Todd Fink on Mars; Jason Steady in the hand of a giant…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , , — @ 2:33 pm November 16, 2021
Ground control to Major Todd… Todd Fink stars as an astronaut on Mars in this clip from the Oh, Inverted World anniversary video.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I recently received greetings from the heart of a California desert wherein lives former Omahan and Talking Mountain frontman Jason Steady. He wrote to say “hi” and to pass along that he built the props for the video below, directed by Shins drummer Jon Sortland, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of The Shins album Oh, Inverted World. Jason even ended up in the video — he’s the guy buying the giant version of the album — as does The Faint’s Todd Fink, who is the astronaut on Mars (which was actually shot in their front yard). 

We got permission from The Station in Joshua Tree to build a giant Shins record and put it in the hands of Big Josh, their 20-foot tall fiberglass cowboy,” Steady said. Keep an eye out for a few Easter eggs throughout…

Dig it below. Ah, Omaha does indeed miss these dudes…

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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 © 2021 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Jason Steady joins the Great California Migration, new video…

Category: Blog — Tags: , — @ 12:37 pm August 1, 2019

Jason Steady from a screen cap of his latest video.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Jason Steady is joining a long list of Omaha musicians, which recently included The Finks (Todd and Orenda) and Brad Hoshaw, who have flown the coop for better climes in California.

I call it the Great California Migration, but that’s not accurate. “Migration” implies that those leaving are returning as part of a cycle, when, in fact, these folks ain’t coming back.

Steady says he’s heading to the California high desert outside Joshua Tree “to live out the rest of my days in the dust.” If you want to wish him well, do it at The Brothers Saturday, Aug. 24, when he’s playing a goodbye gig with his pals in M34N STR33T.

Until then, enjoy this new video of a song from Return of the Paisley Angels, his project with Chris Twist. The video was recorded by Nosferatune, a.k.a. Adrienne Thomas of Denver. And buy a copy of the album, right here.

So long, Mr. Steady…

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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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Can Lizzo, Lewis, Barnett and Thee Oh Sees sell tix? Maha thinks so; Jason Steady and Chris Twist tonight…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , , — @ 12:39 pm April 24, 2019

Jason Steady and the Soft Ponies at Burrito Envy, Oct. 26, 2018. Jason returns with Chris Twist tonight for an early 7 p.m. album release show.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

By now you’re familiar with this year’s Maha Festival line-up. On the day they announced the bands I was thrilled, and said something like “I’m going to provide an in-depth review Monday, blah-blah-blah…” But Monday came and I didn’t have time before work; same thing Tuesday. And now here we are, and while I think it is, indeed, my favorite line-up they’ve ever put together, I’m wonder how well it’ll draw.

For example, headliner Lizzo isn’t exactly a household name like Weezer or Death Cab for Cutie. When I posted in as much Friday, someone said “You just wait and see.” But I’ve had a handful of people who follow indie music and Maha ask me who the heck she is. Her style is hard to describe. I consider her a modern-day Queen Latifah. I didn’t discover her until she came through Omaha a couple years ago, when I watched a couple of her YouTube videos, and flipped for “Good as Hell.”

No doubt the audience for Lizzo isn’t your typical indie fan. Her new record, Cuz I Love You (2019, Atlantic), is getting positive/mixed reviews (some complained she’s trying too hard to make a hit). And no doubt she’ll be touring late night TV for the next few months.

Jenny Lewis and Courtney Barnett are personal favorites. Lewis has a hot new album, On the Line (2019, Warner Bros.), and is a long-time friend of the Nebraska scene from way back in the Saddle Creek glory days. Barnett has written some of the best indie songs in the past few years. Her record that came out in 2018, Tell Me How You Really Feel (Mom + Pop Records) was on my favorites list. The caveat for Barnett – I’ve seen her perform at SXSW a few years ago and she basically just stood up there and played with little crowd interaction, so it was kind of a snore, but… great music.

The highlight of the line-up (for me, anyway) is Thee Oh Sees. A garage/psych-rock band that in my opinion blows away anything Jack White has ever done. I’ve been bitching for years that this band has avoided Omaha/Lincoln on all its national tours, which made me think they had something against Nebraska, though I know a lot of rabid Oh Sees fans around here.

The band is powered by guitarist/vocalist/legend John Dwyer, a madman on stage. I’ve seen them play a couple times in Austin. Expect craziness. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they play in the field among the crowd instead of on stage. I’ve loved this band and Dwyer’s previous band, Coachwhips, for years. But again, though there’s a hardcore following among in-the-know indie people locally, Thee Oh Sees are very likely widely unknown among Omaha’s great unwashed masses. So, not likely to be a big ticket-seller. And neither is the rest of the line-up… More tomorrow (probably)…

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Tonight at, of all places, Burrito Envy & Tequila Bar in Benson, Chris Twist and Jason Steady are celebrating the release of their new album, Return of the Paisley Angels. I’ve seen Steady play at the burrito place and it’s a surprisingly good venue for what’s essentially an low-volume / unplugged-type country rock show.

I’ve written about these guys a few days ago (read it here). Lincoln duo Smith’s Cloud opens at 7 p.m. – yep, it’s early. But the whole thing is free so you’ll have plenty of cash to buy a margarita or a taco. Fun!

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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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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New music: Jason Steady/Chris Twist (Nobunny), tour; Conor flies solo in July; Lavender Country tonight…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , — @ 12:38 pm April 16, 2019

Return of the Paisley Angels, Chris Twist and Jason Steady (self-release, 2019)

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Jason Steady announced yesterday that he’s got a new album out with Chris Twist called Return of the Paisley Angels.

Indie/garage-rock aficionados know Twist as a member of Nobunny, The Lemons, Slush and The Cowboys, but did you now that the Chicagoan is originally from Omaha and played with Steady in The Cuterthans, Stolen Kisses and Talking Mountain? You did? Well then…

Together, they’ve crafted an LP’s worth of indie-fied Country & Western tunes that will get your boots scootin’ and your hoodie flappin’. Check out a track or two below and pre-order before the April 24 release.

The album shall not be released to any other streaming/digital services for reasons everyone should be aware of by now,” Steady said. “It will be physically available in limited edition on cassette and CD on all of our tour dates. Mail order of remaining copies available after that. Available straight from the source, and that’s about it.

One of those tour dates is the album release show April 24 at Burrito Envy in Benson. After that, Steady & Twist (Maybe they should call the band Steady Twist or Twist Steady?) will be on the road until the end of May.

* * *

Conor Oberst this morning announced he’s doing a solo tour for a few weeks in July (July 17-28, to be exact). This lands in the middle of his touring with Phoebe Bridgers as Better Oblivion Community Center. No word who will back Conor on this tour.

But joining him as the opener on all dates is singer/songwriter Joanna Sternberg, whose new album, Then I Try Some More, comes out July 5 on Team Love Records. Is Conor still directly associated with that label or is he just doing Nate Krenkel a solid?

* * *

Lavender Country, a.k.a. Patrick Haggerty, the LGBT hero who released a collection of gay radical country songs way back in 1973, returns to The Brothers Lounge tonight. Joining him and his band are Gun Outfit and N.Y. Queer country outfit Paisley Fields. $10, early 8 p.m. show.

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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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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High Up calls it quits (and goodbye Finks); Saddle Creek makes Paste list; new Jason Steady…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , , , — @ 1:45 pm January 7, 2019

High Up at The Slowdown, Nov. 28, 2015. The band announced this weekend that it’s breaking up.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Happy Monday. Here are a few news items from the past week…

Yesterday, High Up announced via Facebook that it’s calling it quits. From the post:

“Between beautiful and healthy new additions to Matt and Josh’s families and new journeys to other parts of the country for Orenda, Todd and Christine, we felt it was best to move on and move up, and we wish the same happiness and positive change to you and yours.”

The Finks moving from Omaha is a major blow to the local music scene. All three Finks were among the city’s most talented musicians, and will be greatly missed. Obviously, it could be a long time (if ever) until we see another Closeness concert in this city.

We likely wouldn’t have seen much of Todd next year anyway. The Faint will be busy with the release of Egowerk March 15 on Saddle Creek Records. No announcement has been made concerning a national tour, but you have to believe one is in the making. And Azure Ray just announced a couple January dates in San Francisco and Brooklyn. Could more be on the way?

High Up was one of Omaha’s biggest hopes for breaking through to a larger audience after the release of their debut full-length You Are Here on Team Love Records in early 2018. But after some initial touring, things went quiet for the band. Here’s hoping frontwoman Christine Fink finds a new gig in Savannah — it’d be a shame to never hear those golden pipes again.

* * *

Saddle Creek Records got a nice tip o’ the hat from Paste Magazine last week when it made their list of the 10 best record labels of 2018.

Saddle Creek, the Nebraska label that started as a college class project in 1993, now boasts one of the most focused rosters in indie rock,” said the article, which also lists such stalwart labels as Sub Pop, Merge and Secretly Canadian among the best.

Matador Records topped the list at No. 1, and See Through Dresses’ label, Tiny Engines, was named Boutique Label of the Year. See the full list here.

* * *

Finally, last Thursday Jason Steady (Talking Mountain, Wolf Dealer) released a new video for the track “Deep Lucy.”

Cosmic midwestern music! I’ll be touring again in May with my buddy Chris (Slushy/Lemons/Nobunny/Cowboys/etc.) and this song is part of a forthcoming release,” he said.

Check it below:

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Lazy-i Best of 2018

It’s the final day to ask for a copy of the Lazy-i Best of 2018 Comp CD. The collection includes my favorite indie tunes I’ve come across throughout last year as part of my tireless work as a music critic for Lazy-i. Tracks include songs by J Masic, Sextile, Father John Misty, Campdogzz, Those Far Out Arrows, Boygenius, Your Smith, Nik Freitaz, Ron Gallo, Adrianne Lenker and lots more. The full track listing is here, or listen on Spotify.

To enter to win a copy of the CD either: 1) Send an email with your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com, or 2) Let me know you want one via Facebook comments, or 3) Retweet a Lazy-i tweet (If you use social media and win, I’ll reach out later for your mailing address). Hurry, contest deadline is tonight at midnight.

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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 © 2019 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Live Review: Young Jesus, Thick Paint, Ian Sweet, Jason Steady…

Category: Reviews — Tags: , , , — @ 12:49 pm October 29, 2018

Young Jesus at O’Leaver’s, Oct. 28, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

On the surface, Saddle Creek Records’ addition of Young Jesus to its roster would appear to be a real thinking-outside-the-box moment for a label that’s prided itself on releasing some of the best singer/songwriter indie rock over the past 20 years.

Young Jesus’ new album, The Whole Thing Is Just There, has the auspicious honor of including the longest track ever released by a Saddle Creek band, “Gulf,” a tune that clocks in at just over 20 minutes. On first blush the entire record seems experimental bordering on art project. That said, The Whole Thing… also has the honor of being the highest-rated Saddle Creek release reviewed by Pitchfork, coming in at a staggering 8.1 rating. In Pitchfork terms, that’s genius level.

The Whole Thing… is about as far away from being a pop album as anything Saddle Creek has released since Beep Beep back in the ’00s. And on first listen, it can be a challenge, but I have to admit the record goes down better after seeing these guys live last night at O’Leaver’s. Following what sounded like an improvised jazz-rock instrumental, they launched into “Green,” the opening track off their Saddle Creek rerelease S/T, which, yes, sounds like an indie rock song.

The rest of the set included songs off the new album, including standout track “Deterritory” and set closer, “Gulf,” whose center section consisted of a free jazz improvisational noise collage that bent back into the opening chords and took all of its 20-plus minutes.

After the set. the house music was tracks off the Cap’n Jazz anthology Analphabetapolothology (Jade Tree, 1998) that someone aptly pointed out was appropriate considering the similarity between the bands’ sounds. While possible free-form at its core, there’s obvious structure to Young Jesus’ songs, a method to the madness that made me rethink the album (which I listened to again on the drive home). I don’t know if it will be a big seller for Saddle Creek, but it adds credibility to their vision of releasing music not necessarily for commercial sake, but because they love it.

Thick Paint at O’Leaver’s, Oct. 28, 2018.

I caught the last half of Thick Paint’s opening set and it was the usual amazing, intricate, tuneful rock that they’ve become known for. A different player on bass (usual bassist Sarah Bohling is on the road with David Nance, I believe) didn’t throw off their game a bit. Call it indie prog. The mystery continues as to who is going to put out this band’s next album.

Ian Sweet at O’Leaver’s, Oct. 28, 2018.

Last night’s show, which was originally scheduled to start at 6, didn’t get rolling until after 7 because the bands were late getting to town. As a result, headliner Ian Sweet didn’t go on until after 10. Playing as a three-piece, the set was harder and more abrasive than what I was expecting having heard her new album — i.e., it rocked, at least for the four songs I caught before I headed home.

Hey O’Leaver’s, I love these early Sunday shows. Keep them coming!

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Jason Steady and the Soft Ponies at Burrito Envy, Oct. 26, 2018.

I think I might be the only person I know that likes the food at Burrito Envy. I had three tacos, chips and salsa and a couple fine margaritas there Friday night before I caught a set by Jason Steady and the Soft Ponies.

All the way back to the Talking Mountain days, Steady’s style has been funny, friendly, good-time jangle rock with a slightly disconcerting message just below the surface, a message that’s hard to decipher when he and his ponies — a guy on a stripped-down drum kit and a backing vocalist/percussionist — are making you bounce in your seat to their sunny, good-time music, that included a couple country-esque indie pop ditties. Fun.

Steady is a natural showman, punctuating his set with between-song banter that makes you think he’d be the perfect host for a Pee-Wee’s Playhouse-style children’s program on Nick or PBS Kids. All he needs is some puppets, and anyone who knows Steady knows that’s well within his reach. Nothing would make my Saturday mornings better…

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Simon Joyner no longer leading Bemis project; Halloween weekend blues; Jason Steady, Kara Eastman tonight; Ian Sweet, Young Jesus, Thick Paint Sunday…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , , — @ 12:51 pm October 26, 2018

Thick Paint at Slowdown Jr., March 30, 2018. The open for Ian Sweet and Young Jesus Sunday at O’Leaver’s.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Looks like Simon Joyner no longer is leading the Bemis’s new Sound Art and Experimental Music Residency Program mentioned here a couple days ago.

From the Bemis Center Facebook page:

Simon Joyner will not be leading the program. We will soon be opening a national job posting to find the best candidate to lead this program. Additional decisions about the program will be made after a reevaluation of the needs is complete. These changes and decisions take time.

It also appears, via Facebook, that producer Ben Brodin never was permanently involved in the project, but merely assisted early in offering some ideas about the space.

Joyner being named to the position last week sparked concern targeted at The Bemis Center. As Kevin Coffey reported yesterday in the GO Section of Omaha World-Herald, the Bemis organization fielded a number of e-mails, text messages and posts on social media. “The responses that we received were either supporting Simon or asking the Bemis to reconsider him as someone that would manage this new program, which we’re obviously thrilled to be launching next year,” said Bemis Executive Director Chris Cook in the OWH article.

Concerns about Joyner stemmed from his use of the N-word in a song he wrote that targeted racists and racism in America, released in 2017. Reporting on the controversy appeared in The Reader last November as well as in Lazy-i, which included a Q&A with Joyner about the topic.

* * *

BTW, tonight’s Bemis benefit concert featuring Azure Ray / Destroyer (solo) is sold out.

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It’s the unofficial Halloween weekend at the clubs, which means krazy kostumes and very few live shows. Boo! (pun intended).

There’s a fundraiser tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s for Kara Eastman. DJ Tyrone Storm (a.k.a. Roger Lewis), Dirt House, Sean Pratt and Stephen Bartolomei are all slated to perform. The show runs 8 to 11 p.m. and suggested donation is $10.

And here’s a walk on the wild side: Jason Steady and the Soft Ponies are playing a free gig at Burrito Envy in Benson tonight. Bradley Unit also is on the bill that starts at 9 p.m.

And there’s a real hum-dinger of a show going on at O’Leaver’s Sunday in the early evening featuring Ian Sweet, Young Jesus and Thick Paint. Sweet’s new album Crush Crusher came out today on Hardly Art. Young Jesus, the latest addition to the Saddle Creek Records roster, released their new LP, The Whole Thing Is There, last week. And Thick Paint is one of Omaha’s hottest properties. All three bands for just $7. Starts at 6 p.m. Get your tickets online here.

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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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New stuff from Jason Steady, David Nance; Lupines, Noah Sterba, Rusty Lord, Dog Party tonight…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , — @ 12:38 pm July 11, 2018

Dog Party at O’Leaver’s, July 30, 2017. The band returns to O’Leaver’s tonight.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This past Monday Jason Steady (once of the band Talking Mountain, among others) dropped me a line about a new track he’s recorded — a cover of Gram Parsons’ “One Hundred Years From Now,” which, I must say, is sublime. It marks a new direction for Steady, a sound which I described as “psych-country,” but which Jason calls “outer space cosmic death nature sounds.”

Check it out below and/or download/buy it along with Steady’s cover of George Jones’ “Things Have Gone to Pieces” (and a demo  of the Parsons cover) at his Bandcamp page.

Speaking of new music, David Nance posted that his next record, titled Peace and Slightly Pulverized, will be released Oct. 5 by Trouble In Mind Records. The Chicago label’s roster includes Dick Diver, Paperhead and Ultimate Painting, among others. The seven-song vinyl features Nance backed by his band — Kevin Donahue, Jim Schroeder and Tom May. Nance blew a hole in the wall with last year’s Negative Boogie (Ba Da Bing Records). I can’t wait to hear this one…

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Two shows of note tonight…

Pageturners Lounge continues its summer concert series tonight with a triple-bill: Lupines, Noah Sterba and Rusty Lord. Is this the show that the real-life Rusty Lord finally makes an appearance? Find out. This one’s free and starts at 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Sacramento’s Dog Party — the garage rock duo of sisters Gwennie and Lucy Giles — returns to fabulous O’Leaver’s. Joining them are Mad Dog and the 20/20s and Muscle Cousins. $7, 9 p.m.

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Live Review: Caroline Rose, Cardioid; Jason Steady, Bad Bad Men Friday; Nik Freitas, Okkervil River Saturday…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , , , — @ 12:47 pm June 8, 2018

Caroline Rose at Reverb Lounge, June 7, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The whole time I was watching Caroline Rose last night at Reverb Lounge I’m thinking, “Man, she looks just like Buddy from the ‘70s TV show Family.” I mentioned this to someone after the show who had no idea who I was talking about, hadn’t heard of Buddy or the show. When I said the star’s name was Kristy McNichol, the guy asked, “Wasn’t she one of Charlie’s Angels?” Right decade, wrong show.

It doesn’t matter I guess as long as you catch the ‘70s reference, because Caroline Rose’s music sounds like something from that era. Not “Rock 100 FM ‘70s Classic Rock,” but sort of bubble-gum rock with some punk/new wave overhang sung in a voice that’s as cute as it is fetching in a Courtney Barnett sort of way.

The set was dominated by songs off her current album, Loner (2018, New West) that are fun, sarcastic and witty with dark overtones peeping through the edges. It’s an infectious album, and she performed the tunes with the goofy energy that they deserve, backed by keyboardist/guitarist and a tight rhythm section who looked like they were having as much fun as the audience.

Rose’s between-song patter was almost as entertaining as her music, cracking wise and telling stories and introducing each number by saying, “This is my favorite song. No, this really is my favorite song.” I guess they all were. And to tell the truth, each song was its own little high point (though I especially loved hearing “Bikini” and “Money” and “Jeannie Becomes a Mom”).

Cardioid at Reverb Lounge, June 7, 2018.

Opener, Portland band Cardioid, was a surprise. They started out sounding like your typical indie band in an Angel Olson sort of way, with a lead singer whose voice I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I was thinking Rosanne Cash, but another person pointed to Roy Orbison, which was much more on target. As the set progressed their style became almost proggy with unique, unorthodox arrangements, chord changes and great harmonies, you never knew where they were going next. Sublime.

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Let’s get to the weekend…

O’Leaver’s is hosting its a two-day Mid by Midwest mini festival that combines comedy and music. Tonight’s music, which starts at 10 p.m., features a rare performance by Jason Steady (Talking Mountain, Wolf Dealer). Joining him is Dorsia. Your $10 ticket gets you in for the two hours of comedy leading up to music, starting at 8 p.m.

On day 2 of Mid by Midwest (Saturday) Nik Freitas headlines the music with Miwi La Lupa kicking off the jams at 10 p.m. As I mentioned yesterday, Freitas’ new album, Day & Dark, is stunningly good. Like the prior night, your $10 cover gets you into the two-hour comedy show that leads up to the music. More info here.

Let’s back up… Also happening Friday night is a rock show at Brothers Lounge featuring The Ramparts, Narco States and Bad Bad Men (Wolf/Siebken/Hug). $5, 9 p.m.

And Scott Severin (who’s celebrating a birthday today) opens for Jack Hotel tonight at The Harney Street Tavern. 9  p.m. and free.

And lest I forget, City Councilman Pete Festersen and a band that includes guitarists Vic Padios and Mark Weber plays a show tonight at the Benson B-Side (next to the Benson Theater). The show is $5 and starts at 8. Come see how a politician plays the drums.

Saturday night Okkervil River returns to Omaha, this time to The Waiting Room. Here’s a band that’s played just about every performance space in the city, from The Junction to O’Leaver’s to Slowdown. This was the last time I interviewed Will Sheff way back in 2005 when Black Sheep Boy was released, wherein he had this golden quote: “The fact is, it’s hard to spend seven months a year on the road making less money than a 7-11 clerk and still have a satisfying life.” That doesn’t seem to have stopped him.

The band has a new record out called In the Rainbow Rain (2018, ATO). Sheff’s voice still has that same pretty, sad lilt heard on all their music. Star Rover opens at 8 p.m. $18 DOS.

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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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New stuff from Jake Bellows, Jason Steady and Ben Eisenberger; High Up’s You Are Here review…

Category: Reviews — Tags: , , , — @ 12:48 pm April 30, 2018

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Catching up on some email…

The first video from the Friends and Family Volume 1 comp, out May 11 on Maria Taylor’s Flower Moon Records, dropped last week. It’s for a Jake Bellows track called “Tattoo,” and is actually a short film (more than 9 minutes long) directed by Martin Kenna. Very well shot, but missing from the frame is Jake Bellows himself (and we all know Jake can light up any room… or video).

Check it below:

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A new EP by Jason Steady & the Soft Ponies also dropped last week, called This Is Where I Am.  It’s described by Mr. Steady as “Songs about adventure, girls, smoking pot, waking up in the sun, and vegetarianism, but not necessarily in that order.”

The band, which includes Knife de la Garza and Aaron Lee, is heading out on a 14-city tour in May, which doesn’t include Omaha. What are you afraid of, Jason? Come on!

* * *

And then there’s a new cassette by Ben Eisenberger called Three Islands. Ben also plays guitar in Hussies, Screaming Plastic and FiFI NoNo. The acoustic folk on this pretty 7-song LP is quite a departure from those projects.

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Q1 2018 record reviews continue. Read them all here at The Reader website.

High Up, You Are Here (2018, Team Love)

High Up, You Are Here (Team Love) — This Omaha act has been working up to a full-length debut for a couple years, and a number of these songs have been released as different recordings on their debut EP last year. Most notable is “Two Weeks,” which gets a different arrangement that brings the horns up front and feels louder and more confident. Unlike their past EP (and live performances) the band keeps the energy pumping even on the ballad-heavy numbers like the cover of Bright Eyes’ “Make a Plan to Love Me” and the gospel-organ fueled “Blue Moon” that sounds like an FM radio single. “Domino,” another stand-out, is  a punchy sequel to “Two Weeks.” When will a bigger audience discover these guys?

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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