by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The Associated Press

is reporting (right here) that the Fremont immigrant law that is the focus of Saturday’s Concert for Equality in Benson may be on the verge of being suspended.

According to The AP: “The (Fremont) City Council is scheduled to vote on suspending the ban on Tuesday night, a day before the city goes to court over the measure. The city faces lawsuits from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund. City officials have estimated that Fremont’s costs of implementing the ordinance — including legal fees, employee overtime and improved computer software — would average $1 million a year.”

Money raised from this Saturday’s concert is earmarked for the Nebraska ACLU to help fight the Fremont immigrant law. N-ACLU’s director Amy Miller said in the article, “If the City Council decides to stop the law from going into effect themselves, that would be a step in the right direction.”

Is it possible that by Saturday’s concert, the Fremont law could be dead before it had a chance to go into affect? Regardless of what happens, I have no doubt that the show will go on, but it could take the sting out of the day’s rhetoric.

* * *

Tonight at The Waiting Room, it’s Jagjaguwar recording artist Black Mountain, whose frontman, Stephen McBean, you might remember from head-buzz band Pink Mountaintops. With The Dodos (Frenchkiss). $12, 9 p.m.

For those of you in Lincoln, For Against is playing a warm-up show tonight at Knickerbockers with Pharmacy Spirits before they head off to Brooklyn to play at The Big Takeover Magazine’s 30th Anniversary Festival this Saturday with Mark Burgess (ex-Chameleons), Jon Auer of The Posies and a ton of other bands. This is the first Lincoln For Against show in two years, and the first Lincoln show since the release of their eighth LP, 2009’s Never Been. Show starts at 9, no idea on the price.

* * *

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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Superchunk at The MAHA Music Festival, Omaha, 7/24/10.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A more comprehensive review of MAHA’s music will appear as Wednesday’s column/blog entry, (though I found that 1,000 words wasn’t enough). The lead for that column: Have the MAHA Music Festival organizers gotten the monkey that was last year’s failure off their backs? The answer, probably, is yes.

I think no matter how you look at it, the festival worked. I certainly had a good time and so did the folks I spoke with. My personal highlight was Superchunk, whereas I think The Faint was probably the big winner — they’ll be the ones that people remember most. Spoon was merely OK, but I’ve never thought Spoon was a very good live band (I think they’re a very good recording project, though their new album is limp).

MAHA organizer Tre Brashear said that scanned ticket attendance was just over 4,000 (They won’t give actual ticket sale info). I thought the crowd seemed larger than that, especially during The Faint (When Spoon started its set, people began to head home). For a crowd that size, everything ran smoothly, which is a credit to Brashear, his team and their crack staff of volunteers.

Still, as is the case with any festival, there were problems. A couple people were arrested: “One idiot punched his girlfriend.  Another idiot punched the son of the Omaha City Prosecutor,” Brashear said. And apparently MAHA was unable to provide free waterbottle refills throughout the entire day — which is a concern at any outdoor festival. Brashear said it’s “the thing we’re most disappointed in ourselves about.” I didn’t notice it and didn’t hear about it until I read a complaint on Twitter after the show.

From a profitability standpoint: “Even though our attendance was below the 4.5K we were planning on, we came out ahead because of our beverage sales,” Brashear said. “We sold out of everything.  At the end, all we had left was Bud Light.” This underscores one obvious tragic misstep by organizers: I was unable to find a Rolling Rock anywhere on the festival grounds. Along with the water problem, this is something the MAHA committee must solve in 2011.

Brashear said he and the rest of the MAHA brain trust are going to “decompress” over the next couple of weeks and then begin planning for next year’s event. The two questions that burn brightest in my mind: Where will it be held and who will they invite?

I assume that they consider this year’s event a smashing success. Still, one has to consider that concerts like River Riot (or whatever it’s called) sell three to four times as many tickets as MAHA, thanks to the shitty pop bands that they book. If MAHA is going to keep its refined indie focus, it could take a long time until they hit those kinds of numbers — such is the nature of indie music. I’d hate to see them buckle under and book an 89.7 FM-style roster of bands to boost ticket sales.

In retrospect, this year’s main stage roster was a tip o’ the hat to ’90s-’00s indie — the kind of music that the organizers grew up listening to (presumably). Old ’97s, Superchunk, Spoon, The Faint, even Ben Kweller had his best music in the earlier half of the ’00s. The festival would garner a younger audience if it tried to book more up-and-coming acts, such as Sleigh Bells, MIA, Wavves, The National, Foals, Band of Horses, New Pornographers, along with the usual legacy acts. If they want to extend this event to two days, they’re going to need to book a couple huge bands — one to anchor each day. And I mean Pixies/REM/Wilco huge. That’s pricey. And risky. There are also those who think the line-up should be more diverse stylewise. Bottom line: You’re never going to please everyone.

Interestingly, the most modern bands were on the second stage, which is another thing MAHA needs to fix in 2011. The second stage was an abomination both soundwise and viewing-wise (unless you like your retinas burned off by the setting sun). If MAHA decides to stay at Lewis & Clark Landing, they’ve got to figure out the second stage “problem.” Maybe they can merely move it to the east side of the main stage, with the Mighty Mo as a backdrop.

More likely, MAHA will move to a new location that allows camping — that’s certainly part of the organizers’ vision. So is getting more involved in “the local scene.” The No. 1 criticism with the festival is their process for selecting the small stage bands — no one likes battle-of-the-bands contests where entrants perform for free. It’s cheap and humliating. It’s time that MAHA grow a pair and start selecting the bands themselves, or work with someone involved in the local scene to help select local bands. Considering the amount they pay bands for the event, they have their pick of the best Lincoln and Omaha have to offer.

Anyway… more recap Wednesday.

Forever Shredding

Superchunk’s legend is more than their longevity.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

To put the importance of Superchunk into some sort of context, let’s turn to Ira Robbins, who in his Trouser Press Guide to ’90s Rock

, said:

“Although Superchunk has never been revolutionary, the North Carolina quartet has done more to foment the indie-pop revolution than nearly any other band extant, feeding its flames with a steady stream of releases, an incessant appetite for touring and a voracious fandom that’s seen it underwrite numerous kindred spirits on its own Merge label. Like missionaries bringing the word to the outback, Superchunk ushered in an era in which ethics and avowed self-determination were just as important as artistic productivity — a stance that’s probably influenced far more culturalists than the band’s sound.”

They also made some pretty damn fine records.

Anyone who grew up loving college rock in the ’90s has a Superchunk album in his/her collection. My first was 1993’s On the Mouth, whose opening track, “Precision Auto,” with its chugging guitar, crash-bash rhythms and barked out lines: “Do not pass me just to slow down / I can move right through you,” fueled way too many reckless two-lane passes in my ’78 Ford Fiesta.

Superchunk arguably put the Chapel Hill music scene on the map, producing eight full-lengths and countless singles since its debut 45, “Slack Motherfucker,” came out in 1990. The term “legendary” comes to mind.

Superchunk guitarist Jim Wilbur, however, will have none of it.

“We’re not the beginning of anything,” said the self-proclaimed Larry David of the band from the deck of his home in Durham, North Carolina. “There were always tons of bands around Chapel Hill at the same time, like Polvo and Archers of Loaf. No one was doing anything to be part of a scene. It just kind of worked out that way. It’s hard to figure out what was going on, but after the fact, people want to write and talk about it. But in the middle of it, it was organic. It was people in their early 20s doing what comes naturally.”

Wilbur said he moved from Connecticut to North Carolina 20 years ago to join Superchunk for three months, and never left. “There might be something to being in a place where you’re not New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. Clearly you’re not there to exploit an opportunity,” he said. “You’re doing it for your own reasons. For fun or laziness. I don’t think many people who are really good at music do it as a career. It just becomes one. You have better chances at making a living buying a lottery ticket.”

Despite that, Wilbur and the rest of Superchunk — frontman/guitarist Mac McCaughan, bass player Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster — were anything but lazy when it came to the band. “It’s work; it’s tough work to be in a band and tour,” Wilbur said. “You can’t stop and think about who’s paying attention to you. As long as they’re paying you to go on the road and put out records, people must be paying attention.”

The band’s work ethic defined Superchunk as much as their music. Although their records have been released on a few labels including indie powerhouse Matador Records, its McCaughan and Ballance’s own Merge Records that is their home. Along with bands like Fugazi, Superchunk was a standard bearer of the Do It Yourself approach to music, turning its back on major labels in a move that was a decade ahead of its time.

Asked if DIY is more important now, in an era when record labels are slowly decaying into obsolescence, Wilbur replied, “What do think?”

“It’s proven itself as a business method, maybe not for people who want to be Michael Jackson or Madonna, but if you want a career in rock and want to tour, you better get your shit together and know what you’re doing by yourself, because no one is helping you without taking a big cut,” he said. “We just wanted to be sustainable, and we were smart enough to know that we were going to have to do a lot of it ourselves. We all eat if we do our jobs. But in the ’90s, after Nirvana, there were so many bands getting into horrible deals where they were never going to be able to recoup the assloads of money that they would owe. This isn’t ideological. I don’t want to owe a multinational corporation lots of money. It never made sense, any offer we got. We knew we could always do better on our own.”

And they did, for years. But each year, Wilbur said, the band sold fewer and fewer CDs. After Here’s to Shutting Up was released on Merge in 2001, Superchunk began to slow down.

“We haven’t toured since 2001 really,” Wilbur said. “The last time was when that record came out. We did do one other thing after that with the Get-Up Kids that was demoralizing.”

Wilbur said the band agreed to do a tour opening for the then-popular Kansas City emo band. “None of us had any expectations, we never do,” he said. “They were nice guys and looked at us like, ‘You’re the reason we’re in a band,’ but it didn’t translate in a live setting. We were old farts playing loud, fast music. Their fans didn’t care about us. There were always girls in the front row on cell phones. That was not what we were about.”

But it wasn’t that tour that slowed them down, it was changes in their lives. “Over the years nothing’s really changed personality-wise with the band; everyone just has different priorities,” Wilbur said. “Mac had kids, Jon (Wurster) moved away. It was difficult to get together and make time.”

Superchunk, Majesty Shredding

Despite the distance, the band has never been dormant. They’ve continued to perform live at least once year, always writing new songs when they got together, Wilbur said. The product is Majesty Shredding, the band’s first album in nine years, slated for release Sept. 14 on Merge.

“It took us a year and a half to record,” Wilbur said. “We used to (make albums) in two weeks. It was easier when we were a full-time band and practiced three times a week. Now Mac sends out demos of songs, and we all have to figure out our parts and try to make it coalesce. In some ways, it sounds better. People seem to enjoy (the new record), and I like it, but I have no concept of it. I have no memory of playing or recording it.”

Wilbur said that moments before our interview July 7, he had picked up a guitar for the first time in three weeks, and — as always — had to figure out what he’d played during the recording sessions. “I can’t remember where my fingers were. What was I doing?” he said. “That’s always been the case. Even when we were in a band that worked all the time, we always forgot things. We don’t write anything down, except for Laura, but she plays bass and all she writes is ‘D minor.’ I don’t know what my fingering was, and Mac is even worse at it, but he’s a better player.”

Needless to say, Wilbur and the rest of Superchunk will have it all figured out before Saturday’s show. As the release date for Majesty Shredding creeps closer, the band is spending more time together, at least on the phone. “We now have business to attend to on a day-to-day basis, and it’s an incredible pain in the ass,” he said. “For the past 10 years we’ve been friends that didn’t have to talk to each other every day. Now we have to agree on everything. I try to stay out of it when I can. Mac and Laura run Merge, so I assume they know what they’re doing.

“I guess the reason we’re getting any kind of attention is that there’s a story about us, about the label and that we have a new record for the first time in years,” he said, adding that there’s nothing noteworthy about longevity.

“I’ve loved music my whole life. I loved The Byrds and Springsteen and New Order and they never went away. Even The Byrds stuck around past their prime. (Roger) McGuinn is still playing folk festivals somewhere. Springsteen is doing it, and it’s not newsworthy; it’s natural. I’ve always felt that way with this band — we’re just people playing this music, and as long as we enjoy doing it, we’re going to keep doing it.”

* * *

Talking to Jim Wilbur really is like talking to a rock ‘n’ roll version of Larry David. Here are a few extra bits of Wilbur Wisdom that I simply didn’t have room for in the story. Enjoy…

On touring: “I always think of it this way: I work in a book store selling things on ebay, and in the back room I work with this guy who likes to wear cowboy hats and snakeskin boots, and he’s always saying things like, ‘Rock and roll!’ and ‘You gonna pick up any pussy?’ I always say, ‘Barry, you just don’t get it. That’s not what this is all about.’ He’s joking around; he pays my health insurance, so I love him. People think this thing is glamorous. I tell them it’s work. It’s personalities and being sane and not having an inflated ego or an inflated sense of selves.”

So there are no crazy road stories to share?

“The stories all have to do with people we’ve hired to come with us to sell T-shirts. We’re the people bailing other people out of jail. The band was always trying to find time to sleep. You’re on tour to perform, not to do anything else. Everything else is peripheral. John the drummer started to say this recently about five hours before (showtime): ‘No one cares if I went out and had a good time before the show. They only care if we’re good. So I’m going to get my head together.’ He says it as if he’s a guru joker kind of guy. We’re not there to see who can do the most Jaeger shots.”

On technology: “What’s sad about progress is that recording studios are going under and engineers who have a specialized skill are being usurped by the fact that anyone can record at home with a computer and sound decent. But it’s not the same as going to the studio. I don’t think in 1982 anyone saw where the music industry would be in 2010.”

On side projects: “I don’t have any interests. I record stuff by myself sometimes and end up sometimes being part of Portastic (Mac’s side band) as a bass player. I’m the last person in the world that would want to pursue music. I do it purely for myself. I have no ambition whatsoever. I think it’s important to work. For a long time in Superchunk, I didn’t have a job and I sat around trying to figure out what to do all day when we weren’t on tour. It sucks to have two lives — two kind of realities — that you have to deal with, but you’ll be hard-pressed to get any sympathy.”

On returning to touring after nine years: “Now when I have to go on tour I kind of hate it. I miss not being home. I have a wife, two dogs, two cats, a beautiful house. I’m sitting on my deck now and am looking across my lawn. I have a huge yard with 30 pine trees. We have three bathrooms for the two of us. I live really nice, and now I have to go on tour? I like it because it’s good work. I see it as work.”

On being on the Jimmy Fallon show in the very near future: “I’ve never actually seen the show before. It’s always interesting, but it’s not like ‘I’ve never been kissed before.’ I have had sex, I’m not a virgin. I can do this. We’re all going to die. This isn’t going to go on forever. It takes a lot to get me excited. Being on the Jimmy Fallon show is not something that does that.”

On never playing in Omaha before: “We’ve never played in Nebraska or Omaha. It’s weird. We’ve talked about it many times. ‘What state haven’t we played? We’ve got a lot of friends in Omaha. How could this happen?’ Maybe our booking agent had an issue with someone or someone had an issue with him. It’s always about routing. Omaha is off the beaten path, the same way Iowa City is. We’re hugely excited about coming to Omaha. I’m looking forward to going. I want to see it, even though we’ll be there less than 24 hours.”

* * *

In case you missed it, the MAHA Music Festival is this Saturday. The schedule went online yesterday here at Lazy-i. Someone asked if you could come and go throughout the day. The answer, according to MAHA head honcho Tre Brashear, is yes, you can leave and return. I assume you’ll have to wear a wristband to get in and out (and to drink).

Tickets are $33 today, but the price jumps to $38 tomorrow. Either price is a bargain when you consider it costs $20-$30 just to see Spoon in other cities, and you’re also getting The Faint (usually $20-$25) and Superchunk (priceless), along with Kweller, Old 97’s and a plethora of local acts. If the forecast is accurate, it will be a gorgeous day for a concert. Look for tweet updates and photos throughout the day at twitter.com/tim_mcmahan

But that’s tomorrow. What’s going on tonight?

Over at the 1020 Lounge (formerly Trovato’s) Ted Stevens of Cursive (and Lullaby for the Working Class) will be doing two full solo sets (according to the promoter) tonight starting at 9. And there’s no cover (it’s free). This could get packed — this Stevens guy is pretty good.

Also tonight, Capgun Coup is headlining a show at the old Orifice Warehouse at 2406 Leavenworth (where Ratfest was held last year at around this time). Joining Capgun is New Jersey band Home Blitz, Omaha’s own Yuppies and the amazing Well-Aimed Arrows. This is a fun place to see a show. $5, 9 p.m.

And finally, indie rock band Dim Light plays at Stir Lounge tonight with headliner Scott Severin and the Milton Burlesque. $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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Appleseed Cast performs at the 2009 MAHA Music Festival. Organizers expect larger crowds this year.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The last time I looked at the weather map, the forecast called for partly cloudy skies and temps in the mid-80s Saturday. I think it’s time you went ahead and bought those MAHA tickets. One thought that crossed my mind when writing this article: MAHA has 250+ volunteers. How many volunteers will there be on hand at Conor’s Concert for Equality in Benson, which could have nearly 3,000 people in attendance? 

2010 MAHA Music Festival: All Systems Go

Omaha’s all-day indie music feast is slated for this Saturday.

With the second annual MAHA Music Festival a few days away, the only thing left for organizers to do is pray for sunshine.

Well that, and work out the kinks involved with organizing 250+ volunteers.

With a line-up that includes massively influential ’90s college rock band Superchunk, Omaha electro-dance punks The Faint, good-time alt-country rockers Old 97’s, singer/songwriter Ben Kweller, and headlined by indie powerhouse Spoon, tickets sales have been brisk.

“We already have sold more tickets than last year, and last year we sold two-thirds of our tickets the day of the show,” said MAHA organizer Tre Brashear last Saturday. He said that while their goal is to sell out the event — 6,000 tickets — their realistic expectations are to sell 4,500 tickets, adding that last year’s ticket sales totalled 3,000.

“We feel good about where we are,” Brashear said. “Selling out is a possibility. It would send a great message to our sponsors.” Those sponsors include presenting sponsor Alegent Health, main stage sponsor TD Ameritrade, and local stage sponsor Kum & Go.

Since this year’s line-up was announced in April, there have been a few ups and downs for Brashear and MAHA Festival organizers. On the upside: Immediate vindication that they choose the right bands. “No one has said a bad word (about the line-up), or said that we missed the mark,” he said. “Realistically, we did as well as we could, considering our budget and fiscal discipline. We wanted to make sure we didn’t spend more money than we could generate.”

But on the downside, only days after MAHA’s announcement, Des Moines’ two-day 80/35 Festival announced that it also would host Spoon as its headliner on July 3. “When we learned about it, it was ‘Holy Cow. This cannot be happening,'” Brashear said. “It is what it is. We’ll have better dialogue with 80/35 in the future. We agreed not to advertise our (festival) in Des Moines and they agreed to not advertise theirs here.”

Then just a couple weeks ago, Conor Oberst announced his Concert for Equality fund-raiser in Benson to be held the following Saturday, July 31. It will feature a plethora of classic Saddle Creek Records bands, including Bright Eyes and Cursive. Brashear brushed off any suggestion that it was “competition,” saying it only brings more awareness nationally to the area’s music scene. “Our job is to make sure people are aware of us, and don’t lose track of our event,” he said.

And with ticket sales reportedly going strong, apparently they haven’t. Now there’s just that little question regarding the weather. The MAHA Festival will go on rain or shine. There is no rain date and bands will perform — and get paid — no matter what the conditions.

“We’ve tried to cover every contingency,” Brashear said. “The weather is why we do this in July, and why we chose Lewis & Clark Landing as our site, where we don’t have drainage or mud issues. That area could handle a huge downpour in the morning and still be usable in the afternoon.”

Brashear suggested MAHA patrons bring a lawn chair, camera and sun block, but leave the coolers, pets and handguns at home. For those not taking advantage of the many food and drink vender options, bottles of water will be available for $2 that will be refilled for free all day, Brashear said. No outside food and drink are allowed.

The MAHA Music Festival is Saturday, July 24 at Lewis & Clark Landing, located directly east of Rick’s Cafe Boatyard, at 515 North Riverfront Drive, in downtown Omaha. Parking is open to the public in Gallup’s parking lots to the north (free) and Qwest Center’s Parking Lot A off of Riverfront Drive ($8/day). Advanced tickets are available for $33 at etix.com; tickets are $38 day of show.

Here’s the schedule:

Noon – Gates Open

TD Ameritrade Main Stage

1:15 – It’s True!

3:00 – Ben Kweller

4:45 – Old 97’s

6:35 – Superchunk

8:35 – The Faint

9:40 – Spoon

11:00 – Show Over.

Kum & Go Local Stage

12:30 – Voodoo Method

2:15 – Betsy Wells

4:00 – Landing On The Moon

5:55 – The Mynabirds

7:45 – Satchel Grande

* * *

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., McAllen, Texas, indie band Dignan plays with The King and the Thief, Get Down and Skypiper. $10, 9 p.m. Meanwhile, over at The Waiting Room, Conchance and his hip-hop orchestra plays with Maxilla Blue and Rajeev Wins. $7, 9 p.m.

* * *

Tomorrow: Superchunk

* * *

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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

BTW, a quick glance at Craigslist yesterday showed Deluxe Concert for Equality tickets were being offered for as much as $200 each, while general admission tix were being offered for $100 each. There are 25 listings there now, and most are “want to buy” ads.

Column 280: Goodbye, OEAAs…

It’s better than beating a dead horse…

I just finished writing a 1,000-word critical review of this past weekend’s Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards showcase in Benson, and then I threw it out.

It dawned on me after adding the -30- (a traditional, out-dated way of ending news stories) that I should take the same tact that I take for bands that I don’t care for — just don’t write about it. There’s no point in tearing down the OEAAs. The bands that participate aren’t indie bands, aren’t bands that I cover in my column and website, and aren’t the kind of bands Nebraska has become nationally known for.

In truth, the OEAAs don’t target any specific “type” of band. The organization’s showcases are open invitations to anyone willing to play for free, with apparently no criteria that eliminate anyone from consideration. As a result, the showcase has become a two-day open mic night, where truly talented performers like Ember Schrag, Ground Tyrants and a couple others, get lost in the overwhelming fog of mediocrity.

Even the annual awards process has become somewhat misguided. As an OEAA Academy member, I found myself not voting in a number of categories last year because the nominees simply didn’t fit the category definition — and I’m not talking about from a genre standpoint, but as representing the best bands from the Omaha/Lincoln area in a specific category. I have no interest in voting for the least mediocre among five mediocre bands, while the area’s real talent — the bands that release albums on nationally distributed record labels, the bands that go out of state on tours — are consistently ignored by the process or refuse to participate.

When the OEAAs began four years ago as a non-profit, there was some discussion that money generated from the effort could some day support a scholarship fund or some other worthy cause. But that never happened. Conceivably, money raised from the showcases is funneled into covering costs involved in putting together the annual awards banquet — a program that’s supposed to showcase the best and brightest, but where the best and brightest rarely perform.

Despite all of this, there’s no question that folks enjoy the OEAA showcases and awards banquet, whether I do or not. Who am I to begrudge anyone for having a good time? So with that, I wish the OEAAs the best of luck as I resign my position as an Academy Member, put down my gun and slowly walk away…

* * *

Speaking of the OEAA’s, the MAHA Music Festival filled its final opening slot for bands performing on the Kum & Go Local Stage from those participating in last weekend’s OEAA showcase. In an open vote of OEAA patrons, the winner was R&B act Voodoo Method, a band that harshly clashes with the national acts chosen to perform on the main stage. I guess that’s what the MAHA committee gets when it leaves a decision as important as who will perform at their concert up to someone else.

* * *

If you were on the fence as to whether or not to buy tickets to the Concert for Equality, being held July 31 in Benson and featuring Bright Eyes, Cursive, Desaparecidos, Lullaby for the Working Class, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, The Envy Corps, David Dondero, The So-So Sailors, Conchance, Simon Joyner, Flowers Forever and Vago, along with some TBA superstars, you can forget about it. The event sold out last week. Deluxe Tickets, which originally cost $50 each, were being listed on ebay for $315 a pair last week, and I suspect you’ll see even higher prices as the event gets closer. Could the concert be moved from one of Benson’s side streets to Maple Street, freeing up more tickets? We’ll have to wait and see.

* * *

Finally, I skipped Day 2 of the OEAAs to attend the Speed! Nebraska showcase at a crushed-full O’Leaver’s — the epilogue to the Soapbox Riot soapbox derby held at Seymour Smith track earlier that day (and won by Wagon Blasters’ frontman Gary Dean Davis). Speed! Nebraska Records boasts arguably the best roster of pure rock bands in Nebraska — including Mercy Rule, Ideal Cleaners, Techlepathy, The Third Men, Mezcal Brothers and Wagon Blasters, all of whom performed that night (and none of whom played the day before at the OEAA showcase). Note to the MAHA committee: Any of those bands would have been an amazing addition to the Kum & Go stage. Maybe next year?

* * *

It’s a night of nightmare music at Slowdown Jr. tonight with Gunnison Beach, New Jersey noise band East of the Wall (proggy, syncopated rhythms, monster vocals, loud), Name (crazy fast guitars, metal, screaming), Masses (pounding instrumentals, violently loud, torturous), and Techlepathy (intricate, tense, free-fall explosions). Earplugs highly recommended. $8, 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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Ground Tyrants at The Sydney, OEAA Summer Showcase, July 16, 2010.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

So where’s the review of last weekend’s OEAA summer festival and the Speed! Nebraska showcase? You’ll just have to wait until tomorrow’s column, where the reason for the delay will be revealed. Until then, above is a lovely photo from the OEAA’s of The Ground Tyrants playing at The Sydney. Of the bands that I saw on Friday (including Civicminded, After the Fall and Jes Winter), The Ground Tyrants were the clear winner. Too bad they lost to mediocre R&B act Voodoo Method, who will now perform at The MAHA Festival. But I’ll talk more about that decision tomorrow.

Also in Lazy-i

this week, look for a MAHA overview/interview with board member Tre Brashear and an extensive feature story/interview with Superchunk. Those stories go online Thursday and Friday.

* * *

Among the spectators at O’Leaver’s worshipping at the alter of Speed! Nebraska Records Saturday night was Cursive’s Tim Kasher, whose solo debut, The Game Of Monogamy,

is set for release Oct. 5 on Saddle Creek Records.  Recorded this past January at a rental home in beautiful Whitefish, MT, and also at SnowGhost Music, the album marks the first time Kasher has written, recorded and produced an album under his own name, according to publicist, Cobra Camanda. Sayeth the press release:

The Game Of Monogamy is more of an arranged record than any of Kasher’s past releases, filled with theatrical arrangements and lush instrumentation to create his own blend of classic pop. Ornamented with strings, harp, oboe, flute, and trombone, among other instruments, the songs vary in sound from vibrant and catchy (“Cold Love,” “I’m Afraid I’m Gonna Die Here”) to sweeping and grand (“No Fireworks,” “Monogamy”), and from hushed and spare (“Strays,” “The Prodigal Husband”), to urgent and fraught (“A Grown Man,” “Bad, Bad Dreams”). This moody orchestral pop evokes a 1950s-esque, conservative atmosphere, setting the stage for a dilemma that remains thoroughly modern.  The protagonist’s arc in The Game Of Monogamy spans the wide range of distinctly human emotions tangled up around relationships in a starched shirt society.  Call it the score for our collective sexual plight: expression routinely becomes repression in the name of romance.

If you say so, Amanda. Kasher enlisted Patrick Newbery (trumpet/keys for Cursive; also of Lacona and Head of Femur) to help with the arrangements, the production, and to play on the record. Erin Tate (Minus The Bear) and Matt Maginn (Cursive) also stopped by to add some drum and bass parts, respectively, and members of the Glacier National Symphony were recruited for the classical instrument parts.

The only question I have is: Where’s my promo copy?

* * *

Tonight at O’Leaver’s, it’s  Watching the Trainwreck, The Goodnight Loving, Peace of Shit and The Prairies. $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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Gary Dean Davis takes the plunge at last year's Soapbox Riot, July 18, 2009.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s a busy weekend for music and violence.

The highlight is Saturday’s second annual Soapbox Riot at Seymour Smith soapbox track, 72nd and Washington, brought to you by Speed! Nebraska Records and the fabulous O’Leaver’s Pub.

Like last year, a cadre of racing daredevils will risk it all in a series of suicide runs down the track riding on top of — and inside of — some of the most frightening pieces of rolling wreckage that you’ll ever see outside of a blazing downtown Baghdad street. I’m sure there’s some sort of trophy that goes to the winner, but the real prize is the right to brag that you’re the stupidest, craziest sumbitch in Nebraska. Last year, Mercy Rule’s Jon Taylor took that honor after donating a foot-long strip of his own skin directly to the burning asphalt. Who is bat-shit crazy enough to knock this idiot-king from atop of the blood-soaked soapbox mountain? Find out when racing begins sometime between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Beer garden and grilled food will be available (of course).

Later that evening, after the survivors are released from the UNMC Emergency Room, a post-race concert by some of Nebraska’s mangled finest is happening at O’Leaver’s. On the showbill will be the scab-covered Speed! Nebraska All-Stars: Mercy Rule, Ideal Cleaners, The Wagon Blasters, Mezcal Brothers, The Third Men and Techlepathy. The rock show starts at 9 p.m. and is the usual $5. Event of the summer? You decide!

Also going on this weekend…

Tonight and Saturday is the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards (OEAA) showcase in Benson — two nights of bands and musicians showing their wares to OEAA academy members in consideration for this year’s awards, and also vying for a slot as an opening band at next Saturday’s MAHA Festival.

Wondering why no Saddle Creek, Slumber Party, Speed! Nebraska and other local touring bands aren’t on the schedule for an event that’s supposed to highlight the best and brightest talent in Omaha? In a response to a blog entry that criticized the lack of the above talent — and called the showcase a “Benson thing” — OEAA board member MarQ Manner said:

“As far at the Summer Showcase goes we only used submitted bands this year — no one from those labels submitted — there are a lot of acts from North O, Mid-Town, Benson, West Omaha, Lincoln, some from just outside of the metro small towns in Iowa-bands that rarely if ever play Benson venues-etc — I wanted bands that were excited about the event itself this year – so we didn’t do any invites.”

In other words, no one from those labels was invited because no one at all was invited. Instead, an open call went out for bands to participate (I wonder if anyone was turned down.)  And of course, none of the bands will be getting paid, presumably because the OEAA’s are doing them a favor by letting them take part in the showcase. Well, at least the bands aren’t being charged to play the showcase… yet.

Judging by a recent Facebook post that was hastily taken down after it got too much attention, there are a number of musicians who are irritated about an event that is basically a fund raiser for the Benson bar scene — see, while the bands aren’t making a penny (and in fact, Lincoln bands are out gas money and other expenses) all the bars involved will be raking in cash from booze sales thanks to the free entertainment on their stages.

Am I kicking a dead horse here? Yeah, probably. As I’ve said before, I don’t think you’re going to notice any guns sticking out of the ears of the bands that are taking part. If you’re irritated about not getting paid, then don’t play the event. And that’s exactly what’s happening — no serious label acts are participating, and only a couple notable touring musicians (mostly Benson regulars) are involved. As the overused saying goes: It is what it is. And it’s also $10 per night for a wristband that gets you into all the bars all night long — a good deal, and actually a pretty good time.

Here’s the schedule:

Friday, July 16

Louie’s Bar
8:50-9:25-Furiosity
9:40-10:15-MANNA
10:30-11:05-Matt & Ben
11:20-11:55-Black On High

Burke’s Pub
8:00-8:35-Latin
8:50-9:25-Doug Kabourek
9:40-10:15-Western Electric
10:30-11:05-Matt Banta
11:20-12:05-Daniel Christian
12:20-12:55-W.E.R.D.

The Sydney
8:10-8:45-The 9’s
9:00-9:35-Scott Severin & The Milton Burlesque
9:50-10:25-Brad Hoshaw (solo)
10:40-11:15-ASO
11:30-12:05-Civic Minded
12:20-12:55-Ground Tyrants

The Waiting Room
8:10-8:45-All Young Girls Are Machine Guns
9:00-9:35-Voodoo Method
9:50-10:25-Betsy Wells
10:40-11:15-Jes Winter Band
11:30-12:05-After The Fall
12:15-12:55-Paria

PS Collective
8:00-8:35-Rachel D.
8:50-9:25-Hello From Ghost Valley
9:40-10:15-Travelin’ Mercies
10:30-11:05- Ember Shrag
11:20-11:55-Lonely Estates
12:10-12:45-The End In Red

Barley Street Tavern
8:10-8:45-MC Gringo
9:00-9:35-Orem
9:50-10:25-Carli Alexandra
10:40-11:15-Allendales
11:30-12:05-Ben Sieff & The Murder Of Crowes
12:20-12:55-Adelaide

Saturday, July 17

Louie’s
8:50-9:25-Dive Kings
9:40-10:15-The Minnahoonies
10:30-11:05- Army Of 2600
11:20-11:55-Emotional Baggage
12:10-12:45-Disposable Heroes

Burkes Pub
8:00-8:35-Scrybe
8:50-9:25-Enjoli
9:40-10:15-Sack Of Lions
10:30-11:05-Jill Marie
11:20-12:05-Broken Truth
12:20-12:55-DJ Oddible

The Sydney
8:10-8:45-Vonchi
9:00-9:35-Analog
9:50-10:25-High Art
10:40-11:15-Answer Team
11:30-12:05-Matt Whipkey Trio
12:20-12:55-Rock Paper Dynamite

The Waiting Room
8:10-8:45-Witness Tree
9:00-9:35-Lucas Kellison & The Assembled Soul
9:50-10:25-Mitch Gettman Band
10:40-11:15-Midwest Dilemma
11:30-12:05-Korey Anderson Band
12:20-12:55-Oxygen

PS Collective
8:00-8:35-24 Hour Cardlock
8:50-9:25-Matt Amandus
9:40-10:15-Shannon Marie
10:30-11:05- Citzens Band
11:20-11:55-Cass Fifty & The Family Gram
12:10-12:45-OK Hemingway

Barley Street Tavern
8:10-8:45-Gordan Shumway
9:00-9:35-Vern Fergesen
9:50-10:25-Edge Of Arbor
10:40-11:15-Chantilly Reign
11:30-12:05-Platte River Rain
12:20-12:55-Big Al Band

What else is going on?

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., Lawrence band Cowboy Indian Bear — one of the Midwest’s best indie pop acts — returns with local acts Anniversaire and Skypiper. Show starts at 9 p.m., and the price is right: FREE.

Sunday night, former Sub Pop band (now on Brushfire Records) Rogue Wave plays at The Waiting Room with Gamble House. $12, 9 p.m.

* * *

Finally, despite having broken up, and with their last-ever live appearances taking place next Saturday as part of the MAHA Festival, It’s True has just released a new video for “Take This One From Me” — one of the highlight tracks of their recently released debut full-length. I’m not sure who directed it (presumably Zac Eubank), but he did an impressive job shooting the entire video in one well-choreographed take — Robert Altman would be proud. Take a look.

* * *

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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There’s not much going on news-wise.

Saddle Creek today announced that Land of Talk’s sophomore record, Cloak and Cipher, will be released Aug. 28 (They’re playing at Slowdown Sept. 23). Azure Ray’s first new album in seven years, Drawing Down the Moon, will be coming out Sept. 14 on Creek, and Maria and Orenda are headed out on tour, including a gig at Slowdown Nov. 3.

* * *

There’s a longish interview at Wired this week with Tommy Boy founder Tom Silverman (online here), where he talks about the continued downward spiral of the music industry, how the “long-tail” model is bunk, how social media is useless for selling CDs, and his vision for how artists and labels can make money in harmony. His vision:

“The model that looks most promising is to set up an LLC, just like a movie company — they set up an LLC for each movie. Every artist is a business, and has its own corporation under this model, and all of that artist’s creative equity goes into that — not just music, but everything they do. Whether it’s live, or merch, or whatever, their brand goes in there. And the investors who are investing and trying to promote on the other side — they own half. So it’s more like a business. An equity partnership.”

How is that different than the 360-degree record deal, where the label controls publishing, merch, the record, and touring? “The 360 deal is a traditional adversarial record deal of the old fashion,” Silverman said in the interview. “You get 12 points, or 14 points, and we recoup everything. ‘Here’s your check at the beginning — you’re not going to get paid again.’ Everything I said that was wrong with the business is still included with the 360 deal. Plus, they take a grab of 20 to 30 percent of touring and merch.”

Add to that some depressing numbers: “In 2008 there were 17,000 releases that sold one copy,” Silverman said. “Last year, there were 18,000 (that sold one copy), and something like 79,000 releases that sold under 100 copies. Under 100 copies is not a real release — it’s noise, an aberration. In any kind of scientific study, it would be filtered out. It’s like a rounding error. That 79,000 number represents almost 80 percent of all the records released that year.”

Yikes. Read the entire interview here.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Mercy Rule at The Waiting Room, Lincoln Invasion, July 9, 2010.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Lincoln Invasion organizer Jeremy Buckley e-mailed late yesterday to say that bands who took part in this year’s festival took home $80 each vs. $30 each at least year’s event — quite a bump in pay. Yeah, I know, $80 ain’t much, but at least it’s something, especially considering that the bands had to make the drive from Lincoln — most of them in gas-guzzling Econolines. Ain’t nothing wrong with getting paid…

Column 279: Attack from Star City!!!!

Live Review: Lincoln Invasion, Pt. II

Another Lincoln Invasion has come and gone. And so the question begs to be asked: Which city — Omaha or Lincoln — has the better band roster?

But before we get to that, Lincoln Invasion organizer Jeremy Buckley chimed in to say that last Friday night’s “festival,” featuring more than 20 Lincoln bands at six Benson venues, was a moderate success. “The attendance numbers will be impossible to calculate completely accurately, but if we assume that every patron paid $8 to attend ($5 got you into one venue) then we had about 326 paid,” he said. “So that would be the low end for overall attendance. For last year I’d have to guess but I’d bet we had about 300 paid over the course of two days. So yeah, better all around. Here’s to hoping next year we have even better luck, though this year was more than we could’ve expected.”

Fewer bands but higher attendance should have translated into more money per band — that’s right, unlike the OEAA Benson festivals, bands actually get paid to play Lincoln Invasion via a split of the overall door take — a novel idea. Here’s my recap:

Singer/songwriter Ember Schrag closed out the early bill at Benson Grind. With her ’70s chop haircut and plaid skirt, Schrag reminded me of one of the Tuscadaro sisters — Leather or Pinky, I’m not sure which — but sounded like Regina Spektor backed by a bass player and Omahan Gary Foster on drums. Her easy-going acoustic ballads had the rural flair of Basia Bulat and the sophistication of Suzanne Vega, though Schrag sings as well or better than either of them. Too bad an ever-present buzzing from the PA effectively killed my buzz throughout her set.

Next up down at The Barley Street was Shipbuilding Company, a five-piece with keyboards and wobbly voiced frontman Mike Elsener (ex-Head of Femur) on acoustic guitar. Their music seemed to target a slacker / Pavement / low-fi crowd, and most of the time just missed the mark as it wandered over a baroque landscape that was a bit too frilly for my taste. That is until their finale, when the keyboardist pulled out a melodica and it all came crashing together on a roaring indie pop rocker that I’d like to hear again right now.

Masses at The Waiting Room was an endurance test. The guitar-heavy four-piece launched its set with some spacey, trance-y stuff that quickly shifted into catchy math. But it was all downhill after that, as the instrumental-only outfit poured it on way too heavy, and turned into a messy cacophony of noise where everything blurred into everything else until you began to wonder if they knew what they were doing. Did I mention it was loud — thunderously, painfully loud? People escaped onto the sidewalk in front of the club holding their ears, catching a break from the throbbing, raw din that rolled and rolled and rolled always at the same plodding, Excedrine headache pace. How about some dynamics, boys? Without it, you’re just making intricate, painful noise. The set became a sonic wrestling match between the band and the crowd, and by the end it felt like a bully standing on your neck, testing to see how much more you could take.

After the feedback cleared, the crowd slowly funneled back into The Waiting Room for legendary ’90s band Mercy Rule. What can I say that hasn’t already been said about the trio other than their sound never seems to age? Earnest, stoic working-man guitarist Jon Taylor hasn’t lost his angry touch, nor his love for ear-bleeding volume.  So just like every other Mercy Rule shows from back in the day, lead vocalist Heidi Ore’s delicate crooning was lost and buried beneath the guitar-fueled tonnage — and it’s still a shame.

The band took the opportunity to try out a few new songs that were harder and harsher than anything from a catalog that spans 20 years. But it was the old familiar songs that the crowd fully embraced and none more so than set closer “Summer,” where Heidi belted out the tune’s signature line, “I love summer when it’s HOT, HOT HOT.” Mercy Rule continues to be one of Nebraska’s most dynamic and fun bands (and most photogenic, thanks to their trademark floor-mounted flood lights). Their heroic anthems are as relentless as a semi-truck barreling down on you, growing ever larger in the rear-view, about to crush everything in its path. If we’re lucky, it’ll never slow down.

Last stop was at The Barley Street Tavern where punk duo Once A Pawn closed out the evening. Drummer/frontwoman Catherine Balta’s voice kinda/sorta reminded me of Gabby Glaser of Luscious Jackson belting out her punk rants in a slightly atonal caterwaul, while guitarist/co-pilot Eric Scrivens gleefully spun in circles like a dog chasing its tail. As cute as they were angsty, the duo’s Achilles heel was the similitude of their compositions — after awhile, they all began to sound the same, but I guess you could also say that about The Ramones.

So which music scene — Omaha’s or Lincoln’s — has the better collection of bands? These days, Lincoln has the upper hand when it comes to sheer variety, especially when Omaha seems content with its ever-growing parade of Americana folk bands. I guess we’ll have to wait until after this weekend’s Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards Summer Showcase before we can deterimine a real winner.

* * *

Moments after posting yesterday’s blog update, the listing for the $299 “buy now”-priced pair of Concert for Equality tickets on ebay disappeared. I guess the seller must read Lazy-i or the tickets sold. Then this morning a different pair went up on ebay (here

), this time for a buy-now price of $315!

* * *

Earlier this year (or maybe it was late last year?) Singer/songwriter/musician Brad Hoshaw shared an idea with me: To create a musicians’ hostel out of his Benson apartment where out-of-towners could find a cheap, clean, safe place to sleep while in town on tour. If Benson is going to become Omaha’s version of Austin’s 6th Street, there has to be a lodging option besides asking from stage if anyone can spare some floorspace, or spending precious tour revenue on a hotel room located miles away.

Well, months later the Benson Musicians Hostel is open for business. Located at 6051 1/2 Maple St. Apt. #2, the hostel has bed-space for six people, though more can crash on the floor if need be. The price is $10 per bed or $40 for your entire posse. Amenities include a kitchen, stereo (w/turntable and records), an empty “mini-bar” and, of course, a full bathroom.  Judging by the photos on the hostel’s Facebook page, the place looks rather cozy. Sayeth Mr. Hoshaw: “Other than providing a convenience for those that bring art/entertainment into our city, my hope is that the bands will linger in the mornings and spend money on Maple St, before they leave town. Thus helping the retail shops, restaurants, auto mechanics, grocery stores, etc.”

Bravo! To help get the ball rolling, a fundraising concert is beind held tonight at The Barley Street Tavern to raise cash to cover some basic operational expenses and add amenities such as a washer/dryer and WiFi. The cover is $5, and there will be a donation jar on the bar.

The performance line-up:

9 p.m.: Chad Wallin
9:30 p.m.: All Young Girls are Machine Guns –
10 p.m.: Doug Flynn (Comedian)
10:15 p.m.: Brad Hoshaw (Brad Hoshaw & the Seven Deadlies)
10:45 p.m.: Jake Bellows
11:15 p.m.: Justin Lamoureux (Midwest Dilemma)

Midnight: Cass Brostad (Cass Fifty and the Family Gram, Traveling Mercies)

12:30 a.m.: Andrew Bailie (It’s True!, Riverside Anthology, The Wholes)

* * *

The new 2 a.m. closing time for Omaha bars begins tonight. As I reported earlier

, One Percent Productions has no intention of pushing band start-times back at its shows. Only time will tell if their approach will also make sense for less-savory places like O’Leaver’s (where I definitely could see shows going later) or fancy-smancy Slowdown (very unlikely  — they rarely run past 12:30 now). In the end, it’s much ado about nothing, at least for me.

* * *

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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The review of Friday night’s Lincoln Invasion fest will be online in tomorrow’s column (w/pics), so check back. My only other “music experience” last weekend involved a West Omaha bar where a cover band rumbled though a selection of ’80s hair metal songs while grossly overweight people sat on broken picnic tables outside in a grassy knoll surrounded by chain-link fence smoking cigarettes and watching as cops arrested a young perp on a DUI bust. Slumming? Maybe…

* * *

A couple follow-ups on last week’s blogs: I’m told the Concert for Equality Deluxe tickets, which went on sale Saturday morning, sold out in less than an hour (despite problems with the One Percent Productions website). Deluxe ticket holders get access to The Waiting Room for an after-concert concert that will include the Lullaby for the Working Class reunion and some other surprises which I’ve been told would be “well worth my $50 per ticket.” We shall see. BTW, some jackhole is selling a pair of deluxe tix on ebay here for a buy-now price of $299 a pair (another individual ticket has been bid up to $81 with 7 days left on the auction). The $20 general admission tickets, which get you into the outdoor concert, are still available, but I’m told that they’re going fast.

* * *

When I ran into Justin Beiber at Westroads the weekend before last (blogged here), I had no idea that I was witnessing the genesis to an urban music masterpiece. Bieber has since immortalized his trip to the mall in a toss-off hip-hop recording called “Omaha Mall,” which has been a trending topic on Twitter for the past couple of days. You can hear this thought-provoking musical journey, with such “fresh” lines as “I’ve been to LA, New York I’ve done it all / But none of it compares to the Omaha mall”  here on YouTube. Thanks to reader @collinmatz

for the head’s up.

* * *

Saddle Creek Records announced last Friday that it’s releasing the debut solo album by Two Gallants’ Adam Haworth Stephens, We Live on Cliffs, Sept. 28. Produced by Grammy Award Winning producer Joe Chiccarelli (Radiohead, The White Stripes, The Shins), the album features guest musicians including Patrick Hallahan and Bo Koster (My Morning Jacket), Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Nine Inch Nails), Joey Waronker (Atoms for Peace), Cody Votolato (Blood Brothers / Jaguar Love), Mike Daly (ex-Whiskeytown), Petra Haden (Decemberists), Andy Cabic (Vetiver) and current band members Jen Grady, Matt Montgomery and Omar Cuellar. Stephens is playing at The Bourbon in Lincoln Aug. 11 with Blitzen Trapper.

Meanwhile, the other half of Two Gallants, Tyson Vogel, has his solo project, called Devotionals, coming out today on Alive! Records. Vogel puts away his drum set, picks up a guitar and plays with violinist Anton Patzner, who’s worked with Bright Eyes.

* * *

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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.