The Church at The Waiting Room, Oct. 9, 2023.

by Tim McMahan,Lazy-i.com

Truly a night of contrasts between old-school, romantic, guitar-engineered pomp rock and new school, queer-focused, violent, oversexed dance music – one cast in shades of lavender blue, the other in blood-red shadows and strobe lights. 

The night began with The Church, presumably an entire evening of them as there was no opening act and as the cheerful door guy pointed out, there would be two sets and an intermission. That’s a lot of Church. 

The wizened British Australian five-piece walked onto The Waiting Room stage a little after 8 to whoops of applause from a comfortable crowd of around 250 — far from the sell-out a band like this deserves. With a heyday in the 1980s powered by their roaring, moody rock and MTV videos for songs like mega-hit “Under the Milky Way,” The Church’s heavenly guitar-fueled post-Pink Floyd rock deserves to be played in front of a sold-out arena instead of in small clubs like this. Their music can be soaring, dense and gorgeous like the best arena rock from the 1970s. 

Frontman guitarist Steve Kilbey has lost little of his voice and there was a gravitas to the 69-year-old Brit who not only stood front and center singing the hits but also narrating the storyline to the band’s latest concept album, The Hypnogogue, a futuristic tale of overcoming writer’s block, love and getting older, not necessarily in that order. 

Alongside him, lead guitarist Ian Haug, looking and sounding like British rock royalty, a throwback to an era when guitar tone was everything and a rock solo was a necessity to push any song onto the next level. Maybe it’s due to a steady diet of indie rock, but listening to Haug’s guitar was like stepping back to a time when musicians like David Gilmour, Jeff Beck and Brian May strode the earth like gods. 

The fans, mostly dudes in their 50s, got plenty of what they came for in the opening set that included spot-on takes on old hits like “Destination” and “The Unguarded Moment” along with the new stuff that fit nicely alongside them. All gorgeously delivered, but I began to get itchy about three-quarters through the first set, as 9 p.m. approached and I knew industrial/punk/dance band Model/Actriz was about to go on stage around the corner at Reverb Lounge. So I snuck out right before the intermission.

Let me point out that I got Model/Actriz completely wrong in yesterday’s write-up. Well, mostly wrong. I said they sounded like a cross between industrial bands The Soft Moon and Nine Inch Nails when in fact they’re a throbbing hard-noise queer/dance/punk band whose adrenaline-fueled beats (no electronics at all) beg beg beg you to move and/or gyrate along with frontman / diva Cole Haden as he flings/twists/undulates first on stage then on the floor, calling out “Omaha” throughout the set, telling the tiny audience of around 30 that “I didn’t come here to take a nap.”

Model/Actriz at Reverb Lounge, Oct. 9, 2023.

While their much-lauded debut album, Dogsbody, is a high-octane thumper, it’s also dark, cast in shadows and strobes like a modern-day audio version of a darkly Times Square bar scene from a ’70s movie. The record is not as fun as the music performed live, where the energy is over-the-top, driven by a Aaron Shapiro’s always-percussive, muscular bass, Ruben Radlaeur’s simple but dominating drums and Jack Wetmore’s rattling, nervous guitar. The music is pure and all-encompassing, but it’s Haden’s full on, in-your-face performance (literally) bordering on disturbing (He’s not coming for me next, is he?) that made the spectacle what it was. 

The highlight was early in the set when Haden stepped down to the floor for a confrontational rendition of the song “Matador,” spitting out lines: “Get hard / Dumb fuck / Fuck good / Come strong,” and then asking, “What’s your name anyway? What’s your name? What’s your name Veronica? What’s your name?” leaning in close person-to-person through the nervous, energized crowd. He would later directly serenade one young male patron, his mic chord wrapped around his wrist, pleading. Oh my. 

The energy continued to rise through the set’s best songs from the new album, including killer versions of “Donkey Show,” “Mosquito” and “Crossing Guard.” Toward the set’s end, the throbbing dance beats devolved into throbbing (and less-interesting) slabs of pounding noise and Trent Reznor-style screams before pumping back up for the closer.  Imagine seeing them play in front of a crushed, sweaty crowd in a larger city…

I got back to The Church for the second set’s closing songs, including a majestic version of “Tantalized” and an encore that included Starfish standout “Reptile.” I was back in the time machine, and it might be where I belonged, but I still listened to Model/Actriz on my way home.

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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.

Lewsberg at Grapefruit Records, Oct. 8, 2023.

by Tim McMahan,Lazy-i.com

This weekend was a study in accessibility – three shows, three experiences, only two out of the three were successful.

Friday night’s crowd for Slow Pulp at The Slowdown was picture perfect – the floor of the main room was nicely filled but not too crowded, you could get  around easy but the place didn’t feel empty, I was able to stand at my favorite stage-left perch throughout the set. It’s the way I like it at Slowdown and probably a bummer for the club owners, who would prefer a jam-packed evening for obvious reasons. 

Slow Pulp at The Slowdown, Oct. 6, 2023.

Slow Pulp came on at around 9 and were terrific. The remarkable thing about the band is how lead singer Emily Massey’s flat, unadorned, unfussy vocals perfectly compliment the bands’ impeccable playing. On the surface, Slow Pulp is nothing new or groundbreaking — they play somewhat run-of-the-mill indie rock that would fit comfortably alongside other modern-day female-led indie projects like Alvvays or Momma. Their strength lies in creating a sound that feels comfortable and assured — a fine, even style of songwriting I could listen to all night.  

At time’s Massey’s voice was as naked and pure as a senior-year talent show, but it’s that unassuming, unadorned style that made it so appealing, powered by a super-tight band who looked relaxed and assured. Her voice only got stronger as the night wore on, peaking during a great rendition of “Broadview,” a favorite off their most recent album, Yard, where Massey pulled out a harmonica and pushed the song into Neil Young Harvest territory. 

Saturday night was Rosali at Pageturners but, alas, it was not to be. When I arrived at around 9 Sean Pratt was on stage with Megan Siebe and every table was filled. Folks were standing in the back in the aisle that leads to the parking lot and I wondered where I would be able to stand and watch the show. The answer: nowhere. It was like the old days at The 49’r, another bar where if you didn’t get there early you were screwed because the tables took up all the room right up to where the band played and there was nowhere to go where you wouldn’t be in someone’s way, especially if you’re 6-foot-2. 

So with no place to stand, I turned around and left and learned a lesson that the trick (or necessity) to seeing a show at Pageturners is to get there early, before the performances start. 

Finally Sunday night it was down to Grapefruit Records for an in-store concert by Lewsberg. The set-up was as Simon had described it – the store had wheeled the album racks into the hallway, creating a big-ish space for people to stand in front of the the small elevated stage. It was a comfortable crowd of around 50 with a few seated on the floor to the left of the stage like grade schoolers at storytime. 

The Prairies at Grapefruit Records, Oct. 8, 2023.

One of the openers, The Prairies, consisted of Dave Nance, Noah Sterba, Myke Marasco and Kevin Donahue all having the time of their lives playing old songs from an old cassette recorded years ago – a cassette I would now like to own a copy of. Each took turns rotating between instruments (“Everyone plays drums in The Prairies”) for these short, sharp, fun songs that heralded back to the good old days of Nebraska post-punk.

The best way to describe Lewsberg’s set was how my wife described it, saying she felt like she was in a cool, secret club somewhere in Europe.  To me, it felt like seeing Talking Heads during their 1977 tour at someone’s house party in the Lower East Side.

The Rotterdam four-piece played songs off their amazing new album, Out and About (2023, 12XU), as well as older favorites like “Cold Light of Day,” from 2020’s In This House. Their simple arrangements, chiming guitars and frontman Arie van Vliet’s dry, close-to-spoken-word Lou Reed-style delivery gets them compared to Velvet Underground, while their stripped down rhythms recall The Feelies, but for me there was a trance-like quality I haven’t heard since The New Year/Bedhead. That’s a lot of comparisons for a band that has created something wholly originally and difficult to pin down – quiet yet intense, the only thing more intense was guitarist Michiel Klein’s tight, skull-like stare throughout the set as he focused on the repeated rhythm parts or opened up on solos. It was good to see him smile after the set. 

II can’t wait to see another show at Grapefruit Records. If this is what it means for indie to go back underground, I’m all for it. 

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It’s another Monday night in Omaha with three marquee shows happening at the same time, maybe because these touring bands just finished playing bigger cities over the weekend. Whatever the reason, there are choices to me made.

In the case of The Church, who is playing tonight at The Waiting Room, Omaha is actually the kick-off city for the next leg of their U.S. tour. They’re out on the road supporting new album, Hypnogogue, a strong collection that recalls their mid-‘80s heyday when they released Starfish and their biggest hit, “Under the Milky Way.” This is “an evening with The Church,” which means no openers. $35, 8 p.m. 

Meanwhile, around the corner at Reverb Lounge, electronic post-punk band Model/Actriz headlines. They remind me a shit-ton of The Soft Moon – same sort of bracing bounce electronic rhythms mixed with static noise and bass, like Nine Inch Nails meets The Rapture. This could be a really cool show. Conjunto Primitivo opens at 8 p.m. $15.

Meanwhile, The Slowdown is hosting the long-sold-out Ethel Cain show. Everyone’s wondering how The Slowdown got this gig, considering Cain has sold out much larger rooms. I’m told she specifically sought out the club on this tour — a tiny room considering she has nearly 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify and one of her most popular tracks is called “A House in Nebraska” – a stark and depressing song about crippling lost love. Midwife opens at 8 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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Tim Heidecker plays The Admiral tonight.

by Tim McMahan. Lazy-i.com

Other than yesterday’s news about The Astro’s delays in opening, it’s been pretty quiet news-wise.

Yesterday, Omaha Performing Arts announced Liz Phair will be performing her debut album, 1993’s Exile in Guyville, in its entirety in honor of the 30th anniversary of its release on Matador Records. It is definitely among my top-20 all-time favorite records.

However, the performance, Dec. 5, is happening at The Holland Performing Arts Center, which means it’s a sit-down show. This, after O-pa opened the $100 million+ Steelhouse Omaha general admission standing-room rock palace. No doubt Phair and/or her people were involved in the venue choice, perhaps as a money grab, who knows. It’s a shame. Holland is great, but not for rock concerts. Last time I saw Liz Phair was the show she played nearly 20 years ago (Dec. 8, 2005, to be exact) at Sokol Auditorium that commemorated 1% Production’s 500th show.

Unlike her fall tour where Blondshell opened, this one has Kate Bollinger in the opening slot. Tickets likely go on sale Friday… 

A few other shows worth mentioning recently announced:

• If you missed The Good Life at Outlandia, good news – they’re playing Reverb Lounge Oct. 6. This is their Album of the Year tour, so it’ll be a special night, and considering the size of Reverb, will no doubt sell out despite the $29 ticket price (with fees). 
• – And “An Evening with The Church” has been announced for Oct. 9 at The Waiting Room. Always a good show. Tickets are $37 (with fees). 
• – Red-hot Omaha punk band BIB is the headliner for this year’s Farnam Fest Oct. 14. The rest of the line-up includes Bad Self Portraits, David Nance Band, M34N STR33T and The Real Zebos. Quite a lineup for just $10. 
• – Not sure I mentioned this before but Speedy Ortiz is playing The Slowdown with Space Moth Nov. 17. Tickets are $20.48 (with fees).
• – In case you missed it, that Sept. 20 Yo La Tengo show at The Waiting Room has been postposed due to drummer/vocalist Georgia Hubley’s knee surgery (Hey, we’re all getting older). No new date has been announce as of yet. 

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Tonight comedienne / rock star Tim Heidecker is performing at The Astro. The show will feature one set of comedy followed by a  second set of Heidecker’s original music. I’ve not heard his comedy act before, but I’ve listened to his recent album, High School (2022) and it’s a big-melody throwback album that’s kind of a cross between upbeat Wilco and Jimmy Buffett and has received a lot of love from Pitchfork and Paste. 

This is a seated show, apparently, and the lowest priced tickets are around $50 (with fees). Starts at 8 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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

As if on cue, The Church today released a new video from their upcoming album, Man Woman Life Death Infinity, which comes out Friday. The band plays tonight at The Waiting Room with The Helio Sequence. Tickets are $30, show starts at 8 p.m. Before you go, read my Ten Questions interview with Church frontman Steve Kilbey.

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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

If you listened to college music in 1988 you owned a copy of The Church’s seminal album Starfish, with its breakthrough hit, the dreamy, atmospheric “Under the Milky Way,” a song that dominated CMJ and MTV. Afterward, the Aussie band released 14 more studio albums, leading up to 2014’s Further/Deeper (Unorthodox Records), which, in some ways, marked a re-emergence for a band that’s always been around.

Now comes the band’s 26th studio album, Man Woman Life Death Infinity, out Oct. 6. It’s the second album with the rejuvenated line-up consisting of frontman Steve Kilbey, co-founder Peter Koppes, Tim Powles and Ian Haug. The tour that brings them to The Waiting Room Oct. 10 is their first since 2015.

We caught up with frontman Kilbey and asked him to take the Ten Questions survey:

1. What is your favorite album?

The Church’s Steve Kilbey: Diamond Dogs by David Bowie… or do you mean by The Church? Then that is Priest = Aura.

2. What is your least favorite song?

By The Church? Maybe “These Boys” off Remote Luxury.

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

Playing onstage when we are having a great night.

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Playing onstage when we are having a bad night.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Marijuana

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Chicago, Melbourne, London, Atlanta to name a few.

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

I once had a terrible gig in Christchurch New Zealand. Everything was wrong. I wanted to disappear!

8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?

I am squeaking by on music, plus I paint and write articles, etc.

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Love to have been an ancient greek scholar. Hate to be a mathematician.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

I played there once. I dunno if they liked us much. Hope they do this time around.

The Church plays with The Helio Sequence Oct. 10 at The Waiting Room. Tickets are $25 Adv./$30 DOS/$99 VIP. Showtime is 8 p.m. For more information, go to onepercentproductions.com.

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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

And lo, how the rain fell on my final day at SXSW, last Friday. It wasn’t so bad, but it was rain, and wind, and that combination makes for poor outside concert viewing and even worse navigation/walking from venue to venue. I was happy I got my afternoon at Stay Gold the day before.

There were a number of artists that proved illusive this year at SXSW. Among them was Courtney Barnett. It seemed like every time I wanted to see her perform it was either at 1 a.m. or in a location already at capacity (which makes one’s SXSW badge useless — when the club is full, they don’t care about no steen-king badges!).

There was one Courtney performance left, however, and it was at the SXSW Convention Center. The mega building houses dozens of enormous auditoriums and meeting rooms where SXSW “sessions” take place on such topics as “understanding copyright law” and “how to make the best of streaming technology” and so on. Panel discussions abound — this is where Snoop Dogg did a talk about something music-related. I’ve never been to a SXSW Music informational session, and most people I know who go to SXSW haven’t, either. Who wants to get up early after being on 6th Street until 2 a.m. the night before and sit in a conference room listening to a bunch of “music pros” drone on about “levering your band’s brand presence in social media” or whatever?

Still, a couple of the mammoth auditoriums were dedicated to performances, like the one happening in Auditorium G — the Public Radio Showcase, which included among the bands Courtney Barnett. And unlike the other gigs at SXSW, there was plenty of room and access to earthly conveniences like bathrooms, wi-fi and coffee. Not a bad place to be when sheets of rain are pouring down outside, at least for the afternoon.

But before Barnett took the stage Best Coast was playing a set of their El Lay-infused jangle-pop. People love Best Coast (especially in Omaha) and for the life of me I don’t know why. Their music is somewhat featureless, and front woman Bethany Cosentino suffers from (how do the American Idol judges put it?) pitch problems.

When I tell people I spent last week at SXSW, the first question is: “So did you discover any hot new music?” Courtney Barnett is not exactly new, but she is the hottest thing going indie-music wise these days and cemented that rep at SXSW playing eight showcases, where she debuted songs off her new album, Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit, a record bound to be on a lot of “best of” lists this December (including mine).

Playing as a classic guitar/bass/drums trio, Barnett’s music, while singularly its own, owes a lot of its resonance to Kurt Cobain and Nirvana (though it’s not anywhere near as dark). The song structures are deceptively simple, the guitar riffs hook you and Barnett’s lyrics are both clever and introspective. If you’re an indie music fan who listens to XMU or an online indie radio station, you won’t be able to avoid Barnett this year. She’s the 2015 version of Liz Phair circa 1993. Watching her band on the auditorium stage was very much like watching an arena concert, with the crowd singing along to some of the older material. Great stuff. We need to get her to Omaha.

We left the convention center at around 6. By then the rain had slowed to a sprinkle. It was off to classic Austin bar The Ginger Man for a beer and some Drivin’ and Cryin’ but before D&C came on, a band of Japanese lads were on stage playing an intricate style of instrumental prog reminiscent of Eno/Fripp-era King Crimson. It was LITE, a band lauded as “one of Japan’s top instrumental acts.” They were mesmerizing. I have little doubt the folks at The Ginger Man knew who they are when they started their set, but by the end, everyone was a fan.

Then came Kevn Kinney and Drivin’ and Cryin’. The band has a new record coming out, and the songs I heard them play were solid (if not too long – Kinney likes to draw things out). He sounds exactly like he sounded a 20 years ago, same high-end squawk, ageless except for the extra poundage. Needless to say the crowd stood from their picnic benches when they the opening riff to “Fly Me Courageous” blazed through the place.

The Ginger Man is as comfortable a bar as you’d want to sit and drink at — huge cushy leather wingback chairs, fantastic beer selection. Just up the street is the Paramount Theater — a golden age movie house complete with balconies and gorgeous ceiling, a velvet-chair space like the Orpheum and the perfect venue for seeing classic ’80s avant-art group The Residents. You might remember them for their giant eyeball-with-tophat helmets that were part of their shtick for years.

Well, the eyeballs are gone, replaced with crazy old man wigs and alien makeup. Frontman Randy looked like the ol’ Crypt Keeper but in gold bikini underwear, giant shoes and body paint. Very creepy indeed, as was the staging, which involved a giant crystal-ball like projection device that hosted messages throughout the set. Strange and fun. I’ve never been a follower of The Residents, but I understand their importance in the overall history of art rock. And though these guys are in the 70s, they still sound pretty good, especially the guitarist.

Afterward it was back to 6th Street and Buffalo Billiards for The Church. The venue’s title sums it up, it’s a huge pool hall with a stage upstairs. Getting close to that stage was nearly impossible as it was a crush mob. Hearing The Church wasn’t much easier, as the booming sound in the hall was the worst of any performance I’d seen this year at SXSW. Still, the band was on point. I didn’t stick around long enough to hear “Under the Milky Way.” Wonder if they even played it…

It was back to Maggie Mae’s rooftop, which had been covered with a large tent, keeping things high and dry as the rain geared up again. The attraction was a performance by The Pop Group, a ’70s-era British punk band that’s been credited with helping define the post-punk movement. Bands like Sonic Youth and Nick Cave have credited The Pop Group as an influence on their sounds. The band was only around for a few years, but got back together last year for a new record.

Their style is extremely rhythmic and fun, but their songs are dissonant and brash in way that reminded me of The Fall. Mark Stewart, who has to be in his 60s, is still a powerful frontman, screaming into the microphone with clenched fists.

Will Butler of Arcade Fire was next on the same stage. The band wore t-shirts with their first names on them. I wondered if this was because people confuse Will with his more famous brother (and AC frontman) Win. That said, there was no confusing Will’s music with Win’s, as his solo stuff, while upbeat and interesting at times, lacks the grand panache of Arcade Fire’s epics. Will’s music is better suited for the dance floor than the concert stage, with its reliance on a thump-thump-thump disco beat. Butler is scheduled to play at The Waiting Room June 2. Bring your dancing shoes.

That was my last show of SXSW 2015. My impression of the overall experience — is written in next month’s issue of The Reader. Spoiler Alert: I’m not sure I’m returning to Austin next year, at least not for the music part of SXSW.

Check out sound clips from all the performances mentioned above in the the podcast below — it’s only about 12 minutes long, but includes snippets from all concerts except The Church’s performance.

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Speaking of big concerts, that Matthew Sweet concert has snuck up on me. The concert, being held at the 1200 Club in the Holland Performing Arts Center is this Saturday. If you’re even remotely a fan of Sweet and his music, you’ve got to go to this one. Tickets are still available for $45 and $100 (VIP) right here. Get them while you can. And the concert is a benefit for Hear Nebraska!

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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 © 2015 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.