Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings ignite Playing With Fire, July 16, 2011.

Column 333: Live Reviews: Omaha Girls Rock and Playing With Fire

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I can only imagine what it was like backstage at the Omaha Girls Rock (OGR) showcase moments before the night’s first band, The Jellybeans, took the stage. Utter chaos? Faces gripped in panic-fear? Tears? Nervous laughter?

For most of the 24 girls who took part in this, the inaugural OGR band camp, it would be their first time on any stage. Many had never held an instrument before signing up. Now here they were, formed into six bands — The Jellybeans, Cherrybombs, I Just Don’t Like Trees, Mischieff Managed, Urban Scrunchies and Pandas Of Peace — about to perform their own songs in front of an audience of more than 200 that likely included their proud, nervous parents.

OGR volunteer Jenn Bernard, a professional teacher who also performs in indie rock band Fortnight, said volunteers did their best to prepare the girls for their moment under the lights.

“Before the doors opened, we took each group on stage and showed them their mics and where their instruments would be,” Bernard said. “Then, to distract them, they took a tour of the Saddle Creek (Records) warehouse. After the tour, we sang the ‘camp song’ a few times together and got ready to go on stage. The girls’ instruments were all ready to go and everything was very organized.”

The Jellybeans at the Omaha Girls Rock! showcase July 16, 2011.

Even I was nervous when the four Jellybeans were introduced to hoots and applause. They took their places behind their instruments and microphones, and then did something most of us could never do. A little redheaded firebrand in a purple outfit grasped the mic like a miniature Janis Joplin and belted out her words with absolute, utter confidence while two friends joined in on guitar and keyboards, the fourth tapping out a rhythm on a drum set.

No, they didn’t sound like the band in School of Rock. They sounded better than that, because what they were doing was real — fun and goofy and filled with charming mistakes.

It was only a matter of time before someone organized something as smart as Omaha Girls Rock. The talent that created Omaha’s indie music scene a decade ago — a scene that’s become world-renowned — has grown up and had (or will have) kids of their own. And though those musicians may not make a “living” making music, they’ve figured out a way to keep music in their lives. Now they’re passing on what they’ve learned to the next generation, who will carry on the tradition in their own way, in their own voices.

Everyone left The Slowdown that evening with grins on their faces, and for the organizers, a few proud tears. Find out more about OGR and make donations at omahagirlsrock.com. Get involved.

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Who knows, maybe some day one of the OGR campers will emerge as talented as Sharon Jones, who along with her band, The Dap-Kings, performed Saturday night at this year’s Playing With Fire concert in a sauna called Stinson Park.

Blame the heat for a crowd that looked to be around 2-3,000, not the 7-8,000 organizers had hoped for, and maybe that was a good thing considering the size of Stinson Park, located in the newly minted Aksarben Village. The venue, a last-minute substitute for the flooded Lewis and Clark Landing, worked out well. The crowd, with its lawn chairs and bug spray, had plenty of room to roam along the grassy bowl, while vendors hocked pizza and beer from tents along the closed Mercy Road.

Playing with Fire organizer Jeff Davis said the concert was successful, all things considered. “First we worked three days in heat indexes over 100 degrees,” he said. “Second, Aksarben Village squeezed us in between three other events. This required our load-in and load-out logistics to be timed perfectly. We made gates at 4 p.m. and were well ahead of schedule on move out. That was one of our success measures. We were pleased with everything about the show / venue / crowd, except the heat. It impacted the size of the crowd by at least 30 percent. That impacted our vendors, none of whom did well.”

No doubt MECA’s Red Sky Music Festival, being held this week at the TD Ameritrade ballpark and surrounding griddle-like parking lots, also will see attendance impacted by the blistering, painful heat. Why not simply hold these outdoor events earlier or later in the year?

“We didn’t do June because it interfered with the College World Series. NCAA said no,” he said. “(The) August date we gave to the MAHA (Music Festival) since we had cash for just one show. September never works because of Big Red. May means graduations, weddings and rain. We settled on July 16 because that was the date we could get Sharon.”

That was reason enough. It was one of those shows where you felt lucky to be there, to be able to say you saw and heard this incredible band live and in person. Jones, age 55, performed with more energy than most R&B divas one-third her age — singing, dancing, grooving, pulling guys on stage to act as foils for her “you-better-do-me-right” rockers. I’ve never heard a band half as a good playing this style of R&B.

“It was cool to see people of all ages, color and backgrounds having a great time,” Davis said. “That is the true power of music.”

As for next year, “We are going to make an attempt one last time to gain sponsorship dollars,” Davis said of the Playing With Fire concert series. “We would do this forever if we could just break even. Unfortunately, the heat took that away from us this year. Wish us luck.”

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It’s been a monumentally slow week for shows. Finally tonight there’s something going on worth talking about. At The Barley Street Tavern it’s the return of Lawrence indie pop band Cowboy Indian Bear with KC band AcB’s and veritable BT house band All Young Girls Are Machine Guns. $5, 9 p.m.

No, it’s not Deerhunter playing at The Waiting Room tonight; it’s The Dear Hunter, a Providence R.I.-based indie prog-rock band on New York label Triple Crown Records. Opening is Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground (members of Gatsbys American Dream), and Atlanta experimental band O’Brother. $14, 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Omaha Girls Rock! the Slowdown July 16, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’ll be writing in more detail about both Omaha Girls Rock and the Playing With Fire / Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings concerts in this week’s column (out on Thursday), but suffice to say both events were hugely successful.

I would guestimate that more than 200 people were on hand for OGR, a crowd that included not only proud, nervous parents, but also all the usual suspects that make up the Omaha indie music scene. All left the show with huge smiles on their faces (and for the organizers, a few tears). How can anyone not love this program? This was merely its inaugural year. You can find out more about OGR and make donations at the Omaha Girls Rock website. Get involved.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings perform at Playing With Fire, July 16, 2011.

I guess you could say Stinson Park passed its Trial by Fire hosting the Playing With Fire concert Saturday night. I rode my bike to festivities at around 8:30 p.m and it was still muggy, hot, miserable. That could be why the numbers were what they were. If asked to guess, I’d say there was a little over 2,000 people in the park; but I’m hearing numbers as high as 7,000, which seems, well, unlikely. We’ll have to wait and see what the “official” numbers were. Regardless, there was plenty of room in Stinson to handle the crowd. The staging, the vendors, the security, all worked incredibly well.

As for sound and lighting, PWF organizers did a great job for what appeared to be a venue with some limitations (and time constraints). The sound was kind of… weird. It seemed like the further back from the stage I went, the louder it was (especially the high-end/snares, etc.). The best sound was right under the stage, where you’d expect it to be its loudest — but it wasn’t. Well, what do I know about sound engineering? Regardless, it was plenty loud, in fact, loud enough for the folks at nearby Pinhook Apartments to enjoy the show from their balconies with clarity.

My only comment about Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings — I felt lucky to be there, to be able to say I saw and heard this incredible band live and in person. If you don’t know what they’re about, check out there music (right now). Jones, age 55, performed with more energy than most R&B divas 1/3 her age — singing, dancing, grooving, pulling guys on stage to act as foils for her “you-better-do-me-right” rockers. I’ve never heard a band half as a good playing this style of R&B. Beyond that, you just had to be there.

There was talk from stage that this may not be the last Playing With Fire concert. Here’s hoping that’s the case.

More about both concerts Thursday…

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Speaking of concerts and festivals, the Red Sky Music Festival kicked off at noon today down at the TD Ameritrade ballpark and surrounding parking lots, whose surface temperature will likely exceed 130 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s already close to 100 right now. Tonight’s “headliner” is a Steve Perry-less version of Journey. You can see today’s schedule here. Good luck to those venturing out in this painful, miserable, intolerable heat.

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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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Last night on my way home from work, I drove by Stinson Park at Aksarben Village and noticed that Mercy Street had already been closed. Semi-truck trailers were parked all along the west end of the street near the park, conceivably filled with staging equipment. The handful of workmen on site weren’t scurrying around the park’s fixed stage, but rather they were climbing around the roof and grounds around the bathroom outbuilding next to the stage, I assume finally getting it finished before tomorrow’s big event, the Playing With Fire Concert featuring Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings.

Maybe a better name for the series would be Trial by Fire, because with an estimated crowd of more than 7,000, we’ll see if Stinson Park and the surrounding village can handle such massive numbers. I’m a tad skeptical, having seen how a few hundred looked during last Saturday night’s jazz concert in the park (and that was without all the additional staging and lights that are being hauled in for this massive free (but donations accepted) concert). Needless to say, somewhere in and around the grounds will be the folks who are organizing the MAHA Music Festival, which also moved its day-long Aug. 13 show from the Lewis & Clark Landing to Stinson.

I guess maybe we should just stick with the Playing with Fire moniker as temperatures could be in the 90s at showtime. The details:

Gates open at 4 p.m. Free parking will be available at the parking garage at 64th & Center. You can bring lawn chairs, blankets and sunscreen, but leave your pets, coolers and outside drinks at home. Opening bands include Crimson Dawn, Brad Cordle Band, and Malford Milligan. So if I’m doing my math correctly, Sharon Jones & Dap Kings probably won’t hit the stage until around 8 p.m. The concert is scheduled to end at 11, according to the Playing with Fire website.

So that’s one of the big concerts this weekend. The other is the Omaha Girls Rock! Showcase at The Slowdown, also on Saturday night. The showcase will feature one original song from each of the six bands at this year’s rock camp, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The bands’ fantastic names are: Cherrybombs, The Jellybeans, I Just Don’t Like Trees, Mischief Managed, Urban Scrunchies and Pandas Of Peace. Also on the bill are Honeybee & Hers, Jessica Errett, Arrica Rose and Tara Vaughan. Of course your entire $5 ticket price will go to the 2012 Omaha Girls Rock Camp. I have this image that the show will somehow resemble the battle of the bands scene from Jack Black’s School of Rock. It should be a blast.

What about the rest of the weekend?

Tonight’s marquee show also is at The Slowdown. San Francisco’s The Fresh and Onlys (In the Red Records) plays with so-called sunshinecore/no coast act Bad Weather California, and the always amazing $olid Goldberg. $10, 9 p.m.

O’Leaver’s has Saturn Moth tonight with Mother Of All and The Beatseekers. $5, 9:30 p.m.

And over at The Barley Street Tavern it’s Thunder Power with The Benningtons and Talking Mountain. $5, 9 p.m.

Saturday night has the recently lauded-in-Lazy-i band Well Aimed Arrows playing at The Sandbox, 2406 Leavenworth, with The Fungi Girls (HoZac Records) and Eric in Outer Space. Find out more here. $5, 8 p.m.

And Omaha legacy band Such Sweet Thunder has another reunion show Saturday night at Venue 162, 162 West Broadway in Council Bluffs. 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 © 2011 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.

* * *

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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

And the river continues to rise…

Playing with Fire organizer Jeff Davis contacted me yesterday to tell me that this year’s Playing With Fire featuring the impeccable Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings has moved from the backup location west of Lewis & Clark Landing all the way to Stinson Park at Aksarben Village.

“What’s happening is that ultimately we think Riverfront Drive will close completely,” Davis said. “We understand they’re going to dig a 50-foot canal to Riverfront Drive that will fill up with water and raw sewage.”

So despite being able to save a bundle on port-a-johns, Davis decided it would be a better idea to move the event. “We’d like to present our city in a better fashion,” he said. “We think there will be a lot of people coming from out of town for this show.”

Davis said he’s been working with Lisa Bachmann, who manages the park’s facility, and is trying to get Mercy Road closed for the event. The park apparently has a covered concrete stage but is limiting what Davis will be allowed to hang from it. “We’ll have to build a stage extension and put light towers on the side,” he said. “It’s a major deal.”

But the bottom line: There was no place left to go. The PWF team looked at a number of locations, none of which made sense for the event, especially if they wanted to control the vending and alcohol sales.

To me, PWF is a major boon for Stinson and Aksarben, a major attraction that will introduce a number of people to the area and what it has to offer.

Now with PWF figured out, the question remains: What about the MAHA Music Festival. Organizer Tre Brashear confirmed that the show is moving. “City hasn’t specifically told us we need to move, but there are just too many unknowns with the riverfront right now and it would be too hard to move MAHA on short notice,” Brashear said.

“That said, we don’t have a new spot selected yet, but are working daily to try and figure it out.  (We) had our production people out to two sites to work up cost estimates.  (We) hope to have some news to announce on the issue within the next two weeks.”

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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.

West of Lewis & Clark Landing. "Stone icon" at top of path.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The ever-rising Missouri River is forcing a number of events slated for the Lewis and Clark Landing to move to higher, drier ground.

Among them is one of the best concert events of the summer — Playing with Fire. Slated for July 16 at the Landing, this year’s free concert features an absolute plum of a performer in Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings — a band whose popularity spans multiple genres and generations. Reportedly the last-ever PWF concert, the series, which begin in 2004, is going out with a seismic bang.

With flood waters threatening, the event is leaving the Landing and headed west, but not too far west, said PWF organizer Jeff Davis.

Davis said the concert is moving to “the furthest parking lot west of Rick’s Boat Yard, where that stone icon is. That will be the back of our stage, and the bands will play to the northwest, down the slope and concrete parking lot, directly toward the Qwest Center.”

Unsure exactly where Davis is talking about, I scouted out the location Sunday afternoon. The above picture is looking south, toward the stone icon. “If you go to the stone icon, between the two west parking lots, then just immediately north will be our stage, parallel to the footbridge. It goes back 600 feet.

“It’s not the best deal because the bands will be playing downhill to all that grass,” Davis said, “but it’s the best place available to us. By square footage (the area) is bigger than the landing.”

Davis expects the show to draw more people that the largest PWF concert, Johnny Winter, who drew 12,000 people. “We figure we’ll draw at least 10,000 and will have no problem if we have 15,000,” he said. “We’re still working on generators and fencing. The logistics will really change. I’ve done 42 shows at the landing, and can do them in my sleep. Now we’re faced with putting a stage in a different place and a whole different set up.”

Davis gave high praise to the City of Omaha’s Parks Department personnel. “They’ve been phenomenal to work with,” he said. “They really stepped up to help us. The best complement I can give is that I’d hire you, and I’d hire every one of those guys.”

Davis said despite the finality of the concert, he wants to continue the Playing With Fire series. “We need a presenting sponsor that believes in what we’re doing,” he said. “If 15,000 people come and word gets out, that will help us.”

Now for the next question: Where will the MAHA Music Festival be relocated? Stay tuned…

* * *

Returning from a 5,000-mile 2-week tour, singer/songwriter/rocker John Klemmensen and the Party performs tonight at The Barley Stree Tavern with Bret Volk (Underwater Dream Machine), Andrew Baille (Moscow Mule) and Matt Mclarney (Old Money/Satchel Grande). Free, 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Every morning when I arrive at work, after I feed my pet condors, I gaze out the window of my 15th Floor aerie/office and visually survey the rising waters of the mighty Missouri. These days, Rick’s Boat Yard looks like an island floating above a sea of of mud as the water creeps ever closer to the bottom of the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge along the east bank. Ah, Mother Nature, you vex me so…

With reports that the waters will continue to rise and aren’t likely to recede this summer, I began to ponder how the destructive force of nature would impact the MAHA Music Festival. Sure, the “big show” isn’t scheduled until mid-August, but even that may not be long enough for the waters to be clear of Lewis & Clark Landing, where it’s slated to be held.

MAHA Music Festival organizer Tre Breshear said the flooding problem has been on the festival committee’s minds. “Oh, yes, we’ve been discussing,” he said. “Everything through July on the Landing has been told to move, including Playing With Fire. Haven’t heard yet where they will land.  We have not been told to move yet, but are currently investigating feasibility/pricing/liquor issues/etc. of other locations so we are prepared.”

The fine folks at The Omaha World-Herald apparently were reading my mind (again). Tre pointed me to this online story, which has more details about other events being disrupted at the Landing.

With a crowd that likely will be smaller than 5,000, there would appear to be a number of options for MAHA, including moving to various local parks. The obvious choice (to me) would be to move the festival to the brand-spanking new Werner Ball Park in Sarpy County. The Stormchasers will be on the road around the dates of the festival, leaving the facility wide open except for the Selena Gomez and The Scene concert at the stadium the night before. With booze permits already in place, it would seem a natural option, though one would think that the facility’s own vendors would take away some of the booze revenues that MAHA would otherwise have received down at the Landing.

Other options that come to mind are Turner Park (Midtown Crossing) and the Creighton soccer field (Morrison Stadium). One assumes Anchor Inn is submerged and that NP Dodge Park also is unusable. Brashear isn’t saying what MAHA is contemplating, just that they’re contemplating.

Playing With Fire may face a bigger challenge. The concert is slated for July 16 on Lewis & Clark Landing and features a pearl of a band in Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, an act that crosses multiple genres, from blues to R&B to funk to rock, and is a darling among indie music fans. Add to that the fact that it’s a free concert, and you could see north of 7,000 drawn to this show. Where to put it? It has to be an alcohol friendly location since booze sales are a big part of the concert series’ revenue stream. A Stormchasers home game would appear to take Werner Park out of the equation… or would it?

* * *

I’m told Kyle Harvey designed the poster for tonight’s show at The Barley Street Tavern featuring ukulele sensation All Young Girls Are Machine Guns (shown at left). If so, he’ll be hearing from the fine lawyers at Walt Disney Productions any moment now… Also on the bill, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Adrian Bourgeois & Ricky Berger. $5, 9 p.m.

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Tomorrow’s column: Chasing Conor…

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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.