Happy Birthday, Johnny!

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Yesterday everyone’s favorite blog about ’80s and ’90s college music culture, Slicing Up Eyeballs, reported here that Morrissey has rescheduled a leg of his U.S. Tour, including the show at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, now slated for Tuesday, March 19. The Rococo website confirms the new schedule. Let’s see how long this one lasts until it’s rescheduled. BTW, this show has been sold out since last fall.

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Low has a new single available for free download from this Sub Pop Soundcloud page called “So Blue.” Listen to the stream below. The new album, The Invisible Way, produced by Jeff Tweedy, comes out March 19 on Sub Pop and is bound to be one of the year’s best.

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Speaking of free downloads, Desaparecidos’ single “Anonymous” is available for download at Mother Jones. Below is Desa covering Joyce Manor’s “Constant Headache” during their Allston, MA, show. Conor’s getting downright shaggy.

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Today is Johnny Cash’s birthday. If he was still alive he’d be 81 years old and very likely raising living hell.

To honor the Man in Black, the Barley Street Tavern is hosting a very special tribute night tonight featuring a bevy of local musicians including Josh Dunwoody (The Filter Kings); Mike Bechtel, Ira Hughey and Scott Norman (The Bishops); Stephanie Krysl and Travis Sing (The Electroliners); Jeremy Mercy and Vern Feregesen (Travelling Mercies); Matt Whipkey, Matt Cox, Scott Severin, Dane Sybrant (The Debts) and your master of ceremonies, Brad Hoshaw.

Cover is $5, but if you dress in black, you’re in for free! Show starts at 9.

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Yesterday Desaparecidos announced a new two-song double-A single, “Anonymous” b/w “Left is Right.” You can listen to a stream of the songs below, then order your copy of the limited edition 7-inch from desaparecidosband.com. ($5 for the mp3, $10 for the vinyl). Brutal, anthemic rock, not sure I’d call it punk, though the themes touch on revolution, which is an old punk theme. “Anonymous,” the harder-edged of the two, reminded me of early Strike Anywhere, another band around at the time Desa first came on the scene. Check it out below.

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The press release announcing the new Liars video for “WIXIW” reminded me of a Netflix moment I had over the weekend. Going through the queue, I watched “Kill Your Idols,” a 2004 documentary that looks at the New York City No Wave movement of the ’70s and early ’80s and includes interviews with Lydia Lunch, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, DNA’s Arto Lindsay, Swans, Glenn Branca, Sonic Youth and others.

It then kind of compares it to the so-called NYC No Wave scene of 2004, with interview with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Black Dice and, to my surprise, Liars. There on the screen were Liars’ Pat Noecker (ex-Opium Taylor, These Are Powers, RAFT) and Ron Albertson (ex-Mercy Rule, Ron Wax), along with Aaron Hemphill and Angus Andrew. The film was made before Pat and Ron left the band under circumstances that are still unexplained (to me at least). Still, it’s interesting to see those two briefly talk about the band and moving from Lincoln to the big city. The film concludes with the older artists, including Lunch, lambasting the new kids on the block. Actually, I’m not quite sure who they were targeting. As a whole, the documentary kind of sucked… but worth it if you have Netflix and 90 minutes to kill…

Here’s that new Liars video. I lost interest in this band after Pat and Ron left and it turned into something else.

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Speaking of videos, here’s the new Love Drunk video of New Lungs performing “New Lungs” at the New BLK. New Lungs have a self-released EP coming out Feb. 9 called You’re Not Gonna Recognize Me that is being celebrated at a release show this Saturday at O’Leaver’s. Be there.

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This week’s column focuses on feedback I got from that gun control column I wrote a few weeks ago. One guy wasn’t too pleased, as you’ll read. It’s in this week’s issue of The Reader or online right here.

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At Slowdown Jr. tonight there’s a benefit for Gary Kurtz. I don’t know who Gary is, but he has some super-talented friends who will be performing to help raise money for his battle with cancer. Among them: The Brigadiers, Video Ranger and Gordon. $8, 7 p.m. start time. More info here.

There’s also a couple hot shows going on tonight in Benson.

Over at The Sydney John Klemmensen and the Party headline with The Love Technicians. Opening are performances by Reagan Roeder, Aly Peeler, Jeremy Mercy, Jon Jerry and John Larsen. 8:30 start time. No idea on cost.

Meanwhile, over at The Barley Street Tavern, Pleasure Adapter headlines with Millions of Boys and Dads. $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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There’s a bit of Conor Oberst news bouncing around the internet.  Both SPIN and TwentFourBit have stories that include links to an unreleased Oberst song called “Night at Lake Unknown” (Do you think he was talking about Lake Manawa?). They also recap details about an upcoming Monsters of Folk film and music project that Jim James discussed on his Reddit AMA. Oberst made news last week with a massive Q&A at Drowned In Sound (right here) where he confirmed that we’ll be getting some new Desaparecidos material sometime in the future.  Desa plays Europe and stateside for nearly a month starting Feb. 7 in Dublin, right after Oberst finishes up some European solo dates.

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Check out The Faint performing “Agenda Suicide” and “Glass Danse” on Pitchfork.tv, below:

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The Waiting Room’s $3 showcase series continues tonight, this time sponsored by Boulevard Brewing Co. and featuring InDreama, Universe Contest and Arrows, which I’m told is a brand new Omaha band whose members include a recent Detroit transplant. Just $3 gets you in. Show starts at 9. Don’t let the snow, cold and wind slow you down.

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Tomorrow: Ladyfinger.

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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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Desaparecidos this morning announced a 9-date East Coast tour in February. More details here. Tour opener Joyce Manor is a “Cali punk” band that played with Cursive this past fall at an NYC concert, according to this Brooklyn Vegan review. The other tour opener, States & Kingdoms, is a new band featuring members of Rival Schools, Thursday, Retisonic, Small Brown Bike, and Atlantic/Pacific.

Speaking of Desa, where’s my friggin’ 7-inch that I ordered last spring? GET WITH IT!

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Could someone (1% Productions, maybe) please figure out a way to get Low back to Omaha? It’s been awhile since their last headline show here (I’m not counting that Death Cab opening gig), and they’ve got a new album coming out on Sub Pop March 19 called The Invisible Way. The record was produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. Check out the “trailer” (and why all the sudden records are getting trailers?) below.

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Moments after posting yesterday about tonight’s free King Khan & BBQ Show / Digital Leather concert at The Slowdown I received a message from one of the bands that there will, indeed, be free booze available. Again, you have to RSVP at the Sailor Jerry’s website, here to get in. Not sure why, but that’s the dealio. Show starts at 9 and is 21+ only. See you there.

Those of you wondering what King Khan BBQ sounds like, here’s an ancient video for “Fish Fight”:

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer released this morning, Conor Oberst talked about writing solo material, the future of Desaparecidos and Bright Eyes.

On Desa: “They haven’t announced it yet, but we are going to do some more shows and put out more music next year.” With Obama winning the election, I can imagine the edge of the Desa knife slightly dulled. Had Romney won, I could see a very fierce future for the band, because there’s nothing like having an asshole in office to spur a punk message. Either way, it’ll be good to get some new Desa. Now if they could just get me that 7-inch single that I ordered last summer; its ship date has been postposted until mid-November.

On his solo work: “My main thing is just to keep writing. I’ve been doing some songwriting that’s for my own record, I suppose. That’ll happen next year, under my own name.”

But Oberst reiterated that Bright Eyes ain’t over. “No. I love playing with Mike and Nate. Hopefully, we’ll do that sometime in the near future. . . . They both worked on a movie called ‘Writers’ that I wrote a song for that will be out next year.”

Read the whole interview here.

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There was a nice feature on Icky Blossoms posted this morning in The Huffington Post. Curious quote: “It can get tricky knowing which band a song belongs to,” Pressnal — who is in five bands — said. Five bands? Let’s see, Tilly, Icky, Flowers… and then… what?

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In this week’s column, how we’re living in a culture where people say hello with a hug, and how I just don’t fit in. Read it in this week’s issue of The Reader, or online right here.

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Based on the last time he came through town, I’m not surprised that tonight’s Bruce Springsteen concert isn’t sold out. That show, in March 2008, sucked. S U C K E D. The review is online here. The only saving grace to having gone to that concert was being able to see Clarence Clemons perform before he died. What would be awesome: Instead of seeing Springsteen at the Century Link echo chamber from a mile away play three hours of redundant, boring songs, seeing him play in a much smaller venue and be forced to do a one-hour set — now that I’d pay big dollars to see.

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Hospitality at Slowdown Jr., Oct. 3, 2012.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The presidential debate was still on the club’s big screen when I arrived at around 9:15. I guess it was the socially responsible thing to do, though there’s little doubt who most people performing on stage and in the audience will be voting for in November. About 20 people sat around and flipped through their smart phones, waiting for the debate to end, which it did at 9:30. Moments later, Teen walked on stage and said, “Hi, we’re Teen.”

The all-female 4-piece (guitar, bass, drums, keys) from Brooklyn, USA, plays a distinctly indie-style of VU-influenced rock that at times borders on shoegaze, though it’s not quite as droning and atonal as your run-o’-the-mill shoegaze (and ratchets up the tunefulness with strong vocal melodies from frontwoman Katherine Leiberson (ex-Here We Go Magic)). What it shares with shoegaze, however, is a knack for drawn-out cool sequences that repeat themselves, especially toward the tail-end of songs. It’s kind of jammy, though there’s no jamming going on, just tight, repeated riffs.

TEEN at Slowdown Jr., Oct. 3, 2012.

Hospitality’s set was plagued with a myriad of technical issues. Lead singer Amber Papini broke a guitar string on the first song, and then effectively cursed the rest of their set by saying, “I guess it’s bad luck.” Two songs later the input jack broke on the bass. Then the lead guitarist began having problem with his microphone. “That’s okay, I don’t sing much anyway,” he said.

Despite all these handicaps, the band roared through a fantastic set, raising the intensity of the songs on their debut album to an edgier, more angular level. Hospitality songs seem to come in two flavors — mild and wild. The mild stuff are straight-forward pop songs; but the wild stuff boils over on breakneck guitar riffs that are infectiously groovy. More “wild,” please. I planned on staying for only a few minutes of Hospitality but got drawn in well past my bedtime. Now all they need to do is capture the edge of their live show on their records.

Club note: Slowdown Jr. added a new velvet floor-to-ceiling side curtain to their small stage, cutting off the sight lines from stage left (toward the patio exit, the pool table, etc.). The curtain, which was being used to hide band gear, appears to be retractable. It’s an odd addition, though it does do a good job “framing” the stage…

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This week’s column is a look at the iPhone 5, or more accurately a look at why having an iPhone — or any smartphone — makes life a little easier for us loners. You can read it in this week’s issue of The Reader, or online right here.

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Tuesday night’s Desaparecidos performance on Last Call w/Carson Daly went online yesterday. You can view the clips via the links below:

“MariKKKopa”: http://videobam.com/pzUXf#.UG2xBL0i3fc.email

“Backsell”: http://videobam.com/DWJuU#.UG2xF16_T68.email

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They’re calling it “Occustock 2.” The event, hosted by Occupy Omaha tonight at Slowdown Jr., features Capgun Coup, Quantum Method and 3rd & Delaware as well as handful of comedians. Proceeds generated from the $10 tickets will go toward funding Occupy Omaha’s expenses, such as printing and supplies and food for Occupy Omaha’s food day, according to theslowdown.com. Show starts at 8 p.m.

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by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I haven’t watched Last Call With Carson Daly in years. Seems like the last time I watched it, the 1/2-hour program sported a late-night chat show format. The new format is a collection of filmed segments, and is a vast improvement. It looks better, it’s better edited, and it takes the rather lifeless Daly out of embarrassing live interview situations.

All of this is an aside to the fact that Desaparecidos “performed” last night on Last Call, though it was really just a broadcast of the band’s recent gig at The Troubadour in Los Angeles. There they were on stage belting out their new 7-inch single, “MariKKKopa,” and its B-side, “Backsell.” Ol’ Carson didn’t bother to give the backstory behind the single, merely stating that Conor has been heralded as his generation’s Bob Dylan and that Desa was an Omaha “supergroup,” which was both accurate and amusing.

The performance itself, which has yet to be uploaded to Hulu, was your typical Desa frenzy and sounded quite good, though Conor’s voice was shot on “Backsell.”

I don’t remember Desa playing on a nationally televised late night TV show back in the band’s formative years. Again, it helps build the band’s momentum, but toward what, I do not know…

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Speaking of late-night chat show appearances, Morrissey is on Jimmy Fallon tonight.

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Tonight at Slowdown Jr. it’s Brooklyn indie band Hospitality. The band is on the road supporting its self-titled debut release, which came out this past January on Merge Records. Opening is fellow Brooklyn band TEEN. The all-female combo features Teeny Lieberson, formerly of Here We Go Magic. Their debut full length, In Limbo, was released last month by Carpark Records and is a keeper. $10, 9 p.m. See you there.

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by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A few follow-ups to yesterday’s blog entry:

— Turns out The Millions used to play in Omaha all the time, most notably at the long-gone Sharkey’s (which became The Music Box which was torn down to make room for a 24 Hour Fitness). Alas, those shows somehow flew under my radar, though I often frequented Sharkey’s.

— That Titus Andronicus show Nov. 21 is being held at Sokol Underground, not The Sandbox. Also on the bill Ceremony, Slut River and Gordon.

— Kevin Coffey has another report on the closing of The Antiquarium in the Omaha World-Herald, which you can read here. The key bit of information:

(Co-owner Joseph) Tingley and Brian Byrd would like to reopen the store after clearing their debt and if they can find a new location with lower rent.

“We want to reopen at some point,” Tingley said.

Maybe you guys can find cheap digs in Benson? It could use a record store.

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Desaparecidos is slated to perform tonight on Last Call with Carson Daly on NBC. Also scheduled on the telecast: Brother Ali and The Iran Job. Check your local listings and set your DVR/Tivo.

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by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Antiquarium Records, 417 So. 13th St.

The Antiquarium announced yesterday via its Facebook page that it’s closing its doors.

“Well this is a little out of left field but the store is closing,” said the Facebook post. “Hopefully we will be reopening at some point but our debt has got a little out of control and we just can’t go on anymore for the time being.”

These are hard times for record stores, let alone one that caters to vinyl lovers, local music and underground bands. The shop’s legacy goes back decades when it was operated by the late, great Dave Sink and is arguably one of our music scene’s most influential businesses. The legacy was underscored in the remembrances written upon Dave’s passing last January (read them here).

“Of course there is a sale as well,” the Facebook entry continues. “All CDs are a buck a piece. All dollar records are a quarter. Everything else is 50% off. Come get killer deals and say goodbye.”

How long until all the record stores are gone?

BTW, an Oct. 19 benefit concert at The Sandbox is being organized by Black Heart Booking to help the store’s proprietors pay down their debt. Bands who want to get involved should email blackheartbook@hotmail.com.

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Speaking of The Sandbox, it just announced that Titus Andronicus is scheduled to play there Nov. 21. It’s a Slowburn Production. Now let’s see if they can keep from moving the gig to another venue…

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The Millions, sometime in the ’90s.

Seminal Lincoln post-punk indie band The Millions, who disappeared around 1995, announced via its Facebook page that it’s reuniting for a show Dec. 1 at The Bourbon Theater. The reunited Millions will feature original members Lori Allison, Harry Dingman III and Marty Amsler. Drummer Brandon McKenzie will take over drums from original drummer Greg Hill, who isn’t participating in the reunion.

“The band is playing this one time only show to celebrate the release of Poison Fish, a 21-song CD of rare and unreleased recordings from the earliest days of the band,” says the announcement.

I have to admit being only peripherally familiar with The Millions back in the day since it seems like they rarely played in Omaha. In fact, I ordered a used copy of their first release, M Is for Millions, last night from Amazon.com for $1.99 after watching a video of the single “Sometimes” on YouTube.

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Thumbing through my copy of the Sunday New York Times Magazine what did my wandering eyes should appear but a feature on Desaparecidos. The story, online right here, reported nothing we haven’t already read in other articles. The biggest news was the fact that the NYT Mag printed the article at all considering that Desa has no current plans for either a new album or additional touring. Seems like Desa is getting more press now than it did a decade ago. Will it be enough to coax Conor into doing more Desa shows?

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Twin Shadow at The Waiting Room, Sept. 8, 2012.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Before I headed out to see Twin Shadow at The Waiting Room Saturday night, I sat out on the back patio of my Dundee/Memorial Park home and caught Dim Light’s set. No, Cooper and Co. weren’t playing in my back yard; they were playing miles away at Jake’s “Because We Can” outdoor festival in Benson, and never sounded better. While pure volume does wonders for these guys, I wonder how many fish floated to the top of Benson Park’s lagoon overcome by the sonic density of it all, a la circa 1971 Pink Floyd.

I don’t know who was playing Jake’s when I finally got to Benson a half-hour later, but they were just as loud; way louder than they needed to be to entertain the hundred or so milling about behind the chain-link fence at the edge of Military Ave., but not loud enough to seep through the thick walls of The Waiting Room, where Niki and the Dove were opening for Twin Shadow.

I knew virtually nothing about N&TD other than it was a duo (the name gave it away) and they played Euro-synth music direct from Stockholm. There on stage was Niki a.k.a. Malin Dahlström, sounding and looking like a Swedish Carol Kane singing Laura Branigan’s greatest hits. Her voice is sort of a nasal-inflected version of Stevie Nicks meets Kate Bush and is indeed lovely. The Dove is Gustaf Karlöf (how do you pronounce an umlaut?) the bearded ABBA-looking guy behind a rack of synths. While the music consisted mostly of prerecorded synth/rhythm samples, for a couple songs Gustaf pounded out beats on a small drum kit behind the keyboard rack, adding tasty Euro-tribal flair. Though clearly influence by ’80s synth-dance music, the duo were at their best when playing more intricate Eno-esque rhythms, closing out their set with a grand cascade that would have made Ms. Bush proud.

Smoke bellowed out of a fog machine for 10 minutes before Twin Shadow finally took the stage like a second coming of Prince, backed by his own 3-piece version of The Revolution. I’m not sure why I made that comparison, as Twin Shadow a.k.a. George Lewis, sounds nothing like the Purple One. TS’s recent 4AD release Confess is an homage to every ’80s and early ’90s New Wave dance project that you can think of, from General Public to Peter Gabriel. Even the album’s production cues sound purposely dated to fit the era.

But on stage, Twin Shadow was oddly modern-sounding, taking those ’80s-themed love songs and ramping them up with a more intricate, more intense approach; throttling back the synths and pumping up his electric guitar. The set was front-loaded with the best songs off Confess, including personal faves “Five Seconds” and “The One.” The crowd of somewhere around 150 grooved it up in front of the stage, doing the classic ’80s shoulder-shrug dance while George pounded out the chords on his guitar. There was a macho drama to everything he did, more intense than fun but fun nevertheless.

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Unless you subscribe to Jeremy Messersmith’s various social media channels you’re probably unaware that the singer/songwriter who has played at Slowdown Jr. a couple times in the past (including opening for The Mynabirds and the debut of So-So Sailors) is playing a special “Supper Club” house show tomorrow night somewhere in Bellevue. Tickets to the intimate performance are still available from the tour website for $15. Don’t forget to bring a covered dish.

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There’s a sweet review of FYF Fest in The Orange County Register declaring The Faint and Desaparecidos as highlights from the LA festival’s second day. From the review, which went online Sept. 3: “But three bands from Omaha – Cursive, the Faint and Conor Oberst’s recently reunited post-hardcore project Desaparecidos – also were on the  bill, and without a doubt the latter two ruled the day.” The write-up called The Faint’s set “a final dazzling pick-me-up after a hot and particularly dusty weekend,” and went on to declare Desa as Oberst’s best project. “While Oberst’s other projects (Bright Eyes, the Mystic Valley Band) have been hit-or-miss, there was no question – throughout 45 minutes of loudly intoxicating new and old tunes, including a thrilling cover of the Clash’s ‘Spanish Bombs’ – that this is his most affecting outfit.” Whoa! Read the whole thing here. One question that came to mind: No love for Cursive? Come on… By the way, though Desa’s brief tour is over and Conor is now headed out on some solo dates later this month, I’m hearing rumblings that we haven’t heard the last from them…

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.