by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A couple of shows tonight…

Over at The Brothers Lounge Thick Paint headlines a show with David Nance. In the center spot is Asheville, NC band Nest Egg. Via the trio’s Facebook page: “Nest Egg has already made a name for themselves with their amazing fog-heavy, zoned and honed live show. Warping minds and winning fans with their heady, atmospheric take on progressive, ethereal vibed-out rock music.” Their sound is kinetic and fun. Check out the track below. $5, 9 p.m.

There’s also a heavy rock show at fabulous O’Leaver’s tonight with Des Moines psych-metal trio Druids. Locals Bonghammer and The Long Awaited open. $5, 9 p.m.

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Q1 2018 record reviews continue. Read them all here at The Reader website.

Preoccupations, New Material (2018, Jagjaguwar)

Preoccupations, New Material (Jagjaguwar) — From the guys who used to be called Viet Cong. I listen to a lot of SiriusXM First Wave, which plays post-punk/New Wave music from the ‘80s and ‘90s, and some of these tracks could be dropped into rotation and no one would notice. Opener “Espionage,” for example, sounds like ‘80s Gary Numan synth rock crossed with Interpol. On the other hand, “Antidote” is Eno-esque modern and dissonant while “Solace” sounds like reimagined New Order. A favorite.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’m sure you’ve already seen the initial line-up for Lincoln Calling 2018. I’m not going to list all the bands. You can see the full line-up at lincolncalling.com, but the highlights (for me, anyway):

Parquet Courts — Break-out indie band from Brooklyn on Rough Trade. They’ve been through here a few times, including a gig at Sweatshop Gallery.

Waxahatchee — Very cool indie singer-songwriter. Gorgeous stuff.

Japanese Breakfast — On rotation at Sirius XMU, another indie singer-songwriter.

Ron Gallo — Blew it up at Slowdown Jr. last year.

The Nude Party — North Carolina indie band will be touring with Sunflower Bean in June.

Ought — On Merge Records, Pitchfork darlings.

That’s some quality shit. Alone, none could sell out The Slowdown, taken together and we’re talking the stuff of an epic SXSW day party.

Add a ton more nationals and a strong collection of locals and you’ve got a nice little festival on your hands. Remember, this is only the “initial announcement” — there’s more to come.

The event takes place Sept. 17-22. The venues are the usual LC suspects: Duffy’s (inside and out), The Zoo, Bodega’s and 1867, plus 14th St. for a night market. Missing is The Bourbon Theater, which I’m told currently is on hold. Bourbon hosted major acts at LC in years’ past.

Tickets start at $35 and go up to $75 for VIP. One price gets you into the shows all week. Cheap! The performance schedules aren’t online yet. If you’re like me, you’re not driving to Lincoln more than once, so that schedule will be crucial…

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Speaking of schedules, the Maha Music Festival line-up is scheduled to be announced tonight. The embargoed press release says hold until 7 p.m., but I’m guessing Maha will leak the names prior to that time.

Yes, I’ve seen the line-up. My only hint: I haven’t seen any of the three primary headliners perform live before. Considering the thousands of bands I’ve seen live, take that for what it’s worth. The main headliner will likely cast a wide net. Stay tuned…

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Two good shows are happening tonight:

At The Waiting Room tonight it’s an evening with Cigarettes After Sex. The El Paso dream-pop act has been getting some serious Sirius airplay with their self-titled debut, out last year on Partisan. No opener listed. $20, 8 p.m.

Also tonight New Haven psych-rock band Headroom headlines at The Brothers Lounge. Joining them are David Nance Band, Alcools and Systematic Development Band (a four-band bill on a Tuesday night?). $5, 10 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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

See Through Dresses on Daytrotter TV.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Some new music news…

Sam Martin of Capgun Coup fame has a new solo album that came out just yesterday on Bandcamp called Slack City. It’s a full band recording and classic Martin low-fi garage goodness. No details who’s playing on this with Martin. Maybe it’s just Sam? Anyway, check it out here and below.

Meanwhile, David Nance has been busy creating a “loving interpretation of the classic 1972 Doug Sahm LP, but certainly not a note-for-note recreation.” I had to look up Doug Sahm. According to Wiki, the Texas songwriter co-founded the Texas Tornados with Augie Meyers, Freddy Fender and Flaco Jiménez. In 1965 he formed the Sir Douglas Quintet and had a top-20 hit in the U.S. with “She’s About a Mover.” Nance’s album is limited to 100 hand-numbered copies with paste-on covers and insert. Order it here. Very psychedelic!

See Through Dresses’ Daytrotter session went online a couple days ago. Recorded Feb. 15 in the Horseshack, you can now watch the performance as well as simply listen. Check it out.

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That Shovels & Rope show at The Waiting Room tonight is now officially SOLD OUT. Starts at 8, and no opener listed…

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

David Nance at The Sydney, July 7, 2017. He plays tonight at Brothers Lounge.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Super quiet weekend for shows, which I guess is par for the course when we’ve had such a strong week of shows what with Church/Zola/Whispertown. Why couldn’t any of those shows been on Friday or Saturday? Oh well…

Tonight, David Nance Group plays at Brothers Lounge with Portland psych/shoegaze band Candace (formerly Is/Is) who count Verve and Loop among their influences. Check out the dreamy track below. $5, 9 p.m.

Also tonight Omaha hardcore act Stronghold celebrates an EP release at Lookout Lounge. Sharing the bill are punk legends RAF, Finch x Kovacs and Black Velvet. $7, 9 p.m.

O’Leaver’s tonight has Rivercourt, Timecat and Light Speed Highway. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) O’Leaver’s has Lonely Estates, Ojai and Ft. Collins act Slow Caves. $5, 10 p.m.

And, jeeze, that’s it. I know I’m missing something… I always do.

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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Noah Sterba at Reverb Lounge, July 14, 2017.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

What more to day about Dave Nance and his band that I didn’t say in last week’s Sydney review other than this was a longer set, played (apparently) with inlaws among the packed crowd (it can make a difference). We got to hear most of the songs off Negative Boogie, including the cover of Merle Haggerd’s “Silver Wings” with Icky Blossoms’ Sarah Bohling providing harmony vocals. Beautiful.

So packed was it for Noah Sterba’s set that people were forced beyond the sound room’s door trying to get in (though there was space on the other side of the room if you could get through the human traffic jam). Sterba, backed by an eight-person band, performed the closer from his new album — titled “The Dark American Rodeo” — in its entirety. In this incarnation, it was a 20-minute noise collage with Sterba front-and-center earnestly reciting the lyrics/poem/manifesto.

I got at the bar right as Sterba’s drone was starting, and was told later it was the sole song he performed, which, on one hand, was good because it meant I didn’t miss anything, but on the other hand, a bummer because Sterba didn’t perform my favorite songs from the album, such as “Three Sheets to the Breeze” and “The 12-Bar Blues.” Next time, maybe…

Nance plays the Bourbon in Lincoln Wednesday night and then hits the road through the first week of August.

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A couple Austin-based punk bands roll into Brothers Lounge tonight.

Unknown Relatives releases material on Austin underground label Super Secret Records. Tour-mates Pretty Shitty are worth the price of admission if only to hear “Don’t Surf.” Omaha’s own No Thanks also is on the bill. $5, 9 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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

See Through Dresses at Maha Music Festival in 2016. The band had an album release show Saturday night at The Waiting Room.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s a busy weekend of shows as far as local band releases are concerned.

It kicks off tonight with a duo release show at Reverb Lounge featuring David Nance and Noah Sterba.

David Nance, Negative Boogie (BaDaBing, 2017)

Nance’s new album, Negative Boogie, out today on Ba Da Bing Records, is among my favorites so far this year — a tight, gritty collection of blues rock songs straight out of the garage (or basement), straight to a studio and straight to your heart. The closest comparison I can come to Nance’s intensity is ’90s-era Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, though Nance’s music sounds nothing like it. Nance already has attracted national attention. After this record and subsequent touring, expect him to jump to the next level.

Noah Sterba, 13-Bar Blues (2017, Grapefruit)

Then there’s the release today of Noah Sterba’s 13-Bar Blues on Simon Joyner’s Grapefruit Records label. This is a re-working of his 12-Bar Blues cassette that came out in 2015 on Unread Records, weeding out the covers and adding a few new ones.

Sterba sits in the rarified company of Joyner and Oberst when it comes to turning a golden phrase; his lyrics are central to these bluesy folk-rock tunes. Who else could imaging building a house of out porkchops and eating his way out? The album concludes with a 16-plus-minute opus that features Sterba spitting out a manifesto of sorts over jangly garage blues chords.

Both Nance and Sterba and their bands perform tonight at Reverb Lounge. Joining them is the inimitable Sean Pratt & The Sweats. $7, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, alt country-folk band Clarence Tilton headlines The Waiting Room with Excellency and Sack of Lions. $8, 9 p.m.

See Through Dresses, Horses of the Other World (2017, Tiny Engines)

Then Saturday night is the album release show for See Through Dresses latest, Horse of the Other World (Tiny Engines), at The Waiting Room. The record is something of a breakthrough for a band who in the past too often sounded like a reincarnation of ’90s college rock a la Dinosaur Jr. They come to their own with this album, creating a sound that combines post-punk shimmer with classic dream-pop drone for an end-product reminiscent of Saturdays = Youth-era M83 or early New Order. Opening is Fullbloods and Bokr Tov. $8, 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, LA four-piece Froth (Burger, Wichita, Lollipop) plays at Milk Run. On their new album, Outside (briefly) (2017, Wichita), they reinvent their sound in solid dream-pop fashion. So much so, the band goes on tour with Ride following this show. Sam Martin opens. $10, 9 p.m.

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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

David Nance at The Sydney, July 7, 2017.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s been pointed out to me that David Nance didn’t just come out of nowhere. He’s been plugging away and putting out music since before 2013, including as a member of Simon Joyner’s band The Ghosts.

And while I knew this, my point was that it’s been within the last year or so that Nance’s profile has exploded. I point toward  Matador co-founder Gerard Cosloy who listed among his favorite recordings in 2016 Nance’s More Than Enough (Ba Da Bing Records). That captured some people’s attention, but Nance already had the ball rolling thanks to his live sets.

Last Friday night was another classic Nance performance, this time at The Sydney as part of Benson First Friday. Nance backed by a drummer, bass and someone making noises on a pedal, ripped through a solid set of songs, some of them off his remarkable new album Negative Boogie, which comes out this Friday on Ba Da Bing. The difference between this set and past Nance sets (for me) was the shorter songs. I’ve seen Nance play sets comprised of only two 20-minute noise ensembles. By contrast, Friday’s set was practically a pop concert.

His guitar work is already respected — ranging from big riffs to lead fills to walls of feedback — now his voice is taking center stage. The only comparison in my mind is early Jon Spencer, and Nance does have a similar stage appeal, albeit hidden behind that huge head of hair.

I managed to capture a couple songs on Facebook Live Friday night, which you can view below. The picture doesn’t come in focus ’til after the 30-second mark (wtf, Apple?!).

Yesterday Brooklyn Vegan premiered a track off Negative Boogie. BTW, if you missed the last Friday’s show, Nance will be playing a duo release show with Noah Sterba this coming Friday night at Reverb Lounge. Sean Pratt & The Sweats opens. Sterba’s new album, 13-Bar Blues, comes out Friday on Simon Joyner’s Grapefruit label.

Also on last Friday night’s bill was Oquoa, who had the center slot. This is one of the tightest collections of local all-stars Omaha has to offer. Now if I only knew what language frontman Max Holmquist was singing in. Max’s vocals make lyrics virtually indecipherable and are more of an additional instrument to the overall psychedelic/shoe-gaze sound.  It’s interesting, but I confess to be a lyrics dude who gets added enjoyment when he knows what the music’s about.

Speaking of undecipherable lyrics, opener FiFi NoNo provided a tense barrage of rhythmic noise, augmented by shriek/mumble/yell vocals. You either got it or you didn’t. I thought it was a weird trip.

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Matthew Sweet at The Waiting Room, July 8, 2017.

Saturday night’s Matthew Sweet show at The Waiting Room drew a respectable crowd — respectable both in size and in manner. It was nice not being the oldest dude in the room for a change. In fact, the majority of fans looked like they were in their 50s, no doubt followers of Mr. Sweet since his ’91 breakthrough album Girlfriend.

Well, those fans got what they paid for as Sweet performed the best songs from that album, including the title track and my personal favorite, “Winona.” The happy crowd sang along to all the hits, which Sweet and his band performed as if they’d been playing them for more than 20 years. My only criticism is that Sweet and his band don’t do much on stage except stand there and play, which can become somewhat boring, but the crowd didn’t mind as long as he kept playing those oldies.

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Matt Whipkey dropped a couple new tracks from his upcoming album, Driver, via his Pledge page yesterday. Matt says he likes this new pre-sale platform. Check them out.

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Speaking of new music, Under the Radar yesterday began streaming the entire new Twinsmith album, Stay Cool, which comes out Friday on Saddle Creek Records. Check out the album here.

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And See Through Dresses today is having their new album, Horse of the Other World (Tiny Engines) streamed in its entirety at Brooklyn Vegan, right here. Says BV about the record: “Co-fronted by the ethereal Sara Bertuldo and the whispered baritone of Mathew Carroll, See Through Dresses work bits of Cocteau Twins, The Cure, and other reverby ’80s bands into Horse of the Other World.”

Me, on the other hand, was mostly reminded of M83. This is definitely a change of direction for STDs. The band celebrates the album’s release Saturday night at The Waiting Room.

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Those Far Out Arrows at Reverb Lounge, April 14, 2017. The band opens for Cool Ghouls tonight at Brothers Lounge.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Apologies for my lack of updates the last couple of days. I’ve been working on a massive 5,000-word article for The Reader‘s Music Issue, which comes out next month. These deadlines, they’re killing me…

Today is the day when the city’s non-profit organizations take hat in hand and ask for your support. Of course I’m talking about Omaha Gives, the annual city-wide non-profit fund drive.

Among the local non-profit music organizations I’ll be donating to (which means you should donate to them as well) are:

Hear Nebraska — As a former HN Board member I know what good the organization does. As a music fan, musician or music-related business, you should know that Executive Director Andrew Norman and his team tirelessly do everything possible to promote Nebraska music. Among their primary projects are The Good Life Tour, Lincoln Calling and assorted programs that support the scene. They’ve got some massive plans in the works this year (and next) so get in on the ground floor by making your tax-deductible donation. If you want to find out more, swing by Omaha Bicycle Club in Benson, where the Hear Nebraska team will be camped out throughout the day coordinating their Omaha Gives efforts. Make your donation here.

Omaha Girls Rock! — The organization that’s all about empowering the area youth is still going strong. Help put a guitar or set of drumsticks in a young girl’s hands. Donate here.

Maha Music Festival — The state’s primary music festival has its best line-up ever for this year’s concert. But they still need cash to pull it off. Give here.

Geeze, this is one of my most expensive days of the year for me. Here are a few other organizations you should consider giving to:

• Benson Theatre
• WhyArts
• Benson First Friday
• Restoration Exchange Omaha
• Mode Shift Omaha
• Film Streams

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NPR’s All Songs Considered did a nice little write-up on David Nance’s upcoming album Negative Boogie (Ba Da Bing Records), calling it “spastic dance music for rock ‘n’ roll deviants, a jabbing pointer finger at the soullessness of the pixelated present, blown out and blown up like a basement tape.” The record comes out in July. Check out a track below.

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San Francisco garage-rock band Cool Ghouls headlines a show tonight at Brothers Lounge. The band has released records and cassettes on Burger, Empty Cellar, Melodic and P-Vine. Our very own Those Far Out Arrows opens the show. $5, 9 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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Mitch Gettman at The Waiting Room, May 2, 2014. He plays tonight at The Barley Street Tavern.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Before we get to what’s happening (or what’s not happening) this weekend, let me point you to a special deal from singer/songwriter Simon Joyner. Here’s Simon, via Facebook:

“Friends, I’m putting up “The Phoenix Demos: Songs for Upcoming 2017 Album” for exclusive purchase during the Bandcamp fundraiser tomorrow. Nine out of 12 songs I recorded live a couple of weeks ago in Phoenix with just guitar, vocal and Michael Krassner on piano to prepare for the new album we are about to record with the band in Omaha. Get the stripped down sneak peak at songs being considered for a new album.

“I’m only making these demos available for one day at a premium to hopefully raise some money for the ACLU Nationwide, Planned Parenthood, and the Refugee Empowerment Center. You are encouraged to pay more than the asking price if you can, it will all go to these organizations. I’m also making available “Salt Lake City House Show 10-20-16 (with David Nance).” It’s a particularly well-recorded show from the Diss Riptide living room tour we did a few months ago and the only show that David Nance joined me for the entire set!”

The sale is part of #NoBanNoWall, a Bandcamp effort with more than 200 artists and labels donating their Bandcamp profits to the ACLU and other organizations in support of immigrants and refugees. Check out the index and buy some stuff.

Also, Saddle Creek Records is donating the proceeds from its Bandcamp sales today to the Refugee Empowerment Center in Omaha.

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Well, this is about as sparse a weekend for shows as I can remember.

Tonight, of course, is Benson First Friday, and I would be remiss in not mentioning the art show being held at the gallery operated by my wife — The Little Gallery in downtown Benson across the street from The Sydney on the storefront level of the Masonic Lodge. Titled Oscillating Bodies, the show features the work of Torrey Smith and Nadia Shinkunas. Opening hours are 6 to 9 p.m., free and snacks and beer/wine will be available. Swing by and say hello and buy some art. More info here.

The BFF showcase at The Barley Street Tavern features FINO, Lowercase Tres, Ben Jones and singer/songwriter Mitch Gettman. 9 p.m. $5.

That brings us to Saturday night, when you’ve got one of the most eclectic mixes to appear in one night at fabulous O’Leaver’s. It kicks off at 9:30 with Dereck Higgins Experience — the debut of Higgins’ new band project. Dereck is one of Omaha’s most well-known and talented bass players, whose history dates back to ’80s first wave act Digital Sex. Next up is the always entertaining Wagon Blasters featuring tractor-punk legend Gary Dean Davis behind the microphone. The night ends with the two-person heavy-metal grind of Big Al Band. All this for a mere $5.

Aaand, that’s it for the weekend. 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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

In the #TBT Lazy-i Archive: Slowdown Virginia at Slowdown, Dec. 23, 2010.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

No shows again tonight and not much else happening, though I want to point you to a feature that just went online at Hear Nebraska — a mammoth profile of David Nance by Andrew Stellmon that’s worth your time, with a classic line:  “After once seeing The Ghosts, Conor Oberst told (Simon) Joyner that Nance was ‘the best bad guitarist’ he had ever seen.'” Joyner goes on to explain the quote, but I don’t want give away any spoilers, go read it yourself and get to know Nance, who is bubbling up in a national sort of way.

This week’s #TBT dip into the Lazy-i archives is a mixed bag, but I figured it might be fun just to see what we were all up to in a kinder, gentler time before our government was taken over by a monarchy, and so on… take a look.

Them house party blues, Ed Grey, Oxford Collapse tonight; Slowdown Virginia reunion? – Lazy-i, Feb. 2, 2007

One of the biggest shows of the weekend is, in fact, a house party being held tonight at “Frank’s Hotel” across the street from The Brother’s Lounge and starring Capgun Coup, Coyote Bones, The Family Radio and Flowers Forever.

House parties continue to be a staple of indie music, they’re the most convenient outlet for bands and their underage fans to get together without the added cost of a hall rental. It also turns the tables on the whole age issue. Just like those under 21 can’t get into bars, those over 21 can become somewhat suspect at house shows. Those over 30 become oddities. And those over 40 who don’t know anyone there become the elephant in the room: “Look, someone’s dad is here.” “Sir, please, take my chair, I’m fine standing up.” “How’s it going… cop.” Or, simply, “Who’s the freak in the corner?” I joke, of course.

But I have to admit I remember a time when I was in high school and went to house parties (ones where the centers of attention were a keg and a Hal Holbrook party hat (Editor’s Note: That’s slang for beer bong.). Whenever you saw an old guy there (say, in his mid-20s) you thought, “Jeeze, I hope I don’t end up like that old guy.” Music transcends age issues (especially indie music), but that doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable for those of us with graying temples. It is, as I’ve said before, my problem and no one else’s. I know I wouldn’t be the subject of ridicule (at least not in earshot), but still…

Look, if you’re wise and mature enough to not have my hang-ups, don’t miss this show. Coyote Bones is one of those bands that obviously has “it,” and will get signed by a savvy indie label in the very near future. The Family Radio is Nik Fackler’s posse and features arguably the best bass player in Omaha in Dereck Higgins (a guy who has no qualms about his age, nor should he). Capgun Coup epitomize the Archers of Loaf/Pavement slacker esthetic with an extra scoop of Omaha tuneful(less)ness thrown in for good measure. And Flowers Forever will be celebrating their debut.

So what will I be doing this weekend (in 2007)?

There are two other good shows tonight. Sokol Underground gets back into the indie swing of things with Sub Pop recording artist Oxford Collapse, Thunderbirds Are Now! and Latitude, Longitude. 9 p.m., $8.

Meanwhile, down at O’Leaver’s it’s a folk explosion with Iowa City’s Ed Gray. Ed’s worked with John Crawford (Head of Femur, Grey Ghost), violinist Tiffany Kowalski (Lullaby for the Working Class, Mayday, Shelley Short), and producer Alex McManus (The Bruces, Bright Eyes) as well as a ton of other Omaha musicians creatively linked to Simon Joyner. Also on the bill, the rocking Miracles of God, Petit Mal and The Front. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Finally, in an interview with Conor Oberst posted on MTV.com, the boy wonder talks about a possible Slowdown Virginia or Commander Venus reunion in honor of the grand opening of the Slowdown entertainment facility this summer.

Says the article: The opening could feature a performance by erstwhile indie rockers Slowdown Virginia. And Oberst said that while nothing’s been discussed yet, he thinks reuniting his former band, Commander Venus – which disbanded in 1997 after just two years – would make the night even more interesting.

“It would be very funny if that happened,” he said. “I wouldn’t imagine there’s much of a demand for that reunion, but it’s possible. We’re all still around, but I doubt [guitarist] Robb [Nansel] would ever get onstage again.” But Oberst says that reuniting with his other former outfit, Desaparecidos, is “certainly a possibility. I could see that happening at some point down the line.” (Read the whole interview, (still online) here.)

Conor’s talked about a Desa reunion since before Wide Awake came out, and others close to the project all the way back in March 2005 told me that new Desa music had been recorded and only awaited Oberst to add the vocals — which apparently never happened. As welcome as a reunion would be, I’m not holding my breath on this one. A Commander Venus reunion would be fun, but a Slowdown Virginia reunion would be stellar, and appropriate. Why the original Slowdown CD — Dead Space — hasn’t been reissued by Creek (or someone else) is a mystery to me, since it stands up today (I just listened to “Whipping Stick” again this morning). —Lazy-i, Feb. 2, 2007

* * *

Well, that Commander Venus reunion never happened and likely never will. But the Desaparecidos reunion did happen, and we all know how that ended. And Slowdown Virginia reunited three years later in 2010 to a sold out Slowdown crowd (Here’s the review).

Frank’s Hotel (I think) is West Wing these days, but the under-21 set also has Milk Run for shows, and now we’ve got an under-age ordinance thing that allows minors into music venues with parental permission slips, which wasn’t around 10 years ago.

And though I’m 10 years older, I’m still not intimidated about going to shows at Milk Run where I’m clearly old enough to be most of the crowd’s grand-pappy. That’s one of the reasons I like indie rock — most of us who listen to it are outsiders (and misfits) and there’s always room for another misfit at an indie rock show, no matter how old he is…

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.