Politics sucked 20 years ago when George W. Bush was president.
In his first term, Bush invaded Iraq as a reaction to 9/11. The Iraq War’s death toll ranged from 151,000 to over a million Iraqis, depending on which study you point to. The numbers are still disputed to this day.
Ultimately, the war helped propel Bush to a narrow victory over democrat John Kerry in November 2004. And I can say from personal experience, a lot of people were pretty bummed about the prospect of the next four years.
Among them was Conor Oberst. Bright Eyes was about to reach the zenith of its popularity with the ambitious release of both I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn on Jan. 25, 2005. As part of the promotional tour for those albums, Bright Eyes appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 2, 2005 – a big deal for a band from Omaha. A year earlier, Bright Eyes had its network debut on Late Night With David Letterman, so national TV was nothing new, but this time, Oberst had something special up his sleeve.
Leno apparently had seen the rehearsal. During the opening monologue, when introducing the night’s guests, including Bright Eyes, Leno turned to bandleader Kevin Eubanks and said: “You hear the song he’s doing Kevin? I haven’t heard a protest song like this… you know I grew up in the sixties. I used to do a Jesse Winchester, a Jerry Jeff Walker, and Kris Kristofferson doing these anti-Nixon… This is a song that’s right up there. This will galvanize the audience. You’ll go one way or the other but you will have an opinion when he’s done.”
The performance took place at the tail-end of the show. Out walked Oberst with his acoustic guitar, dressed like a country singer, complete with a black cowboy hat. What happened next was pure TV Gold.
The song, “When the President Talks to God,” was released as a free iTunes download and was the B-side of a promotional 7-inch, with A-side “First Day of My Life.” It would go on to win Song of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards and would help fuel the Dylan comparisons which Oberst never understood.
We thought we had it bad back then; we had no idea how bad things could become. Maybe it’s time for Bright Eyes to record the sequel…
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Show-wise tonight, Oklahoma City band Husbands plays at Reverb with JW Francis. $20, 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, local rockers Cinema Stereo plays at The Sydney in Benson with Public Figure and the mighty Las Cruxes. $13, 9 p.m.
Sometime around 2007, Omaha’s indie music scene had all its plates spinning in harmony — three very successful touring bands, an industry-respected record label, and two brand new, shiny venues destined to become the city’s most important indie music stages.
I began having a vision of a night when it all came together. It would be like in the film The Last Waltz, but instead of Robbie Robertson calling Neil Young or Joni to join him on stage, members from Omaha’s indie scene would come together and perform each other’s songs. After all, these bands grew up together and shared similar careers.
But it never happened. Maybe the closest we came was 2010’s Concert for Equality in Benson, a gig that saw performances by Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos and Lullaby for the Working Class, but even then, there was no mixing and matching, no classic moment where someone came in from the wings.
Well, last night’s Bright Eyes / Cursive concert at The Astro sort of filled that fantasy for me, at least with two iconic bands who grew out of the Nebraska scene. And it happened three times.
Cursive at The Astro Theater, April 27, 2025.
The first instance came toward the the end of Cursive’s propulsive opening set, which included all the usual chestnuts (“Sierra,” “Art is Hard,” “The Martyr,”) as well as a rousing version of “What the Fuck” from the new album, Devourer, and set-closer (and personal Cursive favorite), “From the Hips.”
Frontman Tim Kasher introduced the mashup-song, “Recluse I Don’t Have to Love,” giving no hints as to what was about to happen, simply saying, “Let’s see how this goes.” Halfway through the usual jangling version of “The Recluse” on bounded Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst as if he just got back from a trip to Cabela’s, wearing a camo-hoodie that partially obscured his face. He grabbed the mic and spit out lines from “Lover I Don’t Have to Love,” perfectly melding it with “The Recluse.” The crowd of around 1,200 (in my guestimation) went wild.
But the real mash-up moments came during Bright Eyes’ workman-like set. When the band first kicked off its tour late last year in support of their latest album, Five Dice, All Threes (2025, Dead Oceans), YouTube videos began popping up showing a groggy, out-of-it Oberst struggling to get through the night. Fans lambasted his performances on social media. In mid-September, the band announced it was cancelling or postponing tour dates “on the advice of doctors,” including an upcoming appearance at Riot Fest and a show at Steelhouse Omaha. Oberst reappeared in an online video in mid-October saying he “was feeling a lot better” and that the tour would go on in 2025 “if all goes well as planned.”
Bright Eyes at The Astro Theater, April 27, 2025.
Well, it obviously has, as Oberst appeared to be recovered from whatever ailed him last year. Considering last night’s Astro concert was the last of this leg of the tour, one would expect his voice to be slightly ragged, but Oberst was in fine voice throughout the night, preforming a 19-song set and three-song encore that included selections from throughout the Bright Eyes catalog.
Among the highlights were rousing versions of “Mariana Trench,” “Shell Games,” and a cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Devil Town.” Joining the core band of Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott were drummer Conner Helms Conor Elmes, bassist Alex Levine and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist MiWi La Lupa. Oberst did his usual politicizing when he introduced “Old Soul Song (for the New World Order),” imploring fans to do something – anything – to protest against actions of the current administration. “I, for one, do not plan to live in Elon Trump’s fascist wet dream,” he said. The crowd roared with approval.
But for me, the set’s high-water mark came when Oberst called members of Cursive to the stage to join him on a couple songs. First was a stunning version of “Nothing Gets Crossed Out,” from 2002’s Lifted, with Kasher handling most of the lead vocals and cellist Megan Siebe adding layers of emotional depth.
The second came during the encore. Oberst again called for Cursive, but especially for Ted Stevens, who would sing leads on a cover of Lullaby for the Working Class song “Hypnotist (Song for Daniel H.),” from 1997’s I Never Even Asked for Light. Stevens fronted Lullaby before joining Cursive. Siebe again joined him onstage along with drummer Pat Oakes. In both cases, Oberst joined in on vocals, and it was very much the kind of shared moment I’d always dreamed of. Siebe and Oakes remained on stage for a boisterous version of “Let’s Not Shit Ourselves (to Love and to Be Loved)” that closed out the night in celebratory style.
Now if we could only get The Faint to join Bright Eyes and Cursive on a tour…
You survived the worst monsoon/hailstorm since last year’s worst monsoon/hailstorm (leading up to next week’s worst monsoon/hailstorm) and deserve a weekend of premium indie rock shows. So where are they happening? Well, chum, you’ve come to the right place.
It starts tonight at Reverb Lounge. Cryogeyser is three-piece shoegaze band from El Lay fronted by singer/songwriter Shawn Marom whose latest self-titled album has been compared to ’90s-era Ride (by the folks at Monster Children), whereas I was reminded of ‘90s indie acts like Madder Rose and Scrawl. Their latest single, “Mountain,” features guest vocals by Karly Hartzman of Wednesday and is somewhat awesome (see video below). Joining them on this tour is Kansas City slowcore trio Flooding (an appropriate band for what we went through yesterday) and Lincoln’s Ghostlike. 8 p.m., $20.
Meanwhile, right down the street at The Sydney in Benson, Detroit alt-goth duo Vazum headlines. Omaha goth-rockers Absence+Alchemy opens at 9 p.m. $10.
Seems like this Ty Segall acoustic showcase happening Saturday night at Scottish Rite Hall (202 So. 20th St. in downtown Omaha) was announced over a year ago, and now here it is. This show is intriguing; my last Segall experience was one of the loudest concerts in memory. How will his songwriting translate in a quieter acoustic setting? You might be pleasantly surprised. Opening is Los Angeles singer/songwriter MIkal Cronin, whose worked with such acts as Thee Oh Sees, King Tuff, Shannon and the Clams.
My last Scottish Rite experience was for a Jenny Lewis show way back in March 2006. The hall was kind of a bare-bones concrete-stepped auditorium. Anyway… Tickets range from $30 (balcony) to $40; show starts at 8 p.m.
I’m happy to report that fabulous O’Leaver’s survived the Great Saddle Creek Flood of 2025 unscathed and is hosting a three-artist show with singer/songwriters Ronette Lee, Vernon John and Paul Petersen. The show’s free and starts at 9.
There’s also a sort of hidden show Saturday evening featuring Cowboy Eastern at Benson Theater as part of the Benson Film Festival. Fest organizers are taking a shot at adding live music to the event. Their set is scheduled for 6 p.m. and is $10 or free with an all-access pass. More info at bensonfilmfest.com.
Sunday is the big Bright Eyes/Cursive show at The Astro Theater in La Vista. It’s the last date of their joint tour and a sort-of homecoming that’s bound to include some surprises. Or maybe not. I guess we’ll see.
On this tour, Conor and Co. have been playing a 19-song set with 3-song encore that includes songs from throughout his catalog as well as a couple tunes with Cursive, even a Lullaby for the Working Class cover. Check out the setlist from last night’s show in Louisville.
Finally, competing with that big BE/Cursive show is UK punk band Bad Nerves at The Waiting Room. They describe themselves as the bastard child of a Ramones/Strokes one-night stand. Their last album, 2024’s Still Nervous, was released on Loosegroove Records. Very poppy, very fast, very fun. San Francisco rockers Spiritual Cramp is tour support. Omaha’s Social Cinema opens the show at 8. $25.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend!
Didn’t get tickets to tonight’s Faint concert at The Waiting Room before it sold out weeks ago? Me, neither. Tickets were available at Stubhub.com for just north of $200 per ticket yesterday.
Why wasn’t this concert held at The Admiral, Astro or any other venue larger than The Waiting Room? It’s tough to say. Both Admiral and Astro are available tonight. I’m guessing it was a joint decision by the band and the booker – 1% Productions – but still, it’s a head-scratcher. In the past, The Faint have played capacity shows at Sokol Auditorium – now called The Admiral – and based on the quick sell out, would have had not problem filling the old South Omaha ballroom again. Plack Blague and Jeff in Leather open tonight’s show at 8 p.m.
So, out of luck? Well, don’t fret. There are other things going on while all your friends are at The Faint concert. Among them is a concert just around the corner at Reverb Lounge headlined by California-based singer/songwriter Marlon Funaki. His dreamy style of guitar-driven indie pop appears to be entirely self-released, and despite not having record-label suport still has nearly a million monthly Spotify listeners. Is it the power of TikTok? I don’t know because I don’t have TikTok. Omaha newcomer Sand opens this show at 8 p.m. $17.
Also tonight, Omaha’s indie folk orchestra, Midwest Dilemma, headlines at Slowdown’s front room. Joining them are Justin Bloss and Matt Cox. $12, 7 p.m.
Back to tonight’s sold-out Faint concert…
It’s surprising how the show sold out so quickly considering their tour isn’t supporting new music, but reissues of albums that came out literally decades ago. Here’s the setlist for their March 31 show at The Taft Theatre in Cincinnati, which they no doubt will replicate on stage tonight. It’s a well-balanced selection that includes songs from throughout their post-Media career, including a few nice dives into the under-appreciated 2019 album, Egowerks.
I’ve heard and seen all these songs performed before (in some cases, over a dozen times). What will the band pull out of their hats to make this different than past shows? Likely nothing, as The Faint is one of those established acts that can continue to tour on the strength of their old material ad infinitum. I
The band isn’t not alone. Bright Eyes and Cursive — the other two jewels in the Nebraska/Saddle Creek triple crown of indie superstars — could also rest on their laurels and tour just playing past “hits,” but instead both bands continue to write, record and preform new music.
They’re even finding ways to reinvent it.
This past Monday, the bands released a “mash-up” track that combines BE’s “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” and Cursive’s “The Recluse.” The cleverly produced “Recluse I Don’t Have to Love” has been written about in just about every online publication that covers indie music.
From the write-up included on the track’s Bandcamp page:
“Best bud Carly (spouse to Cursive’s Matt Maginn) pointed out the musical hook and libertine similarities between (‘Lover I Don’t Have to Love’’s) lyrics, and ‘The Recluse’ by her husband’s band. For years it was an inside joke – ‘should we make a mashup, just for fun?’ And on the eve of Bright Eyes’ North American tour with Cursive, the Kash-up mashup dream has become a reality. And it weirdly works. Carly was right.”
The track is available from both Bright Eyes’ and Cursive’s bandcamp pages and judging by the “supported by” tiles, they’ve sold a shit-ton of copies. All profits from the song will benefit the Poison Oak Project, Bright Eyes’ 501C3 non-profit dedicated to advancing equity for LGBTQ+ people, with a particular focus on supporting the trans community.
One has to wonder if they’ll try to perform the mash-up when the two bands play April 27 at The Astro. I think if they do, it should happen during Cursive’s set, as of the two tracks, “The Recluse” has the upper hand with around 16 million plays in Spotify vs. “Lover’s” 12 million. And besides, all Conor would have to do is walk out and sing it. By the way, you may want to buy your tickets to that one now before it also sells out…
Way back in January, I posted about the big 20th Anniversary edition of Lincoln Exposed, which begins next Wednesday (Feb. 12) in downtown Lincoln. We’re talking more than 100 bands representing multiple genres playing at five downtown Lincoln venues.
In that post, I admitted that I was unfamiliar with the majority of the bands performing and suggested to organizer Dustin “Duff” Hunke that it would be grand if someone put together either an online event program with detailed band description or – better yet – a playlist of participating bands…
Lo and behold, whilst perusing Spotify this morning, I stumbled upon the Lincoln Exposed 2025 playlist, created by Jessica Yockey. This public playlist is available in Spotify right here and via the embedded player below.
And it’s a good thing you’re learning about it now because the list is comprised of 336 songs totaling more than 21 hours of music. What better way to spend your weekend than previewing most of the bands that will be presented on Lincoln’s stages next week? In addition to helping provide a guidepost for festival goers, this playlist is “exposing” folks to some of the best music Lincoln has to offer.
Yesterday, Bright Eyes announced it finally rescheduled — and moved — their previously cancelled Omaha concert date. Bright Eyes is now scheduled to play at The Astro in La Vista April 27, with Cursive opening the show. This concert was originally scheduled for Steelhouse Omaha, who I guess must have passed on the offer for one reason or another. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday) at 10 a.m.
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In other Steelhouse Omaha news, the venue’s promoter, Live Nation Concerts, is having a “Valentine’s Day” BOGO sale for shows whose ticket sales are… lacking. This includes the upcoming Molchat Doma/Sextile show Feb. 24. Use code LOVEDAY25 to unlock the deal. Offer ends Feb. 14 at 11:59pm CT. Full details and all shows being offered are right here.
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Tonight at The Waiting Room, Real Estate headlines. The New Jersey dream-pop band led by singer/songwriter Martin Courtney had a break-out album last year with Daniel (2024, Domino Records), which had a track that made it onto my annual comp CD (whoop whoop!). Queens-by-way-of-Nashville indie band Grumpy opens the show at 8 p.m. $35.
Also tonight, Grammy superstar drummer and composer Mark Guiliana is performing at Low End in the Bemis Center, 724 So. 12th St. in the Old Market. Guiliana has worked with such acts as St. Vincent, M83, Meshell Ndegeocello, and even played on David Bowie’s Blackstar album. This free event at starts at 8 p.m. More info here.
– If you missed my Music Year in Review column, well here it is.
– If you missed my Predictions for 2025 column, here it is.
– And, due to illness and supply chain issues, I’m just now sending out the Lazy-i Best of 2024 compilation. If you own a CD player and would like a copy, drop me an email. They’re free, while supplies last. All you have to do is send your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.
The playlist also is available in Spotify (with the first two songs missing). Simply click this link or search “Tim McMahan” in Spotify, then select Profiles, then Public Playlists. You’ll find it, along with a few from past years.
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Our nation’s greatest living rock critic, Robert Christgau, age 82, today weighed in on both the new Bright Eyes and new Rosali album (which features David Nance and Mowed Sound as Rosali’s backing band). Christgau was the primary music critic at The Village Voice for decades, but I’ve always known him for his “Consumer Guides” that covered albums from the ‘70s through the ‘90s, and continues online today. He has a singular voice and style I’ve always loved, whether I agreed with his assessments or not.
Bright Eyes: Five Dice All Threes (Dead Oceans) Now in his fourth decade on the road, the racks, and the alt-rock grind, Conor Oberst has always come across pretty much the way you’d hope from an ex-Catholic indistinguishable from a lapsed born-againer who’s held onto the Bible’s “the greatest of these is charity” byword by gravitating to good causes. There’s been a reliable freshness about him even when the songs faltered slightly. Not here. True, the songs don’t falter all that much. But because the world comes to an end, there’s not much solace in them. B PLUS
I began writing a review of Five Dice with the headline “Bright Eyes’ Five Dice, All Threes is the album Greenberg would have made…” referencing the 2010 Noah Baumbach film starring Ben Stiller as an irritated, neurotic, aging hipster. And that kind of sums up Oberst on this record.
Christgau is more complimentary about the Rosali album:
Rosali: Bite Down (Merge) Coming up in a musical family and whatever comprises the Philadelphia freak-folk scene, Rosali Middleton found the makings of a band in Nebraska and a home near the North Carolina alt-rock label she now shares with the Chicago-to-L.A. indie rappers cited above (Previous Industries). What grabs me about her fourth album is its get-up-and-go from the catchy riff that gooses the one called “My Kind” to the declarative intro of the next-to-last “Change Is in the Form.” But I note with respect that the questioning finale “May It Be on Offer” is nevertheless just that: final. A MINUS
In this installment, Christgau also reviews recent albums from Kim Deal, Fake Fruit, Kendrick Lamar, Willie Nelson, Phelimuncasi & Metal Preyers, Previous Industries, Allen Ravenstine, Lucinda Williams and his favorite band, Wussy. Good stuff. Subscribe!
While still recovering… from throat problems, Conor Oberst has been lighting up the internet with news. On a recent Broken Record podcast, Oberst talked about trying to convince Alan and Diana Meltzer of Wind-Up Records to not sign proto-grunge band Creed to their label way back in the mid-’90s. Oberst was in Commander Venus, which was then signed to Wind-Up. Conor must have been 16 or 17 at the time. Read all about it here in Exclaim. Said Conor about the Creek record: “And then, sure enough, they put it out, and it’s the biggest thing in the world. So [that’s] another reason not to ever trust my judgement.“
Bright Eyes also just announced that Christopher Owens will be their supporting act when they kick off their North American Tour Jan. 16 in Phoenix. Owens was formerly in the S.F. duo Girls. He opens for Bright Eyes through Feb. 7, then hands the opener chores to Hurray for the Riff Raff, who eventually hands it over to Cursive in April. Those Bright Eyes/Cursive shows could be a real time machine.
Still no make-up date announced for that “postponed” Steelhouse date….
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Speaking of time machines, tomorrow night (Thursday) at 7:30 p.m., Nebraska Public Media will re-air the next installment of its 33rd Street Sessions series featuring archive performances from Mercy Rule, The Millions and Floating Opera. The old concert clips are interspersed with recent interviews with Mercy Rule’s Jon Taylor, Heidi Ore and Ron Albertson, and The Millions’ Lori Allison. Fun stuff and the recording quality is top-notch. And if you watch via the embedded player below, you can skip over all the NPM fund drive pitches!
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Finally, Dream Ghoul just dropped another track from their upcoming album, A Forgotten Future, which is being released this coming Sunday. Dream Ghoul is the latest project from Max Holmquist (Oquoa). The album was recorded and mixed by Jim Schroeder, of Mesa Buoy and David Nance Band. No doubt you’ll hear most of the album’s songs when the band performs this Friday at Reverb with Western Haikus and The Ivory Claws…
Looks like Bright Eyes is back and they’re bringing some close friends with them on the road. The band announced additional North American dates, but no make-up date for the cancelled Omaha show (due to Conor Oberst’s “voice issues”). Will the resched happen? Who knows.
The band also announced that Cursive will be joining them on the road in April for 18 gigs, including an April 26 show at Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines. In addition, Grrrl Camp 2024 stand-out band, Hurray for the Riff Raff, is touring with Bright Eyes in late February and most of March.
Now we all wait to see if this tour actually happens….
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Don’t get me wrong. It still rates a “Yes” on the Lazy-i scale, but you have to be in the mood for it…
The Cure, Songs of a Lost World (2024, Polydor)
The Cure, Songs of a Lost World (2024, Universal) — It would be a shame if this winds up being The Cure’s finale as Songs of a Lost World is mostly a dismal rehash of the dense, drone, downer music the band invented with Disintegration. But unlike that landmark album, Songs has no contrasting “Pictures of You” or “Lullaby” or “Lovesong” to counterbalance the endless thundering murmur.
The closest thing to a deviation from the drone-goth recipe are the crack-bounce “Drone:Nodrone,” which could have been the album’s biggest single, and buzz-saw rocker “All I Ever Am,” which would have been a better album closer than “Endsong,” a 10-minute black-draped snooze that highlights the biggest problem with this record – these songs just seem to crawl on and on. Whereas the 9-plus-minute “The Same Deep Water as You” from Disintegration never bores thanks in part to its sweet, playful lyrics.
Don’t go looking for anything playful in these odes to doomsday, with lines like “We toast with bitter dregs, to our emptiness” (opening track “Alone”), or “As you hold me for the last time / In the dying of the light” from “And Nothing Is Forever” or “It’s all gone, it’s all gone I Nothing left of all I loved” from album closer “Endsong.” You get the idea. Someone’s feeling old.
So who is the audience for this album? Certainly long-time Cure fans desperately looking to relieve their personal dread from 30 years ago will be satisfied as this is their best effort since 1992’s Wish. And then there’s the new, young fans who will discover The Cure for the first time. For those sad young goths, this may become their Disintegration… Rating: Yes.
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Way back in October, The Red Pears reached out for support for their show at The Waiting Room (reviewed here). I offered the Ten Questions survey. Unfortunately, they didn’t get around to filling it out until after the show had come and gone. I sat on the interview, mainly because the responses were less than forthright, but their publicist keeps asking “where is it?” so here you go, for your reading pleasure:
The Red Pears at Reverb Lounge, Oct. 12, 2024.
Ten Question with The Red Pears
These 10 questions inspired by the Pivot Questionnaire (you might remember this from Inside the Actors Studio):
1. What is your favorite album?
The Red Pears’ Jose Corona: There are many to choose from. Something we all definitely agree on are those early releases from the early 2000’s garage/indie bands. The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Interpol, and even things from earlier eras like Pixies and Black Sabbath. I wouldn’t say it was one album that changed everything and is above the rest. But it’s a culmination of albums.
2. What is your least favorite song?
I don’t think there is a least favorite song. I think every song and art is admired in its own ways for its own reasons. And that can change on a day-to-day basis. It’s all in the mood of things.
3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?
I think just being able to play music with your friends. Creating art. Sharing that art. And being able to do that across states and regions and countries. And meeting other bands and people that are doing the same thing. I suppose it’s our “job,” but it honestly doesn’t feel like one. Maybe it’s a very cheesy thing that is said, but it’s true. When you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like a job.
4. What do you hate about being in a band?
I wouldn’t say hate. Hate is a strong word, haha. Things can be tiring and stressful and frustrating, but what isn’t, you know? I feel like when you encounter obstacles and problems with things that you’re not passionate about, it feels like a real chore. That’s when you hate it. But when it’s something you’re really passionate about, you find ways to overcome those obstacles and problems.
5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?
Water! Haha, it’s been saving our lives.
6. In what city or town do you love to perform (and why)?
Hometown shows always hit differently. But it’s also nice to receive warm welcomes when we’re far from home.
7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?
I wouldn’t say there’s been a worst gig. Even ones where things go wrong or don’t go according to plan aren’t the worst. They end up more so becoming lessons to learn from. Things can always be worse.
8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?
We fortunately are able to. It took a lot of years and risks and sacrifices. It still requires risks and sacrifices and just smart financial management. It’s honestly a great feeling to say that this is what we do for a living. That is something that we really cherish.
9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?
Hmm…nothing really comes to mind. There isn’t a path that one would say is better. And if the path isn’t the path we’re on, then those are probably the paths that would bring unhappiness and dissatisfaction.
10. What stories have you heard about Omaha, Nebraska?
Nothing really! I think a nice part about touring is the traveling aspect of it. I believe this is our second time coming to Omaha. The people have been very welcoming and supportive. It’s nice to see sights and meet people that you normally wouldn’t have the chance to if it weren’t for music.
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…
A small but attentive crowd intensely listened to songs and stories from wandering troubadour/author David Dondero at Ming Toy Gallery last night.
Sitting in the center of the gallery with guitar and microphone he performed tunes from his latest album, 2023’s Immersion Therapy, before diving into a reading from his novel Chaos the Cat. The night’s emcee and Q&A leader, Rob Walters, joined in the reading along with a volunteer from the crowd, backed scene-setting recording of Dondero playing acoustic guitar.
Dondero, who has been cited by a number of artists (including Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst) as a musical influence, talked about his life traveling around the country both performing music and working in odd jobs. The novel, which chronicles the people surrounding a pot-growing operation in California, is no doubt semi-autobiographical, as is most of Dondero’s songs.
David Dondero reads from his novel, Chaos the Cat, at Ming Toy Gallery Sept. 18, 2024.
The night concluded with a rendition of his song “Bacon, Eggs and Beer,” from his 2017 album Inside the Cat’s Eye – which tied directly to the novel, forming a perfect circle of sorts. A fun night indeed.
While a lot people RSVP-ed for the performance on Facebook, the turnout was disappointing, possibly because there were no pre-show ticket sales (despite a number of requests). Buying a ticket can be a sort of commitment – without one, it’s easier for potential patrons to instead stay home on their Wednesday night and finish their TV shows or YouTube videos or whatever they do to unwind. Dondero said he might return to Ming Toy for a more music-driven show, and if it happens, we’ll figure out a way to sell pre-show tickets…
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Yesterday afternoon, Bright Eyes posted on social media that the band has cancelled three upcoming record-release shows, including an appearance at Riotfest Saturday and Sunday’s show at Steelhouse Omaha.
“The warm up shows we played earlier this week resulted in Conor losing his voice and, on the advice of doctors, we’ve made the difficult but sensible decision to prioritize rest and recuperation for the remainder of the month,” the post read. It went onto say they’re working to reschedule the dates.
Youtube videos shot at the warmup shows in Cleveland and Chicago featured a froggy, groggy-looking Oberst. Hopefully he’ll find a cure for what ails him because Bright Eyes has a very busy six months ahead. The band has three dates scheduled for mid-October as well as a 9-date European tour in mid-November followed by West Coast dates in January. That leads into an enormous 34-date U.S. theater tour that kicks off Feb. 26 in Fayetteville.
The band’s new album, Five Dice, All Threes, comes out tomorrow on Dead Oceans.
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