by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The June cover, June 1993

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. I’ve been on the side of a mountain on the outskirts of Breckenridge, Colorado, since last Sunday. Without WIFI, there was no way to update the blog. But really, when you’re on vacation, aren’t you supposed to set aside such menial tasks and try to reconnect with what’s important in life? Or at least drink as much as possible?

While gone, it was reported that Larry Boehmer, the man who turned The Zoo Bar in Lincoln into a national blues destination, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 65. There’s no denying the role Larry played in

Behind Bars, pg. 1, The Note, June 1993

Lincoln’s and Nebraska’s music scene — as well as the national blues scene — for decades.

Click on the three thumbnail images on the left side of the page (and then click on the images two or three more times to magnify the scans) to read a cover story about Larry and the history of The Zoo Bar written for The Note waaay back in June 1993 to mark the 20th anniversary of the bar. Read more memories of Larry here at hearnebraska.org and the obit in the Lincoln Journal Star. He will be missed.

Behind Bars, pg. 2, The Note, June 1993

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Also while I was gone, I got an email from Phil Schaffart saying that Pageturners, the new bar he’s launching with Conor Oberst, will open its doors for the first time at 4 p.m. today, Friday, Sept. 7. Pageturners the bar is located where Pageturners the bookstore used to be, just west of 50th Street on Dodge (right next to Goldberg’s). Expect a crush mob, paparazzi and plenty of happy drunks. Will Conor and Phil (and Roger) be standing next to the taps slinging drinks? Will someone pull out a guitar and belt out a few bars of “How Dry I Am” or “If Winter Ends”? As that song goes, “And so I drink to stay warm / And to kill selected memories…” Don’t we all? Now we all have a new place to do it…

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In this week’s column, a look at how Big Red mania engulfs everything in its path, and how we still don’t know what happened to UNO’s football team, or why it went down like it did. You can read it in this week’s issue of The Reader, or online right here.

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Let’s get  into what’s happening tonight and this weekend. Looks like I got back in town just in time…

It’s another “First Friday” in Benson. Look for art stuff happening along Maple Street throughout the evening. For details, go here.

While your stumbling around Benson gawking at all the art, drop in at The Sydney for Lightning Bug and Conchance. $5, 10 p.m.

Another hot ticket tonight is Toxie at The Brothers Lounge. Toxie (Goner Records) is a Memphis four piece with two guys and two girls playing endearing garage indie.. Check it out for yourself. Also on the bill are The Lupines and Solid Goldberg. $5, 9 p.m.

It’s back to Benson tomorrow night (Saturday) for a show I’ve been looking forward to for a few months. I’m not talking about Jake’s “Because We Can” block party, which is happening outside at 62nd and Military and features Satchel Grande, Noah’s Ark Was A Spaceship, Rock, Paper, Dynamite, Dim Light and Millions of Boys starting at 7 p.m. No, I’m talking about Twin Shadow at The Waiting Room.

Twin Shadow is Dominican-born George Lewis Jr. whose album Confess (4AD) is a dizzying trip back to ’80s electro-pop with a sound that recalls everything from General Public to Fine Young Cannibals to New Order to Peter Gabriel. For what it’s worth, Pitchfork gave it an 8.2 rating. It’s also one of my favorite albums so far this year for the sheer fun of it. Twin Shadow is one guy, so I have no idea what he’ll bring to the stage. For a gig last month in Seattle, Twin Shadow performed as a three-piece. Tickets are $12 today, $14 tomorrow. Opening is Sub Pop synth band Niki and The Dove. Starts at 9.

Twin Shadow, Five Seconds (4AD, 2012)

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/51888563″ iframe=”true” /]

If all that ’80s synth pop just ain’t your thing, check out the return of Peace of Shit to fabulous O’Leaver’s Saturday night with Killer Blow (Genie Molkentine on drums and vocals, Todd VonStup on guitar) and Mosquito Bandito. $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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There was buzz at Saturday night’s Digital Leather/Agent Orange show about what’s going on at Pageturners Lounge, the new bar owned and operated by Conor Oberst and Phil Schaffart located right next to Goldberg’s on 50th and Dodge. Scuttlebutt is that they’ve been hiring staff and are preparing to open very soon. Schaffart confirmed both rumors yesterday, saying they’re hoping for an early-mid September opening, and have indeed done some hiring.

I took the opportunity to try to pin Schaffart down on what style of bar Pageturners will be. Will the menu focus on hoity-toity craft cocktails? Nope. OK, well will you be trying to emulate the style (and success) of Benson’s Krug Park with a million beers on tap? Nope again. More details could be forthcoming when Schaffart and Oberst get back from the Desaparecidos tour, which starts Saturday in Seattle. Until then, click on over to the Pageturners Lounge Facebook page and give it a “like.”

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In the column this week: What do Bob Kerrey and Herman Cain have in common? Both played a role in destroying some very precious teenage food memories. Read about it in this week’s issue of The Reader, or online right here.

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Everyone’s favorite troubadour/singer-songwriter/good guy Jake Bellows (ex-Omahan, ex-Neva Dinova) takes the stage at O’Leaver’s tonight with Sam Martin (Capgun Coup) and Reagan Roeder. Plus, PBR & Grainbelt bottles for a $1. Get messed up and sing along! $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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

According to our friends at the Omaha World-Herald, Phil “Con Dios” Schaffart and Conor Oberst got the OK from the Omaha City Council yesterday afternoon for the liquor license for Pageturners, their proposed bar at 5004 Dodge St., but with a couple weird provisions. Among them: They can’t sell single-servings of off-sale drinks, which I guess means I won’t be able to go there to pick up my nightly 40 of King Cobra. The story also quotes Super Attorney of the Stars Sean Kelley saying that there would be no “loud live music,” and that the room’s capacity will only be 50. Fifty? That’s a tiny friggin’ bar. To put it in perspective, I think Conor traveled with more than 50 musicians during his White Tuxedo Tour of 2002. Just glancing through the front window, there’s got to be more room in there than that.

Dundee Theatre

Speaking of new and improved Dundee establishments, check out my column in this week’s issue of The Reader (online here) with details about the top-to-bottom renovation of the Dundee Theatre, including returning the theater’s original live stage, last used during the vaudeville era. That’s right, The Dundee Theatre will host live stage performances in addition to movie screenings. If you’re like me and have been going to flicks at the Dundee for the past 30-odd years, news of its renovation is a big deal. Read about it here, and congrats to Denny Moran and wife Janet for making it happen.

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Looks like this year’s free Memorial Park concert June 29 will feature the King of Wonder Bread rock, Huey Lewis & The News — big step down from last year’s Cheap Trick show. Ah well, at least all the old folks in the neighborhood will be thrilled.

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Night Two of Big Al’s Free Music Fest features Gerald Lee, Jr. (Filter Kings), John Klemmensen and the Party and two bands I’ve never heard of. Like the name says, it’s free and starts at 9 at The Hideout, 320 So. 72 St. More info here.

Also tonight, Des Moines band Bright Giant plays at Slowdown Jr. with Lightning Bug. $7, 9 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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I feel an obligation to explain the cryptic message at the end of yesterday’s blog. The message: “One more thing: Omaha peeps keep a close eye on the various and sundry social media sites late today and into the early evening. More than that, I cannot say…”

A few days ago I received an email notifying me of a secret show that was to take place at O’Leaver’s last night. The catch: If too many people find out before-hand, the band will cancel the gig, so don’t tell anyone until the night of the performance. Then yesterday at around 6, I got a text that said the show was off. Too many people had heard about it, so the band canceled.

I can’t tell you who the band is because doing so could jeopardize other future shows by this unsaid band. Of course, most people who live in Omaha and read this blog regularly know exactly who I’m talking about, and understand why this band lives under a paranoid veil of secrecy. Or maybe they don’t. I certainly don’t. What is the point of telling people that you’re doing a secret show, and then canceling the show because too many people know about it? And how many, exactly, is “too many people”? And how do you figure out that people are talking? Was a secret poll conducted of people huddled around Smoke Genies throughout the Dundee/Benson bar district?

“The numbers are in, boss. Thirty people confirmed knowledge of the show, with a high concentration located around Jake’s.”

“Fuck it, the show’s off. They knew the rules. I will not be defied.”

The whole sitch was the cause of much mirth at O’Leaver’s last night, where we came up with a new name for the band which combines the first eight letters of the band’s name followed by the word “pussies.” You do the math. I suggested that all this secrecy could hamper the band’s upcoming tour of national secret shows.

“Guys, I just cancelled Chicago. Way too much chitter-chat. And Minneapolis is in jeopardy. When I say ‘No talking,’ I mean no talking. They better learn: I WILL CANCEL EVERY SECRET SHOW ON THIS TOUR IF THEY KEEP IT UP. Now someone go text that…”

It sounds like I was one of the few people that got the 6 p.m. text saying that the show was canceled. I talked to a number of people in the large crowd at O’Leaver’s last night that didn’t find out until after they arrived. Well, at least they were treated to a fine set by McCarthy Trenching.

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Speaking of secrets. A couple weeks ago someone tipped me off that Conor Oberst and Phil Schaffart were planning on opening a bar at 5004 Dodge Street in the old Pageturners storefront. Like the dutiful journalist I am, I emailed Phil and asked if it was true.

His response. “Yes, Conor and I are opening a lounge in the old Pageturners bookstore on Dodge st. We’re still in the planning stage but we hope to be open by mid summer. I appreciate your interest but was hoping you could please refrain from mentioning this in print for the time being? We have yet to be granted our Liquor License and we’d rather not draw any extra attention. Once all the dust has settled, I’d be happy to give you the details on the space and and what we’re planning for it.”

So what do you do? I could easily have ran with my information without contacting Phil. I already verified it via public filings. But I thought it would be better to get it from the horse’s mouth. And once I got Phil’s email, I felt obligated to sit on it until Phil said it was OK to run. I didn’t want to fuck up their plans.

Well, last night city councilman Pete Festerson tweeted about the bar, including its location. Moments later I got an email from Phil saying that The Omaha World-Herald was about to publish a story confirming the information. “I apologize if the OWH is able to print this info before you as you were indeed the first to inquire.”

Oh well.

So here’s what I know. The place will be called Pageturners Lounge and will open in late summer. And that’s about it. I haven’t been able to talk to Phil, who is on tour right now with M. Ward. But when I get details, I’ll pass them along.

Again, this wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret. Someone else had told me about it earlier yesterday evening, and I just nodded my head, knowingly. That person asked if Conor and Phil plan on doing live music at their new bar. I said I did not know. Having looked at the space myself, I could tell him that it’s a long, narrow room with a full basement.  Coffee-shop style performances might work; but I couldn’t imagine seeing a band there, but who knows (other than Phil and Conor, who presumably is sequestered inside a bunker deep within his Fairacres mansion)? I said I had a feeling that they may follow the Krug Park model, which so far seems to have been wildly successful at drawing a crowd by simply serving fantastic beer. Time will tell.

This morning’s OWH article seems to confirm my assumptions. I think you can tell by its tone that Phil wasn’t too eager to talk about the project.

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Cowboy Junkies at The Slowdown, April 19, 2012.

There were around 200 on hand for last night’s Cowboy Junkies show at The Slowdown, which turned out to be a “sit-down” affair. Rows of folding chairs were placed in the area in front of the stage, apparently to appease an older crowd. And I do mean older; I practically felt like a spring chicken. But in their defense, old people know what’s good and definitely know what they like, and there was a lot to like about last night’s performance.

Margo Timmons and the band came on at 8 and preceded to play two one-hour sets and an encore. The stage felt intimate in the dim light, with Margo seated out front next to a vase filled with red roses. If you’re a fan of this band and were there, you very likely were entranced. At times their set had that same hushed, haunted feel heard on their early records; at other times, they pulled back the lid and rocked. Timmons has a fantastic, even, ethereal voice on haunted songs about haunted lives. To their credit, their new album contains some of the best material of their career.

Chatting with a couple who drove in from Lincoln for the show, I guessed that the band wait until the encore to play their famous cover of Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane.” Instead, they launched into it as the first song of their second set, as gorgeous as ever.

I didn’t stay for the whole show, since I wanted to see McCarthy Trenching at O’Leaver’s. Opening was James Maakestad of Gus & Call, who played a set of rustic acoustic jams that highlighted his amazing voice. How would these sound with a full band? Do they even need to be fleshed out with anything beyond his voice and guitar? Maakestad stayed on stage to back Dan McCarthy on stand-up bass. McCarthy is Omaha’s Randy Newman — a musical genius who has a unique, funny and touching way with words. He sang a number of songs from his new album, along with “The Ballad of Dorothy Lynch,” which is bound to be an instant classic.

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Briefly (because this is running long) here’s a recap of some of the better shows this weekend:

Back at O’Leaver’s tonight it’s Back When with Ketchup and Mustard Gas and New Lungs. Bring your earplugs, it gonna be loud. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Tomorrow at Elmwood Park it’s Earth Day. The full schedule of events is right here, but the highlight from a performance standpoint is Icky Blossoms, who play from 3:40 to 4:25. Should be a blast, and it’s free. More info here.

If you’re in Lincoln tomorrow, Duffy’s is hosting a benefit show for KRNU. The lineup: Great American Desert, AZP, Manny Coon, Shipbuilding Co., Good Show Great Show, Pharmacy Spirits, Sun Settings and Machete Archive. Show starts at 5 p.m. and suggested donation is $5. More info here. I only wish we had a KRNU here in Omaha…

And don’t forget that tomorrow is Record Store Day. Get out to The Antiquarium (check out all their cool-ass promotions), Homer’s and the Shop at Saddle Creek and buy some vinyl.

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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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Con Dios at Slowdown Nov. 27, 2010.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There haven’t been any updates the last couple of days because I’ve been under the weather, but I’m back with some belated live reviews from last weekend. And tomorrow I post a massive 3,600-word interview with Mike and AJ Mogis that covers the brothers’ entire recording history, starting in North Platte up through ARC and into the future. It’s the cover story of this week’s issue of The Reader, which hits the stands today. It’s the annual music issue, which means it also includes the Top-20 (and next 15) bands list scientifically derived by the paper’s music team. And what a list it is. I’ll get into it more in the next couple of days. Needless to say, it was the toughest Top-20 (and next 15) list that any of us have put together.

Back to last weekend… I figured Saturday night’s show at The Slowdown would held be in the Jr. Room since the headliner was little-known (around here) national band The Berg Sans Nipple and a handful of locals, but in fact it was in the Big Room, which made for a nicer evening. And while it didn’t look packed, it didn’t look empty, either. There was a good crowd on hand, at least 100.

The biggest curiosity for me was opening act Con Dios. The local “super group” consists of a lot of familiar faces: Cursive’s Matt Maginn on bass, Dan McCarthy on keyboards, and Ladyfinger’s Pat Oakes on drums. But not so familiar was the guy filling the frontman singer/guitar slot, who I’d only seen wandering around stage before Bright Eyes gigs. It was BE production manager/guitar tech Phil Schaffart, a giant of a man who loomed over the rest of his tiny band like the bearded Brawny lumberjack. I don’t know if Schaffart has any previous performance experience, I assume he didn’t so I was pleasantly surprised by his smooth, rich voice and (not surprising) great acoustic guitar work. As a whole, it would be easy to discount the songs as falling under the same familiar alt-folk/Americana style of indie rock influenced by the likes of Neil Young, Jackson Brown and Wilco. What stood out was the players. It’s hard to beat a Maginn/Oakes rhythm section (on a lot of the songs, Maginn’s bass played the primary role). And then there’s McCarthy’s gorgeous, understated piano that makes any song seem comfortable and familiar. I have no idea what the future is for this band. With Bright Eyes heading out on the road for the next few years, one assumes Schaffart won’t have a lot of time for Con Dios, so catch them while you can.

Despite having seen them three times in the past few months, I never get tired of hearing Conduits, who followed Con Dios Saturday. This was their first time on Slowdown’s big stage, and they took full advantage of it by taking their deep, dark rock groove to a larger level. Bigger will always be better for these guys — you need to be overcome by the density of their throbbing sound. And no matter how thick they lay it on, frontwoman Jenna Morrison always cuts through the layers of sound. As I’ve said before, this a great band with some great songs. So who is going to step up and release their music? Sounds like a job for Saddle Creek (and I haven’t said that about a local band for a long, long time)…

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Mark Mallman at The Waiting Room, Nov. 29, 2010.

Though it wasn’t a big surprise, the turnout for Mark Mallman at The Waiting Room Sunday night was disappointing — at the most, 30? But just like the true showman that he is, Mallman brought the goods for one of the better performances I’ve seen this year. Backed by a drummer, pre-recorded samples and his keyboards, Mallman was a man possessed, climbing atop his keyboard rack from the first song on, turning his set into a two-man cabaret. His songs are stories and personal insights on a life lived in a spotlight that he’s created for himself with piano-driven rock reminiscent of Jim Steinman and Meatloaf, and could have just as much commercial appeal if he could only reach an audience outside of Minneapolis (where he’s a star) and the indie circuit. I’d love to one day see Mallman perform to a full house at TWR or Slowdown. It could happen. Opening for Mallman was The Whipkey Three with a new line-up — Black Squirrels’ Travis Sing replacing Sarah Benck on bass. TW3 continues to refine its sound, becoming less twangy and more poppy songwise, with the ever-flamboyant Whipkey bolstering his rep as the perennial showman (though I didn’t see him jump off the drum kit this time).

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Yesterday’s big news was Saddle Creek Record’s announcement that Bright Eyes’ next record, The People’s Key, is slated for release by the label Feb. 15. You can read all the details right here. Only two BE concert dates are listed in the press release, but plans call for more than a year of touring for this album, according to BE member Mike Mogis. I’m sure the first tour details will be posted soon. Will Omaha get a sneak peek before the tour begins? Best keep your ear to the ground, as they say…

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Tonight at The Waiting Room is the CD release and listening party for Christmas for Pine Ridge, Vol. III Live at The Waiting Room. It’s your first chance to get a copy of the disc, which features Brad Thomson, Vago, Mariachi San Juan, Cass 50 & the Family Gram, Dustin Clayton, Kyle Harvey, Brad Hoshaw, All Young Girls Are Machine Guns, Josh Dunwoody, Korey Anderson, Filter Kings, Platte River Rain, Matt Cox Band, Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship, and Son of 76 and the Hundred Miles. All proceeds from CD sales go to purchase more toys and to the heating fund for Pine Ridge. The fun starts at 7, and admission is free.

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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.