by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Last call on 2024.

• – If you missed my Music Year in Review column, well here it is.
• – If you missed my Predictions for 2025 column, here it is.
• – And, due to illness and supply chain issues, I’m just now sending out the Lazy-i Best of 2024 compilation. If you own a CD player and would like a copy, drop me an email. They’re free, while supplies last. All you have to do is send your mailing address to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. 

The playlist also is available in Spotify (with the first two songs missing). Simply click this link or search “Tim McMahan” in Spotify, then select Profiles, then Public Playlists. You’ll find it, along with a few from past years.

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Our nation’s greatest living rock critic, Robert Christgau, age 82, today weighed in on both the new Bright Eyes and new Rosali album (which features David Nance and Mowed Sound as Rosali’s backing band). Christgau was the primary music critic at The Village Voice for decades, but I’ve always known him for his “Consumer Guides” that covered albums from the ‘70s through the ‘90s, and continues online today. He has a singular voice and style I’ve always loved, whether I agreed with his assessments or not.

His Substack website is available here. I’ve been a paid subscriber since day one.

Sayeth Christgau:

Bright Eyes: Five Dice All Threes (Dead Oceans) Now in his fourth decade on the road, the racks, and the alt-rock grind, Conor Oberst has always come across pretty much the way you’d hope from an ex-Catholic indistinguishable from a lapsed born-againer who’s held onto the Bible’s “the greatest of these is charity” byword by gravitating to good causes. There’s been a reliable freshness about him even when the songs faltered slightly. Not here. True, the songs don’t falter all that much. But because the world comes to an end, there’s not much solace in them. B PLUS

I began writing a review of Five Dice with the headline “Bright Eyes’ Five Dice, All Threes is the album Greenberg would have made…” referencing the 2010 Noah Baumbach film starring Ben Stiller as an irritated, neurotic, aging hipster. And that kind of sums up Oberst on this record.

Christgau is more complimentary about the Rosali album:

Rosali: Bite Down (Merge) Coming up in a musical family and whatever comprises the Philadelphia freak-folk scene, Rosali Middleton found the makings of a band in Nebraska and a home near the North Carolina alt-rock label she now shares with the Chicago-to-L.A. indie rappers cited above (Previous Industries). What grabs me about her fourth album is its get-up-and-go from the catchy riff that gooses the one called “My Kind” to the declarative intro of the next-to-last “Change Is in the Form.” But I note with respect that the questioning finale “May It Be on Offer” is nevertheless just that: final. A MINUS

In this installment, Christgau also reviews recent albums from Kim Deal, Fake Fruit, Kendrick Lamar, Willie Nelson, Phelimuncasi & Metal Preyers, Previous Industries, Allen Ravenstine, Lucinda Williams and his favorite band, Wussy. Good stuff. Subscribe!

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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 © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Lazy-i will be going on a brief hiatus until next Wednesday. Being out of town means I’l miss one of the better shows of the year Saturday night when Rosali plays at fabulous O’Leaver’s. 

Rosali’s new album, Bite Down, was released late last month on powerhouse indie label Merge Records and features a team of Omaha’s finest as her backing band including David Nance on bass, guitar; James Schroeder on guitar, synths; and Kevin Donahue on drums.  The band has been on the road since mid-March supporting Mary Timony and doing solo tour dates in April throughout the country. 

The O’Leaver’s gig is the final stop on the tour, and will no doubt be a special performance. Dereck Higgins as D.H.X. will open. $15, 9 p.m. 

Another show of note actually takes place tomorrow night at The Sydney in Benson. Self Evident is a Minneapolis-based post-punk band that’s been around at least since the turn of the century. Local boys Fromanhole toured with them back in the day (and word on the street is to keep an eye out for a new iteration of Fromanhole under a different name later this summer). Playing with Self Evident Thursday night is another throwback band, Oklahoma City’s Traindodge. Omaha’s own Ojai opens at 8 p.m. (though, knowing Syd’s track record, it could be more like 9). $12.

Back to the weekend…

Also Saturday night, Denver alt rock band The Velveteers headlines at The Slowdown small stage. Their last studio album, 2021’s Nightmare Daydream, was produced by Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and has a sort of Garbage vibe. Omaha acts JACK and Cape Acidic are supporting. $20, 8 p.m.

And, of course, Saturday is Record Store Day. There was a time when this was a much bigger deal. I guess it still is a big deal for the hardcore collectors who will be in line at Homer’s, Grapefruit, Vinyl Cup and Recycled Sounds trying to nab their limited-edition RSD-exclusive vinyl. For those participating, may the odds be in your favor…

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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

From left, James Schroeder, Rosali, David Nance and Kevin Donahue. Rosali’s new album, Bite Down, drops March 22 on Merge Records.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

North Carolina’s Rosali Middleman – a.k.a. Rosali – has sort of become an ex-officio Omahan this past year, having recorded her just-announced album, Bite Down, with a shit-ton of Omahans. In fact, most of David Nance’s band, Mowed Sound, is Rosali’s backing band.

The new album, out March 22 on Merge Records, is a collaboration with Nance, guitarist James Schroeder, and drummer Kevin Donahue, who also worked on her 2021 album, No Medium.

Bite Down was engineered by the esteemed JJ Idt and Schroeder (with Alex Bingham) and produced by Schroeder and Rosali. Among the special guests on the record are Omaha natives Stephen Bartolomei, Phil Schaffart, Matt Carroll & Sara Bertuldo (See Through Dresses), Daniel Knapp (Son, Ambulance, BB Sledge), Karen Pietsch and Margot Erlandson. Non-Omahan Ted Bois handles keys and is member of Dan Bejar’s Destroyer.

In fact, you might have seen Rosali and Mowed Sound open for Destroyer at The Waiting Room back in April 2022. Bejar, it seems, is a big fan of both Rosali and her new album. From the press release:

“Bite Down makes me think about singers and bands that throw themselves hard into the storm, the way the Rosali quartet does. The calm of her voice over top of the band’s raging—it is the emblem of songs that live to put themselves in harm’s way. But it’s not harm. It’s just that you have to play hard to get at these goods. The calm of Rosali’s voice, the straight talk of her inner search vs. the wildness of the band, the sonic storm she rides in on. That’s their sound.

“The Mowed Sound. It’s hard to talk about these last couple Rosali albums without talking about them. They play free and wild and relentlessly melodious. They rip and create space and fill it up with what seems like reckless abandon, but listen carefully or listen for a while and you’ll find them paying real close attention to each other and exactly what the song demands. – Dan Bejar

Check out the video of the album’s first single, “Rewind,” below that features special guest appearances by Nance, Schroeder and Donahue.

Rosali also announced a North American tour that kicks off March 19 in Denver (March dates support Mary Timony (Helium, Ex-Hex)) and wraps up April 20 at O’Leaver’s. You can pre-order the album from Rosali’s Bandcamp page.

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Civic plays tonight at Slowdown, Jr.

by Tim McMahan,Lazy-i.com

Another busy weekend for shows. Here’s where you need to be if you’re ready to rock…

Tonight at Slowdown Jr. Melbourne proto-punk band Civic headlines. Their latest, Taken by Force, was release this past February by ATO Records. Big riffs, precise guitar interplay, snarling Stooges vibe, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a new touring act just straight-out rock, and these guys bring the fire. Also on the bill is our own power-rock trio, Bad Bad Men, which (in my humble opinion) is a perfect fit for this gig. Bliss opens the show at 8 p.m. $20, front room so get tix if you can.

Competing directly with this Civic show is Bad Religion at The Admiral. Greg Graffin, and the boys have been doing it since the early ‘80s, defining the Epitaph sound and paving the way for acts like Green Day and Offspring, who “acquired” their sound and ran with it. No doubt this show will steal much of Civic’s ticket-buying thunder (Imagine if both bands were on the same bill…). Adding to the show’s fire power at The Admiral is Dwarves, who bring their own unique punk energy. Speed of Light opens at 7:30. $45.

Your Saturday activities start early with Farnam Fest in the Blackstone District, or should I say pre-Farnam Fest activities as Ground Floor Guitar is hosting its first in-store performance ramping up to Farnam Fest. Omaha singer/songwriter/sensation Mike Schlesinger performs in the shop followed by the C&W stomping of Lightning Stills (Craig Fort and his band of punk cowboys). This gig begins at 2 p.m. and is free, though you may want to buy a guitar while you’re in the shop, which is located at 4009 Farnam Street, just west of Noli’s. 

Then comes Farnam Fest ’23 kicking off at 4 p.m. I’m not sure where they’re going to have the stage set up this year, though it’s probably somewhere along 40th and Farnam. The line-up is pretty solid with some of Omaha’s best:

• – Bad Self Portraits
• – David Nance Band
• – M34N STR33T
• – The Real Zebos
• – BIB

$10 at the door.

David Nance is one busy dude, because he’s also playing at Pageturners Saturday night with DJ Trolli and The Mighty Vitamins. 8 p.m., no cover but $10 donation is suggested. I’m now told this show has been cancelled (see comments).

Nance and friends will also be backing Rosali at Grapefruit Records Saturday night. The singer/songwriter (who just played at Pageturners herself a couple weeks ago) is playing in the Old Market record store with Chicago indie singer/songwriter Fran, a.k.a. Maria Jacobson, whose latest, Leaving (2023, Fire Talk) is a real beaut.  7 p.m., $10.

And 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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Slow Pulp play tonight at The Slowdown

by Tim McMahan,Lazy-i.com

It’s a three-car pileup of shows tonight (we have another one come Monday). Add a 7 p.m. Husker game and BFF and things could get interesting.  I’m not sure if “the Husker effect” is still a thing since the football program hasn’t been successful for more than 20 years. We’ll see tonight.

Top of the list is, of course, the homecoming of The Good Life. The band led by singer/songwriter Tim Kasher, with Roger Lewis, Ryan Fox and Stef Drootin, has been touring in support of the double-LP version of Album of the Year, rereleased by Saddle Creek Records.  I thoroughly expected this show to sell out little ol’ Reverb Lounge but tickets are still available. Opening the show at 8 p.m. is Chicago band Doom Flower, who has been compared to Mazzy Star, The Breeders, Cat Power and Portishead. $25.

Meanwhile, down at The Slowdown, Chicago by way of Madison, Wisconsin, band Slow Pulp headlines. Fronted by Emily Massey, the band has toured with Alex G, which is a good combination considering the similarity in styles. The band is on the road touring their just released album, Yard (2023, ANTI-), which Pitchfork gave a 7.5 rating and said its “clear-eyed sincerity, bubblegum hooks and mellow arrangements feel like a warm embrace.” Classic indie rock, they’re selling out shows around the country (but not here). Opening the show at 8 p.m. is New York duo Babehoven (Double Double Whammy Records). This is a main room show; tickets are $20. 

Yesterday when I was buying my Lewsberg tickets I discovered that Grapefruit Records, 1125 Jackson Street in the Old Market, has another show happening tonight. Athens band Immaterial Possession is a four-piece led by Cooper Holmes and Madeline Polites whose music is “inspired by musical scales of the Greeks and Spanish,” according to their bio at the Fire Records website. It just sounds like groovy indie rock with some psychedelia to me. Opening this show is Heavy Clippings at 8 p.m. sharp! $10. 

Pro-tip regarding Grapefruit Records shows – they only post on Instagram, so give them a follow for their latest show and release info.

If that weren’t enough, tonight is Benson First Friday. That means art shows up and down Maple Street, not the least of which is the show at our place, Ming Toy Gallery at 6066 Maple. Tonight’s reception is for Josh & Shelby Audiss: Le Femme Fantastique. The opening runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Drop by, say hi, have beer or wine and buy some art! See you there.

Also as part of BFF, The Sydney in Benson is hosting Austin Texas 6-piece noise-rock band Neckbolt. The music sounds like their name. $10, 9 p.m.

Saturday’s big show is at Pageturners where singer/songwriter Rosali returns. She opened for Destroyer back in April 2022 backed by David Nance, Jim Schroeder and Kevin Donahue. I’m told they’ll be on board for Saturday’s show as well. Her 2021 album, No Medium was one of my favorites from that year; her new music is being released on Merge Records. See her on a small stage while you can. Singer/songwriter Sean Pratt opens at 8 p.m. There’s no cover but $10 donation is the least you can do. 

Then it’s onto Sunday for Lewsberg at Grapefruit Records. If you haven’t discovered this amazing Rotterdam-based four-piece you’re missing out. It’s like listening to a dry European translation of The Feelies mixed with Lou Reed and Yo La Tengo and nothing could be more perfect. 

I wrote Wednesday about how Grapefruit has upped its game in terms of being a venue. Find out for yourself. Also on the bill is a reunion of The Prairies – a band that consists of Dave Nance, Noah Sterba, Myke Marasco and Kevin Donahue – who will be playing songs off their first cassette tape. New band Western Haikus open at 7:15 p.m. This is a $12 show and advance tickets are available at Grapefruit Records, 1125 Jackson Street in the Old Market. 

And 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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I found out late yesterday afternoon that members of the David Nance Group would be backing last night’s opener for Destroyer at The Waiting Room — a performer who goes by the name Rosali. And sure enough, on stage playing to a crowd of less than 50 was Rosali (a.k.a. Rosali Middleman of the band Long Hots) with local heroes David Nance on bass, Jim Schroeder on lead guitar and Kevin Donahue on drums. Colin Duckworth joined them later in the set on pedal steel and banjo.

Turns out that Rosali’s 2021 album, No Medium, was recorded by Schroeder sometime during the pandemic with these guys backing her in the studio (along with contributions by Daniel Knapp, Simon Joyner and Conor Oberst). I’m listening to the album as I write this via Spotify (I wanted to buy a vinyl copy last night, but no one was manning her table and the Destroyer merch person wouldn’t sell it to me, so what are you gonna do? I’m betting I can pick up a copy at Grapefruit).

Her singing reminded me of just about every female vocalist on my list starting with Aimee Mann, followed by Joni Mitchell, Mary Timony, Natalie Merchant and Linda Thompson. Her at-times thin but tender voice was held in the finest contrast by this band, which still managed to blaze even when holding back in the quietest moments. The set really showcased Schroeder’s guitar work — beautiful, soaring solos that hissed and moaned at every turn. Gorgeous stuff, and just as gorgeous on the album that’s bound to be on my favorites’ list (though it came out last year).

By the time Destroyer came on stage at 9:15 sharp, the room was filled but nowhere near capacity, maybe 150 like the last time the band came through in 2018. Unlike that night, when Dan Bejar looked bored and listless, last night he was in top form (though never looking as if he was having fun, but maybe he never looks that way).

Bejar fronted one of the finest collections of musicians I’ve heard perform at The Waiting Room, at every position. The standouts were (again) that trumpet player, who continuously mixed his sound with effects pedals that turned his trumpet into an echoing dream corridor. That trumpet is so central to Destroyer’s sound that I can’t imagine these songs without it.

Just as remarkable was the band’s rhythm section – rarely does a bass player grab my attention, but this guy was just fire, as was the drummer. Add to that two fantastic guitarists and a rollicking keyboard player and you’ve got an amazing collective whose dreamy sound was like listening to a midnight stroll down an empty city street.

The set opened with a couple songs off side one of the new album, Labyrinthitis, before dipping into the Destroyer’s catalog. Set highlight for me was a killer version of “Times Square” from 2015’s Poison Season, as well as set closer “Kaputt,” which is becoming something of a greatest hit for Bejar. Great night!

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I’m happy I went out on a school night for Destroyer/Rosali because there ain’t squat going on this weekend show-wise.

The only thing of interest is goofy pop act Mile High Club, a band that (to me) sounds like modern yacht rock for a new generation (and in some ways, would fit right in next to Destroyer). The band rolls into The Slowdown Sunday night supporting their latest, Going Going Gone (2021, Stones Throw). Also on the bill is quirky JW Francis (Sunday Best Recordings). Omaha rockers Garst open at 8 p.m. $25.

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 © 2022 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.