Dirty Dishes at O’Leaver’s, Feb. 20, 2016.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Yes, that was indeed a Bart Simpson sweater Dirty Dishes frontwoman Jenny Tuite sported on the O’Leaver’s stage Saturday night.  Mad-cap apparel for a mad-cap night of music played to a more-packed-than-normal house.

Actually, the music itself — not so mad-cap. Dirty Dishes plays rather dark, grinding indie rock — that slow-burn rolling-bass stuff you remember from the ’90s updated for a modern world by Tuite’s glowing guitar and her dreamy, Bjorkian yelp. The trio’s guttural power came from the rhythm section — dynamic bass work by Alex Molini both acting as the foundation and a second fuzz-toned melody (and pounding out keyboards on a couple numbers), and the drummer, who’s name seems to be missing from all the usual online sources. His stick work was nothing short of amazing.

Dirty Dishes releases music on the Exploding in Sound label, though they’d be just as home on 4AD (4AD band Daughter has a similar though more shoegaze-y quality). They remain under the Pitchfork radar, who knows for how long. Pitchfork would be wise to pay attention to them instead of wasting time throwing bouquets at Kanye.

I caught a few songs by opener Misers — dense sound collages, huge, pounding waves of noise created by guitars, cello, drums and synths. There were no vocals, at least on the three songs I heard.  Call it experimental if you want to. Though they self-identify as improvisational, there was a method to their madness. Brutal.

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One of the executives at Saddle Creek Records confirmed last week that the label will not be hosting a  showcase at this year’s South By Southwest Festival in Austin.  You gotta take a year off once in awhile. That said, the label’s latest recruits, Big Thief, will be there.

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It’s gonna be a short week for me. I’ll be out of town starting Wednesday. I’ll do what I can tomorrow to list the can’t-miss / don’t-miss shows that’ll be playing throughout this week and 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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.