by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

By default, it’s Halloween weekend, at least as far as bars are concerned. So brush off your Taylor Swift/Kelce costumes and have a good time. It’s also another no-touring-indie-bands weekend. See what’s on the event horizon through next spring as far as touring indie acts in yesterday’s blog post. 

There are a few local shows happening this weekend, not the least of which is the long-awaited return of See Through Dresses. The band is playing a reunion gig tonight at Benson Theatre as part of the 2023 annual fundraiser for Omaha Girls Rock. They’ll be joined by a handful of OGR bands. Tickets are $25 and available at bensontheatre.org. Music starts at 7 p.m., and yes, costumes are encouraged.

No doubt costumes will also be all the rage tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s as the club hosts a free punk rock show with The Scabby Ghouls, The Shidiots, DSM-5 and Blowing Chunks. The spooky fun starts at 9 p.m. 

Meanwhile, over at The Sydney in Benson, Thick Paint opens for singer/songwriter Anna McClellan. $10, 9 p.m.

Three local shows tomorrow night (Saturday):

Local rockers Garst are headlining at Reverb Lounge with Bad Self Portraits and The Moose & The Public. $12, 8 p.m. 

Las Cruxes is headlining The Down Under Lounge’s 8th annual Halloween show Saturday night. Joining them are Jar, Glue, and Grief Police. $8, 9:30 p.m. Again, costumes.

And finally, Pet Bun and Sputnik Kputnik are playing at Pageturners Lounge Saturday night. No cover but a $10 donation is suggested. Music starts at 8 p.m. 

And then Sunday night Grapefruit Records in the Old Market is hosting a rare Omaha performance by Simon Joyner and the Sirens. It’s a tour kick-off show for the band as they’re headed back on the road. David Nance will be playing a set of brand new material in his opening solo set at 8 p.m. $10. No mention of costumes, but every day is Halloween in the Old Market, right?

That’s it. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a wild and crazy Halloween 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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s Friday and that means it’s time for the weekend wrap.

Tonight Denver duo In the Whale plays O’Leaver’s with Saturn Moth. From what I can tell, In the Whale is a garage band, but not really. Judge for yourself below. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Over at the Barley Street Chromafrost (Lincoln Dickison’s red hot noise-punk band) plays with Seer States and The Real Action. $5, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night John Vanderslice makes his way to Slowdown Jr. His latest, Dagger Beach, was released on Tiny Telephone. Opening is the always entertaining John Klemmensen and The Party. $12, 9 p.m.

Can you believe Halloween is less than a week away? Test drive that lousy costume of yours Saturday night at The Goth Ball at Ralston Arena. Digital Leather is the featured band, which is odd because I can’t think of a band that’s less goth than Digital Leather. Tickets are $20 but are available until 4 p.m. today for $10 from gooddealomaha.com. Doors are at 8. No idea when DL goes on. More info here.

There’s a lot of other Halloween-related things going on around town this weekend. Since I generally hate Halloween (except for the candy part) I’ll leave it to you to find out where those “parties” are happening. Needless to say, most involve cover bands.

One last show worth mentioning that doesn’t have a Halloween theme — The Whipkey Three headlines at The Barley Street Tavern Saturday night with Guilty is the Bear and Virginia Tanous-Gallner. $5, 9 p.m.

That’s all I got. If I missed anything, post it in the comments section. Have a good one.

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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.