by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Onward to the weekend!

Tonight (Friday) there’s a sort of reunion of classic ’00s-era indie act Mal Madrigal at Pageturners lounge. Stephen Bartolomei and Mike Saklar, two of the band’s original members, have worked up 12 Mal Madrigal songs for tonight’s set. Will they do my favorite, “A Broken Window”? Headlining tonight is Wedding, a new project by Anna Schulte that includes Bokr Tov’s Colby Jenkins on bass, and Zachary Roland on percussion. Wedding will be recording at ARC next month with Nate Van Fleet (See Through Dresses) behind the knobs.  Poet Alina Nguyen also is on the bill. 9 p.m. Donations encouraged.

How about a night at the theater?

Tonight I’ll be checking out Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, the new production at the Benson Theatre. I think it’s a musical? I’m not sure, but apparently the play’s music and lyrics are by John Mellencamp based on a book by Stephen King. This is the last weekend for the show. Tix are $25, 7 p.m. curtain.

On to Saturday…

This week’s big touring indie show is Porches at Reverb Lounge. It’s a project by New Yorker Aaron Maine, whose latest album, Shirt, was released on Domino in September to mildly positive reviews. Maine went out of his way to rough things up this time and it’s a welcome improvement over the borderline emo-pop of his previous album, All Day Gentle Hold! (2021, Domino). Dreamy New Yorker sweet93 (very Mazzy Star) opens at 8 p.m. $30, 8 p.m. 

Meanwhile across town, fabulous O’Leaver’s is hosting their big Halloween show Saturday night headlined by tractor punk mavericks Wagon Blasters with In Tongues and Frankie Chiaro. Costume are “highly recommended!” This $10 party starts at 9 p.m. 

Back in Benson Saturday night, Chicago musical comedy duo Griefcat headlines at The Sydney. Music Connection described them this way: “Super hilarious lyrics coupled with very nice music and great vocals is a recipe for success.” You be the judge. $10, and no opener for this early 6 p.m. show.

Are these early shows going to become a thing? Sunday’s Bazile Mills show at Reverb Lounge starts at 5 p.m. with a set by Straight2Munich. $12.

Anyway, that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great 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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Violin-playing singer-songwriting whistler Andrew Bird is headlining tonight at The Astro in La Vista. He’s one of those guys who has always flown under the radar for me, despite being a major force in indie music for well over a decade, starting out on Rykodisc and Grimsey Records before moving on to Mom+Pop, Fat Possum, and finally Loma Vista for the last few LPs. His most recent, Sunday Morning Put-On, is a collection of jazz covers. It’s interesting to see he’s playing at such a large venue, but I guess Bird graduated to the whole Fleet Foxes/Decemberist/Feist league of indie year’s ago. 

This is a split-headliner show with country/bluegrass act Nickel Creek (Nonesuch). Singer/songwriter Haley Heynderickx opens at 6:30. Tickets range from $50 to $100.

That’s it for national touring indie-esque acts this weekend. 

Tonight (Friday), Mitch Gettman opens for Charlie Ames’ band Cable Network at Slowdown Jr. Always interesting to see what Mitch has been up to, though I know he’s been working on a follow-up to last year’s Tilde. Omaha alt rockers Dear Neighbor opens at 8 p.m. $10.

Tomorrow is the second Saturday of the month which means Blackstone Second Saturday (It just doesn’t roll off the tongue like Benson First Friday). The day’s highlight is at Scriptown Brewing Company. They’re calling it “Summer Smash Vol. II,” and includes a punk rock flea market, tie-dye station and culminates in live performances by tractor-punk mavericks Wagon Blasters and C&W cowboys Lightning Stills. It’s free, and the music starts at 3 p.m. More info here. 

Later Saturday night it’s back to Slowdown Jr. for another evening of up-and-coming locals that includes the arcane synth-and-drum noise-punk of Pagan Athletes. Indie stalwarts Bad Self Portraits headlines, while psych rock newcomers Cowgirl Eastern opens this show at 8 p.m. $10.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great 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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

No shows again for me this past weekend, but this week is looking up…

For example, take Jenny Don’t and the Spurs gig tonight at Reverb Lounge. The Portland band’s name and cowboy get-ups would have you believe they’re exclusively C&W; and while there’s plenty of twang to go around, Jenny’s yodally vocals remind me more of Neko Case than Tammy Wynette on songs that lean into rockabilly and cowpunk territory.  The band’s latest long-player, Broken Hearted Blue, was released earlier this month by on Fluff & Gravy Records. 

Opening this show is Nebraska’s own tractor-punk heroes Wagon Blasters, who by themselves are worth the $15 ticket price. Start time is 8 p.m. What the hell else you got to do on a Monday night?

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s a freaking log-jam of great shows tonight (Friday).

Top of my list is an old-school combination – Lincoln power-punk trio Domestica and Gary Dean Davis’ tractor-punk sensations Wagon Blasters at The Sydney in Benson. Who remembers when Mercy Rule and Frontier Trust played shows together in Omaha and Lincoln back in the mid-‘90s? Well it should be just like that except completely different. Both are opening for Glenn Antonucci’s alt-country-rock band The Broke Loose (think midwestern Centro-matic). $10, 9 p.m. Bring your earplugs…

Meanwhile, down at Grapefruit Records in the Old Market (1125 Jackson St.), Memphis post-punk trio Optic Sink plays an in-store show with local heroes David Nance and Mowed Sound. Fronted by Natalie Hoffman (NOTS) with Ben Bauermeister (Magic Kids) and Keith Cooper (Jack Oblivion & The Sheiks), Optic Sink is a synth-heavy First Wave-style dance-punk riot whose latest, Glass Blocks, was released last September by Feel It Records (Their 2020 debut was released by Goner). David Nance and Co. should be red-hot, having been on the road supporting their Third Man Records full-length debut. DJ Justis Brokenrope kicks things off at 7:45 p.m. $15.

Also tonight… did you know that The Jewell in the Capital District just reopened? Well it did, and in addition to jazz, the new Jewell is supporting local acts of all genres. F’r example, tonight the have The Matt Whipkey Duo (which features guitarist Mike Friedman). It’s a free show and starts at 7:30.

Sunday night, Oakland, California, noise-punk trio Facet headlines at Reverb Lounge. Clearly inspired by ‘90s acts like Unwound and Unsane, their sound is hard, angular, post-hardcore. Joining them on the bill is Omaha noise band Living Conditions and post-punk monsters Leafblower, who kicks things off at 8 p.m. $10. 

Just a head’s up – we’re down to five tickets remaining for Monday’s Eric Bachmann show at Ming Toy Gallery. Snag one while you can from The Undertow Website. More info about that show is right here.  I also may or may not have an interview with Bachmann going up on the site tomorrow – it depends on if he gets in touch with me today. 

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great 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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Wagon Blasters at Reverb Lounge, Aug. 25, 2023.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

My evening at Bad Bad Men’s album release show at Reverb Lounge Friday night was successful in all but actually seeing Bad Bad Men perform. It’s starting to become one of those things — at least for 4-band bills — where I’m either going to go early and catch the openers or arrive late and catch the headliners. Having seen Bad Bad Men perform many times and as recently as a few months ago, I opted for the former vs. the latter, as I haven’t seen Wagon Blasters play in awhile. So apologies to John Wolf and his crew, who no doubt killed it, based on the chatter I’ve seen online. Pick up your copy of their new albu, Messed Up, online right here.

As for Wagon Blasters, Gary Dean Davis and company continue to perform with the same energy as any GDD project dating back to Frontier Trust. Gary is a timeless, non-aging entity, which I guess makes him a god (a rock god?). He bounced high on the tiny Reverb stage, belting out classic Wagon Blasters songs, sometimes with cowbell, others times with mouth harp, always with a big voice and the best stage persona of anyone ‘round these parts. 

While Wagon Blasters have an amazing rhythm section, the band’s secret sauce is Mr. Will Thornton on guitar – no one plays quite like him and no band has ever matched the twang-meets-punk sound that defines “Tractor Punk.” It’s the combo of Thornton’s ringing style and Gary’s auctioneer bark that drives this massive Case harvester through fields of rolling rock (OK, that is sort of a beer reference). The only quibble about Friday’s performance is that Reverb’s stage may be too small for Gary’s bounding leaps, which one time landed him smack dab into the bass-drum mic set-up (Crunch!).

Those Far Out Arrows at Reverb Lounge, Aug. 25. 2023.

Those Far Out Arrows continue to evolve their garage psych-rock sound, kicking back on grooves that could go on forever (if I had my way). Fronted by the Keelan-White brothers of Ben and Evan on guitar and vocals, the band is one of my favorites for getting lost in their chugging rhythms and hypnotic ax work. Their last release was 2020’s Fill Yer Cup, which means they’re due for a new release. Come on, boys, let get it going!

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Last week Saddle Creek Records released a remix of Neva Dinova’s “Something’s Out There” — the band’s first new music in a decade — by The Faint’s Todd Fink. It’s a trip. Check it out:

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Tonight you’ve got a rare Monday night five-band show at a place called Razor Wire Productions, located at 1808 Vinton Street. Headlined by Las Cruxes, the line-up includes Sacramento band Santohs, Peach Paw, Good View and Grief Police. Ben Eisenberger kicks things off at 7 p.m. It’s BYOB and it’s $5 (suggested donation).

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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.

Bad Bad Men celebrate their vinyl album release tonight at Reverb Lounge.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

No touring indie shows this weekend, but a couple local album release gigs worth your attention: 

Tonight at Reverb Lounge it’s the album release show for the debut album from Bad Bad Men. The power trio consists of Omaha rock ’n’ roll legends Chris Siebken on drums, Jerry Hug on bass and frontman/guitarist John Wolf.  The album, Messed Up, is a 10-song scorcher that recalls the gritty, bluesy punk style Wolf brought to classic ‘90s-‘00s act Bad Luck Charm, sung with his distinctive snarl/growl that will have you breaking bottles and starting fights. Siebken and Hug are so tight they sound like they’re attached at the hip, while Wolf’s guitar flies high above it all. 

Recorded over two days at ARC Studios with Adam Roberts, it’s the first new release on Speed! Nebraska Records in recent memory. As a result, the album release show is a pseudo showcase, as label executive Gary Dean Davis’ own band, Wagon Blasters, will kick off the evening. Also on this crowded bill are Omaha garage rock titans Those Far Out Arrows and Pagan Athletes — the prog-noise duo of Griffin and Nathan Wolf, who are, yesss, The Sons of John Wolf (now there’s a band name for you)(Waitaminit, does that make Bad Bad Men “dad rock”?). 

You get all four bands for a mere $12. I expect this show to sell out, so you may want to buy your tickets in advance. You will also want to buy the limited-edition vinyl, which will be on hand at the show but is also available for order online. The fun starts at 8 p.m. Need more info? Check out MarQ Manner’s interview with Bad Bad Men at The Reader website. 

Then tomorrow night (Saturday) it’s the vinyl release show for R.A.F.’s No Salvation album, which was released this past July. The punk band’s line-up is Paul Moerke, Tim Cox, Dereck Higgins, Dan Stewart and Kelley RAF. At least one of the band’s members is traveling in for this special one-off gig. Also on the bill are punk band Cordial Spew and “2 special guests,” according to the flyer. $15, 8 p.m. 

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great 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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Channel 7 is calling it “impact” weather and the National Weather Service has issued a heat warning – what can I say, it’s gonna be hot as hell tonight at the Maha Music Festival. The saving grace could be the expected overnight storms that will cool things off for Saturday (as long as those storms don’t knock down the stage equipment!).

Full run downs on both days including schedules, band descriptions and music samples, were posted earlier this week: Friday’s line-up; Saturday’s line-up. 

Maha knows they’ve got to deal with the weather and are setting up hydration wagons, misters and cooling stations, and the comedy tent is air conditioned if you want some post-set relief. 

That said, a hot, steamy night will only enhance Turnstile’s set… if folks show up for it. 

More info about the Maha Festival including tickets ($70 per day), are at mahafestival.com. See you there.

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OK, so you’re not going to Maha. What are your options for the weekend?

Tonight in the air conditioned confines of The Sydney in Benson, it’s Omaha’s tractor-punk heroes Wagon Blasters (now here’s a band that’s been sorely missing from the Maha Festival stage). Joining them tonight are bands In Tongues and Josiah and the Messiahs. I’m not familiar with either band, but found this Bandcamp listing for Josiah a.k.a. Josiah Hazel. $10, 9 p.m. 

Meanwhile tonight down the street in the air conditioned confines of The Waiting Room Lincoln electro-leather-dude Plack Blague headlines a show with Omaha living legend Solid Goldberg – the one-man project of Dave Goldberg. If you have not seen SG, do yourself a favor. Ex Lover opens the show at 9 p.m. $10.

Tomorrow night (Saturday) the action as in the air-conditioned confines of fabulous O’Leaver’s where Violenteer is headlining. The project by the Cotton brothers (both on bass) added a vocalist recently — Steve Tulipana, the KC guy you might remember from noise rock bands Season to Risk and Roman Numerals. The addition has changed everything (see review). Joining them are Aircraft Grade, an instrumental noise-rock duo from Omaha celebrating a record release, and noise project The Fatal E’s. This is a free show (yay!) and starts at 9 p.m.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a red hot 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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Elvis Costello at Memorial Park Aug. 29, 2021. EC returns to Omaha tonight at Steelhouse Omaha.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Let’s start with what’s happening here tonight…

Tonight at Steelhouse Omaha, Elvis Costello and the Imposters with special guest Charlie Sexton will play a “seated” show. Based on the set list for Sunday night’s show in Phoenix, expect a greatest hits set. I suspect this will be much more lively then what we got when he played at Memorial Park back in 2021 (although I don’t see “Uncomplicated” on that Phoenix list – a personal fave we got last time). Nick Lowe backed by Los Straitjackets opens at 7:30 p.m. Ticketmaster shows there are still tickets available for $74.50.

Also tonight, everyone’s favorite tractor punk band, Wagon Blasters, opens for Las Vegas rockabilly act The Delta Bombers at Maloney’s in Council Bluffs, 162 W. Broadway, a newish venue I’ve yet to visit. Gary Dean and the crew kick things off at 8 p.m. $17.

And everyone’s favorite helmeted rock ‘n’ roll astronaut, Bob Log III, brings his one-man-band guitar hi-jinx to Reverb Lounge tonight. No opener listed. 8 p.m., $15.

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Following up on yesterday’s close-but-no-cigar indie tour post, a couple other tours were announced yesterday that you’ll have to head out of town to catch:

Indie singer/songwriter Faye Webster announced her North American fall headlining tour. Closest pass to Omaha:

• Oct 29 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre
• Oct 30 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue

Geese, who played a sort of half-ass half set at last year’s Maha Festival, announced their 2023 tour yesterday. Closest pass to Omaha:

• October 12 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
• October 13 – Milwaukee, WI @ Back Room at Colectivo
• October 14 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
• October 16 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge

Considering that Maha set, I think they owe us one.

And that Blondshell show I’m headed to next month at 7th St. Entry has sold out. No matter, Blondshell just announced another tour with Liz Phair, which will again, miss us. The closest pass to Omaha:

• 11/17 – Palace Theater – Minneapolis, MN

• 11/18 – Chicago Theater – Chicago, IL

Get your tickets while you can.

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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

Prior to Friday night’s in-store CD release show by the Wagon Blasters for the release of the In Frontier We Trust singles compilation CD I asked the originator of both bands, Gary Dean Davis, why he was having the show at a record store. I attended a Simon Joyner performance at Grapefruit last year (Simon runs the place) and found it quaint, cozy and more than a little cramped.

“I suppose punk rock has always been about doing things in unconventional ways and places,” Gary said. “Over the years many of my favorite shows were in unconventional places. Many of which were at record stores: Firehose at Homer’s during a blizzard in ’87, Brimstone Howl also at Homer’s, Man or Astroman at Drastic Plastic, the Almost Music shows (a long defunct record store in Benson/Blackstone), along with a multitude of basement and even apartment shows I’ve played at or seen. I supposed the best reason is that people are there to listen to music.”

And thus was the case Friday night at Grapefruit. A small PA was set up in the corner of the store and the crowd of around 40 or 50 listened either standing or sitting among the bins of vinyl records. Yes, it was cozy and cramped, but it was also a lot of fun. 

Gerald Lee, Jr., a.k.a. Lee Meyerpeter, the frontman of a score of bands from the ‘90s through today (including Cactus Nerve Thing, Bad Luck Charm and Filter Kings) played a solo set with electric guitar that included tunes from all these bands (yes, including Cactus). Lee drops a slight country twang into everything he sings, whether it’s a punk song or a whiskey-fueled ballad. He closed his set with Filter Kings’ classic “100 Proof Man,” a song that was always destined to be covered by The Highwaymen but never was.

That was followed by a short set by Gary Dean Davis and Bill Thornton on acoustic guitar – playing as “Half Trust,” – tunes from Frontier Trust. Both seated, Gary explained that the CD was made so his kids could listen to their dad’s Frontier Trust songs in their cars, which is exactly what I did after the show. Mastered by Doug Van Sloun, the songs on In Frontier We Trust never sounded better. I think I own all of the 45s in which the CD was derived and can attest that the mix is brighter and more urgent than the vinyl. Gary, I’m sure, will be disappointed to hear that as he believes vinyl is the perfect medium, and maybe he was right… 20 years ago. 

You can order a copy of the CD directly from the Wagon Blasters’ Bandcamp page for a mere $10.

Finally, the rest of the Wagon Blasters took the stage, plugged in and played a rousing set of fan favorites with Gary providing his trademark stage jumps and between-song “Thanks!” Oh, what a night. 

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The rock continues tonight as psych-pop band Vinyl Williams headlines at Slowdown Jr. The band’s last album, Cosmopolis, was released last year on Requiem Pour Un Twister.  Chicago indie band Dendrons co-headlines the bill, which also includes Omaha’s own Cat Piss and The Dirts. That’s a lot of music for $15. Show 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

It’s a Speed! Nebraska Friday night takeover in more ways than one tonight.

First, tonight at Grapefruit Records, 1125 Jackson St., our favorite local record label, Speed! Nebraska, is celebrating the release of In Frontier We Trust, a CD compilation of all the great Frontier Trust singles (four 45s-worth). It’s a project that Frontier Trust frontman Gary Dean Davis said was fun putting together. “We actually used a 45 as the master for the Highway Miles EP,” Gary said. Mastered by genius engineer Doug Van Sloun with cover art by Chris Harding Thornton, the CD will be like a time machine that takes you back to Omaha/Lincoln circa the mid-‘90s when Frontier Trust invented tractor-punk and sat at the forefront of Nebraska’s first golden age of indie rock. 

And here’s the best part – everyone who attends tonight’s CD release show gets a free copy of the CD. How can you beat that? 

Well, Gary Dean Davis’ latest band, Wagon Blasters, is headlining the show, which means we’ll get treated to a couple Frontier Trust classics in the “Half Trust” style with Bill Thornton on guitar.  Opening the show at 8 p.m. is Filter Kings frontman  Gerald Lee, Jr. Entry is $10 at the door.

Grapefruit Records is a fun room for a show, and Gary says Simon is even building a drum riser for the occasion. 

But that’s not the only Speed! Nebraska show happening tonight. Across town in Benson at Reverb Lounge, Lincoln power-punk trio Domestica headlines a rare (these days) Omaha show. Domestica’s previous incarnation, Mercy Rule, released singles on the Speed! Nebraska label, and often were Frontier Trust show mates at rock shows in the mid-‘90s. Ah, those were the days… 

Opening for Domestica is Mike Saklar’s The Sun-less Trio; Minne Lussa owns the middle slot. 9 p.m. start time, $8. 

If you’re crafty (and reckless) there’s a chance you could double-dip and catch both shows. 

The other red-hot show this weekend is Saddle Creek Records band The Rural Alberta Advantage headlining at Slowdown Jr. Sunday night. The band is on the road supporting The Rise EP, released last spring, which marked the return of founding member, keyboardist Amy Cole. Singer/songwriter Georgia Harmer opens at 8 pm. $22.

And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great 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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.