Busy weekend. Let’s start with The Brothers auction. The actual auction of everything inside The Brothers Lounge is taking place Sunday starting at 11 a.m. And we’re talking everything, from the chairs to the artwork to the buffalo head over the fireplace. If you can’t make it on Sunday, don’t fret. You can bid on some of the best items online, at the online auction. (Who’s got their eyes set on that jukebox?).
But that’s not all. Today (Friday) Trey and Lallaya will be selling off the booze with great deals on packaged liquor from 3 p.m to 10 p.m. Here’s the list of booze for sale.
No doubt this will be both a fun and forlorn weekend as we remember Omaha’s favorite punk bar and favorite barkeeps one last time. More info on Sunday’s auction here.
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Tonight at The Sydney in Benson a big three-band bill headlined by Uh Oh, who are celebrating the release of their new album, Good Morning. Joining them are Marcey Yates and Bach Mai. $5, 9 p.m.
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Saturday night, O’Leaver’s returns to hosting live music with an all-star band that includes Jerry Hug (Ritual Device, Porn Music), Dan McCarthy (McCarthy Trenching) and three members of Ladyfinger — Chris Machmuller, Jamie Massey and Pat Oakes. On the musical menu is all Bob Seger covers, hence the band’s name — Flock of Segers. This is a free show that starts at 10 p.m. Expect a crowd.
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Also Saturday night, And How joins headliner CJ Mills and Leigha Rose at Culxr House, 3014 No. 24th St. Tickets are $15, show starts at 7 p.m. Event info here. Below, a Marcey Yates track that features CJ Mills.
Sunday is the Brothers auction, but also a Reverb Lounge is hosting a record show with multiple vendors at 11 a.m.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
Ah, the annual Year in Review article. Well, The Reader now limits this to a mere 800 words, so that forced me to write tight and leave out some things that I’d normally include. You can read The Reader version of the article right here. It features a big photo of No Thanks playing one of the last shows at The Brothers Lounge (though it wasn’t “the last show”… I didn’t make it to that one). Or you can read the year in review article below:
2021 Music Year in Review
…or, The Year of Resiliency
I know, I know… it’s only December, and anything can happen before the year is actually over, but I ain’t got that luxury, deadlines being what they are. Rather than wait until January after you’ve (hopefully) long forgotten and moved on from 2021, I thought I’d do the recap now while it’s fresh in your memory (because we’re still living it).
This time last year, things looked rather bleak.
Venues were closed, tours were cancelled, we were hunkered down in our bunkers, wiping down our groceries and wondering if we’d ever see live music again. The worst of COVID-19 was still ahead of us. And if you were lucky, missing your favorite bands was all you were worried about, as the death toll continued to rise. There were whispers of a vaccine, but that was still a long way away. The only glimmer of hope was that the Commander in Boob had just been defeated, though he promised not to go quietly, and, by God, he kept his word.
By February a vaccine was in hand, but the club owners and promoters still predicted it wouldn’t be until the fall of 2021 or the following winter before bookings would look anything like “normal.” And so, the clubs stayed dark, and the closest we got to live music was streamed to our computer screens.
Finally, toward the end of May, live music slowly began to return. I attended my first live show at Dr. Jack’s Drinkery May 29, a farewell gig by indie band Bull Nettles. But it wasn’t until July that venues really started booking on a regular basis, and national touring bands began to hit the road again. The Maha Festival and Farnam Fest were announced and pulled off without becoming a “super spreader” event. Maha even sold out its limited-capacity one-day event.
Despite a readily available vaccine, people still wore masks at shows — and still do to this day. Every face at the near-capacity Nov. 6 Soccer Mommy concert at The Waiting Room was masked throughout the evening. We were back, sort of.
A few positive things stood out during this Year of Resiliency:
— The music never stopped. Artists continued to record and release new albums, most of them created in isolation during the height of the pandemic and some among the best of their careers.
— New venues were announced. You’d think coming out of a pandemic, investors would be gun-shy about pouring money into new music venues, but three of the largest new developments were announced or broke ground this year: refurbishment of Sokol Auditorium, renamed The Admiral, the Steelhouse Omaha standing-room live music hall by Omaha Performing Arts, and the massive Astro amphitheater project, which — when completed in January 2023 — will host 2,500 people indoors and 5,000 outdoors. Each project is a gamble that the worst is behind us.
— Record stores resurged. With so much forced alone time, people continued to fall in love with their vinyl. The Old Market now has as many record stores as it had during vinyl’s heyday, with Grapefruit Records at 1125 Jackson Street joining Vinyl Cup Records and the old favorite, Homer’s.
But as COVID-19’s bloody tide recedes, it leaves behind business casualties. While large clubs like Slowdown and the 1% venues are coming back better than ever, the smaller venues haven’t been so lucky. The Barley Street Tavern in Benson was the first to close its doors for good, though the room reopened under another name and new management. O’Leaver’s, arguably the best place in Omaha to see small live rock shows, still hasn’t reopened its stage. There’s hope it could soon return.
But the biggest loss of all was the permanent closing of The Brothers Lounge at the end of October. More punk bar than music venue, The Brothers was a way station for the misfits, oddballs and troubled geniuses of Omaha who preferred their music garbed in black leather and blood. The Brothers was where everyone ended up at last call. Now it’s had its last call, and the auction hammer falls Dec. 12.
Winners and sinners, that’s what we’re left with after a pandemic. Goodbye and good riddance, 2021. At least you were better than 2020. And 2022 will see us thanking our lucky stars.
Before we go, what would a Music Year in Review be without my list of favorite albums of 2021 (in no particular order):
Flyte, This Is Really Going to Hurt (Island)
Indigo De Souza, Any Shape You Take (Saddle Creek)
The Weather Station, Ignorance (Fat Possum)
Turnstile, Glow On (Roadrunner)
Low, Hey What (Sub Pop)
Cassandra Jenkins, An Overview On Phenomenal Nature (Ba Da Bing!)
Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine, A Beginner’s Mind (Asthmatic Kitty)
Parquet Courts, Sympathy for Life (Rough Trade)
Hand Habits, Fun House (Saddle Creek)
Mdou Moctar, Afrique Victime (Matador)
Strand of Oaks, In Heaven (Galacticana)
Wet Leg, “Wet Dream” b/w “Chaise Longe” (Domino)
Over The Edge is a monthly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.
So what’s missing from the article? The list of best shows of the year. After 2020, last year was a veritable bonanza of shows, but that said, they were still few and far between. My favorites are almost all the shows I ended up attending:
— Bull Nettles at Dr. Jack’s Drinkery, May 29 — This was my first show after COVID, and the last show forever for Bull Nettles, as the band’s frontman, Travis Linn a.k.a. Travis Sing, has moved out of Omaha.
— A Tomato A Day at The Little Gallery in Blackstone, June 12 — The first performance by Brion Poloncic (formerly of Cactus Nerve Thang) in years, was in support of an art opening of his latest work. Is there a Cactus reunion somewhere in the future?
— Digital Leather at The Sydney, June 26 — The line-up: Frontman Shawn Foree, was backed by long-time DL drummer Jeff Lambelet; Blake Kostszewa, synths; newcomer Bobby Hussy on guitar, Erica Van Engen on synths, and MiWi La Lupa on bass, playing songs off COVID-era release New Wave Gold.
— Idaho at Reverb Lounge, July 8 — First touring act post-COVID for me, and my return to Reverb Lounge. And one of my favorite shows from an act who made its mark almost 30 years ago.
— Maha Music Festival, Stinson Park, July 31 — Omaha’s favorite festival was back after the COVID hiatus, sold-out (though tickets were limited to 8k), with perfect weather and great sets by Japanese Breakfast and Thundercat, among others.
— Petfest, behind Pet Shop, Aug. 14 — And then along came the Delta variant, but that didn’t stop folks from showing up to this small outdoor festival that featured the best collection of local bands assembled in the past couple years.
— Grocer at Reverb Lounge, Aug. 17 — The Philly band’s style was in the early Pixies tradition, angular and cool riding high on the bass line and backbeat drums, while guitarist Emily Daly shredded feedback-drenched leads run through a muffled effects pedal.
— Elvis Costello at Memorial Park, Aug. 28 — A surprisingly light crowd took in a greatest hits set by a legend. For once the park concert had more going for it than the fireworks.
— No Thanks at Brothers Lounge Sept. 17 — Little did we know this would be one of the last shows at The Brothers Lounge, as the club closed its doors for good at the end of October.
— Indigo De Souza at The Slowdown Oct. 2 — The Saddle Creek Records band played the big stage for my return to Slowdown post-pandemic. Great set, highlighted guitarist, Dexter Webb, who reminded me of Mr. Lindsey Buckingham.
— Tokyo Police Club at Slowdown Jr., Oct. 28 — First Slowdown Jr. show for me since the pandemic was a corker from a former Saddle Creek act, though some I talked to thought opener And How stole the show.
— Soccer Mommy at The Waiting Room, Nov. 6 — Finally, a return to The Waiting Room for a near sold-out show, evidence that indie rock was alive and well and touring through Omaha.
— Matt Whipkey and his band at The Jewell, Nov. 12 — Celebrating the release of his new LP, Hard, Whipkey was backed by what arguably was one of the best bands he’s ever assembled, in an effort to blow the lid off the downtown jazz club.
— Criteria at The Waiting Room, Nov. 27 — Last but not least (and likely, not last of 2021) was the annual “holiday show” by the ever-young ’00’s band, sounding as good as ever. Long live rock and roll.
I’m forever wondering if punk — or post-punk — or let’s face it, rock — will soon die of old age.
Most people my age already have thrown dirt over the grave, saying punk lived and died in the ‘70s, post-punk lived and died in the ‘80s, and alternative took over in the ‘90s, followed by indie, which most oldsters don’t consider rock music.
Of course none of it is true. Every time I start to get jaded listening to, say, Sirius XM and the endless list of “vibe” music on my Spotify new music list, something catches my ear and my hope is renewed. The same thing goes for live music. Friday night at Brothers Lounge I caught a set by a couple bands on the Black Site label out of KC, Red Kate and our very own No Thanks, and was, again, given hope for the future.
Red Kate at Brothers Lounge, Sept. 17, 2021.
Red Kate wasn’t doing anything new. The post-punk four piece played straight-ahead post-rock with yell vocals, solid rhythms and the prerequisite catchy riffs. Fast and hard, they were tight out of the gate. If you love this style of music, you would have loved this set.
This is the third or fourth time I’ve seen No Thanks live, and I’ve notice a common denominator to their sets — they always start off tenuous, as if frontman Brendan Leahy is unsure he really wants to go through with whatever he’s about to do, or simply isn’t in the proper headspace. Let me clarify — the rest of the band does sounds ready to go from the outset. Guitarist Mike Huber is one of the best things to come out of Omaha in years, and the rhythm section of Cam Stout and Gabe Cohen are first rate.
Musically, I was reminded of old school golden age Omaha post-punk band Ritual Device. To be clear, Leahy doesn’t in any way resemble a ‘90s-era circus-geek-loving Tim Moss. And while Moss had a guttural Nick Cage vocal swagger, Leahy has a high, kind of Jerry Lewis-style speaking voice. But when he gets warmed up, he can be equally sinister and disturbing as Moss.
But, just like those other times, it took Leahy three or four songs before he began to lose whatever inhibitions he may have had and started to let it all hang out. About four or five songs in, the shirt came off and he turned into a totally different dude — posing, crawling, preening, performing — he could give Future Islands’ Sam Herring a run for his money.
Halfway into the set I noticed the entire front of the stage was surrounded by young women dancing — or dare I say, moshing. I’m not sure exactly what it was they were doing except having a good time. It was the youngest crowd I’ve seen at a Brothers show — both young dudes and women — and it gave me hope that there is a new generation out there who still gets into this style of grinding, static, feedback-driven post-punk.
Another great night at Brothers Lounge. The club has been putting on a lot of shows lately and have more on the way. Catch them if you can.
A quick note about their vax card policy — the guy at the door was not playing around. You better have had both a vax card (or a photo of your vax card) and a second photo ID or you weren’t getting in. The process was quick and easy, and there’s no reason all the venues aren’t laying down similar policies.
If you don’t want to get vaxed, stay home and save us all a lot of grief.
The May issue of The Reader, which I’m not certain has hit the racks yet, includes a feature/column focused on Tim Kasher, his new album No Resolution, and more specifically, his new record label, 15 Passenger, which he operates with Cursive bro’s Matt Maginn and Ted Stevens.
The story answers questions I posed about the label back in January, specifically why create a new label, how did you acquire the Cursive masters from Saddle Creek, will The Good Life be involved in the new label, and more. Kasher also talks his film No Resolution and how he hopes to screen it in the future.
Kasher did the interview via phone while he was in Omaha rehearsing for the tour that brings him to The Waiting Room May 12. You should get tickets to this one while you can.
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The Meat Puppets with Mike Watt are headlining tonight at The Waiting Room. According to TWR website, the band could “revisit the folk and singer-song writer nuggets Curt put out in 2005 on his solo masterpiece, Snow, as well as similarly veined tracks from Rat Farm (‘Sometimes Blue’).” The Jom + Terry Show opens. According to Wiki, Jom + Terry “was the backup band led by American punk legend Mike Watt (formerly of The Minutemen and Firehose) for tours of the USA and Canada in 2001 and 2002. The band, in addition to Watt on vocals and bass, included Tom Watson (Slovenly, Red Krayola) on guitar and vocals and Jerry Trebotic on drums.” $20, 8 p.m.
Also tonight….
Is it me or is The Brothers Lounge turning into a regular go-to spot for live music? In the past, Omaha’s most famous bar (with the best jukebox) hosted a live rock show maybe once a month, if that. These days they’re doing shows almost weekly. And anyone who knows the bar’s owners knows they know how to put on a rock show.
Tonight The Brothers hosts Omaha’s hardest working noise/garage rock band, David Nance Group. Also on the bill are a couple Los Angeles bands, psych-rock act Olga and dirge band Dimples. $5, 9 p.m.
If you haven’t checked out the My Omaha Obsession blog you’re missing out on some fantastic writing and colorful history of our community. The latest installment is an exhaustively researched history of The Brothers Lounge and the buildings that surround it. The piece includes diagrams, advertising and lots of historic photos (including some great shots of Trey and Lallaya). I typically don’t share anonymous stuff, but I’ve been told by a reliable source who “Miss Cassette” is (and you probably know her, too). Check it out.
It’s a pleasure to see long-form writing like this online instead of the usual down-and-dirty write-ups designed to be shared in their entirety as a Facebook post. If you like this kind of writing, check out Medium.com for more.
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Speaking of long-form writing, I neglected to share last month’s Over the Edge column in The Reader with you. It’s a write-up about Yelp and how Yelping has resulted in my ridicule and being banned from restaurants. It also includes an interview with Omaha’s Chief Executive Yelper Will Simons. Read it online here or pick up a July copy of The Reader while it’s still on the racks.
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Something else to check out, The AV Club’s Binge and Purge column, which details a writer going through his CD collection to make much-needed cuts. Our own Lullaby for the Working Class is among the artists featured. I find I have a lot of the same music in my collection as this dude, but I don’t feel the burning need to dump my CDs. Maybe because I have a place to store them. I know as soon as I sell something I’m going to be reaching for it in six months, and it’ll be gone…
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Tonight at Milk Run, Montclair, New Jersey’s Pinegrove headlines. The band is on the road supporting their recently released debut full-length, Cardinal, on Run For Cover Records (which got a massive 8.0 rating from Pitchfork). Joining them are Halfwaif and SPORTS. $10, early 7:30 p.m. show!
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