Civic plays tonight at Slowdown, Jr.

by Tim McMahan,Lazy-i.com

Another busy weekend for shows. Here’s where you need to be if you’re ready to rock…

Tonight at Slowdown Jr. Melbourne proto-punk band Civic headlines. Their latest, Taken by Force, was release this past February by ATO Records. Big riffs, precise guitar interplay, snarling Stooges vibe, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a new touring act just straight-out rock, and these guys bring the fire. Also on the bill is our own power-rock trio, Bad Bad Men, which (in my humble opinion) is a perfect fit for this gig. Bliss opens the show at 8 p.m. $20, front room so get tix if you can.

Competing directly with this Civic show is Bad Religion at The Admiral. Greg Graffin, and the boys have been doing it since the early ‘80s, defining the Epitaph sound and paving the way for acts like Green Day and Offspring, who “acquired” their sound and ran with it. No doubt this show will steal much of Civic’s ticket-buying thunder (Imagine if both bands were on the same bill…). Adding to the show’s fire power at The Admiral is Dwarves, who bring their own unique punk energy. Speed of Light opens at 7:30. $45.

Your Saturday activities start early with Farnam Fest in the Blackstone District, or should I say pre-Farnam Fest activities as Ground Floor Guitar is hosting its first in-store performance ramping up to Farnam Fest. Omaha singer/songwriter/sensation Mike Schlesinger performs in the shop followed by the C&W stomping of Lightning Stills (Craig Fort and his band of punk cowboys). This gig begins at 2 p.m. and is free, though you may want to buy a guitar while you’re in the shop, which is located at 4009 Farnam Street, just west of Noli’s. 

Then comes Farnam Fest ’23 kicking off at 4 p.m. I’m not sure where they’re going to have the stage set up this year, though it’s probably somewhere along 40th and Farnam. The line-up is pretty solid with some of Omaha’s best:

• – Bad Self Portraits
• – David Nance Band
• – M34N STR33T
• – The Real Zebos
• – BIB

$10 at the door.

David Nance is one busy dude, because he’s also playing at Pageturners Saturday night with DJ Trolli and The Mighty Vitamins. 8 p.m., no cover but $10 donation is suggested. I’m now told this show has been cancelled (see comments).

Nance and friends will also be backing Rosali at Grapefruit Records Saturday night. The singer/songwriter (who just played at Pageturners herself a couple weeks ago) is playing in the Old Market record store with Chicago indie singer/songwriter Fran, a.k.a. Maria Jacobson, whose latest, Leaving (2023, Fire Talk) is a real beaut.  7 p.m., $10.

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

Man, I miss going to rock shows. The well has definitely been dry the past few weeks/months when it comes to touring indie bands. I haven’t written a live review since the Vera Devorah show at Reverb the day after Christmas.

And a glance at our local venues’ calendars shows slim pickings for the next few months. That said, it’s not just an Omaha thing. I spent some time last night looking at other regional show calendars and things are tough all over. 

RecordBar, a 300-capacity venue in Kansas City that counts Mammoth among its bookers is hosting School of Rock showcases all weekend, and is booking the same combination of tribute/cover bands and gloopy roots/funk and local acts through next month. They’re also getting the Unsane/Violenteer, Rural Alberta Advantage, Pedro the Lion and Zepparella/Bad Bad Men shows in the coming months that we’re getting but also have Kevin Morby, King Tuff and The Casket Lottery coming through.

The Bottleneck in Lawrence used to be a prime indie rock club and still hosts an occasional show. They’ve only got eight dates booked in February and the only upcoming indie show is The Lemon Twigs in mid-March (but they also have Kevin Morby in April). 

What about 7th St Entry in Minneapolis? Their website calendar combines 7th St. with Turf Club, Fine Line and Fitzgerald Theater. They’ve got Semisonic over the next few days, but their February is the same collection of cover/tribute acts and emo-night-type events. However, their February is a little better, with Samia, The Beths, Jerry Harrison/Adrian Belew and Viagra Boys on their calendar.

The point is, there’s not a lot of bands touring in January and February, and with temps below-zero this weekend who can blame them? Many of the few higher-end indie acts on tour through April have Omaha as a tour stop. There are, obviously, exceptions. 

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Alright, what about this weekend here in River City? 

Tonight at Slowdown Jr. local country howlers Lightning Stills opens for so-called “newgrass” band Arkansauce. $15, 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, tonight at The Sydney Jeremy Mercy & The Rapture Orphans headlines a show with Box Eats Miah and J.P. Omaha. $10, 8 p.m. 

Tomorrow night (Saturday), Ragged Company opens for Fox and Orion Walsh at The Slowdown.

And then Sunday night pop-punk band New Found Glory headlines on The Slowdown’s big stage. Leanna Firestone opens at 8 p.m. $38. 

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

So, tonight is the annual Memorial Park Concert, usually scheduled around the July 4 holiday. For reasons probably having to do with headliner Sheryl Crow’s schedule, the concert is tonight.

The park concert is a long tradition suffered through by folks who live in nearby neighborhoods. I don’t mind people dragging their lawn chairs along the streets, parking bumper-to-bumper, dropping their garbage along the way, etc., but I do mind people pissing in my yard, as was the case a couple years ago when I caught some kid taking a piss next to my house. “Excuse me. Do that somewhere else.”

This is where my anti-gun stance becomes slightly frayed.

Regardless, here we go again tonight. It should be a truly miserable evening with the heat index heading to around 105 degrees. Dave Mason of “We Just Disagree” fame opens at 7:15 p.m. Sheryl goes on at 8:45 and fireworks are at 10. If you’re going, please stay off my lawn.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) the country rock stylings of Lightning Stills plays at fabulous O’Leaver’s with McCarthy Trenching opening at 9 p.m. This, too, is free concert, but alas, no fireworks (probably).

Finally, Sunday night Atlanta-based four-piece Worlds Greatest Dad headlines at The Sydney in Benson The band’s last full-length, Get Well Soon, was released on Deep Rest Records before the pandemic. Also on the bill are Wichita’s Social Cinema (ex-Kill Vargas) and In Bloom. $10, 8 p.m.

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 © 2022 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

That Phoebe Bridgers show sounded pretty good… from my back yard a mile away. There are surprisingly few photos from last night’s show in social media, but what I saw looked fun. When is she going to stop forcing her band to wear those creepy skeleton costumes?

I’m out of town this weekend, so here’s a sneak peek at the best indie shows I see on the calendar while I’m away.

Tonight Los Angeles indie band Lo Moon plays at Reverb Lounge. These folks weren’t always indie — their debut album was released on Columbia Records, but their latest, A Modern Life (2022) was released on Thirty Tigers. I’d definitely classify this four-piece as a dream-pop act, their sound has that glitter, warm, mid-tempo underwater vibe. Duluth alt rockers Social Animals opens at 8 p.m. $15.

Tomorrow night (Friday) it’s Benson First Friday — you know what that means — art all along the Benson booze walk (info here). Of course The Sydney always celebrates BFF and this month is no exception. The three-band bill is headlined by Lightning Stills, with Ojai opening and the exceptional Minne Lussa in the center slot. 9 p.m., $10.

Back at The Sydney Saturday night, it’s the hard stuff with metal bands Stronghold, Living Conditions and Wretchgod. bring yer earplugs. $8, 9 p.m.

If you’re wondering what the barricades are for in Benson on Saturday, it’s time for the annual Benson Beer Fest. Looks like it’s only booze and no bands. Drink up!

BTW, The Band Camino show slated for The Admiral Saturday night has been moved to Bourbon Theatre in Lincoln. And the wait for the grand opening of The Admiral continues…

Sunday night, Reverb has rockers The Dylan Doyle Band. Opening is pop punk act Blondo, fronted by Alex Malnack. $10, 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, down the street at The Sydney, it’s a mixed bag of post- bands headlined by Lawrence slowcore act Flooding. Joining them are local heroes No Thanks and Cat Piss (who is just coming off a tour). The Sydney has provided no details on this show — neither price nor start time. I guess just show up and keep your fingers crossed!

If you’re looking for info on that Little Brazil album release show that was slated for June 4, it’s been moved to August 26.

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 © 2022 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Turns out someone from Gary Numan’s team got COVID, which is why Thursday’s show was postponed. In a message, Numan said he hopes to reschedule sometime toward the end of summer. Here’s hoping safe passage through illness.

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Tickets to the Outlandia and Maha music festivals both went on sale today at 10 a.m. If you want VIP tix to either event, you better buy them now.

Yesterday, @OutlandiaFest on Twitter replied to one of my tweets at @tim_mcmahan (come on by!) that “The ‘land adjacent’ was purchased by Falconwood and will now be home to the new, improved and vastly larger Falconwood. Maybe they need to rebrand to Falconwood Mega Park. Just wanted to clarify it most certainly is still Falconwood Park.”

The additional property is the Salvation Army Gene Eppley Camp, which Falconwood shared a border with on two sides. I’m still curious where the stage will be, and the parking. Organizer Marc Leibowitz (of 1% Productions) said in the OWH article that there would be thousands of parking spots available. I’ll try to swing by the park this weekend and see what I can see…

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As of this morning before I went to work, Petfest had announced six bands so far for their Aug. 13 festival in Benson:

Amulets
Cat Piss
Universe Contest
Ghost Foot
Mike Schlesinger
Problems

More to come. Amulets is an ambient/noise project by Portland’s Randall Taylor. Haunting. Petfest tickets go on sale Friday, April 2.

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Tonight at Reverb Lounge it’s Omaha indie band Lodgings. I’ve seen these folks a few times at O’Leaver’s (who, more than ever, appear to be out of the live music business. Come on, O’Leaver’s, book some shows). Joining Lodgings tonight is GLOW and southern-fried rockers Lightning Stills (Craig Fort and Co.). $8, 9 p.m.

Is the new normal 9 p.m. shows on weekends and 8 p.m. start times during the week (except, apparently, at The Sydney)? Well, it’s better than 10 p.m. start times.

That’s it. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Let me leave you with the just-released single by Nathan Ma, “She’s WIld” mixed by Young Guv. 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 © 2022 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Welp, we’re headed into Thanksgiving week.

Two shows of note:

Bauhaus tribute band Stigmata Martyr is playing at Reverb Lounge Wednesday night with Mere Shadows. This is a No Vax No Entry show, so bring your stuff. $10, 9 p.m.

Also Wednesday night Dave Goldberg a.k.a. Solid Goldberg, is spinning his personal vintage vinyl collect at Scriptown Brewing in the Blackstone District. Scriptown, for the first time, will be open until 1 a.m. Better be careful what you’re trying out here, Scriptown, it could become a regular thing…

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A few new surprise releases were announced last week.

Lightning Stills released a new single, “Pack of Johnnys.” It features Tom May on leads, and the rest of the boys are all there, Dan, Mike and Darren.

Uh Oh also released a new single last week, called “In a Crowded Room (in D).” This one isn’t in Bandcamp yet, so you’ll have to swing over to Spotify to check out out.

And that new live album from Desaparecidos that Denver Dalley mentioned this summer (here) finally has a release date. Live at Shea Stadium is due April 1 via Freeman Street and Shea Stadium Records. The album was recorded back in 2015 at Brooklyn DIY space Shea Stadium. Check out the first track below, “MariKKKopa” and order the vinyl here.

That’s it for now. Big show coming this weekend. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving.

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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.

I’ve been waiting all week to write about these releases because I thought we were coming up on another Bandcamp Friday, but it turns out that Bandcamp is skipping January and relaunching the promo in February. Why skip January? Who knows. Regardless, I can’t wait another month to write about these new tracks and releases, so…

First up is the new one by Hartford/Focht. The core of the band is the singing duo of Matt Focht and Crystal Hartford, but as Matt said in a super-long IM in Facebook, “Our band is basically backed up by Head of Femur and Ben Armstrong’s father on piano and organ. (We) also had special guests like the Mike Mogis and the Fink sisters.” Sort of an indie folk supergroup if you ask me.

The self-titled album was recorded and mixed in Omaha this past November at The Library and ARC by Adam Roberts, and mastered by Dan Dietrich at Wall to Wall in Chicago. In addition to originals by Focht, there’s renditions of songs by Lowell George, Rick Roberts, Laura Nyro, Larry Murray, Al Kooper and Bob Dylan (“I Shall Be Released”). The whole album has an early ’70s Laurel Canyon vibe, thanks in part to Hartford’s Joni-esque vocals and the overall arrangements.

Wherein I like the covers, the originals really shine, like “Chico Hot Springs,” “Standing in the Light” and “Capitol Sunset.” Check it out here on their Bandcamp page and buy a download. It’s also at the usual streaming services.

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It’s been awhile since we heard from Matt Whipkey. There have been trials. There have been tribulations. And coming out of all that is a new album due later this year.

“I wrote and recorded an entire new album throughout the course of this last year / quarantine. The tracks were completed via email with my good friends and collaborators Scott Gaeta and Ian Aeillo. When I thought it was finished it was screaming for something more.”

Here’s an early sneak peek – a track actually written back in 2016, long before the troubles. Best sounding Whipkey track I think I’ve heard. So yeah, Whipkey’s back.

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What do you get when you mix broken-bottle country with an Omaha punk superstar? You get Lightning Stills and Junkyard Dan on the new track, “Passed Out on the Bar.”

Lightning Stills is Craig Fort (actually a punk dude in in his own right), while Junkyard Dan is Dan Maxwell of Little Brazil and Leafblower fame. I think this is the first time I really heard DMax’s vocals in all their glory. Yeah, he’s sung on plenty of albums, but the mix and the contrast with Fort make his vox stand out like never before.

This one comes with a video that’s pretty weird, actually. Can’t wait to see these two on an Omaha stage.

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Finally, Shaun the Loud sent an email to me out of the blue and I’m glad he did. I hadn’t heard of him, though he released an album on the late Eric Medley’s Tremulant Records last year. Shaun the Loud is Shaun Sparks. And while 2019’s Galaxy Particles was a twangy singer/songwriter band-driven collection, Sparks has gone almost all digital on this new one, thanks, in part, to the pandemic.

The result, the self-released Cosmic Barbecue, sounds like a dance album sung by one of Glen Campbell’s sidemen. Sparks said his teenage kids along with a few contributors, including a handful of players, Christopher Steffen, who mixed the album, and Doug Van Sloun, “encouraged the electronic thing.”

“The original concept of the project was to make dance music but it took a life of its own from there, mainly because Idk how to make that and I’m normally into songwriting, so that’s why there’s more emphasis on beats, synth and bass lines rather than the more songwriter-y structure in the previous release,” he said.

Call it a singer/songwriter electronic dance music, if you will, and definitely worth checking out, but not on Bandcamp. Sparks’ albums are released on Distrokid, which includes every streaming service but Bandcamp.

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It’s the second Friday of the month and you know what that means — Blackstone Second Friday or #BSSF.

Well, I don’t know if #BSSF is a thing yet, but maybe we can get the ball rolling, especially tonight when The Little Gallery Blackstone hosts an opening reception featuring the works of artist Jeanne Pittack. Titled “Heimweh,” the show features Pittack’s black-and-white photography.

It’s the first new opening at the new Little Gallery space in Blackstone, located at 144. So. 39th St., which is inside the Blackstone Mansion just east of Night Owl. The show runs from 7 to 10 p.m. and admission is free. Masks are required, as is social distancing, and there’s a 5-person limit inside The Little Gallery. See you there.

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 © 2021 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

You know him from the heavy stuff, like Leafblower, New Lungs and Peace of Shit. Well, he’s taken off the black T-shirt and strapped on a fake Nudie suit. And somewhere along the way picked up a twang. Maybe it came with the name change.

I’m talking about Craig Fort and his new project (and persona) that he revealed yesterday. It goes by the name of Lightning Stills.

“Over the last couple months I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone and started a new character project,” Fort explained. The product is Lightning Stills Sings His Songs, a 5-song EP that should be out shortly. The first single, “It’s All a Warsh,” dropped on Bandcamp yesterday and features guitarist Mike Friedman, maybe the best journeyman guitarist in the city. Friedman has worked with Simon Joyner, Little Brazil and Lupines, to name just three.

Also in on the project are Chris Kelly (Back When/Bovinae) on bass and Darren Broderick on drums. All the tracks were recorded remotely, then mixed and mastered by studio engineer/genius Ian Aeillo. The music is pure Outlaw C&W with a shot and a beer.

“Waylon has been a hero of mine since my dad and grandpa introduced me to him at a young age,” Fort said.

Expect a full immersion into Lightning Stills on stage once this friggin’ pandemic is behind us. Fort has all the props to make any venue feel like Nashville. And he says he’s already halfway through recording his next single to be released after the EP, which will be a duet with Junkyard Dan (Danny Maxwell). Look, if you don’t already own a cowboy hat, might be time to get you one….

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Here’s a dire message to end on…

Stephen Malkmus cancelled his tour yesterday, including the April 10, 2021 show at The Waiting Room. One Percent Productions posted the following message from Malkmus’ management:

“While things seem to be moving in the right direction with vaccines, etc., it appears unlikely that tours will be able to resume safely by next Spring. Unfortunately, the shows scheduled for March and April are cancelled. Refunds will be available point of purchase. Rest assured that Stephen will be back on the road in 2022, hopefully with even newer music!”

Who knows for sure when other tours will be scheduled, but I was hoping some artists would be on the road toward the summer of 2021, and I’m still hopeful. God help us (and the live music industry) if we have to wait until 2022…

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily (if there’s news) 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.