Rusty Lord at Almost Music during Record Store Day, April 21, 2018.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Rusty Lord continues to be one of the bad-ass-iest acts blowing up the Omaha scene these days. Brazen though not angry; aggressive, hard and noisy, they’re a rock band more than a metal act, and though they’re likely to get herded in with the rest of the O’Leaver’s garage scene, they sound nothing like a garage band.

Needless to say, they blew the roof off Almost Music during the shop’s Record Store Day festival last Saturday. And they were just one of many, and the only band I caught. And even then, I listened more than watched their set as I was digging through the bins for hidden treasures. RSD brings out the greedy in all of us.

That said, this was the least cash I spent in recent years on RSD merch. My only purchase was that Cure Torn Down remix double LP, which I feared would be tough to find but was stocked in every shop I visited. I guess I overestimated the band’s appeal.

The RSD folks need to figure out a way to prolong the consumer-fueled intensity of this money-making holiday. I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell them that. My guess is they fear if they put something together monthly instead of just twice a year it would water down the “specialness” of the promotion. Maybe, maybe… But by doing it quarterly or monthly, they could possibly alleviate the pressure put on the vinyl producers and the shops, and maybe even cut down on the flipping/eBay effect.

There’s nothing stopping the shops from putting on their own promotions, I suppose. Almost Music could do a music festival a few times a year. And Homer’s and Drastic could do more in-stores and other events. Or maybe they’re content to have only two huge harvests a year…

* * *

I’m headed out of town again this week on biz, which  means updates will be few between now and Friday.

That said, let me glance at the calendars and point you toward the hot shows going on while I’m out.

Glancing at the 1% schedule, the only show that stands out is The Nadas on Thursday night. The Des Moines band has made Omaha a regular tour stop since forming 25 years ago. Evan Bartels and the Stoney Lonesomes opens at 8 p.m. $20.

Ain’t nothing happening at O’Leaver’s or The Brothers through Thursday. The Slowdown has a country-Americana show Tuesday night with The Native Howl, Daniel and the Deliverance and Omaha’s own Ragged Company opening. $10, 8 p.m.

I’m trying to think about what else…

Oh yeah, tonight is the big Jack White concert at Baxter Arena. I can’t tell you a thing about it because I don’t know shit about Jack White or his bands. I can tell you there’s a slew of $22 tickets at Stubhub if you’re interested. I had someone offer to give me a couple tickets (thanks Paul) but like I said, I can’t make it.

If you go to Jack White, don’t forget that it’s a non-smartphone show, which means you’ll have to lock your phone away if you want in the door. If anyone goes, let me know how that went…

See you Friday.

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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.

Presumably one of the people in this photo is Tim Kasher filming a scene from his new film, No Resolution, which will be screen tonight at O’Leaver’s.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Lots o’ shows on this Valentine’s Day / Ash Wednesday, which is kind of odd but oh well, right?

Top of the list is the big UnValentine’s Day event at fabulous O’Leaver’s featuring a screening of Tim Kasher’s epic motion picture No Resolution. Director Kasher will introduce the movie to an inebriated, possibly high O’Leaver’s crowd and will play some “UnValentine’s Day” songs before hand. I’m not sure this means he’ll actually perform songs or that he’ll be manning the O’Leaver’s soundboard/DJ booth. No matter, either way it’s worth the price of admission, which, btw, is absolutely free. The fun starts at 9.

Also tonight a couple bands that usually play at O’Leaver’s are setting up cross town at Pageturners Lounge — Rusty Lord and Ocean Black. This is bound to be some “rough love” for all involved. This free show also starts at 9 p.m.

Meanwhile in Benson at Reverb Lounge Sam Martin tops a bill of singer songwriter bands that include Small Houses and Midwest Dilemma. $7, 8 p.m.

Finally, The Door, a new collaboration between Dereck Higgins and Aaron “Bird” Williams, will perform their debut album, Virgo, tonight at B Side of Benson Theatre, 6058 Maple Street (the old PS Collective space). Joining them is Johnna Dortch & Steven Kat Lanier. Your $15 ticket gets you a copy of Virgo. This early show starts at 7 p.m.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all…

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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.

Rusty Lord at O’Leaver’s, June 23, 2017. They play tonight at O’Leaver’s.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Could be one of those crazy, hot, over-crowded nights at fabulous O’Leaver’s tonight. Everyone’s in town for the holidays looking for a rock show, and the only one on the radar is Rusty Lord and Alcools at The Club.

Just a reminder, “Rusty Lord” is, in fact, the weather guy at Channel 6. Unfortunately, he’s not in any way associated with this band (though he should be. Think how it would impact his Q-Rating).

Instead, Rusty Lord is a local garage rock super group with Pro-Magnum’s Johnny Vredenburg and Austin Ulmer, Ben VanHoolandt of Digital Leather and the Omaha rock ‘n’ roll madman/genius/legend Dave Goldberg behind a full drum kit. Their sound has been compared to Ministry, I think they’re more metal than that. Find out for yourself tonight at 10. Opening is Alcools (ex-Dead Flower Preservation Society). $5.

This is the one where the real Rusty Lord makes an appearance and even introduces the band. The outcome would be jubilant chaos.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) you have choices.

A very interesting show came out out nowhere: Karger Traum at Pet Shop Gallery (former Sweatshop space). We’re talking industrial rock/dance music sung in German by a couple dudes from Oklahoma City. Influences include Einstürzende Neubauten, Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft and Suicide.Their latest, Such a Dream, was released in October on DKA Records. This is a stacked bill, with Cultplay, Ruby Block and CBN. $5, 10 p.m.

Also tomorrow night (Saturday), Matt Whipkey and his band play at O’Leaver’s. Expect to hear songs off his forthcoming album, Driver. Raquel Telfer and The Shineys open. $7, 9:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, way out at Growler USA, Scott Severin plays with Josh Rector. Free! and 9 p.m.

And Satchel Grande returns to The Slowdown Saturday night with Andrew Bailie. $8, 9 p.m.

That’s all I see through the weekend, though…

While I’m thinking about it (and because who knows when I’ll next update this blog), ex-Omahan (But does anyone ever really leave Omaha?) Jake Bellows (from Neva Dinova fame) plays at Slowdown Jr. with Whispertown. They’ve got a new album out, I’m A Man (2017, Graveface). This one could be special $6 Adv/$8 DOS.

Mr. Bellows makes an appearance in their video for “I’m a Man.” Check it:

If I don’t get back to you before then, have a Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Festivus.

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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.

Rusty Lord at O’Leaver’s, June 23, 2017.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It was a packed house Friday night at O’Leaver’s to see the debut of Rusty Lord. What can I say about Omaha’s latest garage-rock supergroup?

Their sound was close to what I expected: heavy-psych rock fueled equally by guitars and synths. Someone mentioned Ministry before the show, and you could hear the influence on the opening song, but mostly what we got was guitar metal a la Pro-Magnum with Johnny Vredenburg and Austin Ulmer screeching/yelling over layers of dense chaos.

Of course the main attraction was seeing Omaha rock legend Dave Goldberg behind a full drum kit riding his precise, hyper-kinetic rapid-fire attack. With everything else happening on stage, Goldberg carried these guys on his proverbial shoulders, keeping it all together, while the crowd went bananas.

If you missed it, Rusty Lord is scheduled to play Benson First Friday at The Sydney August 4 with Leafblower and DJ Tyrone Storm.

BTW, no sightings of the actual Rusty Lord (the WOWT weather guy). I’m told he was notified that he’d be on the list, but… no show. Next time, Rusty, next time…

* * *

I get lots of press releases from promoters and labels. Lots and lots.

And I open almost every one. The reason I do is to see if the band being promoted is coming to Omaha on its next tour. The tour list always is at the bottom of the press release. Like the one I got last week about The Afghan Whigs’ North American Tour.

I go down the tour stops list and find:

Minneapolis
Chicago
Milwaukee

and

No Omaha

or, as it’s starting to become known: NOmaha

Unless I’m dreaming, it’s happening a lot more lately, at least when it comes to indie bands. If you’re wondering why Lazy-i isn’t updated every day, day in and day out, it’s because fewer indie shows means fewer reviews to post, fewer 10 Questions interviews, etc.

So, as a new feature here at Lazy-i, every time I get notified of a cool indie tour that is, once again, bypassing our fair city, I’ll put on a NOmaha Alert.

Today’s NOmaha alert(s):

Broken Social Scene:

“The tour will follow the release of Broken Social Scene’s upcoming album Hug of Thunder, out on Arts & Crafts on July 7th, 2017.”

9/26/17 — Des Moines, IA @ Hoyt Sherman *
9/27/17 — Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater *
9/28/17 — St. Paul, MN @ The Palace *
9/29/17– Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom *
NOMAHA

!!! (chk chk chk) with Algiers

“!!! (Chk Chk Chk) have announced additional US tour dates beginning this fall, a selection of which will be supported by Matador recording band, Algiers.” This is one I’d love to see.

June 30 | Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
July 1 | Denver, CO – Globe Hall
July 7 | Katowice, Poland, – Tabron Nowa Muzyka
NOMAHA

Someone get on it! We need these shows…

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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.

Adult Mom plays Saturday night at Milk Run. Photo by Richard Gin.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

On to the hotness that is this weekend…

Tonight, another mega debut, this time at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Omaha welcomes Rusty Lord. No, not the bald, nebbish WOWT meteorologist, the new rock project featuring Austin Ulmer (Dumb Beach) on guitar and vocals, Ben VanHoolandt (Digital Leather) on synth/guitar, Johnny Vredenburg (Digital Leather, Pro-Magnum) on bass/synth/vocals, and the legendary Dave Goldberg behind a FULL drum kit.

Says Vredenburg, “It’s somewhat what you’d imagine it to be. loud, abrasive dissonance with maniacal drumming driving it, yet a different sound from any of our previous bands.” I asked him to pin down a genre, and he said “probably psych/synth-punk.”

This is a four-band show, kicked off by Alcools, then Rusty Lord, followed by Effluvium and headlined by Satanic Abortion. $5, 10 p.m.

Also tonight, it’s another River City Star rock ‘n’ roll cruise down the Missouri River, this time featuring Miwi La Lupa, with AllSortsOfGood and the turntable stylings of DJ Tyrone Storm. The details:

Gates – 7 p.m.
Boat Access – 8 p.m.
Set Sail – 9 p.m. (they leave with or without you, folks)
Dock – Midnight

Cost is $20 for General Admission-only ticket, or $35 for General Admission + Miwi La Lupa’s Beginners Guide on vinyl!

And then Saturday night…

Through some happy accident a few years ago a link to Adult Mom’s Bandcamp page made it into my email, wherein I purchased a cassette copy of her 2014 release Sometimes Bad Happens, a great debut. That release must have caught the attention of Tiny Engines (the label that releases See Through Dresses’ albums), who put out Adult Mom’s 2015 full-length debut Momentary Lapse of Happily.

Now along comes Soft Spots (2017, Tiny Engines), which is her best release yet. “Her” is Adult Mom frontwoman/songwriter Stephanie Knipe, who is described by her label as “a gender-weird queer navigating through heartache, trauma and subsequent growth” and who gives the record an RIYL of The Weakerthans, The Cranberries, Girlpool, Liz Phair and Diet Cig.

In fact, Adult Mom emerged from the crowded forest of indie bands at about the same time as Diet Cig. I thought AM would be the one to break through, but it’s been Diet Cig that’s gotten all the attention, unfortunately. As a result, Diet Cig has had sweet opening tour slots and played Maha and Slowdown, while Adult Mom is relegated to playing tiny venues like Saturday night’s show at Milk Run.

Soft Spots is a gorgeous collection of bitter-sweet relationship songs that sonically remind me of K Records bands like The Softies while lyrically her music has a similar honesty heard on Elliott Smith albums. Knipe has a one-of-a-kind voice that emotes a sort of confident loneliness that fuels rocking tracks like “Steal the Lake from the Water” and “Drive Me Home.” The record is definitely worth checking out.

And so is the show — Saturday night at Milk Run. Opening for Adult Mom is Philly band Free Cake for Every Creature and our own The Morbs. $8, 9 p.m. Remember, Milk Run is now at Midtown Art Supply. Enter through the alley.

One more thing to mention this weekend… Brothers Lounge is hosting another Omaha Record Swap from 4 to 7 p.m. Almost Music, Homer’s, Vinyl Therapy and D-Tour are among those who will have stock on hand. It’s free and the drinks are extra tasty at Brothers.

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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.