by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Remember when appearances by Bright Eyes or Conor Oberst on late night chat shows was a “big deal”? I still remember his TV debut in the form of Bright Eyes on Late Night with David Letterman way back in June 2003. That was an event. It was the first time a Saddle Creek artist — or any local artist from that era (except maybe Mannheim) — made it onto a national broadcast.

These days Conor performances on late night shows, like last night’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, are an afterthought, a “Hey, look, Conor’s on TV again” experience. But it’s still a gas. Here his is doing “Zigzagging Toward the Light,” from his latest release, Upside Down Mountain.

And here’s his network television debut from 2003. Get a load of Letterman joshing with Paul about the Lifted record album (“This is the way music used to be”). And get a load of those bangs.

* * *
Speaking of golden era Saddle Creek bands, The Faint yesterday announced a two-night stand at The Waiting Room Sunday, Dec. 28, and Monday, Dec. 29. Opening acts have yet to be announced. The $20 tickets go on sale Friday morning at 10.

It’s going to be a big holiday season for shows, what with The Faint, Ritual Device/Cellophane Ceiling, The Good Life/Big Harp and Neva Dinova all playing in Omaha in late December.

* * *

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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

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OEAAs…

Yesterday’s post outlining the nomination process

for the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards (OEAAs) resulted in a number of people suggesting there was a conflict of interest since Board President Emily Engles works for a number of bands nominated in various categories. As OEAA Board President and facilitator of the nomination process, was Engles in a position to influence the final list of nominees?

To help clarify the issue, I asked Engles, via email. Here’s what she said:

Me: Which OEAA-nominated bands and performers do you work for?   

Engles: The Decatures – booking/promo; Stonebelly – booking; Mitch Gettman – booking/promo (this partnership started Sept 3); The Willards Band – booking/promo.

Me: What do you do for those bands/performers, and do they pay you?

Engles: Yes, these bands pay me a monthly fee. E3 Music Management is registered with the State of Nebraska..I have also done some “freelance” work for Hector Anchondo and Matt Cox…referrals and connecting them with the right people, mostly.

Me: How were you involved in the nomination process, specifically in categories where bands you work for were nominated?

Engles: As OEAA President and a member of the music committee within the board, I serve as facilitator. I make sure each committee (Performing Arts, Visual Arts and Music) have the list of nominees, meet deadlines, gather contact information, etc. A music review committee of board members and music voting academy members gathered to go over the full list of nominees (like I said in an online comment, we look at the entire list down to those with only one vote, not just the top six). We make sure the artists are in the correct category (many fans put a band in both rock and hard rock or both country and Americana, not knowing where they may fall) and look at the entire list for who may be moved up once those bands that should not be in a category are removed.

In regard to the categories where bands I work for were nominated, I remove myself from the discussion about who should be moved up once the incorrect bands are removed. I allow the other four members to make the final decision…I do not push or make the final call as I might in other categories.

Engles suggested I reach out John Heaston for a formal statement from the OEAAs in regard to the organization’s conflict of interest policy. “We have board members who are also in the arts and may be nominated,” Engles said. “We have voting academy members who may also be nominated…it is requested they remove themselves from actively participating in such categories, just as I did in regard to the bands I work for.

“The bands I work for are nominated because they are talented and work hard to make an impact on the Omaha music scene,” she wrote. “I work hard for them and they work hard for me.”

To clarify further, Engles pointed me to the nomination statement from the OEAA website, which you can read here.

* * *

A final thought…

When you turn art into a competition, you are saying one work of art is better than another work of art. Conversely, you’re saying something isn’t as good as something else. All art is subjective. I might think Bob Dylan’s voice is mercurial; you might think it sucks. The truth is in the eye — or ear — of the beholder.

I can make you a top-20 list of my favorite Nebraska bands. You can agree or disagree with as much of it as you want, understanding at the end of the day it’s just one man’s opinion.

And when you create a non-profit organization that’s designed to recognize the brightest local talent through an awards program, there’s going to be people who disagree with your choices.

However, when the area’s best-selling local albums by the three local performers who draw the largest local crowds are not nominated for the Album of the Year, Singer/Songwriter of the Year or Artist of the Year, people are going to ask questions.

I asked the questions yesterday. The answer was very clear. All three artists were considered during the nomination process, and Conor Oberst, The Faint and Orenda Fink simply didn’t make the cut. The nominating committee felt they’re not as good as those nominated for Best Singer/Songwriter; their records were not as good as those nominated for Album of the Year, and as artists and musicians, they simply didn’t do as much musically as the people who were nominated for Artist of the Year. The OEAA nominating committee has spoken.

Do you agree with them?

* * *

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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

OEAAs…

Yesterday the 2015 Omaha Entertaining and Arts (OEA) Award nominations were announced. I looked through the nominees list (here) and in addition to not recognizing a lot of the nominees, wondered why three of Omaha’s finest talents —  The Faint, Orenda Fink and Conor Oberst — didn’t receive any nominations. All three released well-received full-length albums this year and toured extensively.

I turned to the President of the OEA Board, Emily Engles, for answers. Through a series of e-mails, Engles explained the nomination process:

Me: Any idea why The Faint weren’t nominated for anything?

Engles: They were not in the top 6, nor top 20 even.

Me: So the nominees are determined entirely by popular vote, right?

Engles: We receive the list all the way down to one vote, the music committee then makes sure everyone is in the right category as sometimes a band happens to be in the top for both rock and hard rock or both country and Americana. A committee of board members and voting academy members put the puzzle together using the entire list.

Me: Do you take into consideration things like album sales or is it purely based on public submitted votes? How do you prevent a recording that the committee recognizes to be an inferior recording (but that has a lot of public votes) from being nominated in a “Best of” category?

Engles: It is based on local shows and local affect. We only remove a band or album from a category if it is the wrong genre or album (was) not released within the award season, Sept 1-Aug 31.

Me: Is there any recourse by the board for adding an artist or recording that the board felt was overlooked by the public?

Engles: We do scroll through the events of the major venues (WR, SD, Shamrocks, Hideout, Chrome, Barley, etc.) for release shows to see a somewhat comprehensive list.

Me: So if someone on the board thought a band was overlooked by the public during the nomination process, the board could have added that band as a nominee?

Engles: It is the board and a select few from the voting academy. Yes, if someone was grossly overlooked, they could be added if the vote passed.

Me: Is there any reason why The Faint, Conor Oberst or Orenda Fink couldn’t be nominated?

Engles: The Faint landed at about #50 on this list with two nominations, Orenda at about 80 with one, Conor does not appear. While I understand the national effect they have for Omaha, they did not have the same local effect (Omaha release show, subsequent local shows, etc.) to grab the attention of the OEAs. I am speaking purely on my behalf…Marq Manner is our “indie” expert when it comes to the three you mentioned and may have a better explanation if mine is not sufficient.

I thanked Engles for her comments and pointed out that The Faint obviously had a rather large local effect considering they hosted massive shows at Sokol Auditorium, The Slowdown and The Waiting Room — i.e, more locals saw The Faint perform than any other nominated performer in any category. The same could be said for Conor Oberst.

So I did as Engles suggested and asked my ol’ pal MarQ Manner, who also is an OEA Awards board member. Here’s what Manner said:

MarQ Manner: While we don’t totally go on votes we certainly weigh them and where the public is pointing when debating. We had votes for well over 100 bands and the general vibe was that people were more focused on albums from groups that may not be on the national stage. We did not make any out loud choice to not include Conor, The Faint or Orenda. I think we just looked at 30 albums that were there and looked and researched and found what we thought were the best and most impactful albums in Omaha.

You have to understand that we have people on the committee that are hard rock people. roots rock people, hip hop, jam band, etc. it’s not the indie music awards. One of the biggest complaints about the OEAA’s is that Conor, Cursive, etc., are nominated. I disagree with that and think those nominations just make the award more important for the non-national band who may win in a following year. Is it a perfect process? No. I can’t think of an award organization that has it down. Our goal is to recognize the arts in Omaha that is having and impact and people are excited about.

For what it’s worth…

Moving on.

* * *

Tonight, right back to The Slowdown for Drive By Truckers and Lucero. $30, 8 p.m. show.

* * *

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.

Screenwriter of Jurassic Park III, Alexander Payne, is among those who will be on hand for tonight’s Chuck Hassebrook fundraiser. Hey Al, just playin’ with ya, Mr. Oscar…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There’s a couple shows happening tonight scheduled in such a way that you should be able to hit up both of them.

Show No. 1 is Orenda Fink at The Slowdown. The gig is a campaign fund-raiser for Chuck Hassebrook, who’s running for Nebraska governor against Pete Ricketts.

The lowest entry price-point for this show was $50, but organizers repriced general admission tickets to a mere $15. Also on hand will be screenwriter of Jurassic Park III (and director of a few movies, including About Schmidt and The Descendents) Alexander Payne.

Opening for Orenda are The WordSmiths (?) and McCarthy Trenching. Look, it’s a good opportunity to do what you can to keep Ricketts out of office while getting some quality music to boot. You can give more than $15 if you wanna. Donations range right on up to $2,500, Mr. Moneybags.

Get your tickets here. The program runs from 5:30 to 8:30 tonight.

That means you’ll have plenty of time to get across town to The Waiting Room, where The Hold Steady will be playing tonight. I can take or leave ol’ Craig Finn and Co., but have to admit it’ll be a treat to see them on TWR stage, and surprisingly, this one has yet to sell out. Opening is the Josh Berwanger Band (He’s the dude from Lawrence band The Anniversary and The Only Children). This is nice-priced at $18. Show starts at 9.

* * *

Check out the new video by The Faint for “Scapegoat” off SQE release Doom Abuse. What dungeon basement was this shot at?

* * *

Also released yesterday, the title track off Jenny Lewis’ upcoming album The Voyager. Check it below. Lewis is booked to play the Slowdown Aug. 4, by the way…

* * *

While I’m cleaning out the ice-box, here’s the latest track from Saddle Creek band Rural Alberta Advantage. Their new one, Mended with Gold

, comes out Sept. 30 on the Creek.

* * *

This is connected to nothing local, I just wanted to pass along that I’ve been digging the new album by Strand of Oaks, HEAL (Dead Ocean). I’ve been looking for the vinyl in Omaha, and of course, no one has it. This one is on my shortlist for the first half of 2014. For you Spotify-ers out there:

* * *

In this week’s column, what happens when a top music PR flack (Catherine Herrick of Beggars Group) turns her back on the business and hits the road with her band? You can read it in the current issue of The Reader or online right here.

* * *

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.

From the balcony, The Faint at Sokol Auditorium June 12, 2014.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

When it comes to reviewing Faint shows in Omaha, you have to specify location in the title, especially after this weekend. Three shows, three different venues. The Slowdown’s free Faint show Sunday night was added after Saturday night’s show at The Waiting Room.

Why so many shows? Better question: Why not? From The Slowdown’s perspective, putting on a free Faint show is a great way to coax people to come down and check out the College World Series beer-soaked carnival atmosphere and discover that parking and crowds aren’t as bad as they may think.

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From the floor, The Faint at Sokol Auditorium, June 13, 2014.

Regardless, I only made it to one Faint production this past weekend, and it was a doozy. The production was so elaborate it provided a completely different experience from the Sokol’s balcony to the floor below.

From the floor, it’s all about the dancing, or more accurately, hopping since no one’s really dancing. They’re bouncing or “humping” to the electro-throb. Those in the middle of the mob become part of the collective body grooving where the Sokol’s oak floor has (apparently) been replaced with a trampoline.

It’s been this way for more than a decade. The usually reserved Omaha audience usually content watching shows with a crossed-arm head nod is given permission to let go at Faint shows. I remember a similar vibe at 311 shows I covered in the ‘90s. If you weren’t part of the dance collective, then get out of the way and stand with the old people and extreme introverts along the wall.

The balcony experience — or the view from anywhere near the furthest reaches of the Sokol floor — was electrifying in a different way. In fact, the technology forces viewing at a distance to take in the full scope. You’ve no doubt seen the photos on your Facebook or Twitter feed — the blinding, sequenced spotlights burned across the auditorium like weapons. And woe is you if you happen to be staring right into the lens.

Augmenting the modern kliegs were large LED panels — like portions of arena scoreboards — placed on stage and under the drum riser that displayed digital illustrations in sync with the beat. Add various colored gel accent lighting and voila! the perfect multi-media presentation. Lord only knows what (or who) was responsible for the programming, but it must have been a monumental effort to create each song’s lighting sequence. The result was an edgy drama that pushed the performance to arena levels as good as anything I’ve seen at the CLink, albeit on a smaller scale.

From the dance floor, the enormity of the light show was marginalized — if you get too close to those LED panels you lose the effect. But if you’re on the dance floor, you’re not watching the lights anyway — you’re sweating your ass off to the beat.

Which brings us to the music.

The Faint sounded pretty much how I remember them sounding a decade or so ago down in Sokol Underground. You’d never know they were missing a (formerly) core member — i.e.,  bass player Joel Peteresen, who left the band after Fasciinatiion was released. So who’s playing bass now? I saw Todd Fink with a bass on one song (“Dropkick the Punks”), but that’s it. I assume the all-encompassing, deep, gut-rattling bass was the product of the keyboards or sampling.

It’s amazing how well songs from the band’s new album, Doom Abuse

, seamlessly blended within the band’s hit-laden set. Opener “Animal Needs” was a strong way to kick things off. “Mental Radio” and “Evil Voices” felt like typical Faint songs next to standards like “Desperate Guys” and “I Disappear.” A stand-out moment was the downshift to the funky sway of “Damage Control.”

The show was nearly flawless, right up to the encore that featured two all-time Faint classics “Paranoiattack” and the bomb called “Glass Danse,” which is guaranteed to blow up any dance floor. There appeared to be some sort of technical glitch that took place before lighting the fuse, however, as the LED screens kept flashing numeric panel markers while the band waiting around on stage. What kind of Faint show would it have been without technical difficulties?  It was, indeed, just like old times.

* * *

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 Faint’s most recent unofficial band photo… They play tonight at Sokol Auditorium and Saturday night at The Waiting Room.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The three “F’s” are perfectly aligning tonight: Friday the 13th. Full Moon, and… The Faint at Sokol Auditorium. Be afraid, be very afraid.

I still don’t know why The Faint booked a second show for Saturday night at The Waiting Room. Conventional wisdom is that you book a second show when/if the first show sells out. But tonight’s show at Sokol ain’t sold out (though a few people I’ve talked to seem to think it is).

Tonight’s show features the legendary Solid Goldberg a.k.a. Dave Goldberg as the 8 p.m. opener. Goldberg, who you might remember from The Carsinogents (or Full Blown before that), is a consummate showman and one helluva talent. Do Not Be Late.

Playing both tonight and tomorrow night is Athens band Reptar (Vagrant Records). I’m not huge into Reptar, but they no doubt have their fans.

I am huge into Digital Leather, who plays the 8 p.m. opening slot tomorrow night (Saturday) at The Waiting Room. Expect to hear songs from their sublime new split LP they made with The Hussy. This likely means that Faint frontman Todd Fink will be pulling double-duty Saturday as he also plays keyboards in DL. The Faint at The Waiting Room is something not to miss (though I’ll probably miss it as I’m a cheap-ass bastard and couldn’t get on the list for the show).

Based on their setlist from their June 8 Roxy show in West Hollywood, expect a good blend of classic Faint songs along with new material from new album Doom Abuse. Todd said the band has a cool new LED-panel-driven light show that is sure to dazzle. You may just want to go ahead and buy your tickets now in case it, you know sells out.

There’s not much else indie-music-wise happening this weekend.

Tomorrow night (Saturday), McCarthy Trenching returns to the stage at fabulous O’Leaver’s. Joining him are Lars and Mal. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tomorrow night (Saturday) The Derby Birds open for Edge of Arbor at The Barley Street Tavern along with Township & Range and Ojai. $5, 9 p.m.

And, of course, there’s that whole College World Series thing that will be tying up downtown Omaha for the next couple weeks. If you’re stuck down there and don’t have tickets to a game, you can always hang out at the many booze tents scattered throughout NoDo (including The Slowdown’s).

Have a good weekend…

* * *

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 Faint play at Sokol Auditorium tomorrow night and The Waiting Room Saturday night.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This week’s issue of The Reader features my cover story/interview with Todd Fink of The Faint. The interview was actually conducted months ago, before the band went out on tour, but as Todd said, not much happens on tour, so the data is still current.

Topics include their hiatus, their return, SQE, Saddle Creek, as well as Todd’s roll in Digital Leather and how that experience impacted the songs he wrote with The Faint. You can read the article in the paper or online right here. Go read it!

As of this writing, $20 tickets are still available for both Friday night’s Faint concert at Sokol Auditorium and Saturday night’s show at The Waiting Room. Tix info at onepercentproductions.com.

* * *

The Brothers Lounge has a show tonight with Minneapolis double-bass band Scaphe. Powerslop and Garoted also are on the bill. $5, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Greenstreet Cycles is hosting its all-city party at its new temporary digs at 2452 Harney St. (making way for the CWS). Goon Saloon performs. Fun starts at 7:30. More info here.

And speaking of cycling, read Pt. 2 of my series on Omaha B-cycle and what it will take to make Omaha a bike-commuting-friendly city. Ben Turner of B-cycle is interviewed. It’s in this week’s issue of The Reader

and online right here.

* * *

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.

At Brad’s Corner during last week’s Benson First Friday festivities, from left, are Matt Whipkey, Kait Berreckman and Brad Hoshaw.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

My only music experience this past weekend was catching a few songs on Brad’s Corner during First Friday in Benson. Replacing Vern Fergesen this month was singer/songwriter Kait Berreckman. Good stuff.

* * *

Looking north, the massive rooftop bar on top of soon-to-open Benson bar 1912.

Friday night I also got a look inside the new Benson bar 1912, located the building that used to house The Lizard King pet store right across the street from The Waiting Room. The place is massive. I was told by the team putting it together to expect a summer opening, and judging from the state of the interior, they could hit their target (they’ve been working on it for something like five years). Even more impressive than the interior is the roof-top deck. It’s frickin’ enormous. I’m talking huge, with awesome views of Benson and the surrounding area. Will 1912 be a Benson game changer? We’ll see.

* * *

Walking out of Aksarben Cinema Saturday night after seeing “Chef” (The feel-good foodie flick of the summer) I ran smack into a wall of teary-eyed teen and pre-teen girls who’d just seen cancer/love story “The Fault in Our Stars” (This generation’s “Love Story”?).

I didn’t realize until today that the soundtrack was composed by Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott, two-thirds of Bright Eyes. They might have a hit on their hands, judging by the weekend box office numbers — the film took in $48.2 million dollars to finish No. 1 for the weekend above “Maleficent” and third place finisher “Edge of Tomorrow.” Ch-ching!

* * *

It’s as good a time as any to mention that a second show has been added to The Faint’s Omaha tour schedule. In addition to Friday night’s Sokol Auditorium gig with Reptar and Solid Goldberg (which isn’t sold out), The Faint will be playing Saturday night at The Waiting Room with Reptar and Digital Leather. Both shows start at 8 p.m. sharp. So why the additional show? Who knows, but no one’s complaining. Get your $20 tickets while you can.

* * *

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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s never too early to begin talking about Record Store Day (RSD), coming up this Saturday.

Homer’s Music is catering to the hard-core collector who will be waiting in line to snatch up what arguably will be the largest selection of RSD inventory in the area. Homer’s goes all out, as the line that will be forming in front of their Old Market store in the wee hours of the morning will attest.

To help keep the early morning line-sitters comfortable, Homer’s is handing out donuts along with entertainment in the form of live performances by Brad Hoshaw and Matt Whipkey, who will be selling their own limited-edition RSD 7-inch split single (I’ve got it; it’s good). In addition, Michael’s in the Market will be selling breakfast burritos. Heck, Homer’s has even rented a porta-potty so you won’t have to cross your legs. Promos include free RSD T-shirts for those spending more than $150, and Micheal’s gift certificates for those spending over $50 (while supplies last).

Homer’s will open at 10 a.m. Saturday. So will Saddle Creek Shop, Drastic Plastic and Almost Music.

You’ve probably heard this before: The best thing about South By Southwest is the day parties. You show up at a location — maybe it’s a park, maybe it’s a record store — and you spend the whole day there just listening to bands. It’s usually very chill. Best of all, it’s free — you don’t even need a badge to get in.

You’ll get a taste of what SXSW day parties are like when Almost Music hosts its own day party this Saturday for Record Store Day. The free event, which runs 11:30 to 7:30, will feature one of the best line-ups of local talent I’ve seen at any event. Check it out:

Nathan Ma (Places We Slept) 11:30-12:00
Anna McClellan (Howard) 12:15-12:45
The Lupines 1:00-1:30
The Subtropics (Noah Sterba, Megan Siebe, Zach LaGrou) 1:45-2:15
Uriah (formerly Ben Love) 2:30-3:00
L. Eugene Methe (Rake Kash) 3:15-3:45
Simon Joyner & the Ghosts 4:00-4:30
Orenda Fink (Azure Ray) 4:45-5:15
Luke Polipnik Trio 5:30-6:00
The Churls (feat Joe Knapp of Son, Ambulance) 6:15-6:45
Mike Schlesinger (Gus and Call) 7:00-7:30

The only thing missing is a beer tent, but you can always walk up the street to Krug Park or Infusion to get your brew on — both open at noon.

The irony is that Almost Music will be hosting the best special event for RSD, but likely will have the thinnest selection of RSD merch. My suggestion: Get to Homer’s and the other shops at 10, then head over to Almost Music for an afternoon of fantastic music… and bargains.

* * *

Homer’s General Manager Mike Fratt tells me that first week CD sales of The Faint’s new album, Doom Abuse (SQE Records), cracked the Billboard Top 200 at No. 146, with sales of 2,226 units. The album’s deluxe limited edition vinyl, released two weeks earlier, racked up 293 units, for a grand total of 2,519 units to date. Impressive…

* * *

Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s the return (to Omaha) of Mates of State. Whenever I mention this show, someone says “They’re still around?” MoS have been coming through Omaha for more than a decade, and they’re still going strong. They toured last summer with The Postal Service, even though they haven’t released a new record since Mountaintops (2011, Barsuk).

Tonight’s show is being promoted as part of their “Acoustic Piano / Drums / Voices / Strings / Horns Tour.” Opening is Blue Bird. $16, 8 p.m.

Tonight also is the latest installment of Record Club at the Shop @ Saddle Creek. The featured record: The Entrance Band’s 2013 release, Face The Sun (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond). Record Club is a chance for folks to get together and listen to an album in its entirety, then discuss it afterward. Fun! The needle drops at 7 p.m. More info here.

* * *

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.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Well, the Pitchfork review of The Faint’s new album, Doom Abuse, just came out. Those arbiters of all things hipster gave the record a mediocre 6.1. To his credit, critic Ian Cohen spent a lot of time in his review trying to dissect the album’s lyrics, which is good and all, except no one listens to Faint records expecting some sort of lyrical revelation. They listen for the beat, the color, the energy. I mean, how many times have you contemplated the meaning behind “Going to the Hospital” or “Erection”?

The review’s closing line: “Doom Abuse isn’t so much an argument for the Faint’s continued relevancy as it is for the potency of their real-time nostalgia.” Huh? I’ve read that three times and I’m still not sure what it means. Read the whole review here.

A few other big hitters have weighed in on Doom Abuse:

Consequences of Sound gave the record a B-, saying, “The hiatus did them good, and in the Lorazepam paranoid dreams of The Faint’s world, that’s a glimmer of needed hope.” Read it here.

Popmatters gave the record a 6: “Does it measure up to their greatest moments or delve into new terrain? Not at all. But if the Faint’s goal was to have fun and make a good Faint-sounding record, then mission accomplished.” More here.

NME also gave the record a 6: “A good seven years out of date, ‘Doom Abuse’ is pure synth-pop mania, frequently teetering between unadulterated Trent Reznor pop brilliance (‘Unseen Hand’, ‘Lesson From The Darkness’) and impressions of Skrillex driving a monster truck through a Savages gig in a video arcade (‘Animal Needs’, ‘Dress Code’). Does it abuse you? Oh yeah…” More here.

AV Club

on the other hand, gave Doom Abuse a B+: “Whether agitated or brooding, Doom Abuse is a pointed reminder that The Faint is most comfortable when things are slightly askew.” Review here.

And ol’ reliable All Music gave Doom Abuse 3.5 stars: “Equal parts whimsical and despondent, it’s Disintegration-era Cure wearing an Imagine Dragons hoodie that’s trying to have an LCD Soundsystem, ‘All My Friends’ moment, and while the Faint don’t quite pull it off, they’re all the better for trying.”

Disintegration-era Cure? Uh, no. Read more here.

If you missed it, I weighed in on the record in the 1st Quarter reviews roundup, saying the record “not only is good, it’s Blank Wave Arcade good. As a whole, the record is more immediate than any previous Faint record, and by that I’m talking about their no-nonsense, straight-forward approach to each track. I read that unlike previous studio marathons, the band got in and got out quickly on this one — no fucking around, no over-thinking — and it shows. The arrangements at times can be acidic and brash, but the album still has classic Faint dance moments (“Evil Voices,” “Loss of Head”) that will get the crowd jumping every time. Welcome back, boys.”

I give a B+ and 4 stars (out of 5) and think history will be kind to it.

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It’s a lousy weekend for shows — there’s a lot of cover and tribute bands playing around town tonight and very little original music.

With that in mind, we skip to Saturday and The Barley Street Tavern where the mighty Lupines are headlining a show with a couple bands I’ve never heard of: St. Joseph Missouri band Scruffy & the Janitors (This Tall Records) and Danny Sabra. $5, 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, William Elliott Whitmore (Anti Records) plays at The Waiting Room with Austin Lucas. $12, 9 p.m.

That’s it. Have a good 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.