by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

It’s that time of year again. Lazy-i will be on hiatus tomorrow and this weekend as we take in the sights and sounds of New York City.  So what’ll I be missing?

Tonight (Thursday) The Sydney is hosting a handful of folk artists with Nashville-by-way-of-North Carolina’s Brooks Forsyth in the headliner position. The inimitable Sean Pratt ialso is on the bill along with Tom Bartolomei. 8 p.m., $10. 

Friday night, LA indie/surf-rock act The Buttertones plays Reverb Lounge. The band reinvented itself with new personnel after being mentioned in a #metoo controversy involving Burger Records, according to a Los Angeles Times story.  Tucson duo New Misphoria also is on the bill along with show-opener Las Cruxes. $25, 8 p.m.

Saturday night, prog-metal giants Mastodon plays at the Astro Amphitheater with Lamb of God, Kerry King and Malevolence. This one likely will be enjoyed throughout the entire La Vista community. $50-$150, 5:30 p.m. 

Also Saturday night, emerging Nebraska indie band Cowgirl Eastern headlines at Slowdown with Ohm Shell and Three of Cups. 8 p.m., $15.

That’s all I got. If I missed your show put it in the comments section. 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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The folks at Falconwood Park in Bellevue no doubt are gearing up for the season’s first music festival that features indie bands – GRRRL Camp July 19 and 20.  Why mention this on Monday? Just to get the word out for those who haven’t been paying attention. This festival has the best indie line-up of any local festival, especially with Maha taking the year off. Headliners are Indigo de Souza and Mannequin Pussy, but the entire weekend line-up is solid. 

When I talk about this festival with folks I continue to get quizzical looks by dudes who think it’s an Omaha Girls Rock event. OGR does, indeed, host a summer camp program. That ain’t what this is. Yes, men, you are invited along with everyone else.  All the details are available at the event’s website – grrrlcamp.com. 

I’ll be writing about the participating bands throughout the week. 

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Speaking of shows, there’s another great Monday night offering at The Waiting Room tonight.

Etran de L’Aïr translates to “the Stars of the Aïr,” the mountainous region of Northern Niger.  The band is based in the town of Agadez, an urban center renowned for the electric guitar and the Western named “desert blues.” In the Sahara, this electric guitar genre is intertwined with social function, and as such, these folks play a lot of weddings and other fun gatherings. 

They remind me of a less guitar-heavy, more danceable version of indie darlings Mdou Moctor. Etran de L’Aïr, however, is still very much under the radar. The New Yorker picked their cellphone recorded debut, No. 1, as their album of the year in 2020.

Sez the New Yorker: “No. 1 was recorded live, outside of the band’s compound in the outskirts of Agadez, and it contains absolutely everything I have desperately missed about non-virtual concerts: heady, spontaneous grooves, the sound of people clapping, involuntarily loosed whoops. I put it on whenever I need to be reminded of what it feels like to be outside, among friends, happy, dissolving into sound.”

The band played an in-store at Grapefruit Records in the Old Market a year or so ago; I can’t imagine many folks around here know about them – they’d be hard-pressed to fill Reverb let alone The Waiting Room, especially on a Monday night. 

That’s all the more reason to get yer ass to Benson tonight and see this show. Opening is local indie psych-rock newcomers Cowgirl Eastern. $25, 8 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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Violin-playing singer-songwriting whistler Andrew Bird is headlining tonight at The Astro in La Vista. He’s one of those guys who has always flown under the radar for me, despite being a major force in indie music for well over a decade, starting out on Rykodisc and Grimsey Records before moving on to Mom+Pop, Fat Possum, and finally Loma Vista for the last few LPs. His most recent, Sunday Morning Put-On, is a collection of jazz covers. It’s interesting to see he’s playing at such a large venue, but I guess Bird graduated to the whole Fleet Foxes/Decemberist/Feist league of indie year’s ago. 

This is a split-headliner show with country/bluegrass act Nickel Creek (Nonesuch). Singer/songwriter Haley Heynderickx opens at 6:30. Tickets range from $50 to $100.

That’s it for national touring indie-esque acts this weekend. 

Tonight (Friday), Mitch Gettman opens for Charlie Ames’ band Cable Network at Slowdown Jr. Always interesting to see what Mitch has been up to, though I know he’s been working on a follow-up to last year’s Tilde. Omaha alt rockers Dear Neighbor opens at 8 p.m. $10.

Tomorrow is the second Saturday of the month which means Blackstone Second Saturday (It just doesn’t roll off the tongue like Benson First Friday). The day’s highlight is at Scriptown Brewing Company. They’re calling it “Summer Smash Vol. II,” and includes a punk rock flea market, tie-dye station and culminates in live performances by tractor-punk mavericks Wagon Blasters and C&W cowboys Lightning Stills. It’s free, and the music starts at 3 p.m. More info here. 

Later Saturday night it’s back to Slowdown Jr. for another evening of up-and-coming locals that includes the arcane synth-and-drum noise-punk of Pagan Athletes. Indie stalwarts Bad Self Portraits headlines, while psych rock newcomers Cowgirl Eastern opens this show at 8 p.m. $10.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. 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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.