Lazy-i

Live review: Everest, Minus the Bear; The Album Leaf tonight, Fang Island Saturday, Yeasayer Sunday...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:55:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It took an associate of mine to remind me that Everest -- last night's opener for Minus the Bear (along with Little Brazil, who I missed) -- also was the opener at last year's Neil Young concert at Qwest. Now here they were, back down on the club circuit. Americana is the new alt country (and has been for a couple years), and the Everest guys looked the part with their untucked western-cut shirts, work boots and hippie beards. Their sound, however, carried a darkness that belies typical alt country. It would be easy to compare them to The Jayhawks or Wilco, especially considering the lead singer Russell Pollard's vocal resemblance to Tweedy, but they (thankfully) lacked Wilco's tendency for wonky jam-band noodling. Everest is more... what? Majestic? Grander? Some of their music teetered on the edge of epic (in line with a band like The National), especially when Pollard dropped his guitar and slid behind a second, smaller trap set. Two drummers is almost always a novelty, and almost always fun to watch. Overall, Everest had a great -- if not slightly monotonous -- sound. It's one of those bands whose records would require (many) repeated listenings before they grew on you.

The crowd last night at Slowdown was… strange. It was a real "bro" crowd -- not frat/preppy, not indie. More like slightly inebriated suburban guys seeking fellowship and a shared experience. A bro crowd. A crowd that wasn't afraid to get into the music, and by "getting into" I mean raising their fists in the air or stretching over the edge of the stage to tap their PBR tallboys with the drummer. A bro crowd. So why were they there for Minus the Bear?

I guess the band has changed since the last time I saw them back in 2003. They've become a pop band. Instead of the typical angular indie rock band that I remembered, Minus the Bear has morphed into some sort of indie grunge band -- like if Eddie Vedder fronted Criteria or Cursive but with the Faint's rhythm section, all smoothed out for FM. I seem to remember their sound relying much more on complicated intricate time sigs. This was downright straightforward bordering on dancey post-punk. So, Pearl Jam with keyboards? A stretch. Steve Winwood goes indie? No. They were at their best when they were letting the weird guitar lines sneak beneath the surface. The weirder the better. Otherwise, yeah, they've become an indie Pearl Jam without the pretentious lyrics. There was almost no dynamics, which became monotonous at times -- I found myself checking my watch. Regardless, with the smoothed-over edges, they've found their niche or their niche has found them. When did they become so big? The show didn't sell out the big room, but the floor was plenty full. I guess over all these years they've managed to generate a nice following, which will only get bigger. (See photo)

* * *

And now, the weekend.

Tonight at The Waiting Room it's The Album Leaf, who I remember as a layered, ambient instrumental indie band from back in the Sokol Underground days. I don't think they've changed much except now they're on Sub Pop instead of Tiger Style. Opening is Sea Wolf. $12, 9 p.m.

It's Night 2 of the Omaha Invasion in Lincoln. Like last night, $6 gets you into all the clubs all night long. Here's the line-up:

12th St. Pub
09:00 - 09:45 Mitch Gettman
10:00 - 10:45 Matt Cox Band
11:00 - 11:45 Jes Winter Band
12:00 - 12:45 Midwest Dilemma

Duffy's Tavern
09:00 - 09:45 Honey & Darling
10:00 - 10:45 Conchance
11:00 - 11:45 Little Brazil
12:00 - 12:45 Capgun Coup

Bourbon Theatre
09:00 - 09:45 Talking Mountain
10:00 - 10:45 Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship
11:00 - 11:45 Honeybee
12:00 - 12:45 Thunder Power

Bricktop
KobraKyle
Ultimate Downhill Machines
Mello Mic

Also tonight, Whipkey/Zimmerman play for three hours at Stir Lounge at Harrah's. Three hours. $5. 9 p.m.

Saturday night at Slowdown Jr is an evening where the undercard is as eye-catching as the headliner. First, Los Angeles' epic, heavy-psych instrumental quintet Red Sparowes has a knack for creating atmosphere on their new album, dramatically titled The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer. The soundscapes are huge, foreboding climbs up a castle wall surrounded by smoke and darkness and lots of electric guitars. It's quite a contrast to red hot opening band Fang Island, whose debut on Sargent House Records scored a blistering 8.3 on Pitchfork, which these days has become a launchpad to indie stardom. Judging by the buzz at this year's SXSW, they have indeed blasted off. Their hyperkinetic rock has been compared to Andrew WK, but their sound isn't nearly as spazzy and unhinged. Instead, Fang Island's proggy assault is like a jittery frat party where someone spiked the keg with amphetamines. $10, 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, three hours of Midwest Dilemma at Stir Lounge at Harrah's. Three hours. $5, 9 p.m.

Sunday night at The Waiting Room, Brooklyn band Yeasayer takes the stage. Their new album, Odd Blood, has been near the top of the College Music Journal (CMJ) charts since its release this past February on Secretly Canadian Records. When it's not trying to be weird (creepy opener "The Children") it's a playful whirlwind, a throbbing indie-pop gem driven by quirky beats, buoyant synths and frontman Chris Keating's energetic croon, who on songs like bouncing single "O.N.E.," becomes Howard Jones for a generation that was wasn't born when "Things Can Only Get Better" was released. Brooklyn dance-pop duo Sleigh Bells (ex-Poison the Well) open. Too bad it's SOLD OUT. Starts at 9.

And finally, I'd be remiss not mentioning the Big Al Free Music Festival at The Hideout Friday and Saturday nights. It's two nights of Al's favorite bands, capped each evening by a Big Al Band performance. More info here. The fun starts at 8 p.m. and admission is… free, of course.

--Got comments? Post 'em 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.

Minus the Bear, Julian Casablancas, Omaha Invasion Day 1 tonight...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:43:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It's an insanely busy night for live music.

Top of the list is Minus the Bear at The Slowdown with Everest and Little Brazil. Seattle's Minus the Bear now finds itself on Dangerbird Records (Silversun Pickups) for their next release, Omni, which comes out May 4. I haven't seen them since they came through here way back in July 2003, when Matt Bayles was still in the band. He left after Menos El Oso came out in '06. I assume their sound is as mathy as ever. $20. 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, Strokes mastermind Julian Casablancas is playing tonight at The Waiting Room. I'm told this gig originally was slated for Sokol Auditorium and was moved a few weeks ago for reasons one can only speculate. He's still pushing his solo debut, Phrazes for the Young, out on Rough Trade. Opening is LA female-fronted pop band HAIM. Tickets are $25, starts at 9.

And, tonight is Night 1 of the Omaha Invasion in Lincoln. Below is tonight's schedule. $6 gets you into all the clubs all night.

12th St. Pub
10:00 - 10:45 Dim Light
11:00 - 11:45 Matt Whipkey
12:00 - 12:45 Brad Hoshaw

Duffy's Tavern
09:00 - 09:45 Down With The Ship
10:00 - 10:45 Flight Metaphor
11:00 - 11:45 It's True
12:00 - 12:45 Lonely Estates

Bourbon Theatre
09:30 -10:15 Vago
10:30 - 11:15 The Answer Team
11:30 - 12:15 Paria

Bricktop
Brent Crampton
Kethro
Stryke

And finally, at beautiful O'Leaver's Pub, it's Australia's favorite export, Electric Jellyfish, with Blue Rosa. $5, 9:30 p.m.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Column 267: A tale of two Digital Leathers; Goo goes to TWR tonight...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:57:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

One last thought on Harrah's Stir lounge: I was told that it was designed to be a live performance space, but there's something about that room that makes it, well, unappealing. Maybe it's the low ceiling over the stage which gives you the impression that the band is being crowded. Or maybe it's the blank-white-blue stage lighting that's about as appealing as being lit by a row of drugstore fluorescent bulbs. Or maybe it's the flat, brittle sound of the PA -- sonically bright with no bottom and plenty of bounce. Needless to say, I didn't stick around for Little Brazil, who I'm told played a hugely long set...

Column 267: Identity Crisis
Live Review: Digital Leather

I look back at my list of favorite albums from last year and it stands out as a glaring omission: Digital Leather's Warm Brother.

It's not entirely my fault. I don't think I actually bought a copy until late in the year, and then never gave it the time it deserved. I now listen to the CD more than any other on that best-of list. Its strength comes from its songs -- an obvious statement I know, but there are no less than six that are absolute killer singles (but which, of course, will never actually be singles): "Your Hand, My Glove," "Kisses," "Photo Lie," "Hurts So Bad," "Gold Hearts" and centerpiece "Modern Castles," a breathy, disturbing synth-pop gem, dense and throbbing and gorgeous.

If you grew up in the '80s, you'll feel a tinge of recognition when you hear some of these. It's mostly in the keyboard lines that glow like neon through a dark, tonal undercurrent, and from the brooding, ominous vocals. I'm reminded of Psychedelic Furs, Gary Numan, Peter Murphy, Joy Division and Lou Reed. Warm Brother is retro-modern; a combination of synth-punk, pop, garage and Digital Leather mastermind Shawn Foree's own unique songwriting voice. If I managed the album's publishing rights, I'd be hustling these tunes to every savvy movie and television producer in Hollywood who is looking for that perfect song for that perfect moment best experienced in the dark.

So yes, I love this album. It's not only my favorite from last year, it's one of my favorites from the past few years, which just happens to be created by someone who lives and breathes right here in Omaha. Foree, who I've only met for a brief mumbling conversation outside of The Waiting Room (though we did an email interview for SXSW), is an Omaha transplant from Arizona. What he's doing here, I do not know, nor does it matter. Find this record, released on Fat Possum, available at the Antiquarium or Homer's or Drastic Plastic. Call around, it's worth the effort.

So why am I gushing about an album that came out last fall?

Last Friday night I ventured over the great Missouri River to the house of decadence known as Harrah's Casino to see Digital Leather perform in the Stir Lounge. Set up more like a strip club than a music venue (then again, doesn't every venue in Council Bluffs resemble a strip club?), the stage was built behind the bar, effectively turning the bands into a piece of live artwork -- like a giant television set or an aquarium or glass-bottomed swimming pool where naked women swim while you order your whiskey sour. Stir was the last place you'd expect to find this band or the night's headliner, Little Brazil. But to its credit, instead of its usual staple of cover bands, the lounge is hosting Omaha acts over the coming weeks, one assumes to lure the lucrative indie crowd to their smoky boats where the slots and tables live and wheeze.

Digital Leather took the stage at around 9. The five-piece consists of Foree handling vocals and synths, drummer Jeff Lambelet, guitarist Austin Ulmer, bassist John Vredenburg and recently added second synth/keyboard player Annie Dilocker -- enough fire-power to fuel any band. Their sound was raw, numbing and very punk, and only vaguely resembled the music heard on Warm Brother. If you listened closely, you'd recognize tiny elements within songs buried beneath the 20-ton wave of guitar/bass/drums. But you'd have to have listened very, very closely.

This is the third time I've seen Digital Leather play with this line-up over the past month or so. The other times were at O'Leaver's and The Mohawk in Austin as part of the South by Southwest Festival. I am now convinced that I'll never hear Warm Brother performed as it's heard on the album -- a record whose beauty lies more in its subtlety than its power.

Foree instead has decided to recreate those songs as straight-up garage/punk anthems, and it's a shame. Acoustic guitar is used on about half of the record instead of electric, but it wouldn't matter if someone was playing acoustic on stage because you'd never hear it behind the wall of sound. Poor Dilocker. I've seen her play three times and still don't know if she's any good because I can barely hear a note from her keyboard in the mix. She's like that second guitarist that we all know who, while watching him play, you wonder if his guitar is even plugged in.

I have yet to hear Foree perform the two best songs from the record: "Modern Castles" and "Gold Hearts. Maybe he doesn't know how to do them live or doesn't want to marginalize them into just another bam-bam-bam garage rock song. If the latter, I'd prefer that he keep them off the stage (along with the unrecognizable "Hurts So Bad").

Foree said on his blog that "touring is part of my essence. To not tour is to not be me." Yet what we hear on stage isn't what we hear on his recordings. As the creator, he knows the difference. I guess Digital Leather will always be two bands -- a studio project and a garage rock project -- and never the two shall meet.

* * *

Briefly, starting Thursday Omaha invades Lincoln for the first-ever Omaha Invasion Festival. The three-day event features some of Omaha's best acts -- including Dim Light, It's True, Conchance, Little Brazil, Capgun Coup, Brad Hoshaw, Matt Whipkey and Noah's Ark Was a Spaceship -- playing at four of Lincoln's best clubs. Get into all four clubs all night for just $6 per night. For more information and a schedule, search "Omaha Invasion 2010" in Facebook.

* * *

One of Slowdown's early "hits" from an event standpoint was Goo, which had more buzz surrounding it than most of the live performance on Slowdown's stage. Despite its massive popularity, it didn't take long for Slowdown to tire of the hassle that came with the theme-related dance event. Goo quickly became a 21+ night, and eventually Slowdown quit hosting Goo altogether. Now Goo returns, this time to The Waiting Room, which in the past hosted Goo-inspired Gunk nights. Tonight they get the real thing. 9 p.m., $5 if you're under 21 (free if you're over 21).

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

The Show Is the Rainbow goes on hiatus for High Art; Ember Schrag enters Enamel...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:47:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Darren Keen, the mastermind behind The Show Is the Rainbow, says TSITR is going on hiatus indefinitely. "We went on tour as a full band, and now we decided to keep doing that," he said. That band is called High Art, and features drummer Jim Schroeder from UUVVWWZ, bassist Saber Blazek from Machete Archive and keyboardist Josh Miller from Columbia V. Challenger. All will provide backup vocals.

"We played out the rest of the TSITR dates and the promoters and fans fucking loved it pretty much unanimously," Keen said. "My bandmates are super fucking awesome and really cool people and really great musicians and I think we are really onto something and we are just gonna jam so hard and so fun and say 'fuck it' to all of the people trying too hard."

High Art is currently recording a live demo and video before recording a formal CD next month in Keen's home studio. A complete DIY project, Keen said the band will release and promote the CDR and vinyl themselves. They're also booking their own shows, which includes dates at The Bourbon Theater in Lincoln April 27 (w/Nice Nice), May 24 (w/Dapose and Golden Lions) and July 10 (w/Mahjongg).

"We are really having trouble booking a show in Omaha," Keen said. "If anyone has a living room/basement/Ted and Wally's hook-up and they want us to come play in Omaha, call/text me at 402.540.8001 or email me at tsitrainbo@gmail.com"

As for TSITR, Keen said he's "just a bit tired of it."

"I'm not killing TSITR for good probably, but I don't even know what I would do with it right now," he said. "It will rise again as a one-man band, but not for a year or so. I need a legit break to find out what the fuck TSITR is all about."

* * *

Lincoln singer/songwriter Ember Schrag wrote in to say that she's currently recording a new album at Enamel with AJ Mogis. "Musicians are me (guitar, piano, vocals), Günter Voelker (guitar, drums, banjo, vocals), AJ Mogis (on upright bass), Joe Salvati (from Triggertown, pedal steel), Dan McCarthy (piano), Rebecca McPherson (piano), Pearl Lovejoy Boyd (vocals) and Lenna Pierce (from Das Hoboerotica, cello)," Schrag said. "Thirteen new songs. I've got some interest from a label that I'm excited about, can't say who quite yet."

Schrag also said that she's bringing Jad Fair to Lincoln's Clawfoot House (1042 F St.) next month. "His art will be up at Clawfoot House during May," she said. "May 7 will be the opening, with a concert afterward. The opening is at Clawfoot House from 6-9 p.m. with music by The Shipbuilding Co, and the concert is at the Zoo Bar at 10 p.m. with Jad Fair, UUVVWWZ and Samuel Locke Ward & the Boo Hoos, $6. (Entry to art opening is free)."

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Live reviews: Slumber Party showcase, Students of Crime; New Pornographers sneak tonight...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:55:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I'll post my thoughts on Friday night's Digital Leather show at Harrah's at a later date in the very near future. Later that night I headed back over the river for the Slumber Party Records showcase, and was pleasantly surprised. Remember, I had accidentally said online (and in print) a few days prior to the show that it was going to be held in the front room, based on assumption more than anything, and not bothering to double-check with the Slowdown site. Stupid, lazy me. Turns out that Slowdown's big room was the right room. When I arrived at around 10:30, the main floor and the railing area back to the bar were completely filled for Conchance, which made me wonder if he's emerging as the label's next (or first) big star. We'll find out when he finishes recording his new album. In the meantime, I'll say what I've said in the past -- backed with an eight-piece band that included trumpet, bongos, bari-sax, keys and the usual rock accouterments, Conchance must be taken seriously. The band definitely knew its way around a comfortable, mid-tempo groove, and Conchance did his thing with the right amount of swagger and confidence needed to pull it off. So is he any good? You'd have to ask a real hip-hop aficionado. My take: You can tell about 10 seconds into any hip-hop performance if the guy/gal on the mic knows what s/he's doing (or doesn't, which in those cases, is embarrassing for everyone involved). Conchance knows what he's doing. But we'll have to wait for the record to decipher what he's got on his mind, and if there's any weight to his words.

The crowd dwindled slightly for Talking Mountain, who put on their typically colorful circus act -- lots of LEDs, smoke, strobes and, of course, the monster mask, worn by frontman Jason Meyer-Cusack. Goofy fun. I still think they need to get a live drummer and drop the pre-recorded drum tracks, but who knows -- the crowd didn't seem to care as they hopped around to the bands candy-punk beat.

Closing out the evening, with the floor only half-filled, was Noah's Ark was a Spaceship, whose sound these days resembles a cross between Sonic Youth and metal, and is very loud indeed. See photo. If you missed the showcase, you'll be able to catch all of these bands again this week/weekend at the Omaha Invasion Festival in Lincoln. The sched is in Facebook, here.

* * *

What did I expect from Students of Crime, who had their debut Saturday night at a respectably packed O'Leaver's? Well, since frontman Robert Thornton is sort of known as a punk rock guy, I was expecting another punk band. What we got instead was something that bordered on alt country -- like a combination of Uncle Tupelo, Buffalo Tom and The Replacements. Call it Americana or Whipkey Rock, but with a punk sheen. Or think of it as Thornton's previous band, Carmine, with an undercurrent of twang and you're halfway there. For their first performance, they were very solid and a lot of fun, though Thornton's vocals were timid for the first half of the set. He and the rest of these criminals in training will only get better over time.

* * *

Slowdown and Matador Records are hosting a special listening party in the front room tonight for the new New Pornographers album, Together, which comes out May 4. The "event' starts at 8, and according to Matador, the first 20 folks through the door get an exclusive/numbered mix from New Porno's Carl Newman. Admission is free and 21+.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Slumber Party showcase, Digital Leather/Little Brazil tonight; Students of Crime, Bloodcow, Once a Pawn Saturday...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:02:00 +0000

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I know I've messed up dates and times throughout the week, but I'm going to get this right:

So tonight, at the floating gambling den called Harrah's Casino, Digital Leather and Little Brazil are performing in the Stir Lounge. My understanding is that each band will be forced by rifle-barrel to play sets that are longer than they've probably ever played before. That fact, added to a menu of cheap booze, gambling and general decadence, will likely result in an evening of fun and embarrassment, which is just fine because what happens in Council Bluffs, stays in Council Bluffs. $5, and I'm told Digital Leather could start as early as 8:30.

My plan is to catch some early-evening gambling/rock action and then head over to Slowdown for the Slumber Party showcase on the big stage. The lineup includes some of the area's best bands: Capgun Coup, Conchance, Honeybee, Noah's Ark Was a Spaceship, Talking Mountain and Thunder Power. The price: Free. Show starts at 8:30.

Saturday night Students of Crime -- the new band featuring Robert Thornton (The Wagon Blasters, Now Archimedes!), drummer Brad Smith, guitarist Dan Stewart and bassist Marc Phillips -- will make their stage debut at O'Leaver's with The Third Men and The Ground Tyrants. 9:30 p.m., $5

Meanwhile, in Benson Saturday night, Bloodcow returns after a lengthy hiatus to perform at The Waiting Room with Saudi Arabia (formerly The Dinks), Bible of the Devil and Desire to Destroy. $7, 9 p.m.

Finally, Lincoln punk duo Once a Pawn is playing a rare Omaha show at The Barley Street with Cat Island, Charles S. McVey and Chad Wallin. Once a Pawn's new album, Mission Accomplished, is one of my faves so far this year. $5, 9 p.m.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Live Review: A Weather; Simon Joyner, Yuppies tonight...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:43:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It's springtime at O'Leaver's. The volleyball players are back, drunkenly flopping around out in the sand. The smoke hut has been dismantled and put away 'til next year, and there's new outdoor furniture in the beer garden -- handmade, thick, wooden benches and tables surrounding the perimeter, which I'm told have been weatherproofed with multiple layers of marine-quality spar varnish so as to never warp. It's only a matter of time until those benches have been lovingly carved with dick jokes and badly drawn nude women with over-sized boobs. A topic of discussion last night: Would it be possible for someone to light this new wooden furniture on fire? Conclusion: I suppose, yes. With enough gasoline and time, anything will burn, even weather-treated moisture-sealed wooden planks. And at O'Leaver's, nothing is fire-proof.

By the time A Weather took the stage last night, the volleyball players and their cars had disappeared, leaving the parking lot partially empty. A small crowd of around 30 was inside to hear the trio play a quiet, slightly withdrawn set that didn't resemble their new album, but was good in its own way. Live, A Weather deconstructs their lush, dense music with a frontman who sings and (barely) plays an electric guitar, and a rhythm section that includes a bass player and a cute blond girl with a pretty voice that gently tap-tap-tapped on drums. Last night the music was all about bass and voices, together in a minimal setting that reminded me of '90s band Bedhead. I liked it, but in the end I prefer the sound of their new album (Everyday Balloons), which has an added beauty and depth thanks to its keyboards. The album is a daylight walk through a forest in summer. Last night's performance was that same walk, but in December with the trees bare -- it's still a beautiful stroll.

* * *

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., Joe Jack Talcum of the Dead Milkmen performs along with Simon Joyner, Samuel Locke Ward and the Boo Hoos (Iowa City), and our very own Yuppies. $7, 9 p.m.

* * *

One more correction -- I said yesterday in my column that The Slumber Party showcase Friday night would be held at Slowdown Jr. In fact the showcase will be held on Slowdown's big stage. All the more reason...

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Column 266: MAHA: Now it's up to you; Team Love band A Weather tonight…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:45:00 +0000

I promise I'm not going to keep writing columns about this festival every week, but I feel obligated to report on what's become something of a dream concert for indie music fans. And as I say below, they're not done yet. If they want to make this festival pitch-perfect, they need to get at least one more keynote national act, preferably a cutting edge up-and-comer like Hot Chip or Beach House (who just played here last week) or Frightened Rabbit or Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (who aren't really new or up-and-coming, but are just plain awesome).

Column 266: No Excuses
The MAHA Festival line-up is indie paradise.

You now have nowhere to hide. Nowhere. If the MAHA Festival fails, well, it's as much your fault as theirs.

I say this upon receipt of three more national bands named to play the festival's Lewis & Clark Landing main stage July 24 along with indie mega-band Spoon. If you follow local music or indie music or music in general, you've probably heard who they are by now, but let's review anyway.

First there's The Faint, arguably the funnest band from Omaha since 311 (who hasn't been "from Omaha" for a couple decades). The Faint playing MAHA was a coup on a number of levels. Because of their extensive audio/visual requirements, the band rarely if ever plays outdoors and certainly not before dark. Yet, they'll have to accommodate both fresh air and daylight for this festival.

"We knew getting The Faint would be a huge score, but we didn't know if it would work in an outside setting, given the energy of their performances," said Tre Brashear, president of YFC, Inc., the nonprofit organization that launched the event. "There was a lot of discussion regarding price, their rider and technical specifications for the performance. They wanted video screens, but even if we had them, we didn't know if they'd be visible during that time of day. We're still working that out."

The Faint adds something unique to MAHA -- a performance on the main stage by a local band, and that's something Brashear and his partners are proud of.

Next, Old '97s, the Dallas band whose name is mentioned alongside acts like Drive-By Truckers, The Jayhawks and Uncle Tupelo as alt-country pioneers. Brashear said they were one of the first bands the MAHA folks targeted. "It's a band with commercial appeal, that has a different age demographic and that attracts a beer-drinking crowd," he said. "The fact that they were available, and that they sold-out the last time here and are recording a new album makes them a natural fit."

Other than Spoon, Old '97s is the most popular band on the bill, but still fits into the festival's under-the-radar nature when you consider you'll never hear them on your radio.

Finally, the wildcard: Superchunk, the pride of Chapel Hill, a punk band whose name is synonymous with the DIY essence of indie rock. The word "legendary" is appropriate to use here. Anyone even vaguely familiar with this band is smiling right now. Their appearance at South By Southwest this year was one of the most talked-about performances of the festival, in part because they rarely play live these days, and when they do, everyone wants to be a part of it. And now, unbelievably, they're being flown to Omaha for a one-off show.

Brashear said the MAHA team knew of Superchunk and their connection to Merge Records, a label founded by Superchunk's Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance. Merge is one of the most important indie labels going today; whose roster includes Arcade Fire, Conor Oberst, She & Him and Spoon. But that's not why they booked them.

"We're getting a band that is recognized as a legend," Brashear said. "We don't believe they've ever been to Omaha before." He hopes that Superchunk's position as indie-rock royalty will help attract out-of-town fans that realize the rarity of the performance. "The challenge here will be attracting young people who don't connect with the name.

"We think all the bands work well together," Brashear said, adding that with every new band they considered, they consulted with promoter Marc Leibowitz (One Percent Production) to think through how many more tickets each would sell. "We needed to add pieces to the puzzle, because we weren't sure that any one band would be able to sell enough tickets."

Here's where they're being somewhat conservative. Spoon by itself is a $35 ticket in most markets. The Faint, $25 or more. Old '97s, $30+. And Superchunk: priceless. MAHA will give you all four bands, plus two more TBD national bands and a handful of the best local bands all for $33 when tickets go on sale April 24.

So there are no excuses. Unlike last year, no one can point to the lineup or ticket price as reasons for not going to this show, especially if they're indie music fans. It's the "indie" part that may be the clink in the armor, however. How many indie music fans are there in Omaha and the surrounding area? Enough to sell 6,000 tickets?

"We know we're taking a risk," Brashear said. "We're not booking Ke$ha. We could have gone that direction. Instead, we're excited about our line-up, and with Marc (Leibowitz's) input, feel good that people will come out for these bands."

* * *

Here's another show worth mentioning: Slumber Party Records, one of Nebraska's most innovative labels, is hosting a showcase this Friday night on Slowdown's big stage. The lineup includes some of the area's best bands: Capgun Coup, Conchance, Honeybee, Noah's Ark Was a Spaceship, Talking Mountain and Thunder Power.

Slumber Party label executive Aaron Markley said that each band either recently released new music, has just finished recording or is in the process of making its first full-length album. "Music from these new albums will be performed live, and in many cases for the first time, at the showcase," he said. The show starts at 8:30 p.m., and the price: Free. Don't miss it.

* * *

C O R R E C T I O N S: That's right, there's more than one. In Monday's blog, I boasted about all of the great shows going on this week, and in the process got the dates wrong on two of them. I said the Slumber Party Records showcase was Saturday night -- it's not, it's Friday night. And I said that the debut of new band Students of Crime starring Robert Thornton (The Wagon Blasters, Now Archimedes!), drummer Brad Smith, guitarist Dan Stewart and bassist Marc Phillips was Sunday night. Wrong wrong wrong! The debut is Saturday night at O'Leaver's with The Third Men and The Ground Tyrants. Take note.

* * *

I did get the date right for tonight's show at O'Leaver's -- Team Love recording artist A Weather is playing along with McCarthy Trenching and Thunder Power. Check out the clever, cool A Weather website (right here), where you can hear their gorgeous new album, Everyday Balloons, streamed in its entirety. $5, 9:30 p.m. Do not miss this one.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

The Faint, Old '97s, Superchunk join Spoon at MAHA; Matador band Girls tonight…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:19:00 +0000

You've very likely heard the news by now. You're not dreaming: The Faint, Old '97s and Superchunk all have been added to this year's MAHA Music Festival lineup. I'll be waxing poetic about this in tomorrow's column, but thought I'd share it with you now (as I won't have time for a blog update later). It's hard -- nay impossible -- to argue with this lineup, and MAHA isn't done yet, as they're considering two more nationals to fill out the bill along with the local stage. Impressive, and all for only $33. Tix go on sale April 24. How many people can they fit into Lewis & Clark Landing? We'll find out July 24.

Also, briefly, tonight at The Waiting Room it's San Francisco indie-psychrock band Girls (Matador Records) with Sub Pop act Dum Dum Girls. $15, 9 p.m. Be there or be square.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

MAHA announcement eminent, New Jake Bellows, The Golden Age returns (sort of)…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:03:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

My allergies got the best of me this weekend. I'm hoping they retreat quickly as there are a number of promising shows this week, including Girls tomorrow night, A Weather on Wednesday, Little Brazil and Digital Leather at the boats Friday, the Slumber Party Records showcase also Friday night, and Bloodcow/Saudi Arabia and the Students of Crime debut both Saturday night. Someone, get me a Zyrtec.

A few items worth mentioning today...

-- The remaining headlining bands -- three of them -- are about to be announced by the MAHA Festival organizers, possibly as early as tomorrow. I'm willing to bet you'll be surprised by at least a couple of them.

--Jake Bellows has a rocking new track posted on jakebellows.com called "If You Can Wait," available for download for a mere $1.29. It's well worth it. While you're there, also download the amazing "Should You Ever Change Your Mind," also just $1.29. This is the new business model, folks. Be a part of it.

-- Finally, it came to my attention that the infamous lost full-length from Lincoln band The Golden Age is now available for free download right here. According to the site, The Golden Age was frontman Rob Hawkins, bassist Ian Aellio and drummer Tim Jensen, though when I saw them play at Sokol Underground in early '03 opening for Simon Joyner (review here) there were six people on stage, and the word in the crowd was that these guys were destined to be the next band on Saddle Creek Records. Well, that never happened. TGA did release an EP called Calla Lily, but then just faded away. This full-length is worth checking out for more than history's sake.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

OEAA crosses the river; Dead Meadow tonight; Bare Wires Sunday…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:50:00 +0000

The OEAA's Spring Showcase on tonight in five venues on the 100 block of Broadway in Council Bluffs. So where is that exactly? It's apparently near where Kanesville and Broadway meet near downtown CB. For example, here's where the Fiddlin' Monkey is on Google Maps. Consider it an adventure. A $10 cover gets you in the doors of all five venues. The full band listing and schedule is here: http://www.oea-awards.com/ I know only three of the performers. Strangely, no set runs past 1 a.m. -- what's the point of hosting this in CB if you can't take advantage of the 2 a.m. closing time (which we'll be getting here in Omaha, eventually)?

Also happening tonight, Matador band Dead Meadow is down at Slowdown Jr. with Imaad Wasif and Life of a Scarecrow. 9 p.m. $10.

Tomorrow there's an all-afternoon homeless benefit punk festival at The Hole featuring 13 bands. Full schedule is here. Show starts at 2 p.m. Admission is $10, or $5 with a can of food.

Nathaniel Rateliff (Born in the Flood) opens for Megafaun and Breathe Owl Breathe at The Waiting Room. $10, 9 p.m.

And then, Sunday, Bare Wires plays at The Barley Street Tavern with Saudi Arabia (formerly The Dinks) and Cheap Smokes. $5, 9 p.m.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Digital Leather, Baby Tears, Jake Bellows, Unwed Sailor tonight…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:03:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Lot's o' shows tonight. Down at The Hole, 712 So. 16th St., it's Digital Leather with Baby Tears and out-of-town act JEFF the Brotherhood from Nashville. $6, 7 p.m. No Booze!

Afterward, head over the Barley Street Tavern for Jake Bellows with Matt Cox, Andrew Jay and Jeff Metil. $5, 9 p.m. Or swing by Slowdown Jr. for Unwed Sailor and All the Young Girls Are Machine Guns. $7, 9 p.m.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Column 265: Bare Wires; Cursive goes deep in the hoopla…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:47:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

By the way, when Bare Wires frontman Matthew Melton was asked how he knew Chris Aponick, this is what he said: "Isn't he in Digital Leather?"

Column 265: Safety Violation
Bare Wires talks garage...

Thank Chris Aponick for the following snapshot of rock band Bare Wires. Chris is a fellow music writer at The Reader who contributed to The City Weekly in the past and also sells CDs at Homer's in the Old Market.

He's a garage band freak -- I'm not talking about the Mac software, but the "music genre" that became popular in the indie world three or four years ago and whose essence continues to linger. It was Aponick who booked Bare Wires at the Barley Street Tavern this Sunday night, which, of course, made him ineligible to write about them (It's that whole journalistic impartiality/ethics bug-a-boo that we pride ourselves on at The Reader). So he hounded me.

From Oakland by way of Memphis, the band's frontman Matthew Melton called Sunday from Brooklyn, where the band had the day off from their tour. It also happened to be Easter.

"There are funny tourists everywhere," he said as he and the band strolled through the bowels of Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Melton said Bare Wires includes members Fletcher Johnson and drummer Nathan Price. "We all met in the Bay Area, in Oakland, where there's a cool garage thing going on with a lot of bands."

Those involved in the "garage thing" include Ty Segall, Greg Ashley Band, Nobunny and my favorite, Thee Oh Sees, whose frontman, John Dwyer, is putting out the next Bare Wires album on his Castle Face label. "It's great to be a part of it," Melton said. "It's a bunch of bands recording on tape, making demos and releasing vinyl."

Bare Wires' music has been called "Soft Punk" and "Smooth Punk" for reasons I don't understand. It's not soft or smooth at all. Instead, the band fuses the sloppy, amateurish qualities of garage with surf, glam and '60s psychedelic. "We didn't call ourselves 'soft punk,' someone else did," Melton said, though the band now uses the term in its publicity materials. "I thought it was funny."

But in the end, he still prefers "garage" -- a generic term that describes not only the music's simplistic genius, but a subculture similar to indie except that the characters involved seem angrier and slightly less fashion-conscious. "It's sincere, it's simple," Melton said. "You're making songs, you're performing from your heart, there's something about it that makes for good pop songs. It's a crude, raw, minimal thing. The people that go to these types of shows love the music of it more than the style or the scene of it."

Melton was friends with one of the genre's heroes -- Jay Reatard, a rock musician, singer and songwriter whose music has influenced a lot of garage bands. Reatard's death Jan. 13 of this year shook the rock world. Garage band temple Beerland in Austin hosted a Reatard tribute night during this year's South by Southwest Festival.

Melton said he hung out with Reatard growing up in Memphis. "We lived in the same neighborhood and did nothing things together, like explore abandoned buildings," Melton said. "He recorded my first band's stuff. The one thing that stands out is he was really hard working. He really put the work into his efforts, and his energy was as much an influence as the music itself."

Melton said at the time he didn't have the means to go to Reatard's funeral, so he remembered him in his own way. "He would have wanted me to be in my room cranking out a record," Melton said. "He believed that you only got so much time, so do as much cool stuff as you can."

I told Melton I couldn't understand why he moved away from Memphis, which is garage-rock ground zero. "I'd been in Memphis my whole life and my family didn't do anything or go anywhere," he explained. "They still live in the same house in West Memphis built in 1958. I had to see the world myself; I had to get out. There was so much happening in the Bay Area, and the Oakland garage rock explosion was a cool part of it."

But Memphis, it seems, is calling him back. "When we played there again recently, I started looking for a house where I could move my recording studio."

Melton said Sunday's Barley St. show, which also features Cheap Smokes and Saudi Arabia (formerly The Dinks), would be his first time in Omaha ("I love the Box Elders," he added), but then admitted, "Actually, I played in Omaha with my first band. We drove across the country and did a show at O'Leaver's on St. Patrick's Day. I remember we traded some LSD to some guy for a delay pedal. It was fun." I bet it was.

* * *

The video of Cursive's cover of Starship's "We Built This City" is online (here), and making its way through the blog-o-sphere. My question: Where is Ted Stevens?

* * *

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Live Review: Beach House; RIP Luigi Waites…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:40:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

The highlight of last night's Beach House concert at The Waiting Room: 50 people packed into the venue's pinball room with 13.6 seconds left in regulation of the NCAA men's basketball finals. It was like a beer commercial, the booths crammed with fans (mostly guys) glued to the plasma, praying for a miracle while across the cavernous venue on stage roared one of indie's best dream-pop bands. As the shot tipped off the rim and into a Duke player's hands, a groan of disgusted frustration drowned out the hall, and within seconds the crowd of sports fans joined the rest of the throng, not thinking of music but of what could have been.

I felt a bit guilty spending the first half of their set watching basketball, but then I figured, hell, I paid for the ticket, I can do what I want. And besides, there wasn't much to see on stage. Beach House pretty much played in the dark, with just a couple of the spots glowing. The staging consisted of huge silvery diamonds that rotated during their set, lit by ground spots that also made the band glow. Silver streamers were draped from the rafters. Meanwhile, the band's guitarist and drummer played seated (not on a drum riser) and couldn't be seen above the crowd. Frontwoman Victoria Legrand stood behind her keyboard in the back of the stage and never moved except to shake her long, flowing hair. Visually, a boring show.

Sonically, however, Beach House was nothing less than amazing. The sound couldn't have been better; every note of their chamber pop echoed and glowed as they played all the songs from Teen Dream. Between numbers, they talked about Malcolm X and the Omaha Beef and 311, dedicating songs to each of them.

The show was a sell-out (finally), and the place was packed. When I got there a little after 9 opening band Bachelorette already was almost done with her one-person lap-top-driven set of dense, plodding electronic dance pop. I was told that Beach House had asked to start the show at 8, which of course wasn't possible as the tickets were sold for a 9 p.m. show. Regardless, the whole evening was over by 11:15, which was a blessing for those of us who had to go to work the next morning.

* * *

The Omaha World-Herald is reporting that Omaha jazz legend Luigi Waites passed away early this morning at the age of 82. I'd seen him play a few times at the Dundee Dell, but my favorite memory of Luigi was chatting with him after he opened for The Good Life at Sokol Underground back in 2003. We stood next to each other, leaning on a table back by the sound board, and he told me how much he loved playing with Omaha's "new bands" like the Good Life and The Faint. Those bands and their fans loved him right back. He will be missed.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Why hasn't tonight's Beach House show sold out? Black Lips tonight...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:46:00 +0000

Here's a random thought about tonight's Beach House show... During that meeting with MAHA Festival organizer Mike App (read about it here), we tossed around ideas for bands to play this year's festival. I told him that the nature of indie music (which, as you know, I cover) is that it's not terribly popular. You and I might think that indie bands are the cat's pajamas, but the great unwashed masses don't give two shits about them, especially since they're not heard on the radio. So the idea that an indie festival loaded with College Music Journal (CMJ) bands could sell out Lewis and Clark Landing (with its capacity of between 5k and 6k, according to App), seems far-fetched.

Case in point, Beach House has had the No. 1 album on the CMJ charts for weeks, only recently giving up the top spot. It's one of the most popular indie albums so far this year. And as of right now, tonight's Beach House show at The Waiting Room, priced at a mere $10 (now $12 DOS), has yet to sell out. Surprising?

Let's look at the March 24 CMJ top 10 Radio Chart:

GORILLAZ Plastic Beach
HOT CHIP One Life Stand
YEASAYER ODD Blood
JOANNA NEWSOM Have One On Me
BROKEN BELLS Broken Bells
BEACH HOUSE Teen Dream
SPOON Transference
LOCAL NATIVES Gorilla Manor
LIARS Sisterworld
VAMPIRE WEEKEND Contra

Spoon is probably the biggest band on that list (and is the headliner for MAHA '10), but their new album is still below Beach House. Spoon would quickly sell out TWR and Slowdown, and so would Vampire Weekend, but how about Yeasayer? They're coming to TWR April 24 and that show also hasn't sold out yet. Of the rest of the list, Gorillaz, Broken Bells and maybe Hot Chip would sell out TWR or Slowdown... eventually. I would have said that Beach House was the sure quick sell out, and I would have been wrong (as per usual). So why hasn't that show sold out?

Phoenix's last album only recently fell off the top-20. That band just played Slowdown last September (it didn't sell out until a couple weeks before the show). Now Phoenix is coming back, this time to play the Stir Cove concert series along with a handful of dinosaur acts. Would they have been a good addition to MAHA? Probably, but I think they would draw, at the most, maybe fewer than 1,000 people.

Alright, so how does Pitchfork Music Fest in Chicago do it? Look at the headliners: Pavement, LCD Soundsystem and Modest Mouse. The festival isn't until July, and the $90 3-day passes have already sold out. It's kind of a head scratcher. Of those three bands, only Pavement seems like a bulls-eye winner. While LCD Soundsystem is nothing less than awesome, I don't know how it would do in Omaha. Modest Mouse has sold out Sokol Aud in the past, but hasn't released an album in awhile (I assume they must have something coming up or else Pitchfork wouldn't bother with them). It all boils down to the fact that 1) it's Chicago, 2) the headliners, and 3) the undercard, which in this case includes Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Broken Social Scene. Incidentally, none of those Pitchfork headliners are in the CMJ top 20.

Anyway...So tonight is Beach House at The Waiting Room. Tix are still available for $12. Opening is Bachelorette (another good band). Show starts at 9.

Also tonight (which you could argue is the reason why Beach House hasn't sold out, but which I would argue is a different crowd), Black Lips play at Slowdown Jr. (that's right, the front room) with Box Elders and Brimstone Howl. $12 (also still not sold out), 9 p.m.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Live Review: Kyle Harvey, Nick Carl; Little Dragon, Pharmacy Spirits tomorrow; Low Anthem, Har Mar Sunday...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:38:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

All jokes aside about looking like an Islamic terrorist, Kyle Harvey and his new beard wowed the crowd of around 50 last night at The Barley Street Tavern, playing a rather slim set of eight songs in support of the release of his new CD. I think I've heard him play all the painfully tortured tunes before, many of which I'm told are on that record (instead of buying a copy, I bought one of his iron-on T-shirts that bears an almost-invisible "Kyle Harvey beard" logo). The funny thing is that Kyle is a funny guy on stage in the face of these songs about personal torment, betrayal, extreme drug and alcohol dependency and general heartbreak and self-loathing. He finished each pained melody with a smile and the occasional guitar histrionic (EVH tap technique guitar playing made inaudible on acoustic, behind the back-of-the-neck ax strumming, etc.). The CD is out on Kyle's very own Slo-Fidelity Records, and hopefully you'll be able to find it at one of the fine local independent record stores, eventually. If not, contact Kyle through the Slo-Fi myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/slofirecords).

A handful of acoustic singer/songwriters opened the show. The one that stood out the most was Nick Carl, a guy who looks like a young version of Drew Carey that played a handful of really well-written folk songs that you won't find anywhere because he hasn't recorded them, yet. Carl told me afterward that he's planning on doing a record in the near future, which will come out on Slo-Fi.

* * *

This holiday weekend is heavily bottom-loaded. Tonight might be a Brothers night, as the only interesting show that I'm aware of is Satchel Grande at The Waiting Room (with The 9's). $7, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night looks busy. Down at Slowdown Jr., Little Dragon is playing with VV Brown. LD is a modern Swedish alt-indie/dance band that plays dense, atmospheric pop that recalls bands like Ladytron, Saint Etienne and Portishead. Trippy and fun and well worth $10. Starts at 9.

Also tomorrow night (Saturday) Pharmacy Spirits has its Omaha CD release show at O'Leaver's with Talking Mountain and The Yuppies. $5, 9:30.

Three hot shows on Sunday night:

-- Down at Slowdown Jr., it's The Low Anthem with Nathaniel Rateliff and McCarthy Trenching. Providence's Low Anthem plays quiet, introspective alt-folk. Beautiful stuff, on Nonesuch Records. $12, 9 p.m.

-- On the opposite end of the spectrum is Har Mar Superstar, who's playing a special sexually-charged Easter show at The Sydney that includes an "after-show dance party" with sets by DJ Denver Dalley and Har Mar himself. $5, 9 p.m.

-- Last but not least, Deerhunter is playing at Lincoln's Bourbon Theater Sunday night with It's True and Ideal Cleaners. Deerhunter is modern-day indie prog rock, a dynamic, artsy band that isn't afraid to go to thunderous extremes. Tix are $13 now and $15 DOS. 8 p.m.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Live Review: Cleemann, Paris When It Sizzles, Thunder Power; Kyle Harvey tonight…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:28:00 +0000

It was the first show ever for Paris When It Sizzles, a cute girl who played a solo set with electric guitar, which she looped and then played over and sang. Her first show. And the biggest problem was tuning -- if you loop a guitar that's out of tune, you're only compounding the problem, repeating it endlessly and then playing out of tune over the out-of-tune loop. There was a certain unintentional charm about it. She struggled, but I think it's a struggle for anyone who plays at PS Collective because it's one of the worst sounding rooms for live music in Omaha. It's no one's fault -- the place simply has the sonic depth of someone's basement rec room, everything bright and bouncing and sounding hollow and sharp. Add to that a problem with one of the amp connections -- a short that randomly resulted in a thunderous ear-piercing crunch -- and you have less-than-optimum conditions for your first gig ever. She soldiered on, however, and now has it behind her.

Those conditions didn't help the other bands last night, though it didn't hinder them as much. Cleemann was a trio led by Danish singer/songwriter/guitarist Gunnar Cleemann with local genius Dereck Higgins on bass and former Preston Love sideman Gary Foster on drums. I heard someone compare him and his voice to Nick Drake, but I didn't hear it, picking up more Lloyd Cole in the phrasing (but I'm always looking for Lloyd Cole). I liked his voice, and I liked his songs which had nuanced depth that lingered beneath the pop. If you listened to Cleemann's Myspace page you were probably wondering who this guy was, because the music sounded completely different. Higgins and Foster have had a thorough effect on his sound. You can barely hear the bass on myspace, whereas the bass led the way on a number of songs last night. Higgins told me afterward that Cleemann worked closely with the rest of the trio on the arrangements, capitalizing on the talent he was working with. Smart.

For those who have never seen Dereck Higgins -- no one plays bass with his level of dynamics, his impeccable touch, his awareness of where the songs are going. He knew when to be in the fray, when to lead, and when to pull back and get out of the way. That's something I rarely (if ever) noticed from other bass players. If you get a chance to check him out, you really should. Actually, you have a chance tonight (if you're not reading this too late) as Cleemann and the band are playing at the Clawfoot House in Lincoln tonight.

At around 11:30 Thunder Power finally got on the PS Collective stage (after much static/noise/pain). I like their music and their style, but I don't understand the band's frontwoman -- it's as if she's singing in another language, a language that consists of bloops and bleeps and odd vowel sounds. I think I'd like her voice if I understood what she was singing, and if she looked like she was even remotely having a good time on stage instead of looking dour and upset (which was quite a contrast to the rest of the band, which looked like it was having a helluva time).

* * *

Singer/songwriter and Benson fixture Kyle Harvey is having a CD release party tonight at The Barley Street Tavern. The album is titled Nightmares (of you and me by the sea). "This album is a bit more folky than the previous," Kyle told me in an email, adding that it was recorded with Alex McManus (The Bruces). Harvey is a busy man these days. He says he's already started working on his next album, and then there's his role in local break-out band It's True, which just got back from SXSW and has an album of its own coming out shortly. $5, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, Murder By Death is playing up the street at The Waiting Room with Ha Ha Tonka and Linfinity. $12, 9 p.m.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Column 264: Is MAHA turning the corner? Mynabirds, Paria added to Omaha Invasion; Cleemann (w/Higgins), Thunder Power tonight…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:39:00 +0000

One more thing... I know a few of the bands that MAHA is after in addition to Spoon. If they get them, there will be no question that this festival has, indeed, turned the corner...

Column 264: MAHA Presents: Spoon
How it happened...

The news is right up there in the headline. Spoon. Great band.

Now how did it happen, and why didn't it happen last year?

I'll recap without dwelling too much on the past. Last year's inaugural MAHA Music Festival featured has-been emo act Dashboard Confessional as its headliner with casino act Big Head Todd on the undercard. The festival, which was billed as an indie/alternative event, did have its share of indie/alternative bands, not the least of which was Appleseed Cast and Army Navy -- but they played in the early afternoon to (literally) a handful of patrons, which included me. Later in the evening, the crowd ballooned to maybe 500 (we'll never know the real number) for Big Head Todd, and then the tide receded once again for the earnest, self-important Dashboard Confessional, and that was the end of the inaugural MAHA Festival.

And lo, the people scoffed.

Well, not all of them, but a lot of them. Certainly those who follow indie music just kind of wrote off the MAHA Festival as another vanity project by a group of upwardly mobile young professionals who didn't know what they were doing but had the money to do it. On the surface, they seemed to have the best intentions, but in the end, they lost sight of the goal somewhere between here and there, substituting quality for hopes of a larger "draw."

Many thought MAHA was a one-and-done boondoggle. They were wrong.

The conventional wisdom why MAHA appeared to fail in year one was that the organization, whose primary circle consists of local businessmen Tyler Owen, Mike App and Tre Brashear, simply started booking the acts too late. They also worked with an out-of-state agent whose expertise lies in casino acts, not indie music.

The focus on the 2010 MAHA Festival began almost immediately after the stage was struck for the 2009 event. Their first job was to acquire the help of One Percent Production's Marc Leibowitz, the guy who books indie (and other genres) at The Waiting Room (which he co-owns with Jim Johnson), Slowdown and a few other venues around town.

Next, the group began to talk to folks in the community to get their ideas and suggestions. That included Omaha World-Herald music critic Kevin Coffey, Omaha City Weekly music critic (and man about town) Marq Manner, and little ol' me.

I met with Mike App in February over coffee at Blue Line in Dundee, where he asked a series of questions including: What kind of music should MAHA have? What bands? What else should they do besides music? and, finally, What does MAHA look like a decade from now?

We talked, for a couple hours. App asked the same questions to Marq and Kevin and to others, including non-profit agencies and city and government officials. In the end, I have no idea if any of what was gleaned from these interviews helped them decide on Spoon or any of the other acts, though App said one thing came through loud and clear: People want MAHA to survive; they want it to work.

Last weekend, via the organization's Facebook and Twitter pages, MAHA announced that Spoon is this year's headliner. Why Spoon? "It's a great band with a 10-plus year record of indie credibility that is well-liked by our target audience," App said, adding that Spoon also should sell the kind of seats they need from a headliner. This year's event, scheduled for July 24, is once again being held at the concrete slab down by the river called The Lewis & Clark Landing. App said their attendance goal is between 5,000 and 6,000.

As good as Spoon is, there is no way the band could sell 5,000 tickets. App and Co. know this, and know that the event's undercard is just as important as the main event. "(Spoon is) a great headlining band that other good bands will want to be on the same bill with," App said. We'll see if that's true in the coming weeks as the rest of the event's line-up is announced.

Like last year, MAHA will again have both a Main Stage and a Local Stage. The organization will work with the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards (OEAA) to identify one of the four local bands who will play, while two others will be chosen based on local showcase events. The MAHA board will pick the final slot, App said.

To my surprise, App said MAHA broke even last year, thanks to holding down costs and donors committed to making it an annual event. "In the future we expect to transition to a sponsor- and event-revenue funded event (vs. donor funded)," he said.

But what if it flounders this year? That's something App wouldn't even consider. "I can't see how this community would not be receptive to a music festival," he said. "I think they want it. I really want to keep it going. It's one of the reasons why we changed how we did it from last year, and why we reached out for input.

"We want it to be an indie and alternative music festival," App said. "That limits us to a few hundred bands. I was being honest when I said it was a collaborative process, but Marc Leibowitz is who will make the choice in the end. He helps us make sure we're staying true to the vibe and, at the same time, attempt to not fail commercially. Only time and ticket sales will tell if we succeed."

* * *

This just in: Both The Mynabirds and Paria have been added to the Omaha Invasion Festival that I wrote about yesterday. Who's next?

* * *

Tonight at PS Collective, Danish singer/songwriter/musician Gunnar Cleemann is performing along with Thunder Power (just back from SXSW). Cleemann plays a subtle, wispy, layered pop that's pretty and introspective. Backing him on bass is local legend Dereck Higgins, who has been touring with Cleemann. Check out Cleemann's Myspace page. $5, 9 p.m. Also tonight, California band Americas plays at O'Leaver's with Rooftops and Gordan Shumway. $5, 9:30 p.m.

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--

Omaha to Invade Lincoln April 22-23…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:46:00 +0000

Jeremy Buckley, the guy behind the Lincoln Calling and Lincoln Invasion festivals, has announced the Omaha Invasion Festival, slated for April 22 and 23 at Lincoln clubs Duffy's Tavern, 12th St. Pub, Bricktop and the Bourbon Theatre Rye Room (front room). The line-up so far:

The Answer Team
Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies
Brent Crampton
Capgun Coup
Conchance
Dim Light
Flight Metaphor
Honeybee
It's True
Jes Winter Band
Kethro
DJ Kobrakyle
Little Brazil
Lonely Estates
Matt Cox Band
Matt Whipkey (solo)
Mello Mic
Mitch Gettman
Noah's Ark Was a Spaceship
Rock Paper Dynamite
Stryke
Talking Mountain
Thunder Power
Ultimate Downhill Machines
Vago

Impressive. And Buckley is still waiting to hear from two or three more bands. He said the idea behind the mini-fest branched out from the Lincoln Invasion weekend he and Dub Wardlaw from Duffy's put together last June in Benson. Each Lincoln venue will host three to four bands or DJs (at the Bricktop) per night. A $6 cover will get you into all three venues for the evening, or you can pay $3 just to get into one venue if you don't expect to mosey around. The Bricktop won't have a cover. The Zoo Bar isn't involved because it already had shows booked for the weekend.

By the way, all bands involved will get paid for performing. Buckley said he will divide 80 percent of the proceeds from ticket sales among the bands, keeping 20 percent to cover expenses. It's his willingness to pay bands that is one of the main reasons why his events have been successful in attracting the area's best acts. "We figure we are helping and whatnot, but it's the bands the people are coming to see, they should get paid as much as possible," Buckley said. "For Lincoln Exposed this year and last, the bands averaged about $150 a piece, and while I don't expect (the amount) to be as high with out-of-town bands (playing in Lincoln), I think they'll all walk away with respectable paydays."

Speaking of festivals, tomorrow's column will focus on the MAHA Festival with data from the organizers. Stay tuned.

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MAHA presents: Spoon; Tim Kasher scores; SXSW summarized…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:53:00 +0000

The word went out at midnight Saturday that the Maha Festival's mainstage headliner this year will be Spoon -- quite an improvement over Dashboard Confessional. Spoon seems to prove the organizers' intent to not only make this festival a big crowd draw, but to do it using relevant touring bands rather than the usual County Fair Circuit nostalgia acts. There's a whole process that went behind the selection, which I'll get into later. Needless to say, they're not stopping at Spoon, nor could they if they hope to fill Lewis & Clark Landing.

* * *

Director David Miller tapped Tim Kasher to write the score for his new film, My Suicide, which is described as "a 'self-inflicted comedy' about the oft-twisted relationship between modern youth and digital media," whatever that means. In this interview in Pedestrian, Miller calls the score "just really haunting and beautiful, and the music is really key." Miller goes on to say that he's "making a movie called Help Wanted Nights that (Tim Kasher) is going to direct based on a script he wrote while he produced and recorded the album. And the plan is to do a tour, possibly with Saddle Creek, where we don't mix the music to the movie and The Good Life plays live to the movie as we're touring." Sounds pretty cool…

* * *

I received more than a few comments about my SXSW coverage that was published in this week's issue of The Reader. I had one guy ask me if I had a good time in Austin, he couldn't tell by reading the story. I liked everything about SXSW this year except for the accompanying illness that I suffered all last week and into this past weekend, an illness that I'm just beginning to recover from. Anyway, for posterity's sake, here's what was published in The Reader -- a condensed version of the blog entries from those three days. If you read the blog daily, then you've already seen this in another form. I'll be compiling those entries into one story with photos sometime in the near future…

From Bear Hands to Big Star
SXSW: 33 Bands in 2 1/2 Days

South by Southwest is an endurance test; a sick "music challenge" drenched in alcohol and hot-link sausages and ear-splitting noise. It is pavement and dirt. It is the constant stank of bad ditch weed and cigarette smoke, stale beer and urinal cakes, and plenty of hippy-style BO. It is 10,000 people walking in the wrong direction, looking for something that they just can't seem to find. I make it sound like agony, not a vacation (which, for me, it sort of was). But for indie music fans it is the ultimate kid-in-a-candy-store daydream, a chance to stand in the glass-box money machine, grabbing at dollar bills, but dropping more than you can hold. SXSW is all around you; SXSW is everywhere. And if you don't pay attention, you will miss it before it's over.

The festival invites a sort of ADD behavior, because all the bars on 6th St. are nearby (for the most part). That close proximity encourages impatience. SXSW allows you to easily cast aside a band's live performance after only three songs (or fewer) rather than stick it out for the whole set because, in the back of your mind, there's always something better going on somewhere.

I was only there two and a half days, but saw 32 bands, which was more than enough. Here's the scorecard, at two sentences (or fewer) per band.

Fucked Up -- Gritty punk provided by a fat, bearded screamer who spent the set balanced on a railing that divided the Beerland "patio" from the mob, his pants falling down his ass. So overdriven, you could only hear the roar of guitar and fat-guy's distorted rants.

Tobacco -- The frontman for Black Moth Super Rainbow created fuzz-kill thick-beat synth noise with blown-out, distorted vocals and electric guitar. Unbelievably funky and fun, with deep psychedelic overtones, this is drug music for the millennial nation.

The Blind Shake -- The Minneapolis punk trio played loud and tight in a room half the size of O'Leaver's, but their music didn't grab me.

The Silos -- A break from chaos, their flavor of alt-country/folk has influenced a lot of bands in the '80s, '90s and today. and though they've all gone gray, they haven't lost a thing.

Besnard Lakes -- Loud, theatrical, boring.

Pomegranates -- Cute Cincinnati band played modern indie power pop in a style that you'll recognize from the usual suspects (Tokyo Police Club, Vampire Weekend) -- big back-beat, jump-dance stuff.

The Mynabirds -- The Saddle Creek Records showcase only drew around 75 people, which was something of a surprise. No matter -- Laura Burhenn and company played their shimmery style of indie folk with arena panache.

Saint Motel -- An LA band that sounded like they came from El Lay -- flat, one-dimensional pop rock with zero depth, as vacuous as its blond headed frontman.

She Wants Revenge -- Dancey, darkwave post-punk with a great throbbing beat, nice chopping rhythm guitar, but thin vocals. Frontman Justin Warfield sounds better on record, as does this band, which was trying to get the crowd into it, and failing.

Camper Van Beethoven -- Classic '80s band hasn't lost its touch, though its brand of world ska hasn't aged well.

We Were Promised Jetpacks -- This Scottish band takes the indie youth-dance vibe and jumpstarts it with the necessary Cure guitar drone and an extra helping of Cursive howling. Derivative.

Nicole Atkins --She's been compared to Jenny Lewis; instead, she's a run-of-the-mill "adult alternative" blues singer trying to channel Janis Joplin and/or Chrissie Hynde, but sounding more like a wounded Sheryl Crow.

Sondre Lerche -- The super-skinny, witty blond Viking played a gorgeous guitar with a showtune lilt, like an indie version of Michael Bublé.

Holly Miranda -- Lush music played with an air of ennui. Translated: She mailed it in.

The Living Sisters -- Gorgeous layered harmonies drove old-fashioned, sometimes cheesy ballads. Still, better than...

The Watson Twins -- Last seen with Jenny Lewis, now taking a stab at indie rock and failing. I liked them better when their clothes matched.

It's True -- Frontman Adam Hawkins, wearing a blue-cloud bandana, let it all go, flipping off his nerd glasses sometime during the second or third song, while the rest of the band also rose to the occasion. Just ask the crowd inside -- and outside -- the club.

Twin Tigers -- The Athens four-piece specialized in soaring indie rock, with an undercurrent of shoegaze and an extra helping of Jesus and Mary Chain.

Cocoon -- The singer/songwriter played sweet solo acoustic ballads under the stars up on the deck, while down below, his quiet set was about to be blown to bits by...

Little Brazil -- In front of around 50, their set was as good as any I've seen, even though guitarist Greg Edds looked like a ski bum with his foot in a giant black boot/cast. I left before the mayhem began.

Quasi -- The trio, featuring Sam Coomes, ex-wife Sleater-Kinney's Janet Weiss on drums and Malkmus/Jick Joanna Bolme on bass, kicked out a set of rough-hewn indie rock songs that was decadently loud.

Bear Hands -- Yet another one of those Cure-inspired acts with a frontman whose voice mimics Robert Smith. Still, their music is a big step above the usual cadre of indie dance bands, with a thicker, heavier, and slightly darker sound that I found entrancing.

Crystal Antlers -- The Long Beach five-piece that has received dollops of love from Pitchfork over the years unveiled a set of all-new material that lacked anything resembling a solid melody.

Les Savy Fav -- Balding giant Tim Harrington was in rare form, climbing atop amp stacks to mess with the stage lighting rigs, eventually turning off all the floods, leaving the tent in darkness.

Cococoma and Wes Coleman -- Two bands who played at Beerland as part of The Goner Records showcase -- garage rock at its finest inside in a concrete bunker.

The Boxer Rebellion -- Their style was reminiscent of mid-career U2, thanks to a frontman whose voice was a dead ringer for Bono's. Too bad the band didn't have U2's melodies, or charm.

Frightened Rabbit -- Winner of the Most Loved Band of SXSW, they're on the verge of something -- with music that blends indie, adult alternative and Van Morrison in a way that will please any crowd. Now watch them explode

UUVVWWZ -- Frontwoman Teal Gardner looked like she was having a good time despite playing to a crowd of around 30 outside in frigid cold, fighting a north wind that blew directly in her face.

Finally, the highlight of the trip: The Alex Chilton memorial concert with Big Star held on the last evening of SXSW. I felt lucky to even get into it. The crowd was mostly grizzled veterans and old-school journalists who still took notes with pencil on notepad. Lots of gray hair, and lots of somber faces in a crowd still mourning Chilton's death on March 17.

Before Jon Auer, Jody Stephens and Ken Stringfellow -- the surviving members of Big Star -- hit the stage, a friend of The Chiltons read a letter by Alex's wife, Laura, where she talked about her husband and how he lived his life, his favorite music (highlighting how much he loved working with The Cramps and The Gories), and his "direct" way of communicating. It was a sweet remembrance.

Then came the music -- a greatest hits package that included "September Gurls," "The Ballad of el Goodo," "Don't Lie to Me" and "Thirteen" from #1 Record / Radio City, and "Thank You Friends," "Big Black Car" "Jesus Christ" and "For You" from Sister Lovers/Third (but no "Holocaust," which I guess was appropriate). The all-star cast of special guests who performed with Big Star included Curt Kirkwood, Chris Stamey, M Ward, Chuck Prophet, John Doe, Mike Mills, Sondre Lerche, Evan Dando, Susan Cowsill, The Watson Twin and fellow original Big Star member Andy Hummel.

Big Star by themselves sounded amazing. Auer handled most of the vocals (when a guest wasn't on stage) with Stringfellow chiming in here and there. There's nothing more to say, other than it was a special night that went on past 2 a.m. It's the kind of moment that you hope to experience at SXSW -- but not under these circumstances. Chilton really was a genius. He wrote and performed some of the most influential pop music of the last half of the last century. The concert was a fitting tribute to his musical legacy. And I can't think of a better way to cap off my time in Austin.

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MAHA Festival headliner to be unveiled; the weekend…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:07:00 +0000

Based on the comments on their Twitter feed, it looks like Maha Festival organizers have booked their headliner for the July 24 bash, and are on the verge of announcing it. They're even giving clues. Stay tuned.

* * *

Another quiet week show-wise this weekend, which is good seeing as I'm on the mend from Austin and a head cold. The only shows that draw my attention are tomorrow night (Saturday).

Fortnight is playing at The 49'r with Shipbuilding Co. (members of Plastic Trumpet, Head of Femur). $5, 9:30 p.m.

Little Black Stereo is headlining a show at O'Leaver's with Matt Cox Band and Son of 76 and The Watchmen. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Finally, there's the Found in Benson fundraiser at The Foundry, 6051 Maple St. The fun starts at noon with a flea market, followed by a potluck from 5 to 7 and then live music from 7 to 10 with Wisconsin band The Hollands, James Hobbs (Ames, IA) and Jimmy Hobbs. $5 for the performance. Money raised goes to produce the Found in Benson 'zine.

And if you're in Lincoln Sunday night, head over to Duffy's for the Pharmacy Spirits CD release show with Mercy Rule, Shipbuilding Co. (again, members of Plastic Trumpet, Head of Femur) and The Green Trees. 9 p.m. not sure of the cover price. Pharmacy Spirits will have its Omaha version of their CD release show April 3 at O'Leaver's with Talking Mountain and The Yuppies.

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SXS-Westilence (like Pestilence, get it?), Citay tonight; Pitchfork poops on Bright Eyes/Neva…

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 23:25:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I've talked to three people who went to SXSW last week. All three -- like me -- are now suffering from a head/chest cold. What are the odds of that? Is it because we all foolishly sloughed around Austin last Saturday under-dressed for the unseasonably cold weather? I blame that, along with a weakened immune system from multiple 3 a.m. nights. I also blame air travel, which I consider to be one of the most dangerous endeavors from a disease/illness standpoint. I always get sick after I fly.

Anyway, I'm sick. But I think (I hope) I'm getting better. I was too sick for last night's show at O'Leaver's, and I'm still too sick for tonight's gig at The Waiting Room. I'll be missing Ezra Feinberg and his San Francisco band Citay. This funky act plays a groovy sunshine-filled, multi-harmony pop rock that you'd expect from someone living on the Left Coast. Their new album, Dream Get Together (just released on Dead Oceans), is a throwback psychedelic gem that isn't afraid of the occasional guitar solo. This is the kind of band you'd have heard at The Fillmore circa 1967 (if you around). I'm buzzing right now just listening to the album (it's either that or all the cold medication). Opening is Leslie Wells and Anniversaire. $8, 9 p.m.

* * *

An addendum on that Bright Eyes/Neva Dinova item from yesterday: The Pitchfork review hit last night. Rating: 5.8 -- which translates to "please ignore me." Says reviewer Ian Cohen (who incidentally reviewed and hated the last Neva album): "As songwriters, Oberst and Bellows sound more comfortable than challenged here. As a tribute to once prolific and unique songwriting community, One Jug is better served as a reminder of how much outstanding and original music Saddle Creek produced from 2000-2003 rather than a document of it." Cohen also says that the Neva songs are better than the Bright Eyes songs, but with this caveat: "Bright Eyes were never convincing as a rock band, and the transparency in which Desaparecidos tried to be a rock band always made it feel hollow." Okay. So take the review for what it's worth… Hey, it's Pitchfork, right? Read the whole thing here.

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Will the Bright Eyes split ignite interest in Neva Dinova / Jake Bellows? Mynabirds, Bellows tonight...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:00:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, lazy-i.com

Yesterday Saddle Creek Records released a new version of the Bright Eyes / Neva Dinova split One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels. Originally released in 2004 as a 6-song EP by Crank! Records, the new release adds four new tracks -- two Bright Eyes and two Neva songs -- recorded last fall at ARC Studios. The first thing that went through my mind when I heard about the project: Will there be a joint Bright Eyes / Neva tour in support of the LP? The answer, it seems, is no. At least that's the word from Oberst's publicist at Press Here Publicity. Seeing as Neva Dinova hasn't performed publicly in long time, the idea of a tour was a long shot (though I'm told that there were discussions of a joint tour prior to release). The closest thing you're going to get to hearing these new Neva songs live maybe happening tonight, when Jake Bellows opens a show for The Mynabirds at O'Leaver's. The Mynabirds are coming off a number of shows last week in Austin at SXSW, so expect a tight performance, and maybe a few surprises. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Regardless, will this release ignite interest in Neva Dinova and Jake Bellows? You never know, especially judging by the early reviews, where Jake is getting a pretty good shake. Check out this review at Drowned in Sound (read it here), where the reviewer says, "But if Bright Eyes are largely responsible for …Vessels’ shimmering highs, it arguably falls to Neva Dinova to gift it a sense of cohesion. Much of this is due to Jake Bellows’ sleepy, almost narcotic delivery. Songs like ‘Poison’, ‘Get Back’ and new opener ‘Rollerskating’ are so sedate they might come off listless in lesser hands, but Bellows’ velvet croon carries them gracefully, with real warmth (his cracked lead vocal on the Oberst-penned final track ‘Spring Cleaning’ is a winner too). ‘Someone’s Love’ is the strongest of the band’s new offerings, finding Bellows ponder overheard conversations and inappropriately lewd thoughts over dense instrumentation in a manner both wry and compassionate."

Then there's this from Consequences of Sound (read it all here): "In essence, there are two things to take from this re-release. First, is that Neva Dinova is actively taking a deserved large step forward to becoming a household name and should not be ignored. Their sound is one that is original and impressive and deserves delving into. The second thing is that Bright Eyes are back!"

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Steel Train, Holly Miranda, It's True tonight...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:32:00 +0000

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

So who is Steel Train? They're a New Jersey five-piece that plays rock anthems with keyboards and guitars and (something tells me) a few fist-pumps. Their style is all over the board. A song like "Turnpike Ghost" is obviously influenced by Modest Mouse, while "I Feel Weird" sounds like something Springsteen would put together if he were 18 and starting from scratch after what we've all been through over the past decade. Their last album, Trampoline, came out on Drive Thru Records and was produced by Mark Trombino.

Opening is Holly Miranda, who you read about here, and SXSW conquering heroes It's True. $10, 9 p.m.

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SXSW Finale: Alex Chilton Big Star All-Star concert, Matt Pond PA, Frightened Rabbit...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:13:00 +0000

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I type this in Earl Campbell's Tyler Rose Lounge at DFW waiting for my flight back to Omaha early the next morning after a 3 a.m. night to close out SXSW. And what a night it was.

I won't bore you with details about how cold and windy and awful the weather was in Austin yesterday, except to say it was cold and windy and awful, especially after a couple days of tanning in the 70s. Instead, let me tell you about the Alex Chilton memorial concert with Big Star and special guests, a show that I felt lucky to get into. It was a badge-only gig -- no wristbands, no cash tickets. You also needed some luck. The person in front of me was the cut-off guy in line, which meant that I spent about a half-hour standing next to the door, waiting for someone to leave to get in. And while there, I heard every con and bullshit line by every swinging dick wanting through those doors -- all to no avail. The concert started at 12:30 a.m. I finally got inside Antone's (capacity guestimate, about 600) at 11:30 p.m. to hear a young, indie power-pop band called The Postelles play a set in front of was was likely the most powerful industry audience in Austin that week. Too bad no one was there to see them. The crowd was mostly grizzled veterans and old-school journalists who still took notes with pencil on notepad. Lots of gray hair, and lots of somber faces in a crowd that became rousing once the music began.

Jon Auer, Jody Stephens and Ken Stringfellow -- the surviving members of Big Star -- hit the stage right on time. But before they began, a friend of The Chiltons read a letter by Alex's wife, Laura, where she talked about her husband and how he lived his life, his favorite music (highlighting how much he loved working with The Cramps and The Gories), and his "direct" way of communicating. It was a sweet remembrance that ended with a story about how her husband didn't have time to think about death. In fact, he didn't like to sleep, and wished he could stay awake 24/7, unlike his wife who preferred to take naps, "which is what I'm going to go do right now," the message read in closing. "And if Alex were here, I know what he'd would say. He'd say, 'G'nite, Shoog.'" That's short of Sugar.

Then came the music. I can't list all the songs because I don’t know all their names. It was a greatest-hits performance and included a lot of my favorites, like "September Gurls," "The Ballad of el Goodo," "Don't Lie to Me" and "Thirteen" off #1 Record Radio City, and "Thank You Friends," "Big Black Car" "Jesus Christ" and "For You" off Third/Sister Lover (but no "Holocaust," which I guess is appropriate). It really was an all-star cast who performed with Big Star, including Curt Kirkwood, Chris Stamey, M Ward, Chuck Prophet, John Doe, Mike Mills, Sondre Lerche, Evan Dando, Susan Cowsill, The Watson Twin and fellow original Big Star member Andy Hummel.

Big Star by themselves sounded amazing. Auer handled most of the vocals (when a guest wasn't on stage) with Stringfellow chiming in here and there. There's nothing more to say, other than it was a special night that went on past 2 a.m. It's the kind of moment that you hope to experience at SXSW -- but not under these circumstances. Chilton really was a genius. He wrote and performed some of the most influential pop music of the last half of the last century. Last night's concert was a fitting way to pay tribute to him. And I can't think of a better way to cap off my time in Austin (See photo).

I should stop right there, but I'd be remiss not mentioning the rest of yesterday. It was something of a bust, made agonizing by the weather. I didn't get rolling until around 3 p.m. after a sit-down Mexican meal (the first real food I had on this trip). First stop was the obligatory journey to Beerland, the infamous SXSW-hating punk-rock venue (hide your badge before you get there). The bar is a concrete-block bunker, probably a converted machine shop or garage, with walls covered in photos, neon, showbills and booze signs. In the back was the iconic Beerland stage, where The Goner Records showcase was in high gear. For the next hour I listened to Cococoma (see photo) and Wes Coleman (see photo) while the NCAA tourney glowed from an old-fashioned TV set overhead. It was like being at O'Leaver's -- same crowd, same smell.

The best part about Beerland was that it was warm. Teresa and I next headed to Cedar St. Courtyard, an outdoor venue sandwiched between two buildings that acted as a wind tunnel. Brisk, bracing, uncomfortable. London band The Boxer Rebellion (see photo) played a set reminiscent of mid-career U2, thanks to a frontman whose voice was a dead ringer for Bono's. Too bad the band didn't have U2's melodies or charm.

Next was Frightened Rabbit -- a bunch of Scottish guys last seen at The Waiting Room back in June 2008. They took home the award for The Act With the Most Buzz, coming into -- and out of -- SXSW. More than one person (including a famous local record label executive) told me that Frightened Rabbit was the best thing they'd seen all week. I wouldn't go that far, but I will say they're on the verge of something -- their music blends indie, adult alternative and Van Morrison in a way that will please any crowd. Now watch them explode (see photo).

It took two hours to thaw at the hotel before I headed back into the icebox to catch Matt Pond PA at The Galaxy Room (see photo). Pond and his band cranked out a fantastic set of folk rock to a packed, appreciative crowd of around 250 that included a front row that sang along with every word. Seems like Pond's been around forever waiting for people to figure out how good he is. Maybe it's finally starting to happen.

Afterward I marched up Red River to see The Oh Sees at Mohawk Patio, but got stuck in a hold line that didn't move. So I hightailed it east under the freeway to "The Music Gym," one of the many temporary venues that were "created" for SXSW, and which are very likely gone this morning. The temporary nature of the place was fine with UUVVWWZ frontwoman Teal Gardner, who looked like she was having a good time playing to a crowd of around 30 outside in cold, despite having to fight a north wind blowing directly in her face (see photo).

After that, it was off to Antone's for the Big Star show.

And so ends another year at South by Southwest. It was a fun endurance test, where I saw more bands than last year. The best of the bunch: Tobacco, The Silos, Pomegranates, The Mynabirds, Sondre Lerche, It's True, Quasi, Bear Hands, Matt Pond PA, Frightened Rabbits and, of course, Big Star. Look for the condensed summary of SXSW in this week's issue of The Reader.

And now Chris Aponik's final dispatch from the trenches:

Part of the appeal of SXSW is that it's supposed to be warm by mid-March in Texas. Saturday was a cruel, cold slap in the face as temperatures dipped well below 50 degrees. Anybody hoping to sit outside at one of the many outdoor venues or those even planning to go between venues were greeted by high winds and a bone-chilling blast of cold air. I quickly scrapped plans to check out a few bands out at Auditorium Shores in favor of warmth indoors.

My day started with the Goner showcase, which featured a nice sampling of the Memphis label's roster. The showcase peaked with a packed house during a set by the Magic Kids, who play saccharine sweet sock-hop rock that has been transplanted from the 1950s malt shoppe with little modern revision. Unless you have a serious taste for this melodic candyfloss, these Kids can cause quick overload. Beforehand, Ty Segall built interest in a forthcoming Goner full-length by playing rough garage pop with a tight power trio that indicates they are ready for bigger stages and a bigger sound.

The evening all pointed to one thing, a one-off semi-reunion of Destruction Unit. The band was the brainchild of Arizona native Ryan Wong of Tokyo Electron. He quickly recruited Memphis rockers Alicja Trout and Jay Reatard to form a solid line-up. Reatard passed away earlier this year. As a tribute, Wong and Trout joined together with Digital Leather's Shawn Foree to play a Destruction Unit show during SXSW week. With three other additional DL members in tow, Destruction Unit ripped through jagged trashy garage rock combining Wong's southwestern venom with the two synths played by Foree and Trout. It was a quick set that ended just before chaos totally overtook it.

Thee Oh Sees ended the night on the club floor in the middle of Beerland playing another well-honed set of psych-oozing '60s throwback garage rock of which John Dwyer is undoubtedly the master.

Great: Destruction Unit
Very Good: Wes Coleman, CoCoComa, Ty Segall
Good: Magic Kids, Flesh Lights, Harlan T Bobo, Thomas Function
Okay: Sunny & the Sunsets
No: American Cheeseburger

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