Ron Gallo at Slowdown Jr., Aug. 8, 2017. He’s playing tonight at Lincoln Calling.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Tonight is the sweet spot for Lincoln Calling 2018. The full sched is online right here.  The highlights:

Parquet Courts at Duffy’s Backlot (midnight) — The NYC indie act’s fourth album Wide Awake! (2018, Rough Trade) sees them evolve into a dance-rock outfit with a collection (produced by mega-talent Danger Mouse) that scored a massive 8.0 from tastemaker website Pitchfork.

Ron Gallo at the Night Market (11 p.m.) — The red-hot Philly rocker’s fuzzy garage sound has landed him slots on some of the nation’s biggest festivals, including Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits and Governer’s Ball.

The Nude Party at Duffy’s inside (9:30 p.m.) — Boone, NC, band calls their sound “Rock ‘n’ Roll Boner Pop” for good reason. They actually sound like a modern version of a ’60s garage band rife with guitars and keyboards, kind of a cross between King Tuff and The Kinks. Their 2018 debut came out on New West.

Criteria at Duffy’s Backlot (10 p.m.) — Nebraska’s emo-rock heroes return, and I’m told they’ve got a whole album’s worth of new stuff about to drop on 15 Passenger. Get a sneak preview tonight.

Fantastic Negrito at The Bourbon (9:30 p.m.) — This is the kind of rock Jack White could only dream of replicating (but never will). Heavy funk with lots of guitar. On Cooking Vinyl Records. You’re gonna love it.

Stephen Sheehan at Duffy’s Backlot (6:30 p.m.) — Frontman to legendary late-’80s early-’90s post-ambient band Digital Sex. He’s got a murder’s row of stars backing him: Dan Crowell, Randy Cotton, Donovan Johnson and Mike Saklar.

Also worth catching: Staffers at Duffy’s Indoor at 10 p.m.; Halfwit at 1867 at 9 p.m., and Dilla Kids at Bodega’s at 8 p.m.

Saturday’s Lincoln Calling sched is online here. Highlights include Lion Babe at Duffy’s Backlot and Leikeli47 at Bodega’s. Full details about LC tickets are online at lincolncalling.com. And read more about how Lincoln Calling 2018 came together in my article in the September issue of The Reader.

Lincoln Calling isn’t the only festival going on, though…

O’Leaversfest kicks off tonight at The Club and runs all weekend. Tonight’s line-up is strong, with Wrong Pets, Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship and the return of Ladyfinger. $7, 9 p.m. Tomorrow night it’s The Natural States, Dirt House and MiWi La Lupa, again $7, 9 p.m. And Sunday night LA psych-rock band Send Medicine headlines, with Son Ambulance and Putter & Co., and an early 6 p.m. start time (but the same $7).

If that weren’t enough for your weekend…

Reality Tbd., which you read about here on Wednesday, is being screened/performed tonight and tomorrow night at Kaneko. Film by Nik Fackler, dance by tbd. collective and music by Graham Ulciny. What more do you want? Performances tonight and Saturday night at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. $10. More info here.

A new art space is opening at 2580 Harney Street tonight called The Hug Center. The debut show, called Bang, Bang, features art from seven local artists including Shawn Foree (Digital Leather) and Genie Molkentine (Sucettes) and performances by Cult Play and Dojorok. This one’s free and runs from 6 to 10 p.m. More info here.

Tonight at The Sydney Chicago electro-dance act Pixel Grip headlines with Cult Play, Denver’s Tyto Alba and Kobrakyle. $5, 10 p.m

Charlie Burton and Or What?! return to The Barley Street Tavern tonight. $5, 9 p.m.

Saturday night Clarence Tilton opens for locals Pony Creek at Slowdown Jr. Sack of Lions also is on the bill. $5 Adv./$7 DOS, 9 p.m.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great first weekend of fall…

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Beer + Bands = Beer Nebraska. Here’s the list of exclusive-release brews…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The next pseudo music festival is this Saturday at The Slowdown — it’s a benefit for non-profit Rabble Mill, which, if you didn’t know, is the umbrella organization that houses good ol’ Hear Nebraska (Yes, Hear Nebraska still exists. In fact, they have offices in the Slowdown complex in a shared space with Saddle Creek Records and Maha Music Festival personnel).

This benefit concert is a bit different in that it features both bands and beer — specifically five local breweries who have made exclusively released beers inspired by the performing bands. It’s weird and cool. Local brewers are Zipline (who’s co-hosting this even with Hear Nebraska), Brickway, Farnam House, First Street and White Elm.

The inspired beer I’m most looking forward to is Zipline’s Sticky Blossoms, which is “honey plus orange blossom IPA.” Mmm-mmmm.

According to the Facebook invite, beers will be served outside from 5 to 9 p.m. The beer-tasting ticket gets you five samples plus a commemorative glass.

Event pricing :

$25 Advance/$30 Day of Show with Beer Tasting
$15 Advance/$20 Day of Show without
Tix here or at Zipline’s drinking room in the Slowdown complex.

And here are the set times:

7-7:40 – Mesonjixx
8-8:40 – Freakabout 8:00- 8:40
9 to 9:40 – Conny Franko
1- to 10:40 – Icky Blossoms
11 to midnight – Satchel Grande

As mentioned proceeds go to Rabble Mill, which has a lot of exciting programs in the works, including music-related ideas that (hopefully) you’ll be hearing more about in the near future.

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Tonight, Omaha punk band Crease opens for Minneapolis screamo band Sleep Debt at Brothers Lounge. $5, 9 p.m.

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I thought I’d drop in this just-released Ron Gallo track. He’s playing Lincoln Calling in September. Something about the guitar effects reminds me of The Oh Sees…

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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 © 2018 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Those Far Out Arrows at Slowdown Jr., Aug. 8, 2017.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’m giving this show short shrift due to time limitations, etc., i.e. I’m probably not giving the bands their due. And I’m going at this chronologically rather than by how the bands were billed, i.e., I’m starting with the opener, Those Far Out Arrows (or TFOAs in lazy shorthand), because for me, they were the highlight of the evening, closely followed by the band in the middle, Ron Gallo, with the headliner, Butternotes, trotting home in third.

TFOAs has evolved over the past year or so to a tight garage band with deep psych-rock leanings influenced by bands as diverse as Them and Velvet Underground. You’ll hear just how much they’ve evolved if you listen to their early, drone-filled cassettes and contrast it to their current thick-beat guitar rock that’s as good or better than anything I’ve heard on Goner or In the Red.

You knew last night at Slowdown Jr. the band was getting to this very young crowd (who, btw, likely  never heard of TFOAs prior to this show) when the pack in front of the stage naturally erupted into a pseudo-mosh pit, pushing and shoving and jumping along with one of the band’s mid-set songs. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen that at a garage-rock show.

Right now TFOAs is looking for someone to press a new 7-inch and has plans to enter ARC studio for a full-length in the very near future. Keep an eye on them.

Ron Gallo at Slowdown Jr., Aug. 8, 2017.

I was told by a Slowdown staffer that last night’s young crowd was there for Gallo, though my source wasn’t sure why. I have no idea, either. Maybe Gallo’s stage charisma precedes him. He and his band played a lively set of garage rock that got the crowd moving (and yeah, there was more moshing. I guess moshing is a thing again?).

The Buttertones at Slowdown Jr., Aug. 8, 2017.

Finally on came The Buttertones, a big ensemble with a guy who played some tasty tenor sax (which made everything work). A tight act, it was too easy to hear their influences. Derivative? Yeah, but isn’t all rock music derivative to some extent? Their failing was in their lack of original song structure — I felt like I’d heard it all before. But what the band lacked in originality the frontman made up in swagger. Let’s see where they are in three years.

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Tonight at Pageturners, hardcore act Jocko opens for the Sucettes at Pageturners Lounge. This one’s free and starts at 10.

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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.