Futurebirds play tonight at The Slowdown.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Gazing out the window of my 15-story perch I see the tents remain but the College World Series is over, which means The Slowdown is back in business. The only thing left for Jason Kulbel and his crew to do is sweep up the discarded ten dollar bills that fell out of the pockets of all the loaded LSU fans and continue counting their windfall from this annual sports bonanza.

Tonight The Slowdown’s big-room stage welcomes Athens alt-country indie band Futurebirds. They’ve had LPs released on Fat Possum and Autumn Tone (Aquarium Drunkard imprint). Their latest releases have been a couple of EPs recorded with Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket. Opening the show is Omaha band Cable Network. 8 p.m., $25. 

A number of tours were announced yesterday and this morning, one of which is coming through Omaha which you already knew about.

The Good Life is doing a full-blown tour to celebrate the 16th birthday of their seminal release, Album of the Year (2004, Saddle Creek). Wait, shouldn’t that be the 19th birthday? Well they actually kicked it off the tour in 2020 but then COVID happened. This new try starts today July 28 at Wicker Park Fest in Chi-town and winds through the West Coast before the band plays Outlandia at Falconwood Park Aug. 11 (which I thing will actually be a greatest hits set). I always liked this album, but not as much as the follow-up, 2007’s Help Wanted Nights. Where’s that tour?

A few other notable tours that are, unfortuantely, bypassing Omaha. 

I’ve been enjoying Cut Worms forthcoming self-titled album due to drop July 21 on Jagjaguwar. The project is centered around singer/songwriter Max Clarke, and the album was recorded by the D’Addario brothers of Lemon Twigs fame. Cut Worms announced a tour today, and the closest passes to Omaha are: 

• Sat. Sept. 30 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
• Mon. Oct. 2 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar
• Tue. Oct. 3 – Saint Paul, MN @ Turf Club
• Wed. Oct. 4 – Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music 

Back when he was working at Homer’s downtown, Eric Ziegler cold-recommended an album by The Budos Band, an instrumental-only outfit that recorded on Daptone Records. I’d never heard of them before, took the album home, and dug it. Yesterday The Budos Band announced a new EP, Frontier’s Edge, coming out July 28 on Diamond West Records, as well as a tour. The closest pass to Omaha:

• July 2 – Chicago, IL – Salt Shed
• July 3 – St. Paul, The Palace Theater

Yikes, that’s next week! 

Will Butler, formerly of The Arcade Fire, has a new project called Will Butler + Sister Squares, whose debut album comes out Sept. 22 on Merge Records. They announced a national tour yesterday, but the closest gig is Oct. 21 at Chicago’s Salt Shed (which appears to be a popular venue). I caught Will Butler at SXSW way back in 2015, and the performance in no way resembled Arcade Fire…

Nashville indie band The Criticals just got signed to Fantasy Records, who is releasing their EP, Front Door Confrontations, July 21. I dig their new single, that also dropped today (see below). They also announced a national tour today, whose closest pass to Omaha is:

• Sept 5 – Uptown Theatre Encore Room – Kansas City, MO
• Sept 7 – Vultures – Colorado Springs, CO
• Sept 8 – Lost Lake – Denver, CO

Look, I receive literally dozens of tour announcements every day. I always check to see if the bands are headed here, and if their music is either important and/or good. If they’re not coming here, I’ll tell you the closest pass to Omaha. This is just to keep you aware that indie is very much alive in well in these United States of America no matter what anyone tells you!!!

* * *

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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Soccer Mommy is Sophie Allison, a Nashville singer/songwriter influenced by the likes of pop stars Avril Lavigne and Taylor Swift, though her music is more easily filed alongside fellow indie singer/songwriter projects Mitski, Waxahatchee and Big Thief.

In fact, on her 2018 Fat Possum release, Clean, Allison’s style and voice are reminiscent of ’80s folkie Edie Brickell, and I’d throw early Liz Phair in there as well (someone Allison has opened for recently) except lyrically Allison’s songs are more longing and withdrawn than Phair’s Exile-era, jaded, take-it-or-leave-it love rants.

Instead, Allison often comes off lost or left-behind, as if watching as her lover hits on someone else at a party she wasn’t invited to in the first place. Even on indie radio hit “Your Dog,” the modern anti-thesis of the Stooges’ tune, Allison sounds worn out rather than angry. Clean is, indeed, a beauty of a record, but I’m waiting for when Allison’s had enough and returns as a mad-as-hell reincarnation of early PJ Harvey.

We caught up with Allison and asked her to take our Ten Questions survey:

1. What is your favorite album?

Sophie Allison: It’s hard to pick just one! One of my favorites that I’ve returned to this week is Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco. It’s a popular choice for a reason!

2. What is your least favorite song?

I really don’t like that F-R-I-E-N-D-S song that is on the radio right now. I don’t know who it’s by, but I hear it all the time. (“FRIENDS” by Marshmello & Anne-Marie — Tim).

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

I like getting to share experiences of traveling and playing music with other people, especially since I really like the guys I tour with.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Sharing the bathroom in a hotel is pretty much the worst part. It can be a battle in the mornings!

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Right now I’m going to just say Malibu so we can keep it user friendly.

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

I always love playing in New York and Boston. I feel comfortable with both of those cities since I lived in NY and my sister lived in Boston and it’s always just a fun time.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Probably Liverpool. We showed up right before the set because we missed the ferry and it was just an odd vibe after that.

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?

I can at least sort of support myself at this point. I don’t really have another choice since I’m always on the road. It took at least half a year to be able to not be struggling to make it through tours, but sometimes we still struggle through it a bit.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do? 

I don’t really think I’d like to do anything else. I guess maybe I’d be a poet, but that’s basically what I do now. I’d hate to be an accountant or something like that.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

I haven’t really heard any to be honest! We played there once (with Jay Som and Stef Chura Sept. 12, 2017, at Reverb — Tim) and it seemed like a nice town, the show was pretty small though and not a ton of people came.

Soccer Mommy plays with Sasami Sunday, Oct. 7, at Reverb Lounge, 6121 Military Ave. Tickets are $12, showtime is 8 p.m. For more information, go to onepercentproductions.com.

* * *

Tonight Lord Huron headlines a sold out show at Sokol Auditorium. Opening is Brooklyn’s Cut Worms headed by Max Clarke, whose Jagjuwar release Hollow Ground earned a 7.2 rating from Pitchfork. 8 p.m. start time.

* * *

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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.