by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

Nice crowd of around 50 (guestimate) at The Sydney for Whippets Friday night. I saw a lot of old school / O’Leaver’s folks in the crowd, no doubt on hand to support their old pay Bobby Hussy’s new-ish band.

Whippets are a post-punk power trio, with Hussy up front on guitar and vocals. He was backed by a solid rhythm section that included Tyler Spatz on bass (I’m not sure who was on drums). 

The band already had kicked things off when I got there at around 10:30 and played a set of blistering, guitar-fueled garage punk maybe reminiscent of Jay Reatard but more so The Hussy or another, more refined Hussy/Spatz project called Wristwatch. 

The band calls their sound “post-punk Grungegaze” and I guess I can hear some of that grunge in the fuzzed-up guitar tones. My favorite moments were when Hussy would switch from a twangy guitar-punk tone to over-blown grunge/Nirana-esque tone midway through a song, like lighting rocketfuel.

Speaking of lighting fuel, during the final number, Hussy jumped from the Sydney’s tiny stage, dropped his guitar on the floor and proceeded to douse it with lighter fluid and set it ablaze. He quickly put out the fire, plugged back in, then struggled with his pedals for a couple beats before his slightly melted guitar roared back into action. Rock ’n’ roll!

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Shawn Foree of Digital Leather is at it again. After releasing a split LP with The Hussy earlier this year on FDH Records, Foree and Bobby Hussy spent a week together to write and record a side project called TIT, whose debut dropped today, again on FDH.

“This collaboration is a perfect mesh of pop sensibility, dark gloomy undertones, and experimentation that you would expect from this team,” says the press release. “The 4-song EP features Bobby on lead vocals for two tracks, Shawn on lead vocals on one song, and a nearly 9-minute instrumental.”

The LP is limited to 666 copies — 166 on Yellow vinyl / 500 Black vinyl. I ordered my copy from the label months ago and still haven’t received it, though I’m sure it’ll show up in my mail box any day now (*looks at watch, stares longingly at wall calendar*). Until then, I’ll just have to listen to it streamed version below from the TIT Bandcamp page, where you can buy a download or order the vinyl.  So when is TIT going to make its Omaha debut?

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I’m out of the loop when it comes to these Reptar guys, but I’m sure someone told me that one of them moved to Omaha. Well it probably wasn’t the one who’s in Semicircle, who today dropped their new LP, Blown Breeze, Grown Grass, and We are Part of the Earth (self release). The Reptar members in Semicircle are Andrew McFarland and Ryan Engelberger. Either name ring a bell? Not with me, either. Anyway, Noisy is streaming the whole album here. And you can check out one of the tracks below:

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.