A personal highlight of attending this year’s Grrrl Camp festival was getting a personal tour of the Falconwood Park compound by 1% Production’s Jim Johnson. During the golf-cart adventure I met Brandon and Jim Miller, the proprietors of Falconwood, who briefly recapped the park’s story.
So inspired was I by their tale of overcoming one disaster after another only to come out with one of area’s premiere event facilities that I pitched the story to the fine folks at Flatwater Free Press. They said “proceed,” and lo and behold, the story was published yesterday.
I got this one done just under the wire. Outlandia Festival begins tomorrow at Falconwood, and despite what has been the worst weather year I’ve lived (survived) through (flooding rains, grapefruit-sized-hail storms, blistering heatwaves and last week’s hurricane-force windstorm), Outlandia is lucking into one of the best weather-weekends of the year.
During the reporting, everyone talked about reasons folks have yet to venture out to the park for past festivals or events. Distance and unfamiliarity were on the list, but one of the toppers was concern about park access – Falconwood Park is accessed by taking the Glenwood Exit driving on Interstate 75 and then taking Highway 34 a few hundred yards to narrow, two-lane South 8th St. to Falconwood’s main entrance, where you’re on an even narrower barely two-lane road to the parking fields. If you saw it on a map you’d think, “man, getting in and out of there during a festival has to be a nightmare.”
The organizers know you’re thinking this and have prepared to make coming and going as smooth as possible. They tell me there’s never been a severe backup leaving the park. Tyler Owen, one of Outlandia’s organizers, put it this way:
“I don’t know if you’ve ever been stuck in a Husker parking garage after a football game. It ain’t that,” he said. “We watched the line of red tail lights and it was maybe bad for 15 or 20 minutes, but it wasn’t (like) getting stuck on the top deck of a parking garage in Lincoln.”
I’ve talked to a number of folks who have attended past Outlandia Festivals and all said getting out of the park wasn’t a headache. If what Tyler and the Outlandia team says is true, it’ll be tested Friday night when The Faint (and not headliner The Flaming Lips) close out the first day’s festivities. I’ve talked to more people excited about The Faint than any other band on the festival’s bill this year. The Head and the Heart close out Saturday night.
The full band line-up and other specifics are at outlandiafestival.com. I’ll write more about the bands tomorrow w/some sound clips, etc. All three tiers of tickets are still available.
Yesterday Bright Eyes dropped the second single, “Rainbow Overpass,” from the band’s upcoming full-length, Five Dice, All Threes, slated for release Sept. 20 on Dead Oceans.
From the press release: “The bright, punky anthem is propelled by acoustic guitar, horns, and fist-pumping gang vocals featuring Alex Orange Drink of The So So Glos, the accelerating tempo like a speeding car driving off the eponymous rainbow overpass.”
It kinda sounds like a kinder, gentler version of Desaparecidos, a band desperately needed in these trying times. Or maybe soft-hearted Titus Andronicus? The band also announced an extensive North American Tour for 2025 (god-dang, is it 2025 already?). Check the tour dates here.
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Manhattan-based self-described “indie pop / dream pop” band Cults headlines tonight at The Waiting Room. Cults is Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin, but live they’re backed by a full band. Cults was kind enough to do a Ten Questions interview back in 2017 (which gives you an idea just how long I’ve been doing these Ten Questions surveys – I got a new one with PACKS coming out next week).
Cults:Home Schooled-The ABCs Of Kid Soul. Pretty sure everyone in our band could sing every lyric to every song from this record. The mix of incredible musicianship with the most bizarre/touching vocal performances you’ve ever heard perfectly rides the line between emotionality and kitsch.
2. What is your least favorite song?
Sugar Ray, “Every Morning.” I once had the song stuck in my head for an entire year. It’s a great song but having any song stuck in your head for that long will ruin it for you!
We all already sort of knew Jake Bellows and his band, Neva Dinova, had a new record in the can. Today they officially announced that the new album, Canary, is set for release Sept. 27 on Saddle Creek Records.
Interestingly, the press release leads with “Omaha greats Neva Dinova have announced…” Jake moved to Los Angeles a number of years ago, but still identifies with his hometown (as he should!). In fact, the entire press release is feels very Omaha-centric maybe because drummer Roger Lewis and bass player Megan Siebe, who round out this iteration of Neva Dinova, still live here.
Canary is the first new material by the band in 16 years, and in my humble opinion, it’s the fastest, heaviest stuff Jake and Co. have done. Recorded at Make Believe Studio, “The songs on Canary were honed on the road allowing for a largely live recording session that captures the visceral energy of the band.”
Check out the revised lyric video for first single “Edge of Something,” and pre-order your copy here.
I just walked the dog through our neighborhood. Good god, it still looks like a war zone, with downed power lines lying in the streets. With that in mind, who knows when the 90,000 folks without power this morning will be back up and running. That includes Benson’s business district, which was still in the dark as of 10 a.m. Friday morning.
Despite that, it’s still the first Friday of the month, and by all accounts, still #BFF, though I don’t know which galleries or businesses will be open tonight.
There is one gallery I know will be open: Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple Street, where we’re hosting an opening for artist Lew Lunbeck, titled “Seeing Greatness + Kicking It in the Teeth.” Lew’s post-impressionistic paintings revolve around dreamlike characters in imaginative places, a sense of style he developed while traveling as a self-described vagabond. Of course we don’t have power at Ming Toy, either, so we’ll be hosting by afternoon light and battery-powered boombox, with a cooler of beer and other drink-stuff. The show runs from 6 p.m. to whenever it’s too dark to see (probably around 8 or so). If you’re in Benson, drop by and say hi.
Rockshow-wise, it’s gonna be a hit-and-miss weekend. No idea what’s happening at The Waiting Room, The Sydney and Reverb – it depends on if they have power. Slowdown does have power, as does The Astro in La Vista, but The Admiral in south Omaha appears to be in the dark, or so it seems as tonight’s Admiral show has been cancelled and the Orville Peck show, scheduled for The Admiral Saturday, has been moved to The Astro.
The Gin Blossoms/Toad the Wet Blanket show at The Astro is still listed as happening at The Astro Amphitheater tonight, according to the One Percent Productions website. The Kros Strain Outlandia Beer Launch with The Eye and 3BX also is listed as happening tonight at Reverb Lounge.
As mentioned, Saturday’s Orville Peck concert at The Admiral has been moved to The Astro. Jaime Wyatt and Gold Star open at 8 p.m. This show is long sold out. Tickets are now available for what was a sold-out show.
Back in Benson Saturday night, KC post-punk band Shiner headlines a show at Reverb Lounge with Healer and Violenteer (which shares a frontman with Shiner). 8 p.m., $20, that is if they have power, right?
It appears they have power at fabulous O’Leaver’s, and as such, The Wrinkles in Time w/ Sgt. Leisure and Bare Bear are playing Saturday night. 8 p.m., $10.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Try to have a great weekend…
Petfest 2024 is just around the corner, Aug. 17 to be exact, and among the bands playing is the debut of Lincoln act Vempire. Who is Vempire? It’s Thirst Things First frontman Mike Elfers and Ghostlike’s Lindsey Yoneda, and last week the duo released a new video for the song “Blattodea,” which is below. Their debut album, Your Steps, drops Aug. 16. Don’t forget get your Petfest tickets in advance and save $10 vs. DOS.
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Two shows tonight, which I’m dying to attend, though I’m a wee bit afraid of the hail-storms being forecast…
Snõõperis a freshly minted Nashville five-piece punk band fronted by vocalist Blair Tramel whose debut album, Super Snõõper, was released last year by Jack White’s Third Man Records.
Wiki calls their genre “egg punk,” which is a new one on me, but they say is a subgenre “influenced by new wave band Devo” this is attributed “to a community of DIY midwestern American punk rock artists from the early 2010s, including The Coneheads and Lumpy and the Dumpers.”
It just sounds hard, fast, old-school punk to me, with each song clocking in at a little over a minute or less. Madcap fun. Joining Snõõper tonight at Reverb Lounge is our very own Pagan Athletes and Size Queen. $18, 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, also tonight New Haven, Connecticut, psych-rockers The Mountain Movers are playing an in-store at Grapefruit Records in the Old Market. Consisting of guitarist/vocalist Dan Greene, bassist Rick Omonte, guitarist Kryssi Battalene and drummer Ross Menze, the band has been together for over a decade. Their latest, the double-vinyl Walking After Dark, was released this past May by Trouble in Mind Records. Heavy man! Local hero Megan Siebe opens this show at 8 p.m. $10. Grapefruit Records is located at 1125 Jackson Street.
It’s Tuesday and time for the touring indie calendar update.
The big addition this week is a performance by singer/songwriter/author David Dondero Sept. 18 at Ming Toy Gallery.
Dondero’s music history goes back to the early Saddle Creek Records days as he’s been cited by Conor Oberst as one of his primary influences, specifically referencing Dondero’s work with his ’90s-era band Sunbrain, which released albums on Grass Records (which released records from a number of Omaha bands, including Commander Venus, Mousetrap and Cactus Nerve Thang).
Dondero’s latest is 2023’s Immersion Therapy (Fluff and Gravy Records). But in addition, David just wrote a book – Chaos the Cat – which, according to the description, “takes readers on a journey into the heart of California’s cannabis legalization era, where a secluded pot farm becomes the backdrop for a clash between preservation and exploitation… The tale is narrated by Chaos, the cat, reincarnated from an artist deeply connected to the farm.”
In addition to a performance by Dondero, the evening will include readings from his new book as well as a Q&A conducted by Rob Walters. 7 p.m. start time, $15 suggested donation or $25 gets you in and a copy of David’s book.
Ming Toy Gallery is located at 6066 Maple St. Attendance is limited to 40 and there’s NO SEATING. That’s right, you’re gonna have to stand up, sit on the floor or bring a small folding chair or pillow to sit on. It’s gonna be fun! RSVP and more info here.
Here’s the rest of what’s coming up. Nearest and dearest is SNÕÕPER at Reverb tomorrow night. And Outlandia is looming – Aug. 9-10…
July 31 – SNÕÕPER @ Reverb
July 31 – Mountain Movers @ Grapefruit Records
Aug. 3 – Orville Peck @ The Admiral
Aug. 3 – Shiner @ Reverb
Aug. 7 – Cults @ The Waiting Room
Aug. 9-10 – Outlandia Music Festival @ Falconwood
Aug. 15 – PACKS @ The Slowdown
Aug. 17 — Petfest @ Petshop Gallery
Aug. 19 – King Buzzo @ The Slowdown
Sept. 5 – A Giant Dog @ Reverb
Sept. 12 – Soft Kill @ The Slowdown
Sept. 18 – David Dondero @ Ming Toy Gallery
Sept. 21 – Built to Spill @ The Waiting Room
Sept. 22 — Bright Eyes @ Steelhouse
Sept. 24 – Why? @ The Slowdown
Sept. 25 – Descendents @ The Admiral
Sept. 26 – Foxing @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Odie Leigh @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Jungle @ The Astro
Oct. 4 – Brigitte Calls Me Baby @ Reverb
Oct. 4 – Turnover @ The Slowdown
Oct. 5 – Fontaines D.C. @ The Slowdown
Oct. 7 – Saturdays at Your Place @ Reverb
Oct. 8 – Boris @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 9 – Jeffery Lewis @ Grapefruit Records
Oct. 10 – MJ Lenderman & The Wind @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 10 – Melt @ The Slowdown
Oct. 12 – The Red Pears @ Reverb
Oct. 16 – Mdou Moctar @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 17 – Superchunk @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 18-19 – Cursive @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 22 – Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Astro
Omaha noise-rock four-piece Violenteer is headlining tonight at The Sydney in Benson. They top off a four-band bill that includes Kansas City noise/art-rock band Jorge Arana Trio, Lawrence Kansas punkers Jackoffs and Omaha art-noise duo Pagan Athletes. 8:30, $10. It’s gonna be a long night.
And that about does it for shows. No touring indie shows. Nineties rockers Primus and Coheed and Cambria are playing at The Astro Sunday. Who remembers “Jerry was a Race Car Driver”? Great song. I bought Primus’ Sailing the Sea of Cheese CD in ’91 on that strength of that song. It was an era when buying albums was a gamble, and I certainly lost on that bet. $55, 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, Benson Days is going on this weekend — it’s the usual parade Saturday morning, pancake feed and street vendors. I don’t see anything about live music. More info here.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great, hot weekend.
Massachusetts post-rock instrumental outfit Caspian headlines tonight at The Waiting Room. The band has been kicking around for more than 20 years; in fact, they played a headlining gig way back in 2016 with The Appleseed Cast as an opener. Their latest, 2023’s On Circles: The Complete Sessions (a follow-up to 2020’s On Circles), was released by Triple Crown Records. Their style is classic start-small-and-build-mountains instrumentals a la Explosions in the Sky. You know the drill.
Opening is Belfast-based prog rockers And So I Watch You from Afar. While the band also mostly does instrumentals, there’s some spoken word mixed in for good measure. They’ve had music released on Sargent House and Equal Vision. Their latest 3-song single, Years Ago, came out just a couple weeks ago on Pelagic Records and combines intricate guitar lines with Mogwai-style wall-of noise goodness. $30, 8 p.m.
When nothing’s going on, I like to update the list of upcoming touring indie shows. Not much has changed over the last update except the addition of MJ Lenderman & The Wind at The Waiting Room Oct. 10. The Asheville, NC, singer/songwriter has a new album coming out on Anti- Sept. 6 called Manning Fireworks. The first single, “She’s Leaving You,” is burning up college radio. You may remember him from playing in the band Wednesday back in May at The Slowdown.
Other adds include Foxing Sept. 26 at Slowdown; Odie Leigh at The Slowdown Oct. 1; Saturdays at Your Place at Reverb Oct. 7; Boris at The Waiting Room Oct. 8; Melt at The Slowdown Oct. 10; The Red Pears at Reverb Oct. 12 and Kate Nash at The Slowdown Oct. 23.
Hottest up-and-coming is SNÕÕPER at Reverb July 31. And Outlandia is just around the corner Aug. 9-10…
July 24 – Caspian @ The Waiting Room
July 31 – SNÕÕPER @ Reverb
July 31 – Mountain Movers @ Grapefruit Records
Aug. 3 – Orville Peck @ The Admiral
Aug. 3 – Shiner @ Reverb
Aug. 7 – Cults @ The Waiting Room
Aug. 9-10 – Outlandia Music Festival @ Falconwood
Aug. 15 – PACKS @ The Slowdown
Aug. 17 — Petfest @ Petshop Gallery
Aug. 19 – King Buzzo @ The Slowdown
Sept. 5 – A Giant Dog @ Reverb
Sept. 12 – Soft Kill @ The Slowdown
Sept. 21 – Built to Spill @ The Waiting Room
Sept. 22 — Bright Eyes @ Steelhouse
Sept. 24 – Why? @ The Slowdown
Sept. 25 – Descendents @ The Admiral
Sept. 26 – Foxing @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Odie Leigh @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Jungle @ The Astro
Oct. 4 – Brigitte Calls Me Baby @ Reverb
Oct. 4 – Turnover @ The Slowdown
Oct. 5 – Fontaines D.C. @ The Slowdown
Oct. 7 – Saturdays at Your Place @ Reverb
Oct. 8 – Boris @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 10 – MJ Lenderman & The Wind @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 10 – Melt @ The Slowdown
Oct. 12 – The Red Pears @ Reverb
Oct. 16 – Mdou Moctar @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 17 – Superchunk @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 18-19 – Cursive @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 22 – Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Astro
The above headline is like tossing a lit grenade in the room full of indie kids. I have no idea what Maha Music Festival’s current status is. The rumors are that Maha is over, done, won’t be back next year. I’m not so sure, though, and see no reason why it would end except that the Maha folks have yet to provide any updates on the festival’s status for 2025.
But if Maha is over, Grrrl Camp could easily slide in and take its place. In many ways, it reminded me of Maha – its lineup, the vendors/festival atmosphere, the laidback feel of the crowd, even the location, which brings me to Falconwood Park in Bellevue.
This was my first time inside the confines of the Falconwood compound, having skipped the last couple years of Outlandia, partially out of concerns about the facilities and access. Though it’s only a quick 25-minute drive via the Interstate, there’s always been a “do-I-really-want-to-drive-all-the-way-out-there?” sort of feel about it. All the photos I’d seen made it look like Falconwood is an empty field near the banks of the Platte River – muddy, mosquitos, parking in a grass field, etc.
Well, I’m here to tell you, Falconwood was worth the trip. They have a pretty amazing set-up. Getting there is easy via a two-lane county road off the interstate that takes you to a very narrow access road (easy, but I wonder how easy if, say, 8,000 people headed to the concert). Signage makes it hard to miss, though we did go in through the camping entrance by mistake. Parking was, indeed, in a grassy field near the campgrounds but was only a few yards from the concert area.
Falconwood’s fancy lodge located at the west end of the park.
One of the first buildings you encounter is the facilities’ west lodge, a very cool structure with a stage, a full bar and probably a kitchen (though they weren’t serving food), with bathrooms and booths along one wall. I asked one of the organizers what would happen if there was a heavy rain during the concert, and she told me they’d take it into the lodge, but the structure’s capacity could be more than a few hundred.
Beyond that was the festival area, with more vendors than I’ve seen at any other local music festival. There must have been 100 vendor tents, most selling clothing, jewelry, art and tchotchkes (I saw one selling shoes!). Food trucks were set up along the back – maybe a half-dozen of the usual suspects (the El Churro Spot had the longest lines).
A 360-degree view of Grrrl Camp at Falconwood Park, July 20, 2024.
More vendor tents and picnic tables ran along the edges leading up to the stage area, and, just eye-balling it, I’d guess that the footprint for this section of Falconwood is smaller than Stinson Park at Aksarben Village (but this is just a fraction of Falconwood – more on that later).
Maybe it was the fantastic weather, maybe it was the bands, maybe it was the size of the crowd, but the whole thing felt very chill and fun. We got there on Saturday afternoon right before Girl Ray took the stage, found a spot about 30 yards from the stage, and dropped our folding chairs complete with a Modelo tallboy in hand (alas, I didn’t see any Rolling Rock in their coolers).
I’d guestimate the crowd was around 200 not including the army of vendors. Organizers say Grrrl Camp attracted 1,000 people over the course of the weekend (again, not including vendors), which is much less than your typical Maha festival. That said, for its second year (and first with national touring bands), it’s a good start.
Girl Ray at Grrrl Camp, Falconwood Park, July 20, 2024.
Leeds, England, band Girl Ray played tunes off their latest LP, Prestige (2023, Moshi Moshi), which were fun, un-cheesy disco rock songs. I don’t think they play many U.S. festivals, and said they were surprised to get the call for Grrrl Camp. With the weird CrowdStrike outage impacting airports earlier, they had to take a series of overnight flights from LA to make it to the festival, but seemed happy they did.
This stage at Falconwood is a permanent structure and is really all they need for this portion of the park. The sound was fantastic, especially with this band. The young, fashionably hipster crowd happily bounced to the beat. Yeah, it was mostly women in the audience, but there were plenty of dudes, too. There also was a small army of people slinging SLR cameras taking photos everywhere – there must be a shit-ton of aspiring rock photographers in Omaha.
Annie DiRusso plays Grrrl Camp at Falconwood Park, July 20, 2024.
After a quick switch-out and some bumping DJ action, Nashville’s Annie DiRusso and her band were next. Their sound is more akin to modern indie rock, reminiscent of Blondshell and other artists who were clearly influenced by Liz Phair. She played most of the songs off her 2023 EP, God, I Hate This Place, as well as new songs from her upcoming debut full-length (which I think she said drops next month).
Their mix was much heavier and louder (in went my earplugs), which made things sound chunkier and less refined than her recordings. These folks apparently drove from Seattle to make this festival, which in itself was impressive.
In case you didn’t know, Charlie XCX’s new album, brat, has been deemed the album of summer 2024. DiRusso invented the term “NeBratska” in its honor, which she rolled out when introducing her band’s unique, rocked-out cover of “Apple” from that album – a highlight.
After DiRusso’s set, the fine folks at Falconwood gave me a quick tour of the entire facility (via golf cart), including where the upcoming Outlandia Festival will be held on the opposite side of the park. That concert space is immense, surrounded by old cabins that have been renovated for camping (or glamping). There is little doubt that Outlandia will be a completely different concert experience than Grrrl Camp (both are booked by 1% Productions) and more akin to the mammoth machine that was the Maha Music Festival.
The Outlandia Festival, by the way, is in just a few weeks – Aug. 9 and 10 – and will feature headliners The Flaming Lips, The Head and the Heart and The Revivalists, along with a fetching (and, in my opinion, more interesting) undercard that includes The Faint, Dinosaur Jr., Buffalo Tom (yes, that Buffalo Tom), Devotchka, Flipturn and more.
The story behind Falconwood is kind of inspiring and something I hope to pursue at a later date.
Hurray for the Riff Raff at Grrrl Camp, Falconwood Park, July 20, 2024.
Hurray for the Riff Raff were on stage when we got back to the Grrrl Camp area. Their folk-tinged rock was the perfect compliment for a beautiful evening outdoors. No doubt the medical tent was kept busy doling out mosquito repellant (I certainly got my share).
We left before Indigo de Souza, whose music I love but who I’ve seen before. Because of our timing, getting out of Falconwood was simple, but like I said, I’m not so sure how it all works when you have a few thousand people leaving at once.
The moral of this rather long-winded review is to not be afraid of Falconwood Park. The facilities are awesome. The location – while nowhere near as convenient as Stinson Park – is easily accessible from Omaha (though the jury is still out regarding traffic during a big event), and holds far more potential than what Aksarben Village could provide.
Hopefully Grrrl Camp will return next year, building on the buzz generated this year. I was trepidatious about the name, but I get it now. As long as that name doesn’t hold back organizers from booking bands that don’t have at least one female member, I could see this festival growing to Maha proportions.
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