Hey there, here’s that column I mentioned last week about not updating my blog in so long and how it will live forever (or at least until I don’t). It’s published in the May issue of The Reader, and online here. Go read it!

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It’s an anomaly similar to the perfect aligning of stars in the sky — both Benson First Friday and Blackstone Second Saturday are this weekend.

BFF you know about. BSS is a new art effort in Blackstone where galleries host openings. To celebrate, The Little Gallery Blackstone (formerly in Benson) is hosting Weird Therapy – a collection of 130 small ink-on-paper works by Brion Poloncic.

Local punk rock fans with a sense of history will remember Poloncic from his work the bands Tomato a Day and seminal Grass Records act Cactus Nerve Thang. Poloncic’s art is as mind-blowing as his music.

The show runs from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday at The Little Gallery Blackstone, 144 So. 39th St. (inside The Mansion just north of Night Owl). The event is free, distance controlled, and wear a mask! Free beer! Come by and say hello.

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In music news, Tim Kasher of Cursive and The Good Life launched a new Patreon called Home Phone. The archive project is a mix of new songs under the Home Phone moniker: “Short, catchy, to-the-point jams – unreleased songs I’ve written for Cursive / The Good Life / solo material that never saw any light of any day,” Kasher said of the project.

The online subscription service costs $6 a month (or $5 a month with annual subscription). The Patreon site will also include live streams, and if this goes the way of other Patreons I’ve seen have, Kasher will be doing all kinds of outlandish things online in no time. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/timkasher

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In other Kasher news, there’s a massively long video interview with Tim by Bringing It Backwards – the online interview show of American Songwriter magazine. The nearly hour-long interview delves deep into the history of Kasher’s music, Cursive, Saddle Creek Records and more. Check it below.

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Azure Ray has dropped yet another track from their forthcoming album, Remedy, out in June on Flower Moon Records. This one has a good beat, you can dance it, check it out.

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Simon Joyner’s new record store in the Old Market, Grapefruit, is slated to open today at 11 a.m. The shop, located at 1125 Jackson St., Suite 5, will sell new and used records, and the space will also be the world headquarters of Joyner’s Grapefruit Records label.

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And lest I forget, it’s the first Friday of the month which means Bandcamp Friday – that day when Bandcamp waives fees on its download sales. Go to Bandcamp and buy some stuff!

That’s all I got. Have a great weekend!

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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 © 2021 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

This morning Azure Ray’s publicist announced the duo will release its first new full-length album in a decade, Remedy, June 11 on Maria Taylor’s Flower Moon Records.

“Produced by Brandon Walters (Lord Huron, Joshua Radin), the band worked individually through the COVID-19 pandemic across three separate recording locations in southern California,” sayeth the press release. “With Remedy, Taylor and Fink sought to explore new structural arrangements and sonic dynamics, providing Walters with both the creative direction and freedom to expand upon the bands long-established ambient sound. Reoccurring themes of tragedy, chaos and anxiety present from the very first Azure Ray record (as a result of immense personal loss) reveal themselves with new meaning set against a world – not just their own lives – in turmoil.”

Sounds uplifting. But no one goes to an Azure Ray album expecting to dance. Preorder the album here, and check out the first single, the title track, below.

For young readers who may be wondering why I’m writing about Azure Ray since the duo doesn’t live in Omaha — here’s a bit of history. Azure Ray used to be on Saddle Creek Records and were part of the Omaha scene starting way back around 2003 when Hold On Love was released. Can’t believe it’s been nearly 20 years.

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WOWT Channel 6 posted a story that says Blackstone District will be hosting a Farnam Fest in mid-May followed by a barbecue fest of some sort later this summer. No doubt there will be a performance stage. The story also has info about The Orpheum’s upcoming season, which includes full-capacity shows. More signs that COVID is finally leaving (and vaccinations are under way).

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the One Percent Productions website, you know their clubs are getting back in gear, with The Waiting Room and Reverb hosting a couple shows earlier this week. They also announced a Mt. Joy show May 4 at Falconwood Park with Rough Trade hippie-psych band Hello Forever.

Things are still pretty slow, though. I’m still looking for my return-to-the-clubs show, especially since I’ll be fully vaccinated come the first week of April. Right now the only gig on my radar is the May 28 Those Far Out Arrows show at The Sydney with Marcey Yates…

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Just noticed that Omaha World-Herald killed its Go! Section. I assumed they probably did this when music reporter Kevin Coffey left the paper. Turns out they killed it when COVID began last year. No events, no advertising. With COVID waning, with the OWH bring back GO?

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A couple things on my hit list:

This new video for black midi’s single, “John L,” is intense, just like everything the band releases. They’ve got a new album, Cavalcade, coming out May 28 on Rough Trade. Check it.

Dutch band Iceage made a splash on Matador Records back in 2013. They were red hot back then. Not so sure these days, though I dig this new track, “Shelter Song.” They have a new album, Seek Shelter, out May 7 on Mexican Summer.

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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 © 2021 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

A couple quick news items from the email box:

— Azure Ray’s 2001 self-titled debut, released originally on Warm Electronic Recordings, is being released for the first time on vinyl Jan. 16 in recognition of its 20th anniversary. The label is Maria Taylor’s own Flower Moon Records. Maria, as you know is one half of Azure Ray alongside Orenda Fink.

I remember when this album came out and what a splash it made, eventually gaining the attention of Conor Oberst and the folks at Saddle Creek Records, who would go on to release three LPs by the duo. Preorders are being taken now at Flower Moon’s online store.

— Omaha’s only Latin-language punk band, Las Cruxes, released a new single, “NW,” via Spotify last Friday. No idea if it’s available on any other platform (I can’t find it on Bandcamp)…

— That Nov. 27 Those Far Out Arrows concert with Cat Piss at Reverb Lounge has been CANCELLED. Not sure why, but maybe COVID-19 had something to do with it…

— Currently listening to: Katy J Pearson, Return (2020, Heavenly Recording)

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily (if there’s news) 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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This morning I got a “low ticket warning” about this Friday’s Azure Ray / Dan Bejar (Destroyer solo) show at the Bemis Center Okada Sculpture & Ceramics Facility in Omaha’s Old Market (723 South 12th Street). “Just a few $25 tickets remain” they’re saying.

The concert is part of the Bemis Art Auction and Concert 2018. Get your tickets online here.

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Speaking of Azure Ray, a video for “Palindrome,” the first single off their upcoming EP Waves, dropped last Friday and it’s a hoot. It’s directed by Alan Tanner, who you might remember from the band Artsy Golfer (he also played guitar for Maria Taylor). Waves comes out Friday, and I must tell you, it’s sublime.

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And speaking of The Bemis, Simon Joyner has been named to head The Bemis’ Sound Art and Experimental Music Residency Program. This is a MAJOR deal…

Here’s the Bemis press release, which went out last week:

“Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts has received a $500,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to establish a new Sound Art and Experimental Music Residency Program. This funding will support the first three years of a specialized track within Bemis Center’s international Artist-in-Residence program for artists pushing the boundaries of sound, composition, voice, and music of all genres. National and international artists participating in the program will receive the same level of financial, technical, and administrative support as their fellow artists-in-residence at Bemis, along with dedicated facilities for rehearsing, recording, and performing new works that expand the field of sound art and music. The program will officially launch in 2019.

“Omaha-based musician Simon Joyner will join Bemis staff to lead the program. Local sculptor and past Bemis exhibiting artist Sean Ward and local architect Jeff Day of Actual Architecture are collaborating with Joyner, and sound experts Phil Schaffart, Thorin Dickey, and Ben Brodin to design the program’s performance venue and rehearsal and recording studio in Bemis Center’s 25,000 square foot basement space. Under the guidance of Day, graduate-level architecture students in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s design-build program, FACT, are developing conceptual designs for the build-out and will begin construction in October 2018 with completion in early 2019.

“The fully equipped artist-designed performance space will offer free live shows to the community. When artists in the program are not utilizing the venue, it will be programmed with local, national and international sound artists and experimental musicians. Free public access to these performances aims to not only build greater appreciation and new audiences for sound art and experimental music but also to liberate the artists on stage to take risks and present avant-garde work.

“An international advisory committee comprised of artists, curators and other leading experts in the field will assist with the curation of the Sound Art and Experimental Music Residency Program for 2019 and 2020. Beginning in 2020, Sound Art and Experimental Music residencies for 2021 and beyond will transition to Bemis Center’s regular annual open call for applications.”

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Azure Ray, the ground-breaking duo of Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor, are back with a new EP.

Titled Waves, the album comes out Oct. 26 on Taylor’s Flower Moon label. The first new album by the duo in six years, it will be the first recording since 2002’s November EP not released on Saddle Creek Records. Earlier this year Flower Moon re-released Azure Ray’s self-titled debut and follow-up, Burn and Shiver.

“This EP was about revisiting what Azure Ray has meant to us – and felt like to the listener – over the last 18 years,” says the Waves press release. “So for the last few months we’ve been demoing songs back and forth over email and Facetime between Omaha and Los Angeles, until this August when we packed up a car and drove out to a house in Joshua Tree to record. These songs are both a yearning and nostalgia for the Azure Ray of the past, and new perspectives on how and why we make music – with 18 years of love, life, and loss in between.”

The first track, “Palindrome,” dropped today. Check it out below and preorder the double A-side limited edition flexi 7-inch here.

No word of a tour yet, but Azure Ray is slated to play an Oct. 26 fund-raiser at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts with Destroyer (solo).

The new Cursive album, Vitriola, is somewhat epic, maybe the best thing they’ve done since The Ugly Organ. If you don’t believe me, check out the third track dropped from the album, “It’s Gonna Hurt.” And pre-order the mutha from 15 Passenger. The album comes out Oct. 5.

Tonight one of Saddle Creek Records’ latest roster additions, Black Belt Eagle Scout, plays at Reverb Lounge. Creek just re-released the band’s debut album, Mother of My Children. They’re opening for headliner Guerilla Toss, a red-hot Boston band that’s been kicking around since 2010, releasing albums on DFA Records, including LP Twisted Crystal, which came out earlier this month. Expect a crowd. $10, 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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Some news…

If like me you’ve been wondering what Azure Ray has been up to, well, the duo of Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor are headed east, as in the Far East for a tour of China.

The dates for this mini tour, announced on Facebook and elsewhere:

June 17 / Shenzen, A8 Live House
June 19 / Ghungzhou, Mao Live House
June 21 / Shanghai, Modern Sky Lab
June 23 / Beijing, Tango Live House

If you’re in the area, drop by one of the shows! Seriously, I didn’t even know the duo had been playing together. The last release I’m aware of was EP As Above So Below, released on Saddle Creek Records in 2012. Their last live show was a reunion gig at Lodge Room Highland Park this past Jan. 20.

BTW, this is not the first Asian tour for Azure Ray. The duo played China and Taiwan back in 2013.

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Speaking of Saddle Creek Records, the label today announced that it’s signed Tomberlin a.k.a. Sarah Beth Tomberlin. Her debut album, At Weddings, was released as part of Joyful Noise Records’ “White Label Series” last October. Saddle Creek is re-releasing it Aug. 10 with three new songs added (pre-order here).

“Born in Jacksonville, Florida, and now based in Louisville, Kentucky, Tomberlin wrote most of At Weddings while living with her family in southern Illinois during her late teens and early twenties,” according to Saddle Creek. “At Weddings is laden with reverence for music itself, for the power it has to heal others and help people navigate their lives.”

It’s turning out to be a big year for Saddle Creek, and I’m sure there are more announcements to come…

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A few news clips to share that you may not have stumbled across on Facebook.

— Azure Ray’s Maria Taylor talks about Omaha and compares it to Athens in this Red & Black article that implies Maria still lives in Omaha. Does she? I thought she moved a few years ago.

— Both Beep Beep and Machete Archive get a shout out in this Fayetteville Flyer article about a band called The Inner Party. It just so happens that Ian Francis, who played in both Nebraska bands, played drums on Inner Party’s new album, The Inner Party Makes a Mess.

— The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle joined Conor Oberst on stage for a cover of Tom Petty’s “Walls” during a concert in Sydney, as reported in this Sydney Morning Herald review. When isn’t Oberst out performing. Is he the hardest working singer-songwriter in the business?

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Earlier this week Icky Blossoms announced the presale of their new Saddle Creek Records release Mask and the label already has sold out of the limited edition deluxe vinyl version (only 200 to be pressed). However, you can still order the white vinyl for $17, which comes with a digital download. There are two different release dates for this album — May 12 (CD/Digital) and May 26 (Vinyl).

According to the press release:

The band experimented with making electronics sound organic and organic instruments feel electronic. Song skeletons were embellished with tuned 808’s, hyper-effected mouth noises, screams as instruments, and guitars run through synthesizers. Their influences range from Fad Gadget to Beyonce and the subject matter varies from wrestling with the isolation of existence to the emotional spectrum of love.

Produced by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) at ARC Studios, contributors include assistant engineer Ben Brodin (Conor Oberst band), bassist Graham Ulicny (Reptar), drummer Daniel Ocanto (Big Harp) and Todd Fink (The Faint).

If this first track off the record is any indication, this could be a big one for the band and the label. Blondie ain’t got nothing on Sarah Bohling…

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So what’s happening this weekend?

Tonight (Friday) sludge/stoner rock band Nightbird is playing at Omaha’s most beloved punk rock bar, The Brothers Lounge. Also on the bill are Members of the Press (featuring Randy Cotton) and Night Push. $5, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, back in Benson, the country stylings of The Electroliners headline at the Barley Street Tavern tonight with 24 Hour Cardlock, The Willards Band and Michael Hinckley. $5, 9 p.m.

Speaking of The Brothers Lounge, the bar is hosting another Bar Stool Record Swap Saturday afternoon starting at 4 p.m. Local records stores such as Almost Music and Homer’s along with other traders will be on hand to sell and trade vinyl. More info here.

Saturday night Satchel Grande returns to The Waiting Room. Joining them is jazz-rock band Old Money. $7, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, Low Long Signal headlines at Reverb Lounge with Anonymous Henchmen and Virgin Mary Pistol Grip. $5, 9 p.m.

Down in Slowdown’s big room Saturday night is Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band. Opening is New Jersey act Dads and Brooklyn’s Field Mouse. $13, 9 p.m.

Finally Sunday night Shy Boys headlines at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Opening is our very own Miniature Horse a.k.a. Rachel Tomlinson Dick, and Chicago baroque pop experimentalist J Fernandez. $5, 9:30 p.m.

That’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a good weekend and as my favorite Vulcan used to say: Live long and prosper.

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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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I typically don’t run my Reader column in this here blog because it typically doesn’t focus on music (and this is a music blog after all). Sure, I add a line of hype about the column on Thursdays, but then I simply link to it. Well, this week I can’t find the column online at thereader.com. So because of that, and because the focus this week is on music, I’ve included it below. As always, you can also read it in print in The Reader.

Over the Edge: Of Sound Mind (and Opinion)
CD Reviews, YTD 2012

This week’s column is a return to my old indie music criticism schtick. Because I still listen to music — lots of it — and have more than 20 years’ experience writing about it, which I think gives my critical analysis a modicum of relevance.

Or maybe not.

The role of the music critic has become somewhat (mostly) marginalized. Anyone interested in modern music with the available income to purchase it also has access to Spotify or one of the other music streaming services that makes (most) new music available with the flick of a finger from their iPhone/Android/computer-powered listening device.

In other words, if you want to know if the latest buzz band is worth listening to you no longer have to risk your hard-earned ducats and make a blind purchase like in the old days. Now all you have to do is listen to it online. That means the critic’s role has been relegated to: 1) saving you time by pointing you toward an interesting path, or 2) validating your already made-up mind.

Reviews don’t even mean that much from a marketing perspective since artists don’t (and can’t) rely on income from album sales anymore. The ones who want to make a living making music depend on income generated at live performances. Still, if they’re going to get butts in seats, they have to get their music heard in the first place, and maybe that’s where the critics come in. My how the world has changed in just 10 years.

With all that in mind here are my impressions of some recent music, for what it’s worth…

Purity Ring, Shrines (4AD/Last Gang) — Chime-bot sounds from outer-space tone rockers is at its best when melody outdoes beat, but man it can get tiresome.

Thee Oh Sees, Putrifiers II (In the Red) — A crowing cock-a-doodle-doo of a garage punk band, no one does it better or with more style. Stands for Orange County if you’re wondering. So why can’t we get them to come to Omaha?

Digital Leather, Yes, Please, Thank You (Southpaw) — Another in a series of recordings (something like four LP/EP releases in the last couple years?) that sounds like Gary Numan post-wave synth rock bolted to a doped-up garage-punk band. One of Omaha’s finest. BTW, this is a cassette-only release. Yes, you read that right.

Peace of Shit, Business as Usual (Rainy Road) — Local perusers of thee garage aesthetic write songs as clever (or crass) as their name. Also on cassette (I see a luddite trend here).

Two Gallants, The Bloom and the Blight (ATO) — This original snarling guitar-and-drum purveyors of the punk sea shanty waited until they left Saddle Creek to make the best record of their careers. They’ve never been more focused, or ferocious.

Cat Power, Sun (Matador) — Chan Marshall puts aside afternoon-light fragment pop for something more upbeat, trippy, tuneful and almost happy, until you listen to the words.

Azure Ray, As Above So Below (Saddle Creek) — By combining the best of their respective solo projects, the Fink/Taylor duo have (finally) struck the perfect balance between strutting and soulful, sounding (finally) comfortable in their own skins.

TEEN, In Limbo (Carpark) — Maybe the best all-girl indie rock band going. Less self-assured than Best Coast, but better.

Ember Schrag, The Sewing Room (Single Girl Married Girl / Edible Onion) — Local singer/songwriter’s clear-as-a-bell coffee-shop folk ruminations, worth it if only for the perfect jewel of “Your Words.”

Dinosaur Jr., I Bet on Sky (Jagjaguwar) — Everything ‘80s is new again, at least to the young ears that weren’t around the first time. As good as anything they did back then, at times even better.

Bob Mould, Silver Age (Merge) — Everything ‘80s is new again, again. Bob put away his dancing shoes and rediscovered his electric guitar and hasn’t sounded this good since his Sugar days.

The xx, Coexist (Young Turks) — Among the hottest (or most heralded) of the droll vibe bands, no matter how much I try it bores the shit out of me.

McCarthy Trenching, Plays the Piano (Slumberparty) — Half ragtime instrumentals and half ragtime-influenced piano ballads, they say he’s Omaha’s Randy Newman but he’s really just a nice guy lost in better days. And I like his “Solace” better than Marvin’s.

The Intelligence, Everybodys Got It Easy But Me (In the Red) — The best under-the-radar indie rock collection that you’ll probably never find. By the numbers, but it still gets me every time.

PUJOL, United States of Being (Saddle Creek) — Proof that Saddle Creek still has a nose for finding new talent (even though Jack White found it first). All his earlier recordings have been leading up to this. Not anthemic, but epic nonetheless.

David Byrne and St. Vincent, Love This Giant (4AD) — Waters down the best parts of both, it’s not weird enough to be interesting and not straight-forward enough to be interesting.

Violens, True — Everything ‘80s is new again, the dream-pop edition. Lush.

Wild Nothing, Nocturne (Captured Tracks) — Everything ‘90s is new again, the (upbeat) shoe-gaze edition.

Twin Shadow, Confess (4AD) — A dizzying trip back to ’80s electro-pop with a sound that recalls everything from General Public to Fine Young Cannibals to New Order to Peter Gabriel. If you’re gonna steal a style, this is how to do it.

Divine Fits, A Thing Called Divine Fits (Merge) — Better than the last couple Spoon albums (or anything by Wolf Parade).

Various Artists, Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac (Hear Music) — Unnecessary tribute album’s only highlights are Billy Gibbons’ “Oh Well,” and Antony’s fey “Landslide,” though it’ll make you want to seek out the source material.

Over The Edge is a weekly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. Published in The Omaha Reader, Sept. 27, 2012.

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Tonight at The Slowdown it’s Liverpool indie-rock trio The Wombats (Bright Antenna). Their sound has been described as “post-punk” but falls much closer to alt-pop or power-pop. Some say they’re destined for Arctic Monkey-level stardom. Who knows… maybe. This one was originally scheduled for the “junior room,” but was moved to the big stage thanks to pre-sales. Opening is Morning Parade and The Royal Concept. $12, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, our old pals Kite Pilot is playing tonight at The Sydney with Betsy Wells and Black Jonny Quest. $5, 9 p.m.

Last but not least, Pony Wars (Craig Korth, Craig Meier, Mike Brannan, Eric Ebers) is headlining a show tonight at O’Leaver’s with I Was Totally Destroying It and Millions of Boys. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This being a semi-quiet Tuesday, I’m taking this opportunity to clean out the ol’ in-box. Bear with me…

Despite a release date of Sept. 4, the Saddle Creek Shop down at the Slowdown complex today announced that it’s selling right now copies of Azure Ray’s new CD/LP As Above So Below, very likely to the consternation of the folks at Homer’s Records. The shop also will have the limited edition (of 250) pink vinyl version of the record, only available at the shop or from the Saddle Creek online store. Pricing breakdown: CD – $7; LP – $13, and Limited Edition LP – $19.

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Doom Town Records, in cooperation with Rainy Road Records, says it will be releasing Baby Tears’ first full-length LP, Rusty Years, this Thursday, Aug 24, when all pre-orders will be shipped. The band plans to host a release show Oct. 7 at Barley Street Tavern. Until then, order your copy of Rusty Years right here.

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Drastic Plastic is expanding on its  merch offerings with new a label, Silver Saucer CDs. “Silver Saucer’s mission is to do for CDs what Drastic Plastic Records does for vinyl: ensuring the continued availability and best possible sound for seminal recordings,” quote-eth their press release. “Our first release is Agent Orange’s classic Living in Darkness. The CD features the original LP track list with a limited initial run of 1,000 copies.” Street date is Sept. 18.

In addition, Drastic Plastic records announced the Oct. 2 vinyl-only release of The Gun Clubs’ classic from 1984, The Las Vegas Story, as a remastered, 180-gram, opaque-green vinyl offering limited to just 500 pressings.

And if that wasn’t enough, Drastic is in the bobblehead business with a 7-inch tall Iggy Pop bobblehead. Limited to 1,000, it’s the second in their bobblehead series, with George Clinton and Fulci Zombie slated for the bobblehead treatment in the near future. Street date on the doll is Oct. 9. I’m assuming you’ll be able to pick up all these items down at Drastic Plastic or go to impactmerch.com

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Now onto tonight’s shows, and there’s a ton…

Digital Leather returns from their West Coast swing tonight for a gig at The Sydney in Benson. They open for Agent Orange (now on Silver Saucer CDs), along with Video Ranger. $10, 9:30.

Killer Blow is a new duo debuting tonight at The Barley Street Tavern. Featuring Todd VonStup on guitar (Baby Tears, ex-The Shanks) and Genie Molkentine on drums and vocals, their sound has been described as mix of garage pop and British New Wave. Check out there cover of “Love Rules,” by Pens, below. Also on the bill are Moses Prey and Daikaiju from Hunksville. $5, 9 p.m.

Killer Blow, “Love Rules”

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/51704448″ iframe=”true” /]

 

Also tonight, ’80s post-wave alternative icons The Fixx plays at The Waiting Room with Lonely Estates. 8 p.m., $25.

La Armada, who just opened for Strung Out last week, plays again tonight at The Sandbox with Living Victim, Bad Vibes and Red Lion. $7, 8 p.m.

Finally, Japanese punk band Mugen Hoso turns up tonight for a free show at The Hideout. Opening is The Big Al Band. Starts at 9:30.

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Azure Ray announced yesterday that the street date for As Above So Below, their latest 6-song set on Saddle Creek, drops Sept. 4. Expect dope beats: “We enlisted my husband and Andy LeMaster (Bright Eyes, Now It’s Overhead) as our dream team,” said Orenda Fink, wife to Todd Fink of The Faint. Get a download of track “Scattered Like Lives” right here at Stereogum by submitting your email address.

In other Creek news, Cursive announced an extensive summer and fall tour that begins at the end of July and brings them to Slowdown Oct. 28 opening for their old pals Minus the Bear. I can never get enough Cursive…

What else?

Oh yeah, the Red Sky Music Festival begins tonight at the Ameritrade Ballpark. Rascal Flatts.

Remember a couple years ago, when Red Sky was first announced, how people thought it was going to be a significant event?

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.