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.
The day has arrived: Tonight at Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple Street in Benson, singer/songwriter/author David Dondero performs music and reads from his new novel, Chaos the Cat.
– This is a limited-capacity engagement – only 40 people will be allowed in. Showtime is 7 p.m. We’ll be there after 6 p.m. preparing the space, so arrive early and check out the art.
– There are no pre-show ticket sales. A $15 donation is requested at entry, but for $25 you’ll also get a copy of the book. A big, burly, very tough bouncer will be at the door (named Craig).
– Ming Toy doesn’t provide seating. We’ll have some fold-out stools available (courtesy of BFF), but bring your own chair if you want to guarantee the ability to sit down. Or sit on the floor. Or stand.
– The program consists of music, then reading, then Q&A (moderated by the very tall Rob Walters) followed by more music. Not sure how long it’ll last but it’ll definitely wrap up by 10.
– BYOB. We’ll have a cooler of ice water on hand.
– Check out the art! The current show is called “Vox Humana” and is curated by Mari Dailey. Here’s a brief video that explains the show. If you want more info or want to purchase anything, see me or Teresa.
Need more info? Click here. Should be a tons of fun. See you tonight!
Although born in Duluth and having lived in South Carolina and the Midwest most of his life, singer/songwriter David Dondero is something of a legend among those who grew up during Omaha’s Golden Age of indie music, circa the early 1990s.
Dondero’s first band, Sunbrain, released albums on Grass Records, a label that also put out albums by Omaha bands Mousetrap, Cactus Nerve Thang and Commander Venus, the emo act where Conor Oberst got his start.
In fact, many an astute music critic had cited Dondero’s quivering vocal style as having influenced Oberst’s famous shakey bray heard on those Commander Venus albums as well as early Bright Eyes records (Oberst also has cited Sunbrain as an influence).
Dondero’s own quivering vocal style had somewhat mellowed by the time I first saw him perform at the short-lived downtown bar/ music venue The Junction in 2002, where he played songs off his seminal solo album, The Transient (Future Farmer Recordings).
“Everything I’ve heard about him was true — he’s pretty amazing,” I wrote in a review of that Junction show. “His set, while subdued and withdrawn, was riveting. Dondero is a throw-back to classic American folk singers, taking a distinctively traditional style and placing it squarely in our time with lyrics that are introspective and rooted in the everyday. The comparisons to Simon Joyner and Conor Oberst are justified (or for that matter, their comparisons to him).”
Over the years, Dondero played at a number of Omaha venues including The Cog Factory, O’Leaver’s, and 2010’s memorable Concert for Equality held in downtown Benson, which included performances by Cursive, David Rawlings & Gillian Welch and Bright Eyes.
Dondero returns to Benson next Wednesday, Sept. 18, at Ming Toy art gallery for a performance and reading from his new book, Chaos the Cat. I caught up with Dondero last week while he was driving a lonely Louisiana highway headed to a gig in New Orleans in his Toyota Camry, which in addition to being his tour wagon is his Door Dash and Lyft driving wagon.
On the road with Chaos the Cat
For this tour, Dondero said he’s playing mainly for small crowds of 15 to 20 people in houses, coffee shops, bookstores and gallery spaces like Ming Toy for a program that consists of song performances, readings from his book and Q&A.
“I’ve also been asking for volunteers who are willing to read certain parts of the book with me,” he said. “So it becomes kind of a dialogue, both from the book and then through Q&A.” The performance concludes with more songs.
He said the tour is more conducive in these alternative spaces rather than bars. “I used to be a hardcore drinker,” he said. “I’m a sober person now for nine years. So I prefer not playing bars, but still do. I don’t want the shows to be alcohol-centric; I’d rather it be about the songs and the writing.”
According to its description by publisher, San Francisco’s Unrequited Records, Chaos the Cat takes readers on a journey into the heart of California’s cannabis legalization era, where a secluded pot farm becomes the backdrop for a clash between preservation and exploitation. Amidst this backdrop, a diverse group of characters converges, each seeking their own form of self-improvement. At the center of the conflict is a trio of antagonists whose schemes threaten the harmony of the farm, pitting greed against enlightenment. The tale is narrated by Chaos, the cat, the reincarnation of an artist deeply connected to the farm.
Dondero said the book was inspired by his time working as a carpenter on a pot farm in Mendicino County, California. “The message of the book is about people who have tried to reset their lives by getting out of their patterns that they had been in in the city,” he said. “There’s some conflict in the story ideologies, and there’s a lot going on with different people in it.”
The book already has sold out its original limited-edition casebound pressing, with the second edition now available via IngramSpark and Amazon. For the Sept. 18 Ming Toy show, entrance requires a $15 donation, but for $25, patrons also will receive a copy of the book.
Music is the Main Thing
Dondero said while he enjoys writing, he doesn’t think it’ll ever be his “main thing.”
“Music is always going to be one of my main things, but (writing) is definitely becoming one of my main things,” he said. “I’m really engaged in trying to write a short story a week and then record a sound backdrop. It’s a writer challenge for me, to keep moving with it and become a better writer.”
His last album, Immersion Therapy, reflects the loneliness and anxiety of life during the Covid-19 pandemic when it was written. Oregon label Fluff and Gravy Records, who released the album, were “like my family,” Dondero said. “We lived together and I played their house through the years, and we’d become friends, and then I ended up living in their garage studio through the pandemic.”
These days Dondero lives in Pensacola with his his girlfriend, Natalie. How has he managed to make a living playing music since the early ‘90s? “I wouldn’t call it a living,” he said. “I’ve pieced together a life of borderline poverty for my whole time, working odd jobs and playing music in between. It’s a juggle; it’s not like it’s provided a living by a stretch.”
Dondero said he set up a Patreon website in 2017 whose subscribers receive exclusive music, writings, videos and more. “It’s been a lifesaver,” he said. “It’s the only guaranteed, stable income where I know how much I’ll be making a month.”
Touring remains an important income source, and Dondero said it’s become easier over the years. “When I first started booking tours, you had to send cassettes in the mail and you’d ring up a huge debt in long-distance phone charges,” he said. “You’d be in the hole several hundred bucks before leaving for the tour. Now you can book a tour on your cell phone and that’s much easier. And you can promote much easier.”
But Dondero said the music itself has become worthless from an income point of view. “It’s like, once it’s out there, it’s out there,” he said. “It’s not really worth anything unless people choose to give you money for a record at a show or something or to subscribe. The two-year break from my habit of playing music kind of got me out of a never-ending cycle of credit card debt. I was able to pay off all my stuff during the pandemic. Now I’m back to square one.
“My goals are just to put out good work and hone my skills as a guitar player and learn how to be a better writer,” he said. “It’s kind of like the life source for me — the process of working on projects and having something to complete is what keeps me rolling, while just getting used to the idea of failure — which is 99% of the time. So when those little wins come every now and again, you can really savor them.”
David Dondero plays music and reads from his new book, Chaos the Cat, Wednesday, Sept. 18 at Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple St. Capacity is limited to 40 patrons. Entrance is a suggested $15 donation at the door (There are no pre-show ticket sales) or $25 gets you in and a copy of Chaos the Cat. 7 p.m. start time. No seating provided, so bring a lawn chair or a cushion.
It’s Tuesday and time for the touring indie calendar update.
The big addition this week is a performance by singer/songwriter/author David Dondero Sept. 18 at Ming Toy Gallery.
Dondero’s music history goes back to the early Saddle Creek Records days as he’s been cited by Conor Oberst as one of his primary influences, specifically referencing Dondero’s work with his ’90s-era band Sunbrain, which released albums on Grass Records (which released records from a number of Omaha bands, including Commander Venus, Mousetrap and Cactus Nerve Thang).
Dondero’s latest is 2023’s Immersion Therapy (Fluff and Gravy Records). But in addition, David just wrote a book – Chaos the Cat – which, according to the description, “takes readers on a journey into the heart of California’s cannabis legalization era, where a secluded pot farm becomes the backdrop for a clash between preservation and exploitation… The tale is narrated by Chaos, the cat, reincarnated from an artist deeply connected to the farm.”
In addition to a performance by Dondero, the evening will include readings from his new book as well as a Q&A conducted by Rob Walters. 7 p.m. start time, $15 suggested donation or $25 gets you in and a copy of David’s book.
Ming Toy Gallery is located at 6066 Maple St. Attendance is limited to 40 and there’s NO SEATING. That’s right, you’re gonna have to stand up, sit on the floor or bring a small folding chair or pillow to sit on. It’s gonna be fun! RSVP and more info here.
Here’s the rest of what’s coming up. Nearest and dearest is SNÕÕPER at Reverb tomorrow night. And Outlandia is looming – Aug. 9-10…
July 31 – SNÕÕPER @ Reverb
July 31 – Mountain Movers @ Grapefruit Records
Aug. 3 – Orville Peck @ The Admiral
Aug. 3 – Shiner @ Reverb
Aug. 7 – Cults @ The Waiting Room
Aug. 9-10 – Outlandia Music Festival @ Falconwood
Aug. 15 – PACKS @ The Slowdown
Aug. 17 — Petfest @ Petshop Gallery
Aug. 19 – King Buzzo @ The Slowdown
Sept. 5 – A Giant Dog @ Reverb
Sept. 12 – Soft Kill @ The Slowdown
Sept. 18 – David Dondero @ Ming Toy Gallery
Sept. 21 – Built to Spill @ The Waiting Room
Sept. 22 — Bright Eyes @ Steelhouse
Sept. 24 – Why? @ The Slowdown
Sept. 25 – Descendents @ The Admiral
Sept. 26 – Foxing @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Odie Leigh @ The Slowdown
Oct. 1 – Jungle @ The Astro
Oct. 4 – Brigitte Calls Me Baby @ Reverb
Oct. 4 – Turnover @ The Slowdown
Oct. 5 – Fontaines D.C. @ The Slowdown
Oct. 7 – Saturdays at Your Place @ Reverb
Oct. 8 – Boris @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 9 – Jeffery Lewis @ Grapefruit Records
Oct. 10 – MJ Lenderman & The Wind @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 10 – Melt @ The Slowdown
Oct. 12 – The Red Pears @ Reverb
Oct. 16 – Mdou Moctar @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 17 – Superchunk @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 18-19 – Cursive @ The Waiting Room
Oct. 22 – Psychedelic Furs/Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Astro
Dave Dondero at The Concert for Equality, 7/31/10. He plays tonight at Pagerurner’s Lounge.
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
Singer/songwriter David Dondero’s goes back to the early Saddle Creek Records days as he’s been cited by Conor Oberst as one of his primary influences, specifically referencing Dondero’s work with his ’90s-era band Sunbrain, which released albums on Grass Records (which released records from a number of Omaha bands, including Commander Venus, Mousetrap and Cactus Nerve Thang). Dondero’s latest release is 2020’s The Filter Bubble Blues. Joining him tonight at Pageturners Lounge is local legend Craig Dee on drums for a few numbers. This free show starts at 9 p.m.
Check out this vintage review of Dave playing The Junction back in 2002 with Matt Whipkey and Fizzle Like a Flood.
Tonight at Slowdown Jr. it’s the kickoff of Simon Joyner & the Ghost’s “Southeast Tour.” The devil’s goin’ down to Georgia looking for some souls to steal and won’t be back for 10 days. Wish him well at this bon voyage performance that also features The Betties, Mike Schlesinger of Gus & Call and headliner David Dondero. Not a bad lineup for $12. Show starts at 9 p.m.
Ribs and The Filter Kings — sounds like the perfect combination, as long as you throw in about four fingers of bourbon. That’s the recipe tonight at Mojo Smokehouse in Aksarben Village. Opening is the breakneck punk of Lincoln band Ideal Cleaners. Expect broken glass. I hope all those unsuspecting diners know what they’re in for. Starts at 10 and the show is free.
Also tonight is the Omaha Entertainment and Arts (OEA) semi-annual showcase in Benson — 40 local bands at five Benson venues for a mere $10. Schedule is online here at Facebook. Performing of note: Bloodcow at The Waiting Room at 10:20 p.m., and Snake Island at The Barley Street at 12:50 a.m. I haven’t heard of most of the other bands, but isn’t that the point of the showcase?
Saturday night’s hot show is Digital Leather with Sacramento punk band G.Green and Dads at Middle House (ex-Frank’s Hotel, ex-Jerk Store, the house across the street from The Brothers). The house show renaissance continues… $5, 9 p.m.
G.Green, “Your House” (Mt. St. Mtn. Records)
Meanwhile, up the street at fabulous O’Leavers, Saturn Moth plays with Goon Saloon and Mama Like. Who dat? According to a member of the band, “Goon Saloon is new and features former people from Ketchup & Mustard Gas. They’re in the experimental rock column. Mama Like is a new dark alt.-country band that is fronted by a really great female vocal trio. Saturn Moth is garage.” $5, 9:30 p.m.
Finally, Sunday night Kite Pilot is playing at The Barley Street Tavern with Milwaukee band Fossils and High & Tight. $5, 9 p.m.
Here’s my “official review” of last Saturday’s Concert for Equality that runs in today’s issue of The Reader, presumably with a handful of photos (Pt. 1 ran here Monday). The whole day felt like a small-town street dance, a gathering of a community for what will be remembered as one of the most important indie music concerts in Omaha history. If you missed it, well, you can always relive it on YouTube.
Column 282: Live Review: Concert for Equality
Breaking down another language barrier.
It was supposed to be a protest concert — the Concert for Equality — but it will likely be remembered as a Saddle Creek Records music festival with an underlying, almost subliminal message about the evils of local laws designed to discriminate against immigrants.
A good message, no doubt, but how could it compete with this concert’s line-up? When was the last time that the three crown jewels of Saddle Creek Records played in Omaha in the same week? A decade ago? Ever?
With The Faint playing the previous Saturday at the MAHA Music Festival, and now Bright Eyes and Cursive playing at the Concert for Equality, we were seeing it happen again. Add performances by Desaparecidos and Lullaby for the Working Class, and you’ve turned the clock backwards 10 years, to a time when Omaha music mattered to the nation.
But even that line-up wasn’t enough. The buzz in the crowd all day was that Neil Young was going to drop by for a couple numbers at the $50-per-ticket concert at The Waiting Room following the outdoor show. Yes, Neil Young. Why stop there? Why not Bono or Springsteen or a reunited Led Zeppelin or the ghost of John Lennon? If there ever was a secret special guest lined up, it probably was Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy or another of concert organizer Conor Oberst’s music buddies like M. Ward or Jim James, who had showed up unannounced for the Obama rally at the Civic a few years back. But even those two seemed like a long-shot now that the Fremont anti-immigrant law that got the ball rolling was unlikely to be enacted anytime soon.
For every line of copy and sound bite in the local news that amplified Oberst’s message of both indignation and tolerance, there was a hate-quote from cave-dwellers like NAG (Nebraska Advisory Group) calling Oberst a racist and suggesting that he be deported. The media was bracing for a protest, but if there was one, no one saw it on Maple Street. Word spread that a handful of flag-waving crazies had set up camp near the Walgreens on Radial Highway. They might as well have been in Lincoln.
Nothing was going to stop this concert, anyway. After three warm-up bands — Flowers Forever, Vago and The Envy Corp — Bright Eyes took the stage exactly at 7:15 and played a too short set that included “Bowl of Oranges” and “Road to Joy,” along with new Oberst number, “Coyote Song.” The Bright Eyes line-up was core members Oberst, Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott, along with Clark Baechle on drums and Cursive’s Matt Maginn on bass. Like the MAHA second stage, it was hard to watch their performance while a blinding sun burned just above the lighting rigs, forcing everyone’s left hand in front of their eyes, while their right held a cold tall-boy.
After years of watching a sullen, almost depressed Conor Oberst scowl throughout his concerts, it was a pleasure to see him smiling and energized, as if the crowd of mostly like-minded fans had lifted the weight of the world from his tiny shoulders. He seemed almost… happy.
The sun retreated behind one of Benson’s broken buildings as Gillian Welch and David Rawlings began their set of acoustic finger-picking folk that wound up being a highlight of the day. When Cursive launched into pain-howl ballad “The Martyr” it didn’t matter if any Benson resident had bought a ticket — they heard Tim Kasher screaming in their living rooms. I cannot understate how loud it was — earplug loud from down the street at Benson Grind. Cursive matched the volume with an intensity that was violent, angry, amazing.
And then came Desaparecidos — Landon Hedges, Denver Dalley and the rest of the crew all on stage, all growed up playing the best set of the band’s disjointed history. Watching Desa brought on a wave of both nostalgia and lost opportunity. If ever there was a project that Oberst needed to be part of right now, or for that matter, during the Bush years, it was Desa — the perfect vehicle for his bitter temper tantrums, a rallying cry against cynicism for a disinterested, privileged suburban generation. A pity that the Desa set would only be a one-off.
As would the Lullaby for the Working Class reunion. Ted Stevens and his crew countered a day of anger and noise with an evening of acoustic serenity — soothing, soaring melodies that have aged well over the past decade.
In the end, Neil Young stayed home. There would be no “special guests” at The Waiting Room for the “Deluxe” ticket holders. The “hootenanny” consisted of Welch and Rawlings, joined by members of Bright Eyes followed by more Desaparecidos, and then the finale — everyone joined in on a song by David Dondero with a chorus that ran close to the tune of Bright Eyes’ “Land Locked Blues,” but with the lyrics:
They’re building a new Berlin Wall
From San Diego to Texas, so tall.
Don’t they know that they can’t stop us all?
But they’re building a new Berlin wall.
Oberst did his best to rally the troops behind a sentiment that I’m still not sure any of them clearly understood. I know I didn’t. The message sounded like: We don’t need any borders… at all. Would the suggestion still make sense the next morning, after the sing-along fever-buzz wore off? Oberst and his followers could work to get rid of all the localized, backward-thinking immigration laws that are destined to pop up like kudzu across the country, but they still had a federal crisis to deal with. I wonder if Conor or Dave can figure out a lyric that rhymes with “feasible, sensible national immigration policy.”
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