Remember what I said yesterday about going to the French Cassettes show “barring the threat of ‘baseball-sized hail’”? Yikes.
And while it sucks to miss the show, it must really suck for Slowdown and the bands. This is the worst spring weather-wise in recent memory, and it must be having a negative impact on local clubs and music venues. Like I’ve always said: If you’re even vaguely contemplating going to a show – GO! Who knows when you’ll get another chance, especially if it’s a touring indie band.
Anyway, speaking of shows…
Yesterday Bright Eyes announced their new album, Five Dice, All threes, is being released Sept. 20 via Dead Oceans. From the press release: “Comprised of Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcott, the beloved band’s 10th studio album features guest performances from long time friends Cat Power, The National’s Matt Berninger and The So So Glos’ Alex Orange Drink.”
Based on the video that also dropped yesterday for the first single, “Bells and Whistles,” local legend Roger Lewis also is playing drums in this iteration of Bright Eyes. The video was shot a few weeks ago after a cattle call for locals to participate. See if you recognize anyone you know.
The album was recorded in Omaha at ARC Studios produced and recorded by Oberst and Mogis. Preorder the album here.
The band also announced a six-date US tour that includes a show at Steelhouse Omaha Sept. 22, followed by a 9-date European/UK tour.
Presale tickets to the Steelhouse show are on sale now using the code “ALLTHREES” and range in price from $49 to $130. Get ’em while you can…
After Conor Oberst wrapped up his bi-coastal “Conor and friends” residencies speculation began as to what’s next for Mr. Oberst. His musical output used to run in cycles between Bright Eyes, solo work, Desaparecidos and other projects (Monsters of Folk, Better Oblivion Community Center, etc.). Well, a couple clues sprung up in the past few days.
First, there was a casting call on the official Bright Eyes Instagram account for volunteers to appear in a Bright Eyes video, apparently to be shot in or around Omaha on May 23 and 23. The posted graphic included three sets of dice and faux casino lights, which leads one to believe they’ll be shooting it somewhere over on the boats (our local slang for the Council Bluffs casinos).
You had to be 19 or older (or with a legal guardian) and also sign an NDA. Well, as quickly as the offer went up, the offer was closed due to having received enough “entries.” Of course, people speculated that this is a pre-cursor to a new Bright Eyes release, but I suspect it may have something to do with a rerelease of older material. Time will tell.
And then this past Tuesday a press release went out announcing the release of a 15th anniversary reissue of the Monsters of Folk debut album. Monsters of Folk consisted of Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward and Mike Mogis.
First released in 2009, the rerelease includes the original 15-song album joined by five additional studio tracks from a previously unreleased 2012 session featuring “Fifth Monster” Will Johnson (Centro-matic).
From the press release: “Those five tracks – which include ‘Disappeared’ and the moody folk epic, ‘Museum Guard’ – were initially meant to accompany a dystopic sci-fi film based on a screenplay penned by Oberst, a project that was eventually shelved.”
A dystopic sci-fi film written by Conor? I would have loved to have seen that. And they could have shot it over on the boats and saved money on building dystopian-looking sets.
The album drops June 14 on ATO Records and can be preordered here. Check out the Springsteen-esque newly release track, “Disappeared,” below.
A Monsters of Folk tour to accompany this release would be pretty cool. So would new MofF material. Ah, but I’d still rather see that sci-fi movie. Come on, Conor!…
Conor Oberst closed out his residency at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom last Thursday with a large cadre of guest stars, including Desaparecidos’ Denver Dalley, which I’m sure had something to do with the band playing for four Desa songs during the show. I can’t tell from the videos if Ian McElroy also is on stage during these songs; the Brooklyn Vegan coverage doesn’t mention him. I fear this may be the closest we ever get to a Desaparecidos reunion, but you never know. Oberst sure looked like he was having a good time singing these old Desa tunes…
. 0 0 0 .
Austin band Cherubs was part of that early-‘90s noise-punk movement that included acts like The Jesus Lizard and Steel Pole Bathtub and, yeah, Ritual Device. Just prior to the release of their ’94 studio album Heroin Man (Trance Syndicate), the band broke up. They reunited in 2014 and signed to Relapse Records, who released their most recent studio album, Immaculada High, in 2019. And tonight they’re playing at The Sydney in Benson. Joining them is Omaha’s own current-day noise-punk band, Violenteer, along with Moon Pussy. 9 p.m. $12. LOUD.
No doubt the Cherubs show is really drawing fans away from tonight’s Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit show at The Astro (j/k, obviously). Their latest studio album, Weathervanes, was released last year on Southeastern Records/Thirsty Tigers. Jobi Riccio opens at 7 p.m. $65-$125.
Former Nebraskan now New Yorker, Stathi, dropped a note the other day to say he’s got a new track out called “Chasing Dreams, Chasing Time.” You can find it here on Bandcamp.
Stathi also recently opened for Conor Oberst at Bowery Ballroom during his sold-out NYC Residency, night one. “Very cool experience! I played a few songs in his band during this set as well on keys and vocals,” Stathi said.
Like its Los Angeles version, the weekly New York City residency, called Conor Oberst and Friends, has had a plethora of “special guests” including Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, Yeah Yeah Yeahs members Brian Chase and Nick Zinner, the Strokes’ Nikolai Fraiture, LCD Soundsystem’s Nancy Whang, and Clark Baechle of The Faint, according to Stereogum.
. 0 0 0 .
Tonight at Reverb Lounge it’s the return of Philly rockers Sheer Mag. Their latest, Playing Favorites, was released last month on Third Man Records. At the band’s core is frontwoman Tina Halladay, who has one of the most distinctive, raw vocal styles in indie these days. Omaha rockers Garst opens at 8 p.m. $20.
Conor Oberst’s first record label, Saddle Creek Records, yesterday announced that it’s releasing a digital-only “Deluxe Edition” of The Faint’s 2014 album Doom Abuse. This edition includes tracks from the “Evil Voices” 12-inch which have never been available digitally. If you go to the Saddle Creek page, you’ll see the track listings organized as Disc One and Disc Two, which makes it sound like it’ll be available as a Compact Disc, but no option for ordering a CD is available. No such organization at the Bandcamp page… Would people want a CD version of this Deluxe edition? Probably…
BTW, The Faint have been named in the line-up for this year’s Outlandia Festival, Aug. 9.
. 0 0 0 .
Speaking of electronic music, last week TIT — the dynamic duo of Shawn Foree and Bobby Hussy — released their long-awaited debut album, 10 years in the making. You may know Foree as the mastermind behind punk project Digital Leather. Hussy is the proprietor of No Coast Records and member of the band Wristwatch. TIT first emerged with a four-song EP back in 2013, released by Volar/FDH.
The 11-song collection includes the track “MGBF,” with lead vocals by Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst reminiscent of this Digital Ash/Digital Urn days. Check out the full album at the TIT Bandcamp page.
0 0 0 .
Tonight at The Sydney in Benson, Nashville indie-folk singer songwriter Bats – a.k.a. Jess Awh – headlines a three-act show that also features solo sets by Joe Champion (Uh-Oh) and Mitch Jordan. 8 p.m. $10.
The first I heard of Conor Oberst’s new record label came via a press release with the headline: “The Felice Brothers Sign to Conor Oberst’s New Record Label Million Stars.” Wait, what? New record label? Isn’t Bright Eyes (and Conor Oberst) signed to Dead Oceans?
In the press release, Conor explained:
“I first encountered the Felice Brothers in 2007 after being given some of their music by a friend. I liked it a lot, but there was something I couldn’t put my finger on—singular and mysterious. An iconoclastic version of what some lazy people call ‘Americana.’ I subsequently met them and played shows together. They became some of my best friends, family, really. I put out two of their records on the label I co-owned at the time, called Team Love. Then we started to perform together with them as my backing band and made a record of mine called Salutations. Needless to say, I love this band, and when I asked that horrible question, ‘Who is your favorite band?’ I always answer ‘The Felice Brothers.’
“So when Ian sent me this new collection of songs and told me they just planned to put it up on the internet, I kind of flipped out, because they were so goddamn good. And then I did something I swore I would never do again: I started a new record label. This is my third. It is called Million Stars, and I am so proud to say the new Felice Brothers album is our first release. I can’t quit them. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.”
So, yes, this would be Oberst’s third record label creation. The first was Saddle Creek Records, which he launched with a bunch of folks including his brother Justin, Mike Mogis (now of ARC Studios and Bright Eyes), and Robb Nansel, who still runs that label. The second label, Team Love, was launched in 2003 with his Oberst’s pal Nate Krenkel, who also was his former manager and an A&R dude at Sony ATV Music Publishing. Team Love continues to operate out of New Paltz, New York, though Oberst apparently is no longer involved.
Based on the press release, it doesn’t sound like the idea of creating a new record label was a premeditated decision, more of a spur-of-the-moment deal, and really, isn’t that main ingredient in every success story?
Valley of Abandoned Songs will be released on June 28 on Million Stars. The 13-song collection consists of recordings primarily from sessions for the band’s 2019 album, Undress, as well as their most recent release, 2023’s Asylum On The Hill, both of which were captured live in an 1870s church with the band’s current lineup of Ian Felice (guitar/vocals), James Felice (piano/vocals), Jeske Hume (bass), and Will Lawrence (drums).
The band will, of course, be touring Europe and the U.S. The closest pass to little ol’ Omaha is Chicago (July 27, Beat Kitchen).
Time to clean out ol’ in-box. Hold onto yer hats… Much of this you may already have seen on the socials; some you haven’t. Here we go…
. 0 0 0 .
Once again, our hometown record label – Saddle Creek Records – has been nominated for a Libera Award — the annual awards handed out by the American Association of Independent Music. Saddle Creek was nominated in the Label of the Year category for labels with 6 to 14 employees. Also in their category: Captured Tracks, City Slang, Lex Records, Light in the Attic, Mack Avenue Music Group and Photo Finish Records. Seems like Saddle Creek is nominated every year. Could this be the year they take home the prize?
In addition, Saddle Creek Records artist Indigo De Souza was nominated in the Breakthrough Artist, Best Singer-Songwriter Records, and Music Video of the Year categories. The 13th annual Libera Awards ceremony will take place June 10 at Gotham Hall in New York City. More coverage at Variety.
. 0 0 0 .
The indie music world was thrown in a tizzy last week when Phoebe Bridges joined Conor Oberst on his “Conor Oberst and Friends” residency show at Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom – a series that heads east to Bowery Ballroom in NYC next month. The best coverage of the incident appeared in Them, an online publication that purports to be the “best of what’s queer.”
Them’s James Factora reported that Bridgers walked on stage during the show’s encore and together with Conor performed Bright Eyes classic “Lua,” Oberst’s “Double Life” from 2014’s Upside Down Mountain and Better Oblivion Community Center tune “My City.” The occasion marked the first time the two have performed together since October 2020. Factora wonders whether, with the announced hiatus of Boygenuis (Bridgers’ project with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus), if this unannounced reunion could be a sign of future BOCC things to come…
. 0 0 0 .
I already mentioned that legendary ‘90s-‘00s Omaha punk band Ritual Device is among the performers at this year’s Lincoln Calling May 3 and 4 (the festival schedule has yet to be released). Now comes word that RD will be playing back-to-back nights at Reverb Lounge in Omaha May 2-3 leading up to the LC weekend gig. The shows feature the band’s original lineup of Jerry Hug, Mike Saklar, Eric Ebers and Tim Moss.
It’s been a decade since the band has taken the stage stage, and I’m sure there’s a good reason for this reunion. More to come…
. 0 0 0 .
Speaking of artists from Omaha’s first golden age of indie music, Patrick Buchanan, the frontman of another ’90s-’00s legendary punk band, Mousetrap, yesterday released a new 5-song EP from his project House of Transgressor called Ain Soph Aur, which, along with the eerie album cover artwork, seems a wee bit satanic. Check it out on Spotify (I don’t see a Bandcamp or YouTube link), and here’s the first song on YouTube:
. 0 0 0 .
Finally, word from on high is that the fine folks who putting together the Outlandia Festival will announce the line-up for the August 9-10 festival sometime Thursday evening. No doubt you’ll see it blasted all over the socials that night, but I’ll be writing about it the following morning in Lazy-i.
Who do you think will be this year’s headliner? After last year’s Lord Huron / Modest Mouse headliners (a festival that also included The Faint, Cat Power, Criteria, The Good Life and Horsegirl, among others), I can’t even imagine what they have up their sleeves — prior to this festival, I had never heard of Lord Huron.
With the Maha Music Festival taking the year off due to financial issues (according to their press release), Outlandia controls the board as the only indie music festival in the Omaha area this year. As it enters year 3, will it maintain its indie focus? We’ll find out Thursday night…
According to my records (glances at the Lazy-i Archives), it’s been about a decade since singer/songwriter Willy Mason came through town. The last time was opening for First Aid Kit at The Waiting Room back in June 2014.
From that review: “Mason’s brassy voice has deepened dramatically since he emerged a decade ago. As proof, he played the standout track “Oxygen,” from his Team Love debut, the Ritalin-referenced lyrics betraying his lost youth. Last time Mason came through was as a solo artist, too. I’d like to see him with a band.”
I’d still like to see him play with a full band, though that’s not going to happen tonight at Pageturners.
Those of you who were around at the dawn of Saddle Creek Records 20 years ago might remember a then-high-school aged Willy Mason played a tangential role as one of the first artists signed to Conor Oberst’s and Sean Foley’s fledgling record label, Team Love (along with Jenny Lewis and Tilly and the Wall, among others).
The story behind that signing is also in the Lazy-i Archive, right here. Since then, Mason’s been on a bunch of labels and these days his music is licensed to Cooking Vinyl, including his last EP, Bok Bok Hill. Tonight Mason plays at Pageturners Lounge, along with our very own Sean Pratt (sans Sweats?). 8 p.m., $10 suggested donation (Why not just charge a cover?).
Maybe Willy’s record label pal, who also owns Pageturners, will show up tonight for old times’ sake…
Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame has signed up for two, month-long “residencies” next spring – one on either coast. Dubbed “Conor Oberst and Friends,” the shows take place each Thursday in March at Teragram Ballroom in LA and each Thursday in April at The Bowery Ballroom in NYC. These will be retrospective sets played with a “rotating backing band.”
“It will be a lot of work putting together a different band and set every week but it’s a challenge I think (that) will be rewarding,” Oberst says. Look for “surprise guests” each night. Sounds exciting, but the announcement would have been even more interesting if one of the residencies took place at O’Leaver’s…
. 0 0 0 .
Speaking of Bright Eyes… that band’s drummer for their recent world tour was none other than Maria Taylor of Azure Ray fame. Well, Maria just dropped the second singles from her new project, HAHA. The duo consists of Taylor and Mike Bloom, who’s worked with Jenny Lewis and Julian Casablancas, among others. The track, “No Promises,” was released on Taylor’s Flower Moon Records. No mention if there will be a full-length in the duo’s future, but something tells me…
. 0 0 0 .
Memphis singer/songwriter Josh Shaw goes by the stage name Blvck Hippie and calls his music “black fronted sad boy indie rock,” and his 2021 debut album, If You Feel Alone at Parties, “the Blackest emo record of all time.” Well, it’s not really an emo record (thankfully) and leans closer to modern up-tempo shoe-gaze. It’s pretty good.
In a recent Alternative Press interview, Shaw says there’s a hidden, untapped community consisting of people of color who would love to perform and attend DIY and punk shows, but naturally feels out of place. From the article:
“People are going to feel safe in those spaces if they see someone on stage that looks like them, and bands on the bills that look like them. There are so many bands composed of people of color, but it’s so hard to break into those scenes – especially since they’re already kind of outcasts in a way. Venues and promoters have to go out of their way to find these Black artists and put them on the bills because just saying, ‘Support Black artists’ isn’t enough. You have to seek out these artists, put together all-Black shows at your venue, and advertise in communities of color because there’s so many weird Black kids in the neighborhoods that aren’t being talked to. You have to go above and beyond the fight against the systemic oppression of Black art in general.”
Right on, Josh.
Anyway, I mention all this because Blvck Hippie is headlining a show tonight at Reverb Lounge. Since this is a Black Heart Booking presentation, it’s a four-band bill that includes opening bands Trees with Eyes, Cupholder, and Jar (Captain Howdy dropped off the bill due to injury). $15, 8 p.m. Too late for little ol’ me but not for you slackers who don’t have day jobs. Get there.
As a preview to their upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand, Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst did a couple lengthy inteviews. It’s a time for reminiscing for ol’ Conor, now 43, who goes back into the mind vault and talks about his early days.
The article in The Music, “Australia’s most respected source for music news,” is the better of the two. Written as a feature story, the writer lays down some ancient history.
— “It’s a running joke – or kinda a half-joke – that we’ll be at an airport with a bunch of guitars, and someone asks us, ‘What kind of music do you play?’ and a number of years ago, I took to saying, ‘Yeah, it’s called confusion rock’, have you heard of that?’ It doesn’t make any sense, and all our records sound different, so if you love one, you’ll probably hate the next one!’ That’s our own genre.”
— On the recent reissues and Companion series: “It basically happened because we moved our whole catalogue from Saddle Creek – which is the label we started as kids, which ran its course – and we moved over to Dead Oceans and the Secretly Group, and they’ve been amazing.” – Last I looked, Saddle Creek still was very much a functioning label.
— “When I listen to or think about an album like [2000 third album] Fever And Mirrors, yeah, there’s a lot of embarrassing things on there – things I wrote and the way I sang and the over-the-top adolescence of it – but then every year somebody goes to high school and somebody’s older sister hands them a copy of it, and this has been happening for 20 years.”
— “I definitely think the output has decreased over the years. When I was a teenager or in my early 20s, I was writing constantly, and it was the only thing I thought about, or cared about really, at all. Probably to my detriment, in a lot of ways, because I think I’ve probably ruined some relationships and made some bad decisions… I don’t know, all of the stuff that you do when you’re a kid.”
— “I always joke that I’ve never worked a day in my life, which is not true, but you know what I’m saying, it’s fine. My buddy’s a part-time musician, and if I’m ever complaining about something on tour or about something that happened, he always goes [adopts deadpan voice], ‘Hey, beats pushing a broom’. Ain’t that the truth.”
The Mixdown appears to be another Australian-based publication (there’s not a lot of info about them on their own website). Their interview with Oberst is a straight up Q&A by someone who admits to be a long-time fan.
— “Commander Venus – such a bad name.” Come on now, Conor, nothing wrong with that band name. Certainly it’s as good as Bright Eyes.
— “People seem to like our records 5 years after they’re released. So it’s always felt like ‘let’s just make something and wait 5 years for someone to tell us it’s brilliant!’ But when it comes out it’s like ‘this is fucking shit!’ [Laughs]”
— On the next Bright Eyes record: “You know, we’ve been recording it… If all goes well maybe next fall. Knock on wood. Or early 2025. That feels so far away though. So I’m hoping for next fall.”
. 0 0 0 .
Tonight at Ming Toy Gallery (that’s the gallery run by my better half) located at 6066 Maple in the heart of Benson, artist and musician Josh Audiss is playing a set of music. Audiss writes in a modern folk, singer/songwriter style. The free show starts at 7 p.m. and you’ll also get a chance to see (and buy) some of his art, which is on display at Ming Toy through the end of the month.
Recent Comments