Anonymous American perform The Replacements at Slowdown Jr., Nov. 30, 2011.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

We’ll get to the above photo in a sec, but first…

A tradition at The Reader, the writing staff has put its collective head(s) together and developed the annual “Top 20” bands list, followed by the “Next 15,” a designation that can be interpreted any way you wish. Some might say that these are the writers’ favorite bands; others might say these are the bands that made the biggest impact in 2011. I would say the list is a combination of both. No one said anything about these being the “best” local bands in 2011.

So if you pick up a fresh copy of The Reader, you’ll see the Top 20 list along with brief descriptions of each band, a limited discography and personnel. What you won’t see is the Next 15 because for reasons unbeknownst to everyone involved The Reader didn’t print them. But fear not faithful reader, because I have both lists below. Before I get to them, the usual caveat: This list is purely for fun and, of course, means nothing. It should mean nothing to those who are on or not on the list. That said, I know being excluded can sting (last year or the year before, Dan McCarthy did a playful riff on not being on the list that ran throughout an entire set at The Waiting Room. Needless to say, I’ve always included Dan on my list…).

So without further ado, below is The Reader‘s Top 20 and Next 15:

Top 20
Tim Kasher
Bright Eyes
All Young Girls Are Machine Guns
Darren Keen/The Show Is the Rainbow/etc.
Simon Joyner
Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship
Digital Leather
Magic Slim
Emphatic
Skypiper
Conduits
Brad Cordle Band
Matt Cox
Kris Lager Band
Mynabirds
Brent Crampton
Somasphere
Yuppies
Depressed Buttons
McCarthy Trenching

Next 15
Travelling’ Mercies
Rock Paper Dynamite
Mitch Gettman
Millions of Boys
Lil Slim
Eli Mardock
Answer Team
Icky Blossoms
So-So Sailors
Voodoo Method
Back When
Machete Archive
Funk Trek
Baby Tears
Conchance
DJ Kobrakyle

And now, in the name of full disclosure, here is the Lazy-i Top 20 / Next 15 (i.e., my initial list submitted The Reader):

Top 20

Bright Eyes
Conduits
So-So Sailors
Icky Blossoms
Darren Keen
McCarthy Trenching
Simon Joyner
Tim Kasher
Digital Leather
Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship
Skypiper
It’s True
Brent Crampton
Yuppies
Mynabirds
Eli Mardock
Gus & Call
Matt Cox Band
Ideal Cleaners
Little Brazil

Next 15

Con Dios
Fizzle Like a Flood
InDreama
Watching the Train Wreck
Peace of Shit
AYGAMG
Tilly and the Wall
Honeybee & Hers
Thunder Power
Baby Tears
Depressed Buttons
Millions of Boys
Satchel Grande
The Answer Team
Capgun Coup

*  * *

So who won last night’s Replacement challenge at Slowdown? I’m happy to say that it was a tie. As expected, Anonymous American came out of the gate with guns a-blazing, ending their set with a sweet cover of “Left of the Dial” Then on came Witness Tree. I’ve never seen these guys before, and dug what I heard (though I have no idea what their actual music sounds like). Travelling Mercies’ two songs were muddled and off-kilter. A post on Facebook this morning indicated last night’s performance may have been their last show ever. Opener Aaron Parker gets the Guts of Steel Award for his two solo acoustic numbers. It takes cajones the size of melons to go on stage first after a 123-minute tribute to The Replacements and play covers alone in front of a room filled with die-hard Replacements fans. Unfortunately, Peace of Shit and Well Aimed Arrows were no shows.

As for the film: I was sort of dreading having to sit through more than two hours of talking-head interviews by people I (mostly) didn’t know (The movie contains no music or footage of The Replacements). I was afraid I wasn’t going make it to the end. But director Gorman Borchard’s editing style kept things moving right along. The film hit its sweet spot about 60 minutes in when we started getting more detailed info about the band’s history from those who were there. Unfortunately, a series of “fan” interviews brought the film to a crawl toward the end, including an in-depth interview with some guy who grew up isolated on a farm who developed an almost cult-like love for the band’s music. So much time was spent on this guy that it took away from the film’s real focus — the band. If I were Borchard I’d cut all the fan interviews and trim the film to around 90 minutes. If he wants to land a distributor, he’s going to have to make about 30 minutes of cuts anyway.

By the way, nice crowd, at least 100.

* * *

There’s one band on my Top 20 list that you won’t find among The Readers‘ 35 — Gus & Call. Those other editors at the newspaper who mocked my inclusion will shrivel at their oversight this time next year, when Gus & Call are the “special musical guest” on Saturday Night Live. Or tonight, when Gus & Call celebrates the release of their debut album, Wait ‘Til the Weather Breaks, at The Slowdown.

The event also marks the first week of Gus & Call’s month-long residency at Slowdown. Joining them tonight are InDreama and Honeybee & Hers. Tickets are $5, but tonight if you pay $20 you get admission to all five G&C residency shows in December and a copy of the new CD.

Also tonight, ’80s punk legends The Queers are playing at The Waiting Room with Knockout, North of Grand, Cordial Spew and DSM5. 8:30 p.m., $13.

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Hear Nebraska Vol. 1

Some thoughts on Hear Nebraska Vol. 1, the first in a series of comp CDs that are being put together by the folks at hearnebraska.org (the board of which I am a member, though I had nothing to do with this album)…

The record is being celebrated with a release party Saturday night at The Syndey. This CD has a very limited run of only 150 copies. After that, it’s download-only. All cash goes to the HN coffers.

Designed to be (as HN executive Andy Norman says) “a cross-selection of Nebraska’s most exciting bands,” as a whole, it’s a pretty complete snapshot of where we are these days, though there will be those who will quibble that this band or that band was left off, there (presumably) will be room for them on Vol. 2. The breakdown:

Thunder Power, “Who Am I” — Easily the best Thunder Power song I’ve heard, and I’ve heard most of their recordings. It has an energy that I’ve always found lacking from their music, driven in part by terrific organ/keyboards, glowing guitars and an uninhibited vocal. It’s a fitting opening track and sets the bar for the rest of the comp (and for TP’s next album).

Big Harp, “Everybody Pays” — This is a different version than appears on their Saddle Creek debut. I’m not sure where it came from (perhaps from the Love Drunk video shoot?) — it pops from the speakers better than the original. I’m beginning to think live recordings are the future of the indie music industry, if only for the economy of it all.

The Betties, “Come Back to Me” — This sleepy little C&W number is my introduction to this band of western folkies whose love for Hank and Loretta are twangfully obvious.

Conduits, “Blood” — Another intrepid release from the band’s long-awaited debut (over a year now, right?), it’s one of their more upbeat numbers, a quick-step syncopation pulled together by Jenna Morrison’s languid, black-leather Euro croon that boarders on lovely drone, until the lonely siren birdsong that breaks the song in half, before the world comes crashing down again.

Dim Light, “For You” — Like a perverted stripper ballad lifted from the soundtrack of a David Lynch film, there’s something brazen and obscene in how Cooper throws down his caterwaul like a stoned Jim Morrison or Mark Lanegan. A drunken love call sang in an empty jail cell at 4 a.m.

Con Dios, “What’s Your Name?” — A new song that doesn’t appear on their officially unreleased recording, it sounds like Saddle Creek indie or Nebraska indie or whatever you want to call this style of upbeat folk music with downbeat vocals that’s so reflective of the last decade of sounds made from around here.

Domestica, “Shine” — Clocking in at less than two minutes (just like any good punk song) it’s another perfect slice of fist-pumping anthem rock that Heidi and Jon have been making for more than a decade.

The Mezcal Brothers, “Lonely Fool” — Clocking in at less than two minutes (just like any good ’50s jukebox song), this is diner rockabilly as you’ve come to expect from this band of local originals. As shiny as the bumper of a ’57 Chevy,

Digital Leather, “Sponge” — Off-kilter and off-balance, this little New Wave / No Wave synth ballad left me stumbling through early Cure (and mid-era Replacements) memories, lonely and simple and lost. Probably my favorite of the bunch.

So-So Sailors, “So Broken Hearted,” — Another song from another long-awaited release (over a year now, right?), it’ll be recognized as one of the band’s centerpiece numbers from their live set, grand and elegant in a style that’s more ’70s arena ballad than modern-day indie. Play it next time you’re headed to Jungle Land.

Kill County, “Home Blues” — Hold-me-close country ballad that sounds like John Hiatt long, long after closing time.

Wagon Blasters, “Golden Lariat” — Tractor Punk. Gary Dean Davis. Nebraska originals. Them Thornton boys. It all feels like driving too fast in a late-model El Camino on dirty county roads. Loud and reckless.

As stupid as it sounds, this comp would make the perfect Christmas gift for all those people who’ve asked you about the Nebraska music scene circa 2011. At $15, buy them in bunches. The CD release show at the Sydney Saturday features Digital Leather, The Wagon Blasters, Domestica, Dim Light and Masses and starts either at 9 or 10, depending on which listing you find. Cover is $5.

* * *

I can tell you exactly when the screening of Color Me Obsessed: A Film About the Replacements starts tonight at Slowdown. The film rolls at 8 p.m., with director Gorman Bechard in the house.

This is not your typical rockumentary. According to IMDB.com, “Bechard bravely eschews including the band’s music, photos, and live footage, instead relying solely on the fans: their well-kept memories, hilarious anecdotes, and differing points of views about the foursome’s wildly varied discography and infamous antics.” Bechard will be conducting a Q&A after the film’s 123-minute runtime, after which five bands will be providing their interpretations of Replacements music: Anonymous American, Witness Tree, Travelling Mercies, Peace of Shit and Well Aimed Arrows (though I noticed today that Peace of Shit and Well Aimed Arrows are no longer listed on Slowdown’s website for this event — let’s hope it’s just an oversight).  $7, 8 p.m.

Also tonight, Honey & Darling are playing at O’Leaver’s with Nelsonvillians and Wind-Up Bird. $5, 9:30 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Just realized it’s been two weeks since I’ve posted a live review on the site, which means it’s been two weeks since I’ve been to a live show. Two weeks. That’s quite a drought, and it doesn’t look like the week is starting off much better, but come Wednesday…

Wednesday night Slowdown is hosting a screening of Color Me Obsessed: A Film About The Replacements. You might remember that a couple weeks ago via Lazy-i Slowdown did an open call for bands to play Replacements covers after a Q&A with the film’s director following the screening. Five bands took the challenge: Anonymous American, Piece Of Shit, Traveling Mercies, Well Aimed Arrows and Witness Tree — that’s a pretty well-balanced blend of folk, rock and punk.

Find out more about the event and get tickets ($7, 8 p.m.) here at The Slowdown website, and while you’re there, find out about Thursday’s Gus & Call CD release 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Well, well, well… Looks like Matt Whipkey’s old band, Anonymous American, has taken the Slowdown / Replacements challenge and will be among those performing after the screening of Color Me Obsessed… at The Slowdown Nov. 30 (See yesterday’s blog entry for band search details). Whipkey, Wayne Brekke and the rest of the band are a perfect fit for this showcase.

There’s room for more.

I was thinking it would be cool to see one of the young, dirty O’Leaver’s punk bands also play this gig, say, a Rainy Road, Doom Town or Grotto Records band. After all, their take-it-to-the-edge no-bullshit garage aesthetic is in synch with The Replacements’ early days of punk excess.

But then it dawned on me that those guys may not have even heard of The Replacements. The band’s heyday was between ’81 and ’84 — that’s 30 years ago, folks — and they technically broke up in ’91. So while songs like “Fuck School” and “Dope Smokin’ Moron” off Stink or “Hangin’ Downtown” and “More Cigarettes” off Sorry Ma, I Forgot to Take Out the Trash would fit nicely in the current-day garage punk milieu, they could also be viewed as “old people’s music.” Let’s hope not. For those of you who were around in the ’80s, what did you think of music from 30 years prior to that time, music from the ’50s? Say no more…

* * *

Mates of State have a new album out called Mountaintops (Barsuk) that is a right turn from the calliope keyboard sound that I remember from their Polyvinyl days. When I interviewed the band in 2002 (the story is still online here), their two-piece keyboards-and-drums approach was rather innovative, if not grating taken in large doses — you could only stand so much of that whirling organ. These days their sound, especially on this new record, is more fleshed out and approachable. When they played on Letterman in early October (watch it here), the duo was backed by a couple more musicians. Who will they have in tow tonight when they play The Waiting Room with The Generationals? Find out. $13, 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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The fine folks at The Slowdown are looking for bands that dig The Replacements as much as they do to perform after a screening of Color Me Obsessed: A Film About the Replacements, which is happening at Slowdown Nov. 30.

The evening will start with a screening of the film followed by a brief Q&A with its director, Gorman Bechard. After that, a number of local bands will take The Slowdown’s small stage to perform their favorite Replacements tunes.

The only things missing from this grand scheme, however, are the actual bands.

You got a band? Do they love The Replacements? Then The Slowdown wants you. If interested in performing Nov. 30, send a quick email to info@theslowdown.com with your band’s name and the two or three Replacements tunes that you want to play. The folks at The Slowdown will sort out the rest. What will you get for playing beyond the dying admiration of everyone in the audience? I’ll leave that for you to negotiate with the club (though, in true Replacements fashion, it’ll probably involve free booze).

Bonus points for the band that plays “Die Within Your Reach.”

* * *

One of America’s 50 best new bands (according to this article in The Boston Phoenix), Omaha’s own Baby Tears, is playing tonight at the Side Door Lounge, 3530 Leavenworth. Headlining is Pennsylvania band Br’er; also on the bill are The West Valley, Brothers Family Temple and Daniel Dorner. Show starts at 8, and is free. Looks like Baby Tears may play first, so get there early.

Here’s a taste of Br’er in the form of “Heavenly”:

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/14250421″]

And in honor of the Leavenworth Neighborhood Association, here’s “Homeless Corpse” from Baby Tears. Enjoy:

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/18106827″]

* * *

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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.