Foxygen plays tonight at The Waiting Room.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Bank of the West announced the line-up for their annual 4th of July concert in Memorial Park, which actually takes place June 26. Dinosaur acts Eddie Money and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are the featured artists, according to Kevin Coffey here at the Omaha World-Herald. Considering the nature of these concerts, BotW could do worse than Joan Jett, who is a legend on a few levels. Eddie Money will be background music as people find a place to drop their coolers (I actually saw Money play at the Music Hall 100 years ago…).

Again this year BotW is hosting an online contest to book a “local band” to open, but no actual local bands ever win it, so it’s a waste of time and a wasted opportunity for BotW, who could actually show support for local music. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. No one goes to this concert to listen to music; they’re there to get loaded or enjoy a free afternoon/evening of entertainment with their kids. And, of course, to see the fireworks.

That said, it would be somewhat awesome if we could mount an effort to get Plack Blague to open this show….

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Podcast CORRECTION — In yesterday’s podcast (below) I said tomorrow night’s Whirr show at O’Leaver’s costs $5. In fact the cover is $7. That’s what I get for not looking up the show info. Regardless, an evening at O’Leaver’s is priceless no matter the cover charge.

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Speaking of shows, Foxygen is headlining tonight at The Waiting Room. The band is on the road supporting their latest, the massive 24-track opus And Star Power, out on Jagjaguwar records. Opening the show is Alex Cameron (Who the heck is Alex Cameron? Find out here.) and our very own Oquoa. $15, 9 p.m.

Also this evening — or late afternoon — it’s First Thursday presented by Urban Outfitters and Hear Nebraska. The in-store at Urban’s Slowdown complex store features Better Friend and Super Ghost along with free pizza and beer. The show runs from 6 to 8 p.m. and is free (21+).

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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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Cheap Trick at the Bank of the West concert in 2011. Now that’s a band I wouldn’t mind seeing again in Memorial Park…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Though one of the most tepid line-ups ever for a Memorial Park concert, tonight’s Bank of the West concert may draw one of largest crowds. Blues Traveler, Sugar Ray, Uncle Kracker, Smash Mouth — not a single act here of interest, but these four bands have sold millions of records and define modern rock to the army of soccer moms and not-so-hip dads that populate greater Omaha. If it’s not rained out, expect the usual 50k+ mob.

When I lived on J.E. George Blvd., the annual slobfest was something to dread as that street was a main northern thoroughfare to the park. A constant parade of cooler-toting yahoos walked past our house beginning just after lunchtime. Snarled traffic made coming and going difficult. We were held hostage in our own home. We now live about three blocks west of J.E. George, and while fewer people junk up the streets, traffic is still a hassle. It’s all just part of the fun that goes with living near the park.

As for the music, I’ve always thought Blues Traveler was an abomination. The gargantuan John Popper was  lauded for his harmonica prowess, whereas I was amazed he could make an awful song that much worse with his grating atonal bleeps. I assume Mark McGrath is still in Sugar Ray. I think more people know him from Celebrity Apprentice or Wife Swap than his music. I get Smash Mouth and Spin Doctors mixed up.  And I admit I’ve never heard an Uncle Kracker song before, though according to Wiki its evolved from rap-rock to country-rock.

As I type this at home, they’re doing sound check in the park, and it sounds like Popper (Pooper?) and Co. are playing their shitty music in my basement.

So what’s really going on musicwise this weekend?

Well tonight at The Waiting Room it’s the reintroduction of Oquoa. The band has gone through a few line-up changes, and according to this Hear Nebraska story, tonight’s show will be the last for JJ Idt, who’s moving to Portland, whereas the band has added Patrick Newberry (Cursive) and Jim Schroeder (UUVVWWZ). They’ll be playing songs off their new 8-song album, check out a track below via Soundcloud. Opening is Son, Ambulance and the Luke Polipnick Trio. $7, 9 p.m.

Also tonight in Benson, the Sweatshop Gallery is hosting a six-band bill that includes Lincoln’s Life Is Cool and The Decatures. $5, 8 p.m. More info here.

Over at The Barley Street Tavern tonight, The Brigadiers and Goon Saloon are among the bands on a 5-band bill. $5, 8:30 p.m. More info here.

What’s with all these multi-band shows in Benson tonight? I don’t know but I refuse to acknowledge Benson Fourth Friday.

Meanwhile, over at fabulous O’Leaver’s, Shreveport band Ghost Foot headlines with instrumental act A Great Disturbance. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) we’re all headed down to The Slowdown for The Felice Brothers. Opening is Nashville singer/songwriter Robert Ellis. $15, 9 p.m.

That’s what I got. If I missed anything, 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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Pat Benatar at Memorial Park, June 28, 2013.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Above photo, taken last Friday from the far edge of stage right at Memorial Park, Pat Benatar but a blur. It could be anyone standing up there, but only one person has that voice, retained in all its guttural glory at age 60. What to say about the show beyond that she played all the hits, and her husband, Neil Giraldo, is one helluva guitar player. Yeah, I could have done without their between-song stories, many of which had no point or were cheesy crowd-fodder (The intro to “Hell Is For Children” was particularly dreadful).

The crowd was unusually rough for this sort of “funday in the park” entertainment. Lots of leather-skinned grifters with bad teeth, crazy-eyed women wearing over-sized, stained tank-tops with unwashed hair lying flat and greasy against their backs, flashing rolls of belly flesh or the awkward thumb-bruise on their thigh. One could write a very lengthy novel if one merely copied all the verbiage scrawled in permanent ink on the necks of their husbands. How did neck tattoos get so popular? When did we as a society decide that face tattoos are appropriate for anyone but carnies and inmates?

One stand-out moment: A young woman in pig tails and stoned-red eyes stumbling back and forth along the plastic snow fence like a real-life zombie, holding her left knee. She purposely tripped over our blanket (and my feet), saying “Sorry, my knee,” holding her lower leg as if it were an unattached, dirty, bruised prosthetic. The young couple in front of us looked genuinely disturbed and concerned, until they noticed she wasn’t looking for help, but rather making rounds through the crowd.

I know, I know, no one forced me to go to a free concert in the park. What did I expect? Still, the event is literally steps from my front door. And besides, where else am I going to get a chance to see bands like Benatar or Huey Lewis last year or Cheap Trick the year before? And for free? I could have gone to Billy Idol Friday night at Stir Cove (where all three above-mentioned performers have played in past years), but why pay $50 for tickets when he’ll eventually wind up at Memorial Park?

Ah, remember when the city put on a “youth concert” in the park a few years ago? Past performers included Bright Eyes, Feist and Gomez. For whatever reason, that concert went away, probably due to loss of a major sponsor (seems like a cellphone company was behind them). It would be nice to have it back, however that concert could be viewed as competition for Maha, who struggles as it is to book a festival-sized indie show (it’s just around the corner, btw). But I don’t see the free “youth concert in the park” returning anytime soon, certainly not with a new shiny mayor dead-set on cutting taxes…

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Tonight at The Waiting Room, acclained singer/songwriter Jame McMurtry plays with The Bottle Rockets. $20, early 8 p.m. start time.

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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.

Cheap Trick at Memorial Park, July 1, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Yeah, I know. Cheap Trick ain’t exactly “indie.” And looking over my record collection I realize I own all of zero Cheap Trick records. But as someone pointed out, why would I need to buy any since all their best songs are played in regular rotation on Z-92? If I need a Cheap Trick fix (or Zeppelin fix or AC/DC fix) I always can turn it to the Z for an hour for a helping of “The Flame” or “Surrender” or “The Dream Police.”

That said, Cheap Trick was always one of the cooler radio bands of the ’70s. Certainly cooler than REO Speedwagon or Journey. The chance to see them for free Friday night — and just a few blocks from my house — well, I’d be stupid to turn that down.

The impact of moving the Memorial Park concert stage from the “west bowl” — where it’s always been held as long as I can remember — to the north side of the park was immediate. In year’s past, wife-beater-pulling-a-cooler traffic began as early as noon on show day. Not this year. In fact, if someone had been searching for a parking space, there were plenty down by my house — unheard of in years past.

But the best part of the shift was seen at the park itself. With the stage now located on the much larger south end of the park there was ample room for the toothless to roam and sit and watch the show without having to trample someone’s precious bedspread compound. Paths were cardoned off with plastic snow fence, allowing anyone to walk unimpeded all the way to the soundboard only a few yards from the stage — another impossibility in past years. Everything just seemed bigger and better and… cleaner. Bravo to Bank of the West and whoever else was responsible for this year’s changes.

I didn’t get to the park until 8:30, well clear of .38 Special. Shortly after arrival at the standing area near the soundboard, Cheap Trick came prancing on stage and ripped into a set of every one of their radio oldies that I know. Intermixed was new material which fit in well with the old stuff — a testimony to the band’s continued creative output. Seeing as we will never hear this new stuff on the Z, I may actually have to run out and buy a copy if I want to hear any of it again.

Unlike some of the legacy bands playing at this year’s Red Sky Festival (Journey, 10,000 Maniacs), Cheap Trick has maintained its core structure of vocalist Robin Zander and guitarist/madman Rick Nielsen. Zander, wearing his usual Dream Police costume, sounded fantastic for a guy pushing 60. In fact, he managed to keep his voice pushing those high notes all the way through an encore of “Gonna Raise Hell,” a song that would tax even the youngest karaoke yodeler. All-in-all, a fantastic show by a band that helped define arena rock in the ’70s.

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The view from the fixed stage at Stinson Park in Aksarben Village. How many people will it hold?

So the question is, how much will it hold?

I’m talking about Stinson Park in Aksarben Village where it was announced a week or so ago that this year’s Playing With Fire concert will be held July 16. The concert, featuring Sharon Jones and the Dapkings, was moved due to the flooding of Lewis and Clark Landing. Jeff Davis, PWF’s organizer, would like to see attendance exceed 7,000, which could very well happen. But will they all fit comfortably in Stinson?

The Stinson Park fixed stage.

Having never really explored the area before, after having a lunch at one of the eateries in Aksarben Village Saturday, I walked over to Stinson Park, which is just west of the main businesses and along the south side of Mercy Road to get a glimpse of the stage. It looks like a prime set-up, especially if Davis can get them to close Mercy Road and use that area for concessions and beer tents. How the additional  lights and PA equipment will fit on the hill should be interesting.

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Tonight, of course, is The Black Keys at Stir Concert Cove. How will the Stir folks manage the parking problems that have arisen due to flooding? I’m told the bus/shuttles didn’t work so well at Mumford & Sons a few weeks ago. Hopefully they’ve figured it all out. Good luck to those of you who got tickets to this long sold out show. Opening is Cage the Elephant. Show starts at 8.

As for the rest of us, there’s always All Young Girls Are Machine Guns playing at O’Leaver’s tonight with 19 Action News and Moscow Mule. $5, 9:30 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Kansas at Memorial Park, July 3, 2010.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The above photo isn’t of the main stage at Friday night’s Grampa-rock-fest at Memorial Park. In fact it’s a photo of the south side of the park — the overflow crowd that couldn’t find a place to stand in the park’s west bowl where the main stage was actually located. The organizers wisely set up a large, high-def screen that projected live footage of the bands playing just over the ridge, and even that area filled to capacity. The published crowd estimate was 80,000. How someone came up with that number is a mystery. I will say that the crowd was larger than the estimated 50k supposedly on hand a few years ago for 311 (and about 79k more than were there for last year’s Gomez concert). Omaha does love its arena rock, even if the bands are 40 years old.

We walked to the park at 6 to see Kansas with the intention of turning around after their set, walking back home for dinner than returning for the fireworks. We ended up seeing most of Styx and more than enough of Foreigner’s set. Of the three bands, Kansas sounded the most authentic, pulling out songs that I haven’t heard in 20 years. Other than “Carry On Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind,” Kansas isn’t heard much on your favorite classic rock station these days. Styx got the best crowd response because Styx had the best songs. Without Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw has become the band’s ad hoc frontman, for better or worse (mostly worse). Looking like a bleach-blond, bearded trailer park woman, Shaw has managed to maintain a pretty good voice over the years. But despite Styx having one of the larger catalogs of hits from the ’70s, the crowd was subjected to at least one Damn Yankees song, I’m assuming on Shaw’s insistence — proof that he could make it without Styx, even though that was the band he was fronting that evening. The guy filling in for DeYoung wasn’t awful — he certainly could win a karaoke contest — but songs like “Lady” underscored his, um, lacking abilities. Foreigner got the headliner slot, and was the weakest band of the evening. Without Lou Gramm the band has become a glorified tribute act, and a weak one at that. Hits like “I Want to Know What Love Is (the dangling participle song)” and “Hot Blooded” sounded limp and old. The whole evening was very casino, and so was the crowd. It was a white trash fantasy camp, where shoes were most-definitely optional despite a sidewalk littered with broken glass, snot and other bodily fluids. The crowd in front of the stage seemed genuinely focused on their arena heroes, and to be fair, even a large portion of the rest of the audience had their head bobbing to “Sweet Madame Blue.” As the sun began to set, out came the glowsticks-on-a-string, like carny jewelry lighting up an army of unwashed, tattooed necks. The next morning, small piles of the milky-plastic cartridges gathered along the curbs like empty drug vials. Their glow was fleeting, and you could say the same thing about these bands, except in Omaha where decades after their fame has passed, they continue to burn brighter than any other star, 80,000 fans strong. Either that, or everyone was there for the fireworks.

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Well the big show that everyone was talking about last week is now official. One Percent this morning announced the “Concert for Equality” July 31 in Downtown Benson. And it’s a Saddle Creek Records all-star line-up featuring a reunited Desaparecidos, Cursive, Bright Eyes, and a reunited Lullaby For The Working Class, and that’s just for starters. Don’t be surprised if a gaggle of Conor Oberst’s pals also show up. All proceeds go to the ACLU Nebraska’s effort to repeal Fremont’s “Anti-Immigrant” Law. Tickets for the Concert for Equality will be available July 10 — this Saturday — at onepercentproductions.com. General admission is $20. There also is a limited number of Deluxe Tickets available for $50 that includes access to an additional show inside The Waiting Room the night of the event.

I’m not sure how something like this sells out, but if it can, it will.

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Speaking of big shows… there’s one going on tonight at The Slowdown when The Hold Steady take the stage with The Whigs. Their performance the April before last was rather flat (see review), but I’ve been told by a number of their local mega-fans that it was just an off night. Too bad I won’t find out if that’s true (as I’m not on the list this time!). $18, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers are playing at The Waiting Room with Brad Hoshaw and Vago. $15, 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 © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.