at The Waiting Room.

Surprisingly, this show has yet to sell out. With the rise in popularity of “Emo Nights” at clubs around the country, you’d think second-generation emo pioneers like this band would be a red hot ticket. 

Opening for Get Up Kids is The Anniversary, the Lawrence, Kansas, indie band that enjoyed a heyday in the early aughts, and included singer Adrianne Verhoeven, a former member of Saddle Creek Records band Flowers Forever and Orenda Fink’s Art in Manila. Is Adrianne still in The Anniversary? Head to The Waiting Room tonight and find out. $36, 8 p.m. 

AGAIN, THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

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Tomorrow night (Saturday), newly minted post-punk band Cope Acidic headlines a free show at fabulous O’Leaver’s. I caught a few songs by these guys when they opened for Pile at Slowdown Feb. 29 and was intrigued. Very mathy; pretty good vocals that reminded me of Bob Mould. Joining them Saturday night are Jar and Softlines. Like I said, it’s free and starts at 9 p.m. (O’Leaver’s time, which means probably later than that).

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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Belarusian post-punk/cold wave/synth-fueled EDM trio Molchat Doma was founded in 2017 in Minsk. And like their origin implies, there is drama in everything they do. Even their name — translated to English — means “Houses Are Silent.” Could anything sound more foreboding?

The band — vocalist Egor Shkutko (Belarusian: Yahor Shkutko); Roman Komogortsev (Raman Kamahortsau) on guitar, synths and drum machine, and Pavel Kozlov on bass and synths — creates darkly urban, wholly modern synth-pop whose undertones and rhythms are familiar to anyone who grew up listening to Depeche Mode, Human League, The Cure, and so on. 

The band sites Perestroika-era Russian groups such as Kino as an influence, and you can hear shadows of Kraftwerk in their early work. As their one-sheet oh so accurately describes: “The band gained a following with earlier albums that sound like third-generation bootlegs of banned recordings from the Eastern Bloc made after a few key entries in the Factory Records catalog were smuggled in from the West.” 

Tracks off their 2017 self-released debut, S Krysh Nashikh Domov (translated via Google as From the Roofs of Our Houses), such as “Ludi Nadoeli,” (“People are Boring”), could be mistaken for early, upbeat Joy Division, except for the Russian lyrics.

According to Pitchfork, one of Molchat Doma’s early breaks came in April 2020 when their song “Судно (Sudno)” was used in a viral TikTok video clip that garnered over 6 million views, sparking listeners on Spotify. Then (according to the Chicago Reader), an Australian taste-maker uploaded the band’s 2018 album, Etazhi, onto YouTube, which caught the attention of hip Brooklyn record label Sacred Bones, who signed the band and reissued their early works. 

Sacred Bones released Mochat Doma’s third album, Monument, in 2020 in the shadow of the pandemic. The band was forced to hold off on its first U.S. tour, but would eventually play major festival stages, including Coachella and Cruel World in 2022. 

Over the years, their sound has evolved from shadowy, minimalist post-punk into the shiny, pulsing, black-lit EDM heard on their most recent release, 2024’s Belaya Polosa. Completed in their new home of Los Angeles, their label called it “a testament to change in difficult times, a love letter to the digital pulse of the ‘90s, and a technicolor reinvention of the band’s somber dancefloor anthems.”

The trio has been selling out venues throughout its current tour, which brings them to Steelhouse Omaha Monday, Feb. 24. They generously took the Lazy-i Ten Questions survey. Here’s what they had to say:

1. What is your favorite album?

Yahor: Moby – All Visible Objects

Pavel: Tool – Lateralus

Raman: Puma Blue – Holy Waters

2. What is your least favorite song?

“APT” by Bruno Mars and Rose

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Touring. We all love touring. Every time we hit the road we feel ourselves alive.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Being homesick. We all have families and sometimes it’s really hard being too far from them.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

We all love a lure. We are crazy about this bait. 

6. In what city or town do you love to perform (and why)?

There are so many cities where we love to play. Always pleasure to play in our residence city, LA. NYC is so special too. Europe is definitely different, but Berlin, London, and Paris are so good to play. 

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

That was several years ago in Minsk, Belarus. We were so drunk and played as shit. We still feel ashamed.

8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

Yes, it became possible when we started growing in popularity in 2020. We toured a lot and continue to tour to this day, plus streaming and merch helps us pay our bills.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Certainly none of us would like to go back to our previous jobs, which we did before music – working in construction. In fact, I don’t want to try any other professions, since we get great pleasure from what we are doing now. Well, maybe a civil aviation pilot.

10. What stories have you heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

We don’t know anything about this place, but we hope to have a very good experience and enjoy being there!

Molchat Doma plays with Sextile at Steelhouse Omaha Monday, Feb. 24. Tickets range from $27.50 to $65. For more information, go to steelhouseomaha.com

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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Yesterday, Saddle Creek Records released a previously unreleased song included on the upcoming deluxe reissue of The Faint’s Blank-Wave Arcade.  “Brokers, Priests & Analysts” is a proggy howler that fits right in with the rest of the album and will be a blast to see performed live if you were smart enough to buy tickets to the April 3 Omaha show before it SOLD OUT. 

The Faint also shared a remastered version of “Worked Up So Sexual” that jumps right out of your headphones.

The reissues of Blank-Wave Arcade and Wet From Birth drop March 14 via Saddle Creek. Preorder yours here. 

What isn’t sold out is next Monday’s Molchat Doma show at Steelhouse Omaha. The tour has sold out large rooms in Minneapolis, Seattle and Los Angeles, but tickets are still available to the Omaha show. Don’t miss out…

Opening is the always fun Sextile, who today dropped the first single from Yes, Please, their new album which drops May 2 via Sacred Bones. It’s another of their classic dance floor ravers. 

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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Well, I waited too long and didn’t get my ticket to The Faint show April 3 at The Waiting Room, and lo and behold, it’s now SOLD OUT according to the 1% Productions website. 

It’s a reminder to get advanced tickets to shows you REALLY want to see (even though they cost more than walk-up tickets when you factor in the fees). I’ll be buying my ticket to the April 14 Bob Mould/Craig Finn show today. 

Speaking of shows, here’s the latest calendar of upcoming touring indie shows headed our way. Let me know if I’m missing anything. 

• – Michigan Rattlers, Feb. 18 at The Slowdown
• – The Get Up Kids, Feb. 21 at The Waiting Room
• – Molchat Doma / Sextile, Feb. 24 at Steelhouse
• – Buffchick, March 3 at Reverb
• – Jason Anderson, March 9 at Pageturners
• – Lesser Care, March 16 at Reverb
• – The Velveteers, March 27 at The Slowdown
• – The Faint, April 3 at The Waiting Room -SOLD OUT
• – Marlon Funkai, April 3 at Reverb
• – Jack White, April 5 at Steelhouse
• – Lady Lamb, April 7 at Reverb
• – Bob Mould Band, Craig Finn, April 14 at The Waiting Room 
• – MSSV, April 21 at Reverb
• – Cryogeyser, April 25 at Reverb
• – Vazum, April 25 at The Sydney
• – Ty Segall solo April 26 at Scottish Rite
• – Bright Eyes, April 27 at The Astro
• – Bad Nerves, April 27 at The Waiting Room
• – Nada Surf, April 30 at The Waiting Room
• – Husbands, May 1 at Reverb
• – Season to Risk, May 3 at The Sydney
• – Future Islands, May 7 at The Admiral
• – Julien Baker & Torres, May 12 at The Admiral
• – Being Dead, May 13 at Reverb
• – Black Country, New Road, May 14 at Slowdown
• – Spellling, May 15 at The Waiting Room
• – Friko, May 20 at Reverb
• – Florist, May 24 at Reverb
• – Southern Culture on the Skids, May 27 at Waiting Room
• – Samantha Crain, June 17 at Reverb
• – Holy Fawn, June 25 at Reverb

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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The hottest shows of the weekend are in Lincoln again this weekend, as the Lincoln Exposed Festival continues in five bars in the heart of downtown. 

Here’s the rest of the festival schedule for tonight and Saturday. Bands to check out (because I’ve actually heard a few of their recordings and dug them) are in bold face. I’m unsure of the rest, tbo. Tickets are $15 per night and available from bourbontheatre.com. Even more info here.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 14

ZOO BAR – 21+
5 – 5:40 – Floating Opera
6 – 6:40 – Comfy
7 – 7:40 – Dean The Bible
8 – 8:40 – Scott Severin & Stateleigh Holmes 
9 – 9:40 – Love And Gumption
10 – 10:40 – No Drinking On Grounds 
11 – 11:40 – Vempire
12 – 12:40 – The Said Mantics

DUFFY’S TAVERN – 21+
6:40-7:20 – Corson Branch Buzzard Club
7:40-8:20 – Pure Brown
8:40-9:20 – Goosehens
9:40-10:20 – The Jericho Strays 
10:40-11:20 – LaPerm
11:40-12:20 – Sweats
12:40 – 1:20 – The Ulcer Twins

BOURBON THEATRE – ALL AGES
6:20-7 – Witherpoint 
7:20-8 – Whiskey Drinkers Union
8:20 – 9 – Drew Phillips Band
9:20-10 – Lee Bowes and the Jupiter Rings
10:20-11- Her Flyaway Manner
11:20-12 – Red Cities

BODEGA’S ALLEY – 21+

7-7:40- Gabe Nelson with Pants 
8-8:40 – Vector 23
9-9:40 – Bolzen Beer Band
10-10:40 – Verse and the Vices
11-11:40 – Mustache’
12-12:40 – Vibe Check

1867 BAR – 21+
5:40 – 6:20 – Hansen Airship 
6:40 – 7:20 – Sputnik Kaputnik
7:40-8:20 – Orion Walsh & The Ramblin’ Hearts
8:40-9:20 – Cuddlebone
9:40-10:20 – Gutbomb
10:40-11:20 – Black Ophanim
11:40-12:20 – Ezra
12:40-1:20 – Hold Your Breath

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15

ZOO BAR – 21+
5-5:40 – Moore Brothers Band
6-6:40 – Powerful Science 
7-7:40 – Happy John & the Arnold Palmers 
8-8:40 – After Arizona
9-9:40 – Social Cinema
10-10:40 – Head Change
11-11:40 – Emily Bass and the Near Miracle 
12-12:40 – ((Echo))
1-1:40 – Estrogen Projection

DUFFY’S TAVERN – 21+
6:40 – 7:20 – John Voyage
7:40-8:20 – Mono In Stereo
8:40 – 9:20 – All Knowing McGill 
9:40-10:20 – Whip Sigils
10:40-11:20 – Ro Hempel Band
11:40 – 12:20 – Thirst Things First 
12:40-1:20 – Fascinus Rex

BODEGA’S ALLEY – 21+

7-7:40 – Sitra Achra
8-8:40 – Crack Mountain
9-9:40 – Hangin’ Cowboys
10-10:40 – Dark Oceanz Live w/ RAWLZ
11-11:40 – Head Of Femur
12-12:40 – Turquoise
1-1:40 – Odinson B2B Poe B2B Jogga

1867 BAR – 21+
5:40 – 6:20 – The Breakroom
6:40 – 7:20 – Carrier
7:40-8:20 – Leaves Brown
8:40-9:20 – The Hanyaks 
9:40-10:20 – The Credentials
10:40-11:20 – Underbite

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Back here in Omaha, there’s nothing on the ol’ indie radar tonight. 

Saturday night, former DIY punk guy now New Orleans-based indie troubadour Benjamin Booker headlines at Reverb Lounge. Booker, 35, has an eclectic musical past. Early in his career he was identified as “what comes next” by Paste magazine, having performed on Letterman, Conan and Jools Holland, according to Wiki.

He’s toured with Jack White and Courtney Barnett, and has released albums on a slew of indie labels including ATO, Rough Trade and Fire Next Time (Thirty Tigers), who released his latest album, LOWER, in January, after an 8-year hiatus. The record got a massive 8.0 rating by Pitchfork, who called it “a corroded beat-centric grunge that soundtracks stories of violence and perseverance.”

LOWER is a collection of woozy, bloozy indie rock songs with guitars that (at times) recall Lenny Kravitz buzzsaws, sung in a breathy, dreamy whisper.  While there’s an undertow of R&B, Booker can fly into full-on rock, like on album standouts “New World” and “Same Kind of Lonely.” 

Opener Kenny Segal is an LA-based DJ who Mixmag described as “one of the best hip-hop producers in the city.” He also produced Booker’s latest album. 8 p.m., $24. 

Meanwhile, at The Astro in La Vista, St. Paul-based indie pop band Hippo Campus headlines. The band’s sound definitely falls on the soft-rock spectrum and has been compared to Porches and Pantogram whereas they most remind me of Semisonic, with a few tracks off their most recent album, Flood (2024, Psychic Hotline), coming dangerously close to country — all they need is a pedal steel.

Jazz-influenced indie artist Mei Semones, whose new album Animaru is slated for release on Bayonet Records, opens this show at 8 p.m. $36.50. 

Finally, there’s another new artist showcase at fabulous O’Leaver’s Saturday night. Take a chance on something new and/or get just blasted. Either way, admission is free. Starts at 9 p.m. (probably). 

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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Everyone has their bucket list of bands, and Silkworm was certainly on mine. I’ve been told the Chicago post-punk band did play at The Cog Factory one night in the ‘90s. But alas, I wasn’t there. Throughout that decade they released a handful of great albums, including Libertine, Firewater, Blueblood and Italian Platinum (which actually came out in 2002). 

Then as the story goes, drummer Michael Dahquist was killed July 14, 2005, in a car accident, and that was the end of Silkworm. Two of the band’s primary dudes, Tim Midyett and Andy Cohen, would go on to form Bottomless Pit, and members of Silkworm did reunite last July for a benefit concert for Steve Albini, who engineered a number of their albums.

And now the band’s fifth album, Developer, originally released in 2005 by Matador, is getting a remastered, expanded, vinyl+CD-only edition that includes five Japanese-only bonus tracks. Unlike, say, a DIrector’s Cut of a film, this expanded edition brings back all the tracks the band didn’t want to include in the original release because they thought they were too conventional.

“If you want to hear the catchiest songs we recorded at that time – aside from Never Met A Man I Didn’t Like – they’re all on the extra record,” says Midyett on the album’s one-sheet, adding that the original version was Albini’s favorite Silkworm album. 

Anyway, the new expanded version comes out Feb. 21 on Comedy Minus One Records. Order your copy here. Here’s one of the additional tracks:

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Conor Oberst’s new record label, Million Stars, continues to grow its roster with the addition of Alex Orange Drink, whose new album Victory Lap (#23), drops May 9 (preorder here). Alex Orange Drink is Alex Zarou Levine, singer/songwriter for The So So Glos, and the album was recorded while he was undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer. The first single, the super-druggy “Queen Victoria,” features Oberst. Check it below. 

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The Lincoln Exposed Festival kicks off tonight. The good news for concert-goers: This snow will be out of the way before the first band plays. The bad news: Windchills are expected to be well below zero for the balance of the festival. This would have been fun fest… in March or April.

Ah, but if you live in Lincoln, who cares, right? All the clubs are located on the same block. I thought about going Thursday night, but if the temps and winds are as bad as they say, my attendance is questionable. 

I previewed the festival last week, here, and included an embedded player and links to a Spotify playlist. For regular Lazy-i readers (i.e., indie music fans) who are still scratching their heads over who they should check out, here’s my list of must see’s after spending a few hours with that playlist: Domestica, Floating Opera, Vempire, Sweats, Her Flyaway Manner, Josh Hoyer, Estrogen Projection, Thirst Things First, Head of Femur. Minor Movements, Goosehens, LaPerm, Verse and the Vices, Ghostlike., Slow, Pioneers!, Obscurants, M.A.N., Vera Devorah, Social Cinema and The Credentials. I know there are a ton I missed as that Spotify playlist was far from complete. Bundle up and check it out. All the festival info including schedules is right here.

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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Another no-touring-indie-bands weekend. It might be a good time to point out to those not keeping score at home: Almost all touring-indie shows coming to Omaha in the coming months are taking place during the week (a ton are scheduled on Monday nights). When you live in a small market surrounded by important tour-stop cities like KC, Minneapolis, Chicago and Denver – who get the weekend gigs – you’re going to be left with a lot of Monday night shows (if you’re lucky). 

That leaves weekends for the locals. But not tonight as there are no indie shows to speak of, but since it is the first Friday of the month that means it’s Benson First Friday! 

Art galleries and businesses up and down Maple Street are hosting art shows this evening, including Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple St., which tonight is featuring the art from the father-and-son team of Brad and Howard Thiel. Titled “The Enemy Within,” the show is “an effort to come to terms with the result of the 2024 presidential election...” Is that even possible? Find out! Booze and treats will be served from 6 to 9 p.m. Come by and say hi.

Tomorrow night (Saturday), Shakedown Street (the bar formerly known at the Barley Street Tavern) is hosting  newish band Mono in Stereo (singer/guitarist/songwriter Charles McNeil (Brian Jones Was Murdered); bassist Marty Amsler (legendary ’90s Lincoln act The Millions), guitarist James MacDougall, and drummer Joe Eichoff (The End in Red). Joining them is Lincoln band Red Cities. 8 p.m. start time and an old-school $5 cover charge. 

Also Saturday night, the weekly free concert series continues at fabulous O’Leaver’s with four bands I’ve never heard of: Ronette Lee, Sundown Effect, Wayne Infamous and The Dangerous Moment. The Ronette Lee track below is reminiscent of early Cowboy Junkies (promising!), but it’s from 2005, so… NO start time given but it’s probably 9 p.m. FREE!!

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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Way back in January, I posted about the big 20th Anniversary edition of Lincoln Exposed, which begins next Wednesday (Feb. 12) in downtown Lincoln. We’re talking more than 100 bands representing multiple genres playing at five downtown Lincoln venues. 

In that post, I admitted that I was unfamiliar with the majority of the bands performing and suggested to organizer Dustin “Duff” Hunke that it would be grand if someone put together either an online event program with detailed band description or – better yet – a playlist of participating bands…

Lo and behold, whilst perusing Spotify this morning, I stumbled upon the Lincoln Exposed 2025 playlist, created by Jessica Yockey. This public playlist is available in Spotify right here and via the embedded player below. 

And it’s a good thing you’re learning about it now because the list is comprised of 336 songs totaling more than 21 hours of music. What better way to spend your weekend than previewing most of the bands that will be presented on Lincoln’s stages next week? In addition to helping provide a guidepost for festival goers, this playlist is “exposing” folks to some of the best music Lincoln has to offer. 

More info about Lincoln Exposed 2025 is available from the Lincoln Exposed Facebook event page, including a full schedule and ticket information. 

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Yesterday, Bright Eyes announced it finally rescheduled — and moved — their previously cancelled Omaha concert date. Bright Eyes is now scheduled to play at The Astro in La Vista April 27, with Cursive opening the show. This concert was originally scheduled for Steelhouse Omaha, who I guess must have passed on the offer for one reason or another. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday) at 10 a.m. 

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In other Steelhouse Omaha news, the venue’s promoter, Live Nation Concerts, is having a “Valentine’s Day” BOGO sale for shows whose ticket sales are… lacking. This includes the upcoming Molchat Doma/Sextile show Feb. 24. Use code LOVEDAY25 to unlock the deal. Offer ends Feb. 14 at 11:59pm CT. Full details and all shows being offered are right here. 

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Tonight at The Waiting Room, Real Estate headlines. The New Jersey dream-pop band led by singer/songwriter Martin Courtney had a break-out album last year with Daniel (2024, Domino Records), which had a track that made it onto my annual comp CD (whoop whoop!). Queens-by-way-of-Nashville indie band Grumpy opens the show at 8 p.m. $35.

Also tonight, Grammy superstar drummer and composer Mark Guiliana is performing at Low End in the Bemis Center, 724 So. 12th St. in the Old Market. Guiliana has worked with such acts as St. Vincent, M83, Meshell Ndegeocello, and even played on David Bowie’s Blackstar album. This free event at starts at 8 p.m. More info here.

 

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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.