Lewsberg at Grapefruit Records, Oct. 8, 2023.

by Tim McMahan,Lazy-i.com

This weekend was a study in accessibility – three shows, three experiences, only two out of the three were successful.

Friday night’s crowd for Slow Pulp at The Slowdown was picture perfect – the floor of the main room was nicely filled but not too crowded, you could get  around easy but the place didn’t feel empty, I was able to stand at my favorite stage-left perch throughout the set. It’s the way I like it at Slowdown and probably a bummer for the club owners, who would prefer a jam-packed evening for obvious reasons. 

Slow Pulp at The Slowdown, Oct. 6, 2023.

Slow Pulp came on at around 9 and were terrific. The remarkable thing about the band is how lead singer Emily Massey’s flat, unadorned, unfussy vocals perfectly compliment the bands’ impeccable playing. On the surface, Slow Pulp is nothing new or groundbreaking — they play somewhat run-of-the-mill indie rock that would fit comfortably alongside other modern-day female-led indie projects like Alvvays or Momma. Their strength lies in creating a sound that feels comfortable and assured — a fine, even style of songwriting I could listen to all night.  

At time’s Massey’s voice was as naked and pure as a senior-year talent show, but it’s that unassuming, unadorned style that made it so appealing, powered by a super-tight band who looked relaxed and assured. Her voice only got stronger as the night wore on, peaking during a great rendition of “Broadview,” a favorite off their most recent album, Yard, where Massey pulled out a harmonica and pushed the song into Neil Young Harvest territory. 

Saturday night was Rosali at Pageturners but, alas, it was not to be. When I arrived at around 9 Sean Pratt was on stage with Megan Siebe and every table was filled. Folks were standing in the back in the aisle that leads to the parking lot and I wondered where I would be able to stand and watch the show. The answer: nowhere. It was like the old days at The 49’r, another bar where if you didn’t get there early you were screwed because the tables took up all the room right up to where the band played and there was nowhere to go where you wouldn’t be in someone’s way, especially if you’re 6-foot-2. 

So with no place to stand, I turned around and left and learned a lesson that the trick (or necessity) to seeing a show at Pageturners is to get there early, before the performances start. 

Finally Sunday night it was down to Grapefruit Records for an in-store concert by Lewsberg. The set-up was as Simon had described it – the store had wheeled the album racks into the hallway, creating a big-ish space for people to stand in front of the the small elevated stage. It was a comfortable crowd of around 50 with a few seated on the floor to the left of the stage like grade schoolers at storytime. 

The Prairies at Grapefruit Records, Oct. 8, 2023.

One of the openers, The Prairies, consisted of Dave Nance, Noah Sterba, Myke Marasco and Kevin Donahue all having the time of their lives playing old songs from an old cassette recorded years ago – a cassette I would now like to own a copy of. Each took turns rotating between instruments (“Everyone plays drums in The Prairies”) for these short, sharp, fun songs that heralded back to the good old days of Nebraska post-punk.

The best way to describe Lewsberg’s set was how my wife described it, saying she felt like she was in a cool, secret club somewhere in Europe.  To me, it felt like seeing Talking Heads during their 1977 tour at someone’s house party in the Lower East Side.

The Rotterdam four-piece played songs off their amazing new album, Out and About (2023, 12XU), as well as older favorites like “Cold Light of Day,” from 2020’s In This House. Their simple arrangements, chiming guitars and frontman Arie van Vliet’s dry, close-to-spoken-word Lou Reed-style delivery gets them compared to Velvet Underground, while their stripped down rhythms recall The Feelies, but for me there was a trance-like quality I haven’t heard since The New Year/Bedhead. That’s a lot of comparisons for a band that has created something wholly originally and difficult to pin down – quiet yet intense, the only thing more intense was guitarist Michiel Klein’s tight, skull-like stare throughout the set as he focused on the repeated rhythm parts or opened up on solos. It was good to see him smile after the set. 

II can’t wait to see another show at Grapefruit Records. If this is what it means for indie to go back underground, I’m all for it. 

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It’s another Monday night in Omaha with three marquee shows happening at the same time, maybe because these touring bands just finished playing bigger cities over the weekend. Whatever the reason, there are choices to me made.

In the case of The Church, who is playing tonight at The Waiting Room, Omaha is actually the kick-off city for the next leg of their U.S. tour. They’re out on the road supporting new album, Hypnogogue, a strong collection that recalls their mid-‘80s heyday when they released Starfish and their biggest hit, “Under the Milky Way.” This is “an evening with The Church,” which means no openers. $35, 8 p.m. 

Meanwhile, around the corner at Reverb Lounge, electronic post-punk band Model/Actriz headlines. They remind me a shit-ton of The Soft Moon – same sort of bracing bounce electronic rhythms mixed with static noise and bass, like Nine Inch Nails meets The Rapture. This could be a really cool show. Conjunto Primitivo opens at 8 p.m. $15.

Meanwhile, The Slowdown is hosting the long-sold-out Ethel Cain show. Everyone’s wondering how The Slowdown got this gig, considering Cain has sold out much larger rooms. I’m told she specifically sought out the club on this tour — a tiny room considering she has nearly 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify and one of her most popular tracks is called “A House in Nebraska” – a stark and depressing song about crippling lost love. Midwife opens at 8 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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Slow Pulp play tonight at The Slowdown

by Tim McMahan,Lazy-i.com

It’s a three-car pileup of shows tonight (we have another one come Monday). Add a 7 p.m. Husker game and BFF and things could get interesting.  I’m not sure if “the Husker effect” is still a thing since the football program hasn’t been successful for more than 20 years. We’ll see tonight.

Top of the list is, of course, the homecoming of The Good Life. The band led by singer/songwriter Tim Kasher, with Roger Lewis, Ryan Fox and Stef Drootin, has been touring in support of the double-LP version of Album of the Year, rereleased by Saddle Creek Records.  I thoroughly expected this show to sell out little ol’ Reverb Lounge but tickets are still available. Opening the show at 8 p.m. is Chicago band Doom Flower, who has been compared to Mazzy Star, The Breeders, Cat Power and Portishead. $25.

Meanwhile, down at The Slowdown, Chicago by way of Madison, Wisconsin, band Slow Pulp headlines. Fronted by Emily Massey, the band has toured with Alex G, which is a good combination considering the similarity in styles. The band is on the road touring their just released album, Yard (2023, ANTI-), which Pitchfork gave a 7.5 rating and said its “clear-eyed sincerity, bubblegum hooks and mellow arrangements feel like a warm embrace.” Classic indie rock, they’re selling out shows around the country (but not here). Opening the show at 8 p.m. is New York duo Babehoven (Double Double Whammy Records). This is a main room show; tickets are $20. 

Yesterday when I was buying my Lewsberg tickets I discovered that Grapefruit Records, 1125 Jackson Street in the Old Market, has another show happening tonight. Athens band Immaterial Possession is a four-piece led by Cooper Holmes and Madeline Polites whose music is “inspired by musical scales of the Greeks and Spanish,” according to their bio at the Fire Records website. It just sounds like groovy indie rock with some psychedelia to me. Opening this show is Heavy Clippings at 8 p.m. sharp! $10. 

Pro-tip regarding Grapefruit Records shows – they only post on Instagram, so give them a follow for their latest show and release info.

If that weren’t enough, tonight is Benson First Friday. That means art shows up and down Maple Street, not the least of which is the show at our place, Ming Toy Gallery at 6066 Maple. Tonight’s reception is for Josh & Shelby Audiss: Le Femme Fantastique. The opening runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Drop by, say hi, have beer or wine and buy some art! See you there.

Also as part of BFF, The Sydney in Benson is hosting Austin Texas 6-piece noise-rock band Neckbolt. The music sounds like their name. $10, 9 p.m.

Saturday’s big show is at Pageturners where singer/songwriter Rosali returns. She opened for Destroyer back in April 2022 backed by David Nance, Jim Schroeder and Kevin Donahue. I’m told they’ll be on board for Saturday’s show as well. Her 2021 album, No Medium was one of my favorites from that year; her new music is being released on Merge Records. See her on a small stage while you can. Singer/songwriter Sean Pratt opens at 8 p.m. There’s no cover but $10 donation is the least you can do. 

Then it’s onto Sunday for Lewsberg at Grapefruit Records. If you haven’t discovered this amazing Rotterdam-based four-piece you’re missing out. It’s like listening to a dry European translation of The Feelies mixed with Lou Reed and Yo La Tengo and nothing could be more perfect. 

I wrote Wednesday about how Grapefruit has upped its game in terms of being a venue. Find out for yourself. Also on the bill is a reunion of The Prairies – a band that consists of Dave Nance, Noah Sterba, Myke Marasco and Kevin Donahue – who will be playing songs off their first cassette tape. New band Western Haikus open at 7:15 p.m. This is a $12 show and advance tickets are available at Grapefruit Records, 1125 Jackson Street in the Old Market. 

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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Back in June I blogged about “the new normal” of having to go out of town to see your favorite bands because of the shift in Omaha booking trends. The usual promoters and clubs simply aren’t willing to take as many chances on new and up-and-coming touring indie acts. It’s a financial decision. When you can pack the house with a country act, tribute band or an “emo night” / Taylorfest playlist, why bother risking a guarantee on an out-of-town band that might be packing them in on the Coasts but is an unknown quantity in Omaha? It ain’t 2007 anymore, folks.

The cost of booking these high-end touring indie acts continues to rise. The younger crowds they attract also drink less alcohol, and that’s where venues make their biggest coin — not from soda pop or water sales.

We continue to see quality touring indie bands routing past Omaha. Tour announcements frequently list KC, Minneapolis, Chicago, Des Moines and Denver as par tof the central states tour, and leave out Omaha. Are we an afterthought? Did no promoter take them up on their offer? The world may never know. Meanwhile, Omaha keeps building enormous venues like Steelhouse, The Admiral and The Astro to host country acts and legacy bands whose heydays were 30+ years ago.

I’m rehashing. You can read more about this in my August column in The Reader.

Anyway, I was planning my next out-of-town trip for Oct. 9 to see Rotterdam indie quartet Lewsberg play in Lawrence on their first-ever North American tour. But lo and behold, Lewsberg has added Omaha to their tour — Oct. 8 at Grapefruit Records in the Old Market.

The record store owned and operated by internationally recognized singer/songwriter Simon Joyner has hosted small shows in the past where bands played in a corner and patrons jammed themselves among the record racks. Joyner said there’s been a ton of approvements to Grapefruit since my last outing.

Grapefruit has installed an elevated performance stage, bought a new PA, and moved its record stock into new bins (purchased from Drastic Plastic) that have wheels, allowing them to be moved into the hallway during shows, creating an open space in front of the stage.

Joyner said they’re doing a lot of things to attract more touring (and local) shows.

“The good thing for bands is we give 100% of the door to them (and guarantee all some living fee even if no one were to come) so they make a lot more than they would at a ‘venue,’” Joyner said.  “And we feed the band.”

In addition, for a donation during a show you might receive a beer (get it?). This donation will “add money to our band fund for sound improvements and paying for our own sound guy and buying food and drinks for the riders when needed, we’d never take that out of the door money,” Joyner said.

This Sunday’s show boasts hot openers, including a young local act called Western Haikus. “Then, David Nance and Noah Sterba and Myke Marasco and Kevin Donahue’s first band — The Prairies — are reuniting,” Joyner said. “Should be killer to see them do their first tape after all these years.”

As for Lewsberg, the band releases their music on Gerard Cosloy’s 12XU label. Their 2019 album In This House is one of my all-time favorites. Their latest, Out and About, was released last month. From their one-sheet: “Compared to their first three albums, ‘Out And About ‘feels lighter, calling to mind the The Feelies, Marine Girls and Young Marble Giants, whilst remaining distinctly Lewsberg.” I will attempt to buy a vinyl copy Sunday. Check out some tracks below.

Doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30. Lewsberg will go on at 9:15. Limited advance tickets are $12 and available by stopping into Grapefruit Records.

It’s great to see places like Grapefruit and Pageturners fill these gaps for shows that used to be hosted by traditional Omaha bookers or at O’Leaver’s or The Brothers. You can help out by GOING TO THE SHOWS!

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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.

Lewsberg’s tour takes them to Lawrence, Kansas, in October.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

A number of tour announcements are hitting the wire today, and the question isn’t whether these bands are coming to Omaha, but rather which city you’re willing to travel to.

For example, one of my favorite bands, Lewsberg (12XU Records), announced their U.S. Tour this morning. Should I go to Chicago or Lawrence, Kansas, to see them? I’m opting for Lawrence, where they’re playing a tiny 100-capacity school house Oct. 7 (they’re also playing Gonerfest!).

Then there’s Slowdive, who this morning announced their U.S. Tour. I’m not a huge Slowdive fan but I know a lot of people who are. Will those folks be headed to Denver, St. Paul or Chicago to see them? 

Early next month I’m headed to Minneapolis to see Blondshell at 7th St. Entry. And so on.

It’s not a bash on Omaha (though it kind of is), it’s just a reality we’re in as so many touring indie bands continue to route around our fair city. The addition of grand new music venues like Steelhouse Omaha and The Astro are of little to no help as their focus is booking acts that will sell between 2,500 and 3,000 tickets — which in this market means bands whose heydays were 20, 30 or 40 years ago. That’s where the money is. (More on The Astro in my column in The Reader next month). 

A band like Slowdive, which is playing two nights at Webster Hall in NYC (very likely sell outs), would be a nice fit for Omaha’s larger venues, but how would they draw here? It’s a risk for the promoter, no dobut. We also have plenty of smaller venues perfect for smaller indie tours like Lewsberg. But no one’s booking them, or the bands no longer have Omaha on their radar like they did a decade or so ago when we were in the center of the indie music world.

Traveling to shows is nothing new, but more than ever, it’s become a necessity if you’re an indie music fan. Not such a big deal if you’ve got the money and time to travel — heck, it’s even an escape. But if you’re in college without the means to get to shows, it can be a real bummer. At least they’ve got Maha to look forward to…

Anyway, since Lazy-i’s mission is to cover indie music, in addition to covering local and national tours coming through Omaha, I’ll announce noteworthy indie tours coming to nearby cities and info about the venues (when I have it).

For example: Slowdive tour’s nearest pass to Omaha:

Tue. Oct. 3 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
Wed. Oct. 4 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre

Lewsberg’s nearest pass to Omaha:

10/7 – Lawrence KS, The White Schoolhouse

10/9 – Chicago, Sleeping Village w/ CB Radio Gorgeous

More to come…

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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

Ugh, there’s not a lot of music news to pass along, and the few things I do have you probably already know or heard, but this being Friday and the space where I usually recommend live shows for the weekend, I feel obligated to pass along something.

Despite the lockdown I continue to get 30 to 40 emails a day from promoters and labels about new music. It continues to keep coming, god bless it, even though there’s nowhere for these bands to play these days. If I were a band I’d probably postpone my release, however the other argument is that you’ll never have such a captive audience as the ones stranded in their homes for the next month or so (that’s right, I have doomed us all to quarantine until at least May 10 (if we’re lucky)).

Among the music to cross my screen is the new lyric video for Supermoon’s “Come to Learn,” which dropped last Tuesday. Supermoon is a project featuring Jake Bellows, who you remember not only as a one-man songwriting phenomenon but also frontman to Saddle Creek Records act Neva Dinova. Singing alongside Jake and making up the better half of the duo is Morgan Nagler of Whispertown. This campfire lullaby begs you to sing along, too.

And thus, the entire album was released: “The debut album ‘Half Country’ was recorded to half-inch tape and produced by Nik Freitas, who also contributed on drums, bass, and keys. In the surreal soup of the Covid-19 Pandemic wild west, the band has decided to release the album April 7, 2020’s biggest Supermoon, (the Pink Supermoon) in the hopes of shining a little light in the dark.”

Here it is, via Bandcamp.

It would be great to get these two and Mr. Freitas came to Omaha after the cloud of contaminants has lifted.

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I’ve been consuming in 30- to 40-minute chunks the 4-hour Henry Rollins podcast via KCRW called Cool Quarantine. It’s Henry playing records (lots of hardcore punk but also rock and other stuff) and telling stories and I love the format, but it’s hard to have on while you’re trying to do something (other than drive or run or work out) because it’s so distracting. Check it out below.

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Speaking of online content, Phoebe Bridgers is doing some sort of livestream via Pitchfork’s Instagram today (Friday) at 3 p.m. CT. She dropped a new video last and has a new record coming out soon.

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As you may or may not know, the Mars Bar located way out in West Omaha closed its doors for good weeks before COVID struck and shut down everyone else. Despite the setback, proprietor Brent Malnack hasn’t lost his love for live music, and thus created Live from Mars House, a new live stream performance program that debuts tonight at 7 p.m. via Twitch.

Brent is promising a three-camera shoot with a 24-track live mix. The first guests are N8 M Sic and Sarah Brandt, two musicians I’m not familiar with. That said, Malnack said future guests will include a lot of past performers at Mars Bar. Here’s the link. https://www.twitch.tv/livefrommarshouse

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Let me leave you with something I’ve been listening to for the past few weeks. It’s the new album by Lewsberg called In This House (12XU Records). Think Lou Reed meets Silver Jews meets your favorite Rotterdam deli. As good a soundtrack as any for these times we live in.

That’s all I got. If you hear anything worth passing along, send it my way. 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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.