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NME also gave the record a 6: “A good seven years out of date, ‘Doom Abuse’ is pure synth-pop mania, frequently teetering between unadulterated Trent Reznor pop brilliance (‘Unseen Hand’, ‘Lesson From The Darkness’) and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.

* * *

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.

* * *

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 Doom Abuse is out now…

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s drop day for The Faint’s new album, Doom Abuse, out now on SQE. To celebrate, Homer’s is hosting an in-store meet-and-greet with The Faint this evening at 6 p.m. According to the press release “The band will hang out, Homer’s will spin the new CD, and there will be free soda, beer and pizza.” Free beer? Seriously. Of course the CD will be for sale as well as the limited deluxe special edition vinyl. Get it.

* * *

I knew it was too good to be true. Moments after posting a link to yesterday’s blog entry someone posted a comment saying that Fischer no longer is on the bill for the Punk Rock Reunion show May 17. I’ve sent an email to 1% to confirm this but haven’t heard back. Fischer is still listed on the event 1% page

, however… I’ll let you know one way or the other when I know…

* * *

ROAM In the Family

The latest installment of David Matysiak’s ROAM project went online yesterday. This time ROAMers “explore the theme of family by creating a new audio collage using archived materials or new recordings to engage the concept in all of its literal and figurative manifestations.” Contributors include Stef Drootin (Big Harp), Dereck Higgins (InDreama), Devin Brown, Julie Hines and more. Download it for free right here.

* * *

The folks at the Maha Music Festival yesterday tweeted that they’ll be announcing this year’s concert line-up April 17. I foresee surprises in store. Maha Fest is slated for Aug. 16 at Stinson Park…

* * *

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

The Faint, Doom Abuse (2014, SQE) is out April 8.

The Faint’s promo company, Big Hassle, is distributing the band’s new album, Doom Abuse, to various and sundry journalists, including yours truly. It’s good. In fact, it’s Blank-Wave-Arcade good.

“Evil Voices” was the record’s first wait-what-the-f***-is-this? moment. It has my vote for first single, though I guess “Help in the Head” has that honor as it’s being premiered on NPR right now (here) with the laser-site-paranoia video for the song up at Pitchfork (here

).

“Loss of Head” was another a-ha moment; it sounds like a radio track. As straight-forward as The Faint has ever been.

Another song that raised an eyebrow was album-closer “Damage Control,” which takes the song “B12” by Shawn Foree project Mere Mortals and adds different lyrics and synth textures. There is no mistaking that amazing synth hook at the front end. Foree, who fronts Digital Leather, said he co-wrote “Damage Control” with Faint frontman Todd Fink, who also plays synths in Digital Leather. Needless to say, it’s another highlight in an album filled with them.

As a whole, the record is more immediate than any previous Faint record — and by that I mean there is a no-nonsense, straight-forward approach to each track. I read the band got in and got out quickly on this one — no fucking around, no over-thinking — and it sounds like it. You’ll find out for yourself when the album is released April 8 on SQE Records, though I have no doubt it’ll leak in its entirety before then on NPR or Huffington or some other mega-website (Hey, why not leak it on Lazy-i and give my core 300 readers a head start?).

BTW, once this record gets around, that June 13 Faint show at Sokol Auditorium will sell out. You may want to beat the stampede and buy your tickets now

.

* * *

After a rather dull 2013 this has been a very solid first quarter of new music. For those of you wondering where the quarterly wrap-up is, I’m working on it now. Album reviews are easily the hardest thing to write — harder than interviews, features or live reviews. Stay tuned.

* * *

There’s a benefit going on tonight at The Pizza Shoppe in Benson for Food Bank for the Heartland. Featured performer is John Klemmensen and The Party. The music starts at 6 p.m. and there’s no cover, though 10 percent of your food purchases will go to cover the food bank’s administration costs. More info here.  Go ahead, eat pizza.

* * *

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, circa now.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I read it early this morning on Faintbook: The Faint have a new album coming out. Titled Doom Abuse, the new record hits the streets April 8 on SQE Music, home to CSS, Johnathan Rice, Desert Noises, among others.

According to the SQE website: “In the spring of 2013, The Faint existed again. Anxious to make new music the band recorded a 4-song white label 12” they referred to as ‘Preversions.’ That music, primal and punk rock in its approach, became the unplanned blueprint for Doom Abuse.  The band booked time with longtime collaborator Mike Mogis to mix the album before even really having songs written.”

The entire album took three months to make, according to SQE. “Since much of Fasciinatiion was made sitting behind computers, the musicians wanted to embrace a live sensibility and collective rawness. A lot of the record was created live in the room, with first takes and first ideas taking precedent.”

Read the whole SQE write-up here.  Fans can pre-order the record right now on iTunes for $7.99 and can immediately buy and download the first single, “Help in the Head.” Needless to say, a tour will follow.

I guess we kind of knew this was coming all the way back in 2011 when this article

came out (followed by this article). Everything seemed to be in place for the band to continue on without Joel Peteresen, and thankfully it has. So can The Faint pick up where they left off six years ago? And what about Digital Leather, Todd Fink’s other band, which is scheduled to perform at SXSW in a few weeks (at at O’Leaver’s this Friday night)? And finally, is there a place in The Faint’s future for Saddle Creek Records, the band’s original label? It seems unlikely, but you never know…

* * *

Speaking of old-time Saddle Creek acts, Cursive just released a new live performance video of Ugly Organ staple “A Gentleman Caller,” via LoveDrunk. The video was shot around the same time as the December trio of live shows at The Waiting Room. Take a look:

* * *

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

Let’s see, The Faint are playing in Lincoln tonight, Conor’s got a show in Omaha and Tim Kasher just announced a new album and tour.

What year is it, anyway? 2013 or 2003? Is it going to be like this in 2023?

Back to reality. The Faint are doing a one-off show at The Bourbon Theater in Lincoln tonight and last I heard tickets were still available for a mere $20. The scuttlebutt is that the band has been in the studio recording some new material. Will they play any of it tonight? Opening is Digital Leather (which means Todd Fink will be pulling double duty) and the always entertaining Touch People (Darren Keen of TSITR fame). If you’re in Lincoln and you’ve never been to a Faint concert, you owe it to yourself to experience the sights, the sounds, the smells.. Starts at 9.

Tonight also is Night 2 of Conor Oberst and the Tennessee Valley Authority (I keed… Mystic Valley Band) at The Slowdown. Kevin Coffey has a review of last night’s show right here so you can get an idea what you’re in for, that is if you have tickets. Like I said yesterday, it’s been sold out forever. Show starts at 9 with two openers.

As for Kasher, his latest news (new album/tour) made the digital pages of Brooklyn Vegan this morning (right here). And who, exactly, is this Laura Stevenson who will be joining him for part of the tour?

* * *

The Waiting Room just released its August calendar and it may be the lightest month for out-of-town bands in memory. I see only two shows “of interest” for the entire month: Appleseed Cast Aug. 7 and Mousetrap Aug. 16. The rest of the dates are filled with well-worn locals (lots o’ Benson bands) and bar promotions. One Percent has been known to add last-minute shows to TWR calendar, so that could change.

* * *

In this week’s column, a look at my sinuses and a you-are-there report on… the neti pot. You can read it in this week’s issue of The Reader or online right here.

* * *

Finally, an interesting piece this morning in Dangerous Minds (here) where they reprint an infamous letter to Nike complaining about the use of the Beatles’ song “Revolution” in a Jordan shoe commercial. The text of the letter is, indeed, spicy. Like DM said, music in ads these days is just another revenue stream for artists and a way to get their music broadly heard without a resource like radio (which never was a resource for indie artists in the first place). That wasn’t the case in the ’80s…

* * *

Oh what the hell: From the Lazy-i Vault, July 31, 2003:

Live Review: The Good Life / Minus the Bear – July 31, 2003

I showed up just in time to miss Luigi Waites. The 200 or so on hand (I’m guessing here) were still buzzing about his set. Someone told me they’d never heard applause like that at Sokol Underground — a nice tribute to one of Omaha’s legends.

Now I know why Minus the Bear has the rep for being a “math rock” band, but I guess I never really noticed it listening to their CD. Now it’s painfully obvious why having seen them perform live. Don’t get me wrong, I like “mathy” music, and these guys certainly have all the requirements for that label — intricate time signatures, dollops of syncopated rhythms, multiple time changes within songs, and so on. The crème de la crème is the band’s guitarist — a dead ringer for a young Nick Nolte, he plays using the “touch” method, where he fingers his chords with his left hand and pokes the strings with his right, a la Eddie Van Halen (but not nearly as fast or flamboyant). His guitar mimics what you’ve heard on later King Crimson albums — repeated almost piano-like tonal circles that add as much rhythm-wise as musicwise. Unfortunately, really good math demands strong melodies to remain interesting. About four songs into their set, their music began to blur and get a bit tiresome. The last two songs were easily their best — one shifted from a down-low ambient thing to a rock mantra, the other was more typical of their style, and happens to be the best song on their new CD. The finest moments came when they gave their keyboardist room to stretch out, adding texture and ambiance to the usual stuttered proceedings.

The Good Life at Sokol Underground, July 30, 2003. Photos by Leann Jensen.

Then came The Good Life. Clearly a bit rusty from not having played live for four months, they impressed with their new material. Kasher is beginning to remind me of Lloyd Cole, both physically and musically. I’ve come to the conclusion after hearing the new stuff that I really don’t like Black Out that much. The Black Out songs performed were such a stark contrast to the poppy new material, there’s no question that the band is going in a different direction with the next disc. It’s downright bouncier than anything they’ve done before, and to complement it, they even rearranged some of their older material.

The lack of drum machine was an interesting change. On the first song, drummer Roger Lewis played bongos while multi-instumentalist Ryan Fox sat behind the trap set. Sometimes the new arrangements sans machine didn’t work. For example, the electronic drum static on “A Dim Entrance” was replaced with what was essentially Kasher rhythmically scratching on his guitar. The transition to the song’s main melody was harsh and disjointed and they dropped the song’s pretty piano line. But other times, you couldn’t tell you were missing anything without the electronic drums.

A highlight was a cover of The Faint’s “Worked Up So Sexual” that was interesting in its downcast interpretation. I don’t know if it worked or not, but it was certainly unique. When the band wasn’t bouncing with the new stuff, they played mostly downstyle, quiet, slow numbers that highlighted the new sexy spy guitar parts that were quite pretty. But the person standing next to me in the audience got so downcast with all the low-tempo stuff that dominated the middle of the set that he left!

Anyway… I know I’m being rather obtuse describing their new material. The opener did remind me of early Lloyd Cole, with Kasher singing lyrics that described the first day he met a new girlfriend to the last day he saw her. One song sounded exactly like a Neva Dinova number thanks to the morose spy guitar line, while another toward the end of the set felt like a latter-day Elvis Costello song. Kasher’s new stories have more detail and clever lines and seems less self-defacing than earlier Good Life stuff (again, Black Out) that seems more like a cry for help.

If what I heard last night is any indication, their next CD will easily be my favorite, a good rebound from the moribund songs on Black Out, yet even more poppy than what we got on Novena on a Nocturn. In other words: I smell hits! As always, everything they do is a stark contrast to Kasher’s other band. Whereas I thought Black Out seemed headed toward Cursive territory, these new songs couldn’t be further away on the spectrum. This is Kasher at his tuneful best.– July 31, 2003

* * *

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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There’s a bit of Conor Oberst news bouncing around the internet.  Both SPIN

and TwentFourBit have stories that include links to an unreleased Oberst song called “Night at Lake Unknown” (Do you think he was talking about Lake Manawa?). They also recap details about an upcoming Monsters of Folk film and music project that Jim James discussed on his Reddit AMA. Oberst made news last week with a massive Q&A at Drowned In Sound (right here) where he confirmed that we’ll be getting some new Desaparecidos material sometime in the future.  Desa plays Europe and stateside for nearly a month starting Feb. 7 in Dublin, right after Oberst finishes up some European solo dates.

* * *

Check out The Faint performing “Agenda Suicide” and “Glass Danse” on Pitchfork.tv, below:

* * *

The Waiting Room’s $3 showcase series continues tonight, this time sponsored by Boulevard Brewing Co. and featuring InDreama, Universe Contest and Arrows, which I’m told is a brand new Omaha band whose members include a recent Detroit transplant. Just $3 gets you in. Show starts at 9. Don’t let the snow, cold and wind slow you down.

* * *

Tomorrow: Ladyfinger.

* * *

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 © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Did a little bit of bar-hopping last night in Benson. I started out early at The Barley Street for the debut of Killer Blow. The duo of Genie Molkentine on drums and vocals and Todd VonStup on electric guitar came on around 10 and played about 15-20 minutes of sweet guitar garage jams that recalled bands like Oblivians and Urinals. I’m not sure which songs were originals and which were covers because, well, I’m not the most well-schooled in classic garage/punk. Molkentine has a gritty riot grrrl snarl that’s dead-on for this style of music, as much yelp as growl. Plus she’s cute as a button and can play drums standing up while singing (though her drum set only consisted of a snare, tom and crash cymbal). Her drumming at times was kind of shaky, but give her a break — this was their first show. VonStup played guitar with his usual raunchy panache, and together they made a cute team. In fact, they’re married, which made it all that much cuter. Keep an eye on them…

After their set I high-tailed it over to The Sydney to catch Digital Leather. The Sydney crew cleared out the tables and chairs prior to opening to give the room more space, and in fact it felt like a punk show. I got there just in time to catch the last couple songs by (who I assume was) Video Ranger — fun punk that prominently featured trombone, which got me thinking about ska, which they weren’t playing (when I was there). Then on came Digital Leather playing a better-than-usual breakneck set of garage rock that got a few guys doing a circle mosh-step (Were the mosh-dance guys from Agent Orange? I don’t have a clue as I didn’t stick around for their set). It was one of the more high-energy DL gigs in recent memory. The only disappointment was that the set list didn’t vary much from the last time I saw them play (except for the inclusion of “Sponge,” which created a lull in the middle of the set). They’re sticking with the new stuff, which is fine, though I’d love to hear something off one of the earlier albums thrown in for fun. Come on, guys, it’s ’bout time you reintroduce “Please Be Quiet.”

* * *

Danse Macabre Deluxe Edition, The Faint (Saddle Creek, 2012)

Yesterday The Faint and Saddle Creek announced that they’re reissuing the 2001 classic Danse Macabre as a remastered and limited edition offering. According to the press release: “The remastered release, which features six bonus tracks from the era as well as an extensive booklet, will be available on CD in a triple-disc format with a DVD, and on double vinyl that also includes the CDs and DVD. Additionally, the DVD will include archival video footage from the band, live projection videos from that era’s tour dates, the ‘Agenda Suicide’ music video, some live footage, and more. Copies of the physical album will be limited to 5,000 for the 2xCD/DVD package and 3,000 for the 2xLP/2xCD/DVD package.”

Street date is Oct. 30. The band also announced a tour to support the release starting November 8 in Denver that will find the group performing Danse Macabre in its entirety for the first time ever, along with the usual set of old favorites. The tour ends with a show at Sokol Auditorium Dec. 14 with upstarts Icky Blossoms opening. In fact, IB will be tagging along for 14 dates on this tour. I can’t think of a better way to introduce the band to the world.

Some thoughts on Danse Macabre on its 10th anniversary. And check out the remastered “Take Me to the Hospital” right here. You can pre-order the album right here at the Saddle Creek online store.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Faint at The Slowdown, Aug. 18, 2012.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

What to say about The Faint’s performance last Saturday at The Slowdown other than “same as it ever was”?

Team Faint came on around 11 dressed in normal street clothes — a contrast to the old days when they wore dramatic all-black stagewear. Yes, they’ve given up on the costumes, unless you count Todd Fink’s droopy fishing hat (a tribute to Jack Klugman?) and funky, onesie-style jumpsuit complete with exo fabric wrap around his left knee, which was either a fashion statement or a therapeutic device (I tend to think it was the latter).

Top of mind (at least to me) was how they would sound without Faint ex-pat Joel Petersen on bass. I doubt any of the bouncing sold-out crowd that turned the Slowdown’s dance floor into a giant trampoline noticed a difference. Saturday night Dapose handled bass most of the time when a bass was needed, though Todd strapped on a bass for one song (see above action photo). The Faint use a lot of low-end programmed synth parts, so there’s never a loss for any bottom regardless of a bass being on stage.

Overall, if there was a difference soundwise to this new four-piece version of The Faint it was subtle. There were points where the music sounded slightly less dense. And as a whole, the set was less overwhelming than, say, when The Faint played at The Waiting Room and the low end was so excruciating that every organ in my body turned to guava jelly. I did not feel my organs vibrate with bass Saturday night, but that may have more to do with The Slowdown’s acoustics and/or the sound guy rather than what was happening on stage.

Like I said, most fans won’t notice a difference other than seeing one less person on stage bouncing around like a coke-addled marionette. The Faint sound like The Faint, and that’s what matters. They played all the “hits” from their past albums, i.e., what people came to hear. But unless my Faint knowledge is flawed (and considering that I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of all their recordings, it very likely is) they launched their set Saturday night with a new song (“An Unseen Hand”?) that swayed oh so slightly from their typical sound to something more “Manchester-ish” in its rhythm and style. View a bootleg vid of the new song here on YouTube. Very promising.

They closed with a three-song encore of “Glass Danse,” “Victim Convenience” and, of course, “Agenda Suicide.” The crowd wanted more. No doubt many returned Sunday night to catch them again. If there’s a criticism of Saturday night’s show it was that the band seemed more stripped down, less “theatric,” and as a result, less sinister. At their best, there is a darkness to The Faint, a layer of dread that adds depth to everything they do. Hopefully, as they move forward, that dread will return.

* * *

What is the opposite of dread? Why Andrew Bird, of course. And tonight Mr. Bird takes the stage at The Holland Performing Arts Center with Bloodshot/ANTI- artist Kelly Hogan. Tickets are still available for the 8 p.m. show for $33 at Ticket Omaha

.

Also tonight, Red City Radio (Oklahoma City, Paper + Plastick) plays at Slowdown Jr. with Dummy Head Torpedo, Arliss Nancy, and Divided Heaven. $8, 9 p.m.

Red City Radio, “Two for Flinching”

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

The Faint are back.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

FYI, The Faint are back.

The band let it slip this past April that it was reforming after announcing last September that it was on hiatus, partially due to Joel Petersen’s move to the West Coast. The Reader‘s Chris Aponick caught up with the band about what we’ll see on stage this weekend. Needless to say, Joel won’t be there.

From the story:

The band and Petersen are working toward a formal, legal agreement ending his involvement in the Faint and letting the other four members continue the band without any lingering hang-ups. “He doesn’t want to be in the band and he doesn’t live in the state. We want to do the band, so there’s really not much to talk about,” (frontman Todd) Fink says.

But the most interesting quote in Chris’ story:

“We’re mostly just a band and we’re going to make some stuff,” Fink says. “We feel like we’re in a good place. We have new ideas and I feel like they fit into what we think the Faint is.”

It’s been just over four years (Aug. 5, 2008, to be exact) since Fasciinatiion was released on The Faint’s blank.wav label. It’s high time we got some new material, gentlemen, though the crowd at Saturday’s and Sunday’s long sold-out shows at The Slowdown would be just as content to hear the hits once again. Like any good music, The Faint’s songs are somewhat timeless; but they’ve aged well especially in an era that values electronic dance music more than ever.

Openers for Saturday night’s Faint show are Capgun Coup and Touch People (Darren Keen, ex-The Show Is the Rainbow). Opening Sunday’s Faint show is Icky Blossoms, who has gained a reputation for creating a dance vibe similar to The Faint’s, and the always amazing Solid Goldberg. Both start at 9. Get there early. And like I said, both have been sold out for weeks.

* * *

The Faint shows aren’t the only thing going on this weekend.

Tonight friends of Javier Ochoa remember the local legend in song. A former member of The Get, Blah Buddha and Goodbye, Sunday, the 43-year-old drummer was known more recently for his work in Led Zeppelin tribute band The Song Remains the Same. Javier passed away in June. Performing tonight are Never Trust The Living, Diana And The Maries, The Get / Ground Tyrants, Janglepop, The Filter Kings, Song Remains The Same and Secret Weapon. The benefit concert starts at 8 p.m. $7.

Also tonight in Benson, Secret Cities and I Am the Navigator play at The Sydney. The show is free and starts at 10.

Saturday night House of Loom House celebrates its 1-year Anniversary with a party featuring Philly/NYC DJ Rich Medina. $5, 9 p.m. Details at their Facebook invite. (RSVP to info@houseofloom.com for FREE entry before 10:30 p.m.).

Also Saturday night John Klemmensen and the Party play at The Barley Street Tavern with Marmalakes (Austin, TX) and Travelling Mercies. $5, 9 p.m.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Posted yesterday on The Faint's Facebook page, with the cutline "First practice in too long!!!"

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Todd Fink confirmed what everyone saw on the band’s Facebook page yesterday: The Faint are indeed gearing up to begin practicing again. Fink said it was too early to say what will come of it. I guess we should all just keep our fingers crossed. So who’s in the band this time? Based on interviews with Todd and Jacob Thiele last year, I’d be surprised if Joel Petersen was involved. We’ll have to wait and see.

If the news has put you in a dancing mood and you can’t wait to see Todd, Clark and Jacob again, head down to Lincoln tomorrow night for Depressed Buttons at The Bourbon Theater’s Rye Room with DJ Blac, Bad Speler and Cake Eater (a Good Speakers production). It’s the next best thing to seeing The Faint. $10, 9 p.m. More info here.

* * *

Tonight The English Beat returns yet again to Omaha, this time to The Waiting Room with The Bishops. 8 p.m., $20.

Also tonight, another installment of The Record Club at the Shop at Saddle Creek. Tonight’s listening party features Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The needle drops at 7 p.m., with discussion to follow. 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 © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.