by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Cursive dropped a new video yesterday for the song “Botch Job,” a track off their upcoming album, Devourer, which comes out Sept. 13 on Run for Cover Records. Local boy Tony Bonacci was the cinematographer for the video, directed by Travis Stevens. Jim Johnson (of 1% and The Admiral Theater) and Django Greenblatt-Seay (of Love Drunk fame) also are listed in the video’s credits. 

This song and the entire album is a return to old-school Cursive and I would love to see the band play the entire record in order during their upcoming shows at The Waiting Room Oct. 18 (w/Little Brazil) and 19 (w/Criteria). Gladie also opens both shows.

. 0 0 0 . 

Also thought I’d mention that Cursive’s former record label, Saddle Creek Records, just announced that it’s reissuing on vinyl Eric Bachmann’s solo album, To the Races, on Aug. 9. The album was originally released in August 2006 and was one of my faves that year. Bachmann mentioned the reissue at his recent Ming Toy Gallery concert, but said to keep it secret until the label announcement (I’m not sure why). Preorder here.

BTW, we’ve got another concert coming up at Ming Toy Gallery in September. More info on that one soon…

. 0 0 0 . 

Speaking of Saddle Creek reissues, our hometown label also announced it’s rereleasing on vinyl two classic albums by The Faint – 2008’s Fasciinatiion (originally released on the band’s blank.wav imprint) and 2014’s Doom Abuse (originally released by SQE Music). The drop date is Aug. 16. This brings all of The Faint’s releases back into the Saddle Creek fold. Order your copies here.

* * *

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

The folks at Undertow (the living-room concert promotion company booked the show) said Eric Bachmann would arrive at our gallery at around 6:30 to begin his “load in,” but here we were at a quarter past 7 and still no Bachmann. About a half-dozen patrons had already arrived, three of them Undertow concert veterans who had brought small, fold-out chairs and a small foam-sided cooler, the stuff you see at the Memorial Park concerts. One of them asked where in the room Bachmann would be performing so he could set up his chair. 

I began to worry. Should I text my contact at Undertow? Ah, but my concern was unfounded, as there was Bachmann, his hulking, 6-foot-7 frame standing by the open back door looking like a fit over-the-road truck driver. He quickly specked out the narrow room and decided the best place to “set up” was in the middle along the wall. I helped hump in equipment and he chatted-up early arrivers while arranging his stuff.

A few guests looked mildly confused when they realized there were no chairs and had to either stand or sit on the oak floor, having not read the website’s instructions suggesting they bring a cushion to sit on. I felt sort of bad for the few who clearly looked uncomfortable — the audience’s mean age was probably around 35 — but what could I do? By 8 p.m. – the show’s official start time – everyone had arrived and everything was ready. 

A charming, funny southern gentleman (but without a twang), Bachmann proceeded to give a 90-minute performance that included songs from Crooked Fingers and Archers of Loaf catalogs as well as solo work and new material. If you had a favorite Bachmann song, he played it last night, taking requests from the crowd throughout the set. 

Without a PA, Bachmann’s rich, reedy voice was amazing, filling our small gallery while he switched from steel-stringed and nylon-stringed acoustic guitars and an electric keyboard. 

He filled in the blanks between tunes with stories about past performances, road life and what inspired certain songs, like the woman who pulled up alongside his white van in an SUV after a Vegas show who inspired new song “Spray Tan Speed Queen (in a German Car)” – a track no doubt destined to be on his next album. 

Afterward, many patrons thanked us for hosting, and Bachmann said he had a good time, loved the room, and thought it would be a great spot for other touring Undertow artists. So, this first attempt at hosting an Undertow show at Ming Toy Gallery was, for the most part, a success.

A few take-aways:

• – The room is too small to host anything but acoustic shows.
• – Comfortable crowd capacity for the gallery is 40.
• – Some how, Undertow has to get the message to ticket buyers that we don’t provide seating and to bring a cushion or folding chair. But frankly, I don’t know how they could make the point more clear on their website. 

After this successful test run, we’ll continue to offer the gallery for future Undertow shows. While we don’t make a penny hosting them, they’re fun and they get new people into the gallery to see local art. And maybe most importantly, they provide an option for these touring musicians who no doubt are looking for ways to eek out a living doing what they love – a difficult task in this digital age…

* * *

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

Eric Bachmann is tonight at Ming Toy. I mention this because there’s one ticket left out of the 40 originally made available. I’d love to see this (possibly) inaugural show sell out.

You could be that lucky person who snags the final ticket. It’s $25 and available only from the Undertow website, right here, where all the information about the show is available. There are NO tickets available at the door. The location is Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple Street, right next door to Legend Comics and Coffee in downtown Benson. Doors at 7, show at 8 with no opening acts. I’m excited and a little bit nervous, but isn’t that the recipe for every success? 

I’ll let you know how it went tomorrow. 

. 0 0 0 . 

Also tonight on this busy Memorial Day, Kansas City slowcore trio Flooding plays at Reverb Lounge. Fronted by guitarist/vocalist Rose Brown, the band’s music gives a nod to Bedhead’s somber guitar jangle before inevitably exploding into sound. Opening for Flooding are Omaha noise-punk bands Western Haikus and Size Queen. 8 p.m., $12. 

* * *

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

The funny part is there weren’t a lot of tickets to begin with… 

Of the 40 tickets, only 8 remain available for next Monday’s (May 27 – Memorial Day) solo performance by Eric Bachmann (Crooked Fingers, Archers of Loaf, solo genius) at Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple St., the art gallery owned and operated by my wife, Teresa, and me. 

I wrote about this show a couple weeks ago. Read about it here. Tickets are $25 and only available through the Undertow website – in other words, there will be no tickets at the door. You’re either on the list or you’re not. This is a general admission show with floor seating or standing, so bring a pillow or cushion or just stand around like I do. 

This show will be a first for us at Ming Toy and if it goes well, we’ll try to do more via Undertow. I would love to see you there!

. 0 0 0 .  

You’ll notice I’ve stopped whining about all the nationally touring indie bands and musicians who no longer come through Omaha. I wrote a long piece marking the one-year anniversary of Steelhouse Omaha and how I got Omaha Performing Arts’ non-profit mission all wrong. But didn’t post it. What would be the point? 

Instead, I’m looking for opportunities to help bring the bands I love here, to put Omaha back on indie touring maps. I’m not sure what that entails and am open to suggestions. This Ming Toy/Undertow concert is part of that effort.

I will, however, continue to point out when amazing bands are coming through nearby cities (Kansas City, the Twin Cities, Chicago, Denver) for those with the means to travel. I get dozens of tour announcements daily in my email. For example, PJ Harvey is playing at St. Paul’s Palace Theater Oct. 2.  

Life’s too short to complain about what we don’t have in Omaha. Embrace what we do, and seek out what we do not elsewhere, because it will never be 2001-2015 here again. 

. 0 0 0 . 

Speaking of shows, ‘90s LA punkers Social Distortion are playing at The Astro tonight. Their 1990 debut album was a staple in my youth (who remembers “Story of My Life” and “Ball and Chain”?). I lost track of them after the ’92 follow-up, Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, but hey, they’re still kicking, releasing Mommy’s Little Monster last year on Concord Records. Joining them tonight is up-punk band The Love Bombs. This is an early show – 6:30 p.m. – and GA standing tickets are $40.

* * *

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

So that’s the concert announcement – Eric Bachmann will perform at Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple St., on May 27, Memorial Day. Tickets are on sale here only (and will not be available at the door). 

There’s a story behind this show.

Bachmann is on an Undertow Tour. Undertow helps artists book nationwide tours performed in fans’ living rooms. They’ve been doing it since 2009 with artists including Will Johnson, Damian Jurado, Owen, Lady Lamb, even Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. 

It works like this: Fans offer their living rooms for the performance and Undertow handles ticket sales and promotion. Typically, except for a zip code the house’s location isn’t revealed until a ticket is purchased “to protect privacy.”

Anyway, last year an Undertow show was hosted in a local brewery’s “tasting room.” I didn’t know Undertow allowed shows in anything but living rooms, and thought “Well, gosh, we could host Undertow shows at our Benson art gallery.” 

I sent the gallery’s specifics to Undertow, and here we are. 

Bachmann is something of an indie legend. In the early ‘90s he fronted the seminal indie rock band Archers of Loaf, whose albums include 1993’s Icky Mettle and ’95’s Vee Vee, both released on Alias but later rereleased, along with the rest of the Archers of Loaf catalog, on Merge Records. 

In 2000, following Archers’ break up, Bachmann formed Crooked Fingers backed by a rotating cast of musicians. WARM Records released the first couple albums — the same label that released Azure Ray’s first couple albums, which, btw, also featured guest appearances by Bachmann. Merge has released most of Crooked Fingers’ catalog.

While all that was happening, Bachmann recorded solo records, including 2006’s To the Races, released on our very own Saddle Creek Records. (Interestingly, Saddle Creek Records used to house its offices in the gallery space where this concert is being held, years before the label moved to its current No-Do location.)

Most recently, Bachmann has toured with a reunited Archers of Loaf. The band released its first full-length in 25 years, Reason in Decline, in 2022. 

And now Bachmann is on another solo tour, which will bring him to Omaha and to our gallery.

We’re pretty excited about hosting this, our first show ever. If it works out, we’re hoping to host more Undertow shows. This is an intimate performance – only 40 tickets will be available (and it looks like 14 have already sold). Tickets are $25, and only available via online purchase here. Doors at 7:15, the show begins at 8 p.m. with no opening act. 

I’ll write more about this show and why we’re doing shows at the gallery as we get closer to the concert date. I’m also trying to swing an interview with Bachmann for a Lazy-i blog entry. In the meantime, buy a ticket before they’re gone!

* * *

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.