Orenda Fink plays tonight at Reverb Lounge in Benson.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The news lull continues, which explains why updates have been spotty lately. When I don’t have something to write about, I’m not going to post an update, and lately there hasn’t been much to write about regarding local indie music. At least nothing definitive.

From a national indie perspective, one of the bigger announcements was the continuation of The Replacements reunion tour, with shows now slated for Denver April 19 and Chicago April 29 and 30. Why not Maha in August? You never know, though I don’t see it happening. I suspect we’ll be getting a Maha headliner announcement in the very near future.

I was a tad bit disappointed that Replacements won’t be in Austin for South by Southwest this year, mainly because I will, once again, be attending the annual confab / endurance test. Expect the usual coverage at thereader.com and (of course) right here.

And there very likely also will be a podcast from Austin, but more about podcasting later (I still have to figure out how to do it).

In other outdoor festival news, Stir Cove announced a slew of lackluster summer dates including Barenaked Ladies, Violent Femmes, Colin Hay of Men at Work, the godawful Hozier and novelty star Weird Al. Looks like my string of avoiding Stir Concert Cover shows will continue in 2015.

One outdoor concert I will be attending (in addition to Maha) is The Decemberists at Sumtur Amphitheater May 29.  Where the f*** is Sumtur? Way out in Papillion out by Walnut Creek Lake. Where’s that? It’s 20-some miles south of Dodge on 108th St. No opener named, yet. Decemberists have been touring with Alvvays, and two days before the Omaha date Decemberists are playing at Red Rocks with Courtney Barnett. Barnett alone is worth the 8-hour drive to Denver.

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Hey, here’s some news: Mouser just posted three new videos by Jake Bellows. You can see them all here or check out the YouTube embed below (which connects to the full playlist). Good ol’ Jake.

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Tonight at Reverb Lounge in Benson it’s Orenda Fink live and in concert. She is, in my opinion, the kind of artist perfectly suited for this very intimate venue. Expect a special performance. Opening is Thayer Sarrano & Mike Schlesinger. $8, 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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Johnny Vredenburg of Digital Leather dropped a note to say he’s excited about his new project, called PRO-MAGNUM. Comprising of Paul Hansen (Perry H. Mathews, The Fucking Party) on guitar, Pat Oakes (Ladyfinger) on drums and Vredenburg on bass AND vocals, Vredenburg described their music as “loud, aggressive, yet tight, rock ‘n roll, taking my bass settings back to the screaming tone of that which I used in Dance Me Pregnant, while Paul rips inhuman-like riffs and thunderous backdrop of the heaviest drummer this side of hell. Collectively, we roll out hard rock riffs on par with Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Torche, Converge…” Setting the bar kind of hard, aren’t you Johnny?

PRO-MAGNUM’s first show is March 9 at O’Leaver’s with Flesh Eating Skin Disease and Buildings from Minneapolis.

While I had Vredenburg on the horn, I figured I’d ask how he likes working with Todd Fink. The Faint’s frontman recently joined Digital Leather.

“Todd is a fellow professional who loves making music. That’s why he’s a perfect fit,” Vredenburg said. “It’s all been very casual working with him. Most of the time we get side tracked talking about food or obscure ’80s movie songs. All in all, real excited to be playing in a band with him. And excited to be in a band with Jeff and Shawn too. Ha.”

You can check out that new Digital Leather line-up the night before the PRO-MAGNUM debut — March 8 at O’Leaver’s.

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That new Replacements track, “I’m Not Sayin’,”  is pretty frickin’ good. Check out the stream here at Pitchfork. The Songs For Slim EP is out digitally March 5 and will be released as a commercial 12-inch on April 16.

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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.