The Sucettes at Reverb Lounge Nov. 22, 2014.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Someone asked me if Saturday night’s Simon Joyner and the Ghosts show at Reverb was a “top-5 Joyner set.” I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean. Every Joyner set is different and interesting in its own way. How you compare them, I don’t know.

Over the years I’ve gotten as much out of Joyner’s various solo acoustic sets as I have his wonky-bordering-on-experimental band sets performed at Sokol Underground and O’Leaver’s as I did his more “polished” sets, like when he opened for Bright Eyes at The Rose Theater way back when. The beauty and wonder of Joyner performances is that you never know what you’re going to get, though over the past few years, Simon and the Ghosts have become more predictable, more musically confident and (perhaps) less experimental. His music also feels more upbeat, more rocking, especially the handful of new songs from his forthcoming record, Grass, Branch, and Bone, out on Woodsist next year. I’m looking forward that album as much or more than any of his past efforts.

Ghosts bassist Alec Erickson was AWOL Saturday night. Megan Siebe, who usually handles organ and violin, filled in, though pedal-steel/keyboardist Mike Friedman also handled bass chores on a few numbers.  I won’t say it was a top-5 show, but it was in the upper third of the 50 or so Joyner shows I’ve witnessed over the years.

Simon Joyner and the Ghosts at Reverb, Nov. 22, 2014.

The Sucettes, who opened Saturday night, is the most “realized” Dave Goldberg-fueled band since his Carsinogents days. The lineup is Goldberg switching between keyboards and drums, Jeremiah McIntyre on bass and vocals, Genie Molkentine on vocals, drums and keyboards, Todd VonStup on guitar and CJ Olson on guitar. The band’s music sounds like an extension of what Goldberg and McIntyre were doing in Box Elders, though the arrangements are more filled out. This is a fun band to watch, centered on Goldberg, who is the preeminent stage performer — you can’t keep your eyes off him. Joyner joined Sucettes for their set closer, a scorching cover of the Minutemen’s “Jesus and Tequila.”

In the center slot was Skeleton Man, a droning psychedelic band fronted by Kevin Donahue (Ghosts drummer) on guitar/vocals that also featured fellow Ghost Megan Siebe, who might be the hardest working musician in Omaha these days. Now when someone asks me what “drug music” sounds like, I can point to this band, whose trippy drone felt like Pink Floyd on acid (Is there any other kind of Pink Floyd?). They only played four songs, but their set closer rolled on for 20 minutes of rhythmic noise, capped by Donahue’s undecipherable vocals/wailing.

This was the largest crowd I’ve seen at Reverb, and with the collection of local musicians in the audience, it felt like a coming out party for the club. The room’s sound gets better with every visit. It’s only been open for a few months and it already is getting a rep for being one of the city’s best music venues.

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No shows tonight, but it’s going to be a busy week. It always is during the holidays. You may want to get tickets to tomorrow night’s Desa show in advance…

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The OEAA Showcase is tonight in Benson.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Despite my opinion of the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards (OEA) process, I generally dig their bi-annual showcases. It’s a good chance to see a lot of Benson bands at a lot of Benson venues and drink a lot of Benson booze at a reasonable price. And it serves as kind of an “open house” for the Benson district, which is an ever-changing organism of bars and music venues.

Tonight is the fall OEA showcase — seven Benson bars, one admission price of $10.  Here’s the current sched (which could change), and the bands I’m going to try to see in bold:

The Waiting Room
9:00-9:35 Bazile Mills
9:50-10:25 Arson City
10:40-11:15 Jason Earl Band
11:30-12:05 The Decatures
12:20-12:55 M34N STR33T
1:10-1:45 One Eye White

The Sydney
9:00-9:35 When Towers Fall
9:50-10:25 Pancho & The Contraband
10:40-11:15 Matt Cox Band 
11:30-12:05 DJ Shor-T and E Babbs
12:20-12:55 Stonebelly
1:10-1:45 Break Maiden

The Pizza Shoppe Collective
8:00-8:35 Jocelyn
8:50-9:25 Omaha Guitar Trio
9:40-10:15 R Style
10:30-11:05 Marcey Yates 
11:20-11:55 Latin Threat 
12:10-12:45 Shuless

Burke’s Pub
9:00-9:35 Southpaw Bluegrass Band
9:50-10:25 Prairie Gators Band
10:40-11:15 Mitch Gettman
11:30-12:05 Nathan Wade
12:20-12:55 Hector Anchondo
1:10-1:45 The Willards Band

Reverb Lounge
8:00-8:35 Kait Berreckman 
8:50-9:25 Edem
9:40-10:15 All Young Girls Are Machine Guns
10:30-11:05 The Bishops
11:20-11:55 Dereck Higgins 
12:10-12:45 Dallas Hendrix
1:05-1:35 DJ Mista Soul

The Barley Street Tavern
8:00-8:35 Aly Peeler
9:00-9:35 Polka Police
9:50-10:25 Clear The Day
10:40-11:15 Dirty River Ramblers
11:30-12:05 Dylan Bloom Band
12:20-12:55 Low Long Signal
1:10-1:45 Uh Oh

The 402 Arts Collective
8:00-8:35 Dilemma
8:50-9:25 Clark & Company
9:40-10:15 Esencia Latina Band
10:30-11:05 Belles & Whistles
11:20-11:55 Punching Puppets

Saturday night Simon Joyner and the Ghosts take the stage at the Reverb Lounge. According to the invite: “Simon Joyner and the Ghosts have just finished their new album, ‘Grass, Branch, and Bone,’ coming out on Woodsist in the new year. Come hear some of these new songs for the first time.” Opening is Sucettes, the new combo featuring Dave Goldberg and Jeremiah McIntyre (formerly of The Box Elders). Also on the playbill is Skeleton Man (members of Coaxed, Yuppies). $7, 9 p.m.

That’s all I got for the weekend. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a good one.

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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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Delta Spirit at The Waiting Room, Oct. 17, 2014.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Bar hopping was in order last Friday night.

First stop was The Waiting Room where The Delta Spirit was set to play. The band seems to have changed its direction from its early Americana days. When people hear the name Delta Spirit they expect the usual hayseed folk-rock stuff but in fact DS has changed its style, reaching for a more commercial base, as evidenced by its new album, Into the Wide, which has similarities to the last couple U2 albums — huge chiming guitars and full blown anthems sung by a frontman who resembles actor Shia Labeouf but with an arena-quality voice that rings out over everything behind it. In this case, “everything” includes two drummers (one who doubles on keyboards) and the usual bass, drums, guitar combination. It was one of the louder recent shows I’ve seen at TWR.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t a a sell out, even though Delta Spirit has done a good job creating a fan base in Omaha, where they’ve played at least three times including at a past Maha Music Festival, a performance that I either missed or forgot. Still, the fans that showed up (apparently some traveling long distances) pumped their fists in front of the stage where the band glowed from a projected light show beamed on vertical white strips that hung down like prison bars. The video was mostly static splatters, odd psychedelic patterns, nothing that distracted too much from frontman Matthew Vasquez.

You have to hand it to Vasquez. In an era where pick-up truck six-pack pop country is making millions, he could step right into the cowboy-hat set with ease, but instead, he’s taken an indie/alternative route that promises nothing but club gigs unless somehow DS manages to break through to the larger audience. I see no reason why they wouldn’t, all it takes these days is getting your song played on the right TV commercial or show.

Simon Joyner and The Ghosts at O’Leaver’s, Oct. 17, 2014.

After a half-hour of their set, I got a text from someone at O’Leaver’s saying that Simon Joyner was about to go on, so I hoofed it back to my car and drove down the serpentine back of Radial Highway to Saddle Creek Road to Omaha’s favorite music-powered dive bar.

Joyner and his band The Ghosts never sounded better on O’Leaver’s “stage.” More enhancement to the bar’s PA and sound system was part of the reason, but the credit really goes to the new line-up.

Joyner’s music continues to get more detailed, more complex while at the same time, more relaxed. Having a team of talented musicians, each providing their own nuance to the structure, resulted in layers upon layers of sound and melody headed in the same direction, but centered around Joyner’s personal lyrics that read like a poetic document or a painter’s road map of a world we’ve all come to recognize over the course of his 20-plus year career.

Watching them perform, each player looked lost in his or her own personal space, feverishly translating the song into their own voice. Joyner gave them the space to make their parts their own without losing sight of the color of the moment. Riveting stuff, especially when it built to a crescendo, which Joyner effortlessly brought back with a turn of his head.

O’Leaver’s appears to be going through some sort of transition since the last time I visited. New lighting fixtures hung over the booth tables. A glass door had been installed in the far wall that (I’m told) will lead to a second beer garden in the back of the building, a new deck area which could host live music (one assumes of the acoustic variety). No matter what they do to the place, though, it’ll always be the same old O’Leaver’s.

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Saturday I caught Rachel Tomlinson Dick‘s set at the Almost Music / Solid Jackson Books anniversary music festival. It was just Dick and her electric guitar, sort of like listening to a Midwestern version of PJ Harvey’s 4-Track Demos, but with more melody and a Big Star cover thrown in for good measure. Pretty awesome.

BTW, Hers (Tomlinson’s band) just got a feature at Nylon online a couple weeks ago. Check it out.

I picked up a copy of The Smith’s debut album at Almost Music, as well as Bob Mould’s biography and another Hunter S. Thompson collection. You can always find good stuff at Almost Music. If you haven’t been there — and you’re into vinyl (or cassettes) — do yourself a favor.

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The Huge Show of the Week is tonight at The Waiting Room. Dum Dum Girls take the stage. The band is out touring their most recent Sub Pop release, Too True. Opening is Ex Cops (on Manhattan record store Other Music’s label) and Kansas City’s Yes You Are, whose members include Tilly and the Wall vocalist Kianna Alarid. $15, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, the Burkum Boys (from Skypiper) headline at Reverb with The Cactus Blossoms & Mitch Gettman. $5, 9 p.m.

And John Klemmensen and the Party plays tonight at Slowdown Jr. with Phillly fuzz punk band Mumblr and Brisx. $7, 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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Brad Smith of Almost Music enjoys a Coke sometime in the late ’60s. His record store celebrates its one-year anniversary Saturday with an all-day music festival.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s already the weekend, believe it or not. Let’s get to the shows, shall we?

Tonight at fabulous O’Leaver’s Simon Joyner unveils a new line-up for his band, The Ghosts.  Jim Schroeder of UUVVWWZ has taken over lead guitar, Mike Friedman has shifted to organ and pedal steel. Meanwhile, Alec Erickson of Subtropics is handling bass. Rounding out the band is Megan Siebe on viola and organ, and Kevin Donahue on drums. Whew!

Simon says the band will be playing songs from his new record, Grass, Branch, and Bone, which comes out on Brooklyn label Woodsist Records (Kurt Vile, Real Estate, Eat Skull) in January or February. Also on the bill is Lincoln folk-rock band Kill County. This one is $7 and starts at 9 p.m., and it’s a Hear Nebraska presentation.

Meanwhile, Delta Spirit headlines tonight at The Waiting Room. Their new album, Into the Wide (Dualtone Records), subtly shifts the band’s sound away from Americana to something that blends indie with mainstream anthem rock. Big sound, big breaks, big choruses, the band is reaching for a bigger audience and will likely find it with this one. Opening is NYC band SACCO and SF band Waters. $15, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, the obtusely named Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) plays at Slowdown Jr. with Free Throw and Super Ghost. $10, 9 p.m.

And The Doneofits headline at The Barley Street with Baberaham Lincolns, DL Diedrich and thoughts. $5, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) is another Cornhusker game night, which usually limits music options. Not this time.

Mitch Gettman is celebrating the release of his new EP, Nothing Stays the Same, at Reverb. Opening is Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies along with Edem. $5, 9 p.m.

Over at The Brothers Lounge Minneapolis legends The Magnolias crowd into the pool table room. They’ve been playing the hard shit for almost 30 years. Opening is Bullet Proof Hearts. No price listed for this one, but it’s probably less than $10 (and closer to $5), 9 p.m.

O’Leaver’s is hosting Des Moines band Holy White Hounds along with local dudes Sidewalkers. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also Saturday (during the day) Almost Music and Solid Jackson Books celebrates its one-year anniversary. My, how time flies when you’re selling quality vinyl and books! To mark the occasion, the Benson shop at 6569 Maple is hosting live music from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The line-up:

Twin – 11:00-11:30
Nathaniel Hoier – 11:45-12:15
Sean Pratt and the Sweats – 12:30-1:00
Brendan Hagberg – 1:15-1:45
Matthew Theim – 2:00-2:30
MS/MM – 2:45-3:15
Rachel Tomlinson Dick – 3:30-4:00
Lvrk Late- 4:15-4:45
Marcey Yates – 5:00-5:30
Telepathy Problems- 5:45-6:15
Sucettes – 6:30-7:00

Expect food, albums, books, prizes and lots of fun.

The weekend doesn’t stop there. I usually don’t write about Lincoln shows, but this one is special. Legendary Lincoln band Sideshow reforms for a gig Sunday night at Duffy’s. We’re talking the trio of Pawl Tisdale (now of Domestica), Rich Higgins (now of Nanahara) and Bernie McGinn (now of California). Both Domestica and Nanahara are opening. $5, 8 p.m.

Also Sunday, Millions of Boys headlines at Slowdown Jr. with Outer Spaces and Relax, It’s Science. $5 now, $7 DOS. 9 p.m.

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In this week’s column, television, sex, parenting and Viagra (but not necessarily in that order). You can read it in this weeks issue of The Reader or online right here.

That’s what 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 © 2014 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

A still from the video for “Your House” by G.Green.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Not a bad weekend for shows…

Tonight at Slowdown Jr. it’s the kickoff of Simon Joyner & the Ghost’s “Southeast Tour.” The devil’s goin’ down to Georgia looking for some souls to steal and won’t be back for 10 days. Wish him well at this bon voyage performance that also features The Betties, Mike Schlesinger of Gus & Call and headliner David Dondero. Not a bad lineup for $12. Show starts at 9 p.m.

Ribs and The Filter Kings — sounds like the perfect combination, as long as you throw in about four fingers of bourbon. That’s the recipe tonight at Mojo Smokehouse in Aksarben Village.  Opening is the breakneck punk of Lincoln band Ideal Cleaners. Expect broken glass. I hope all those unsuspecting diners know what they’re in for. Starts at 10 and the show is free.

Also tonight is the Omaha Entertainment and Arts (OEA) semi-annual showcase in Benson — 40 local bands at five Benson venues for a mere $10. Schedule is online here at Facebook. Performing of note: Bloodcow at The Waiting Room at 10:20 p.m., and Snake Island at The Barley Street at 12:50 a.m. I haven’t heard of most of the other bands, but isn’t that the point of the showcase?

Saturday night’s hot show is Digital Leather with Sacramento punk band G.Green and Dads at Middle House (ex-Frank’s Hotel, ex-Jerk Store, the house across the street from The Brothers). The house show renaissance continues… $5, 9 p.m.

G.Green, “Your House” (Mt. St. Mtn. Records)

Meanwhile, up the street at fabulous O’Leavers, Saturn Moth plays with Goon Saloon and Mama Like. Who dat? According to a member of the band, “Goon Saloon is new and features former people from Ketchup & Mustard Gas. They’re in the experimental rock column. Mama Like is a new dark alt.-country band that is fronted by a really great female vocal trio. Saturn Moth is garage.” $5, 9:30 p.m.

Finally, Sunday night Kite Pilot is playing at The Barley Street Tavern with Milwaukee band Fossils and High & Tight. $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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.