by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Not a whole helluva lot going on this weekend, which (again) is OK considering Douglas County’s test-positive rate for COVID-19 is around 40% according to CovidActNow. I’m among the few who still hasn’t gotten it (as far as I know) and I really don’t want to. That said, I’ll be returning to the bars next week for Cursive…

Speaking of which, BrooklynVegan, the East Coast’s indie music website, did a nice review of the Cursive show at Irving Plaza in NYC earlier this week. From the review:

“Up next were Cursive, the only band whose lineup was unaffected by COVID, and you could tell that Tim especially was so grateful to be there. He talked about believing in humanity and being thankful for everyone being as responsible as possible during these weird times, and he and the rest of the band just seemed ready to put on one of the best shows of their lives. Cursive always bring it, but Wednesday night’s show felt like one for the record books. Tim was as animated and expressive as ever, the band’s string and horn-fueled post-hardcore was as weird and manic and intense as ever, and they were locked in from start to finish, teasing fan faves like ‘A Gentleman Caller’ and ‘Big Bang’ throughout the set before finally playing them near the end, and touching on a great variety of highlights from all throughout their career. In a month where people can’t stop talking about “emo nostalgia,” Cursive reminded everyone that they’re lifers.”

They are indeed. Mr. Kasher reportedly joined a COVID-crippled Appleseed Cast on drums for their last song that night. So talented. You’ll get a chance to see for yourself how talented Cursive is next Friday when they play at The Waiting Room with Lawrence legends Vitreous Humor and our very own Eric in Outerspace. I’ll be the one wearing the N95 mask.

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In other news, Omaha Performing Arts announced the worst kept secret ever yesterday morning that Live Nation will be the exclusive promoter at their new Steelhouse Omaha, the $104 million, 3,000-capacity live music venue slated to open in mid-2023 downtown by the Holland Center. Live Nation books radio-friendly pop and alt-rock acts as well as C&W, just a whole variety of musical styles except indie, which is what I happen to cover (though they do count Lucy Dacus among their fold).

The Steelhouse folks don’t mince words — their target age demo is 18-45, which is outside my range. I’m not sure why they’d publish that, considering Live Nation books plenty of acts that appeal to the 45+ age group, like Sammy Hagar and Reba McEntire. I still hold out hope that they’ll book at least a couple indie bands per year that are too big for our usual haunts.

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So, this weekend…

Top of the list has to be Light Speed Highway at fabulous O’Leaver’s Saturday night. I don’t know anything about this band, but based on this track (below) they’re an alt-rock band that borders on anthem-flavored power punk, which is a sound that would be right at home at The Club. This free show starts at 8 p.m. and includes “guests” which I assume means an opening act.

Other than that, Kris Lager Band is playing at Reverb Lounge Saturday night 8 p.m., $12.

The Slowdown is doing a screening of The Smile – Live Broadcast (which I thought was last week). This is Thom Yorke’s new band with Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner. 7 p.m. $20.

That’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. If you go out, mask-up. 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

Goodbye Red Sky…

There were two bits of news that came to my attention this weekend. The demise of the Red Sky Music Festival was the least important of the two.

Red Sky has been a failure as a festival from Day 1 (though you could argue that its individual concerts have generated some cash). By unshackling themselves from a festival concept, MECA can now be more flexible with how it books its stadium, focusing on touring mega concerts on the artists’ schedules rather than MECA’s.

If MECA ever was willing to speak publicly about Red Sky, I think it would admit that the board never fully embraced a festival concept sold to them by the suits at Live Nation, whose job it was to book the acts in some sort of thematic, coherent fashion rather than the hodge-podge throw-shit-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks who’s-free-this-weekend lazy-ass approach they ultimately took.

Make no mistake about it. MECA had the money and facilities to do this right. It simply lacked the vision. Imagine what the Maha team could do with Red Sky’s budget?

Anyway, with Red Sky behind them, MECA can now consider booking mega tours whenever they become available, because Lord knows that white elephant of a stadium is being woefully underutilized.

So what was the other news I picked up over the weekend? Well, you’ll just have to wait on that as I continue to get confirmation from one of the parties involved. Here’s a hint: It’s good news for people who like to get stinking drunk.

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