by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It was Standing Room Only at Scriptown Saturday afternoon as Omaha psych-rock band Those Far Out Arrows helped the Blackstone-based brewery celebrate its 10-year anniversary. 

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the Arrows – August 2023 at Reverb to be exact. No doubt they’ve been busy living their best lives and haven’t had time to rock, but rock they did Saturday afternoon, unveiling a few new songs along with some old favorites (including TFOA classic “Snake in My Basement.” Fronted by the Keelan-White brothers of Ben and Evan on guitar and vocals, let’s hope we’ll get those new songs recorded and pressed on a new album (Their last outing was 2020 LP, Fill Yer Cup). We’re all waiting, dudes. 

And I’ll say again: Scriptown should consider hosting weekend afternoon rock shows on a regular basis. They’re always a blast, always draw a crowd, and who doesn’t want to day-drink on the weekend, right? 

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The massive Ice Storm of ’24 took its toll on Friday night’s Dream Ghoul show at Reverb Lounge. The band’s drummer ended up stranded on I-80 along with hundreds of other motorists. Max Holmquist said we might have to wait until February to get another chance to see the band again, which is a shame because I’m dying to see how they make their new album, A Forgotten Future, come to life on stage. 

Released just yesterday on Bandcamp and on the usual streaming platforms (Spotify, etc.), the album is a dark, chiming totem of rock majesty that recalls acts like Interpol, Joy Division, Peter Murphy even Bowie’s Blackstar. Holmquist’s flat, tonal vocals cast warm, haunted echoes over that album’s trippy rhythm tracks and chiming guitars. 

The liner notes describe the record as “an exploration of themes of Hauntology, lost futures, spectacle, weaponized nostalgia, and phenomenology against a back-drop of personal struggles with mental illness, paranoia, anxiety, and addiction.” Dark stuff… but with a beat! 

Holmquist isn’t afraid of letting the tracks breath as needed, with songs like album highlight “The Being Always Was, 1997” rolling well past the six-minute mark. Recorded, engineered and mixed by James Schroeder (Mesa Buoy, David Nance Band, UUVVWWZ), A Forgotten Future is a shoe-gaze rock odyssey best heard with headphones. Download it here at Bandcamp for just $7.

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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

In life – and in rock ’n’ roll — timing is everything. 

There was no way Dream Ghoul singer/songwriter Max Holmquist could have known when he booked his band’s show for tonight at Reverb that an ice storm would be rolling through town. And yet, here we are with one of the only interesting shows of the weekend happening during the first act of Ice Station Zebra.

However, since the show has three openers (Valley Street, Western Haikus and The Ivory Claws), there’s an outside chance the ice will have melted by the time Dream Ghoul takes the stage (as temps are suppose to warm up slowly after 10 p.m., but I’m no weather man). Check road conditions before you head out. The show is slated to begin at 8 p.m.; tickets are $10.

The ice should all be gone by tomorrow morning (Saturday), making it safe to go to Scriptown’s 10th’s Anniversary celebration. To mark the occasion, Those Far Out Arrows returns to the stage with Haunted Gauntlet, starting at 3 p.m. Fun and Free!

Tomorrow night, local pop-punk band Light Speed Highway has an album release show for their latest, Maybe Tonight Could Be Different, at fabulous O’Leaver’s. An “unplugged” version of Uh Oh opens this show at 8 p.m. No cover!

And that’s it for the weekend. You can certainly tell we’re deep in the holiday doldrums. Slowdown’s stage is dedicated entirely to tribute/cover bands through the balance of the year. In fact, you’ll have to wait until the end of January for the next touring indie band to come to town (Pile at Slowdown Jan. 28). We’re in for a long, cold winter.

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

Cleaning out the ol’ email basket…

While still recovering… from throat problems, Conor Oberst has been lighting up the internet with news. On a recent Broken Record podcast, Oberst talked about trying to convince Alan and Diana Meltzer of Wind-Up Records to not sign proto-grunge band Creed to their label way back in the mid-’90s. Oberst was in Commander Venus, which was then signed to Wind-Up. Conor must have been 16 or 17 at the time. Read all about it here in Exclaim.  Said Conor about the Creek record: “And then, sure enough, they put it out, and it’s the biggest thing in the world. So [that’s] another reason not to ever trust my judgement.“

Bright Eyes also just announced that Christopher Owens will be their supporting act when they kick off their North American Tour Jan. 16 in Phoenix. Owens was formerly in the S.F. duo Girls. He opens for Bright Eyes through Feb. 7, then hands the opener chores to Hurray for the Riff Raff, who eventually hands it over to Cursive in April. Those Bright Eyes/Cursive shows could be a real time machine. 

Still no make-up date announced for that “postponed” Steelhouse date….

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Speaking of time machines, tomorrow night (Thursday) at 7:30 p.m., Nebraska Public Media will re-air the next installment of its 33rd Street Sessions series featuring archive performances from Mercy Rule, The Millions and Floating Opera. The old concert clips are interspersed with recent interviews with Mercy Rule’s Jon Taylor, Heidi Ore and Ron Albertson, and The Millions’ Lori Allison. Fun stuff and the recording quality is top-notch. And if you watch via the embedded player below, you can skip over all the NPM fund drive pitches!

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Finally, Dream Ghoul just dropped another track from their upcoming album, A Forgotten Future, which is being released this coming Sunday. Dream Ghoul is the latest project from Max Holmquist (Oquoa). The album was recorded and mixed by Jim Schroeder, of Mesa Buoy and David Nance Band. No doubt you’ll hear most of the album’s songs when the band performs this Friday at Reverb with Western Haikus and The Ivory Claws…

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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

Expect some Halloween hangover tonight and this weekend at the clubs – Omaha loves its costumes… Certainly there will be costumes galore tonight in Benson during Benson First Friday (#BFF), that monthly event where local artists show what they’ve been working on in galleries and venues up and down Maple Street.

If you’re out doing the #BFF thing, stop by the Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple Street, for The Jenowe Show, featuring the work of David, Jack and Julie Jenowe. The opening runs from 6 to 9 p.m. See you there.

Afterward, head on over to The Sydney for the stage debut of Dream Ghoul, the new project from Max Holmquist (Oquoa, The Great American Desert). Opening the show are Face and GoodView. $10, 9 p.m. (Sydney Time). 

Speaking of costumes, there’s a costume party going on at fabulous O’Leaver’s tonight, along with performances by Frankie Chiaro, BB Sledge, Edward Spencer and Oh God Damn. $10, 9 p.m. 

Saturday night Minnesota emo/pop-punk band Tiny Moving Parts headlines at The Slowdown. Joining them are Action/Adventure, Greywind and After Arizona. It’s a mini pop-punk fest and should make for a crowded front room show. $25, 8 p.m. 

Also Saturday night, folk artist Mariee Siou headlines at Reverb Lounge.  Donnie Coco opens at 8 p.m. $22. 

The weekend’s biggest show is Sunday night at The Waiting Room: Oklahoma City indie-metal band Chat Pile is basking in the limelight these days. Their new album, Cool World, continues to get critical huzzahs from the likes of Paste (“The OKC noise rockers expand their sonic and subjective scope to prove just how desperate of a situation we’re all in” to The Needle Drop (“Cool World hits hard as fuck.”). Even Pitchfork said the album “paints a panoramic view of human suffering.” It is, indeed, heavy stuff, so bring your earplugs! Opening are LA black metal act Agriculture and Austin noise-rock band Porcelain. $27, 8 p.m. 

Also Sunday night, Portland bedroom psychedelic soul act quickly, quickly (a.k.a. Graham Jonson) headlines at Reverb Lounge. His last LP, The Long and Short of It, was released on Ghostly International to somewhat critical acclaim. Get there early for singer/songwriter Carver Jones, who opens at 8 p.m. $18. 

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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Alex Orange Drink, a.k.a. Alex Zarou Levine — best known as the singer/songwriter behind The So So Glos — last Friday dropped the single, “The Future’s a Riot,” on Conor Oberst’s new record label, Million Stars. 

The track is his first solo music since 2021’s Everything Is Broken Maybe That’s OK LP. The song’s inspiring video features footage chronicling Levine’s 2023 diagnosis of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma and writing and recording during his first week of treatment. Check it: 

Levine has been super busy, having co-written seven songs on the new Bright Eyes album, Five Dice, All Threes, and adding guest vocals to BE track “Rainbow Overpass.”

The new Alex Orange Drink single is the second release on Million Stars following the release of The Felice Brothers’ full length, Valley of Abandoned Songs, this past June. In addition, Yayo Trujillo of Las Cruxes told me last week his band’s new album, which is currently being recorded at ARC Studios with Taylor Hollingsworth as producer, also will be released on Million Stars in the U.S. Las Cruxes’ past recordings were distributed by Sony Music Entertainment US LATIN. 

Million Stars isn’t Oberst’s first foray in the music biz. He helped get Saddle Creek Records off the ground back in the ‘90s and also formed Team Love Records (Tilly and the Wall, High Up, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins) with Nate Krenkel back in 2003. 

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Omaha post-punk band Bokr Tov also dropped a new single last week, “(You Too Can Have) A Body Like Mine,” via Bandcamp. It’s a prelude to the band’s next full length, The Way a Tree Shakes, which is due Nov. 16. Nate Van Fleet of See Through Dresses produced the recording, and also produced the new LP by Seattle band Funhouse (featuring post-Omaha star, Carl Miller), called Invasive Species. 

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You might remember singer/songwriter Max Holmquist from his work with Oquoa and The Great American Desert. His new project, Dream Ghoul, just dropped its first single, “Qualitative Blue, 1991.” The track was produced by Jim Schroeder (Mesa Buoy, David Nance Band, Rosali, UUVVWWZ), who worked on the album, which is slated to come out this December. 

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There’s no Omaha connection to this new Mogwai video, which dropped this morning. I included it just because it features the band’s dogs (and Manhattan). Mogwai also announced their next album, The Bad Fire, will be released Jan. 24 on Temporary Residence Ltd., as well as a massive world tour next year, whose closes pass to Omaha will be the ol’ Minneapolis/Denver/Chicago twist in April…

Here’s the latest list of touring indie shows coming to Omaha through February. Your eyes do not deceive you – there currently are no shows scheduled for December. Let me know if I missed something…

• Oct. 31 – Lunar Vacation @ The Slowdown\
• Nov. 3 – Chat Pile @ The Waiting Room
• Nov. 3 – quickly, quickly @ Reverb
• Nov. 7 – Pedro the Lion (w/City and Colour) @ The Admiral
• Nov. 8 – The Ivory Claws @ The Sydney
• Nov. 10 – The Sufrajettes @ Reverb
• Nov. 11 – Dusk @ Reverb
• Nov. 12 – Modest Mouse @ Steelhouse 
• Nov. 12 – The Rev. Horton Heat @ Waiting Room
• Nov. 13 – Sorry Mom @ Reverb
• Nov. 29 – VIAL @ Reverb
• Feb. 5 – Guster @ The Admiral
• Feb. 6 — Real Estate @ The Waiting Room
• Feb. 24 — Molchat Doma @ Steelhouse

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Last minute show announcement: Chicago post-punk band Edging is playing tonight at The Tavern with Trees with Eyes, Las Cruxes and a special set by Darren Keen. Darren said Edging has opened for Amyl and the Sniffers and Lambrini Girls, who count them as fans. The Tavern is located in the heart of downtown at 514 So. 10th Street. 9:30 start time, donations suggestioned.

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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.