And so ends Day 1 of the Mid American Music Festival in beautiful balmy Benson. I caught Far Beyond Frail at Mia’s Bongo Room — a surprisingly good space for acoustic performances — before strolling over to The Waiting Room for a pared-down version of Midwest Dilemma (only 9 performers!) and Brad Hoshaw and the Six Deadlies (apparently one deadly was missing, or maybe Whipkey and his amazing hair counts as two?).

Midwest Dilemma frontman Justin Lamoureux said three members of his band were missing for personal reasons. I’m not sure where they would have put them on stage anyway. As such a large ensemble, MD is more of a folk orchestra than a band, boasting such unconventional rock instruments as cello, clarinet and tuba, along with mandolin, guitar, drums, stand-up bass, etc. The product is lilting, geographical, biographical mid-tempo folk waltzes that border on dirges. What Lamoureux lacks in variety (everything was played at the same plodding pace) he makes up for in the compositions, which tried to take advantage of everyone on stage. Yeah, having so many people in the band is impressive, but I personally prefer Midwest Dilemma as a simple trio — cello, woodwind/vocalist, guitar/vocalist (though it wouldn’t hurt to add a drummer to that mix). Unless he’s come across a boatload of cash, Lamoureux’s going to have to pare down to something more manageable like a trio or four-piece if he decides to take this show on the road — fewer mouths to feed, less of a money split, etc. While all that extra hardware sounds pretty, he can pull this off just as effectively with a more economical approach.

On the other hand, an already impressive catalog of music by Brad Hoshaw only got better when played by a full band. I’ve seen Hoshaw three or four times in a solo-acoustic setting and have always been thoroughly moved by the performance. With the “Seven Deadlies” — two backup singers, stand-up bass, drums, keyboards and guitarist Matt Whipkey (I’m told a trumpet was missing) — Hoshaw goes from folk-acoustic to folk-rock to alt-country without losing any of his personal edge. Hoshaw’s solo acoustic sets can become rather lulling 20 minutes in due to the nature of the ethereal-though-downcast music. The band arrangements remedy this, taking the set from quiet to twangy to rock and back again. One of the highlights was Whipkey. Known more for his own rock projects that he fronts, Whipkey is an ingenious, soulful soloist of the highest caliber. And though renowned for his bombastic drum-set-jumping rock performances — Whipkey was never overpowering, making sure to hold back when he needed to even though you knew he was dying to burn the house down. I’m told Hoshaw is finishing up an album with this band. As one of the city’s best songwriters who’s not afraid to tour, a label like Saddle Creek or Team Love would be wise to consider signing this hometown boy who has a sound and style unlike anything on those labels. But if Creek or Conor doesn’t, someone else certainly should. It’s time for Hoshaw to go national.

Show attendance was respectable for the festival’s opening night (and for a Wednesday). Mia’s had about 30 people in the house at its peak. There were twice that many in TWR for Midwest Dilemma, and that ballooned to around 75 for Hoshaw and company. I saw a lot of all-access laminates walking around, which makes me wonder how many patrons were paying customers and how many were members of other bands. I suspect the numbers to continue to rise as the weekend approaches.

Tonight’s highlights again are mostly at The Waiting Room. At 7 p.m., CB alt-rock buzz band Skypiper plays, followed by Thunder Power at 8:30, while at 11:30 Satchel Grande does another classic set — seems like these guys play almost every week. The late show is Black Squirrels at midnight at Burke’s Pub.

Check out the MAMF website for a full schedule.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

I wrote this column on the jet back from New York. While the aspects of Simplify mentioned below are interesting and amusing, it’s technology like this that will further erode album sales…

Column 188: Peeping Tom
Simplify your assumptions.

Funny how we draw conclusions about people simply by peeking into their proverbial closets.

For example, let’s say you’re in someone’s home and they step away to fix a drink or grab a phone call, leaving you in the room with nothing to do but snoop. You notice the bookcase and glance at some of the titles and immediately begin putting two and two together. Jacqueline Suzanne soft-core porn, The Poetry of Jim Morrison, Bill O’Reilly “think books,” your friend may be dumber than you thought. David Leavitt novels, Tales of the City, a biography of Judy Garland –your friend could very well be gay. Philip Roth, The Iliad, Gabriel Garcia Márquez (not translated) — thoughtful, literate, your friend is clearly smarter than you. And so on. Sure, it’s a stereotype, but isn’t everything in life a stereotype, and aren’t most stereotypes, in the end, correct?

The same idea works for music.

About two weeks ago, local music software impresario Jimmy Winter, the inventor and CEO of Music Arsenal, posted an item on his Live Journal page asking for folks to “be his friends” in Simplify Media.

Simplify is a new software (downloadable for free at simplifymedia.com) that allows registered users to make their entire iTunes music library available on multiple computers and mp3 players via the web. That means online access to all your music using your iPhone or iPod Touch just as if you’d downloaded it. So much for that 8-gig flash-drive limitation.

Mac users already could share their iTunes library on a closed network, so if I was downstairs in my home I could always access my iMac’s music library on my laptop anywhere in the house via Wi-Fi. Simplify moves that idea beyond the walls of your home.

Now here’s the good part: In addition to accessing your iTunes library, Simplify allows you to access as many as 30 other people’s libraries. All they have to do is invite you to be their “friend” — i.e., add you to their access list. And that’s where Winter’s LJ plea came in. Jimmy wanted in on everyone’s music library, and in return, he was willing to let us in on his. The caveat, as he pointed out, was that you’d be giving people an unflinching glance into your personal music taste — or lack of one.

Winter could have cared less what anyone thought out his music. “I have some stuff that might look stupid, but it’s nothing to hide really,” he said. “I was already made fun of by the amount of Weird Al records I have. Weird Al was the first album I ever bought! I’m not going to turn my back on him now!”

Winter may be the only person I’ve ever met who can listen to Weird Al without having the barrel of a gun pushed against his temple. To balance this out, he also had a large collection of Rocket from the Crypt albums (über cool), The Pogues (a band I’ve always been curious about, but never got around to listening to, until now) and Randy Newman, who Winter was a bit embarrassed about, even though Newman is one of the finest songwriters to emerge from the West Coast in the past 30 years. For every pop-punk novelty band and comedy album there was a Stnnng, Stiff Little Fingers and Stooges track to counter-act it. Winter’s collection painted a picture of a frustrated punk rocker who grew up watching too much Comedy Central.

I prefaced opening my own music closet by telling Winter that there was a number of albums in my 9,000-song online collection that were downloaded for professional purposes — for review or research — and that I just never got around to deleting the shitty ones. But how would I explain the John Denver and Barry Manilow tracks downloaded for Teresa’s sake? What about the remastered, rereleased Bee Gees greatest hits? And all the Pavement and Sonic Youth albums weren’t going to negate my extensive collection of Pet Shop Boys music.

Winter also subscribes to last.fm, a web service that keeps track and reports online what you’ve been listening to on your computer. Last.fm also recommends and streams music based on your perceived tastes — just as if it glanced at your bookcase. “I narcissistically like to keep track of what I listen to,” Winter said, “but I also like to see what other people are listening to, and check out the recommendations for bands the site predicts I would enjoy.”

Call it research. It’s just another way Winter keeps tabs on trends that could impact his clients. He’s been doing Music Arsenal full-time for three years, boasting 60 customers who use his high-tech contacts and task-tracking software, a number that he says will grow with the release of the latest version that focuses on individual artists rather than only record labels.

Ultimately, doesn’t a tool like Simplify hurt his clients’ business by taking away potential album sales? No, Winter said. “Well, bands won’t get paid from it by their label contracts or digital distributor when I hear (their music) on Simplify,” he said. “It’s similar to when friends used to tell me what they liked, loaned me a CD and then I bought it two weeks later. I still buy plenty of CDs, but I can’t buy everything I like. However when that band comes to town I might go to the show or buy a shirt.”

As for what Winter thought of my music: He was surprised at the Nine Inch Nails, that I didn’t have more Hold Steady, at the hidden John Denver tracks, at the amount of the local non-Creek bands. But in the end, I was a little hurt that he hadn’t mentioned the Pet Shop Boys.

Here are my picks for Day 1 of the Mid American Music Festival being held in Benson. As a reminder, admission is $10 for a wristband that gets you into all the participating venues for one night. You’ll have to buy another wristband tomorrow and for each night thereafter. Tonight’s can’t-miss performances are both at The Waiting Room: Midwest Dilemma scheduled for 10 p.m., followed by Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies at 11:30. Sure, both bands play around here all the time, but it’ll be nice to see them back-to-back. Other performances worth checking out:

— Kansas City’s Far Beyond Frail, a male-female Lilith-esque soft-rock duo, at 9 p.m. at Mia’s Bongo Room.
— New Yorker Matt Pless, an acoustic folk balladeer, at Burke’s Pub at 9:30.
— The Whipkey Three at 10 p.m., followed by Sarah Benck and the Robbers at 11:30, both at PS Collective.

Go here for the full MAMF schedule.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

I’m back from Manhattan with nothing to report musicwise. Labor Day weekend is a bad time for rock shows in NYC as the city tends to empty out for the last holiday of the summer. You can, however, read about my dining experience at Les Halles (Anthony Bourdain’s restaurant) here on the Reader‘s new Dining blog, wherein I go on and on and on about the poor service. Fun! Actually, if you haven’t noticed yet, The Reader introduced a whole slew of new blogs a few weeks ago, including blogs for Film, Art, Lifestyle, Books, Theater, and, yes, Music. For the most part, it looks like they’ve been doing a good job updating them at least a few times a week. It’s yet another resource for entertainment info in the Omaha area. Now to really get them cooking, they need is some reader comments. Have at it.

Not much going on around town tonight, I guess that’s because everyone’s getting ready for the Mid American Music Festival starting tomorrow at all the Benson-area music venues and bars. Details and a schedule are available here. I’ll have more on this — as well as my picks for shows to attend — as the week goes on.

Finally, Tilly and the Wall are performing on the season premier of the revamped 90210 tonight. Check your local listings for time/channel (in Omaha, 7 p.m. Cox Ch. 11). Now that’s what I call marketing. Tilly also just got a slot on the CSS tour later this month.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

This column rides out a riff that I began a week or so ago when I reviewed Brad Hoshaw’s solo set at Lauritzen Gardens. It got me thinking about cover songs and what goes into an artist’s decision to cover a specific song, and how ultimately stupid it is for anyone other than the artist him/herself to suggest a cover song for him/her to perform.

Column 187: Skipping Boston
When choosing a cover, choose wisely.

The scene was an early evening outdoor concert held in a lovely cove at Lauritzen Gardens featuring headliner Orenda Fink and opener Brad Hoshaw.

We sat in the moist grass surrounded by families and older couples (as well as a few well-coifed hipsters) trying to eek out as much warmth and sunlight as we could in the waning days of summer. For most people there, the concert was a last hurrah before football season and the return of school days. Hoshaw, standing like a bearded griz hunter with a guitar strapped over his shoulder, rifled though his usual set of homemade songs about love, death, booze, drugs and regrets with the conviction of a man making his last confession before being led off to the gas chamber. Hoshaw is one of city’s best singer-songwriter, a true craftsman who takes song writing very seriously, and it shows in every heart-felt chorus and verse.

About three-quarters of the way through his hour-plus set, Hoshaw introduced a song by The Twilight Singers — Greg Dulli’s post-Afghan Whigs band. Hoshaw took the typically dark rock song with lyrics about Christ and sex (titled “Last Temptation”) and turned it into a somber, introspective, dread lullaby that in no way resembled the original. He made it a Hoshaw song, not that anyone in the thirty-something, forty-something (fifty-something, sixty-something) crowd would know the difference since they very likely hadn’t heard the original before.

“It’s from one of my top-10 favorite albums of all time,” Hoshaw said from a cabin in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. “While watching a live video of them performing it, it hit me that the melody and lyrics were something I’d write. It fits my personality and seemed like a song that I could put myself into. The only way I do covers is to somehow make them my own.”

I’m a firm believer that every original band needs to do at least one cover song during their set. It gives the crowd a glimpse into their personal psyche, a clue as to where the songwriter is coming from and where he’s headed.

But playing a cover can be risky. Just ask Mike Tulis, bassist for The Third Men, The Monroes and a handful of other great bands throughout the years. The Third Men always manages to work a cover or two into their set without letting them overshadow their own catchy material. Among the favorites, Paul McCartney’s smash “Jet,” Richard and Linda Thomspon’s “Wall of Death,” and, of course, Nick Gilder’s “Hot Child in the City,” featuring Tulis on lead vocals. It was the Gilder song that threatened to eclipse everything. I first saw them play it at The Waiting Room to a frenzied crowd, and then for the next few gigs thereafter, the buzz was whether they were going to play it again.

“That’s the risk of doing a cover song,” Tulis said. “It can certainly throw a spotlight on the band’s own songs. Are they as well-written or well put together? Sometimes that’s why bands kind of shy away from doing a cover or they don’t do it that often. It can become the song everyone’s waiting to hear. Some people sort of take the attitude that I’d rather play our song than someone else’s, you know?”

He recalled what Third Men frontman Pat White said about covers. “Pat’s attitude is that you’re asking an audience for quite a bit to come in and listen to songs they may have never heard before. You’ve put them through the paces of hearing everything you wrote. There’s nothing wrong with playing a song they know. As long as it doesn’t become the song you’re known for. That can become a problem.”

No band wants to be known as “the guys who do that great (fill-in-the-blank-with-your-favorite-band) cover.” But maybe I was over-thinking the whole thing. “It’s not like a brand you have to carry around with you for the rest of existence,” Tulis said. “I don’t know if it sums up your whole band; it can if you let it, but I don’t think most bands do that. Most bands try a song because they love it.”

While listening to Hoshaw that evening, Teresa leaned over and whispered, “He’s got the perfect voice for ‘Please Come to Boston.'” She was dead right. Anyone who grew up as I did forced to listen to KFAB remembers the classic Dave Loggins hit that starts, “Please come to Boston for the springtime / I’m stayin’ here with some friends and they’ve got lots of room.” Remember it now? Had Hoshaw played that song instead of that Twilight Singers tune, the sleepy older crowd would have hoisted him on their shoulders and paraded him around the water lily pond. But I told Teresa there was no way he would ever cover something so completely unhip.

It turned out that Hoshaw had never even heard the song before, and had to look it up on the Internet. The problem with the tune had nothing to do with its cool factor, he said. “The status of a song being cool or not doesn’t cross my mind. I’ve covered Toad the Wet Sprocket before, and that’s not cool. I just pick songs I like and then work with them. A lot of them I scrap because I’m not adding anything unique.”

After working with the song for an hour, Hoshaw said he finally gave up. And maybe that’s for the best. After all, I’m the guy who picked the song, not Brad. Its selection said more about me and Teresa’s cheesy taste than Brad’s songwriting voice. And after all, who wants to be known as the guy who does “Please Come to Boston”?

Still, someday, maybe? Come on, Brad.

As you read this I’m sitting in a jet flying to NYC for the weekend where I’ll be enjoying the U.S. Open, The Yankees, maybe something on Broadway, maybe a show on the Lower East Side. You’ll be here, enjoying a fine 3-day weekend of music. Here’s what’s going on:

Thursday night (tonight!) Fromanhole plays at The Barley St. with The Lepers. It’s probably free, so you can’t beat the price. Start off your weekend a day early.

Friday night’s marquee show is, of course, UUVVWWZ (read about ’em here) with The Show Is the Rainbow and Stolen Kisses at Slowdown Jr. The only thing I regret about this NYC trip is missing this show. It starts at 9 and costs $7.

Also Friday night, a loaded bill at The Waiting Room featuring Techlepathy, Ladyfinger, The Stay Awake, Perry H. Matthews and Private Dancer — amazing line-up. $7, 9 p.m. Over at PS Collective, Panang featuring Orenda Fink plays with Outlaw Con Bandana, $5, 10 p.m. O’Leaver’s has The Dinks, Imperial Battlesnake and Droids Attack, $5, 9:30 p.m. (be sure you check out Workers, now open, with a tasty Italian Beef sandwich and damn fine hotdogs (get ’em early, they ran out last Saturday night before they closed). One last show worth mentioning: Over at The Saddle Creek Bar (and Grill) New York band Your 33 Black Angels is playing with The Clincher and a third band. $5, 9 p.m.

Saturday, the Saddle Creek Bar (and Grill) is hosting Laborpalooza featuring 15 bands playing outdoors (2 to 10 p.m.) and indoors (9 to 1 a.m.) Cover is $7 for the whole day. Saturday night it’s Fortnight at O’Leaver’s with Landing on the Moon and The Dark Circles, $5, 9:30 p.m. Meanwhile, down at Slowdown, it’s a battle of the tribute/cover bands featuring The Song Remains the Same and Secret Weapon. $8, 9 p.m.

Sunday afternoon, Eagle*Seagull performs at Heartland of America Park as part of the 2008 Walk for Inclusion. Registration and other event information is available here. E*S performs at 3:45.

Check back over the next few days. There may be an update from the road. Maybe. Maybe not.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Just posted, an interview with UUVVWWZ’s Teal Gardner (read it here). The band’s new album is my favorite local release so far this year (and that includes Saddle Creek and all its affiliated bands). Too bad I can’t buy a copy (I have digital files) because Antiquarium and Drastic are both out of stock and have been for awhile. I’m told that they’ll be restocked Friday. And you’ll also be able to buy this vinyl-only treasure at the UUVVWWZ show Friday night at Slowdown, which I highly recommend you attend.

I’d be there, but I’m leaving town tomorrow for Manhattan, where I’ll be cooling my heels through the weekend (just like when I went out there in April, if any of you have any restaurant / record store / fun-things-to-do suggestions while I’m in NYC, email them to me. You really came through last time.).

Anyway, go read the UUVVWWZ story, where Teal reflects romantically about the band’s recent tour that included a brush with a narc squad, a naked drummer, NYC hipsters and projectile vomit. After Slowdown, the band is headed to Minneapolis and Des Moines for a couple shows with The Show Is the Rainbow (who’s also playing at Slowdown Friday). Their next local gigs won’t be until Sept. 19 (Box Awesome for Lincoln Calling) and Sept. 24 (Knickerbockers with Helios Creed). Don’t miss them.

Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s the return of Girl Drink Drunk — Omaha’s own version of shithook karaoke. The TWR and the band really are trying to get this thing off the ground, but they can’t do it without your help. The show starts at 9 and is absolutely free. What else do you have to do tonight other than watch Bill’s speech at the DNC convention?

Look for this week’s column online here sometime tomorrow, though I’m not sure when (Does the Minneapolis airport have free wi-fi? I doubt it.). There also may be site updates from NYC (if something happens music-related). Keep watching.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Interesting story in the OWH this morning about the perceived decline of Saddle Creek Records (read it here). The story is a reaction to Oberst going to Merge and The Faint self-releasing Faciinatiion, with the premise: “Without a strong Saddle Creek and its nationally lauded stable of groups, Omaha’s musical skyline could look just like any midsized Midwest city.”

Really? The last time I checked, The Faint still had a studio near downtown Omaha and Oberst still owned a mansion in Fairacres. The bands haven’t gone anywhere. The only member of Creek’s big three to head for the hills (as in Beverly Hills) is Cursive’s Tim Kasher, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up right back here. Creek is an important part of the Omaha music scene, but it certainly doesn’t define it. Not when there are so many good, successful bands around here that aren’t on that label.

The key here is defining what “success” means. For whatever reason, the story didn’t provide any sales numbers, which are an absolute must to give OWH readers some sort of perspective. Most people who are only familiar with pop FM radio music (i.e., the vast majority of OWH readers) assume “success” means a million-selling album. That’s what they see on E! and Entertainment Tonight and MTV Cribs. Imagine how surprised they’d be if they realized that Saddle Creek has never produced a gold record. Not one. Not yet. Still, in the eyes of the indie music world, Creek is remarkably successful. I’ve said it a million times, I’m saying it again — you could take every record that Saddle Creek ever sold and it wouldn’t equal the sales of one Eminem album. Eminem (when he was still performing) sold out arenas. Most indie bands (and almost all local bands) live in a world where a successful show is selling out a 300- to 500-seat venue. A huge success is selling out the 1,400-capacity Sokol Auditorium. And the biggest success of all is being able to quit your day job and do music full-time.

I have to believe technology has and will continue to have a bigger impact on Saddle Creek’s financials than the loss of The Faint. It comes down to cash flow. How much money has Saddle Creek and every other record label lost due to downloading over the past five years? Forget about iTunes, I’m talking about stealing music right off the net. I continue to run into teen-agers and 20-somethings who tell me they don’t buy CDs. They don’t have to. Stealing music from the web has become common-place for a large segment of the next generation music “consumers.”

As for Omaha’s reputation “waning a bit,” no one expected the “New Seattle” designation to last forever or even this long. By the way, name the city that’s taken Omaha’s place on the New Seattle throne. Is there one? (And what about those recent SPIN and NYT articles lauding the city?)

Finally, there’s Creek’s recent signings. Tokyo Police Club could replace The Faint as a member of the label’s Big Three, especially on the heels of the Weezer tour (though Weezer has seen better days). Beyond TPC, well, I have no idea. Before Creek signed them, I never heard of Land of Talk or Sebastien Grainger (though I’d heard of Death from Above 1979). Time will tell if they can break through. Does Creek really expect these or any of their second-level acts to ever get as big as Bright Eyes? Yeah, it would be nice, but those days are probably gone.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

So packed were the streets around Sokol Saturday night that I wound up parking on 16th Street. The Underground apparently was hosting a metal show, while upstairs, where I was headed, it was The Faint’s sold-out show. It was the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen in the auditorium, but I talked to a couple people who said they’d seen it even more crowded before. Maybe so, but I doubt that it’s ever been steamier. The room felt like a sauna. I showed up at just before 11 after all the openers had finished their sets. Guys were pushing through the crowd shirtless, drenched in sweat, leaving slime marks whenever they brushed against your clothes. Like the Tilly show a few weeks ago, I was still getting used to the smoke-free environment. Without the smoke, the place smelled like hair products, popcorn and body odor. I didn’t even try to get a beer; the crowd was so thick around the bar. Instead, I found a lean-to spot behind one of the large, industrial stand-up electric fans, figuring I’d get a breeze from the inflow while the fan pushed everyone else’s stink-sweat in the other direction. The plan worked.

Shortly after 11, the lights went down and on stage in a shower of blazing strobes came The Faint. And the crowd went wild. This despite the usual blown-out, over-bassed sound that turned everything into a bowel-rattling, boom-static mess. To be fair, I was standing beneath the balcony overhang — the wrong place to be at any Sokol Auditorium show. Still, later when I did the cursory walk around the room, the sound was just as bad everywhere including by the sound board. It’s a good thing Todd Fink has a voice that — when powered by the usual special effects — can cut right through the noise haze. I was told afterward by someone who has seen them at a number of different venues that Sokol really isn’t an exception — they apparently prefer their live sound to be unbelievably dense and throbbing, effectively blurring the lines that define their music.

As disappointing as the sound was, the visuals were absolutely stellar. This was easily the best light and projection show I’ve seen by any band anywhere. The Faint have finally crafted a suite of visual effects that actually enhances — rather than distracts from — the overall show. The trick is the use of a monochromatic projection system fed with by a series of live cameras mounted somewhere on stage. On a curtain, huge duo-tone black-and-white projections of their live performance towered over the band like static images from the film 1984. At first I thought it was a pre-recorded video, until I realized the actions matched what the band was doing on stage. It was an enormous shadow-dance close-up of each performer interlaced with prerecorded graphic images. Add an array of multicolored computer-controlled digital strobes and it was easily the coolest thing I’ve ever seen The Faint or anyone else do on stage. Dazzling.

The crushed dance-floor bounced for every classic Faint song, the fists rising in the air in unison. The songs from Faciinatiion, however, didn’t fair as well — but isn’t that always the way for bands who are out supporting new material? Well, maybe. Still, the new stuff just didn’t seem as rocket-fueled as the old stuff, and fell somewhat flat when crushed between the old standards. Suddenly the biggest Faint punching bag — Wet From Birth — sounded cutting edge compared to Faciinatiion. It’s going to make people stop and reconsider the album — maybe it wasn’t so bad after all (I never thought it was in the first place). So will we be saying the same thing about Faciinatiion in 2012 when the next Faint CD comes along? Hopefully I’ll still be alive to find out.

It turned out to be one of the longest Faint shows I’ve ever seen. As midnight rolled around the band finished its set and disappeared in back, presumably toweling off before the encore. I didn’t stick around to see if they played the only song off the new album that I was dying to hear live, ”The Geeks Were Right.” Instead, I started my long march up Martha Street back to my car.

I got there in time to drive to O’Leaver’s for last call. Closing out their set was The Lepers, who have switched from being a guitar-and-drum duo to a bass-and-drum duo, for a few numbers, anyway. The change was well-advised, and I’m looking forward to hearing how they pull it off on their new disc.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

Here’s an update on Mariofest being held today at Mario’s in Dundee (part of Dundee Day): The music starts at 6 p.m. with Outlaw Con Bandana, followed by sax-and-drum duo Kotchian & Pike. At 8 it’s Shiver Shiver, followed by Satchel Grande at 9. Still no clue on what it’ll cost to get in. Also, a reliable source told me yesterday that The Box Elders have been added to tonight’s Faint show at Sokol Auditorium. Sounds like I’ll be going after all.

–Got comments? Post ’em here.—

The crowd was only so-so last night at TWR, maybe 100 people? The biggest problem — few if any were in the stage room during the performances. Most hung out in the back by the bar, which is a real drag, especially for this kind of music. Five or six women were grooving on the dance floor during the Filter Kings’ set. The band’s new music seems to skew even more toward country / rock-a-billy than I remember. Even so, I don’t think you’ll be seeing them at Bushwacker’s anytime soon, though I’d love to see these two bands perform there. Maybe it was because they were stone sober or the fact that it was a benefit, but the Kings didn’t seem as break-neck buck-wild burn-the-place-down as I remember them at earlier shows. I know bands don’t appreciate this, but I like shows where there’s a tension coming off the stage that fuels the unexpected. When it comes to the Filter Kings, that means sheer exuberant energy bordering on bar-room brawl. Broken beer bottles. Women dancing on tables. The Bob’s Country Bunker scene from The Blues Brothers. That’s hard for any band to pull off, especially when you’re staring at an empty dance floor. I guess I should have helped things along by buying the band shots.

That same languid crowd energy seeped into FortyTwenty’s set. It was the first time I’ve seen these guys. They are unbelievably talented. They could go either way — straight-up country or straight-up country rock. Terrific musicians with terrific voices. I tried to imagine how they’d sound in a packed, drunken, steaming-hot room. Maybe next time.

* * *

Here are the Week Two numbers for Oberst/Faint, provided once again by Homer’s frontman Mike Fratt. Conor Oberst’s solo album moved another 11,077 copies last week, good enough for No. 40 on the Billboard charts. Of those, 3,813 were digital downloads. The Faint sold 3,618 copies of Fasciinatiion, moving the album to No. 172 on Billboard. Digital downloads of Fasciinatiion weren’t enough to chart, which means there were fewer than 1,300. Watch these numbers jump as the band continues to hit the road, including this Saturday at Sokol Auditorium. Anyone got a spare ticket?

* * *

Which brings us to the weekend.

Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s The Flobots with People Under the Stairs. This one sold out quite a while ago. 9 p.m.

Also, Cloven Path and The Shanks are playing at The 49’r tonight.

Saturday is Dundee Day. There will be the usual main stage set up across from the Dundee Dell featuring a slew of lame bands. Close your eyes and ears, walk past that noise, and go over to Dario’s where Dariofest will be happening once again. I’m told the line-up will be Shiver Shiver, Outlaw Con Bandana, Satchel Grande and a fourth TBA band. Sure, it’ll cost you something to get in, but both the music and the beer will be well worth it (and better than you’re going to get a few paces away). I’m not sure when this gets off the ground. If I find out, I’ll update this page.

Saturday night is, of course, The Faint at Sokol Auditorium. Opening is Matador band Jaguar Love and Gengis Tron. Starts at 8. If I can get on the list, I’ll give you a full report.

For those of us without tickets, there’s always O’Leaver’s, where The Lepers are playing with Actors & Actresses, Bazooka Shootout and Giants. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Indie band Fortnight (Ex-Park Ave member Jenn Bernard’s band) is playing at hole-in-the-wall-in-the-basement Benson club Incognito, 7024 Maple St. (under the One Lounge, check out their myspace page). 9 p.m. and absolutely free.

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A friend of mine read this and said ‘Dude, you’re getting old,’ missing the whole point of the column. Oh well…

Column 186 — In Any Language
World Music is cooler than you think.

I spent last weekend driving through the sun-baked streets of Southern France. Sure, it was all in my mind, but from time to time, as I motored down Underwood Ave. and across the slippery, snaky back of Turner Blvd., I also was cruising along a cobblestone street in Dordogne on my way to Sarlat, dodging crepe vendors and an array of French poodles. The fantasy — or at least its soundtrack — came courtesy of a record label called Putumayo.

Putumayo recently transported me to Quebec, Africa, Latin America and the discos of Europe via its ongoing series of World Music compilations.

Stop. Did he just say “World Music”? This guy is supposed to be telling us about indie music — local or otherwise — and now he’s going off on a World Music label? Things must be mighty slow at Saddle Creek these days. Isn’t World Music for old people, New Age health-food hippies and bearded, slouching, sadly dressed literature professors?

Yeah, that’s what I used to think, too. World Music = New Age = Boring. But there was a time in the late ’80s early ’90s when World Music emerged as something cool, thanks to ex-Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and his Luaka Bop label. Byrne broke through the New Age preconceptions of World Music by uncovering hip sounds by the likes of Tom Zé, Os Mutantes, Zap Mama, but more specifically (in my case) by releasing compilations like Brazil Classics 1: Beleza Tropical; Brazil Classis 2: O Samba, and Cuba Classics 2: Dancing with the Enemy. Luaka Bop provided a sound and beat that was a million miles away from the Ritual Device, Replacements and Husker Du albums that had been clogging up my CD player. The label was hot for a number of years, then David Byrne left, and it sort of faded from memory, and that old perception of World Music quickly returned.

Now along comes Putumayo World Music. Actually, the label’s been around for 15 years, starting up shortly after Luaka Bop, but I’d never heard of it until just recently, when out of the blue Putumayo compilations began showing up in my mailbox.

Kaveh Sarfehjooy, marketing executive at Putumayo in New York, thinks the dated stigma behind the term “World Music” is fading. “Part of selling anything is giving it a certain label,” he said. “World Music to me is music from different parts of the world that isn’t normally heard. It’s a nebulous term. People should make their own definition.”

At a time when the entire industry seems to be in an endless downward spiral, Sarfehjooy said Putumayo’s sales have remained steady, apparently immune to the forces killing everyone else. He pointed to the label’s network of non-traditional outlets that includes book stores, coffee shops, health food markets like Whole Foods as well as the traditional independent record stores like Homer’s.

He said Putumayo, a small indie label which has sold more than 20 million CDs, is constantly searching for music that people haven’t heard before, and includes both classic and contemporary songs by leading singer-songwriters.

The soon-to-be released Acoustic France compilation (the CD that transported me to Dordogne) is a good example. The 12-song sampler is one of the best indie albums I’ve heard this year, even though I didn’t understand a thing anyone was singing. The collection includes a number of songs that you’d expect to hear on a soundtrack to a European indie film or a France-based Woody Allen flick. The acoustic guitar basso nova whistler “Assidic” by Les Escrocs is pure striped shirt, pencil mustache and beret, and also was a big hit in France back in ’94 (according to the liner notes). You’ll also expect to hear stuff like the swing guitar rambler “J’Suis Pas d’lci” by Thomas Dutronic and the lilting guitar waltz “Romane” by Passion, dripping with the same atmospheric intrigue found in a French spy novel.

What you won’t be expecting is stuff like the trip-hop-inflected “Clash Dans Le Tempo” by Constance Amiot, Sadrine Kiberlain’s chugging “Le Quotidiem” and back-beat shuffler “Sombre Con,” by Rose, all of which would be right at home on any American indie album if they were sung in English (and believe me, there’s plenty of American indie music that would be greatly improved if it were sung in a foreign tongue).

Part of what makes this music so endearing is that I don’t have a clue what they’re singing about. It’s that same quality that makes Putumayo CDs perfect for background music at events like art shows, though relegating it to such a fate would be a mistake — I found myself listening to this CD over and over last weekend without getting bored.

Sarfehjooy said Putumayo targets “cultural creatives” who are more likely to approach music with an open mind. “They’re people who are interested in other cultures,” he said. “When we started, our demographic may have skewed older, but with the introduction of our Groove and Lounge series, we’re naturally attracting a younger audience.”

And that includes followers of traditional indie music. “A lot of scenes, like indie rock, punk and electronica are marginalized and consist of people whose tastes aren’t dictated by mainstream tastes,” Sarfehjooy said. “We’re getting more and more interest from hip-hop DJ’s who feel the international flavor of the music naturally fits into their sets. It doesn’t matter what you’re into if the music’s good.

“With the Internet, there are just more outlets to be exposed to good music, whether it’s from Greece, Iran, Egypt, Tahiti or Thailand, it’s all more readily available on line,” Sarfehjooy said. “The world is getting smaller.”

Tonight there’s a worthy benefit show at The Waiting Room featuring superstar acts Forty Twenty, The Filter Kings and Black Squirrels. The $10 at the door will go toward covering bartender Dave Syslo’s medical bills for recent cancer surgery. We all understand how important it is to keep Omaha’s best bartenders healthy and on their feet, which means I’ll be seeing you at the show. 9 p.m. Wear scrubs.

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