by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The biggest news over the weekend is that the Maha Music Festival is alive and well and could be bigger than ever next year. 

Maha will return as a one-day event Aug. 2, 2025, at its new Omaha RiverFront location. In fact, I’m told by two reliable sources that the headliners already have been booked. Among the big changes for 2025: One Percent Productions once again is involved in the festival’s booking. 

No doubt the festival wouldn’t be possible unless Maha (a 501(c)(3) organization), was able to line up the necessary sponsors. Will that include Union Pacific? I was told Medical Solutions, who was the main sponsor in 2023, withdrew its sponsorship, which was part of the reason last year’s festival was cancelled. 

As of 10 a.m., I’ve yet to have any of this confirmed by a member of the Maha Festival Board, despite reaching out to two board members over the weekend, so take this information for what it’s worth. 

One other bit of news: The Outlandia Festival, held at Falconwood Park in Bellevue, will not return in 2025. I’m not sure the specifics, though low numbers at last year’s festival likely played a role in the decision.

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The Speed! Lightning 500 album release show Friday night at Reverb Lounge was a crowded rock ’n’ roll gathering of Speed! Nebraska Records fans, both old and new. How do I know this? Because no other label (local or otherwise) has offered such a wide variety of merch over the years, and still does. 

Right when you walked into Reverb, you were hit by a wall of Speed! Nebraska-branded merch, ranging from T-shirts to hats to jackets, not to mention a wide selection of the label’s music released in all formats. Folks in the crowd proudly wore their Speed! Nebraska gear, including me in my Monroes T-shirt. 

You see, Speed! Nebraska is more than a record label; it’s a local punk-rock co-op whose members are treated like family by the label’s major domo, Gary Dean Davis. Every band testified from stage how proud they are to be part of a record label that’s been so core to the Nebraska music scene since the late ‘90s. 

Some highlights from Friday’s show (sorry, UN-T.I.L., I missed your set this time):

The synth-and-drums duo of Pagan Athletes continues to hone its sound and has come a long way since the first time I saw them perform five years ago at Almost Music’s farewell in-store. Vocalist/keyboardist Griffin Wolf and brother, drummer Nathan Wolf, have evolved their primitive digital noise-rock into a hard, rhythmic, punk wall of sound that must be seen and heard to be believed. Check them out this Saturday at O’Leaver’s.

The Broke Loose, a four-piece fronted by guitarists/vocalists Glenn Antonucci and Matt Evans, with Corey Randone on bass and Doug Kabourek on drums, plays indie power-pop with a throwback flair that reminded me of something you’d hear on a Titan Records compilation. Antonucci has a distinctively nasal vocal style sort of like Too Much Joy’s Tim Quirk that compliments the jangle-pop goodness. Standout moment was a solid take on their song “Just Like I Told You,” that was an evening highlight.

I’ve seen Wagon Blasters at least a hundred times (OK, maybe more like a dozen times) and Friday night’s set was one of their best performances. Proud frontman Gary Dean Davis, decked out in trademark necktie and Speed! Nebraska trucker cap (which you, too, can buy at their Bandcamp site), was at his high-flying best, yelling above guitarist Will Thornton’s tractor-punk power chords. Imagine how these folks would be received at something like Gonerfest or Coachella… or Maha!

Finally, Bad Bad Men closed out the night with another blistering set of psych-fueld punk rock. The power triad of Wolf, Siebken and Hug are Nebraska music scene elder statesmen who have created a natural extension of the heavy sound they’ve created all their lives, fronted by Wolf’s snarling vocals and ripping guitar riffs. 

All-in-all, it was a very satisfying rock show performed in front of a crowd of adoring fans featuring just a few of the label’s newest talent. There could have been six more bands on stage who contributed to the new Speed! Lightning 500 compilation (which you can buy at Homer’s, Grapefruit, Recycled Sounds or online at Bandcamp). Without a doubt, the label’s future is as bright at lightning.

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Only one show on the radar for this weekend: 

Omaha noise-rock four-piece Violenteer is headlining tonight at The Sydney in Benson. They top off a four-band bill that includes Kansas City noise/art-rock band Jorge Arana Trio, Lawrence Kansas punkers Jackoffs and Omaha art-noise duo Pagan Athletes. 8:30, $10. It’s gonna be a long night. 

And that about does it for shows. No touring indie shows. Nineties rockers Primus and Coheed and Cambria are playing at The Astro Sunday. Who remembers “Jerry was a Race Car Driver”? Great song. I bought Primus’ Sailing the Sea of Cheese CD in ’91 on that strength of that song. It was an era when buying albums was a gamble, and I certainly lost on that bet. $55, 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, Benson Days is going on this weekend — it’s the usual parade Saturday morning, pancake feed and street vendors. I don’t see anything about live music. More info here. 

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great, hot 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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Violin-playing singer-songwriting whistler Andrew Bird is headlining tonight at The Astro in La Vista. He’s one of those guys who has always flown under the radar for me, despite being a major force in indie music for well over a decade, starting out on Rykodisc and Grimsey Records before moving on to Mom+Pop, Fat Possum, and finally Loma Vista for the last few LPs. His most recent, Sunday Morning Put-On, is a collection of jazz covers. It’s interesting to see he’s playing at such a large venue, but I guess Bird graduated to the whole Fleet Foxes/Decemberist/Feist league of indie year’s ago. 

This is a split-headliner show with country/bluegrass act Nickel Creek (Nonesuch). Singer/songwriter Haley Heynderickx opens at 6:30. Tickets range from $50 to $100.

That’s it for national touring indie-esque acts this weekend. 

Tonight (Friday), Mitch Gettman opens for Charlie Ames’ band Cable Network at Slowdown Jr. Always interesting to see what Mitch has been up to, though I know he’s been working on a follow-up to last year’s Tilde. Omaha alt rockers Dear Neighbor opens at 8 p.m. $10.

Tomorrow is the second Saturday of the month which means Blackstone Second Saturday (It just doesn’t roll off the tongue like Benson First Friday). The day’s highlight is at Scriptown Brewing Company. They’re calling it “Summer Smash Vol. II,” and includes a punk rock flea market, tie-dye station and culminates in live performances by tractor-punk mavericks Wagon Blasters and C&W cowboys Lightning Stills. It’s free, and the music starts at 3 p.m. More info here. 

Later Saturday night it’s back to Slowdown Jr. for another evening of up-and-coming locals that includes the arcane synth-and-drum noise-punk of Pagan Athletes. Indie stalwarts Bad Self Portraits headlines, while psych rock newcomers Cowgirl Eastern opens this show at 8 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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s night one of the Ritual Device reunion tour.

Tim Moss and company (read all about them here) are kicking things off tonight at Reverb Lounge. Tonight’s openers are Pagan Athletes (the Wolf brothers) and noise-punk band Nowhere. 

Tomorrow night (Friday), Ritual Device returns to Reverb with Bad Bad Men (the power trio of Omaha legends Chris Siebken on drums, RD’s Jerry Hug on bass and frontman/guitarist John Wolf) and Filter Kings’ frontman Gerald Lee Jr. 

Both Reverb shows have a $20 cover and 8 p.m. start time. These may sell out, so get your tickets early via the One Percent Productions website.

Ritual Devices closes out its reunion tour at Lincoln Calling Saturday night. More on Lincoln Calling in tomorrow’s blog.

I’ll be there tonight to hopefully catch and take home a pig ear! See you there…

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Bad Bad Men celebrate their vinyl album release tonight at Reverb Lounge.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

No touring indie shows this weekend, but a couple local album release gigs worth your attention: 

Tonight at Reverb Lounge it’s the album release show for the debut album from Bad Bad Men. The power trio consists of Omaha rock ’n’ roll legends Chris Siebken on drums, Jerry Hug on bass and frontman/guitarist John Wolf.  The album, Messed Up, is a 10-song scorcher that recalls the gritty, bluesy punk style Wolf brought to classic ‘90s-‘00s act Bad Luck Charm, sung with his distinctive snarl/growl that will have you breaking bottles and starting fights. Siebken and Hug are so tight they sound like they’re attached at the hip, while Wolf’s guitar flies high above it all. 

Recorded over two days at ARC Studios with Adam Roberts, it’s the first new release on Speed! Nebraska Records in recent memory. As a result, the album release show is a pseudo showcase, as label executive Gary Dean Davis’ own band, Wagon Blasters, will kick off the evening. Also on this crowded bill are Omaha garage rock titans Those Far Out Arrows and Pagan Athletes — the prog-noise duo of Griffin and Nathan Wolf, who are, yesss, The Sons of John Wolf (now there’s a band name for you)(Waitaminit, does that make Bad Bad Men “dad rock”?). 

You get all four bands for a mere $12. I expect this show to sell out, so you may want to buy your tickets in advance. You will also want to buy the limited-edition vinyl, which will be on hand at the show but is also available for order online. The fun starts at 8 p.m. Need more info? Check out MarQ Manner’s interview with Bad Bad Men at The Reader website. 

Then tomorrow night (Saturday) it’s the vinyl release show for R.A.F.’s No Salvation album, which was released this past July. The punk band’s line-up is Paul Moerke, Tim Cox, Dereck Higgins, Dan Stewart and Kelley RAF. At least one of the band’s members is traveling in for this special one-off gig. Also on the bill are punk band Cordial Spew and “2 special guests,” according to the flyer. $15, 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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There’s a few “news” items to pass along, but they will have to wait until Monday because… it’s the weekend!

And once again, there are no national-touring indie shows on Omaha’s weekend calendar. Such is life. We’re a lonely species, we indie music lovers. Hey, we’ll always have the past two decades, right?

Tonight at art space Project Project, 1818 Vinton St., Las Cruxes headlines a show as part of the Vinton St. “Second Friday” series (Do they call it #VSF?). What version of Las Cruxes will perform tonight – the big band or the power trio? Find out. Also on the bill are Stolen Wolves and Grief Police, two bands I’m unfamiliar with. 7 p.m., $5 donations accepted. 

That’s about it for Friday.

Tomorrow (Saturday) singer/songwriter Stathi headlines a gig at Pageturners Lounge with the bar’s chief capo Philip Schaffart. 8 p.m. and no cover.

Meanwhile, back in Benson, the prog power-duo of Griffin and Nathan Wolf —also known as Pagan Athletes — celebrates the release of their new album, Landlocked, at Reverb Lounge. I’ve listened to a few tracks and it’s an edgy, drums-and-synth-powered, throbbing, noise-rock head trip. Providing support is the also-synth-powered Jeff in Leather and Omaha rockers Garst. $10, 9 p.m. 

Earlier in the day, Reverb is hosting the Omaha Girls Rock Headliner Showcase, where this year’s batch of students shows off their talent. These shows are always jam-packed… with parents. Still, a lot of fun and it’s free. 3 p.m. 

Also Saturday, punk legends The Queers headline this year’s Punk Rock BBQ at The Waiting Room. This is an afternoon-to-evening, 10-band event that also includes Wyoming’s Teenage Bottlerocket and Minneapolis band Tightwire. See the full line-up and other particulars here. Starts at 4 p.m.  $35.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a super-duper 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

Can’t tell you the last time The Machete Archive played in Omaha, but it was years ago.  I was told band members had moved away and returned to Nebraska, which had something to do with this reunion show Friday night at The Sydney in Benson. The last time I did see them play, their sound was thick, fuzzy and furious. Friday night’s version of the Lincoln trio sounded tighter, leaner and more aggressive; a cleaner, more refined prog sound that boiled with intensity as it raced through a set of stutter-rhythmed (don’t ask me what that time signature was) instrumental art rock. Saber Blazek doesn’t kick as high as he used to but you can tell there’s plenty of power behind those squat thrusts. 

The evening began with a set by Pagan Athletes, the drum/keyboard duo of Nathan and Griffin Wolf. Nathan’s stick work has never sounded better or more technically precise, while Griffin’s keyboard/organ tones were as haunting and weird as ever. I noticed a few more yell vocals thrown in here and there, a welcome addition. The act’s charm comes from being a duo – adding a bass or guitar would only clutter a unique sound that is prog-punk at its heart but has an improvisational feel, even though we all know every note, every sound is intricately calculated.

Sidenote: I walked by The Waiting Room at around 9:30 and Nathan Ma’s set already was in full swing, so I kept on walking, having no interest in seeing Militarie Guns. What I heard from the sidewalk across the street (must have been “Blue Bird”) sounded great.

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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

As far as I can tell, tonight’s Scary Synthmas show at fabulous O’Leaver’s is still happening despite forecasts of windchills of -22 at showtime. Believe me, no matter the outdoor temperature, it’ll be red hot in The Club. 

The five-band bill is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. with sets by synth-powered acts Specter Poetics, Jeff in Leather, Pagan Athletes, Divider, and finally, Digital Leather. Much like the Reverb show last week, this show could “sell out.” Unfortunately, they’re only taking the $10 entry fee at the door (no ticket sales), so go early or risk getting shut out as I did at last week’s Filter Kings show. You have been warned.

Interestingly, Jack McLaughlin, a.k.a. Specter Poetics, is also playing a set tonight at The B. Bar, 4330 Leavenworth (next to Barrett’s). DJ Tyrone Storm (a.k.a., the legendary Roger Lewis) is also performing. 8 p.m., no cover price listed. 

And then it’s Christmas. An early head’s up about Monday’s Universe Contest show at Reverb. They’re actually selling tickets to this one, which, again, will very likely sell out. More on Monday. Have a great weekend and a Merry Christmas. 

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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

I tell people that even if they have just an inking of an urge to go to a rock show they should go because you never know when the next chance will come around. That’s never been more true than right now, as once again, there are no touring indie rock shows happening in Omaha this weekend.

But, there are a couple local shows to consider…

Glow in the Dark is opening tonight at Reverb Lounge for a couple bands I’ve never heard before. GitD alone is worth the $8 cover charge. They go on at 8.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) local indie band Bad Self Portraits has an EP release show at Slowdown Jr. Omaha prog duo Pagan Athletes is on the bill along with Estrogen Projection. $12, 8 p.m.

That’s it. Well, at least we had Petfest last weekend, right? And Outlandia? Like I said – when a good show comes your way, go! You never know when the next one will happen…

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.

weekend.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Yes, I know this is old news, but there are still one or two people in the world who may not have heard it: On July 1, Ground Floor Guitar in the Blackstone District was robbed at gunpoint. Details of the incident are beyond harrowing. The thieves got away with cash and more than $20,000 in musical instruments.

John Svatos, who runs the shop, is an icon of the local indie music scene whose bands include Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship and Healer. I can’t wrap my mind around why someone would rob a guitar shop, of all places. At least no one was hurt, though there will be scars we can’t see, the kind caused by having a gun shoved in your face.

Phil Schaffart, another member of the Omaha indie music family, set up a GoFundMe to help Svatos while the shop remains temporarily closed. You can donate here.

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I fell down a rabbit hole last night looking at different college music charts and came across the NACC — the North American College & Community Radio chart, based on weekly airplay from college and non-commercial radio stations in North America, or so the site tells me.

Back in the old days before social media, there used to be the College Music Journal and the CMJ Charts. Having your album make it onto the CMJ used to be a big deal. And then one day, CMJ disappeared (BTW, the once important New York City-based CMJ Music Festival still exists, sort of). Is NACC taking CMJ‘s place? No idea, though their site says they’ve been around for five years, and their chart looks… interesting. Most of what I expect to see is there, with Wilco taking the top spot. But where’s Big Thief? And what about Beach House? So yeah, I’m kind of scratching my head.

Right behind Wilco on the chart is a band called Cola, and their album Deep in View. Turns out Cola consists of former members of the band Ought (Ought broke up sometime ins 2021). Cola’s album was released by Fire Talk Records, but looks to be disto-ed by Rough Trade.

And lo and behold, Cola is playing at The Slowdown July 18.

What got me falling down this rabbit hole was a post by Little Brazil that pointed out that their new album, Just Leave, was No. 187 on the College Radio Charts 1000 (it was No. 332 this past week). I have never heard of College Radio Charts and there’s very little info online about the organization. Needless to say, their top 30 is different than NACC’s top 30. Still, congrats to Little Brazil!

The big question: Are college radio charts relevant in the steaming era?

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Tonight at Reverb Lounge, the dynamic duo of Pagan Athletes headlines a show that includes a couple bands I’m not familiar with: Captain Howdy and Thee Bots. $7, 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 © 2022 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.