Live Review: No Thanks, Red Kate at Brothers Lounge…

Category: Blog,Reviews — Tags: , , — @ 12:46 pm September 20, 2021

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

No Thanks at Brothers Lounge Sept. 17, 2021.

I’m forever wondering if punk — or post-punk — or let’s face it, rock — will soon die of old age.

Most people my age already have thrown dirt over the grave, saying punk lived and died in the ‘70s, post-punk lived and died in the ‘80s, and alternative took over in the ‘90s, followed by indie, which most oldsters don’t consider rock music.

Of course none of it is true. Every time I start to get jaded listening to, say, Sirius XM and the endless list of “vibe” music on my Spotify new music list, something catches my ear and my hope is renewed. The same thing goes for live music. Friday night at Brothers Lounge I caught a set by a couple bands on the Black Site label out of KC, Red Kate and our very own No Thanks, and was, again, given hope for the future.

Red Kate at Brothers Lounge, Sept. 17, 2021.

Red Kate wasn’t doing anything new. The post-punk four piece played straight-ahead post-rock with yell vocals, solid rhythms and the prerequisite catchy riffs. Fast and hard, they were tight out of the gate. If you love this style of music, you would have loved this set.

This is the third or fourth time I’ve seen No Thanks live, and I’ve notice a common denominator to their sets — they always start off tenuous, as if frontman Brendan Leahy is unsure he really wants to go through with whatever he’s about to do, or simply isn’t in the proper headspace. Let me clarify — the rest of the band does sounds ready to go from the outset. Guitarist Mike Huber is one of the best things to come out of Omaha in years, and the rhythm section of Cam Stout and Gabe Cohen are first rate.

Musically, I was reminded of old school golden age Omaha post-punk band Ritual Device. To be clear, Leahy doesn’t in any way resemble a ‘90s-era circus-geek-loving Tim Moss. And while Moss had a guttural Nick Cage vocal swagger, Leahy has a high, kind of Jerry Lewis-style speaking voice. But when he gets warmed up, he can be equally sinister and disturbing as Moss.

But, just like those other times, it took Leahy three or four songs before he began to lose whatever inhibitions he may have had and started to let it all hang out. About four or five songs in, the shirt came off and he turned into a totally different dude — posing, crawling, preening, performing — he could give Future Islands’ Sam Herring a run for his money.

Halfway into the set I noticed the entire front of the stage was surrounded by young women dancing — or dare I say, moshing. I’m not sure exactly what it was they were doing except having a good time. It was the youngest crowd I’ve seen at a Brothers show — both young dudes and women — and it gave me hope that there is a new generation out there who still gets into this style of grinding, static, feedback-driven post-punk.

Another great night at Brothers Lounge. The club has been putting on a lot of shows lately and have more on the way. Catch them if you can.

A quick note about their vax card policy — the guy at the door was not playing around. You better have had both a vax card (or a photo of your vax card) and a second photo ID or you weren’t getting in. The process was quick and easy, and there’s no reason all the venues aren’t laying down similar policies.

If you don’t want to get vaxed, stay home and save us all a lot of grief.

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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 © 2021 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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Red Kate, Domestica tonight; The Dear Hunter, Montee Men, Chemicals, Beat Seekers, The Shins Saturday…

Category: Blog — Tags: , , , , — @ 11:53 am May 19, 2017

Domestica at The Waiting Room, Dec. 9, 2016. The band plays tonight at Brothers Lounge.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Looks like another cold, wet weekend. Let’s see what’s happening in the clubs…

Tonight at Brothers Lounge KC power punk act Red Kate headlines. Their sound is kind of a throwback to the ‘90s, which makes Domestica a great band to share the bill. DSM5 also stars. $5, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) Providence prog/emo rockers The Dear Hunter (Equal Vision Records) headlines at The Slowdown. Omaha post-rock band Fontenelle opens. $23.

Meanwhile, the mighty Montee Men opens Saturday night for Des Moines metal band Druids at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Jump the Tiger also is on the bill. $5, 9 p.m.

And progressive jazz superstars Chemicals plays Saturday night at The Blackstone Meatball. Joining them is The Tweedt/Van Fleet Jazz Quartet. 10 p.m. and FREE.

Finally, The Beat Seekers are celebrating the release of their new CD Battle Cry for a Declaration at Lookout Lounge Saturday night. Joining them are Graveyard Smash, The Shidiots, The Boner Killerz and DJ Crybaby. 8 p.m., $10 w/CD or $5 without CD.

I almost forgot — The Shins play Stir Cove Saturday night. Tennis opens. 8 p.m. Tickets are an incredible $67.

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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

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