Bright Eyes’ frontman and Omaha native son Conor Oberst blitzed the indie music media yesterday with news that he’s recovered from his reported “vocal problems” that forced the band off the road a few weeks ago.
In a video posted on the @brighteyesofficial Instagram account, Oberst, wearing a Tracks Lounge T-shirt (world class chicken!), thanks people who “reached out,” said he’s “feeling a lot better” and that the band plans to resume touring in 2025 “if all goes well as planned.” Still no date for a rescheduled Steelhouse Omaha show, but something tells me that’s pending…
On the cusp of the release of her fourth studio album, yesterday Anna McClellan dropped a video for the single “Omaha,” described as “a complex tribute to her Nebraska roots.”
“Omaha is smoking cigarettes and drinking beers on the porch until 4 am any day of the week,” mused when asked about the song. “Omaha, at least to me, is being so completely known and utterly lonely. Omaha is driving around. It’s a beautiful thing really.”
The track, written during her move to Los Angeles, concludes with the line: “Wilting ‘til I rot / Is it me or is it Omaha?” One must look inside for the answer to that question. See if you can spot your favorite Omaha hangout in the video. McClellan’s Electric Bouquet LP drops tomorrow via Father/Daughter Records.
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Doug Kiser of seminal Omaha punk band fromanhole has a new band, Housewares, that’s making their stage debut Nov. 16 at The Sydney.
In addition to Doug on bass, the band is rounded out by a lot of familiar faces (to those of us who went to shows in the ’00s): Doug’s brother, Daryl Kiser (also ex-fromanhole) on guitar, Jason Koba of Thunder Power on drums, Scott Klemmensen of Reset on vocals, and Andy LaChance on keyboards.
Says Kiser about the band: “It’s melodic, probably technical, with elements of post whatever, jazz, blues and maybe some country. There is a lot of counting, that’s for sure.” We’ll see about that Nov. 16!
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Speaking of new songs, Lincoln act Vempire released a cover of The Ramones’ “Pet Sematary” last Friday. The single is the first from their upcoming EP, Fumes, slated to drop on Halloween. Check it:
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Here’s the latest list of touring indie shows coming to Omaha through February (just so I could include the just-announced Real Estate show (We have to have something to look forward to)). This list gets shorter and shorter…
How does The Astro in La Vista — the city’s newest large-scale concert hall — compare to Steelhouse Omaha, the downtown music venue that is The Astro’s direct competition? Let’s start at the beginning…
We didn’t get to The Astro for last night’s Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain (JAMC) show until about a quarter to 8, knowing we would likely miss all of opening act Frankie Rose. Despite entering “La Vista City Centre” through the wrong entrance, we managed to find the parking garage and navigate the electronic-only payment system (just $5!), where we found a spot on the third floor.
The garage was a five-minute walk to the venue, whose “Astro” signage was turned off — maybe it’s already broken, which would be a shame since it just opened this past December.
Security and drink wristbands were handled outside the venue, and this is where we hit our first speed bump. Having not read the venue’s “fine print,” we discovered too late that they only allow purses measuring 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches. Teresa’s purse was 6.51 inches wide, barely over the limit but enough for security to tell her to take it back to the car (without asking to look inside for a concealed bomb or hidden shiv). Welp, security is security, and Teresa hoofed it back across City Centre. I waited outside, next to three or four other people whose spouses also had been turned back.
Ah, but once she returned, we got right in. You enter on the balcony level, so we were immediately directed to a stairway that led to the main floor (there must have been an elevator somewhere, though we never saw it). Down, down, down we went through the Astro’s concrete esophagus that opened to the venues bright, glistening bowels.
The best way to describe The Astro: It kind of feels like a giant-sized Slowdown. Whereas Steelhouse is long and somewhat narrow, Astro is stubby and wide, with a huge tiered main floor surrounded by a walkway. Drink bars are located on either side and in back (the back bar was closed). Everywhere you looked, it was shiny and new with the space dominated by the enormous, eye-popping stage.
From in front of the stage looking toward the Astro’s balcony.The Close Encounters of the Third Kind Astro stage.The Astro’s Q*Bert floor tiles near the back bar.Booze. The Astro has plenty. See above for prices. Odd that there are no oz in the beer list. My Modelo was a tall boy, whereas Teresa’s Fairy Nectar was 12 oz. Astro is cashless and the POS system worked great.The Astro’s soundboard area, minus the drunk lady.
We had “table tickets,” whatever that meant. Did they include chairs? They did – big, white high stools. We were led to our table, where one of Astro’s ushers quickly gave us a second wristband. Look, you can’t beat these seats if you don’t want to stand for three hours. They only cost a few bucks more than general admission, but are cheaper than balcony seats (We were never allowed upstairs, so I can’t vouch for the balcony, but it looked cushy up there). We must have been close to an exit, because cigarette (and pot) smoke wafted through all evening.
Sight lines from our seats were nothing less than spectacular, but the sight lines throughout the entire concert hall were pretty great. Maybe because only about 1,000 people were in attendance, but getting around was easy.
The Jesus and Mary Chain at The Astro, Oct. 22, 2024.
And so, the show itself. Like I said we missed the opener, who must have went on at the stroke of 7 p.m. The Jesus and Mary Chain hit the stage at 8 and played most of the set without front lights, so they were mostly shadows against back lighting. I guess the Reid brothers don’t want people to see their wrinkles.
When I saw JAMC at SXSW a decade ago, the feedback-fueled set was intense, loud and frenetic, at times chaotic and threatening to cause a riot in the packed outdoor venue (The Belmont). Last night’s JAMC set was the opposite – the band rifled through the same set list they played the night before in St. Louis, barely stopping between songs, while the crowd stood and watched, motionless. It had all the energy of an industry mixer.
To the uninitiated, all JAMC songs kind of sound the same, and three or four tunes into their set folks seemed to return to their conversations, albeit at louder volumes — a very chatty crowd. Sound-wise, the mix seemed “boomy,” and when Reid said something to the audience between songs it was nothing but booming echo. Still, the actual songs’ vocals were pretty good and cut through the mud.
During the set I got up and took a stroll to check out the sound and sight lines, making my way back to the soundboard in the back center of the floor. While a couple dudes did their thing lit up by the enormous soundboard, I noticed what I thought was a gaffer lying on his stomach with his arms outstretched working on wiring at the back of the sound area. “Good on you, bub, get in there and fix whatever’s broken,” I thought.
But when the guy rolled to his side I discovered it was actually a lady apparently passed out, her red hair soaking in a puddle of ooze. One of the sound guys noticed at the same time and took off, and within seconds a dozen cops and first-aid people surrounded the lady, who by then had come to, and I assume was rushed off to the “chill-out tent” or wherever they take people to recover. Ah, rock concerts.
JAMC wrapped up their set with no encore (neither band is playing encores on this tour), the lights came up and the stage guys immediately went into action for the switch over. The between-set drone soundtrack was indistinguishable rumble noise.
Psychedelic Furs at The Astro, Oct. 22, 2024.
Like JAMC, The Psychedelic Furs played the same set as they had the previous night in St. Louis. Frontman Richard Butler was in perfect voice, strolling the stage, leaning into the two young guitarists or his brother, Tim, playing bass. Again, the mix felt boomy, but the vocals were spot on and the zombie-like, mostly middle-aged crowd seemed to appreciate the hit-filled set.
The band wrapped up with the hit “Heaven,” and again rushed off the stage sans encore. The lights came up, we headed back up those stairs and were immediately ushered out of the building. What about band merch? I want my $50 T-shirt! I never saw a merch booth and didn’t try to get back in find it.
Final stages: Exiting the parking garage was a breeze. Organizers must have put a lot of thought into avoiding logjams – in and out and on your way. City Centre itself at night was desolate. While there were a few businesses aglow (a pub/restaurant, for example), we passed a lot of unoccupied buildings. One brightly lit interior exposed mounds of dirt and naked cinderblocks.
So, back to the original question: Which is better: Astro or Steelhouse? Hands down I’d rather see a show at The Astro. Its smaller size makes for a more intimate experience while still providing a big, impressive stage with great sight lines and seating options. Sound wise, it’s hard to compare the two especially based on these bands. The Astro had a boomy, auditorium sound vs. Steelhouse’s bright, shimmery hall quality. More research is needed.
Unfortunately, based on both venues’ previous bookings, that isn’t likely to happen. This was the first (and only) show booked at Astro that attracted my attention. Let’s face it, indie music geeks are neither venues’ target audience.
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Speaking of indie geeks…
Tonight at The Slowdown, Brit-award winning singer/songwriter Kate Nash headlines. Her most recent album, 9 Sad Symphonies, was released this past summer by Kill Rock Stars. Her “breakthrough” was 2010’s My Best Friend Is You (Fiction Records), that Pitchfork called “thrillingly schizophrenic.” New Hampshire act Revenge Wife and Kill Rock Stars label mate Joh Chase open the show at 8 p.m. This one’s in the main room, I assume because Nash also starred in the Netflix lady wrasslin’ series GLOW, where she played “Rhonda “Britannica” Richardson. Sorry I missed that one. $30.
Tonight marks my first visit to the new Astro Theater in La Vista.
The venue actually opened last December, but tonight’s show – headlined by The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus and Mary Chain — is the first concert that caught my attention enough to buy a pair of tickets.
I can’t imagine shedding any shrewd, technicolor observations on either band’s performance. Instead, look for detailed reporting and an assessment of “my Astro experience” in tomorrow’s blog (with photos!).
Looking over last night’s set lists from both bands’ gigs at the Stifel Theatre in St. Louis (here’s Psych Furs, here’s JAMC), expect a mostly “greatest hits” set, especially from the Furs. JAMC don’t have nearly as many popular/well-known songs, and are kind of a weird choice for this tour. A lot of the Furs’ fans are going to get bored and anxious waiting for their heroes. That said, I saw JAMC over a decade ago at South By Southwest and they were intense.
Frankie Rose opens tonight’s show at 7 p.m. Her claim to fame is as a member of the bands Vivian Girls, Crystal Stills and most recently Dum Dum Girls. Her latest album, Love as Projection, was released by Slumberland Records in 2023.
Tickets are still available, ranging in price from $59 to $99. See you there…
Ambitious fans of the band Cursive who attended both nights of their two-night stand at The Waiting Room this weekend were rewarded with two very different sets.
In addition to playing (only) four songs from the new album, Devourer, (including personal fave “Dark Star,”), Saturday night’s 19-song set spanned the full Cursive catalog, reaching back to their ’97 album Such Blinding Starts for Starving Eyes (“Downhill Racers”), through 2018’s Vitriola (a sublime rendition of “It’s Gonna Hurt”) as well as the usual hits (“The Martyr,” “Dorothy at Forty,” “From the Hips”).
Cursive’s Matt Maginn, left, and Tim Kasher.
If you didn’t hear your favorite Saturday night, you might have heard it Friday night, when the band switched things up and played hits “Staying Alive,” “Sink to the Beat” and “The Lament of Pretty Baby,” among others. In all, the band performed 30 different songs over two nights, and still left off some favorites (“The Casualty,” “Big Bang,” “Remorse” (my personal favorite, anyway)).
I’m not surprised frontman Tim Kasher can remember all the words to all those songs; however, I can’t understand how drummer Pat Oakes remembered every fill, flourish and slight rhythm change, especially since he’s relatively new to the band. Ah, but Oakes — like most of us in the audience — grew up listening to Cursive. Still… that’s a heavy lift, and Oakes was a standout Saturday night.
So was cellist Megan Siebe, who provided vocals whether the songs called for them or not, singing along throughout the entire set with eyes firmly shut, head a blur hidden beneath her long hair that hung down over her strings. If Kasher is the busiest person in show business (He just sold a feature film that he wrote and directed), Siebe is the second busiest as a full-time member of Neva Dinova (fantastic new album!) as well as writing and recording her own material.
Cursive veterans Matt Maginn and Ted Stevens remain the band’s bedrock (Ted was in fine voice and had me wondering about the next Mayday performance). Versatile Patrick Newbery seamlessly switched between trumpet and keyboards all night, and killed, as per usual.
At the heart of it all was the ageless Kasher, who put his soul into every song whether howling out a classic like “The Martyr” or a new one like “Botch Job.” He, along with this band, hasn’t lost a step in all the years I’ve been watching them – and it’s been a lot of years.
Criteria’s A.J. Mogis, left, and Stephen Pedersen at The Waiting Room Oct 12, 2024.
Stephen Pedersen and his band, Criteria, also has been at it for a long time. Despite an impressive catalog of songs that stretches back more than 20 years (Debut album En Garde was released in 2003), the band has their eyes firmly focused on the future, as evidenced by having played seven new, unreleased songs when they opened for Cursive Saturday night.
Each song sounded like classic Criteria, many of them swinging on an iconic 3/4 or 6/8 waltz time that forced listeners to sway to the beat as if balancing on a ship’s deck in rough waters. The new songs are love-inspired anthems, with lines like “My head / your heart,” “You make me whole” and “Stay, at least today.” Pedersen’s songs of devotions were quite a contrast to Kasher’s angst-filled midlife confessions.
When Criteria finished auditioning the new material, they switched back to an older number that, quite frankly, felt stodgy and flat in comparison. Ah, but the energy returned by the time they got to perennial crowd-pleaser and (let’s face it, theme song) “Prevent the World,” which sounded much like it did the first time I heard them sing it nearly 20 years ago.
So what will become of this new Criteria material? One assumes it’ll be recorded and released, but by which record label? Cursive, whose new album was released by Run for Cover Records, seems to have walked away from the label they run – 15 Passenger Records – who released Criteria’s last LP. Could a return to Saddle Creek be in the making for Criteria? The Creek could be so lucky…
Gladie opened Saturday’s show at The Waiting Room.
A common questions being bandied about by indie music fans this weekend: Which Cursive show are you going to?
Omaha legends Cursive are playing two shows – tonight and tomorrow night — at The Waiting Room in support of their new album, Devourer (2024, Run for Cover), which is (imho) their best album since 2009’s Mama, I’m Swollen. Full review here.
Playing both nights are tour mates, Philly post-punk band Gladie, whose last full-length, Don’t Know What You’re in Until You’re Out, was released in 2022 on Plum Records. The four-piece is led by ex-Cayetana member Augusta Koch and includes Pat Conaboy (ex-Spirit of the Beehive). Definitely worth getting there early.
Tonight (Friday), Little Brazil has the honors of opening the show. For Saturday night, that honor falls on Criteria, who I’m told will be trying out a handful of new songs during their set (along with their usual greatest hits).
Both shows start at 8 p.m. and will run you $30. Neither has sold out as of this writing. Choose wisely, or better yet – go to both!
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Other than those Cursive shows, there ain’t a shit-ton going on tonight or tomorrow, though Saturday, Indiana alt-rock band Houndmouth plays Slowdown’s main room. They’re big festival draws (or so I’m told) and this one’s already sold out. 8 p.m.
Ah, but Sunday night, Los Angeles band Color Green plays at Grapefruit Records. One of the band’s two core members – Noah Kohll – is a post-Omaha veteran of the Antiquarium/Almost Music/Grapefruit Records scene. They played a knockout gig at Reverb this past March.
Opening for Color Green Sunday night is Simon Joyner, whose new band, Simon Joyner and The Bells, includes some very familiar names: James Maakstad, Sean Pratt, Margot Erlandson and Tanner Rogerson.
Joyner’s new album, Coyote Butterfly, which drops Nov. 22, is his first collection of new material in two years. He’ll be playing a couple dates in Arizona and LA in November before he heads to Europe for a tour in 2025. Here’s a chance to get a sneak preview of the new album (and band). 7 p.m., $10.
Also Sunday night, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy Is headlining at The Admiral with Elizabeth Moen. $40-$75. This is a seated show and starts at 7:30.
One last show of note: Singer/songwriter Taylor Hollingsworth, who you might remember from Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, is in town recording the new Las Cruxes album at ARC. He’s taking some time away from the knobs to play a show Sunday night at Pageturners Lounge. Jack McLaughlin opens this FREE show at 8 p.m.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
Superchunk plays tonight at The Waiting Room, and it’s not their first Omaha appearance. Like I said in this 2010 interview with guitarist Jim Wilbur written in support of their 2010 appearance at The Maha Music Festival, 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.
In the article, Wilbur talked about the band’s history and future and even provided some “Wilbur Wisdom” about touring, technology and having never played Omaha up to then. Back then, the band was on the road in support of Majesty Shredding – at the time, their first album in nine years.
For this go-’round, Superchunk is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Foolish, and tonight will perform a set peppered with favorites from the classic 1994 LP.
That said, the band hasn’t been sitting on their asses for the past 30 years. This past January, Superchunk released the “Everybody Dies” b/w “As in a Blender” 7-inch, followed hot on the heels of last year’s Misfits & Mistakes: Singles, B-sides & Strays 2007–2023.
When they played at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall Tuesday night, Superchunk performed a 16-song set with five encores. Check out that setlist here. Tonight’s opening band, Merge label mates Quivers, hails from Melbourne, Australia, and dropped their latest album, Oyster Cuts, this past August. $30, 8 p.m. and surprisingly not sold out… yet.
Picking through some newsy bits I missed in the in-box:
The Fizzle Like a Flood Kickstarter campaign for the new album, Black Walls (which I wrote about here), met its fundraising goal in just 15 days – impressive. The campaign continues through the end of the month, however, so go there and check out the rewards and/or order your copy of the new album.
I’ve always liked Kickstarter as a pre-sales program, though it must be a pain in the ass for the artists who have to do fulfillments!
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Yesterday Neva Dinova, the project from post-Omaha singer/songwriter Jake Bellows, announced a 6-date West Coast tour for December. The band’s latest, Canary (2024, Saddle Creek), stood at No. 154 on the latest College Radio Charts. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you really should. It’s their best album to date (imho).
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What other notable albums are on the latest College Radio Charts?
– Well, Cursive’s latest, Devourer (2024, Run for Cover) stood at No. 74. The band plays two shows this week – Friday and Saturday – at The Waiting Room.
– Bright Eyes’ latest, Five Dice, All Threes (2024, Dead Oceans), currently stands at No. 13 on the charts. The fact that Bright Eyes was taken of the road for the balance of the year due to Conor Oberst’s “vocal problems” no doubt isn’t helping album sales. Bright Eyes’ 2025 tour kicks off Jan. 16 in Phoenix…
– Midwest Dilemma’s self-released album, Searching for the Cure for Loneliness, came in at No. 261, which is impressive considering the band isn’t touring. How does that happen?
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The latest single by Omaha’s favorite alt-country band, Clarence Tilton, features country music icon Marty Stuart on vocals guitar. The song, “Fred’s Colt,” explores the legacy of a Civil War-era Colt Dragoon passed through Tilton frontman Chris Weber’s family.
The band opened for Stuart when he played in Omaha in 2019 and at some point played the song for him. “I loved this song the moment I heard it. It is a breath of fresh air, real writing,” Stuart said in the press release.
Weber said Stuart’s contribution to the song “really blew our minds. What he did was so cool — not just the solo but all the little parts in between. It was a real lesson for us from a real pro who gave our tune his undivided attention.”
The single, which dropped last Friday, will be on Clarence Tilton’s upcoming full-length, Queen of the Brawl, slated for 2025.
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Soak in the next few weeks of shows, because we’re rounding a corner and the road ahead looks rather barren. Like I always said: if you have a chance to catch a touring indie band, catch it, because you never know when the next one will be coming through town.
Here’s the latest and greatest touring indie shows coming to Omaha through the end of November:
Oct. 16 – Mdou Moctar @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 17 – Superchunk @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 18-19 – Cursive @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 20 – Color Green @ Grapefruit Records
Oct. 20 – Jeff Tweedy @ The Admiral
Oct. 20 – Taylor Hollingsworth @ Pageturners
Oct. 22 – Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Astro
Oct. 23 – Kate Nash @ The Slowdown
Oct. 26 – Porches @ Reverb
Oct. 26 – Griefcat @ The Sydney
Oct. 31 – Lunar Vacation @ The Slowdown
Nov. 4 – quickly, quickly @ Reverb
Nov. 8 – The Ivory Claws @ The Sydney
Nov. 10 – The Sufrajettes @ Reverb
Nov. 11 – Dusk @ Reverb
Nov. 12 – The Rev. Horton Heat @ Waiting Room
Nov. 13 – Sorry Mom @ Reverb
Nov. 29 – VIAL @ Reverb
Am I missing something? Let me know…
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Tonight at The Waiting Room, Nigerian band Mdou Moctar headlines. He’s considered one of the most innovative artists in contemporary Saharan music “His unconventional interpretations of Tuareg guitar have pushed him to the forefront of a crowded scene,” according to his Bandcamp page. The band’s last album, 2024’s Funeral for Justice, was released on indie giant Matador Records and received Pitchfork‘s “Best New Music” designation along with its 8.4 rating. Opening this show is personal fave, Rosali, a band that includes members of our very own David Nance Band. Her sublime new album, Bite Down, was released this year by Merge Records. $25, 8 p.m.
Also tonight, Boston post-punk band Kal Marks headlines at Reverb Lounge (Exploding in Sound Records) with frickin’ four openers: NightoSphere, Missouri Executive Order 44, Nowhere and Western Haikus. Talk about your late nights! 8 p.m. $15.
I showed up at Reverb Lounge Saturday night at around 9 figuring I’d missed the opener when, in fact, there were two opening acts. The door guy said High Curbs already played, and Ultra Q was up next for a short set before Red Pears.
I always try to catch opening acts when possible, at least half their set, anyway. I’d never heard of Ultra Q and was surprised at the crowd’s size (around 100) and enthusiasm. As well as the number of older folks flecked among the kids.
On came Ultra Q. Their website has no bio information, so I was flying blind. In the old days, you’d call their sound “power pop,” just bordering on the edge of emo, but with more straightforward – at time straight-4 – rhythms. The drummer was ultra clean and economic in his approach and drove the whole band. In fact the entire band was well-honed.
Ultra Q at Reverb Lounge, Oct. 12, 2024.
Ah, but the vocalist… while his voice was fine, he had an affected style that clearly sounded as if he was aping Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day (with the lead guitarist dropping in a few out-of-place hardcore growls).
Looking at the notes I wrote that night: “Bay Area band, great energy, great drummer and guitarist, but… Green Day vocals.” Well, the vocal similarities can be forgiven, because it turned out the lead vocalist was Jakob Armstrong, son of Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong. You get a pass if you sing like your dad. Interestingly, the band’s music had more in common with early Cure than Green Day. No songs stood out, but with that talent it’ll be interesting to see where they take their sound.
Maybe that explained the crowd’s demographics (and why all the chairs had been removed from the club)?
The Red Pears had been advertised as a trio, but there were five dudes on stage at 9:40. Listening to their latest album, Better Late than Never (2024, Daycare Records), I couldn’t figure out where the “Latin tinged” came from in the one-sheet, other than the guys’ names (frontman Henry Vargas, bassist Pat Juarez, drummer Jose Corona).
Their sound certainly wasn’t Latin-tinged, more like indie post-punk a la The Strokes, bordering on White Stripes’ psych-rock. Actually, they reminded me of Sheer Mag (“Expect the Bayonet”), and vocalist Vargas even sported a masculine version of Christine Halladay’s snarl.
After a couple songs, one of the five musicians left the stage and the Pears played the rest of the set as a four-piece. And then, four or five songs or so in, Vargas sang some Spanish lyrics. Latin-tinged indeed. Great band.
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It’s back to Reverb Lounge tonight for Advance Base, a project of Chicago singer/songwriter Owen Ashworth of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. His latest EP, The Year I Lived in Richmond (2024, Run for Cover), is a lonely, sparse collection of quiet, keyboard-accompanied memory songs. Pretty. Joining him is UK singer/songwriter Katie Malco, who has worked with the likes of Laura Stevenson and SOAK in the past. Our very own Jim Schroeder opens this show at 8 p.m. $15.
While undoubtedly indie in nature, MJ Lenderman and his band, The Wind, really have embraced the whole classic rock persona. On stage last night at The Waiting Room they looked like they could have walked right off the back cover of a ’70s-era rock album by your choice of Laurel Canyon superstar. Why, that guy on rhythm guitar looks like he was in Buffalo Springfield! That guy on keyboards and maracas, didn’t he play with Den Felder?
All six musicians were super talented, and I like just about all of Lenderman’s songs, especially off his new album, Manning Fireworks, which will go down as one of the best of 2024. There’s an honesty to his personal lyrics as they lean back on a layer of subtle rock that’s just shy of alt-country (thanks, in part, to that pedal steel, played by a guy who looks like he could have been in the Flying Burrito Brothers).
Lenderman and his band rifled through their hits, and as I stood back by the bar, a guy I know leaned over and yelled, “I thought they’d be more lively than this.”
I responded, “Have you ever heard their albums?”
Lenderman’s music is best enjoyed while driving on a long road trip, the kind of music you can get lost in and sing along to (after you’ve heard it a few times). But on stage it was kind of dull. Ocassionally Lenderman would go into a feedback-driven accoutrement at the end of a song (that went on too long). In a way, he reminded me of Tom Petty, a guy whose music I love, but, live, bores the piss out of me. Or maybe I’m just jaded after last week’s Fountaines D.C. show…
That said, the near-capacity crowd soaked it in, with many up by the stage singing along. But the further back you went, the chattier the crowd became, with people having full-blown conversations back by the bar (actually, I saw a couple women carrying on about their day right up front, yelling at each other over the band).
Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band at The Waiting Room, Oct. 10, 2024.
Much more lively was opening act Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band. I arrived late, not feeling in the mood for a set of southern or “blues” rock, and ended up kicking myself for it, because Davis and his band had more in common with acts like Silver Jews.
Davis closed out his set with a killer version of the opening track from his 2023 album, Dancing on the Edge, called “Free from the Guillotine,” which I’m listening to right now; an album I’ll likely be listening to all weekend long…
Onto the weekend (and it’s a non-Husker weekend at that!).
Tonight on Slowdown’s big stage Provo folk-rockers The National Parks headlines. The band has grown its fanbase over the years; they’re on the road supporting their latest, Wild Spirit, another album of hand-clap-stomp folk (I’m sure there’s another name for the genre). Elias Hix opens at 8 pm. $25.
Also tonight, ’70s-style heavy-metal punkers Psychotic Reaction plays at The Sydney. Local electronic act Benjamin Gear X opens at 8 p.m. (and remember, this is The Sydney, where 8 usually means 9… or 10). $10.
As mentioned, the Huskers have a by-week, which makes for good timing for Farnam Fest. Running from 3 to 11 p.m. in the parking lot behind Scriptown in the Blackstone District, the live music line-up is:
– 4 p.m. – Minne Lussa
– 5:30 p.m. – Velvet Velvet
– 7 p.m. – Cowgirl Eastern
– 8:30 p.m. – Clarence Tilton
– 10 p.m. – DJ Herricane Cole
$10 entry this year; with food trucks and booze, etc.
Saturday night, Reverb Lounge is hosting garage-rock trio The Red Pears. Hailing from El Monte, California, that band calls their sound “Latin-tinged” and I guess I can hear that, though they have more in common with The Strokes, at least to my ears. They’ve played Coachella a couple time and are a good get for the tiny Reverb stage. Ultra Q + The High Curbs open at 8 p.m. $25.
Also Saturday night, The Sydney is hosting a 4-band bill headlined by Jeff in Leather with Ex-Lover, Public Circuit and Pagan Athletes. $15, 9 p.m.
And (surprise!) there’s a show at fabulous O’Leaver’s Saturday night — metal band Living Conditions with FACE and Spurney’s Hawk. This one’s free and starts at 9 p.m.
Finally, Sunday night it’s back to The Sydney (man, they’re booking a lot of shows!) for darkwave performer Dancing Plague. $12, 9 p.m.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
Tonight at The Waiting Room, North Carolina singer/songwriter MJ Lenderman headlines with his band, The Wind. Lenderman’s latest album, Manning Fireworks (2024, Anti-), has been at the top of the College Radio Charts for a couple weeks (just above the new Nick Cave album), and is one of my favorites for 2024.
Along with Waxahatchee, Cassandra Jenkins and Wednesday (in which he plays lead guitar), Lenderman is at the forefront of the current folk-rock trend in indie music, one that owes a lot to artists like Neil Young, Jackson Browne, CSN and the ’70s folk-rock acts that came before them.
Based on his past set lists, expect about a 20-song set tonight heavy with tracks from the new record. Lenderman has been rolling out covers of songs by Vic Chesnutt, Lucinda Williams, Wednesday and Smog on this tour. Who will he cover tonight? Opening for Lenderman is Jeffersonville, Indiana, folk rocker Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band. $25, 8 p.m.
Also tonight just around the corner at Reverb Lounge, Chicago industrial/dark wave/EBM trio Pixel Grip headlines. LA synth/dance act Madeline Goldstein opens at 8 p.m. $25.
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