The Sun-less Trio at The Waiting Room, Oct. 7, 2015. The band celebrates its record release Sunday at O’Leaver’s.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

And lo, the weekend…

Tonight at Slowdown Jr. Brooklyn hard rock band The Giraffes headlines. Their sixth full-length, Usury, came out a couple weeks ago on Silver Sleeve. It’s a collection of strutting, guitar riff rockers that reminds me of ’90s grunge / alternative bands like Alice in Chains / Stone Temple Pilots. Omaha is one of only three dates they’re playing this year. Opening is Bullet Proof Hearts and DCYC. $14, 9 p.m.

Also tonight (Friday) the mighty Dumb Beach headlines at fabulous O’Leaver’s with St. Louis punkers Shitstorm. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Then comes Saturday and a plethora of festivals and events.

Top of the list is the Holland Stages Festival at The Holland Performing Arts Center. The event is a celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the renowned music hall and features free performances all day, including James Maakestad & Simon Joyner playing in the Con Agra East Lobby Stage (Isn’t that located in Chicago now?) at 6:30 p.m. and Both and See Through Dresses playing in the Scott Recital Hall at 7 p.m. It all leads up to Conor Oberst and friends (M. Ward and The Felice Brothers) playing a free show on the Holland Main stage.

Wristbands, which get you into the Oberst performance, will be handed out beginning at 3 p.m. at The Holland Center. It’s a first-come sort of deal, and all performances after 5 p.m. require a wristband for access. Once they run out of wristbands, they’ll be handing out a different wristbands that will allow you to watch a simulcast of the performance inside the building. The rules and the schedule are outlined here.

Not nearly as sophisticated as Holland Stages is Cassette Store Day, which will be happening at record stores throughout the Omaha metroplex on Saturday. Homer’s and Drastic Plastic are on the list of locals participating. So is Urban Outfitters, located in the Slowdown Complex, which will feature in-store performances beginning at 1 p.m., when they’ll also be handing out free beer and selling CSD “exclusives” including those rare La Luz, Brian Jonestone Massacre and Burger Records tapes.

What else…

Brilliant Beast is headlining at O’Leaver’s Saturday night. The Minneapolis band’s music has been compared to Ride and Yo La Tengo thanks to their very drone-y, chime-y sound, as you’ll see/hear if you click below. Joining them are Eklectica, The Cult of Lip and Devotional Being. That’s a lot of rock for $5. 9:30 p.m.

Metal-heads have Austin band The Sword Saturday night at The Waiting Room. Opening is Kadavar and All Them Witches. $18/$20, 8:30 start time.

Finally, it’s another Sunday Social at O’Leaver’s for what’s really a mini-music-and-booze festival. Helping Mike Saklar’s Sun-less Trio celebrate their record release are The Lupines, Sidewalkers, Relax, it’s Science, Lincoln Dickson (solo), Lodgings (Post Verse, Nanahara, UUVVWWZ) and Cricket Kirk (solo). They’re serving food starting at 2 p.m. and the bands get rolling at 5 p.m. All for $5. 

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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.