The Cars, circa now.

Column 322: Can The Cars Make a Comeback in a Modern Age?

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This started as a simple review of The Cars’ new album, Move Like This, which was released on Concord Music this past Tuesday. It’s the band’s first studio album since 1987’s Door to Door, and the first since the death of bassist / vocalist Ben Orr of pancreatic cancer in 2000.

If you grew up listening to The Cars or are just a fan, you’re going to love this record. It has all the classic Cars qualities — Ric Ocasek’s yelping vocals and infectious melodies, Elliot Easton’s blazing guitar riffs, Greg Hawkes’ quirky neon-pink keyboard touches and David Robinson’s usual metronomic percussion. The only thing missing is Orr’s dreamy, ballad vocals, and of course, his amazing harmonies, which were central to The Cars’ sound. I’m not sure who’s handling the harmonies these days, but they’re there, and somehow the band manages to muddle through despite Orr’s irreplaceable loss.

The Cars, Move Like This (2011, Concord Music)

Actually, they do more than just muddle through. Move Like This is hands-down better than 1980’s Panorama and miles better than their presumed swansong, Door to Door. In a perfect world, this would have been their follow-up to 1984’s Heartbeat City, the strangely modern (for its time) sinister masterpiece that stands as the band’s high-water mark.

But as I sat down to write this glowing review, a question kept running through my mind: No matter how good this record is, would it — could it — find an audience with a new generation of music fans, or is it doomed to merely be considered a quaint reflection of a simpler time?

Let me put it in a way that older readers are more likely to understand. Heartbeat City was released 27 years ago. I remember the first time I heard it on the radio while driving around in my 1978 Ford Fiesta. It seemed modern and edgy back then, certainly more modern than the music released 27 years prior to Heartbeat City, in 1957.

I’ve always considered the pre-Beatles late-fifties as the “Happy Days” era of rock. We’re talking Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, Sam Cooke, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Patti Page, i.e., my parents’ music. Needless to say, I didn’t spend much time listening to the local ’50s radio station when I was a teen-ager. That was old people’s music.

In fact, I considered the music that came out just 17 years prior to Heartbeat City’s release –– the music of 1967 — as hippie stuff, antiquated and quaint, a reflection of a simpler time when every day was lived in the drug-fueled “Living Color” of eternal summertime — at least it always looked like summer in the historic news footage. Music of the ’60s was Freedom Rock — old-fashioned, dusty relics compared to the music that would come out just 10 years after it.

The Cars first album, released in 1978, felt starkly modern compared to the disco hits of The Bee Gees, the schlocky ballads of The Commodores and Billy Joel, and the glam of Nick Gilder and Sweet, all of which had big hits the same year.  Their debut, which included the creepy hit “Moving in Stereo,” along with the album’s follow-up, Candy-O, felt brazenly cutting edge. Candy-O managed to carry the torch of a blossoming New Wave movement, but still had enough pop sensibility with songs like “Let’s Go” and “It’s All I Can Do” to attract a huge, national mainstream audience.

The hits kept coming with 1981’s Shake It Up, though the band’s formula was beginning to tire. Then came Heartbeat City and the beginning of the MTV era. With songs like “You Might Think,” “It’s Not the Night” and “Drive” — and the videos that helped power those songs up the charts — The Cars had effectively reinvented themselves. Despite the singles’ obvious pop leanings, there was something deeper and darker about Heartbeat City. The rumor going ’round was that the album was really a cynical, clever take on the ’80s drug culture; a love story about someone trying to pull a lover or a friend from the abyss of heroin addiction. The more you listened to the record, the more it made sense.

Move Like This doesn’t have any deep, overshadowing pretext to its lyrics, but songs like “Blue Tip, “Sad Song” and “Free” are as hitworthy as anything from any of The Cars’ best albums.

But does any of that matter? In this era of Animal Collective, M.I.A., Lady Gaga and Arcade Fire, can The Cars be considered anything more than colorful nostalgia by the teens and 20-somethings who have never known a world without the Internet or hip-hop (and yes, The Beastie Boys may have a similar problem with their amazing new album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, which is decidedly “old school”)?

Can Move Like This ever be taken seriously next to today’s releases, or will it be relegated to the unfortunate genre known as “Dad Rock”? Will today’s youth think of a band like The Cars the same way I thought of Pat Boone when I was their age? Is good songwriting as relevant now as it was 27 years ago? Is rock and roll timeless? Or all we all just getting old?

* * *

An even better question: How will Move Like This be remembered 27 years from now, in 2038?

* * *

Tonight at The Sydney in Benson, Brad Hoshaw and The Lepers open for Rock Paper Dynamite. $5, 9 p.m. Check out The Sydney’s kick ass new website. How many local characters can you name from the homepage photo?

Also tonight, Chicago-based mash-up freaks The Hood Internet are playing at The Slowdown as part of the Big Omaha Conference. Guaranteed entrance with BO badges is between 7 and 8 p.m., then its $10 tix at the door until it sells out (and it will sell out). 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.

Her Space Holiday at Sokol Underground Oct. 9, 2000.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

What a quiet week. No shows. No news. Is this what it’s like in other cities?

Here a few things worth mentioning that I found in the ol’ e-mail bag.

* * *

Anyone remember Her Space Holiday? Maybe this old review will jog some memories. Seems like HSH was a staple in the ol’ Sokol Underground days. Well, after 15 years, HSH a.k.a. Marc Bianchi, has decided to hang it up with the release of his final album, sensibly titled Her Space Holiday

, on Aug.16. You can check out a track from the album, which is being released on Bianchi’s own No More Good Ideas label, right here at Soundcloud.

* * *

Okkervil River’s new one, I Am Very Far Away, was released yesterday on Jagjaguwar Records. Look for the band this Friday night on Letterman, and get your tickets to the June 14 Slowdown show with Titus Andronicus and Julianna Barwick.

* * *

You’ve only got a few more days to help out Thunder Power. The band is conducting a Kickstarter campaign to generate $2,000 to cover studio costs for a new album. They’re at $1,630 with three days to go. In addition to that “feel-good feeling,” your contribution will garner you some TP swag. Check out their Kickstarter offer here.

* * *

I keep hearing amazing things about Dave Goldberg’s new project, Solid Goldberg. I was out of town for last Saturday night’s gig at The Brothers. We’ll all get another chance to experience the spectacle this Friday night at The Barley Street Tavern when Solid Goldberg plays with Cloven Path (sounds like an O’Leaver’s line-up!).

* * *

Currently on rotation on my iPhone, new ones by The Envy Corp, The Answer Team, Pantha Du Prince, Psychedelic Horshit, Virgin Islands, Thurston Moore and Well Aimed Arrows. Reviews coming soon…

* * *

More Red Sky announcements were made over the past two days. Journey (sans Steve Perry) with Night Ranger, tribute band The Fab Four, Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers, Buddy Guy with special guess Quinn Sullivan and 10,000 Maniacs join the line-up. Just reading that list is making me car sick. 10k Maniacs seems interesting, until you realize Natalie Merchant hasn’t been with the band since, what, 1993?  We now await the inevitable Kid Rock announcement. So far I’ve hit three on the nose in my March skuttlebutt column. If the line-up balances out with KR, Jimmy Buffett and Black Eyed Peas, we’ll have to rename it The Lame Sky Festival.

* * *

Did I say no shows? There is one going on tonight — Jessica Lea Mayfield with Nathaniel Rateliff at The Waiting Room. I know nothing about JLM other than she plays alt country, her new record, Tell Me (Polymer Sounds) was produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, she looks like a model in her promo photo. The last time I saw Rateliff he was playing as part of the duo Born in the Flood opening for DeVotchKa at The Slowdown

in May 2008. $10, 9 p.m.

* * *

Tomorrow’s Column: Can The Cars make a comeback in the modern age?

* *

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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Of Montreal at Slowdown, May 6, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’d heard that Of Montreal’s stage show was a flamboyant circus-like extravaganza that included skits and costume changes, but I wasn’t prepared for the bizarre spectacle I saw Friday night at Slowdown. Strangest moment: Simulated sex between two stage performers in flesh-colored body suits wearing pig-head masks. Most beautiful moment: The scene captured in the above picture involving iridescent metallic body suits and a large iridescent angel/moth costume. Add to that an ongoing wrestling match simulation between various masked performers, a giant blob wearing a gas mask with an enormous crab claw attacking a pig person, and a 12-foot-tall shimmering creature with four arms.

And let’s not forget the actual band, which played a great set of dance-y pop songs fronted by an effeminate Kevin Barnes in hot pants and full make-up.  After the shortish set, the band came out for a couple encores that concluded with a final wrestling match that involved everyone in the band who, one-at-a-time, were tossed or dived into the audience to be carried overhead leaving only the fiddle player on stage, who played a solo version of America the Beautiful before all the musicians and performers returned to stage for a fiddle-powered hoedown. What more could you want from a show?

BTW, this show was well-attended but far from a sell-out (or so it appeared). It was a great crowd, though, that got its aerobic work-outs in on the dance floor. Another aside: Of Montreal used an innovative camera-and-projector system that captured the stage antics, distorted the images, and then projected them onto a huge screen backdrop — the most effective use of projectors I’ve seen at a rock show.

* * *

I continue to get asked what I think of the whole Red Sky Festival situation. I finally told someone yesterday that, really, Red Sky couldn’t be further away from what I cover (which means it couldn’t be further away from what I’m interested in)  especially after last week’s announcement of country superstar Jason Aldean, who I’ve never heard of prior to that announcement. That followed Thursday’s announcement of Better Than Ezra, George Clinton and Cowboy Mouth on the annex stages. Aldean tickets are slightly more than the 311 tix ($54.75, $44.75, $29.75). This sliding scale pricing system is somewhat confusing, especially from a “festival” standpoint, though maybe after all the headliners are announced, Red Sky will announce a one-price-for-everything option. Or maybe not. Perhaps they’re simply viewing this as six days of concerts held in the ball park, each concert seperately priced. Considering your typical 311 fan won’t give two shits about Aldean (and vice versa) this probably makes sense. Instead of a festival, Red Sky is more of a hodge-podge, but it does leave open the possibility that Live Nation will book at least one good alt/indie band during their Week of Banality.

Of more interest is the MAHA Music Festival, and its announcement of three additional main stage bands to join Guided By Voices, Matisyahu and Cursive. When that announcement will be made, no one knows, though one would hope it’s coming soon as MAHA tix are now on sale.

* * *

Let’s face it, last week was pretty strong for shows. But it looks like we’re going to pay for it this week, as I can’t see anything of interest show-wise until Friday night, and of course, Jake’s Fest on Saturday. If you know of something hot going on this week, pass it along…

* * *

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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tUnE-yArDs, whokill (2011, 4AD)

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Of Montreal returns to Omaha again tonight, this time at Slowdown with Painted Palms (Secretly Canadian). Of Montreal played Sokol Auditorium lasts October. This should be quite an upgrade venue-wise. Tickets are still available for $25. Show starts at 9.

Speaking of returning artists, the Nadas return to The Waiting Room tonight; they were just at TWR last December. Opening is Lonely Estates. $15, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night its tUnE-yArDs at Slowdown Jr. with Buke and Gass. Tune-Yards (I’m already tired of their wonky capitalization) have a huge hit on their hands with whokill (4AD), one of the best albums I’ve heard so far this year and a quantum jump in quality ahead of their debut, 2009’s Bird Brains.  I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this one sold out. $8, 9 p.m.

The other hot show Saturday night is Dave Goldberg’s new project, Solid Goldberg, at The Brothers with Bullet Proof Hearts and R.A.F. SG is riding a wave of hype after opening for Black Lips a couple weeks ago. Expect to be blown away. Bullet Proof Hearts is Mark Blackman’s latest project, fronted by Kevin Moran on guitar/vocals. No idea on the door, but it’s usually around $5. Show should start at 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, Bazooka Shootout headlines a show at The Barley Street Tavern with We Live in Sod Houses, Cheers and Down Came the Train. $5, 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 321: Omaha Girls Rock is about more than rock and roll

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I was drawn to Slowdown last Sunday night not only because the lineup was stellar (Fortnight, Honeybee and Hers, Conduits and The Good Life), but because I was down with the message behind organization “Omaha Girls Rock.”

But before we get to that, let’s turn to Stefanie Drootin, founder and executive director of OGR. As a member of The Good Life, Drootin is among the best bass players Omaha has ever seen. When I asked her about her motives behind forming OGR, she recalled a story that she characterized as a “funny example,” that was anything but funny.

“Years back, when The Good Life was touring with Rilo Kiley, we were at a Brooklyn club during sound check and the bouncer kept trying to kick me and Jenny Lewis out of the club,” she said. “We told him we were in the band, and he said, ‘No you’re not, you’re groupies following the boys.’ And I said ‘Dude, Jenny’s the lead singer.‘”

It would be easy to simply chock this up as just another example of a thick-headed bouncer who’s suffered one too many blows to the head, except there’s obviously more to it than that, and Drootin knew it, along with every other touring woman musician who’s been asked, “So which dude in the band is your boyfriend?” or “Hey merch girl, where do you want to set up your table?”

Because despite the efforts of Janis Joplin and Tina Weymouth and Patti Smith and Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde and Debbie Harry and Ani Difranco and Liz Phair and Siouxie Sioux and Kim Deal and Mia Zappata and Kat Bjelland and Tina Turner and Shirley Manson and Beth Gibbons and Joni Mitchell and Heidi Ore and Stef Drootin and every other woman who’s strapped on a guitar or sat behind a drum kit or keyboard or stood alone behind a microphone at the front of the stage, rock ‘n’ roll has always been perceived as a boy’s club. A club where women on stage are viewed as oddities or gimmicks or eye candy or “obviously” someone’s girlfriend (especially if she plays bass). Where a girl with a guitar is not a musician, but a “female musician.” Where any band in which more than half the musicians are women is referred to as a “girls group” (and when was the last time an all-male band was called a “boys group”?).

Drootin knows this. So do the 29 other musicians and people involved in our music scene who are listed on the volunteers page of omahagirlsrock.com. It’s a list that could also double as a roll call of some if the best musicians in the Midwest who just happen to be women. It’s a list that’s way, way too short. Drootin knows this, too.

That’s why she put together Omaha Girls Rock, an organization whose vision statement reads: “Our ultimate goal is to provide a support system enabling and encouraging girls to design their own futures and to realize those designs.” Sure, it’s about giving girls the confidence to pick up an instrument and form a band, but Drootin says it’s more than just rock and roll.

“Our workshops are not just about music, though that’s a lot of it since it’s a rock camp,” she said. “The workshops also deal with self esteem, body image, stuff so girls feel confident no matter how they’re treated. I feel like I was lucky that I had the confidence to be able to deal with a lot of the stuff that goes along with being a girl in a band.” Unfortunately, not all girls are so lucky.

Participation in the program doesn’t require previous music experience. The day camp, to be held at UNO’s music department July 11-15, is for any girl ages 8-18. Upon arriving at camp, girls will be checked in by a faculty member before assembling themselves into bands. Every day they will receive instruction in their chosen rock instrument (guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards or drums); attend two workshops on subjects ranging from self-esteem to songwriting; and have rehearsals guided by a “band manager” (counselor) in preparation for the final showcase, slated for July 16. Along the way, the program will develop and hone life skills, such as cooperation and creative thinking, and participants will emerge as confident and capable young women “sure of their voices, and of their worth.”

“A lot of girls think you have to be a singer or the token girlfriend bass player to be in a band,” Drootin said. “We’re saying you can be whoever you want to be.”

Her vision for Omaha Girls Rock is ambitious. Future efforts include going to schools and recruiting girls to get involved in music and in rock. “It’s been a whirlwind,” she said. “This is our pilot year, and we want to make this as huge as we can, but we’ve got to take the first step, which is band camp.”

It’s safe to say I, along with most of the 200+ at Sunday night’s fund raiser weren’t thinking about the organization’s problem statement or gender issues or the role of women in rock when we were watching Drootin and the rest of The Good Life kick out songs from the band’s enormous catalog of songs. We were just loving the music, and that’s the way it should always be.

To find out more or to get involved in Omaha Girls Rock, go to omahagirlsrock.com.

* * *

Mr. Modern Lovers himself, Jonathan Richman, is playing at The Waiting Room tonight with, I guess, nobody, as no opening acts are listed. I take it back, it sounds like he’ll be joined by a drummer, and will be singing in no less than five languages, based on this

Reverb review of Tuesday night’s show in Denver. $13, 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 Sky Drops at The Barley Street Tavern, May 3, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It was a late start at last night’s show at The Barley Street Tavern. I would find out later that it was because opener Pastel Pistol canceled. That meant sitting alone in the bar, quietly stewing over a Rolling Rock while playing Tiny Bird on my iPhone for an hour. Us working types are taking a chance going out on a “school night” to see a show, hoping that it’ll wrap up at least by midnight so that the 5 a.m. wake-up call isn’t quite as painful…

The touring band, The Sky Drops, finally got started a little after 10:30. With all the bands jumping on the “shoegaze” bandwagon these days, this was the first that actually had that classic guitar sound that I identify with the subgenre — that shimmering, rainy-day woozy drone made famous by bands like My Bloody Valentine. Guitarist/vocalist Rob Montejo pulled it off with a Fender Jaguar, a small stack of amps and an array of effects pedals that bent the notes in an off-kilter, underwater sort of way. Meanwhile, drummer Monika Bullette merely kept the beat on her small kit, nothing fancy, and provided sweet harmony vocals. Yeah, they could have used a bass, just like every two-piece out there. Still, Montejo’s guitar tone did a good job filling in the void. I was thrown by his clear, unaffected voice. He has one of those very American voices — sort of Lou Barlow meets Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) meets Dan Wilson (Semisonic) — that provided a distinct contrast to the feedback. Definitely worth losing sleep over.

Eli Mardock at The Barley Street Tavern, May 3, 2011.

The impressive thing about Eli Mardock, who followed The Sky Drops, is that he writes actual songs. That sounds funny/stupid I know, but it’s what has always distinguished him and his projects from the rest of the crowd. Good songs, good arrangements. Nothing wasted. The set up was Mardock, who switched between acoustic, bass, and electric guitars; Carrie Butler on space synths and keyboards, along with a bassist and drummer who I didn’t recognize. Mardock still has that slightly affected, showy drawl, which has become his trademark. A good voice, and certainly memorable. But back to the songs — Mardock has a way with strong, catchy melodies and equally cool counter melodies that are, for the most part, uniquely his own. There were a couple moments in the short, 5-song set (though long songs) that crept dangerously close to Radiohead territory, but every time he managed to throttle back his Thom Yorke tendencies, shifting to a synth or guitar solo. Gorgeous stuff that outshines his work with Eagle Seagull. Call it pop music of the best kind, songs that are just fun to listen to. It’s True has a similar, though obviously different, quality. Mardock said he’s finished recording an album’s worth of material and is off to New York to mix it. More to come…

A quick note about The Barley Street’s sound: I was told that the system had been retooled around the time that Brad Hoshaw took over the venue’s booking chores. I’m not sure what they did, but the bands sounded quite good last night. Credit goes to the sound guy who took his time balancing everything during sound checks and adjusted throughout the set. I’m sure the dozen or so other folks who turned out appreciated the effort…

BTW, I got home a little after midnight…

* * *

There are two hot shows going on tonight. Down at Slowdown Jr. it’s Hunx and His Punx with Shannon And The Clams & Talking Mountain. Chris Aponick has the skinny on H&HP’s man-love rock in this interview in The Reader. $8, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, up at The Waiting Room, it’s the return of The Felice Brothers with Shovels & Rope. Kevin Coffey’s got the lowdown on the band in an interview with the band’s bass player at his Rock Candy blog, right here. $13, 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.

Digital Leather at O'Leaver's April 30, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

My weekend was so musically voluminous that I had to split it into two blog entries. And this is part 2:

I admit I was a little bummed when I heard Digital Leather’s lineup no longer would include keyboards. Not just that Annie Dilocker no longer was playing with the band, but no keyboards at all. Listen to Sorcerer or Blow Machine or Warm Brother. The keyboards are a center point of the band’s sound on all those albums. Make that were a center point. Someone told me that DL frontman/songwriter/genius Shawn Foree’s new songs simply didn’t use keyboards, so there is no reason to have a synth on stage anymore. In fact, Digital Leather was down to a three piece Saturday night at O’Leaver’s. Former guitarist Austin Ulmer is apparently living large in Grand Island. Foree is now on guitar, backed by John Vredenburg on bass and Jeff Lambelet on drums.

So here’s the thing about Foree:  He’s a prolific songwriter that’s constantly evolving his sound. And no matter what the lineup, that songwriting style — his voice — comes through on everything. Such was the case with the new material unveiled Saturday. Yeah, I missed the keys, but to be honest, they almost always were (regretfully) lost in the mix during live sets anyway. And even without them, there was no mistaking these for anything but DL songs. As a three-piece, the shift is to a more stripped down sound (naturally) that borders on traditional garage punk, which isn’t too far from where they’ve been headed for the last couple of years (on stage, anyway). Meanwhile, DL standards like “Your Hand, My Glove” were transformed into punk trash anthems that ride the bass line. “Studs in Love,” with extended riffage, was a highlight (Vredenburg called it their “Pink Floyd version” of the song). After the main set was done, the crowd wanted more and got it. The night ended with a cover of M.O.T.O.’s “Deliver Deliver Deliver.” beefed up raw and twice as fast as the original. Where’s that new album, boys?

Baby Tears opened the night with a set of gutter punk that was all grit and sweat and pain; with staging punctuated by a hilarious smoke machine that looked more like car exhaust than a special effect. Millions of Boys, the second opener, has transformed themselves from the twangy indie band that I saw last August at their debut to a full-out punk band with pop leanings. Both are recommended.

* * *

MECA / Red Sky finally began making some announcements, just a few months before their 6-day spoogefest at TD Ameritrade Park. Last week they announced their initial pricing scheme: 1-Day Pass: $15; 3-Day Pass: $30; 6-Day Pass: $60. Hey Red Sky — there’s no discount between the 3-Day and 6-Day pass — what the f**kl? Doesn’t matter anyway because “All passes include admission to Stages B & C only. Entry to Main Stage in TD Ameritrade Park Omaha is not included.” (their bf, not mine). So, $15 a day to see the county fair bands and the local yokels. If you want to see the headliner, well, that’ll cost ya extra, son.

Red Sky also announced last week that it’s pulling the ol’ “Battle of the Bands” shtick to fill those 20 or so local band spots. I guess I can’t blame them since your typical MECA schlub very likely has never heard a local band play before. I suspect we’ll see all the same bands at their showcases that we’ve historically seen at OEA events — i.e., none of the local bands that actually tour outside of Omaha and/or release distributed recordings (i.e., Saddle Creek bands). But you never know. Red Sky boasts on its “Battle of the Bands” webpage

that it’s paying acts who play at their showcases (depending on the draw, whatever that means), as well as those who emerge victorious and make it to the C Stage.

And yesterday, RS announced its first headliner – 311 – which I suspect will set the tone for the entire festival. 311 is a local favorite, and should do very well, especially since tickets are reasonably priced at $35 and $25 (and includes admission to the B & C stages). RS also announced Sublime as part of the 311 package, but we all know that they mean Sublime with Rome, the Sublime knock-off band, who should fit right in line with the Journey knock-off band that will probably be announced next, but not until next week, apparently. RS is drawing out their announcements, for reasons no one knows for sure. Probably because they’ve yet to ink deals with the other big-name acts. Regardless, so far I’m 1-1 on my lineup hunches from way back in March.

* * *

Finally, here’s an interesting show going on tonight: Wilmington, DE, duo The Sky Drops plays at The Barley Street Tavern with Eli Mardock and Pastel Pistol. The Sky Drops is Rob Montejo, formerly of Smashing Orange, who once opened for Lush in London and recorded a John Peel Session in February 1992. The other half of The Sky Drops is Monika Bullette (drums/vocals). This show should be required attendance by anyone interested in first-wave shoegaze. $5, 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 Good Life at The Slowdown, May 1, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I have to mention this…

I didn’t hear the news until after I got to Slowdown last night, and not on the radio, as I was tuned into the new tUnE-yArDs CD (which, ironically, is titled whokill). While waiting in line to buy my ticket, the leader of one of the city’s better rock bands (who wasn’t on the evening’s bill) came up to me rather gleefully saying, “Did you hear? They got Osama bin Laden.” I glanced over at three guys standing on the sidewalk smoking who were overhearing all of this, grinned and said, “OK, I’m with you. And?” expecting a punch line. “No really, the president is going on later tonight with an official announcement.” I just kept smiling. The musician shook his head and said, “Look at your iPhone. It’s true.”

I knew I wasn’t being punk’d. A few hours earlier, someone had posted on Facebook (specifically @jeremy.lipschultz) that an out-of-the-ordinary late-night announcement was coming from the White House at 9:30 CT, but it hadn’t happened by the time I’d left home. When I walked into the cavernous darkness of The Slowdown, I noticed more people than usual (which means everyone) with faces aglow from gawking at their smart phones. They stared intently, saying nary a word. And the only acknowledgment from the stage came from Tim Kasher, who said something like “Some of you might think it’s a big deal. You all know what I’m talking about since we all have computers in our pockets.” A handful clapped. Not a lot. During the break between sets outside on the patio, someone who has spent half her life under the shadow of Osama said. “I guess it is a big deal, right?” I told her the best thing about it was that it might help decide the 2012 election. We both nodded and changed the subject. The night was supposed to be about music, not the capture of the modern-day real-world equivalent of the head of HYDRA or SPECTRE. I’m happy they got the guy, and I’ll leave the rest of the commentary to the political blogs…

Conduits at The Slowdown, May 1, 2011.

Back to the subject at hand… A few hundred showed up at last night’s Omaha Girls Rock! benefit at Slowdown — a nice crowd. I got there in time to catch Conduits, who has become a finely honed drone machine effortlessly firing on all six fuzzy cylinders. When they’re dead-on, like last night, their music is like that moment in a great wide-screen movie when the flyover-plane — barely strafing the desert — comes to the edge of the cliff and the shot opens to a miles-wide canyon below. Huge, majestic, breath-taking. Conduits were made to perform on a large scale, on large stages like Slowdown and The Waiting Room (and MAHA’s main stage?). I don’t know if I’d get that same feeling if they were playing at, say, O’Leaver’s or Barley Street, but I’d like to find out.

Seeing The Good Life again was like running into old friends at the bar that you haven’t seen in way too long, catching up on gossip, reliving old war stories, remembering everything you liked about them and wondering why you haven’t spent time with them lately. During a free-spirited set that lasted over an hour and included special guests Chris Machmuller on alto saxophone (on two songs) and Craig Korth adding harmonies to a cover (“Oh Yoko”), the band seemed to barely scratch the surface of their fantastic catalog. A grinning Kasher told the crowd how much fun they were having on stage and thanked them for sharing it with them, especially since they “only play about once a year” anymore, which is an absolute shame.

By all indications, the fund raiser was a big success. Now it’s time for the folks at Omaha Girls Rock! to roll up their sleeves and get to work. You can find out more about the organization right here.

A side note: The long-awaited four-song split with Conduits, Icky Blossoms, InDreama and Touch People has finally arrived and was on sale at the merch table last night, which means if you preordered a copy, it should be on its way.

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Tomorrow: A live review of Saturday’s Digital Leather show, some Red Sky comments and info about a show at The Barley Street that you crazy shoegazers won’t want to miss…

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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.

Mogwai at The Slowdown May 11, 2009.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’ll make this simple: Digital Leather is one of my favorite bands. They’re playing for the first time in Omaha since last November this Saturday night at O’Leaver’s. Expect to hear plenty of new material from upcoming releases. Joining them will be Millions of Boys and Baby Tears. The cherry on the cake: The first 25 paid through the door will receive a copy of the Digital Leather/Cola Freaks split 7″ courtesy of Vice Records and Scion A/V. $5, 9:30 p.m. Do Not Miss This One.

I jumped ahead of myself.  What about tonight? The most interesting show this evening, unfortunately, is in Lincoln, where West Plains, Missouri natives Ha Ha Tonka play at the Bourbon Theater. Their latest album, Death of a Decade, was released on Bloodshot Records. Foodies may recognize them from their recent appearance on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations show on The Travel Channel. They take alt country to a whole new level. Headlining is Kris Lager Band. $10, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Damon Dotson plays at Slowdown Jr. with Zach Short. $8, 9 p.m.

In addition to the return of Digital Leather, Saturday night is Mogwai at The Slowdown, with Errors opening. This will be the first time that a baseball game at the new TD Ameritrade Park will overlap a big show at Slowdown, but let’s face it, it’s just Creighton Vs. Bradley, and does anyone really care about Creighton baseball? The game, which starts at 6:30, will probably draw a few thousand, which should leave plenty of parking in and around the Slowdown compound. Now if this was CWS… but who am I kidding? Slowdown will be turned into a giant beer tent (and money printing operation) for those two weeks of June. Anyway, Mogwai is freaking amazing live, and if I wasn’t going to see Digital Leather, I’d be down there getting my ears blown off with you (don’t forget your earplugs, seriously…). Here’s my review of their May 2009 show at Slowdown

. $20, 9 p.m.

Finally, Sunday night is the return of The Good Life, who haven’t played around here in a long, long time. They’re playing at Slowdown with Conduits, Honeybee and Hers and Fortnight. The 5-star line-up is a benefit for Omaha Girls Rock!, a camp for young girls to learn and play music. All bands performing have members who will be teachers and contributors in the program, and all proceeds will go toward the camp. Find out more about OGR! right here and read Hilary Stohs-Krause’s feature on the program (including perspective from OGR! founder/executive director Stefanie Drootin) at Hear Nebraska, right here. Great show for a great cause. $12, early start time of 8 p.m.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The scene moments after the start of last year's MAHA Music Festival, July 24, 2010

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This week’s column was posted at thereader.com yesterday morning, which is a bit out of the norm, but understandable concerning the “newsiness” of the topic. Here are a few more notes from the interview with MAHA Music Festival organizer Tre Brashear that didn’t make it into the column, which also follows below. If you haven’t read the column yet, scroll down and read it first, then come back up for the following addendum:

— The MAHA team is considering changing its process for selecting bands to play the local stage and dropping its “battle of the bands” format. “We are considering selecting all the bands to play MAHA this year and not having a battle of the bands approach,” Brashear said. “However, we haven’t decided yet on whether to make that change.” Regardless, MAHA will continue to host local showcases leading up to the Aug. 13 festival.

— In addition, festival organizers are considering moving the local stage from the embankment just west of the main stage to somewhere where the sun won’t be burning the patrons’ retinas. “We know that people have objections to how our local stage has been set up the past two years and are looking at alternatives and what those alternatives would cost,” Brashear said. “However, people should know the configuration of the Landing limits our options, especially since we need to keep the stages relatively close together so that we can use the same equipment for both.” Just moving the stage to the east side of the main stage would be a big improvement.

— The problem of having the Red Sky Festival flopping its 6-day-wide ass smack in the middle of July is not going to go away for MAHA. Red Sky will be around for years whether it sells tickets or not. Brashear said the MAHA team will address the scheduling problem after this year’s event concludes. “The Landing is a pretty popular place in the summer and there aren’t many open dates, so moving the date could require us to move the venue,” Brashear said. “However, since this is our first year on ‘this date,’ we don’t want to read too much into scheduling conflicts without getting more information.” The plan had always been for MAHA to grow into a multi-day event that includes camping options for travelers, making it a sort-of Midwestern Woodstock. With Red Sky nesting at TDAmeritrade Park, perhaps MAHA can find a home at the brand new Werner Park in Sarpy County, where there’s plenty of space for camping in adjacent fields.

And now, more Brashear comments about MAHA in this week’s column….

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Column 320: Guided by Voices, Cursive, Matisyahu to Play 2011 MAHA Music Festival

by Tim McMahan

The news is in the headline, exactly as it was announced Monday night.

To reiterate: This year’s MAHA Music Festival, to be held Aug. 13 at Lewis & Clark Landing, will feature among its main stage bands Guided by Voices, Cursive and Matisyahu. Take a moment. Breathe deep. Soak it in.

When you consider what the MAHA folks are now up against, not the least of which is MECA’s 6-day, 3-stage, infinitely budgeted, exempt-from-failure, yet-to-be-announced Red Sky Festival, one can only bow one’s head and tip one’s hat that they were able to pull off such an impressive line-up.

Considered an originator of ’90s low-fi indie rock, for this tour Guided By Voices boasts a reunion of its “classic mid-’90s lineup” — Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennel and Greg Demos. Cursive is one of the original crown jewels of the Saddle Creek Records triumvirate that included The Faint (who played MAHA last year) and Bright Eyes. Finally, there is Matisyahu, an American Hasidic Jewish reggae superstar. And that’s just the beginning. There will be at least three more bands named for the main stage, as well as a second “local stage.” All for a discount price of $30, three dollars less than last year’s ticket. Let’s face it, GBV alone is worth the price of admission.

For Tre Brashear and the rest of the MAHA organizers, the announcement is a triumph that comes at the end of a long winter and spring of frustration. This year’s booking process began in mid-January, a month after Red Sky announced its monstrosity at the brand new TDAmeritrade ball park, forcing MAHA to move its date to mid August instead of the festival “sweet spot” of July.

“It has been more difficult this year,” Brashear said of booking MAHA. “The change in date has been a problem, and I’m not knocking Red Sky in saying that.  It’s just a fact.  The weekend we moved to is in direct competition with Outside Lands in SF, Way Out West in Sweden and Summer Sonic in Japan.  Combine that with the fact that lots of artists head to Europe in August because that’s when the European festival schedule starts up and it has meant that quite a few of the performers that we would like for MAHA simply weren’t available.”

Then there’s the fact that Omaha has become a virtual runway for big name national indie acts thanks to One Percent Productions (who helped book MAHA) and venues like The Waiting Room and Slowdown. “Artists like The Decemberists, Iron & Wine, New Pornographers, who would be perfect for MAHA, are already coming through this area for a routed show,” Brashear said. “Then you throw in the increased interest Stir Cove has shown in booking indie acts and you end up with lots of challenges in booking for MAHA.”

Stir Cove, which is part of the Harrah’s Casino money-printing factory in Council Bluffs, already has announced big draws The Black Keys, Flaming Lips and Mumford & Sons among its summer series lineup. Another prized act, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, has been snagged for the final Playing with Fire series July 16.

But the perceived 10 million pound gorilla has always been Red Sky, despite conventional wisdom that RS will target the same stale acts that MECA books for the white elephant currently called The Qwest Center. Indie will likely be completely off the Red Sky radar. In fact, other than the date change, Brashear wasn’t sure of any Red Sky impact. “When you are told an artist isn’t available, you’re usually not told why,” he said. “So we won’t know if those ‘not available’ responses were Red Sky related until after they announce their lineup.” An announcement that could come in days, or weeks.

If Red Sky was never interested in indie, why bother changing the MAHA date? “We never considered keeping the date we had originally,” Brashear said. “First of all, we use MECA parking lots for MAHA parking.  Second, we would have had to fight with them for publicity.  Third, we don’t think our sponsors and donors would have appreciated us engaging in a ‘battle’ with Red Sky.”

No doubt. MAHA has done an amazing job holding onto — and growing — its primary sponsors. “TD Ameritrade and Kum & Go are returning as our main and local stage sponsors, respectively,” Brashear said. “Also, McCarthy Capital, Alegent Health, Proxibid, Centris, the Owen Foundation and Stinson Morrison Hecker are returning as sponsors (as is Weitz Funds). Our new sponsors this year include Whole Foods, HDR and Walnut Private Equity.”

It’s those sponsors, along with last year’s attendance numbers, that helped drive the ticket price down to $30 this year. “Since we are a nonprofit organization run by volunteers, making as much money as possible has never been our focus or intent,” Brashear said.

If there’s a criticism to be leveled at the “so far” line-up, it’s the age of the acts themselves. GBV’s heyday was in the ’90s. Cursive’s biggest-setting album was released eight years ago and Matisyahu’s breakout album was released in 2004. The thought that MAHA could be considered an “oldies” indie festival hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“We are constantly evaluating our demographics and whether our lineup is too old, too male, all of that,” Brashear said. “We want our lineup to be a good cross-section of all things indie, so to do that well, we’ve got to feature ’emerging’ national acts.”

Which is exactly what MAHA is targeting for the final three main stage bands. Who knows when that announcement will come. Until then, MAHA can take pride in already having landed the best lineup for any local festival in 2011.

Tix go on sale this Saturday for $30 at etix.

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I generally don’t hype Lincoln shows because, well, they’re in Lincoln and I’m here in Omaha. The exception is when the show is particularly exceptional, like tonight’s “World’s Hardest Working Musician (Darren Keen)” show at Duffy’s. The lineup is five different Keen projects — The Show is the Rainbow, High Art, Touch People, Darren Keen and the Fellowship of the Ring and Bad Speler — with DJ Darren Keen filling in the holes between sets — all for just $5 starting at 10:30. It’ll be Keen’s last performance as a bachelor, as he’s getting married this weekend. In fact, he’s about to kick off  a 10-month “Honeymoon Tour” that will take him around the world three times with each of his one-man bands. That tour starts May 20 with The Show Is the Rainbow’s Tickled Pink

CD release show at Bourbon Theater.

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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.