Bethlehem Steel plays tonight at O’Leaver’s.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A couple quick news items…

Cursive’s Tim Kasher is among the more than 1,000 artists who have pledged to boycott Amazon festivals because of the company’s ties to ICE. Amazon Web Services is presenting the Intersect festival in Las Vegas.

“We the undersigned artists are outraged that Amazon continues to provide the technical backbone for ICE’s human rights abuses,” said the statement on the Fight for the Future website. 

The artists are pledging to not participate in Amazon-sponsored events, or engage in exclusive partnerships with Amazon in the future, until Amazon publicly commits to terminating existing contracts with military, law enforcement and governement agencies that commit human rights abuses. ICE was among those agencies listed. 

“We will not allow Amazon to exploit our creativity to promote its brand while it enables attacks on immigrants, communities of color, workers, and local economies. We call on all artists who believe in basic rights and human dignity to join us.”

Along with Kasher, other artists who signed the pledge include Ted Leo, Sadie Dupuis, Control Top, Pujol, Stef Chura, Deerhoof, Of Montreal and Bethlehem Steel, who are playing tonight at O’Leaver’s. See the full list at the website.  

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New Algiers. The album, There Is No Year, comes out Jan. 17 on Matador. For the love of god, someone please book a show in Omaha. Currently their closest pass is Chicago April 3.

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Tonight at O’Leaver’s the aforementioned Bethlehem Steel returns. The band’s self-titled sophomore album came out Sept. 13 on Exploding in Sound Records. Their sound is indie with a proggy edge fronted by Becca Ryskalczyk. It’s a great slate of openers tonight including Sean Pratt, Megan Siebe and Nutrition Fun. $7, 9 p.m. 

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Courtney Barnett at the SXSW Convention Center, March 20, 2015. She’s not coming to Omaha anytime soon…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Because you asked for it (no, demanded it: It’s time for another wave of NOmaha Alerts (*mree mree mree mreeee*).

I’ve been getting lots o’ press releases this week about new releases and tours that are bypassing our great city.

Top o’ the list is Courtney Barnett, who announced today she’s releasing an LP with Kurt Vile on Matador Oct. 13 called Lotta Sea Lice. It’s a collaboration, as is their fall North American tour, that includes three dates in Chicago and a St. Paul date, but… NOmaha.

Today Ted Leo announced he’s sending out downlinks to his Kickstarter supporters for his new double LP The Hanged Man. His tour starts Sept. 9 and runs for two months and includes Chicago Sept. 22, Minneapolis Nov. 11 and… NOmaha.

Yesterday Algiers, maybe Matador Records’ best new thing, announced a crapload of new North American tour dates, the closest being Chicago on Oct. 18. But still… NOmaha.

Also yesterday, Saddle Creek Records announced that it’s releasing the next album by Rural Alberta Advantage, The Wild, Oct. 13. A lengthy tour is planned that comes nowhere near Omaha, or… NOmaha.

On Monday The Oh Sees, who recently changed their name to simply Oh Sees, announced that they are changing their name again, this time to OCS. They’re releasing their 20th album, Memory of a Cut Off Head, Nov. 17 via Castle Face, under the OCS moniker. Of course there’s a lengthy fall tour planned, but… NOmaha dates. (Why the Nebraska boycott, OCS?).

And the list goes on, including just-announced tours by Hope Sandoval, Death from Above, Protomartyr, The National, Luna — all NOmaha tours…

But let’s not be gloomy Gusses. We do have Beck coming next month…

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.