by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The story started going around yesterday, spread by an “insider,” and this morning Kevin Coffey made it official in the Omaha World-Herald (story here). The story — the Red Sky Music Festival has decided to cut its “festival” a day short, dropping its evening headliner spot for Saturday night altogether. Wow.

The primary quote from Kevin’s article:

“With the dates we selected, we just couldn’t find something there for that sixth evening,” said Jason Wright, vice president of booking for Live Nation Midwest. “When you’re in a limited window to work with, you’re at the mercy of the touring community. Anyone that was touring this summer, we tried to see if there was a possibility to make work. There was nothing that was available to us on that particular evening.”

Of course that’s complete bullshit. It’s a classic example of “go big or don’t go at all.” With the kind of cash MECA has to throw around they could easily have booked a band to fill that Saturday night slot. It just wouldn’t have been a band as huge as U2 or Jimmy Buffett or as Kevin suggests in his article, Lil’ Wayne or Jay-Z. Believe me, Live Nation has access to a lot of cool bands (though you wouldn’t know it by looking at the actual Red Sky line-up), they could have found an act, and I’m willing to bet Live Nation suggested quite a few to MECA, who turned them down because “It’s the last night of the festival, we have to have someone bigger than that,” or more likely “I’ve never heard of those guys, no.”

MAHA organizer Tre Brashear’s defense of MECA and Live Nation in Kevin’s piece —  “I think people do labor under an assumption that it’s like going to a restaurant and picking off a menu. It’s just not that way” — is true. But somehow with a sliver of the budget that MECA has to work with MAHA has managed to put together a festival that blows away Red Sky, and does it with only one day’s worth of entertainment.

This is what happens when you turn to a conglomerate like Live Nation, who already has its hands full with more established and better-curated festivals (Sasquatch, for example, which boasts Death Cab, Decemberists, Modest Mouse, Bright Eyes…) and built-in assumptions about a Nebraska market, and you have a governing body involved like MECA, who comes off like an uncool uncle — the one who spends all day listening to sports talk radio — trying to select the music to be played at his niece’s Sweet 16 birthday party.

Imagine what One Percent could have put together with MECA’s budget…

And where is MECA in all this? According to Kevin’s OWH article: “MECA officials deferred comment to Live Nation.” Presumably MECA’s PR hack, who also goes by the name Pontius, was washing his/her hands at the time of this proclamation. Well, there’s no hiding from this one. This is MECA’s festival and MECA’s responsibility. The blame lands squarely on their shoulders.

* * *

Not much going on tonight, but tomorrow night’s looking good.

At red hot Barley Street Tavern Gus & Call plays a show with The Low End and Ted Stevens of Cursive. $5, 9 p.m.

Also tomorrow night, it’s the return of Pinkerton, a Weezer tribute band (that performs songs only from the first two albums) whose lineup includes Clint Schnase (ex-Cursive) and Stephen Pedersen (Criteria). I’m not sure who rounds out the band, but they’re probably superstars as well. The show’s at The Waiting Room. Live karaoke band Girl Drink Drunk opens. 9 p.m., $7.

* * *

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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

One show worth mentioning tonight: Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship is playing at The Waiting Room with The Fucking Party and Dads. $7, 9 p.m.

Is it me or is there a preponderance of bands these days that use the word “Fuck” in their name? I think the first band I know of that used the F-word in its name was a noodly Oakland indie-slacker band simply called Fuck who was signed to Matador Records for a brief time in the late ’90s. Since then, there’s Fucked Up, Holy Fuck, The Condo Fucks, the Fuck Buttons and now Omaha’s own The Fucking Party, a name that would have been shocking 15 or 20 years ago but now just seems, meh. It’s impossible to shock anyone these days, especially with the advent of the Internet.  If the point of using the F-word in your name was to attract attention, well it just doesn’t work anymore. In fact, there may be nothing but downside, as using the F-word is just offensive enough to keep your band’s name out of the paper and off showbills. And if that’s the case, what’s the fucking point?

* * *

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.

Bright Eyes at Westfair Amphitheater, June 4, 2011

Column 326: Live Review: Bright Eyes at Westfair Amphiteater, 6/4/11

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I begin what seems like my 100th review of a Bright Eyes concert by saying that last Saturday night’s performance at Westfair Amphitheater may have been their best.

Simple put, Conor Oberst put on a rock concert. Not an indie-folk show; not an “intimate acoustic evening of personal confessions.” A rock concert. As heavy a show as he’s probably capable of or would ever want to do. You can say you witnessed Bright Eyes at its peak, if you were there.

It’s a shame so few people were. It would be generous to say 500 were in the crowd by the time I arrived at Westfair at around 7:30. David Bazan a.k.a. Pedro the Lion was finishing a set of droll, dead-pan voiced indie rock songs; it was still light out when Jenny and Johnny hit the stage just after 8, playing what felt like the identical set played at their Waiting Room gig last September.

A few words about the Westfair Amphitheater, a concert venue that’s been around for years but that I’ve never stepped foot in mainly because its usual programming involves Monsters of Rock and/or River-sponsored goon fests. To my knowledge Westfair has never hosted an indie rock show. Hopefully that will change in the future.

The venue is a huge natural amphitheater, sort of like Memorial Park but with steeper slopes and a giant permanent cow palace-style stage. Fans can huddle on the concrete slab in front or set up camp on the grassy banks. Beer tents stood by the sound board and along the ridge where food tents shoveled out pizza and nachos.

No Smoking signs were posted along the perimeter fencing. Considerate smokers were herded to a tiny “smoking corral” at the top of the bowl, presumably away from the healthy people, while the rebels casually lit up throughout the compound, the blue-shirted security bulls casting a blind eye.

A VIP area fenced off with fluorescent orange netting stood along the steep bank off stage right. Inside, members of the Saddle Creek family and their families, friends and bandmates chatted and drank beers — gray-haired men mixed with skinny-jeaned hipsters greeting every visitor with deep hugs and smiles.

Jenny & Johnny, Westfair, 6/4/11

Killing the love buzz from stage was surly “Johnny” Rice, who bragged about “throttling” an investment banker during a Christmas family gathering. “And I only wish I could extend the same to the motherfuckers at Goldman Sachs and ING.” Please. Johnathan Rice is a lot of things, but he ain’t a tough guy.

Jenny and Johnny’s 45-minute set closed with a Rilo Kiley song, “Silver Lining,” that had little Jenny Lewis singing, “Hurray, hurray, I’m your silver lining / Hurray Hurray, but now I’m gold” as dusk set in.

It was almost dark when Bright Eyes finally arrived. The crowd, which had ballooned to what looked like a little over 1,000, erupted when the stage lights dropped and a recording came on of crazy Denny Brewer of Refried Icecream doing his now famous spaceship rant that leads into “Firewall,” the opening number on The People’s Key and among only five songs performed from Bright Eyes’ latest album.

On stage, Oberst and his band glowed pink and purple, their microphone stands lit with strings of LED lights. Behind two glowing umbrella-like stage shells was a large JumboTron that showed video close-ups of a guitar strumming or drums or keyboards or colorful abstract images.

Oberst was clearly in a good mood — a rarity back in the old Wide Awake days. Looking natural with guitar in hand, he put it down only for one keyboard tune and during “Approximate Sunlight,” a low-slung rock song passing as a hip-hop number that saw Oberst strutting around stage like the whitest MC in America, selling each lyric with hand gestures in classic Team Rigge fashion. Awkward. He leaned over the edge of the stage spitting out lines, touching outstretched hands.

Most of the set was a selection from albums past, including chestnuts “Falling Out of Love at This Volume,” and “A Celebration Upon Completion,” both from Bright Eyes’ debut A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997.

There were a few somber moments, but for the most part it was a heavy set driven by The Faint’s Clark Baechle, the best drummer Oberst has ever played with. The guitars were huge and loud. If it had been recorded, this could have been Oberst’s Live at Budokan.

Critics around the country are selling it as Bright Eyes’ farewell tour, and I’m still not sure why. Eyebrows were raised the first time Oberst mentioned he might retire the Bright Eyes moniker. I didn’t believe it; I didn’t care. Oberst is Bright Eyes. But I’ve seen his solo/Mystic Valley/Monsters of Folk outings. None of them had a tenth of the energy on stage Saturday night.

Bright Eyes will always be Oberst’s sweet spot for reasons I’m not entirely sure. Since Cassadaga, he has walked out on stage and stuck the landing every night. It helps that his Bright Eyes’ oeuvre blows away his other projects’ best songs. None of his solo output comes near BE classics like “Lover You Don’t Have to Love” or “Lua” or “Waste of Paint.” And despite being his weakest album since Digital Ash in a Digital Urn,The People’s Key is still better than any of his solo records.

After this endless tour finally ends, Conor Oberst may take a different guise, but we haven’t seen the last of Bright Eyes.

* * *

This one is on my radar simply because of the band’s name — Union Specific, whose catchphrase is “Building Americana.” Nice. The Austin band is playing tonight at Duffy’s in Lincoln with The Betties, Travelling Mercies and Manny Coon. Can’t seem to find a price for this one; starts at 9 p.m. According to the Union Specific website, they band is playing at Crane’s Coffee here in Omaha tomorrow, while hearnebraska.org has them playing at the Fort Cody Trading Post in North Platte tomorrow. I have no idea which one’s right, so buyer beware…

* * *

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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West of Lewis & Clark Landing. "Stone icon" at top of path.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The ever-rising Missouri River is forcing a number of events slated for the Lewis and Clark Landing to move to higher, drier ground.

Among them is one of the best concert events of the summer — Playing with Fire. Slated for July 16 at the Landing, this year’s free concert features an absolute plum of a performer in Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings — a band whose popularity spans multiple genres and generations. Reportedly the last-ever PWF concert, the series, which begin in 2004, is going out with a seismic bang.

With flood waters threatening, the event is leaving the Landing and headed west, but not too far west, said PWF organizer Jeff Davis.

Davis said the concert is moving to “the furthest parking lot west of Rick’s Boat Yard, where that stone icon is. That will be the back of our stage, and the bands will play to the northwest, down the slope and concrete parking lot, directly toward the Qwest Center.”

Unsure exactly where Davis is talking about, I scouted out the location Sunday afternoon. The above picture is looking south, toward the stone icon. “If you go to the stone icon, between the two west parking lots, then just immediately north will be our stage, parallel to the footbridge. It goes back 600 feet.

“It’s not the best deal because the bands will be playing downhill to all that grass,” Davis said, “but it’s the best place available to us. By square footage (the area) is bigger than the landing.”

Davis expects the show to draw more people that the largest PWF concert, Johnny Winter, who drew 12,000 people. “We figure we’ll draw at least 10,000 and will have no problem if we have 15,000,” he said. “We’re still working on generators and fencing. The logistics will really change. I’ve done 42 shows at the landing, and can do them in my sleep. Now we’re faced with putting a stage in a different place and a whole different set up.”

Davis gave high praise to the City of Omaha’s Parks Department personnel. “They’ve been phenomenal to work with,” he said. “They really stepped up to help us. The best complement I can give is that I’d hire you, and I’d hire every one of those guys.”

Davis said despite the finality of the concert, he wants to continue the Playing With Fire series. “We need a presenting sponsor that believes in what we’re doing,” he said. “If 15,000 people come and word gets out, that will help us.”

Now for the next question: Where will the MAHA Music Festival be relocated? Stay tuned…

* * *

Returning from a 5,000-mile 2-week tour, singer/songwriter/rocker John Klemmensen and the Party performs tonight at The Barley Stree Tavern with Bret Volk (Underwater Dream Machine), Andrew Baille (Moscow Mule) and Matt Mclarney (Old Money/Satchel Grande). Free, 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.

Iron & Wine at Slowdown, June 5, 2011

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Where’s the Bright Eyes review? It’ll be online and in print Thursday.

Now what about last night? The best thing you can say about any opening band’s performance — especially a band whose material you’ve never heard before — is that it made you want to seek out and acquire some of their recordings. That was the case for The Head and the Heart, who opened for Iron & Wine at a sold-out big room show at Slowdown last night.

The Head and the Heart at Slowdown, 6/5/11.

I went in knowing next to nothing about the band and left wanting to hear more. At first blush, they seemed like your run-of-the-mill indie folk act complete with a neck-bearded frontman. But as their set rolled on, it was obvious that there was more to them. Big-hook melodies, gorgeous sing-along harmonies and dense instrumentation. Think of Okkervil River combined with Beach House and The Decemberists and you’re getting there. All the vocalists were good, but it’s the contrast of violinist/vocalist Charity Rose Thielen that added the real dimension. They closed with a song that ended with layered, multi-part harmonies. And the crowd went nuts. Where is it written that openers can’t do encores?

Looking all formal and Zack Galifianakis-like in his intimidating dark suit, Iron & Wine frontman Sam Beam took charge of a huge ensemble that included a small woodwind/brass section, turning the Slowdown into his own private lounge. The smoky opening number made me think of an indie-version of yacht rock, but Beam took it into more swampy territory for a set that pulled together old and new into something altogether different. With two women back-up singers, the harmonies at times reminded me of ’60s CSNY folk, while other songs found a groove that Beam and his band stretched out over for five or 10 minutes without getting boring. With his wry asides and clever smile, you can tell this guy doesn’t take it too seriously, and that relaxed nature made it all sound perfect. This could go down as a top-10 show for ’11.

* * *

According to One Percent, the Langhorne Slim show slated for tonight at TWR had been cancelled due to illnesses.

* * *

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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

If you missed Kite Pilot when they played at the boats in CB a few months ago, you’ve got another chance to catch them tonight at The Barley Street Tavern (which is quickly becoming one of the hottest tiny indie music spots in Omaha). The band opens for edgy, angry noise punk band Techlepathy and angular mathematicians Well Aimed Arrows (who have the best new album that you’ve never heard). As you know, if you combined one member of Kite Pilot (Erica) with two members of Well Aimed Arrows (Koly and Clayton) you would get a reunion of seminal Omaha punk band The Protoculture

. Maybe as a special birthday gift to me the trio will get together for a rendition of “My New Laugh.” I’m not holding my breath…

Meanwhile, over at Slowdown Jr., Saturn Moth plays with Lincoln punkers Her Flyaway Manner and Blue Rosa. $5, 9 p.m.

And over at O’Leaver’s it’s Honey & Darling with Everyday/Everynight and Betsy Wells. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday afternoon the S.S. Bright Eyes anchors for the evening at Westfair Amphitheater in Council Bluffs for the only local Bright Eyes stop on The People’s Key tour (so far). Never been to Westfair? Neither have I. According to their website, it’s located two miles east of I-80 on Hwy 6 (Exit 8). There’s a mapquest on the website. I mean, how hard can it be to find? Opening the show is Con Dios, David Bazan (of Pedro and the Lion) and Jenny and Johnny. Gates at 5, concert at 5:30. $25 tix available online via etix right here.

If you’re not going to Bright Eyes, there’s a ton of other worthy shows going on Saturday night:

Domestica (Heidi and Jon from Mercy Rule) are back with a new drummer who’ll  make his Omaha debut at O’Leaver’s Saturday night with Wagon Blasters (Gary Dean Davis’ rig) and St. Louis legacy band Bunnygrunt. $5, 9:30 p.m.

The Barley Street has Blue Bird with Pony Wars (Craig Korth’s new band) and Death of a Taxpayer. $5, 9 p.m.

And I’d be remiss in forgetting to mention my nephew Christopher’s death metal band, Blessed Are the Merciless, are playing the Great American Metal BBQ at Sokol Underground tomorrow at 8 p.m. $8+pain.

Finally, on Sunday, it’s the long sold out Iron & Wine show at Slowdown with The Head and The Heart. 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.

Conor's the one on the left...

Column 325: Chasing Conor: A look back on 13 years of interviews

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

We were driving downtown in my Mini Cooper this past weekend when a Bright Eyes song came on the iPod connected to my car stereo. I leaned forward and skipped past it. Teresa shot me a glance, and I said, “I’m mad at him right now.”

I’d been going back and forth with Bright Eyes’ publicist, Press Here Publicity, since last December trying to line up an interview with Conor Oberst in conjunction with Bright Eyes’ latest album, The People’s Key, which came out on Saddle Creek Records in February. At the time, Oberst was talking to any member of the national press that was willing to listen. Interviews appeared in all the usual magazines, Rolling Stone, SPIN, etc. It wasn’t until February that I got a response: “Conor generally doesn’t do much press while on tour, so it’s safe to say he will likely wait for a local date” — i.e., until the S.S. Bright Eyes docked in Omaha or thereabouts, in this case, the Westfair Amphitheater June 4.

I’ve interviewed Oberst upon the release of every full-length Bright Eyes album since 1998’s Letting Off the Happiness, his first record after leaving seminal local-that-became-national emo band Commander Venus. CV was one of those bands that I remember playing at places like the Capitol Bar and Grill, a shrieking trainwreck of a band that thrived on its unique energy. We’re all still waiting for the inevitable Commander Venus reunion, which I’ve been told will never happen.

Anyway, it was Dave Sink, who ran the Antiquarium Record Store in the Old Market, who suggested that I interview Oberst. It seemed like Conor and his ever-changing cast of sidemen played at a different club every weekend back then, to crowds that numbered in the 30s. Some nights it was just Oberst struggling through the set with his acoustic guitar, a twitching mess of angst constantly pushing his eyeglasses back up his nose.

That first interview took place in an apartment that would go by a dozen names, including Gunboat and The Jerk Store. Always a gracious interview, Oberst, then 18, recalled his musical origins, Commander Venus and its breakup, and took me right up to the present.

“The hardest part is the touring — setting up the gigs and affording it,” Oberst said back then. “I’d love to make a living playing music, but the easiest way to do that is to compromise what you’re doing. You cease caring about what you’re doing and caring more about what people think about what you’re doing. All’s I want is to make enough money to live – which is having an apartment and a shitty car. I don’t need a house, but it would be nice.”

Fevers and Mirrors came out two years later. By then, Bright Eyes had emerged as a national force. The first “young Dylan” comparisons began popping up. The album was threatening to break the CMJ top-20 — a big deal. Road trips included whirlwind tours of Japan. Our second interview took place on an upper-floor balcony area of his parents’ midtown home. He was already getting annoyed by fame, or so he said.

“But then there’s all these drawbacks you never thought of, like the press and the whole idea of so many people knowing about you and what you do and your opinions,” Oberst said during the interview. “And then there’s the money people. It can get bad. It comes down to making smart decisions and playing with people who seem honest and good, and trying to ignore the rest of the shit. Some people succeed with that and a lot go crazy and decide to go hide in a cabin. Now I can understand why.”

Two years later, Saddle Creek released Lifted, or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, considered by many (including myself) to be his masterwork. We met over coffee at Caffeine Dreams. Oberst seemed nervous and out of sorts the whole time. He talked about his guilt toward long-time fans.

“It gets hard,” he said during the interview. “You feel like an asshole for forgetting people over time. For the most part, everyone understands. It was way easier in the past. You could roll into a town and play for 100 kids and ask for a place to stay and get taken to someone’s house and party. Now it’s not like that. There’s more of a barrier between us and the audience. I want to make relationships with people, but I don’t even have time to be good friends with my actual friends.”

By the time of our 2004 interview for I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, the writing was on the wall. Oberst had moved to New York City and was hob-knobbing with the likes of Springsteen and Michael Stipe. Despite being a phoner, he was candid and open.

“Music is still the main thing. I feel the best when I’m playing and recording,” he said during the interview. “The rest of the world just kind of washes away, and I feel good and safe and happy. That’s what I do it for. The rest of it… it gets crazy and sometimes unpleasant; exhilarating and sometimes terrifying. But that’s what living is — all that stuff at once, and you have to do the best you can with it.”

Our 2007 interview for Cassadaga took place in an empty Saddle Creek Bar late in the afternoon. Along for the ride was Neva Dinova frontman Jake Bellows. Oberst never seemed more relaxed. Having recently moved back to Omaha, it was as if he’d come to some sort of peace with his career.

That was the last time I spoke to Oberst. The final response to my interview requests came a couple weeks ago: “Conor is taking a break between legs of the Bright Eyes tour and is not doing any promo,” the e-mail said. “Unfortunately, we won’t be able to accommodate your request this time around.”

So I guess this is where the story ends, for now.

* * *

And in case you were wondering if Conor simply quit doing interviews, here’s one that he did with The Denver Post that went online this morning, conducted May 21.

* * *

BTW, tix are still available for Saturday’s Westfair Amphitheater show, which in addition to Bright Eyes includes Jenny & Johnny, David Bazan, and Con Dios. They’re $25, and available online here

. Show starts at 5:30 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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Every morning when I arrive at work, after I feed my pet condors, I gaze out the window of my 15th Floor aerie/office and visually survey the rising waters of the mighty Missouri. These days, Rick’s Boat Yard looks like an island floating above a sea of of mud as the water creeps ever closer to the bottom of the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge along the east bank. Ah, Mother Nature, you vex me so…

With reports that the waters will continue to rise and aren’t likely to recede this summer, I began to ponder how the destructive force of nature would impact the MAHA Music Festival. Sure, the “big show” isn’t scheduled until mid-August, but even that may not be long enough for the waters to be clear of Lewis & Clark Landing, where it’s slated to be held.

MAHA Music Festival organizer Tre Breshear said the flooding problem has been on the festival committee’s minds. “Oh, yes, we’ve been discussing,” he said. “Everything through July on the Landing has been told to move, including Playing With Fire. Haven’t heard yet where they will land.  We have not been told to move yet, but are currently investigating feasibility/pricing/liquor issues/etc. of other locations so we are prepared.”

The fine folks at The Omaha World-Herald apparently were reading my mind (again). Tre pointed me to this online story, which has more details about other events being disrupted at the Landing.

With a crowd that likely will be smaller than 5,000, there would appear to be a number of options for MAHA, including moving to various local parks. The obvious choice (to me) would be to move the festival to the brand-spanking new Werner Ball Park in Sarpy County. The Stormchasers will be on the road around the dates of the festival, leaving the facility wide open except for the Selena Gomez and The Scene concert at the stadium the night before. With booze permits already in place, it would seem a natural option, though one would think that the facility’s own vendors would take away some of the booze revenues that MAHA would otherwise have received down at the Landing.

Other options that come to mind are Turner Park (Midtown Crossing) and the Creighton soccer field (Morrison Stadium). One assumes Anchor Inn is submerged and that NP Dodge Park also is unusable. Brashear isn’t saying what MAHA is contemplating, just that they’re contemplating.

Playing With Fire may face a bigger challenge. The concert is slated for July 16 on Lewis & Clark Landing and features a pearl of a band in Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, an act that crosses multiple genres, from blues to R&B to funk to rock, and is a darling among indie music fans. Add to that the fact that it’s a free concert, and you could see north of 7,000 drawn to this show. Where to put it? It has to be an alcohol friendly location since booze sales are a big part of the concert series’ revenue stream. A Stormchasers home game would appear to take Werner Park out of the equation… or would it?

* * *

I’m told Kyle Harvey designed the poster for tonight’s show at The Barley Street Tavern featuring ukulele sensation All Young Girls Are Machine Guns (shown at left). If so, he’ll be hearing from the fine lawyers at Walt Disney Productions any moment now… Also on the bill, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Adrian Bourgeois & Ricky Berger. $5, 9 p.m.

* * *

Tomorrow’s column: Chasing Conor…

* * *

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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

In case you missed it, there was an update posted yesterday (which you can read here

) that talked about MAHA local showcases and McCarthy Trenching and Big Harp, etc. Read it if you haven’t.

Tonight at The Waiting Room, it’s the return of The Thermals. The Portland band (was signed to Sub Pop, and now to Kill Rock Stars) has been coming ’round these parts for years. Opening band Morning Teleportation also hails from Portland and has a jangle-indie sound that borders on chamber pop. Also opening is local heroes Little Brazil, back in town smack-dab in the middle of tour. All three for $12. 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.

by TIm McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I swung by The Barley Street Tavern last night for Orenda Fink/McCarthy Trenching, and it was (as expected) a packed house, which means there were more than 50 people in the bar’s “music room,” where folk stood along the wall in the back and women sat on their boyfriends’ laps. Another 20 or so people were pushed into the main bar area, content with watching the performance on the security monitor-style camera above the bar.

Yeah, it was crowded, but had you wanted to see the show, you could have. I caught the last few songs by Whispertown’s Morgan Nagler, one of which was accompanied by Fink and another two accompanied by Omaha ex-pat Jake Bellows. Nagler had an innocent, some might say childlike, flair to her simple acoustic ballads. Bellows took over right after her set and played five or six solo acoustic tunes, sounding better than ever. He remains one of Omaha’s best lonely-heart crooners, like an Elvis lost on a desert island.

Dan McCarthy came on at around 11, taking advantage of the Barley’s house piano, which he said was made in 1917 and last tuned in 1918. Despite that, the rustic keyboard sounded perfect for his style of Randy Newman-meets-Chuck Brodsky-meets Tom Waits folk balladry, which included a few Scott Joplin rags. A couple members of hot new band Gus & Call joined him in the middle of the set (playing stand-up bass and that piano) when McCarthy picked up an acoustic guitar. He eventually made his way back to the piano and was still at it when I left at midnight, too tired to wait for Orenda (unless, of course, she played before Whispertown, which I do not know). The crowd had a hipster wedding reception feel to it, consisting of members of the Saddle Creek Records family and their friends and colleagues, all out to “welcome back” Orenda and Todd Fink to Omaha.

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The folks at the MAHA Music Festival took a decidedly smart turn in how they picked the bands for their local stage this year — three of the five bands were chosen by folks involved with hearnebraska.org (including myself as an HN board member, though only one of the three bands chosen were on my list). As a requirement for accepting the local-stage gig, each band was tasked with curating one pre-festival showcase, where they would play along with two or three other bands of their choosing. Last Friday MAHA announced the line-up for these showcase events.

Strongest of the three is the showcase curated by So-So Sailors at Slowdown July 28. Playing along with SSS will be power-punk band Millions of Boys, the more traditional indie stylings of Fortnight, and one of the area’s best punk/garage/new wave rock bands, Digital Leather, who (one could argue) should have been in consideration for one of those three MAHA local stage spots.

The other Omaha showcase will be held June 22 at The Waiting Room, curated by Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship. Joining them will be New Lungs, a new trio featuring Danny Maxwell of Little Brazil on guitar and vocals, drummer Corey Broman and bassist Craig Fort. Think Polvo meets Dinosaur Jr. meets Mission of Burma meets classic ’90s Linoma punk. Also on the bill are noise rockers Ketchup and Mustard Gas.

And finally, there’s the Lincoln showcase curated by The Machete Archive to be held at Duffy’s Tavern July 1. Joining Machete will be Her Flyaway Manner, Irkutsk and Powerful Science. Brendan McGinn’s HFN has been around for years playing brutal, Fugazi-inspired punk. I can’t say as I know a thing about the other two bands.

All three showcases are all-ages events and absolutely free, so you best mark them down on your calendar.

There’s still one more MAHA local stage spot up for grabs, which will be determined by a public-vote talent competition as part of the OEA Summer Showcase July 8-9 in Benson.

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One final bit of news: Judging by their Facebook fan page, it looks like Big Harp, the husband-and-wife duo of Chris Senseney (Baby Walrus) and Stefanie Drootin-Senseney (The Good Life, Consafos) are the latest “signing” by Saddle Creek Records. They’re still not listed on the Creek site, but I’m sure that’ll come any day now. It’s good to see Creek continuing to sign new talent in this era of music industry decline…

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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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.