My inevitable return to Steelhouse Omaha takes place tonight at the Modest Mouse concert. How has Omaha Performing Arts’ massive “rock club” improved since my last go-round, seeing Fleet Foxes in July 2023? I’ll let you know.
Modest Mouse’s tour celebrates the 20th anniversary of their “breakthrough” album Good News for People Who Love Bad News, and based on last night’s show in Denver (via setlist), they’ll be playing that album in its entiret and in track order. That’ll be followed by a second, 9-song set that includes two songs off their best album – The Lonesome Crowded West. While “Doin’ the Cockroach” and “Trailer Trash” are better than nothing, the band’s epic remains “Styrofoam Boots/It’s All On Ice, Alright” and by decree should close out every MM show. Who knows, maybe they’ll change it up tonight after they read this (haha…).
It’s hard to describe how wonderfully odd Modest Mouse was when Lonesome Crowded came out almost 27 years ago to the day. The band had a low-fi recklessness and a trailer-park lyrical sensitivity, and were, to some extent, mysterious ‘round these parts. They rarely did interviews, but Isaac Brock agreed to one with me after I kept pestering his publicist. And The Reader published it (thanks, then music editor Curt Grubb), despite the fact that the band wasn’t coming to town and few people knew who they were (including Grubb). You can still read that story online at Lazy-i, here.
Opening for Modest Mouse at 7 p.m. is San Diego’s The Black Heart Procession. Not sure why they’re on this tour as they haven’t released an album in 15 years. They played a short 7-song set last night in Denver. Modest Mouse goes on at 8, and tickets are still available for $51.
Also tonight, psychobilly star The Rev. Horton Heat returns to The Waiting Room. Jason D. Williams opens at 8 p.m. $30.
I’m unsure where Fleet Foxes fits on the spectrum of today’s popular music. They are indie for sure, releasing records on Seattle super-indie label, Sub Pop Records, and their music is anything but radio friendly, or is it?
Standing in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd at Steelhouse Omaha Sunday night as the band rolled into their fourth song, the mid-tempo pumper “Can I Believe You,” I was reminded if only for a moment of ’70s feel-good FM-favorite Chicago, thanks to the ensemble’s mini-brass section.
A trumpet, trombone and sax player, all of whom did double duty providing harmony vocals or playing assorted other instruments, was part of an 8-person ensemble that was far from crowded on Steelhouse’s enormous stage. The sax player was particularly versatile, swapping out tenor sax with stand-up bass, flute and tambourine.
At other moments, I was reminded of CSNY, Cat Stevens and, yeah, Air Supply. Hey, I love two out of three of those bands. The evening’s high point was a pretty rendition of one of Fleet Foxes’ most familiar songs, “White Winter Hymnal” from their 2008 self-titled debut, sounding like an indie barber shop quartet building layer upon layer of glimmering harmonies.
The performance was a rote set of mostly older music. Fleet Foxes have done just about everything they can with this style of Americana-inflected indie folk and could keep riding the wave to larger and larger audiences I suppose, though I have to believe it’s going to get boring for them after awhile. They’ve already rereleased their debut in a sort of omnibus collection with an early EP and B-sides, and frontman Robin Pecknold released yet another version of these old songs on A Very Lonely Solstice. Where they’re headed next is anyone’s guess…
A few side notes…
– I’m forever astounded by the need of some concertgoers to carry on full-blown yell-conversations during concerts like this one. Fleet Foxes’ music is somewhat delicate, and having three women yell to each other about their day while standing right up by the stage is the height of self-centeredness. And is just plain weird. Look around, folks. People are trying to enjoy a concert that cost them $$$. Take your convo to the prison-yard patio.
– Speaking of which, after fielding complaints from patrons, Steelhouse security is now segregating smokers out in the prison yard patio. Smokeheads were pushed all the way to the far fence by an imposing dude with a walkie talkie. He told me Steelhouse is looking for ways to better utilize the enormous outdoor space. Maybe more tables and chairs; maybe use it for wedding receptions (!).
– One beer and one vodka lemonade. Cost w/tax and tip: $41.48. These are Broadway bar prices, folks, which I guess Steelhouse can get away with in their early days, but if they want to continue to attract large crowds, they’re going to have to offer more reasonably priced drink options or drop their prices (highly unlikely).
. 0 0 0 .
Melissa Etheridge tears it up at Memorial Park June 30, 2023.
Speaking of cheap nights of music, I strolled up to Memorial Park Friday night to catch the last half hour of Melissa Etheridge and was pleasantly surprised at how good it sounded – like a real rock concert. Nice job, audio people (whoever you are); it must be a real challenge to make a large field situated next to a highway sound like a concert hall.
Etheridge was in good voice, no surprise there, as she ended the evening with her “hits” from 30 years ago, though instead of closing out on a grand high note, she drew out a song with a drum solo(?) followed by an extended end-play that just sort of petered out. Kind of weird, especially with a crowd salivating for their fireworks to begin…
. 0 0 0 .
Tonight at The Blind Spot, Bar None recording artist, San Francisco’s Pardoner, who All Music (accurately) describes as “Noisy slacker pop quartet that marries angular heaviness with indie rock catchiness.” On their just released album, Peace Loving People (Bar None), they remind me a lot of early Parquet Courts mashed with early low-fi Pavement.
The Blind Spot is a new all-ages venue in / near downtown Omaha around where The Cog Factory used to be. The organizer asks that you DM Morgan Goldsberry for the address, though the address is clearly stated on the Nebraska DIY Facebook post (click through the post’s images to event “Vintage Clothes and More!!!,” where you’ll find the address).
Hey folks, I realize DIY is all about keeping things on the down-low to control your audience, but you’re a venue now. Just print the freakin’ address on your flyers.
Based on past and future bookings, The Blind Spot will be the home for hardcore and metal shows. Such is life. The fact that they’ve let this indie show sneak in is a positive sign. We need another place for young touring indie bands to perform besides Reverb, which these days is only booking breadcrumbs. Tonight’s show is a four-band bill with Fire Sign, Glow and Western Hairus, and kicks off at 8 p.m. $10.
Flaming Lips’ 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is a ubiquitous indie moment from a band that had already been around for nearly 20 years, an album that itself is now 21 years old. It’s also clearly the band’s most “pop” moment and most successful release, selling more than 500,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan. Single “Do You Realize?” — once the “official rock song of Oklahoma” — was written by frontman Wayne Coyne as a reaction to seeing fellow band member Steven Drozd suffer from heroin withdrawal, and for my money by itself is worth the price of the album… and a ticket to tonight’s performance at Steelhouse Omaha.
If the show is anything like Tuesday’s gig at Riverside Theater in Milwaukee (setlist here), expect them to run through the entire album followed by a 10-song second set that includes really their only other hits, “She Don’t Use Jelly” and “Race for the Prize” from 1999’s The Soft Bulletin, as well as a cover (They did Madonna’s “Borderline” in Milwaukee). All followed by a three song-encore. and upchuck-inducing recording of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.”
No doubt it will be a spectacle as Coyne is nothing if not a showman (Get out those confetti cannons!) If you’re wondering what you’re in for, check out my review of Steelhouse Omaha that was published in the current issue of The Reader (also below). For many indie fans, this will be their first venture into the facility. My advice – stand up and enjoy the ride (cuz there ain’t no seats).
You can purchase directly from the Steelhouse website for as low as $50. Starts at 8:30 p.m.
And that, my friends, is about it for the weekend. Nothing worth mentioning at 1% venues and Slowdown is in CWS mode. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
. 0 0 0 .
First published in The Reader, June 2023:
A Killer of a Grand Opening
Steelhouse Omaha Is a Testament to the City’s Resolve
Although still fresh in most of our memories, we have to acknowledge what we were about to face in November 2019 when Omaha Performing Arts (O-pa) announced the yet-to-be-named, $109 million project that would become Steelhouse Omaha.
The idea of a world-crippling pandemic was the last thing on anyone’s mind at the time. That would come a few months later, in March 2020, when COVID-19 became the center of everything, shutting down our world and the music industry with it.
O-pa’s plan suddenly seemed like a fool’s dream — no one knew what was going to happen with the pandemic. At the same time, the project was a beacon of hope, assurance that somehow we’d get through all the sickness and death, that O-pa and its patrons must know something or they wouldn’t hold onto a commitment to build a facility designed to host a crowd of 3,000 like a herd of cattle, standing shoulder to shoulder in a windowless, confined hall – the absolute last place anyone would want to be in the middle of an airborne-spread health crisis.
And yet, here I was, three-and-a-half years later, COVID-19 much less threatening, standing in a security line next to a bank of search lights on the night of Steelhouse Omaha’s grand opening, waiting to dive head-first into a maskless crowd. Ain’t humanity amazing?
Located at 11th and Dodge, only a stone’s throw from the Holland Performing Arts Center, Steelhouse is destined to become a landmark for live music. From the ground up, it is an ultra-modern concert hall that appears to have erupted right out of the concrete in downtown Omaha.
For its May 12 grand opening, booking The Killers – a band that usually plays 20,000-seat arenas — was like learning to swim by being tossed into a deep, dark lake. Tickets sold out in minutes. I guess if you’re going to pressure-test the system, do it right out of the box.
To O-pa’s credit, Steelhouse passed the hospitality portion of the test with flying colors, thanks to a massive phalanx of smiling, crew-shirted staff at every turn. No gruff, overworked bouncers here — all these folks looked like they were having a good time. After walking through the lobby with its large merch and bar/concessions areas, I bee-lined to the main hall — cram-packed with T-shirt-clad fans holding plastic cups.
First impressions: Wow, this is big and wide open. Concession stands were built into the walls on each side of the hall and in the back – they were everywhere. Even with a sold-out crowd, I had no problem buying my $13 pint of mango wheat beer. All purchases were cashless, so if you go, grab your credit card and ID and leave your wallet at home.
Now with beer in hand, things got tricky. The main floor was already crush-full. I stepped into the mass of humanity a couple of times just to check out the sight lines. Instead of being sloped, the standing-only floor area seemed flat, but the stage was raised high enough so sight lines would be a problem only for the most height-challenged fans.
Somehow, I ended up standing on one of the elevated decks along stage right, where I noticed a guy manning what looked like a battery of cannons.
“Confetti cannons?” I asked. He nodded, smiling. “When will those go off? At the beginning? At the end?”
“All night,” the guy said. “The Killers love their confetti.”
We all discovered this shortly after 8 p.m. when the band took the stage and – bamf! — off went the cannons in a glittering cloud of paper as The Killers slammed into their opening number. And the crowd, as they say, went wild.
The room sounded pretty good overall, if a bit tinny and oversaturated on the high end. Volume was even throughout the facility. The arsenal of lighting was impressive, as was the giant backdrop video that augmented every song. It was as if The Killers had brought a Las Vegas stage show to Omaha (because they sort of did).
The challenges began when I turned around to make my way to the back of the hall. People were smashed all the way across the aisles, requiring that I shoulder my way against the current of flesh. Still, I never felt trapped. The main auditorium is designed with large exit doors that open into a secondary lounge where the bathrooms are located, then into a large patio area — both nice touches and places to escape to when you feel overwhelmed by the sound and noise.
Later that weekend, I returned to the Steelhouse Open House to get a look at the facility without all the people, and yes, all the metal and concrete did feel rather sterile in the cold light of day. But you go for the rock show, not the feng shui.
That evening The Killers slammed through one song after the next, never slowing down and only briefly acknowledging that they had the honor of playing the grand opening. “We’ve been asked to christen The Steelhouse,” frontman Brandon Flowers yelled.“Usually we’re asked to blow the roof off the place!”
Not tonight. All in all, the grand opening felt like a success for Steelhouse and for a city that somehow soldiered through a catastrophe and found music on the other side.
Over The Edge is a monthly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.
So far it’s been a remarkably moribund year for touring indie rock shows in Omaha and it’s looking like that moribund-ity will only be continuing. There were no shows last weekend. There are no shows this weekend. If you’re an indie music fan, you’re probably starting to feel desperate.
That said, there was a parade of show announcements yesterday that highlight Omaha’s sparkling new mega venues. Wilco will play at The Astro Oct. 23 with Nina Nastasia. In fact The Astro – the new indoor/outdoor amphitheater under construction in La Vista – announced their “opening party” Sept. 7 will be headlined by funk band Here Come the Mummies. And, The Astro will also host the return of 311 Sept. 29.
The Astro’s already announced shows by Dropkick Murphys (Oct. 5), American Idol performers Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken (Oct. 28), Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Sept. 24), Beth Hart (Sept. 16), Ancient Aliens Live (Sept. 21), Goo Goo Dolls (Sept. 23), Gaslight Anthem (Sept. 30) and what appears to be their inaugural show, Rick Springfield and The Hooters (Aug. 30).
That’s a hugs spate of shows that would seem to appeal to a very broad audience – which is what a facility of this size demands.
Meanwhile, Astro’s main competition – Steelhouse Omaha – had a few announcements of their own yesterday, not the least of which was alt-rock band Queens of the Stone Age with opener Viagra Boys Sept. 19, along with two days/nights of bachelorette party bro comedian Matt Rife for seated shows Nov. 4 and 5.
There were no touring indie rock show announcements yesterday. Well, except one.
San Francisco post-punk band Pardoner saw the release of their debut album, Uncontrollable Salvation, on tiny indie label Father/Daughter Records in 2017 before being signed to classic indie label Bar / None Records, where they’ve released 2021’s Came Down Different. Their most recent release is a a three-song single, “Rosemary’s Gone,” that dropped yesterday. Their new album, Peace Loving People, drops on Bar/None June 23.
The band has been compared to acts ranging from Polvo to Dinosaur Jr. They kind of remind me of early Pavement, Pile, early Parquet Courts – you get the drift, gritty DIY-style post-punk with a heart of gold.
Anyway, yesterday I received an email from their publicist at Grandstand saying Pardoner is playing in Omaha as part of a tour that includes gigs at Empty Bottle, Replay Lounge, Hi Dive, Turf Club, the usual list of national indie rock clubs. The Omaha gig will be at American Legion July 3.
OK, there are a number of American Legion Halls, which one? I asked the publicist, who said the show has now been moved to The Blindspot, “a new all ages diy spot” located around 20th and St. Mary’s. A quick Google Maps search indicates that this is probably a house show, but the publicist wasn’t sure as he hadn’t booked the tour.
So, maybe the show’s happening. I’ve seen no other info about it, never heard of The Blind Spot, don’t know who’s actually putting it on, etc. And it got me thinking: Is this how it’s going to be from now on? This is the kind of band that a few years ago would be playing a 1% venue or Slowdown Jr. or The Brothers or O’Leaver’s or somewhere you and I recognize.
This explosion in 700+ capacity venues is great for Omaha and fans of middle-of-the-road alt rock and/or bands whose heyday was two decades ago, but for those of us who love young, up-and-coming indie acts — the kind of acts that Omaha’s music scene thrived on in the early 2000s up ’til the pandemic — things ain’t looking so good.
I have no idea if Pardoner’s booker (who I’m trying to get in touch with) offered this show to any of the local show promoters, or if s/he even knows who those promoters are these days. But I’m starting to wonder if Omaha is becoming a blind spot (pun intended) for touring indie acts like Pardoner. Time will tell, but a glance at the local show calendars is not terribly hopeful.
. 0 0 0 .
One of those young up-and-coming bands that played Omaha countless times in the early 2000s was Death Cab for Cutie. It seems like they were gigging down at Sokol Underground a couple times a year to crowds of fewer than 200 when their first albums were being released on Barsuk Records (We Have the Facts… is still a high water mark).
Welp, Death Cab is back and they’re playing a long sold-out gig at The Admiral tonight. If the show follows the path of last night’s gig at Riverside Theater in Milwaukee (setlist here), expect a 20-song collection of tunes that span their entire career but is heavy on songs from their most recent albums. Lomelda opens at 8 p.m. and like I said, it’s SOLD OUT.
In case it slipped your mind, The Killers are from “fabulous Las Vegas” and they’ll never let you forget it.
Frontman / telethon host Brandon Flowers reminded the crowd multiple times throughout Friday night’s set at the grand opening of Steelhouse Omaha, strutting across the enormous stage in a purple tux jacket, leading the confetti-covered crowd through a tight, well-choreographed evening of fist-pump anthems.
But before I get to that, first Steelhouse Omaha itself. Located at 11th and Dodge St. only a stone’s throw from the Holland Performing Arts Center, the new facility is destined to become a landmark for live music. From the ground up, it is an ultra-modern concert hall that appears to have erupted right out of the concrete in downtown Omaha.
Announced at the height of COVID in November 2019, many thought it could be a fool’s dream — no one knew what was going to happen with the pandemic. At the same time, it was a beacon of hope, assurance that somehow we’d get through all this sickness and death, that Omaha Performing Arts and its patrons must know something or they wouldn’t commit north of $110 million in a new facility designed to host a crowd like a herd of cattle, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a windowless, confined hall – the absolute last place you’d want to be in the middle of an airborne-spread pandemic.
Yet, here we were, three-and-a-half years later, Covid all but eradicated, waiting to dive head-first into a maskless crowd. Ain’t humanity amazing?
I arrived at around 7:15 and stood in the short queue to get in. The first checkpoint was an ID check for an alcohol wristband, located outside the facility. Through the door and some sort of high-tech metal detector (no need to empty your pockets), I made a beeline to the box office, where my ticket was waiting in will-call. Most older box offices have multiple windows – this was one walk-up hole in the wall, which made me think they must really want to sell advance tickets because if they ever have a large walk-up crowd, this small ticket window would be a challenge (and you know what they say — Omaha is a walk-up city).
From there, it was right into the venue. Booking The Killers – a band that usually plays 20,000-seat arenas — was like learning to swim by being tossed into a deep, dark lake. I guess if you’re going to pressure-test the system, do it right out of the box. To their credit, Steelhouse passed the hospitality portion of the test with flying colors, thanks to a massive phalanx of smiling, crew-shirted staff at every turn (reminding me of the Maha Festival, whose success has floated on its own massive volunteer staff). No gruff, overworked bouncers here, these folks all looked like they were having a good time.
The lobby held a large merch area and bar, then through the doors on your right and you entered the enormous main hall cram-packed with T-shirt-clad fans holding plastic cups. Stairs on either side were well-guarded to keep riff-raff without club tickets (like me) from going upstairs.
Bars (concessions) were built into the walls on either side of the hall, and in back – seemed like they were everywhere. Even with a sold-out crowd, I had no problem buying my $13 pint of wheat beer. All purchases are cashless, so grab your credit card and ID and leave your wallet at home.
With my beer in hand, this was when things got tricky. The main floor was already crush-filled. I stepped into the mass of humanity a couple times just to check out the sight-lines. Instead of being sloped, the main, standing-floor area seemed flat, but the stage was raised high enough that sightlines would only be a problem for the most height-challenged.
Somehow, I ended standing on one of the elevated decks along stage right, where I noticed a guy manning what looked like a battery of T-shirt cannons.
“Confetti cannons?” I asked. He nodded, smiling. “When will those go off? At the beginning? At the end?”
“All night,” the guy said. “The Killers love their confetti.”
The Killers at Steelhouse Omaha, May 12, 2023.
We all discovered this shortly after 8 p.m. when the band took the stage and – bamf! — off went the cannons in a glittering cloud of paper as the Killers slammed into their opening number, “My Own Soul’s Warning.” And the crowd, as they say, went nuts.
It’s here that I should tell you I’m not a fan of The Killers. I think their music is fine if not a bit generic and by-the-numbers for my personal taste. With their hooks and their sing-along choruses, I understand why the mostly older crowd loved them. Frontman Flowers has a stage presence that seems to emote “We’re here all week with two shows a day on weekends,” ticking off the hits the fans so desperately want to hear.
The room sounded overall pretty good, if a bit tinny and oversaturated on the high end. Volume was even throughout the entire facility. The arsenal of lighting was impressive, as was the giant backdrop video that augmented every song, as if The Killers had brought a Las Vegas stage show to Omaha (because they sort of did).
Problems began when I turned around to make my way to the back of the room. There were no walk-throughs and people were smashed all the way across the aisles, requiring that I shoulder my way against the current of flesh. Still, I never really felt trapped. The main auditorium is designed with large exit doors that open into a secondary lounge where the bathrooms are located, which then exits into a large patio area — both nice touches and areas to escape to when you feel overwhelmed by the sound and noise.
Sunday I went to the Steelhouse Open House to get a look at the facility without all the people, and yes, it does feel rather sterile in the cold light of day. But you go for the rock show, not the feng shui.
Flowers and Co. slammed through one song after the next, never slowing down and only briefly acknowledging that they had the honor of playing the grand opening. “We’ve been asked to christen The Steelhouse,” Flowers yelled. “Usually we’re asked to blow the roof off the place!”
Yeah! the crowd roared, and then they fired right into one of their more lyrically in-ept songs, “Human,” with the robot chorus, “Are we human or are we dancer?” (sic). Lots of air punches ensued.
Later in the set, Flowers brought the vibe down. “We usually play larger rooms than this,” he said. “This next song is perfect for this room. We made a Bright Eyes record during Covid called Pressure Machine. Wherever Conor is tonight, this is for him.” Little did he realize few in the audience knew who he was talking about as he sang the acoustic-guitar-drive “Runaway Horses,” a song that sounds nothing like a Bright Eyes song.
After about 75 minutes, they closed out their set with another fan favorite, “All These Things That I’ve Done,” where the crowd sang along to the repeated line, “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier.” OK. Instead of a typical encore, the set ended with about five minutes of low-end hum and smoke from smoke machines.
I stood in the back, taking it in, when a short, young, bearded guy came up to me and asked, “Did they do ‘Brightside’ yet?” I said I didn’t know. He shook his head and walked off before I could add, “because I have no idea what that song is.”
The band then came back for the visually homo-erotic “The Man,” followed by, you guessed it, “Mr. Brightside.” And Bamf! more confetti! And there you have it. I walked out to the patio and escaped into the night. All in all, a big success for Steelhouse. I’m looking forward to going back to see a band that I actually want to see. Now if they would only book one.
. 0 0 0 .
Speaking of standing-room shows, there’s one tonight at Reverb Lounge. Quirky ‘90s-era surf rock act Man or Astro-Man? headlines a four-band bill that includes the always-amazing Solid Goldberg. Also on the scorecard are laughingthrush & B.Sonnier. $28, 8 p.m.
If you’re wondering what those searchlights are all about downtown, tonight is the big Grand Opening of Steelhouse Omaha, 1100 Dodge St., featuring alt rock band The Killers. The concert literally sold out in minutes and I’ve yet to talk to anyone who was able to buy a ticket.
That said, I’ll be at Steelhouse tonight, courtesy of the band’s publicist (if all goes well at Will Call). No photo pass, so something tells me we’re going to see some sort of “no photography” policy tonight as the publicist said he’ll provide photos for use with the review after the fact. Still, I’ll try to capture the evening as best I can with my iPhone.
I interviewed Omaha Performing Arts President Joan Squires and Erika Hansen, who is responsible for booking Steelhouse, for an article that appears in this month’s issue of The Reader. That story, which is online here, covers booking policies, including the decision to use Live Nation and Ticketmaster as exclusive booking and ticket agents. It also addressed The Killers ticket sales situation and lots of other stuff. I’ve also posted the article at the end of this post (captured for posterity’s sake).
As a fan of modern indie music, I’m keeping my fingers crossed Steelhouse will book at least one show a month that will coax me into buying a ticket. Two shows a month would be gravy. But I’m not naive. I know that indie music is a niche genre, and while it’s wildly popular along the coasts and in large cities, I’m not so sure how popular it is in Omaha these days. Instead of Book It and They Will Come, the story’s headline should have been Book Acts that will Bring Them In.
I thought, being a non-profit, that Steelhouse and O-pa could take more risks on acts that are breaking through in other parts of the country — really introducing them to the Omaha area — and that profitability would come second to cultural enrichment. We’re talking bands that would draw 300 instead of 3,000. Squires added some clarification:
“We have to raise money every year as a nonprofit organization so I don’t take that as a given that we don’t still have to watch our bottom line just like everybody else,” she said. “We do have a responsibility to make sure we are being fiscally responsible. We want to make (Steelhouse) the right experience and the right fit. Those bands would not be a great fit for Steelhouse because you’ve got a small band and a small audience and you sit in a space that could have 3,000 people. It is not the kind of scene you want for either the artist or the audience.”
Let’s face it, no one want to play in front of a mostly empty auditorium.
Hansen did go on to say that the venue is flexible and there are adjustments that can be made for certain acts. For example, the upcoming Elvis Costello concert will be a seated event with chairs and a capacity of 1,500 total.
“3,000 isn’t always a success measure,” Hansen said. “It might be a band that would be a thousand and that’s great and that’s a success. So the capacity of the venue is not a measurement of success.”
Both Squires and Hansen pointed to the future. Although many of the shows currently scheduled for Steelhouse cater to an old(er) crowd, both said those shows don’t represent what will eventually be booked at Steelhouse. Hansen said, essentially, what ’til you see what they have booked for this fall. Their October already is mostly booked.
If you want to check out Steelhouse, the venue is hosting a free Open House on Sunday. It will include tours and a performance by the Central High School Jazz Band, Nebraska All-Star Rock & Roll Band, Omaha Girls Rock, Salem Baptist Church Choir and Enjoli & Timeless. For more info about this and other community events, as well as the latest concert lineup, go to steelhouseomaha.com.
. 0 0 0 .
OK, what else is going on this weekend?
Tonight over at art-space Project Project, 1818 Vinton St., it’s Noisefest, featuring 20 “local and touring noise musicians,” including from Omaha: Lonnie Methe, Dereck Higgins, Alex Jacobsen, Cole Kempke, Smith & Jensen, Bovinae, and Quiz The Machine Elf. I don’t know most of those acts, but you might. The full list of performers is here. This free show starts at 5 p.m.
Meanwhile, downtown at The Slowdown tonight, Omaha rockers Garst is hosting its album release show with punk super-group Bad Bad Men and BB Sledge. 8 p.m., $12.
Tomorrow night (Saturday), Matt Whipkey is playing two shows at The Jewell in celebration of the release of his new album Gummi Soul: Another Rubber, his reimagining of The Beatles’ Rubber Soul album. The performance will include a reunion of Whipkey’s band The Movies and special guests including the incomparable Stephen Sheehan of Digital Sex and The World fame, and newcomer Kristen Buell. Expect a mix of the Beatles songs and Movies chestnuts. Two shows: 6:30 and 8:30; $15.
That’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
With Its Opening May 12, Steelhouse Hopes to Put Omaha Back on the Tour Map
By Tim McMahan
Everything about the new Steelhouse Omaha music venue, operated by Omaha Performing Arts (O-pa), will be state of the art — the lights, the sound, the overall experience. The 3,000-capacity downtown venue, which is designed for standing concerts (mostly, there are also balcony seats), will celebrate its opening night May 12 with a performance by alt-rock band The Killers, a show that, despite its $75-plus ticket price, sold out in minutes.
The quick sellout proves more important than state-of-the-art facilities is booking quality acts. Last January, O-pa President Joan Squires was interviewed by local media saying one of the project’s motivations was to attract young patrons, specifically between the ages 18 and 45. “The entire venue is going to be an experience that will really help this city attract people this age,” she was quoted as saying.
I was a little bummed. After all, I’m in my mid-50s, well outside that target range. I envisioned a constant stream of TikTok-style pop acts playing in front of a huge, squirming crowd of squeaky-clean youngsters, all holding up cell phones for one giant Instagram moment.
However, after a few weeks of Steelhouse show announcements, it turns out I might be at the lower end of the target age. Among the acts announced so far: ’90s alt-rock legends Counting Crows, hair-metal bands W.A.S.P and Cinderella’s Tom Keifer, ’70s funk icons Parliament Funkadelic, 68-year-old singer/songwriter Elvis Costello, and The Flaming Lips performing an album released more than 20 years ago. In fact, all the above performers’ heydays were more than 20 years ago.
Oh, it’s not all legacy acts. Steelhouse is also hosting “fresh” hip-hop performer $not (pronounced Snot), Japanese novelty Babymetal and indie darlings Fleet Foxes, whose breakthrough debut was released 15 years ago, but that’s it for new-ish artists. So, what exactly is the venue’s booking strategy? Squires and Erika Hansen, director of booking for Steelhouse, said these early bookings are just that: early bookings.
“We’re just starting, Tim,” Squires said. “We’re certainly going to continue to move in a younger direction. This just happens to be who’s got opportunities to come to Steelhouse right now.”
Hansen, 48, who hails from Sioux City and has been booking gigs for 20 years, agreed, saying booking summer months was a challenge, because many acts had already been booked for festivals and outdoor gigs. “Not that this lineup is anything to be down about,” she said, “but it is a different type of crowd that we’re probably looking at for the first few months, and then we’re really going to start to get into the diversity that we’ve been talking about. If I showed you everyone who’s holding dates at Steelhouse, it’s a much different look than what you’re seeing right now on sale.”
Working with Live Nation
To power booking efforts, Steelhouse via O-pa signed an exclusive contract with Live Nation, the country’s largest concert promoter. “We felt they could work with us to ensure we get bands as they route them across the country,” Squires said, pointing out Omaha falls in the gap between Denver, Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis.
Headquartered out of Beverly Hills, the publicly traded company boasts “bringing 40,000 shows and 100-plus festivals to life” per year and works with just about every successful pop artist, from Alice Cooper to the Zac Brown Band.
Hansen said she’s in contact with Live Nation multiple times a day. “They definitely will suggest artists they know are touring that they think might be a good fit for Omaha and will work with the venue space,” she said. “It’s a two-way street, though. We definitely have suggested to them, ‘Hey, can you check out this artist or can you look for more artists that are within this genre and see who’s out there?'”
Steelhouse’s real goal isn’t putting on shows that target a specific age group. “(Steelhouse) was built with philanthropic dollars and really is open to everybody,” Squires said. “The target is to attract the bands that have been missing our city because there was no venue of this size.”
“We are absolutely looking at artists that have never played Omaha before or that maybe have played much smaller venues in the market and are now getting to the size where they could fill a venue like Steelhouse,” Hansen added. “I think the purpose is really to add to the music scene in general in Omaha. We want Omaha to be a destination for artists so that all of the agents looking at tour stops think of Omaha as a hot music scene.”
Building awareness is one of the challenges. Squires said Hansen and Live Nation have been busy telling agents and artists that there’s a new kid in town. “Part of it is just getting the word out,” she said. “And the more we book, the more we’ll book.”
What about Indie Music?
As an indie music fan, I had to ask if the venue’s 3,000 capacity will prevent booking important up-and-coming indie artists who 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.
“We’re playing with the space,” Hansen said. “I think we will be able to do some smaller shows in there and make it feel full and really cool for the artist and the fan.” But, “we’re not wanting to step on anyone else, either. If some other venue in Omaha has a great opportunity to book a show and it’s a better fit for their room, by all means.”
What about local acts? I suggested local bands could be great openers for larger touring acts. O-pa has done this in the past. Local singer/songwriter Matt Whipkey, for example, opened for the band America at the Holland Center last year. Hansen said artists typically decide who will open their shows, not the promoter, but “if there’s an opportunity, we’ll absolutely do that.”
Ticketmaster ‘the right choice’
I couldn’t let them go without talking about Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of Live Nation that has been embroiled in controversy concerning ticket-selling practices. Just ask Taylor Swift, who appears to be fighting a one-woman battle against the company. Squires said it was O-pa’s decision to use Ticketmaster because “we felt Ticketmaster was the right choice for the marketing, for the fans, for the experience.”
The almost immediate sellout of The Killers concert left many fans venting their frustrations on social media. Squires said they expected a very quick sellout because The Killers play 20,000-capacity arenas. “We were sorry people were frustrated,” she said. “It was a demand question. We just hope people will stay with us to come back and try something else.”
“I think sometimes Ticketmaster takes kind of a rap for ticketing issues in general,” Hansen said. “Demand is always going to be a problem if you have an artist that has a demand that’s greater than the number of tickets available. That’s not necessarily a Ticketmaster thing.”
Squires and Hansen were both eager to hear my list of bands I’d like to see play Steelhouse, a list that includes Lana Del Rey, Yo La Tengo, Shame, Gorillaz, Boygenius, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Alex G, M83, The Strokes, Beck, Angel Olsen, Wet Leg, Everything But the Girl, Ladytron and Nation of Language — all touring acts that as of now do not have Omaha as a stop.
They promised to share the list with Live Nation. They’re looking for your suggestions, too. You can provide them by following Steelhouse on social media, the best place to see the latest announcements.
“This is going to evolve,” Squires said of Steelhouse Omaha’s bookings. “We’re just getting open. We’re going to continue to reinvent and reevaluate. It’s going to keep moving.”
Over The Edge is a monthly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.
The May issue of The Reader is out and in its pages is my column that features an interview with Omaha Performing Arts President Joan Squires and Steelhouse booking director Erika Hansen.
The lengthy article covers a wide range of topics, including their recent legacy-act bookings and how they fit into one of their missions of bringing younger people downtown, why they chose Live Nation as their exclusive promoter, their thoughts on Ticketmaster, fan discontent over The Killers quick sell-out, using local acts as openers and the options for booking touring indie acts. And more.
The interview took place late last month via Zoom and I decided to put the story online now since people would be buzzing about last night’s insider Steelhouse sneak preview. There’s more to the interview than made it into the article, and I intend to put a bow on the story sometime next week in Lazy-i. Until then, here’s the story…
Feb. 13, 2023 – After weeks of speculation, Omaha Performing Arts this morning announced that The Killers will have the honor of playing Steehouse Omaha’s inaugural show May 12. It’s quite a catch for the 3,000-capacity standing-only venue.
While it’s still too early to predict who they’ll book in the future, The Killers provides some pretty solid clues as the type of acts OPA thinks it needs to “bring young people downtown.” While still a big draw, The Killers were arguably at the height of their powers in the early- to mid-2000s, nearly 20 years ago. The band definitely hits a sweet spot for older music goers. It’ll be interesting to see how well the show sells with those under 30 (or under 20).
If you extrapolate The Killers across a music horizon, “similar” alt-rock bands that could fit in this category would include Franz Ferdinand, Kings of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs, The Libertines, Razorlight, The Bravery, Keane – all acts along with The Killers that are not my cup of tea (as the late, great Dave Sink used to say). I have no doubt Live Nation, who is booking Steelhouse, will also announce, shall we say, “more contemporary” acts in the future.
The primary question from fans of modern indie music: Is Steelhouse/Live Nation willing to book acts that draw in the 300 (or less) range along with big draws like those mentioned above? Is there a way to comfortably host up-and-coming acts that draw smaller audiences without Steelhouse feeling like an empty blimp hangar? If not, I suspect we’ll be seeing a long list of “alt rock” bands booked at the venue. Time will tell….
I’ll be happy if they can book six quality indie shows a year that I’d buy tickets for. Anything more would be gravy.
A couple other noteworthy shows announced today: Goo Goo Dolls and Fitz and the Tantrums have been announced to play Sept. 23 at The Astro Theater / amphitheater / venue being constructed at 8302 City Centre Drive in La Vista. Mammoth Inc. out of KC will book this new venue, which has been in the works for years. Based on this show, something tells me their booking will be in line with what Stir Cove has historically booked in the past.
And our old friends Cursive will be performing their seminal album, Domestica, May 16 at The Waiting Room with none other than Neva Dinova opening the show. Tix on sale tomorrow!
Steelhouse Omaha, the new 3,000 capacity standing-room live music venue owned and operated by Omaha Performing Arts, announced today that their grand opening has been set for May 12, 2023.
Steelhouse will be booked by Live Nation, which handles the one of the largest catalogs of touring rock bands in the country, so the opening performer could be just about anyone you could imagine, though no doubt it will be someone who will appeal to the widest possible range of audiences. Look, I’m not expecting LCD Soundsystem. Still, if Steelhouse can book just six quality touring indie acts per year, I’d be happy.
And just as they wind down construction on that $104 million project, OPA announced last week a new $103 million Center for Arts Engagement that will be built in that vacant lot on the east side of the Holland Performing Arts Center. This one is more of an education center, and will include rehearsal space, workroom and classroom space.
. 0 0 0 .
Pageturners Lounge has another pop-up shows tonight, this time featuring Advance Base, the project from Owen Ashworth formerly of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. Ashworth has some heavy credits, including contributing to Sun Kil Moon’s exquisite Benji album from 2014. Joining him tonight are Vera Deborah and Jim Schroeder (David Nance Band, UUVVWWZ). $10, 8 p.m.
Recent Comments