by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

If anything, last night’s Molchat Doma/Sextile show at Steelhouse Omaha proved that the massive, blimp-hangar-style facility can host shows that only draw 1/3 of its capacity and still feel like an important event.

Los Angeles electronic-fueled post-punk act Sextile — no stranger to Omaha — was up first and scored the better of the two performances, thanks to a shorter set and more varied and frenetic music. Sextile’s heart-racing, jittery rhythms, infectious bass lines and unlimited energy generated by three bouncing musicians did everything it could to get the (guess-timated) crowd of around 1,000 moving. 

Throughout their 10-year careers, Sextile has always been more punk than post-punk, and never moreso than on their aggressive new album, Yes, Please., slated for release May 2 on Sacred Bones Records. New songs like “Women Respond to Bass,” “Kids,” “S Is For” and set closer “Resist” — wherein vocalist/instrumentalist Melissa Scaduto hoisted a flag emblazed with “Abortion Rights Now!” — were among the night’s highlights. 

Long-time Sextile fans yearning for past glories were not disappointed. The set opened with 2018 favorite “Disco,” and included tracks “No Fun” and “Contortion” from 2023’s Push. Instrumentally, Scaduto and fellow front-person Brady Keehn impressed with their stick-work and knob twirling when not spitting lyrics at the crowd. 

A fellow concert-goer pointed out the music would be perfect at 2 a.m. in a crowded, smoke-filled warehouse while high on some unidentified substance, instead of at 8:30 on a Monday night drinking a lukewarm microbrew. Maybe that’s why so few were moving on the floor beyond the edge of the stage. Ah, to be honest, the only band I’ve seen turn an Omaha crowd that size into a bouncing a mob was The Faint.

Shortly after 9 p.m., Molchat Doma took the blackened stage, each band member staking out his territory – bassist Pavel Kozlov stage left, guitarist Roman Komogortsev stage right, and frontman Egor Shkutko dead center. And that’s where they stayed throughout the evening while someone somewhere controlled the prerecorded synth and rhythm tracks that fueled the performance. 

“We are Molchat Doma from Minsk, Belarus,” Egor quietly declared after the first song. “Dosvedanya.” 

The basic song recipe involved a drone/tone intro followed by a kick-ass rhythm track, Pavel’s bassline and Roman’s guitar. It’s easy to point out the obvious influences – Depeche Mode, The Cure, Joy Division, etc. A fellow concert-goer gave nods to Nitzer Ebb and Front Line Assembly.

But despite the rump-shakingly infectious rhythms and guitars, Egor’s dark, bosso voice eventually transported listeners to a drab, Soviet-era landscape covered in brutalist architecture. It was like listening to a soldier sing mournful Russian-language anthems over a wicked EDM loop.

Early in the set, the audience, which included a lot of younger people dressed in black, many donning their best goth styles and make-up, merely nodded their heads to the beat. But as you walked deeper into the crowd, you noticed the bodies moving oh so subtly, the energy increasing closer to the stage. I’m unsure where these fans came from, as Molchat Doma has never played Omaha before and isn’t heard on local radio. The answer is probably those viral TikTok videos, apparently as popular here as in Eastern Bloc countries.

Despite shifts in rhythm and melodies — and instrumental interludes (in one instance, Pavel and Roman met centerstage and exchanged riffs) — the music’s “sameness” was unescapable thanks to being draped in dirge-like vocals. How would their music sound with English-language pop vocals? No doubt it would lose its gravitas — and to some, become more interesting — but it would never be Molchat Doma. And to that, all I can say is “Dosvedanya.”

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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

Monday Night is Show Night in Omaha™  Now there’s a catchphrase the Omaha entertainment business community can really get behind. Or how about: Weekends Are Made for Locals™. 

Listen, we can thank tour routing for the abundance of Monday night (and weekday night) touring indie shows, since we’re located between major markets like KC, Minneapolis and Chicago. Bands could simply take the night off, but they come here anyway, even if it makes for some bleary-eyed Tuesday mornings. 

This Monday night is all about the EDM (as in electronic dance music) of Molchat Doma and Sextile at Steelhouse Omaha. I won’t rehash what I already said last week. Go back and check out the Lazy-i Ten Questions interview with Molchat Doma.

Glancing at Molchat Doma’s setlist from last Friday night’s show in Chicago, expect a 14-song set with 4-song encore, including their viral hit “Sudno.” I’d list the other song titles, but let’s face it – no one reading this is that familiar with the band or their catalog. 

And here’s a review of the Oct. 19, 2023, Sextile show at The Waiting Room. Attendance was a wee bit light that evening, and as I wrote in the review, I could only imagine how the performance compared to, say, a sold-out Terminal 5 show in Brooklyn. For the record, Sextile played 12 songs at their Feb. 19 Toronto gig. Here’s the setlist. 

I’ve never been to a show at Steelhouse that wasn’t either sold out or close to selling out. Will tonight be a first?

When I interviewed Omaha Performing Arts President Joan Squires and Steelhouse Director of Booking Erika Hansen back in 2023 for my column in The Reader (online here), I asked how they’d handle shows that draw fewer than 1,000. Squires said the space may not be appropriate for those shows, which would be a better fit for small O-pa-operated venues like the Holland Music Club. However, Hansen said Steelhouse is flexible and has options, including the use of retractable risers. I’ve yet to see those risers in action.

The sheer fact that Steelhouse was willing to gamble on this show, however, is a credit to Omaha Performing Arts. Let’s see if the gamble pays off tonight. Tickets to the show are still available at steelhouseomaha.com. Showtime is 8 p.m. Bring your dancing shoes.

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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

Yesterday, Saddle Creek Records released a previously unreleased song included on the upcoming deluxe reissue of The Faint’s Blank-Wave Arcade.  “Brokers, Priests & Analysts” is a proggy howler that fits right in with the rest of the album and will be a blast to see performed live if you were smart enough to buy tickets to the April 3 Omaha show before it SOLD OUT. 

The Faint also shared a remastered version of “Worked Up So Sexual” that jumps right out of your headphones.

The reissues of Blank-Wave Arcade and Wet From Birth drop March 14 via Saddle Creek. Preorder yours here. 

What isn’t sold out is next Monday’s Molchat Doma show at Steelhouse Omaha. The tour has sold out large rooms in Minneapolis, Seattle and Los Angeles, but tickets are still available to the Omaha show. Don’t miss out…

Opening is the always fun Sextile, who today dropped the first single from Yes, Please, their new album which drops May 2 via Sacred Bones. It’s another of their classic dance floor ravers. 

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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.

Sextile at The Waiting Room, Oct. 19, 2023.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I’ll start with Sextile at The Waiting Room and go backward from there. 

The band had made it known they were going on at 10:15 last night, and I arrived shortly before that, catching only the last song by the opening act, someone who’s music I had determined I didn’t need to hear after listening to a number of his tracks prior to the show. Some folks expected Sextile to be a big draw, others were like me, skeptical but hopeful that Omaha would show up — and more Omaha showed up than I expected – a crowd of maybe 150, a fine mix of ages and genders drawn together by a goth sense of fashion and a shared love for this style of post-punk post-New Wave synth-powered dance music.

The trio bounded onto the velvet-black stage to the blump-blump-blump beat of “Contortion,” off their new album, Push. Or at least I think that was the name of the song. I would be lying if I told you I knew the words to any Sextile song or their names for that matter, other than the ones fans consider their “hits” – “Disco,” “New York,” “No Fun,” “Current Affair,” etc., all of which were played at some point last night to a crowd of sometimes-jumping sometimes-undulating fans, many of which looked ready for Halloween. 

In addition to having an infectiously driving beat, Sextile songs sport abrasive counter-melodies played mostly on synths but sometimes on electric guitar, and vocals that consist mostly of either frontman Brady Keehn or frontwoman Melissa Scaduto barking out words in a staccato yelp tightly in synch with the proceedings. At their best, even the most dead pile of human flesh can’t help but move to their coal-black rhythms.

So much of the music was preprogrammed that it was hard to say if and when any of Sextile were actually playing anything, other than punching the track number from a play list, though it sure looked like guitarist Cameron Michel was actually shredding that guitar, as did Scaduto. More often, the performance consisted of a bleach-blond-sunglassed Keehn bounding about the stage, spitting out lyrics while showing off his contorted dance moves, glowing/blasting on-off-on in the blinding strobes. T’was a shame the place wasn’t packed, as (like that Model/Actriz show a week ago) I can only imagine how this performance would feel at, say, a sold-out Terminal 5 in Brooklyn. 

Another Michael at Reverb Lounge, Oct. 19, 2023.

Going backwards earlier the evening… There was a wholly different kind of audience at Reverb Lounge last night for Ratboys, a well-attended (but not sold out) show. These folks clearly were not ready for Halloween. Opening band Another Michael is a Philly four-piece that plays Americana-inflected indie rock, though that’s not really a fair description. It’s clearly a singer/songwriter act powered by frontman Michael Doherty backed by a rock-solid band anchored with precision and grace by a drummer who’s name I don’t know and can’t find and in this day-and-age don’t want to make any assumptions. 

Doherty’s songwriting style would be as successful in the ‘70s as it is here in the ’20s (and upon reading that sentence, I feel very old indeed). The only band I would compare them to is early ‘90s-era The Silos. Doherty has a high, sweet voice and style similar to Walter Salas-Humara, though instead of singing about the Southwest, Another Michael’s songs are rooted in the frozen Northeast. Really gorgeous stuff and a good opener for Ratboys.

Ratboys at Reverb Lounge, Oct. 19, 2023.

A hot ticket thanks to the success of their latest album, the Chris Walla produced The Window, and for touring with bands like Wilco and Guster (who they opened for here in Omaha a year ago), the band has a poise and style that points to much bigger stages than Reverb’s. Singer/guitarist Julia Steiner is like watching Broadcast News-era Holly Hunter lead a modern indie band that has a lot in common with acts like Hop Along (the closest comparison vocally to Steiner). Her voice can be at times sound earnest and personal while at other times almost overtly cute, just as their songs can waver between straightforward indie rock and Wilco-esque Americana. 

Steiner also has good between-song-tuning-my-guitar snappy patter, telling stories about “the wooden man” they saw at a Luv’s somewhere in Iowa (Hate for Iowa was a theme throughout the night by both bands who wrongly think Nebraskans hates Iowa for some reason, which couldn’t be further from the truth, but who am I to correct their regional prejudices?).  There is no doubt this band is going to be huge, and the fact that this show didn’t sell out tiny Reverb only adds to the continued mystery as to why touring indie shows are drawing so disappointingly in our market. 

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Onto the weekend, and an O’Leaver’s weekend at that, though there is one big touring indie show worth mentioning.

First though, like a blast from the past, there are back-to-back nights of live music this weekend at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Tonight, elusive local indie band BB Sledge opens for two bands I’ve never heard of — Saltwater Sanctuary and The Bedrock. Will I finally see BB Sledge after countless efforts to see them in the past were for naught? Maybe. This show is $10 and starts at 9:30.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) at O’Leaver’s see the return of Dance Me Pregnant, who we haven’t heard from since, what, 2012? It’s the classic Dance Me Pregnant line-up with Chris Machmuller, Johnny Vredenburg, Corey Broman and Jeff Ankenbauer. Some of these folks I literally haven’t seen in a decade. If that weren’t enough to get you to O’Leaver’s, the night’s bill also includes The Flamboyant Gods (I’m Drinking This Records) and In Tongues (Robert Little, Jason Ludwick and Boz Hicks). And it’s free. Expect a crush mob. Good thing it’s nice out so you can step out onto their gorgeous patio between sets. Starts at 9 p.m., just like old times.

The other big show Saturday night is indie darling Samia at The Waiting Room. The band is riding a wave of popularity thanks to the sing-along song “Honey” off the album of the same name released earlier this year on Grand Jury Records. Was a time you couldn’t turn on Sirius XMU without hearing the track (how does that happen, by the way?). Also on the bill is the cute Nashville indie duo Venus & the Flytraps.  8 p.m., $25.

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

For work reasons I didn’t attend last night’s Amyl and the Sniffers show, which, by all accounts, was a banger. I intend to make up for it tonight.

Los Angeles post-punk band Sextile came out of nowhere in 2015 playing a style of high-energy electronics-driven No Wave rock reminiscent of the early days of The Faint. Their sound is driving, relentless, synth-fueled dance punk, shiny vinyl and strobe lights, with a nod to early post-punk acts ranging from Gary Numan and Flock of Seagulls to The Cramps and Christian Death. 

In 2017 the band played a set at Meatball in the Blackstone District to close out that year’s Farnam Fest. It was a glorious shambles. Two years later, Sextile’s guitarist, Eddie Wuebben, died and sent the band into hiatus. They emerged on the other side of the pandemic to carry on with the single “New York” in 2022. The full-length, Push, was released this past September on Sacred Bones and is their best album so far. 

Tonight’s Sextile show boasts three openers, all laptop performers. N8NOFACE is an LA-based dark-synth punk artist apparently obsessed with killing, judging by his 2022 release Homicide. Lincoln synth-leather-fetish-dance-dude Plack Blague also is on the bill. Runway thumper Jeff in Leather kicks things off at 8 p.m. $20.

I’m told Sextile could go on as early as 9:45 10:15. I bring this up because right around the corner at Reverb, Ratboys is headlining. The Chicago four-piece has been described as “soft-hearted Midwestern indie rock with an ever-so-subtle Americana twist” — about as far away from Sextile as you can get. Their latest, The Window, was released this past August by Topshelf Records. Produced by Death Cab’s Chris Walla, Pitchfork bestowed the record with a massive 8.0 rating while Stereogum described it as “one of the absolute best albums of the year.”

Opening for Ratboys at Reverb is Philly duo Another Michael, who’s new album, Wishes to Fulfill, has a soothing ‘70s FM sound you will immediately recognize if you grew up riding around town in the back of a stationwagon. 8 p.m., $18.

It’s my intent to try to go between the two clubs throughout the evening. We’ll see how that goes…

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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

New releases and singles were announced over the past few days by a handful of touring indie bands who have included Omaha on their upcoming tours. Let us celebrate each.

On top of the list is Sextile, the LA-based electro / No Wave trio will be playing at The Waiting Room Oct. 19. The last time I saw these folks they were playing a set at Blackstone Meatball during a Farnam Fest back in 2017. Their new album, Push, is out Sept. 15 on Sacred Bones Records, and is, as the kids say, fire. 

Phoenix act Diners a.k.a. Blue Broderick, is playing Reverb Lounge Sept. 6. Their new album, Domino, comes out Aug. 18 on Bar/None Records. Here’s the first single:

Speedy Ortiz is back and always seems to remember poor little Omaha when she’s putting together her tour stops, and this time ‘round is no exception. Frontwoman Sadie Dupuis and her posse will be playing The Slowdown with Spacemoth Nov. 17. Yesterday they dropped the first single from their next album, Rabbit Rabbit, which comes out Sept. 1 on Wax Nine Records. Check it:

Durham, NC’s Hiss Golden Messenger is the project of M.C. Taylor. The singer/songwriter’s style leans on Americana and Country. Their new album, Jump for Joy, comes out on Merge Aug. 25, and the band is slated to play The Waiting Room Dec. 1. 

Finally, it’s old news for sure but Wilco is returning to Omaha, playing at the new Astro Theater Oct. 23. The band announced their new album, Cousin, will drop Sept. 29 on dBpm Records. Check out the first single, “Evicted,” that dropped yesterday.

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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

Despite the weather, Farnam Fest went on as planned, with some slight modifications. It was spitting when I arrived around 6-ish, just in time to hear Icky Blossoms play a long, scorching set that featured Graham Ulicny of The Faint, Reptar, Thick Paint on bass.

Farnam Fest was set up in the parking area behind businesses along Farnam St., specifically behind Mula, Scriptown, etc. Food vendors/trucks are parked along 40th St. It’s a good set-up, with lots of beer tents, which were useful when the rain got worse.

I left after Icky Blossoms, but was told by organizer Sam Parker that only Shannan & the Clams’ set was cut short by 10 minutes due to lightning. Headliner Tennis’ set was moved to Blackstone Meatball.

I returned to Meatball just in time to catch the tail end of Sextile’s set — a raging electronic No Wave sound barrage, chaotic and fierce. They reminded me of the very early days of The Faint.

The band was set up along the back wall, so when I entered via the back door I almost walked right into their performance. It felt and looked like an in-store.

Meatball is by no means a formal music venue, nor was it designed to be. Still, I’d rather see a band at Meatball (or a regular music venue) than at the old Milk Run concrete basement/dungeon (or its original cracker-box location on Leavenworth). That said, what formal venue is willing to take a chance booking a band like Sextile (or recently, Adult Mom, who also played at Milk Run)? Lately, the answer has been none, which is why we still need these DIY spaces, else we’re going to miss out on a lot of emerging talent that the larger venues are unwilling to take a chance on.

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The Brothers lounge is hosting another big punk show tonight, headlined by local mover/shaker BIB. Phoenix band Man Hands also is on the bill. The band lists as influences Devo, Chrome, The Intelligence, Nirvana, Jay Reatard, Lenguas Largas, Digital Leather, Wire, Gary Numan and Blondie, among others. Their “about” statement in Facebook: “We like the pole and the hole.” Take it for what it’s worth. Opening is Omaha metal dudes Rusty Lord. This also will be an anniversary of a sorts for Trey and Lallaya… $5, 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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Rain, rain go away… at least go away on Saturday afternoon…

We’ll get to that in a minute. First, the weekend:

It kicks off tonight with Clarence Tilton at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Joining Omaha’s favorite alt-country band is Bach Mai, while Matt Whipkey takes the opening slot. $5, 10 p.m.

Also tonight, The Mountain Goats return to Omaha, this time to The Waiting Room. Seems like Darnielle and the boys were just here (because they were). Their latest album, Goths (Merge Records) came out in May. Opening is Athens band Mothers (Grand Jury, Wichita). $28, 9 p.m.

And finally, Nebraska legend Charlie Burton and his band (Or What!) play tonight at Down Under Lounge. Prairie Gators open at 9 p.m. $5.

Then Saturday it’s Farnam Fest. The midtown block party will be held at 40th & Farnam in the Blackstone District. It’s free and all ages. Food, booze, stuff to buy, and, of course, music.

Booked by Sam Parker (the dude behind booking this year’s Lincoln Calling Festival), Farnam Fest really stepped up its game with a strong mix of local and touring acts including Shannon and the Clams, White Mystery and headliner indie band Tennis. Here’s the full line-up:

3:00 — Both
3:45 — Miwi La Lupa
4:30 — High Up
5:20 — Yes You Are
6:25 — White Mystery
7:30 — Icky Blossoms
8:50 — Shannon and the Clams
10:10 — Tennis

Looks like there’s only one problem with the festival — the weather forecast. Let’s hope the weather dudes are wrong.

There are actually two after-parties for Farnam Fest:

Over at Blackstone Meatball garage New Wave band Sextile is playing, with Ojai opening. This one was originally slated for Milk Run before the venue’s unfortunate demise. It’s free and starts at 11.

Also happening after the fest — Alex White of White Mystery will be spinning 45s at Brothers Lounge. That one’s also free.

Finally Sunday O’Leaver’s is hosting another in its series of Sunday Socials — early shows that start at 5 p.m. and involve food (this week: taco bar!). Headlining this Sunday’s Social is Closeness (Orenda and Todd, you know ’em, you love ’em), along with opener Effluvium and touring band Detroit’s You. (Avant! Records). 5 p.m. start, $5.

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.