Speed! Nebraska showcase tonight; Little Brazil/Third Men Sunday... – June 30, 2006 –

Tonight at Sokol Underground is the Speed! Nebraska showcase, featuring The Monroes, Ideal Cleaners and The Diplomats of Solid Sound. It's also the celebration of a record label turning 10 years old. No idea on the order, though I have to assume that The Monroes will be last up, but we all know what happens when we assume... I say this because there's a good chance that some of us won't be showing up until after the REO Speedwagon/fireworks spectacular at Memorial Park (I won't get there until late due to a wedding). $5, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night it's... well... actually I don't see much going on tomorrow night. If you have any suggestions, post them on the Webboard. Otherwise, I'll see you at The Brothers.

Sunday night it's Little Brazil and The Third Men at O'Leaver's. As mentioned before, Little Brazil has a whole mess of new songs that'll be appearing on their forthcoming album, which I haven't had the privilege of hearing yet. The Third Men are one of the funnest rock bands in the city these days. Last time 'round, in addition to their own toe-tapping originals, they graced us with a rare Richard and Linda Thompson cover. What will they pull out of the bag Sunday night? $5, 9 p.m.

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Column 83: J.E. George takes a drive down Happy Hollow – June 29, 2006 –

By the way, this CD won't be released until Aug. 22, even though everyone seems to already have a copy.

Column 83 -- Unlikely Underdog
An unbiased look at Happy Hollow

I have been accused -- for good or ill -- of being a "homer" for Saddle Creek Records. And for those of you who don't know the terminology, a homer is someone who always roots for the home team, not a character on The Simpsons.

I have been called everything from "the unofficial public relations arm of Saddle Creek" to a "tool" in service of the label. As part of these claims, I've been accused of turning my weary eyes away from the labels' "dark side," for ignoring its artists' ignoble personal habits. I can live with that accusation. I have little or no interest in what any musician or artist does off-stage or out of the studio with his or her body (or someone else's, for that matter). I've never been one to sniff around for gossip and gooey "insider" tidbits in hopes of "capturing the real person who lives deep down inside."

It's the other accusation that gets my fur up, the ones that goes something like "You can't trust his opinion about Saddle Creek recordings. He wouldn't dare say anything negative for fear of pissing someone off." That, my friends, puts the very essence of my critical powers in question. It's also a load of horse flop. There are artists and recordings on Saddle Creek that don't turn my crank, and I've been more than willing to share my distaste publicly, both in print and/or blogspace. As I've said before, I might have interviewed every artist on the label, I might have given them a nod or chat at shows, I might have even drank beer whilst leaning against the railing at O'Leaver's standing next to them.

But I don't "hang out" with them, dine with them, converse with their parents, attend baseball games or meet them at the mall. I've never been to one of their after parties, birthday parties or "whatever" parties. I've never bailed them out, sobered them up, or hid them from the cops.

I'm sure they're all nice, fun folks, but buddying up to them or any artist/musician would make it difficult to convey criticism about their art (and not because they couldn't handle it, because I might not be able to). Plus there's the whole credibility thing…

All of this came to mind when I sat down to write about Cursive's new CD, Happy Hollow.

Within a week or so after the review copies began floating around the network of those "in the loop," word began to leak that Happy Hollow wasn't so happy. Before long, people were coming up to me at shows, saying "Psst… heard the new one by Cursive? I'm not feeling it. It ain't like their old stuff. They're losing it." And that's some of the nicer comments. Others told me that it just plain sucked. That it marked the end of Cursive. That they turned their backs on their fans. That Tim Kasher no longer had anything to say. That the band was "mailing it in" or "going through the motions."

Didn't sound so promising. I expected the worst when I slipped the CD into my car stereo. I quickly discovered that all those people were full of poo-poo.

Along with Domestica -- the band's career-setting high-water mark -- Happy Hollow is hands down the best thing Cursive has released in their storied career. It is a pop, punk, drunk, funk achievement. An adventure in brash swagger that shines like a gold lamé suit on a street bum pushing a shopping cart full of garbage through the snow. It is (shall I say it?) a dance album. Yes, Cursive has created music that the masses can actually move to without thinking about it.

Add to that Kasher's down-to-earth lyrics. No longer reaching for strange or introspective "I'm a songwriter writing about songwriting" lyrics, Kasher is now content examining questions that are on all our minds. I won't get into the concept here other than to say it involves things like Faith and hope and confusion and uncertainty and anger and Faith. And I'm still not sure I know where he comes down on all of it. I have to listen to it more before I can figure it out.

I already "get" the music part, the swinging "Dorothy at Forty," the bombastic "Big Bang," the strutting "So-So Gigolo" the propulsive "Rise Up! Rise Up!" All worthy of your critical ears. Oh, and did I forget to mention the horns? There are horns, kids. Oh yes, lots of them.

And no, it doesn't sound like any other Cursive album. They've already done that. Why would they do it again? If you miss their angular, jangular edgeworks, go listen to Storms of Early Summer (a disc I never liked) or Domestica. They're still on your iPod.

I say all of this with mind and conscience open and untainted. So to all of you bitter, envious folks who think I'm stroking the boys, trying to get in bed with the artists, hoping to "build bridges" to gain an inside scoop -- go blow it out your blow holes. This one's for the home team, whether you like it or not.

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Speed! Nebraska at 10; Live Review: Simon Joyner and the Fallen Men – June 28, 2006 –

This week's feature -- a lengthy history lesson of Speed! Nebraska Records -- went online last night. Read it here. You will discover how a band of merry men pulled their precious time and resources together to create an opportunity for Nebraska bands to be heard using a medium known as the vinyl 7-inch 45 rpm record. A quick aside: I recently discovered that not just a few, but many people don't know what a 45 is, never heard of records, and don't understand the concept of record players. Within the past day or so I've come across instances of two people in their 20s who had never heard of the term "45" or "7-inch." One of these encounters was first-hand. It's just more evidence that either 1) I'm getting old, or 2) the next generation is clueless. I guess we should never assume anything, especially details regarding music that seem obviously matter-of-fact. I still remember how baffled I felt the first time I talked to someone years younger than me who had never heard of Tom Jones. How could this be? Didn't they grow up hearing "It's Not Unusual" and "What's New Pussycat?" and "She's a Lady" on KFAB like everyone else? Laugh all you want, reader, but this painful reality will happen to you sooner than you think. I would love to see the expression on your face when you run into someone years from now who never heard of U2…

What to say about last night's Simon Joyner and the Fallen Men set at O'Leaver's (no longer the Wind-Up Birds, apparently)? Joyner and Co. came off like a band of Nashville veterans coming to after a three-day bender. More drone than I've ever heard from this ensemble, it reminded me of the Velvet Underground at their most atonal, with Joyner doing his best postnasal Lou Reed impersonation. It was downright mesmerizing in its cluttered, jambled genius. Bassman Mike Tulis kept the chaos together, god bless him, while everyone else glowed warmly within their own personal dissonance, lost somewhere between Hawkins' and McManus' improvisational experiments or Mike Friedman's layer of shimmering pedal steel. Deden's drumming continues to be defined by its minimalism because anything more would get in the way. I recognized favorite "One for the Catholic Girls" and one other oldie. And I'm sure there were a couple that will be forthcoming on the anticipated Jagjaguwar set, but I'm betting they won't sound like this. The final number was a 10-minute drone factory that featured the lyric "final solution" emoted by Joyner like a shrill proclamation. It was 45 minutes of sonic anesthesia followed by the inevitable hangover, but like I always say, you never know what you're going to get when Joyner takes the stage, and that's what makes his sets so essential.

Opener Miracles of God was a '90s punk-scream throwback to Sonic Youth and whatever SST garage band that your friend included on the end of that mixtape you used to play in your Datsun on the way to school that was at first annoying than catchy than annoying again, but, strangely, always the song you looked forward to most. They were energetic. Unfortunately their chutzpah wasn't contagious.

Tonight at O'Leaver's, Unwed Sailor and Spring Gun (Mr. 1986's Micah Schmiedskamp's band). Tomorrow on this Internet space, comments on the new Cursive CD in a column that also talks about homerism of a no-so-Simpsons variety...

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Delays, delays... Live Review: Tapes 'n' Tapes; Simon Joyner, David Mead tonight... – June 27, 2006 –

Sorry for the delay in updating the blog but I've been busy working on a massive feature story on Speed! Nebraska Records, that I'm told will be the cover story for this week's issue of The Reader. You'll, of course, be able to read it online here tomorrow morning. It was originally slated to be a mere show preview for their label showcase Friday at Sokol Underground, then out of the blue, the fine folks at The Reader said..."Uh, we were thinking cover." And that changed everything.

BTW, thanks to everyone who commented on the Fun City column. No word on what the World-Herald thought of it. Who am I kidding? I don't think the World-Herald knows The Reader (and lazy-i, for that matter) exists. And if they did, they certainly wouldn't acknowledge it. Way too low-brow for them. The words "riff-raff" come to mind (and just what are you doing reading this?). Ah well, it's not so bad being a media bottom-feeder.

So Tapes 'n' Tapes.... Yeah... uh... Look, no question that they're popular. They outdrew Fiery Furnaces by at least a couple dozen people last Friday night. But for the life of me, I didn't get what they were going for. They sounded like a watered down version of Wolf Parade to me. Uninteresting. I wasn't alone in that opinion, judging from the comments I heard (One guy said, "This is what you get when you go see a band that's been talked up on some bloggers' website."). The promoters, on the other hand, loved them, as did the majority of people there. I guess you need to hear their album first, which I haven't.

Which brings us to tonight's festivities and the choices that you'll have to make. Kyle Harvey, whose taste is impeccable and beyond reproach, says you'd be crazy to miss singer/songwriter David Mead at Mick's (at a show that Kyle is opening... think he's impartial?). I've never heard this guy before so I have no opinion other than to say if Kyle says he's good, he's good. But...

Down the street and 'cross town, O'Leaver's is hosting a show that I simply can't miss: Simon Joyner and the Wind-up Birds featuring Chris Deden, Mike Friedman, Dave Hawkins, Alex McManus and Mike Tulis. I have to assume Joyner will be playing songs from his forthcoming full-length that I've been told is a career-changing album for him. Also on the bill is Coolzey and Miracles of God.

Both shows are $5. Mick's starts at 9. O'Leaver's, 9:30.

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Live Review: The Fiery Furnaces; Tapes and Tapes tonight... – June 23, 2006 –

I was expecting The Fiery Furnaces' live set to be different from their albums -- no keyboards on this tour, remember? -- but I wasn't expecting the metal-rock-Rush-prog-Talking Head-Zappa-Sabbath explosion that I and about 200 of my closest friends got last night at the Sokol. "Bombastic" doesn't quite cut it. "Mercurial guitar histrionics"? Not exactly. "Anxiety-inducing tension"? Close, but no cigar. I admit to not being a follower of said band, so I can't really tell you how differently they sounded from their previous incarnations. I have only one of their CDs -- their newest one, which Sister Eleanor said they'd be dipping from extensively. From that disc, I only recognized one song -- the surrealistic "I'm in No Mood" and only because there's no mistaking the Russian pastiche melody-line, which when played on guitar instead of keys, was downright Queen-esque. Forget all the pretty stuff on the record, Eleanor has a perfect rock voice that rests somewhere between Chrissie Hynde and Johnny Rotten. Meanwhile, I am now convinced that Brother Matthew is some type of mad genius wunderkind. It's one thing to write this Dali-esque music, it's another thing entirely to play guitar with the virtuosity that he commands. Who needs a synthesizer when you can make your ax create similar (or better) sounds? The bottom line: I like them better as a full-out metal band with punk overtones and a prog jones that comes from listening to too much '70s arena rock (Did I mention Rush?). Yes, their records are interesting, almost quaint. Their live show belongs on a touring festival sandwiched between roaring sets by Cardiacs and The Who.

Yes, oh yes, I caught Kite Pilot, and they were their usual fine selves. I've seen them at least a half-dozen times and am aware that Sokol Underground has a way of bringing out the best in them (They should have recorded last night's live set, in fact, why don't more bands do that? Image the marketing potential of a record called Live at Sokol Underground...). I have no idea what they're going to do without Austin Britton playing guitar or, like last night, washboard. They'll find a way, just as I'm sure Austin has found his way, which is why he's headed to Cali under the command of a higher calling.

So let's take a moment to do a quick summary of very recent escapees: Nick White, Denver Dalley, Nik Fackler and now Austin Britton. Fun City is becoming less and less fun every day.

* * *

A crazy indie smorgasbord of a weekend began last night and continues on and on and on. Tonight it's maybe the hottest band in the world (at least for the right-now) Tapes 'n' Tapes at Sokol Underground with Figurines and Cold War Kids. Tapes 'n' Tapes are so crazy hot that I've never heard a single song by them and you probably haven't, either, yet they're still almost instantly recognized as the "It" band of the moment. If last night's turnout was disappointing (and it was) tonight's will be on the other end of the spectrum. I'm just saying. Every time I predict a sellout I'm wrong, so I'm not predicting one tonight. $10, 9 p.m.

Saturday night, the homecoming of Little Brazil at Sokol Underground, a make-up show for the gig they missed earlier this year with The Cops, a gig that I'm told they still feel guilty about missing. Methinks they'll channel that guilt into some kind of weird mega-performance where they'll attempt to change our personal definition of the word ROCK. Helping them out will be Prospect Avenue and Statistics (no idea who's backing Denver for tonight's gig). 9 p.m. $7.

Everything shifts to O'Leaver's Sunday night for Eagle*Seagull, Connor and Andrew Morgan. If you've never caught E*S before, there will be no better time. Strangely, I've watched them perform at O'Leaver's, Sokol and an art gallery and their O'Leaver's show was hands down the best, even though they barely have room to move on the bar's "stage." $5, 9:30 p.m.

Watch for updates/reviews all weekend...

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Column 82: Conor in the park, and welcome to Fun City; The Fiery Furnaces tonight... – June 22, 2006 –

The final word on the Bright Eyes show now that we're all toweled off; and, of course, some thoughts on the Omaha World-Herald's new designation for Omaha...

Column 82 -- Living in Fun City
It's all about furniture and cheesecake.

So I was in the park Saturday night to watch Bright Eyes. Were you?

A lot of you were, maybe 10,000, maybe 8,000, maybe 5,000. Depends who you ask. No one really knows for sure. There were a lot of people there. And all of them were wet. Just like me.

A few brief observation about the "event." As expected, it wasn't nearly the size of gathering that 311 was two years ago. Why would it be? Bright Eyes is under the radar, folks. Conor Oberst writes intelligent music that demands an investment from its listeners. It's not head-bobbing groove candy that asks nothing from the brain pan other than the ability to recognize primordial rhythms. Nothing wrong with dance music. It is, as we all know, the mode o' day of the status quo. Bright Eyes, on the other hand, whose music is at times beautiful and always lyrically interesting, ain't exactly the bread-and-butter of Clear Channel-infected commercial radio, keeping it safely under the radar. Which makes Saturday's opening acts Neva Dinova and Gruff Rhys downright underground.

So while you could argue that most of the people in the park on Saturday afternoon were there only to enjoy a free "event" with their families, and that the entertainment could just as well have been three guys and bagpipe, you'd be wrong. The rain proved it. No casual park-goers would have stood their ground from the nexus of that monsoon. It wasn't just raining. It was gushing. Forget about cats and dogs, this was biblical. And throughout the maelstrom, thousands refused to leave, both young and old (though mostly young). Talk about your acid test in the park. Conor Oberst found out who his true fan base was in his hometown. They were standing right in front of him, shivering wet, wanting to hear more.

Which brings us to the Omaha World-Herald and its bizarre declaration of the city's victory over the boredom. Glancing at the cover of the Sunday paper, there on top of the page was a "news story" headlined "Young Omahans hail new Fun City." Yes, folks, in case you were wondering, we now live in Fun City. Evidence of this is the Qwest Center and its endless stream of vintage-rock concerts whose tickets cost more than a typical "young Omahan" brings home in a week at his minimum-wage job. "Fun" also means lots of shopping opportunities, too. As the story boasted, by god, Omaha now has high-end retailers like Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn. And, as everyone knows, once you get a Cheesecake Factory, you've made it. Finally, there was that Bright Eyes concert and the "thousands of mostly young people who packed the grassy bowl of Memorial Park" who "seemed to be finding life here pretty good." (Incidentally, I guess Fun City doesn't have many black citizens. I only saw three in the crowd, and one was performing on stage. Maybe all the black people were busy picking out cookware at Williams-Sonoma).

Who knows why the Omaha World-Herald choose to place this editorial masquerading as a news story on its front page, essentially declaring "Mission Accomplished" like Bush on the deck of a battleship. Nothing much has changed in Omaha over the past decade, unless you view urban sprawl as an accomplishment. Conor Oberst sure doesn't. With his now sadly-defunct punk band, Desaparecidos, he wrote an entire album railing against it and the consumer-driven paradise defined by the Omaha World-Herald and the Chamber of Commerce. A year later, he moved to New York City. Oberst and most of the people who withstood God's wrath Saturday consider that kind of "fun" to represent everything that's wrong with America.

Because when you take away the shopping opportunities and the overpriced concerts at the Qwest Center there ain't much "fun" stuff left to do, especially if you're a youth in this faceless city. Sure, there's the One Percent indie rock shows that draw maybe a thousand kids every weekend to the city's one all-ages venue. There's the College World Series (that strangely, the article forgot to mention). But what else? Why would any youth want to live and die in Omaha? The answer overwhelmingly is the same as it was before the consultants declared war on boredom: Omaha is "a great place to raise a family." Fine, but what's that got to do with Fun City?

It reminds me of a chat I had with a friend of mine in his 20s who recently moved into one of those high-style condos downtown. I asked him what he thought of his "hip" new place, and he looked at me disappointedly and said, "It's designed by someone in their 40s who thinks they know how someone in their 20s wants to live."

Which perfectly sums up what's wrong with Fun City. The city fathers have forgotten who or what "youth" really is. It sure ain't some guy in his 40s pulling down $80k a year. It's that guy's son and daughter, who this weekend will be driving around Dodge Street looking for something to do. And not finding it. Unless, of course the World-Herald is right and today's youth thinks "fun" means aimlessly spending money on furniture and cheesecake. If so, God help us all.

Tonight, The Fiery Furnaces with Kite Pilot down at Sokol Underground for what is sure to be a sell-out, right?. Among the promotion for this show is the Omaha World Herald "Fun City" article referenced above in which Filmstreams organizer Rachel Jacobson was quoted as saying, "There's 30,000 people who go to U2, but there's also 1,000 people excited about seeing the Fiery Furnaces at Sokol Underground." Hmm... maybe One Percent should have moved this show upstairs...

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The Fiery Furnaces' sibling rivalry; VCR, Life After Laserdisque tonight... – June 21, 2006 –

This week's feature interview with The Fiery Furnaces is now online (read it here). Female furnace Eleanor Friedberger talks about how the band creates its quirky music, the advantages of a sibling relationship, Sebadoh and softball. Among the stuff that didn't make it into the story is an explanation why their new CD, Bitter Tea, was released on Fat Possum instead of Rough Trade. "It's complicated," Eleanor said. "Rough Trade in the U.S. is released on Sanctuary Records, and they stopped putting out records in US We needed a release date and they couldn't give it to us, so we licensed the recording to Fat Possum in the US and it came out on Rough Trade in Europe." What's in store for their Omaha set? "We're going to play a lot of songs from Bitter Tea. In the past we did it medley style -- 50 minutes without stopping. Now we're back to a more traditional style and will play whole songs." And what's up next for the band? "We're going to record another record in the winter, this time with live humans. We're going to have to recruit some people. But for now, we're going to be on tour most of the rest of the summer." I mention in the story that they're the darlings of the NPR set, and as a matter of fact they just did a new interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross that aired Tuesday. You can listen to it here. It should be great show, especially when you add the fact that it'll be opening act Kite Pilot's last show with guitarist/vocalist Austin Britton.

And speaking of bands with personnel changes, tonight at O'Leaver's it's SideOneDummy Records band VCR with Omaha's own Life After Laserdisque featuring their new line-up sans lead singer. Who'll be handling the vocals now? Show up at 9:30 with five bucks and find out.

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Briefly... O'Leaver's show tonight... – June 20, 2006 –

Not much to report today, other than a couple Bonnaroo reviews that fell into my inbox here and here. There's a show at O'Leaver's tonight featuring a couple glamrock bands I've never heard of. Find out more here. Look for my interview with The Fiery Furnaces online tomorrow, and the last word on Conorfest in the Thursday column.

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Live Review: Bright Eyes' soaker in Memorial Park... – June 18, 2006 –

We made it all the way to "Lover I Don't Have to Love." Then we'd had enough. We hadn't counted on the rain. Judging by the condition of everyone else in the crowd, they hadn't either. But there's a funny thing about rain. Once you're wet, you're wet. Then you're just cold.

It started to rain before Bright Eyes started. Someone made an announcement from stage, a warning that there's a good chance that there would be lightning, and rain. But that the show would go on. Once the rain became steady, we made our way down toward the stage and hid beneath a tree along with a half-dozen other people, including some poor guy with a broken leg who had been stretched out in a lounger, a piece of plastic covering his cast.

Neva Dinova on stage

The perspective was better from down there. Up on stage in his black longsleeve hoodie thing was Conor saying something like "I'm going to play as long as you want me to or as long as they let me." And with that, he lit into a new song, or a song I didn't recognize. Within a few minutes, the rain began to subside and slowly, stop. But I knew better. I could see the storm clouds circling. I knew this was the calm before the storm.

I brought a moleskin with me and wrote down some observations after we arrived at around 6 p.m. right before Neva Dinova started their set. There was, what, maybe 3,000 people there? It just didn't look like very many. About the size of crowd that you'd see at Shakespeare on the Green on a Saturday night. The weather had been cooperating, it was nice and humid.

From where we were, toward the back of the bowl, no one was really paying attention to Jake and his band of merry men. I had no idea who all those people were -- since when is Neva Dinova an 8-piece with a violin? I did recognize, however, Roger Lewis, set up on stage right wearing a red-and-white striped hat. Neva's hippy blues seemed to fit in with the Midwestern love-in vibe… sort of. This wasn't a real hippie crowd. Hippies don't wear Puma gear or Abercrombie shirts.

Next to us was a covey of O! kids -- volunteers wearing red O! shirts that had been charged with handing out cheesy O! beach balls, supposedly for a photo shoot. "We're asking people to not blow them up and throw them around until Bright Eyes gets on stage." There was talk of some sort of choreographed moment when everyone was supposed to throw their beachball into the air, a moment that would never happen.

"I'm surprised that they allow people to put chairs so close to the stage," said O! guy. "All those emo kids are going to stampede when Bright Eyes gets up there." I nodded.

Bellows, from stage: "Do they have funnel cakes here?" He repeated the question and then someone yelled "No!" A joke... but everyone thought he was serious. Jake is funnier when he's drunk on stage. Neva finished their set with a cover of "Here Comes the Sun," ironic, considering that the storm clouds were just beginning to loom in the north.

There was about a half-hour break before Gruff Rhys came on. Some random observations:

-- Standing about 10 yards in front of us was a kid wearing a homemade T-shirt that said "Conor Oberst is my hero." Ironic? Maybe not.

-- Overhead, a helicopter flew over the crowd in circles -- chomp-chomp-chomp.

-- Hacky Sack and the geeks that play it are the most annoying people in the world. No matter where they set up their "hacky" circle, they are always in the way, and inevitably, run into someone.

-- We searched for the most "emo" kid in the crowd, and found him only a few feet in front of us -- a boy in his late teens, sitting alone wearing a brown polo shirt and blue ball cap. Emo kids aren't fashionable, they're lonely.

-- Lots of goth kids. More Goth kids than black people. We counted only two black people in the crowd, while there seemed to be an endless parade of Goth kids with their multi-zippered oversized pants, black hair, striped shirts and socks, and Lydia-from-Beetlejuice makeup. One guy looked like a Goth mime.

-- In spite of all the hype about the cops, we never noticed them after we got inside the park (the perimeter outside the park, however, looked like a pre-riot staging area). We weren't searched when we passed a couple cops on the way in, and easily could have snuck in a bottle of wine, though I assume there were "spotters" hidden somewhere (maybe in the trees?) who would have swooped down the instant we raised a bottle.

Gruff Rhys on stage. Getting more crowded...

Next up came Gruff Rhys, barely visible seated on stage with an acoustic guitar, a beat-box/Casio device next to him. He does have a great voice, kind of like the guy from Seals and Crofts. Again, from our vantage point, no one was listening, maybe because the music was being sung in Welsh and was somewhat boring, helped along occasionally by the Casio and Rhys sense of humor.

Meanwhile, all through his set, people kept arriving. By 7:30 the crowd looked to be around 5,000, but there was still plenty of room to find a spot, lay down a blanket and relax.

Let's get this out of the way. It makes no sense to compare this concert with the 311 concert from two years ago. Bright Eyes will never be as popular as 311. He'll never sell as many records, he'll never draw the kind of crowds 311 draws. 311 is a commercial pop band, heard regularly on Clear Channel radio stations, and will do whatever it takes to move units. Bright Eyes is not heard on the radio and will not compromise his art for sales or popularity. He shuns commerciality, even though there were gigantic US Cellular banners hung on either side of that stage.

What was the attendance right before Bright Eyes went on? Probably 10,000. Before the rain, from on top of the hill, there looked like fewer than 10k, and closer to 5k. Nothing like the 311 show two years ago, when you couldn't get near the bowl if you got there after it started -- in fact most of the south hillside had been filled as well (The estimate for that show had been 30,000 and that seems somewhat light).

So about 5 minutes after the rain announcement came from stage, it began to spit. Nothing horrible, sprinkles. Then slow, steady rain. That's when we folded up the lawn chairs and got up to leave. Huddled under the tree while listening to the first couple Bright Eyes songs, we thought maybe the rain would stop, after all, the sun had come out and was blazing on the crowd right where we had been sitting.

Oberst never sounded better, with a strong, professional band backing him. The crowd, now standing, was into it. Introducing one song, Oberst made a pitch for starting a mass transit system in Omaha, just like they have in NYC, "where he lives now," he said. Driving around in your car listening to music is fun, he said, but sometimes it's good to get out of your bubble and talk to someone you don't know. And it's good for mother earth, who's about to cry all over you.

Crowd from trees stage right. Miserable.

About five minutes later, the sky opened up. And it poured. Our little tree provided little shelter. Mr. Broken Leg was pulled closer beneath the branches, but he was soaked. As was the thousands who were still there listening to their savior. We moved to a bigger tree and leaned against its thick, dry trunk for warmth. But it was obvious the rain wasn't going to let up.

We made it to "Lover I Don't Have to Love," and then gave up. One observation: It's hard to walk in flip-flops when they're soaking wet. I looked up at the stage as we left and could see some of the earlier bands and VIPs, along with Conor and his friends, warm and dry under the stage tarp, watching while all the world turned into a puddle of human rain.

Though it was pouring, there was no reason to run. We were already wet, and had five blocks until we'd get home. Two little girls ran by us on the bike path, their hair stuck to their T-shirts. They were followed a moment later by their little sister, yelling, "What are you running from? What are you running from? What are you running from?..."

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Mark Burgess CANCELED; Joyner/Stevens/Bellows tonight; who in the hell is Ladyfinger (ne)?... – June 16, 2006 –

Let's get this out of the way: Mark Burgess' show at Mick's tonight has been canceled. Burgess played in Atlanta Wednesday night, but flew back to Hamburg today due to a family emergency. There's an outside chance that he'll pass through Omaha in September when he's in the country for a band-supported performance in NYC.

The cancellation will now allow me to attend the Graphic Noise Rock Poster show down at Jackson Artworks, featuring Simon Joyner, Ted Stevens and Jake Bellows -- all three for only $5. Unfortunately, galleries are lousy places to see performances. Go for the posters, dude, then afterward go see Skull Fight! (a.k.a. The Cuterthans) at O'Leaver's for another $5.

So the burning question about Saturday is: What to do after the Bright Eyes concert? (Incidentally, now there's a chance for thunderstorms Saturday afternoon. Uh-oh.). A lot of people will be strolling over to The 49r to see Ladyfinger (ne). No, the (ne) after Ladyfinger isn't a mistake -- that's the band's new name, according to the fine folks at Saddle Creek Records. You've heard this story before: Seems there's a band in California that already owns the rights to the name Ladyfinger, so our Ladyfinger (the real Ladyfinger) had to add something to the name or change it entirely. They liked the name so much, they decided to add the (ne, which I guess stands for Nebraska? Hmmm... maybe they could have just added an "s" at the end (Ladyfingers?). Anyway, Ladyfinger (ne) (something tells me that name's not going to work) and Lincoln's Ideal Cleaners are playing at The Niner Saturday after Bright Eyes, which will probably finish up at around 10.

I was going to suggest that if the Niner doesn't trip your trigger, there's always the goony-summer-goodtime rock of Dressy Bessy at O'Leaver's -- but according to the Dressy Bessy's myspace page, the show has been canceled "through no fault of our own." Meanwhile, O'Leaver's main page still shows it scheduled as does www.dressybessy.com. I suggest you contact O'Leaver's before making the trip.

Look for some reviews here over the weekend.

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Get ready for Saturday: Bright Eyes concert review round-up; The Black Angels tonight... – June 15, 2006 –

With the Bright Eyes concert around the corner, I thought I'd share a handful of reviews of his Canadian swing that's taking place as you read this. The tone of the reviews is rather subdued, though there's a couple spooge-fests along with a few hurled rocks. Sounds like Oberst and Co. played mostly mid-size venues -- 1,000 capacity or smaller. You can read the full reviews by clicking on the headline in front of each capsule.

Concert Reviews -- Straight.com Vancouver -- Malkin Bowl on Sunday, June 4 -- Maybe the best of the bunch. Inspirational quote: "Three vaguely embarrassed-looking security guards would march a teenage girl out of the venue not long after Oberst and his Bright Eyes band began—she presumably had a bomb or something—but it was an otherwise peaceful gathering of mostly young, female mall hippies. Of the men who were there, many were baffled dads, though there was also a healthy complement of clean-living young men, dressed like they wanted to be English schoolboys when they grow up." Nice.

Band emotes punk -- Goldstream News Gazette -- June 9 -- Probably the worst of the group, this one will activate the ol' gag reflex. Get ready to lean over the toilet: "For me, it struck during 'Lua,' the fourth song of the evening that he performed alone under the spotlight with his acoustic guitar. On the brink of tears, I heard a little voice deep within me whisper, 'I love you too.'" One's gorge doth rise...

Oberst's brilliance brightens concert -- Ottawa Sun -- Bronson Centre, Ottawa - June 12, 2006 -- This one starts off like it's going to be a bag full o' razors with this quote: "I can't tell you how many times Conor Oberst, the sulky singer and songwriter better known as Bright Eyes, was on the verge of storming offstage in a temper tantrum or breaking down into tears at Monday night's Bronson Centre gig." Turns out to be a yawner.

'Saviour of literate rock' fails to live up to the hype -- The Ottawa Citizen, June 14, 2006. Lynn seemed upset that Oberst's set was only 80 minutes. "But experience doesn't always guarantee charisma, and having loads of material doesn't always mean one is going to play for hours. Oberst gave a decent, 80-minute performance Monday at Bronson Centre but never seemed entirely comfortable in the spotlight. For those who were hoping for superlatives, it was a bit disappointing." Still, it winds up being fairly even keeled.

London Free Press -- Centennial Hall, London, Ont. - June 13, 2006 -- Conor talks about loving Labatt's from stage. "At one point, the Blue seemed to take its own revenge. 'I've got to relieve myself. I'll be back in 25 seconds,' Oberst said around the 50-minute mark before actually leaving the stage."

Concert Review: Bright Eyes, June 10, Winnipeg, Canada -- Blah. "Conor Oberst's vocals wouldn't have won him a spot on American Idol; with his somewhat husky, shaky style, however, he excels at conveying emotions and telling stories."

Bright Eyes surprise -- June 11 -- Hah. "Oberst's stage schtick has always trended towards preciousness -- his distinctive tremulous bleat, in particular -- and he found ample opportunity yesterday to do his willow-in-the-wind bit on the slower numbers."

Sounds like the set list will consist mostly of stuff from from Wide Awake, a new song, and no "When President Talks to God." All in all, a timid outing that will likely set well with the Memorial Park crowd but won't win him any new fans. So how many will show up? First, reread my take on what will happen, written back in April. The weather report looks pretty good, which will help, as will the fact that no Nebraska team made it into the College World Series. I still say the numbers will be far less than the 311 concert a couple years ago...

Tonight, retro stoner meets psychedelic rock band The Black Angels (check out their myspace page) are at Sokol Underground with Hopewells and Omaha's own Virgasound. $8, 9 p.m.

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Column 81 -- The Chameleon speaks; Head Like a Kite, An Iris Pattern tonight... – June 14, 2006 –

You're getting the full, unabridged version of my interview with Chameleons' frontman Mark Burgess. I wrote a condensed version for my column that will appear in the paper today, but I figured I might as well include it in its entirety at Lazy-i (Questions marked with an asterisk (*) are bonus material found only online here!). The 2003 Burgess show made that year's "best of" list and I have little doubt that Friday night's show at Mick's will make the list at the end of this year. There's additional info about the show here, and if you want more information about Burgess, check out my 2003 Burgess feature written in support of that Healing Arts show.

Column 81: Catching Up with a Chameleon
Mark Burgess returns to Omaha.

The Chameleons is one of those bands that changed peoples' lives.

No, they didn't change my life. I only discovered the influential '80s band a few years ago when I interviewed Chameleons frontman Mark Burgess for an article written in support of a solo show at the Healing Arts Center. There were a lot of people there that night, many who told me afterward that The Chameleons dreamy, floating music inspired them in some way, sort of how the band clearly inspired acts like The Psychedelic Furs, The Church, The Cure and Lincoln's own For Against. All of those bands sport the same, hollow, ghost-eyed style of gothic ambient rock.

So when it was announced that Burgess was coming through Omaha again -- this time at Mick's on June 16 -- I e-mailed him a few questions to see what he's been up to since that first show way back in '03. Here's the bulk of our little internet-based Q&A (including emoticons!). See you at Mick's Friday ($12, 9 p.m.).

What do you remember about the last time you performed in Omaha?

Quite a lot actually. The beautiful room, which was more like a kind of New Age temple than a venue, the hushed attention of the audience, which I recall was a bit unnerving 'cause I wasn't used to that level of respect at acoustic shows :) I remember strolling the streets with Stephen (Sheehan, the show's promoter) watching all the buskers that were around in glorious sunshine, one guy played the theme from 2001 on partially filled wine glasses. That was something. * And Dereck (Higgins, who accompanied on bass) of course, whom I'd never met before the sound check, how quickly he grasped the arrangements and dynamics and then later he introduced me to his amazing record collection, which included practically every record I ever grew up with. And one guy at the show who shyly made me a present of a guardian angel talisman, which I've carried around with me ever since.

* You're only doing three U.S. shows this time 'round, and once again you're including Omaha. Why?

Well, one of the reasons is to preview the up and coming live Chameleons DVD and promote that. It won't be distributed traditionally, rather it's only available via mail order directly from the band. So the manager thought it would be a good idea to preview it and make a few personal appearances. I was invited to come to Atlanta and to Omaha when Stephen heard about it; and the SF thing is a good opportunity to hang out with one of my closest friends, James Oakes of The Bellows. I'm hoping very much to bring my band out here before the end of the year and play more widely. I'm trying to drum up support for a new recording of fresh material.

* I believe when we last spoke, you were living in Hamburg. Are you still there and, if so, what keeps you there? Is it particularly conducive to the artist's lifestyle?

Yeah I'm still in Hamburg. I think it's one of the most beautiful and energetic cities in northern Europe, that's not to take anything away from other great cities, like Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen etc. But for me Hamburg has a very special ambiance, it was a love affair that began a very long time ago during the early days of The Chameleons. My wife is from there so it seemed logical to settle there. We spent some months living in Manchester, but it didn't really suit us. We both love going back to Manchester and have a lot of friends there, and family of course, but Hamburg is a bit more relaxed generally.

What is the current state of The Chameleons? When we last spoke, guitarist Reg Smithies' son had just been born, putting a damper on any upcoming reunion tours.

Yeah, and they're now expecting their second child, a girl I believe so that's pretty much that :-D We're all kind of scattered to the four winds and you know with the passing of time we've become very different people, different priorities. I think we took it as far as we could really.

Are you more interested in pursuing a career as a solo artist than keeping The Chameleons active?

Yeah, I think so. I mean I try and get involved with different types of people in terms of collaborations and I like re-exploring past musical relationships, I think with Chameleons we're too anchored in the past really from an audience's point of view. Having said that, I still enjoy playing a lot of that stuff, especially songs that we didn't play for one reason or another, like "Looking Inwardly" for example. It is very difficult, though, because Chameleons is what people are mainly interested in, it's hard to get them to put that aside and be open for other people I play alongside. Some do though, so I still have an audience :)

* Tell me about the Ascension DVD. How did you put it together. What were you trying to accomplish with it?

A film maker contacted me prior to the US reunion tour and asked if he could come to the Californian shows and film them. The understanding was that if we had something we were happy with we could come to some kind of arrangement about putting it out. It was too good an opportunity to miss, really, and I think it's the best footage of the band I've ever seen. That was the point really, to document the band at a time, which we all felt it was better than ever.

Do you keep current with what's going on with today's music? If so, what's your take on the current status of American music? To me, it's been in a rut for the past two or three years!

I think generally it has. One reason is because from the point of view of genre, it's become very, very fragmented. There hasn't been one scene that kind of unifies a ground swell of attitude or thought. I don't keep as current as I used to, I tend to rely on friends or whatever pointing interesting things out to me. Currently I'm still playing the Arcade Fire pretty much non-stop.

I think part of the reason for America's artistic malaise is its current political climate. What's your take on US foreign policy and how do you think it's impacted your life and your music? (I remember you throwing out some interesting jabs at Tony Blair during your '03 Omaha performance).

Well obviously all our lives have changed with what's been going on with US foreign policy. I understand that politically America has been forced to react to the forces that have been raging. I've lost what little faith I had that power politics will ever change the world for the better. I have contrary opinions to a great many issues that potentially may offend. I find it almost impossible to trust information that I'm given by the major media and think that in many instances, such as 9/11 for example, they fail us by failing to address very important questions. My cynicism toward Blair, though, predates all of that to a large degree. I feel that he got his party elected by betraying every ideal that the party was founded on. It was clever politics, forcing the Tories even further to the right and occupying the middle ground, but it was a betrayal in my view and it made me very sad.

What can we expect from your upcoming Omaha performance?

I honestly don't know. I never really know how it will go or exactly what I'll play. Hopefully the people who come will hear something or feel something that will stay with them for a long time. And at the very least it will be an honest performance.

* What's in the works for Mark Burgess for the rest of '06 and beyond?

Hard to say. I do hope I can take the band out and develop the new songs I've been working on. I have an autobiography coming out in December. Beyond that, I don't know. I have to think long and hard about whether I should continue as I have been doing or go into something else. I just don't know.

Tonight at O'Leaver's, Seattle shoegazer(s) Head Like a Kite headlines a show that also features Omaha's An Iris Pattern. HLaK's recent album combines trip-hop (Manchester-esque) with synth-hop (Kraftwerkian) with indie-hop (Sonic Youth-y) and is all over the board, and also pretty good. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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Rademacher tonight... – June 13, 2006 –

I was informed late last night that Eux Autres was in town at The Goofy Foot with The Family Radio and The Third Men -- an a-list show that completely slipped in under the radar. We almost have too much stuff going on these days, and I need data, people, if I'm going to help get you there! I rarely hear about Goofy Foot shows until afterward, which is a shame because it's a fun (and different) place to see a band. Tonight, Fresno California indie band Rademacher is at O'Leaver's. They sound sound like Yeah Yeah Yeahs meet, I don't know, a '60s garage band on ludes? Listen for yourself. No opener listed on the O'Leaver's site...

Tomorrow, look for an extended interview with Chameleons frontman Mark Burgess (which is the topic of this week's column).

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Live Review: The Protoculture; The Show Is the Rainbow, Neil Hamburger tonight... – June 12, 2006 –

Here's some late comments on last Friday's Protoculture show at O'Leaver's that I never got around to posting this weekend. I was pleasantly surprised (shocked?) at the turnout -- as many or possibly more on hand than the evening before for NOMO/His Name Is Alive. Certainly more than their debut gig a few months back, that was lightly attended. How many people were there to see opener Her Flyaway Manner is hard to say, though the place was packed when Protoculture got things rolling at around 11:30. Needless to say, this gig was hands down better than the first one, when they were probably nervous to be playing for the first time in years. Friday night was more relaxed, maybe too relaxed. The set started out strong, with Koly Walter and Erica Hanton in fine voice. Then came the moment of truth about halfway through the set. "This next song is called 'My New Laugh,'" announced Koly to a smattering of applause and hoots. With that, Clayton Petersen played the tinkling intro on guitar and Erica ripped into the vocals, making their way to the explosive chorus MY NEW LAUGH WILL KILL YOUR SMILE. And then right before the second verse they stopped. What happened? Someone turned to me and said "He broke a string." A moment later and they got it going again, but instead of starting over, they proceeded with the second verse. So I sort of got my wish, having wanted to hear that song performed live for years. The rest of the set took on a wonky tone. Songs started, then stopped, followed by more whooping (Erica had to tune her bass). It sort of had a band practice vibe, which wasn't all that bad. In some respects, it took the edge off and was more fun. Still, I'm waiting for that perfect Protoculture show, where all the stars align and the spirits of past New Wave/No Wave artists appear out of the smoky ether to take a seat and watch with nodding respect. That time will come.

Tonight at O'Leaver's, The Show Is the Rainbow opens for underground/outsider comedian Neil Hamburger. I've heard some of Hamburger's schtick, including his Letterman appearance. He's Kaufmanesque in his "laugh at me not with me" style of performance art -- an anti-comic whose gig is to be so bad that he's good -- i.e., the Tony Clifton of stand-up comedy. I suspect this will be packed. What will Darren Keen and The Show Is the Rainbow do to unsettle Hamburger and his audience? That's worth seeing all by itself. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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Live Review: NOMO, His Name Is Alive; The Protoculture tonight... – June 9, 2006 –

You know you've just seen a great band when you forgot to pay attention to them in a journalistic sort of way and just LISTENED to them. Such was the case last night for NOMO at O'Leaver's. Seven people on "stage" (I know I reported that they're a 10-piece -- hey, that's what Warn Defever told me) including a bari and tenor sax, two trumpets, two percussionists, a bass player and keyboards (I didn't see/hear a guitar). I don't know a thing about "afro-beat" music. I do know that I dug what I heard last night -- intricate horn charts played over intricate rhythms that pulsed with a dirty global beat. Think Fear of Music through Speaking in Tongues-era Talking Heads, then add plenty of funky brass. The guy next to me mentioned Fela Kuti, who I will now have to research further. To say it was celebratory would be an understatement -- O'Leaver's glowed. Though the horn lines were well-charted, there was plenty of room for the saxophones to stray into freeform improvs. They ended their set playing a song while parading through the bar, ending up in a chanting circle right in front of where I sat by the door. There was a sense that we were seeing and hearing something special that we never seem to see and hear around these parts, and should more often.

Three NOMOs joined Warn Defever and Andy FM for His Name Is Alive (including the tenor sax player who set his horn down to play keyboards). How do you follow that sort of organic, exuberant explosion of a performance? You showcase Defever's white-knuckle guitar work. His style that spanned everything from metal to acid rock to avant gard to drone. For obvious reasons the music didn't have as much of an hypnotic effect on the 100 or so on hand as NOMO had. Still, a great set, a diversion from the usual indie-rock schtick and something that we rarely get to see in Omaha.

Tonight, again at O'Leaver's, The Protoculture with Lincoln's Her Flyaway Manner. I've been told by Protoculture drummer/vocalist Koly Walter that the band has worked up a version of "My New Laugh," my favorite of their repertoire that they didn't perform at their comeback show last March. Again, the chorus: "My new laugh / My new laugh/ My new laugh / My new laugh / MY NEW LAUGH WILL KILL YOUR SMILE." Be there. 9:30, $5.

Also tonight, Mal Madrigal is playing at The Pizza Shoppe (which is now called PS Collective). $5, 9 p.m. Meanwhile, at The 49'r, it's The Diplomats of Solid Sound, The Bent Scepters and Springhill Mine Disaster. No idea on price. They usually get things rolling at around 10 p.m.

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Column 80 -- A peek inside the mailbag; His Name Is Alive tonight... – June 8, 2006 –

Mail Call! A bit of clarification: These letters were sent to The Reader, as opposed to all the correspondence I receive via the e-mail address posted on this site or on my webboard. Unlike The Reader, I yearn for your feedback, whether it be bouquets or roses or fistfuls of dung.

Column 80: Special Delivery
A peek inside the ol' mailbag.

Believe it or not, The Reader does get letters. They just don't print them. I have no idea why. I'm sure they have their reasons that involve "ad space" or "page count" or some inconvenience involving the phases of the moon. That said, in these days of the interweb, the fact that someone has gone to the trouble to sit down and compose a comment in response to something published in your paper deserves not only acknowledgment but proper presentation in those pages. It's called giving your readers a voice.

Readers like a local celebrity of old, responding to the May 11 column about how "vintage" music has taken over the airwaves:

… As someone maybe 10 years older than you, let me assure you that Styx, Foreigner and the 70s incarnation of Steve Miller sucked then, suck now, and will still suck 30 years from now. Boston -- not so bad.

Meanwhile, I agree completely with your premise. Let me add this for your consideration: Radio is ruining memory, sucking the sweetness out of nostalgia. In c. 1979, if I heard "Windy" by the Association, it took me back to high school, reminded me of the friends I hung out with at the pool that summer, put me in a specific place and time. And it was bittersweet because it took me directly from age 30 to age 17, skipping the intervening years in a sort of "time travel for the emotions." But now when I hear Windy, it reminds me merely of when I heard it last week. Or maybe the week before, or the week before that, or ...

Come to think of it, maybe you can't share my regret at this turn of events, since there never was a temporal gap between spins of "More Than A Feeling" and the like -- it's been played every week since its release.

Your points about the fragmentation of today's music audience are also true. Do you know that the fragmentation was deliberate, brought about by consultants, radio stations and (of course) advertisers? Anyway, one upshot is that these kids will never have the bittersweet experience of a shared nostalgic moment.

Not the most pressing problem in the world, I know. Just kind of a little sweetener that isn't available any more.

Signed: D.D. Doomey

"DD" as in Diver Dan as in half of the team of Otis XII and Diver Dan Doomey that owned local morning radio on Z-92 when I was a tot growing up in Omaha (and later, Ft. Calhoun). I won't wax nostalgic about Space Commander Wack (and Stupid Larry) or Lance Stallion Radio Detective other than to say Otis and Diver's unbridled creativity hasn't been heard on local radio since they left it sometime in the '90s, unless you consider misinformed, opinionated blather and fart jokes "creativity." Some do. Actually, most do, judging by the Arbitron numbers.

Reader Robin Tills also wrote in about radio's nostalgia boom: "I am not a musician, but I wonder since there are only so many musical notes to write from, and a lot of great songs have already been written and sung from groups like Journey, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Boston, John Cougar, Cheap Trick, Survivor, and on and on, it's gotta be hard to come up with something new. … I don't know if today's musicians really make an honest commitment to create great music…"

The problem isn't that today's music isn't as good, the problem is that the good music isn't getting heard. Tooling 'round town the other day with my iPod, Low's "California," Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins' "Rise Up with Fists!!" and Sufjan Stevens' "Jacksonville" came up on the shuffle back-to-back-to-back and I thought to myself all of these songs could be hits as big as any hit from the '70s or '80s if they only got picked up by Clear Channel or whatever music conglomerate owns the radio waves, because, folks, we certainly don't own them anymore. Judging from D.D.'s comments, maybe we never did.

Omahan Ed Perini commented on the May 25 column about wearing hearing protection at rock shows: "…I agree that the myth that wearing earplugs 'ruins the experience' is ridiculous. In fact, I have found that wearing them cuts out a lot of the distortion, and eliminates some of the background noise - like, say, people who insist on talking loudly while a band is playing."

They also protect from people who insist on talking -- or rather screaming -- at you during the set. Conversations like: "WANT ANOTHER BEER?" "WHAT?" "I SAID DO. YOU. WANT. ANOTHER. BEER?" "WHAT?"… Full throttle, directly into the ol' ear canal. Much more damaging than that guitar solo you just missed. And completely unintelligible unless you're wearing ear plugs. Just sayin', do yourself a favor.

Keep those cards and letters coming, folks.

One last reminder: Tonight at O'Leaver's, His Name Is Alive and NOMO. $7, 9:30 p.m. It should be nothing less than spectacular.

<Got comments? Post 'em here.>

Featured artist: His Name Is Alive... – June 7, 2006 –

This week's feature/interview with His Name Is Alive is up (read it here). Warn Defever talks about how he copes playing in stinkholes (like O'Leaver's), his 4AD experience, his style, and NOMO, an afro-beat band whose recordings he's produced and who is touring with His Name Is Alive. Here's the story's lead:

"Sometimes you just wake up and say, 'What are we doing playing in a sports bar?'"

It's a good question coming from a band that has played in such regal locations as a 500-year-old Buddhist temple in Osaka, a 19th century synagogue on the lower east side of New York City and countless historic venues throughout the United States, Europe and the world.

One can only wonder what Warn Defever, the mastermind behind His Name Is Alive, will think of the beer-stenched confines of O'Leaver's Pub. Weeks into the band's first headlining U.S. tour in 10 years, he's already devised his own, personal ritual for exorcising demons from less-than-hallowed performance spaces.

"Some bars have a vibe that comes from people drinking there for years. Just the smell of the place, it's not the most spiritual of environments," Defever said via cell on the road somewhere between San Francisco and Seattle. "We used to play a song at the beginning of our set to cleanse the room of evil spirits and get everyone on the right page. Then last night I realized -- where did those bad spirits go? They went to the next bar down the street." (continued)

As I said Monday, this could wind up being one of the best shows of the year, depending on the vibe at O'Leaver's tomorrow night. Will anyone show up? Most people around here never heard of His Name Is Alive except for avid vans of the band and followers of 4AD, a label whose heyday was in the mid-'90s, sporting a roster that included Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil, Red House Painters, Pixies, Throwing Muses, Cocteau Twins, Air Miami, Lush, and on and on. Defever said his band puts on an interactive show. He's not kidding when he says show up wearing a costume. "We involve people," he said. "We pass stuff into the audience, we hand out awards. It's a very collaborative process. Last night in San Francisco one lady gave Andy her costume and she's been wearing it all day. She's a devil." Then there's NOMO, the 10-piece ensemble which by itself will overwhelm O'Leaver's tight confines. You can check out a couple of their songs on their website (they apparently don't have a myspace account). A few members of NOMO will join Defever and vocalist Andy FM to make up His Name Is Alive. It's the most fun you'll ever have for $7.

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A late update on a Tuesday... – June 6, 2006 –

I'm told that The Cardinal Sin didn't make it to O'Leaver's last night. Something about one of the guys in the band "throwing out his back," according to the show's promoter. Just how old are these guys that they're already suffering from back problems? Apparently Jaeger Fight made it, so the night was salvaged. I didn't go. Nor will I be attending tonight's festivities at O'Leaver's: A Utah band with the unfortunate name of TaughtMe, along with Justin Lamoureaux's Midwest Dilemma and the always interesting Kyle Harvey. $4, 9 p.m. There are more details about this show here on the webboard.

One other item: This Bright Eyes article is making the rounds up in the Great White North where boy wonder will be playing a string of shows leading to his Memorial Park gig a week from Friday. His Dylan comparisons = lazy journalism comment is old hat. He's right about Canadians being more laid back -- they clearly are, in my experience. Smarter and kinder as well. Based on this piece, I assume that he'll also pass on playing "When the President Talks to God" when he makes it back. Quote of the article: "I don't see the record being as homogenized as the last two were." Homogenized? So does that mean he's going back to low-fi? Not likely.

Look for the His Name Is Alive piece bright and early tomorrow morning.

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Jaeger Fight tonight, a week of hot O'Leaver's action!! – June 5, 2006 –

I went to a total of no shows last weekend (If anyone wants to chime in on the Tilly show, please do so right here). That'll all change this week. In fact, having not stepped foot in O'Leaver's in a while, it looks like I could be spending a lot of time there in the next few days, perhaps starting tonight with Jaeger Fight (featuring The Reader's managing editor Andy Norman on bass) and Minneapolis' The Cardinal Sin.

I'm going to stupidly give you an early head's up about Thursday's His Name Is Alive/NOMO show. Stupid, because it could well be one of the best shows of the year, and me telling you this will only make it more unbearably packed in tiny O'Leaver's. NOMO is a 10-piece afro-beat band that is, in a word, amazing. The new His Name Is Alive CD, Detrola, is on heavy rotation on my iPod as I type this. This one would have been nice to see at Sokol Underground. Look for a feature/interview with HNIA's Warn Defever online here Wednesday.

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Tilly and the Wall, Charlie Burton tonight; Anonymous American tomorrow... – June 2, 2006 –

Tonight at Sokol Underground, Tilly and the Wall with Dave Dondero. The $5 show is SOLD OUT. Tilly keyboardist Nick White said their staging might have a "tropical theme" complete with flower leis. Fun! Speaking of Tilly, did anyone see this item in yesterday's Des Moines Register about the band's upcoming marriage? I didn't even know Jamie and Derek were dating. When is Of Montreal just going to throw up their hands and move to Omaha? Seems like they play here or in Lincoln about six months.

Also tonight, the return of Charlie Burton to the Omaha stage at Mick's. The show is supposed to be a "CD release party," except that I'm told there won't be any CDs on hand to release. Maybe FedEx will come through in time. Take a trip down memory lane and read this 1998 interview I did with Charlie when he was still living in Austin. $5, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night is Anonymous American with Scott Severin and Virgasound at Sokol Underground. $7, 9 p.m. And that's it for the weekend, folks. Get out and enjoy the weather.

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Column 79 -- Omaha, where the music is easy... – June 1, 2006 –

You have to admit, seeing live music really is a bargain in this town. We do have it good here. And it's not only pricing, it's the variety of shows, the sheer number of shows throughout the year. A few years ago, I was contemplating moving to Austin, figuring the weather was nicer and they had a better music scene. After a few extended vacations there, I changed my mind. It was too expensive. It would cost me three times as much to buy a house there like the one I have now. The bars on 6th St. were always overcrowded. And other than Emo's and one or two other places, the music was mostly alligator blues or C&W... icch! I quickly realized that a lot of the bands that I liked that played in Austin eventually made it to Omaha, anyway. There were exceptions, though (there are always exceptions). A few bands that I've always wanted to see perform live -- Silkworm, Yo La Tengo, Lloyd Cole, Morrissey, to name a few -- just don't make sense to local promoters when you consider the Cost/Draw Ratio -- that's the cost it would take to get the band to play here vs. the band's drawing power in this city. For example, Silkworm, though hugely popular in Chicago and on the East Coast, would never draw enough people here to even come close to breaking even (that's probably not a good example as Silkworm are no longer playing live after the tragic death of their drummer, Michael Dahlquist, in 2005). Anyway, I guess that's what road trips are for. The message: get out and see see some live shows. It's cheap, it's easy, and when you show up and buy a CD or T-shirt, you're helping a band that you love do what they love to do. It's a better use of your money than dropping $20 to see The Da Vinci Code... Take advantage of what you've got here... before it's gone.

Column 79: Flyover Country
Will cheapskates kill our scene?

I was chatting with a friend of mine the other day about a show at one of our many fine establishments taking place that very evening. Never mind which show or where it was -- doesn't matter. What does matter is that this person loved the band and had for years. You going tonight? "No," he said, "I like the band and all, but sheesh, $12? That's way too much."

Twelve dollars too much to see a band that this guy goes on and on about all the time? It's the cost of a movie and a fizzy drink at your local Cineplex, about a third of what it costs to fill up your car and the amount you wouldn't think twice about paying for a good CD. Twelve dollars -- the price to see not one, but three bands, including a touring national act whose videos have aired on MTV, perform live for your enjoyment for one night only.

Well, let me let you in on a little secret, folks: Quality national bands are starting to pass Omaha by. That's nothing new, but in the past year or so, it's started to become more and more commonplace… again. Why? Because Omaha is known as a cheap-ass town when it comes to ticket prices, at least as far as mid-tier indie acts are concerned.

We've had it good here for so long that we've forgotten what it was like before Omaha became ground zero for the burgeoning national indie scene a few years ago. There now is an entire generation of concertgoers who don't know what it's like to have to drive to Lawrence or Denver or Minneapolis to see their favorite indie bands. Whether it was because of Saddle Creek Records or the tenacity of the two or three local promoters who keep the circus in town, Omaha became a destination spot for indie rock tours -- no longer a gas-and-go drive-through city.

Well, things have changed. Bands that made Omaha a tour stop over the past few years aren't so eager to make the stop again. Why should they when the night before they sold out a venue twice the size of Sokol for a ticket that cost twice as much? Suddenly taking a day off instead of playing here is looking a whole lot better.

I talked about the issue with a number of promoters last week. Some say I'm full of poo-poo. That Omaha ain't New York or LA and that prices should be lower here. But others say it is a problem, and gave specifics. No one wanted to be quoted for fear of making their patrons sound like cheap-jack hustlers.

Regardless, look at the facts: When Gomez, one of the more popular indie bands with a broad age demographic, played here last month, they did it for the lowest ticket price of their entire tour -- $15. Most of their gigs were in the $20 range, and their show at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium was $25… and sold out. The Omaha show only drew around 300. Wonder if they'll stop by here again.

It's not entirely our fault that we've become spoiled. Take the Saddle Creek/Team Love bands, for instance. The Faint and Bright Eyes charge twice as much for shows in other cities than they do here. Friday's Tilly and the Wall show is only $5. Tilly's charging $12 the following night in Des Moines. These bands play on the cheap because they feel indebted to the town that gave them their start. Nothing wrong with that, except that we've come to expect it, while the rest of the country is paying the going rate.

Is it just an indie thing? Sounds like it, when dinosaur acts at the Qwest Center sell out $100+ shows in less than an hour, and craphole (or kraphole) bands like Kottonmouth Kings have no problem drawing their usual head-banging crowd at $34 a pop. Suddenly $12 to $15 doesn't sound so bad, does it?

But apparently it is. Omaha's sweet spot when it comes to indie shows has always been $8 to $10. Once you get in the teens, it becomes a crap shoot for the promoters. Yet most mid-tier indie bands are now demanding at least that much to make it worth their time. The ones that do play here leave angry because they've made half as much as they did the night before, at a show that sold out.

It comes down to this: Ticket prices are going up eventually. Say bye-bye to the under-$10 show except for nights that feature "experimental," up-and-coming local or unknown acts. The $12 to $15 (and $20 to $25) ticket looms large on the horizon. And if you want to keep your favorite indie bands coming here, you better show up and lay it out. If you pay it, they will come. If you don't…

Tell me about being on Team Love. Did Conor have to sign off on the record before it was released?

We really wanted him more involved in the whole recording and production part of it. He didn't get a chance to hear it until it was mostly finished. We sent him 12 songs that we recorded and started thinking about track order. That was a collaboration between Nate and Conor, and then we sat down as a band and discussed it. That was most of what he did. It would have liked him to have had a bigger role.

So how has it been being on Team love?

We couldn't be happier. We have so much freedom to do what we want. We've been so lucky with him just starting a label. The press release will say that this is the second Tilly album on Conor Oberst's label. It's nice to be aligned with him. A lot of his bands really trust in his vision.

What was it like working with AJ Mogis in the studio?

He's great. He's good at micing stuff to make it sound really interesting and clean. He finds the exact sound you want. And he has a thing where he won't tell you which take is best, but will do more takes if you're willing. It was on our heads to decide if we needed another. It's obviously has better sound quality than the debut because we did this one in a studio.

I heard you moved to LA, true?

I moved out in January but haven't been there very much. I've been back a week before we left to tour Europe and play South by Southwest.

Why the move?

I have a couple friends there. I love the weather. LA's got a bad rep. I wanted something … maybe just bigger and a little dirtier than Omaha. I love Omaha for sure. I've been here four and a half years. I'm from Atlanta. It's funny to say this, but there's so much stuff to walk to from my house -- there's a grocery store right across the street. I only drive on the freeway when people out of town come in and visit.

How do you get pumped up before shows?

It's always so much fun just to perform. We feed off the audience energy. The five of us in a row on stage, it's like a team vibe. It's important to us that people have a good time at our shows.

Column 78: Don't be a Tough Guy
What you don't hear can hurt you

There are a few things that can make you feel like "an old guy" at a rock show. I won't get into the gloomy specifics involving people looking young enough to be your children or bartenders not even looking for the fluorescent wrist-band -- everyone knows you're old enough to drink, pops.

Earplugs are another one. I've been wearing them to rock shows starting back in '93 when I road-tripped with Lincoln band Mercy Rule to a show at Harry Mary's in Des Moines. Before their set, bassist/frontwoman Heidi Ore strolled through the crowd of angry punks with a prescription vial in hand.

She wasn't passing out drugs, she was handing out earplugs. She ambled up to one big guy with his arms crossed and made an offering. He just nodded his head. He didn't need them. The pixie-ish, bespeckled, five-foot-nothing dynamo responded flatly, "Don't be a tough guy, just take them." He did. So did I. And she was right, we needed them. Few bands play as loudly as Mercy Rule did, thanks to Jon Taylor's roaring guitar.

That was the first time I wore earplugs at a show. I've been wearing them ever since -- little yellow pieces of foam tied together by a handy blue cord, the kind railroad workers wear in the field and in the shops. I've had a case of them in my cupboard all these years and always keep extra pairs in my car in case I forget to take them with me. Dr. Britt Thedinger, an otologist at Ear Specialists of Omaha, says the practice may well have saved my hearing.

I know, I know, you've read a gazillion stories about the dangers of loud rock music. I don't blame you if you stop reading. And to be honest, I didn't seek out Thedinger to do a story on earplugs. It was my iPod that motivated me, along with the dozens or recent stories about how prolonged listening to iPods could cause hearing damage. Could I have wasted all those years wearing earplugs only to be butchering my hearing with my iPod while cycling the Keystone Trail?

I dropped by Thedinger's midtown clinic last Saturday morning. What I heard surprised me. I expected gloom and doom. In fact, things aren't that bad.

Turns out the iPod scare is mostly hype. "I don't think there's a huge iPod crisis of people losing their hearing right and left," he said. Still, too much of anything can't be a good thing. Thedinger said a sign that you're listening to your iPod too loudly is if the person next to you can clearly make out what you're listening to. That's pretty freaking loud. But what about my trusty Etymotic in-ear isolator earphones? "If they're turned up so loud that they hurt your ears, you're damaging your hearing," he said.

Pretty simple advice. Okay, so while I'm here, what about those standard yellow, foam earplugs that cost about 50 cents at the Quik Pick? Are they doing the trick? Thedinger said they block about 29 dBs, more than adequate to protect me at a typical rock show, which he says can get as loud as 115 dBs. Wadded up toilet paper, by the way, blocks only 3 to 5 dBs -- in other words, it doesn't work.

But even if I didn't wear earplugs at every show, Thedinger said I'd probably be okay. Hearing damage occurs from prolonged high-decibel noise exposure. "At that level, it has to be continuous," Thedinger said. "The quiet few minutes between songs is usually enough to recover."

It also depends on the room's acoustics and where you stand, like right in front of speakers that can blow out up to 125 dBs. Even a short exposure at that level can erode your ability to hear frequencies between 2,000 to 8,000 hz -- the range where human speech makes lispy syllables, like "sh," "th," p's, and f's.

Which brings us to tinnitus -- the ringing in your ears that everyone's experienced after a night at The Qwest Center. Turns out that ringing is always there. We just don't notice it until our hearing has been damaged -- then it's all we hear.

"When I was doing my residency in a Boston emergency room, we'd have patients come in after a concert at The Garden saying, 'My ears are ringing and it's driving me nuts.' The membranes had swollen in their ears resulting in decreased hearing capability, so they could hear the tinnitus. After a few days the swelling went down, their hearing improved and the tinnitus went away."

Unless, of course, they sheered off the nerves, permanently damaging their hearing.

You might recover just fine after a few loud concerts without earplugs, but night after night of unprotected hearing will sneak up on you. "It's an insidious process," Thedinger said. "People don't realize the damage they've done until it's too late. And once you've lost it, it's gone."

It still amazes me every time I look around at rock shows and notice that I'm the only one wearing earplugs. The excuse that they "ruin the experience" is lame. They allow me to actually focus more on the bands and worry less about damage -- even if they may make me look like an old wuss in the eyes of guys too tough to wear them.

"You can be as tough as you want," the good doctor said, "but it's a real pain in the ass being hearing impaired."

Column 77 -- The Last Double Standard
Are women vocalists judged differently then men?

I credit Omaha's hardest working bassist and walking rock music encyclopedia Mike Tulis (The Monroes, Simon Joyner and the Wind-up Birds, The Third Men) for this installment's theme. It was his wisdom that inspired it.

Here's what happened: We were standing side-by-side in the back of O'Leaver's listening to a rock band -- Tulis in one of his stylish hats drinking an old-school tallboy. Classic.

On came the next band, which happened to feature a female vocalist. About halfway through the first verse, I noticed a slight shift in her voice. In the height of passion, she pushed it a bit too far in one direction, causing it to careen slightly off key. I turned to Tulis and yelled (because people don't talk at rock shows -- they scream at each other) "What do you think of her voice?"

Tulis just looked at me with his flat, knowing Tulis stare -- dead eyes behind his glasses. "I'm not going there," he yelled. "It's one of the last remaining double-standards in rock -- if a guy sings off-key, everyone thinks he rocks, but if a woman's voice is less than perfect, she sucks."

And like rays of light breaking through afternoon clouds, Tulis' words opened my mind. Think of all the lousy male singers you've seen on stage -- cocky, lazy, strutting around with their swooped haircuts and ironic retro clothing -- whose voices carelessly fell off pitch, twisting back and forth like a drunken businessman headed back to work after a three-martini lunch. You cringe with every off-kilter note, but ask the crowd what they thought after the set and you'll hear things like "Genius!" or "Man, he rocked!"

But if it's a woman, and her voice wavers oh-so-slightly, the result is rolled eyeballs. "Man, did you hear that? Where'd she learn to sing?" You've done it. Admit it.

So are women performers aware of this double-standard? I asked around, starting with Sarah Benck, perhaps our scene's most well-known female vocalist. Benck, whose forte is cranking out soulful, strutting Bonnie Raitt-style R&B, has a confident voice that never wavers. Though she says she's never had to deal with any "discrimination," she knows she's being judged on stage. "Springsteen, Jagger, those guys are on the top in the industry. They don't have fantastic voices. It's all about rocking out," Benck said. "I can only think of one female vocalist, Patti Smith, whose voice is an acquired taste. From the get go, it wasn't about what she looked like and sounded like, it was always about what she had to say. Her imperfection was part of her expression."

But Patti was the only example that Benck could come up with of a successful woman vocalist with less than stellar chops. The only one that I could think of was Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. Her voice -- not pretty, and come to think of it, neither is she. The vocal double-standard is a social model, Benck said, that carries over from how people judge appearance. Erica Hanton, who sings in both Kite Pilot and The Protoculture, said the double-standard comes from an industry that markets women differently than men.

"You know, how, supposedly, 'ugly' men are considered distinctive or unique," Hanton said. "You don't see many women who are outside the 'standard beauty' who get that kind of treatment. So if a woman's voice is not a standard, nice-on-the-ears pretty, familiar-sounding voice, it's not acceptable. Imperfection in a guy's vocals gives it character. Imperfection in a female's vocals makes people uncomfortable."

Society, Hanton added, is all about correcting female imperfections.

But what about the woman who was singing the night of Tulis' epiphany? The vocalist was Megan Morgan of Landing on the Moon, a local indie rock band that throws a wrench into their sound with salty, John Steinman-esque rock ballads. Morgan knows a thing or two about singing -- she's the choral director at Bryan Middle School. She says if she's off-key during her set it's because she's lost in the moment. It's never intentional. That's not the case with a lot of stylish male vocalists she's heard warble over the years.

"I don't like it when guys try to sing like that," she said about their forced nonchalant approach. "Some guys sound that way on purpose. It's supposed to be artistic. They're supposed to be filled with so much emotion and angst. It sounds fake to me."

It's always been forgivable for guys to sing sloppy, Morgan said. Not so for women. "Women aren't supposed to have that I-don't-care attitude," she said. "When a woman is on stage, people pay attention. I always try to make it sound as pleasing as possible. But when you're into it, you become part of the music. Where it goes is where it takes you. Hopefully the audience is coming along with you."

What's my point? Don't judge the voice; listen to what the voice is trying to convey in all its blemished honesty. It took Tulis to shake me from my daze and really listen to what Megan was singing instead of mentally comparing her to whatever ignorant stereotype society has dictated that a woman vocalist should be. Once I was really paying attention, it changed everything -- about her band, about her performance. I heard a woman belting it out on stage, holding nothing back, lost in her music and lyrics. And just like that, I got lost, too.

Column 76: Everything Old is Old Again
Retro rock is more than a feeling…

Have you listened to the radio lately?

It's changed, sort of. Actually, it hasn't changed. And maybe that's the problem. Or maybe it isn't a problem at all.

Look. I was buzzing through the dial the other day, CD-less and i-Podless in my little car, trying to find something/anything to listen to. Something new. Something exciting. Something that could CHANGE MY LIFE.

Here's what I found: On one station Joe Walsh was singing about being an ordinary, average guy. On another station, Dennis DeYoung was boasting about being a blue collar man. On yet another station, Bono was crooning about the assassination of MLK. And on a fourth, Steve Miller was flying like an eagle -- by now, an arthritic eagle with a growing prostate problem.

Radio has grown up, but at the same time, it never grew old. Not in a conventional sense. I turn on the radio now and I can still hear the same songs I heard in the basement of our family's house on Hartman Ave., down in my big brothers' bedrooms where the only stations played on our vintage Panasonic stereo were of the FM variety -- Z-92, Rock 100 and KQ98. The hot song: "More Than a Feeling" by Boston. Brad Delp warbling incomprehensible lyrics above a wall of Tom Scholz' studio-spawned, multi-layered guitar. It was 1976 and the only thing cooler than that song was the album cover that contained it.

Thirty freakin' years later and you can still hear "More Than a Feeling" today -- right now -- somewhere on the FM dial.

I've heard it called "retro programming." The experts say these radio stations -- these electronic museums of an arena-rock past -- are laser-targeting women in their 30s and 40s, the golden geese of leisure-suited radio admen because everyone knows 30-ish women are the leaders of this disposable-income-powered America. I have been told this by people "in the know." But I don't believe it. The appeal of retro programming goes beyond a specific demographic.

Seems like the only Omaha station playing new rock music these days is 89.7 The River, but even then, the programming is dominated by monster-voiced power-metal goon-rock bands that couldn't find a melody if it snuck up and bit them on their powerchord. Yes, there are a couple hip-hop stations out there, too, along with car-sick inducing C&W stations. But where can I hear the new rock songs that will define the '00 generation?

You have to remember, the first time I heard Styx, Foreigner and The Steve Miller Band, they were brand new! Z-92 was a new music station that prided itself on playing the hottest new arena rock music. They certainly didn't play songs that were 30 years old. Not once did Otis 12 and Diver Dan throw on a Nat King Cole or Dinah Shore platter from 1946. Yet, 30-year-old music is now a staple on the Z, along with a half-dozen other local radio stations, and kids can't get enough of it.

Again, where are the new rock "classics" that radio, in whatever form it takes, will be playing on retro stations in 2036? What songs from today will be used in hovercar commercials the way Led Zeppelin and Bob Seger are used to hock Cadillacs and Chevy trucks now? When was the last time you heard an "important" new rock song on commercial radio, one that will still be played in rotation 30 years from now?

Come on. Think.

The fact is, as fuddy-duddy as it sounds, they just don't write music like that anymore. And they probably never will. Your youth may be defined by the latest angst-rock song by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or indie ballad by Death Cab for Cutie, but the memory landmark stops with you and the handful of friends you hang out with at the mall. An entire generation will not be defined by The Arcade Fire, Flaming Lips and Belle and Sebastian the way arena-rock bands like Heart, Van Halen and ZZ Top so perfectly represent teen life for an entire nation in the '70s, the way Jimi, Joni, Janis and The Beatles did a decade before that.

Even the music that defined my college years -- The Smiths, Husker Du, The Cure, Depeche Mode -- as good as it was, when was the last time you heard "How Soon is Now" on the radio?

But why even mention indie music? American Idol is what this country listens to. Along with hip-hop -- the new rock music. That means that this generation will be defined by Eminem, Ghostface Killah, T.I. and Kelly Clarkson. Do you really believe that? I don't, either.

I've got a strange, sick feeling that 30 years from now, as we're boarding the afternoon space shuttle, as we're flying in our saucer cars or waiting in line to buy another week's worth of food cubes, we'll still be hearing "More than a Feeling" on the Z.

Where did Gomez go?

People who followed the band after their '98 breakthrough debut, the Mercury Prize winning Bring It On, just assumed that its success was the launching pad for the British band's rise on the American pop charts. More than once the phrases "on the heels of Oasis" and "the new Beatles" were seen printed in national music rags.

On top of that, the band's cover of The Beatles' "Getting Better" became a pseudo-hit when it was used in a Phillips light bulb TV commercial. Some thought it was better than the original, thanks to Tom Gray's and Ben Ottwell's gravelly delivery.

The band followed Bring It On with Liquid Sky in '99 and In Our Gun in '02, both released on tiny Hut Records, a subsidiary of Virgin. But with every subsequent release, Gomez failed to recapture the hype that surrounded their debut, even though the music was just as clever and catchy. By the time Split the Difference was released in '04, Hut Records had disintegrated, making it their last release involving Virgin.

"From a recognition standpoint, it's been an interesting ride," said Gomez bassist/guitarist Paul Blackburn via cell phone after just arriving in New Orleans, where the band was scheduled to perform as part of the city's famous Jazz and Heritage Festival that evening. "We started out and got some acclaim with our first album, and after that, we kind of got whacked a bit."

Column 75: Success Hasn't Spoiled Them Yet
Kite Pilot defines it on their own terms.

It was all the way back in August of '05 when the first copies of Kite Pilot's new full-length, Mercy Will Close Its Doors, began surfacing 'round town.

Fifty hand-crafted CDR copies of the disc were distributed to press (including yours truly), record labels and friends of the band with hopes of generating some national indie label interest.

Eight months later and Kite Pilot is releasing Mercy… themselves. Some might consider that a failure, but not for a band who defines success on their own terms.

"We did get a label offer," said Austin Britton, who was joined last Saturday by fellow band members Erica Hanton and husband, Todd Hanton, in the couple's mid-town living room. Missing was drummer Jeremy Stanosheck, while new guitarist Nate Mickish (ex-Golden Age) showed up later.

No one was willing to say who the label was, only that differences -- artistic, business, personal and otherwise -- kept them from signing on the dotted line.

"The label just didn't seem to support what we wanted," Todd said. "There was a lot of talk about them being 'a big family' and allowing us to put out what we wanted, but their track record didn't support that. We wanted artistic control, and that's something you don't get anymore."

"There's this 'friendship model' out there now, where the labels want to be friends with you first," Britton said. "We're more interested in having them support the art first. They want to be bro's. That can come later, after the record is out."

Sound brutal? Britton and Hanton said it ain't personal, they just want the art to prevail. In fact, they want it the way it was in the '60s and '70s, back when major labels nurtured bands. "They signed you with the goal of helping develop your sound," Britton said. "Major labels were household names. You knew what a Motown artist was. Nobody knows or cares what label Britney Spears is on."

That said, the band also admitted that they weren't willing to make the personal sacrifices demanded by labels -- specifically, to tour extensively on a low budget.

"None of us are willing to quit our jobs to go on tour," Britton said. "In Kite Pilot, the band is subservient to the individuals; the individuals aren't subservient to the band. We won't sacrifice life and limb, and we don't want music to be our sole livelihood."

Uh, hold on a minute. The Hantons disagreed, saying they would be willing to make music a full-time career, but "we still want to live comfortably," Erica said. "We don't want to be obsessive about it."

That would take all the fun out of it, Todd said. And fun is what it all comes down to for this band, both in the studio and on stage where night-to-night, anything goes.

Kite Pilot defined their fun-loving style back in 2004 with a self-released debut EP that is a pop masterpiece. It effortlessly combines bouncing indie-pop with complex multi-instrument arrangements that lean on Todd Hanton and Britton's jazz backgrounds along with Erica's history as part of the classic post-punk band The Protoculture. Songs like the trumpet-fueled "Tree Caught the Kite" and dance anthem "On My Lips" can be heard nightly on O'Leaver's jukebox.

Things get more complicated on Mercy Will Close Its Doors. While the pop is still there, the arrangements are more complex and challenging -- which is a fancy way of saying the band wasn't afraid to take risks. For example, during one of Todd's airy trumpet solos on "Tiny Portraits (Of Miniature People)," Britton abruptly screams as if in agony. It's even more startling when heard performed live.

"There's no 'Kite Pilot sound,'" Britton said. "It's whatever the song needs, whether it's classical or jazz elements, or screaming. I listen to a lot of hardcore music. Screaming has a place as a musical tool."

"The first time he did it, we were shocked," Todd said. "There's a lot of personal experimentation going on."

Especially during their live set. Kite Pilot has garnered a reputation as one of those bands where, on any given night, you never know what you're in for. The results can be transcendent or downright disorienting.

"We let the songs do what they want to do live," Britton said. "If something's lacking, we'll change the part and do some improvisation."

The bottom line: They do whatever they want. Which is also how they define their success. Certainly not based on a record contract.

"I've known bands that live or die because of a record deal," Britton said. "They decide they don't need to do it anymore because they can't get signed."

"So many bands get hooked on the industry's definition of success." Hanton added. "If they don't fit that model, they've failed. No one ever said, 'You guys are successful because you didn't destroy yourselves doing what you love.'"

Kite Pilot hosts a CD release show with Eagle*Seagull and Spring Gun, Saturday, May 6, at Sokol Underground, 13th & Martha. Showtime is 9 p.m. Admission is $7.

A friend of mine has a band that he vehemently denies is alt country even though their twang is undeniable. I bet Spanish for 100 holds that same denial. Though their rhythms are straightforward, mid-tempo fare, the vocals are Wilco-esque and the guitar roar is only missing a pedal steel. In fact, the guitar work here is the most riveting part of the recording. On any given song, the guitar counters the vocals in a preordained sloppy approach, just banging into whatever feels right, off the beat or just behind it. There are a couple songs where the guitars seem to wander off in their own strange angles, pulled (eventually) back into the fold by the rhythm section. The final result is that Spanish has a tightfisted jam band essence about it, especially on "See Now (Live at the Crocodile)" that pulls together all the elements into a crowd-pleasing roar. Go ahead and clap. Produced by the Phil Ek. Rating: Yes.

Column 74: Getting Omaha'd
Don't let it happen to you…

Here's something that was left out of my feature on Pretty Girls Makes Graves: Our protagonist, drummer Nick DeWitt, pointed out the following when asked if he'd ever been through Omaha before.

"Oh yeah, we've been to Omaha," he said. "It was at our first show that we played there that we coined a term called 'getting Omaha'd.' We played with The Blood Brothers, who insisted on playing before us. They have a way of whipping fans into a frenzy. It's not much fun following them, and we always made sure that didn't happen. But that night they insisted that we play last because we were 'the headliners.' So the place was full. Then The Blood Brothers played. Then everyone left, and we played to an empty room."

Translation: They got Omaha'd.

Whether the phrase is catching on (and there's little evidence that it is), the circumstances it represents are becoming more and more common, especially 'round these parts. Playing last on an evening's bill often means playing after the band that brought in most of the crowd, and who will likely take that crowd with them when they're done -- to The Brothers for last call.

Marc Leibowitz, half of the dynamic promoting duo known as One Percent Productions along with Jim Johnson, said "getting Omaha'd" isn't just an Omaha thing. It happens everywhere, mostly to unknown bands that are out on their first tours, like Pretty Girls were when they first blew through town all those years ago. Getting Omaha'd is a rite of passage, a necessary evil that bands must suffer if they ever want to make it to the next level.

Leibs said it rarely happens to bands that target a younger, pre-21 audience -- probably because those kids don't have a bar to go to after their friends' band finishes their set. Or because they haven't become jaded scenesters who only go to shows to be seen, to drink, to make contact, to move on.

No band wants to "get Omaha'd." In fact, bands are now getting wary of playing anywhere but the "sweet spot" of a show -- the middle of a three-band bill. Opening spot? Not so good, even though most local shows don't get rolling until well after 9 p.m. Most people are unwilling or unable to tear themselves away from whatever they had going on earlier in the evening, whether it's dinner and a movie or their precious "stories" on the glass teat. Playing second is optimum -- you get the stragglers, along with those who skate in only to see the headliner, unless of course the headliner was smart enough to take the second spot for themselves, which is becoming more common these days. A show's band order has become so controversial that at one recent show, a local band refused to play unless they were guaranteed not to play last.

They didn't want to get Omaha'd… like Des Moines' The Autumn Project did last Saturday night.

The instrumental trio had the last spot on a show that included local bands Noah's Ark was a Spaceship, and Father, a deafening, dread-fueled art-noise project that features among its players Clark Baechle and Dapose from The Faint. Sure enough, the crowd kept rolling in throughout the Noah's Ark set, and peaked right before Father turned off all the lights, turned on a big-screen projector and let loose with 20 minutes of bludgeoning noise that made me feel slightly nauseous afterward (as I'm sure was the intent).

When the lights came up after Father's disturbing set, everyone headed to the door. The crowd of more than 100 dwindled to around 20 -- mostly the bands that played sets earlier in the evening. It was a shame, too, because The Autumn Project was pretty damn good. But what are they gonna do? They got Omaha'd.

I'm trying to figure out other ways to use the phrase in everyday life, outside of the music scene. For example, you show up late to a party, just as everyone is leaving, and have to help empty ash trays and pick up dead beer bottles.

You got Omaha'd.

Or, you arrive late to help someone move to a new house, after the rest of the crew has gone home, leaving you to lift the washer and dryer out of the basement by yourself.

You got Omaha'd.

It means more than just showing up late, it means being left holding the bag. That was also the case for Pretty Girls Make Graves. After they played to a room full of crickets, they were told by the show's promoter (and no, it wasn't One Percent Productions) that there was no money to pay them.

"The promoter tried to screw us," DeWitt said. "We had to take the guy to an ATM to get our money. So for us, getting Omaha'd meant everyone leaving and getting ripped off… almost."

Let's hope things go better when they play Sokol Underground next Tuesday. Say, who's opening that show, anyway?

Column 73: Acid Test in the Park
Who is this Bright Eyes character, anyway?

So I'm going through the line at the Petco on 72nd and Dodge, picking up a fresh box of much-deserved milk bones for the two very special critics who edit my work. I turn to the cheerful, late-30s-aged woman behind the counter and ask, whilst signing the digital signature pad, "Say, ever heard of a band called Bright Eyes…?"

Here's the deal: Never has there been a better acid test as to the popularity of Bright Eyes, Saddle Creek Records and the Omaha indie music scene than the just-announced concert in Memorial Park June 17 featuring Conor Oberst and his band of merry men. Once and for all, we're going to see just how popular indie is among the great unwashed masses.

Those of us who live and breathe indie, who go to the shows at Sokol Underground, buy the records and read the online journals, we go through life with blinders on. We believe that Oberst and Cursive and The Faint and Saddle Creek are the harbingers of Omaha's status as "The New Seattle," that the world outside our freeway has embraced us. I mean, everyone knows Bright Eyes, right? Hell, how could they not? He's played guitar right next to The Boss and Michael Stipe.

Ah, but mention Conor or any of the Creek bands to the guy or gal slouched in line next to you at, say, your local Wal-Mart, and you're bound to get a blank stare in return. Bright Who?

Which brings us to that concert in the park. I've already heard speculation from those entrenched in the local music scene that this will be an event for the ages that will far out-draw the July 16, 2004, Memorial Park show that featured 311. Depending on your source, that concert drew more than 50,000 rabid fans eager to see the former Omahans present a "night of positivity" along with a medley of dated ska-rock classics.

What will Bright Eyes draw on June 17, 2006? Let's look at the facts.

Conor has been written about in every respectable newspaper and magazine in the country. He's appeared on Letterman, Leno and even the lame Craig Ferguson Show. And unlike 311, he maintains a domicile in Omaha even though he spends most of his time in Manhattan (and who can blame him?). Those curious about his music but who have been apprehensive about venturing to a venue engulfed in sad-eyed indie kids finally will have a chance to see the boy wonder on neutral territory. And it's free. Yes, the curious will come.

So will the traveler. Other than a handful of shows in Canada and the Bonnaro Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, the park show is the only scheduled Bright Eyes appearance in North America this year. Expect heartbroken fans from across the country to make a holy pilgrimage and turn the event into a mini Woodstock. If you live within blocks of the park, expect moody youths with tattoos and piercings in tents in your front yard days before the show.

Let's not forget that Bright Eyes drew nearly 4,000 paying customers to Council Bluffs' MAC center just last May. Ah, but remember, The Faint was on the undercard that night. Who will open for Conor June 17? Certainly not The Faint or Creek's third-biggest band, Cursive.

Which gets us to arguments against a huge draw. Bright Eyes skews younger than 311, whose heyday was over a decade ago, and hence has a broader fan base than Conor's. And while we're talking about 311, remember that they've had four Gold records, one Platinum, one Triple-Platinum, a Gold and Platinum DVD; in total they've sold more than 7 million units in the United States. Bright Eyes has yet to produce even one Gold record, thanks to a complete lack of commercial radio airplay. Meanwhile, 311 music is on regular rotation on hundreds of radio stations across the country, including a couple here in Omaha.

Then there's the fact that the 311 concert was the centerpiece of the city's 150-year "celebration." Fireworks were promised. The Bright Eyes show is merely Mayor Fahey's and US Cellular's bright idea (And can you imagine Conor, who has railed endlessly against Clear Channel and commercial sponsorships, playing in front of a gigantic US Cellular banner?).

Some won't come because they despise Conor's politics. Some won't come because they despise Conor's music. Some won't come because they despise the kind of people who like Conor's politics and music. Then there's the proximity of the "oldies" concert in the park just two weeks later, which is more likely to draw wary families. And then there's the weather. And on and on.

But maybe the most telling indication of how many will come to the concert in the park is that cheerful Petco clerk bagging my milk bones. "Bright Eyes? Never heard of 'em. Is that a local band or something?"

Column 72: Early Warning System
A glance at the rock calendar

Rock shows have a funny way of sneaking up on you if you're not paying attention. And though we at The Reader go out of our way to point you in the right direction week in and week out, we rarely give you a heads-up more than eight days in advance. With that in mind, here are some early warnings of worth-while indie shows on the horizon, with details on who these folks are and why you should care. A caveat -- two performances in the past two weeks were cancelled the night of the show due to "van troubles." Rock stars' lives are complicated, and schedules can (and do) change, sometimes at the last minute. Check the usual websites (onepercentproductions.com, myspace.com/oleaverspub, micksomaha.com, lazy-i.com) for the latest info.

The Elected w/Jake Bellows, The Family Radio April 14 @ Sokol Underground -- You already know The Elected (Blake Sennett of Rilo Kiley) and Jake Bellows (of Saddle Creek band Neva Dinova). The hidden treasure is The Family Radio, a new ensemble fronted by local film maker Nik Fackler that includes legendary bassist Dereck Higgins (Digital Sex, One Mummy Case), Aaron Gum, Ian O'Donnell and Tara Konradi making a noise like Simon and Garfunkel having dinner with Bright Eyes. Could Fackler turn his back on Hollywood to become a rock star? Get there early and find out.

The Autumn Project w/Father, Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship, Ila April 22 @ Sokol Underground. Father is guitarist D. Bushon with help from Dapose and Clark Baechle of The Faint, and visuals from Seth Johnson. Get ready to grind.

The Pomonas w/The Third Men, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin April 28 @ O'Leaver's -- Lawrence 4-piece The Pomonas look and sound like a bunch of slackers from your local record store gigging in their basement, which is why they're so damn charming. The Third Men is a retro/summer/feel good band featuring Mike Tulis, Matt Rutledge, Mike Loftus and Pat White.

Maria Taylor w/13Ghosts April 29 @ Sokol Auditorium -- Maria Taylor we all know as half of the currently defunct Azure Ray. Birmingham's 13Ghosts are as haunting as their name implies.

Pretty Girls Make Graves w/Giant Drag, The Joggers May 2 @ Sokol Underground -- PGMG's new one, Élan Vital on Matador Records, is a strange, slurred, funky bite of bittersweet post-punk. LA's Giant Drag is another guitar-and-drums girl-and-guy duo a la The White Stripes but with a distinct My Bloody Valentine vibe.

Kite Pilot CD release show May 6 @ Sokol Underground -- A copy of KP's Mercy Will Close Its Doors fell into my lap last August with the hope and promise of finding a label to release it. Nine months later and the CD will be born as a self-released joint, but still as precious. The Protoculture are rumored to open.

Atmosphere w/Brother Ali and Los Nativos May 10 @ Sokol Underground -- If you haven't experienced one of Sokol's underground hip-hop shows, there is no better time to start. Atmosphere is Slug a.k.a. Sean Daley, the genius behind Minnesota's Rhymesayers Collective, that includes such acts as MF Doom, P.O.S. and Brother Ali, the albino who called me out from stage for calling him a white guy. Things could get ugly.

Gomez w/David Ford May 13 @ Sokol Underground -- There was a time only a few years ago when you'd expect Gomez to be playing the big room above Sokol Underground. Those days, apparently, are long gone. That said, the band's new CD, How We Operate, rocks harder than anything they've ever done.

Minus the Bear w/Criteria, Russian Circles May 23 @ Sokol Underground -- Minus the Bear's last CD, Menos el Oso, renewed my faith in a band that before could only be described as "quirky." They're still quirky, but now there's something significant under the jangle. After months of touring, Criteria should be plenty road-hardened.

Two Gallants acoustic May 25 @ Mick's -- One of Saddle Creek Records' latest bands, the duo usually do their thing White Stripes style, all electric. How will their sea-shanty ballads sound unplugged?

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness w/The Rogers Sisters May 31 @ Sokol Underground. The Austin band on Secretly Canadian (Antony & The Johnsons, Swell Maps) is making waves with a stark, electronic sound that heralds back to the old Factory Records days (Yeah, that means they're influenced by Joy Division).

Simon Joyner w/Coolzey, Miracles of God June 27 @ O'Leaver's -- Few shows these days are as thoroughly satisfying and memorable as Joyner and his band, The Wind-Up Birds, at O'Leaver's. It'll be packed, it'll be sweaty and it'll be pure spectacle.

Column 71: No Stars, No Letters
Recent releases, for your consideration…

Those who read the Lazy-i website already are aware of my pejorative CD rating system -- a simple "yes" or "no." No stars, no letter grades. Look, listeners simply want to know if a recording is worth dropping their hard-earned rubles for. I've been told my system is too draconian by those who would prefer a "you'd like this if you listen to that" system, which, of course, is spineless. That said, all of the CDs mentioned below rate a "Yes" unless otherwise noted. Pay attention, they're short (and in iPod alpha order, for your convenience).

The Ark, State of the Ark (EMI) -- They rip off every '70s act from The Knack to Sweet, but remind you why you liked those bands in the first place. Inspired line: "Try some manners, f***face."

Belle & Sebastian, The Life Pursuit (Matador) -- Their retro upbeat dance record heavy on Bowie and T. Rex, I hated it at first. It's grown on me (like a fungus).

Cat Power, The Greatest (Matador) -- The first album that Chan Marshall has made that I've enjoyed from beginning to end, she's sounding even more like Mazzy Star with her sleepy, slurred vocals and warm, mid-tempo dream-melodies.

Centro-matic, Fort Recovery (Misra) -- The most unheralded geniuses in indie since The Grifters (or Silkworm, but that's another story). It's about time they get discovered by the masses.

Chad VanGaalen, Infiniheart (SubPop) -- Simple one-man band production is dark, haunting, cool shit. A singer-songwriter creep show.

The Cops, Get Good or Stay Bad (Mt. Fuji) -- Mike Jaworski's bands have always been derivative, but they've never been this good. This time he combines The Clash, Rocket from the Crypt and a black-leather New York garage punk band. Heartfelt.

David Dondero, South of the South (Team Love) -- Hear once and for all where Conor Oberst got his bray. Smart songwriting.

Donald Fagen, Morph the Cat (Reprise) -- I don't want to hear how "uncool" it is to like Fagen and Steely Dan. Few people write smarter, snarkier lyrics, and even fewer can make them bounce with such infectious ease.

The Eighteenth Day of May, self-titled (Hannibal) -- British acoustic folk in the style of Richard and Linda Thompson/Fairport Convention; the kind of music we all need more of in our lives.

Elf Power, Back to the Web (Rykodisc) -- From Athens, they have the same sheen of early acoustic R.E.M., though Andy Rieger is no Michael Stipe, but maybe that's a good thing.

The Fall, Hex Enduction Hour (reissue) (Castle Music) -- Indie's last wave was all about rediscovering the desolate funk of Gang of Four; the next will be about rediscovering the arrogance of The Fall.

Hayley Taylor, Waking (self-release) -- Like Jenny Lewis (whose music her music resembles) she's another TV veteran (Sabrina, ER) turned musician. Produced by A.J. Mogis.

The Headlights, The Enemies EP (Polyvinyl) -- Another Death Cab-influenced band. This one's better than most. At O'Leavers 4/10.

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat (Team Love) -- Easily the best thing Lewis has produced since The Execution of All Things back in '02.

Kyle Harvey, Truth Is the Color of Teeth (self-release) -- Stark, almost grim heartbreak tone-poems infused with electronics. Bleak.

Mad Happy, Renegade Geeks (Mutiny Zoo) -- Mike iLL and Rivka are hip-hop's Pat and Barbara K. McDonald. They have the same subversive vibe as Timbuk 3, though their music is more electronic than organic, and slightly more in your face (but only slightly).

Minmae, Le Grand Essor de la Maison du Monstre (Greyday) -- What you'd get if Bill Callahan (the one from Smog, not the Huskers) fronted Pavement.

Neil Diamond, 12 Songs (American) -- Again, I don't want to hear it. This gets added points from the Rick Rubin production, the only guy that can convince these dinosaurs that all they need is their guitar.

Neil Young, Heart of Gold (Reprise) -- With apologies to our cadre of movie critics, this is a flick review (though you can buy the soundtrack). Not as good as Rust Never Sleeps, but few concert movies are. Worth seeing if only for Neil's VH-1-style "songwriters" confessions and "Old Man," again.

The Plastic Constellations, Crusades (French Kiss) -- Frenetic, proggy, spazzy rock, strange and danceable, exactly what you'd expect from a band on this label (Les Savy Fav, Rahim, etc.).

Rahim, Ideal Lives (French Kiss) -- Frenetic, proggy, spazzy rock, strange and danceable, exactly what you'd expect from a band on this label (Les Savy Fav, The Plastic Constellations, etc.).

Simon Joyner, Beautiful Losers (Jagjaguwar) -- This B-sides and singles collection is an excellent introduction to Joyner's early work (though nothing beats his masterpiece, The Cowardly Traveler Pays His Toll, which remains out of print).

Stereolab, Fab Four Suture (Too Pure) -- I admit to never being a fan, but I can see why some might dig this French/Euro/Retro pop. I'm not one of them. Rating: No.

Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues (reissue) (Rhino) -- Part of a massive reissuing of early Heads material, Rhino wouldn't send me the whole thing. Each DualDisc includes the album in 5.1 Surround Sound with a couple videos included. If you don't own this, now's the time.

The Twilight Singers, Powder Burns (One Little Indian) -- Greg Dulli (ex-Afghan Whigs) knows how to put his soul on the slab for anyone to poke at. He's done it again, albeit less subtly than on Blackberry Belle.

Two Gallants, What the Toll Tells (Saddle Creek) -- While a little of these hippy, ship-galley sea-shanty balladeers goes a long way, I'm beginning to see why they appealed to the sexy young execs at Saddle Creek.

CYHSY, The Cops, n0 things, the weekend... – March 31, 2006 –

Lord knows I tried to line up an interview with Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah, but my requests went unreturned. Alas, my only experience with this band is seeing their performance on The Conan O'Brien show (It was gawdawful) and hearing their one track on the One Percent Productions website juke box -- not exactly earth shaking, hardly innovative, but it has a beat and you can dance to it. I get the feeling that the youth crowd that's eating these guys up have never heard New Order or The Feelies before. And I guess if you were 16 or 17 and grew up only on Omaha radio, you'd think they were groundbreaking. And you'd sell out their show weeks in advance, as this show has been. More interesting than CYHSY is opening band The Brunettes. If you missed it the first time, here's the review of Mars Loves Venus that I put on the site last July.

Tomorrow night, One Percent is doing three shows at the same time -- Three! Ah, but they hardly compete with each other (except, maybe for parking). Downstairs at Sokol Underground it's Little Brazil, Race for Titles, The Cops and Le Beat -- four hot bands for a mere $7. Starts at 9 p.m. Get there early. Meanwhile, upstairs at Sokol Auditorium, it's the glorious return of Blue October for a sold-out show. I've seen Blue October before. They're horrible. Their cheesy live performance is only eclipsed by their painfully bad CDs, released on Universal. That said, they've got a huge following thanks to lots of local radio support. So when you go down to see the good show tomorrow night, make sure to address your curses at The River when you can't find a parking space. Finally, at Duffy's in Lincoln Saturday night it's Tapes 'n' Tapes, Eagle*Seagull and Kite Pilot, all for a mere $5.

Duffy's is the place to be Sunday for a homecoming show of sorts -- former Lincolnites (now Brooklynites) Ron Albertson and Pat Noeker's new band n0 things are playing, along with Knife Skills and Ideal Cleaners. Ron (formerly of Mercy Rule) and Pat (formerly of Opium Taylor) also used to be the rhythm section of The Liars before they got screwed by the other half of that band. Check out their myspace account. If you miss them on Sunday, they'll also be playing at O'Leaver's with The Lepers on April 4.

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Column 70 -- Climbing Mt. Fuji – March 30, 2006 –

Seriously, you need to go see The Cops on Saturday night at Sokol Underground with labelmates Little Brazil and local heroes Race for Titles and Le Beat. Seriously.

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A few internet tidbits... – March 28, 2006 –

Recently spotted on the web:

-- Drowned in Sound does a nice, long interview with Nik Zinner (a.k.a. Edward Sissorhands) of Yeah Yeah Yeahs (read it here), where Nik invents a new word. He's discussing the All Tomorrow's Parties festival, which the Yeahs were asked to curate a day, along with Devandra Banhart. The writer comments about the festival's performers. "DiS: What's ridiculous, really, is that any one of those bands could easily curate a day themselves, such is their level of recognition. Zinner: Yeah, absolutely. We have to leave on the Sunday, though, but I don't know that many people that he (Devandra Banhart) has selected. They're all beardos." Beardos!

-- Criteria get dissed roundly in this review in the MSU State News, with the headline Criteria Lags with Dark, Whiny Style. "To get right down to it: Criteria sounds like a bunch of suburban boys finding an alternative to working for 'The Man.'" Uh, isn't that the motivation for most bands these days? Notable for being one of the first outright negative review of the CD, which came out last year.

-- Speaking of Criteria, Aversion reports the boys had some van troubles (read it here). And they gave WWB 4 out of 5 stars (here).

-- Pop Matters has a super-long interview/profile with Two Gallants (read it here). Adam Stephens doesn't like his band compared to Dylan and The Beatles, which, of course, they sound nothing like in the first place. "Not only is it lazy journalism, I think it is uneducated journalism. Mentioning Bob Dylan or the Beatles in the context of modern music is redundant. Of course the influence is there. It's like pointing out Thomas Edison's influence on a well-lit room. The only reason people say it with us more often is because our songs might have a bit of content. But, we don't really like to describe our music with words either. Not like what we do is beyond description, but we just try to avoid the undertaking whenever possible. Whenever people describe bands, it's always a litany of other bands. Sometimes that works, and some might think it works with us. I don't. We just try to stay away from it altogether." Wonder what he thinks of my description: "...rousing ship-galley sea-shanty ballads on meth." Probably not much.

-- Personal writing hero/mentor/guru Robert Christgau has posted another in his series of Consumer Guide CD review round-ups (read it here). He likes the new Arctic Monkeys (They sound like not knowing the doorman, like moving on a girl you think isn't pretty enough, like missing the bus in a leather jacket that doesn't keep out the cold.), hates Editors (Someone should tell him about the Human League.). Editors, by the way, don't just rip off Interpol (who ripped off Joy Division) they mug them in broad daylight.

-- Finally, there's been enormous coverage of last week's 'Bring 'em Home Now' concert, and Bright Eyes is consistently singled out as one of the evening's highlights, including in this New York Times piece. "But as pure protest, a quintet version of Bright Eyes, the ever-changing band led by Conor Oberst, hit the hardest of the night." Strangely, the next day, NYT Creek cheerleader Kelefa Sannah filed this story, where he calls out Oberst: "...in one sense: Mr. Oberst's best political songs are full of ambivalence and confusion, not unshakable defiance." Make up your minds, dammit.

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Weekend Live Reviews round-up; Reggie and the Full Effect tonight – March 27, 2006 –

I generally try to get live reviews online the morning after the show, but I was pressed this weekend for other things and never had a chance. That said, I did go out both Friday and Saturday nights. Here's what happened:

Friday was Edith Frost/The Zincs down at Sokol Underground. What a disappointing turnout. I was one of around 40 people there. The Underground never seemed so empty. One guy I talked to wanted to leave because he was so embarrassed by the whole thing. Why wasn't this show at O'Leaver's? Maybe because the promoters understandably thought that bands of this quality would bring out throngs of Omaha music fans that can differentiate between good music and schlock (Note, Pomoroy was playing upstairs in the Auditorium). I guess they were wrong.

I missed the opener, McCarthy Trenching, but caught most of The Zincs' set -- very earthy, very moody rock with a frontman who's voice was low and smoky. It's the kind of band that you could imagine breaking through the indie-rock glass ceiling to bigger things. Very cool.

Then Edith was up. Backed by members of The Zincs, she uncorked a nice set of songs from her new album along with plenty of older material. Though generally twangier, her music reminds me a lot of Liz Phair, the difference being that Edith can actually sing. She didn't seem to mind playing to a mostly empty room. Maybe it was the lack of people or the distraction of the UConn game on TV at the bar, but I never locked into her performance, as good as it was.

Saturday night was Western Electric at O'Leaver's, along with The Pendrakes. Very packed house. O'Leaver's is now packed just about any night they have a band (but you have to keep that in perspective -- packed for O'Leaver's means 60 to 75 people -- the Edith Frost show would have seemed packed in there). I showed up just in time to catch the last couple of Pendrakes songs, which sounded like generic pop-punk to me. I need to see a whole set to make any judgments. Western Electric, fronted by Scott Roth (of Such Sweet Thunder fame) has only been playing together six months. You wouldn't have known it by listening to them. They had the presence and sound of a veteran rock band. Yeah, they're twangy... sort of. But their style is closer to classic chug-a-lug Americana bar stomp rock (think Anonymous American for comparisons). One guy in back said they reminded him of Jeff Tweedy. I didn't hear it. And while the band was amazingly tight, it was Roth that was impossible to ignore -- he has a '90s grunge croon that recalls Pearl Jam or the dozens of bands that aped Pearl Jam back then -- a style fans of Such Sweet Thunder will immediately recognize and remember. They played a long set for never having recorded a CD. Roth said they're currently in the process of recording some of their material, and to look for some more gigs in the near future.

Tonight, Reggie and the Full Effect with Fluxuation and Common Denominator at Sokol Underground. Reggie's on Vagrant. Used to be that was all you needed to say and you knew what you were in for. But now The Hold Steady is on Vagrant, and that's thrown everything out of whack. I guess now I have to say Reggie sounds like old-school Vagrant. You know what I mean. $12, 9 p.m.

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There's a hole outside my window; Edith Frost tonight; Western Electric Saturday – March 24, 2006 –

In the wake of The Faint news, I received a few comments from people who were just as surprised by the news that the Slowdown business/entertainment project was slated to begin construction this week. Well, looking outside my office window from 1400 Douglas I watched as a big steam-shovel-type piece of equipment dug a large hole in the southern portion of the Slowdown property. Construction has indeed begun. I was getting pretty worried there for awhile that barriers put up by various bureaucratic entities were going to quash the entire project. Can they race against the clock and get it finished by the end of the year or will another of my predictions for '06 become a reality? I'll keep you updated as construction progresses, and might even post a few snapshots.

The weekend starts off with a bang tonight as Edith Frost takes the Sokol Underground stage with The Zincs and McCarthy Trenching. I'm guessing last night's Two Gallants show was either a sell-out or damn close (I didn't go, so anyone with data, please post on the webboard posthaste). Tonight could be a different story. Frost has a rep for being a sad-sack singer/songwriter, yet the last time she came through, she most definitely brought the rock (think Throwing Muses/Belly). I've got a feeling tonight will be no different. The Zincs play cool, laid-back indie rock with a frontman who sounds like a cross between Nick Drake and David Bowie. And opener Dan McCartney has become one of the area's must-see singer-songwriters. A terrific show for $8. Starts at 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night brings the return of Scott Roth (Such Sweet Thunder) and his new band, Western Electric, at O'Leaver's. In addition to Roth, the band includes John and Jerry Stevens (Hanna's Porch, Gauge, Box, Hong Gyn Corp, Midwest Dilemma) and Scott Petersen (Four Corners). Roth described the new sound as "more electric than western, but there are some twangy elements that round out the sound." Veeery interesting. The Pendrakes are the openers. $5, 9 p.m.

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Edith Frost in the spotlight; Two Gallants, Pink Mountaintops tonight – March 23, 2006 –

Those looking for the story about The Faint possibly heading to American Recordings, scroll down or click here. Traffic to the site was mighty fierce yesterday. Obviously there's some interest out there.

This week's feature is an interview with the sad, sweet Edith Frost (read it here). As outlined in the story, Edith couldn't do the interview over the phone because her voice was shot. She asked for an e-mail Q&A, which I usually dread. Thankfully, she's very literate and liberal with her answers. The story talks about how her music directly relates to her (she says it don't), how she got started in the biz, her touring band and lots more. The version in this week's issue of The Reader is abbreviated -- I was asked to hack out 200 words to make it fit. But the fact is, I couldn't get everything into the unabridged version, either. Here are a few questions that didn't get covered in the story:

And so on... Tonight at the Sokol Underground, the return of Two Gallants with Pink Mountaintops. Opening is jazz duo The Kevin Pike/John Kotchian. I suspect this will be a heavily attended show thanks to the combined powers of Saddle Creek and Jagjaguwar. And a thrifty ticket price of $8 -- a steal.

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Column 69: The Faint headed to American?; Rainer Maria, Scout Niblett tonight – March 22, 2006 –

Let me take a moment to reiterate my policy regarding rumors -- I don't print 'em. Now, a certain promoter in town does not agree with this assessment -- he calls me a "gossip columnist," which is fine since he doesn't know what I'm calling him behind his back (just kidding). Look, I hear more than my share of rumors on any given night at the bar, club or venue, but I don't publish any of them unless I get some sort of official verification about their truthfulness. At which case, it ain't a rumor no more. To a large part, I depend on people passing me information, and they do so with confidence that 1) I'm not going to reveal my sources unless they want to be revealed, and 2) I'm not going to print anything until someone is willing to verify the information "on the record." Consider it my own, personal Woodward & Bernstein clause. So when I heard rumors about The Faint leaving Saddle Creek five or six weeks ago, I sat on the story because no one would comment "on the record." Meanwhile, everyone short of the late Mayor Ed Zorinsky let me know all about it "on the down low."

Why has this rumor become so pervasive? I think because there's a tremendous amount of concern as to what it could mean to Saddle Creek and the Omaha music scene if it becomes a reality. The Faint, Cursive and Bright Eyes are the holy triumvirate that has made the label what it is today. There was a similar level of concern a few years ago when rumors began circulating that Cursive was breaking up (a deep throat fed me that tidbit weeks before it become public as well). Different bitter factions may snipe endlessly about how much they don't like the label or its bands, but at the end of the conversation, they always punctuate it with a statement like, "regardless, I admire what they've accomplished, it's been good for the Omaha music scene as a whole." Everyone wants Saddle Creek to succeed -- there's nothing but upside to their continued prosperity. So when word of a breakup or defection gets hung on the grapevine, brows furrow and anxiety ensues that perhaps a turnaround in Omaha's good fortune may be in the offing. If this becomes a reality and contracts are indeed signed, I see downside for some, upside for others and hope in the fact that The Faint are investing a lot of time and money in facilities right here in river city. The band is putting down roots even though they could live anywhere in the country that they wish.

Tonight begins a string of solid shows that runs through Saturday. Rainer Maria and Scout Niblett take the Sokol Underground stage with The End of the World. It's been awhile since Rainer's been through, while Scout is making Omaha a regular tour stop. Her act is definitely something to behold for its sure weirdness (check out the wig). $8, 9 p.m.

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A Quiet SXSW... – March 21, 2006 –

An afternoon update today because I was finishing a column about The Faint, which will go online tomorrow morning (and look for an Edith Frost interview/feature Thursday morning).

Not much news today, anyway. In the aftermath of SXSW, sounds like Saddle Creek's Two Gallants made an impression on the masses, at least according to this San Jose Mercury News item. The writer called the band "one of the most exciting and unique acts I've seen this week." Other than that item, coverage of Omaha-related bands at the event was all but nonexistent. On a side note, The AP filed an interesting interview with Barsuk's Josh Rosenfeld, where he talks about the value of the SXSW, underscoring what everyone knows -- no one goes to Austin to sign bands anymore. Those days are long gone.

Underground hip-hop acts P.O.S., Mac Lethal and Sims at Sokol Underground tonight. 9 p.m., $7.

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Live Review: The Protoculture – March 20, 2006 –

As expected, The Protoculture brought the faithful in droves to last night's show at O'Leaver's despite forecasts of snowy doom, a full house of 75 or so were there to see the legends. And the legends did not disappoint, playing six songs off their upcoming 7-song EP -- almost the whole catalogue of Protoculture tunes. All except "The Hit," as I warmly call their b-side single "My New Laugh," the only Protoculture song with a sing-a-long chorus. Where was it?

They started out nervous and a tad tentative, or so they sounded. By the midway point of their brief set, they were firing on all cylinders. Having never seen them perform before, I had no idea that drummer Koly Walter did most of the singing. He was in good voice, as was co-singer Erica Petersen-Hanton, opening the set with the new material and closing with three songs off the '97 singles that sounded as modern as anything you're going to hear on today's indie charts. The crowd, as you might expect, loved every minute of it. The young lad next to me said this was just the kind of band he would have worshipped had he been kicking around the scene back in the day. I kept turning to him, saying, "They're gonna play their hit next." But it never happened. Afterward I mentioned this to Walter, who said rather quizzically? "That song? That's just a B-side." Maybe so, but it's my favorite of their entire oeuvre. Maybe they'll play it when they open for The Stay Awake and The Bombardment Society at Sokol Underground sometime in April. I've waited seven years to hear "My New Laugh" live, I suppose I can wait a few more weeks.

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Live Review: Ladyfinger; The Protoculture amidst a blizzard… – March 19, 2006 –

So the big question is whether or not the Protoculture show is happening tonight. I just talked to the show promoter and he says it's on no matter what. The heavy stuff isn't supposed to start until later tonight -- probably right when the show is going on. It should make for some interesting driving. I'd skip it, but this is The Protoculture, and though they say they'll be playing again soon, who really knows for sure what our future holds?

Nice crowd last night for Ladyfinger and Mr. 1986 at Sokol Underground. My ears are still ringing. Frickin' loud. Ladyfinger was double-barrel hardcore heavy. Throw the bitch out the window mean, but cool like a serial killer up there on stage. Chris and the boys are anything but metal head rock freaks when it comes to stage presence. Machmuller just leans to the mike and does his thing while nonchalantly uncorking a hail of power chords. That's the irony of this band -- they seem like nice guys, but their music is some dark shit, black and negative, psycho angry, rattling around loud and scary like a box of smoking chainsaws. All that time spent recording has done something to this band. Obviously they sound tighter, but they also sound harder, almost weathered. The old songs from their first EP seemed compact and well-planned. The new ones are complete chaos, not as hook-laden as, say "Too Cool for School, " which, in comparison, sounds like a dance song. The groove is still there, it's just more subtle amidst the ensemble's raw power. Did I mention how loud it was?

I only caught three of Mr. 1986's songs seeing as I had to make it down to O'Leaver's to bid farewell to Reader music writer/editor Jeremy Schnitker, who's on his way to Chicago. Good luck in the Windy City, bro. '86 does what it does about as well as anyone could -- huge, cinematic songs that recall Mogwai and God Speed, repeated tonal instrumentals that can explode at any moment. The drums were otherworldly in size and scope, and made the whole thing work. I wonder, however, if what they're doing hasn't become somewhat dated, if they have room to take it a different direction or if they only want to play these throbbing, dynamic symphonies of noise...

If I hear any updates about tonight's show, I'll pass them along right here. Otherwise, I'll see you there...

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Erin Go Bragh goes the weekend… – March 17, 2006 –

Everyone knows St. Patrick's day is a lousy day for rock shows, right? Wrong wrong wrong. O'Leaver's is putting on a big bash tonight. For $5 or two cans of food you can get in to see Matt Whipkey, the Spring Hill Mind Disaster, Le Beat, Life After Laserdisque and The Terminals. I'm told this one starts earlier than usual, around 7 p.m. I've heard there will be a beer tent outside the venue (Seems kind of cold for that sort of thing, but then again, any escape from the O'Leaver's smoke hole would be a relief. I wish they had a beer tent set up all summer long so you could step outside with your beer when you wanted/needed to).

As for the rest of the weekend:

Saturday at Sokol Underground it's Mr. 1986, Ladyfinger and Reverso Benigni. I haven't seen 1986 since 2004. Here's what I said about that show:

Ladyfinger will likely be unveiling some new material from their recently recorded album which may or may not be on Saddle Creek Records. Opener is Lincoln experimental prog-rock instrumental trio Reverso Benigni. $7, 9 p.m.

Then Sunday night: Kite Pilot and The Protoculture at O'Leaver's. This is a landmark show for those of us who have always wanted to see The Protoculture play live but never had a chance to when they were kicking around in the late '90s. They expect that no one will show up. I think they're wrong.

Column 68: A Jury of Statistics… – March 16, 2006 –

The scoop that people are really dying to know that's missing below: What about Lea? The last time I saw Denver before this encounter was on the stairwell of Sokol Underground, where he was so "occupied" with actress Lea Thompson that I didn't want to bother him to say see-ya-later. I mentioned this to him and he just smiled. Denver doesn't kiss and tell, apparently. He did say he's kept in touch with Thompson and Dave Foley -- both co-starring in the movie"Out of Omaha" along with local filmmaker Nik Fackler, which was shot here last October. "I'm still good friends with them," he said. "I'm sure I'll see them in L.A. Dave has a club he likes to go to where Jon Brion plays all the time." That would be Largo (between Melrose and Beverly Blvd.), where Brion plays every Friday night. Ah, the life of a star...

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Pink Mountaintops aren't high; The Nein tonight… – March 15, 2006 –

Strange little interview with Pink Mountaintops just went online (read it here). Frontman Steve McBean talks about how drugs aren't an end to a means when it comes to their music, which sounds like drug music to the uninitiated. Very little of the interview didn't make the story except for our disjointed discussion about living in Canada (He doesn't see a diff between the US and his homeland, especially along the West Coast), his take on Two Gallants, which they'll be touring with ("I haven't met them yet. I'm looking forward to seeing them live.") and Omaha ("I've never been there before. I've been to Lincoln. I love the Nebraska plains, I've driven through there a lot."). Our cell connection made the Top-5 Worst Ever list. I could barely hear what he was saying. The technology just ain't there yet, people, that's why I don't carry a cell phone.

A last-minute show tonight at O'Leaver's -- The Nein (former members of The White Octave) are dropping in to do a set. They came through here almost exactly a year ago (March 12 to be exact). Here's what I said about that performance:

No idea who's opening. $5, 9 p.m.

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Live Review: Slender Means, Landing on the Moon… – March 14, 2006 –

Some notes from last night's show at O'Leaver's…

Slender Means is a hard band to put your finger on. The five-piece from Seattle features a solid rhythm section and a frontman with a voice that's just this side of Morrissey, but ballsier, more masculine, almost brassy. A good voice. Almost too good for the relatively straight-up adult-sounding pop music that they play. The guy next to me (who knows more about music than I ever will) said they reminded him of Greg Kihn or The Plimsoles or Graham Parker. They reminded me of Semisonic or Jonathan Richman, but not really. The only similarity to those bands is their ability to make smooth, balanced pop music. In fact, if they have a flaw it's that, other than the frontman's sonorous voice (and the sweet harmony vocals), nothing stands out about them. Sure, they're first-rate musicians, but their songs lack a certain distinction that makes them stand out from the crowd. Does that really matter? Probably not to most people. But in this world where there seems to be 2 million bands with myspace accounts, having a quality that's obvious and distinguishable is a must. Slender Means is a good band in search of an identity, and when they find it, look out.

When it comes to identity, Landing on the Moon has it in spades -- three vocalists including an intense woman keyboard player, a dynamic over-the-top drummer and a bigger-than-life guitarist who wears his soul on his sleeve. They take chances with styles and dynamics, merging sprawling, poignant album rock with modern, quirky, post-rock tendencies. Whether you like them or not (and certainly those looking for standard-ish jangle-pop indie probably won't), you have to admire their bravado in playing a style of music -- with honesty and determination -- that no other bands are even attempting around here.

By the way, you would never have thought it was a Monday night at O'Leaver's. The place was packed like a Saturday night. Something's going on around here, as last weekend seems to indicate. Everyone's talking about Saturday night, where there were five shows/events simultaneously -- Jenny Lewis at the Scottish Rite, Criteria at Sokol Underground, RFT at The 49'r, The Terminals at O'Leaver's and The Groundhog Prom (wherever that was) -- and all were either sell-outs or capacity-only events. It was a landmark weekend, and after a break for St. Paddy's day, the following weekend should be just as busy. We live in a music town, folks. Forget about Austin.

Tomorrow, here, Pink Mountaintops.

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Slender Means tonight... – March 13, 2006 –

A long weekend of shows isn't over yet. If you haven't tuned into the site for the past few days, scroll down and check out a couple live reviews. I didn't make it to the Of Montreal show last night unfortunately. If you were there, let us know how it was on the board. Too many deadlines, including for a piece on Pink Mountaintops (online Wednesday) and a column with a judicial slant involving Denver Dalley (online Thursday). It's always something...

Tonight at O'Leaver's, Slender Means with Landing on the Moon and Le Beat. Slender Means records on Mt. Fuji Records, the Seattle label owned and operated by Omaha native Mike Jaworski, whose bands also include Little Brazil, Jaworski's own The Cops, and recent signing, LA-based Wintergreen. SXSW-ers can check out the roster at a couple showcase events around Austin next weekend. Details are on the Mt. Fuji site. Tonight's show: 9:30, $5.

Also tonight, for all y'all on the hip-hop tip, a member of the Wu Tang clan is in the house. Ghostface Killah will be on the mike down at Sokol Underground with M-1 of Dead Prez and Omaha's own Surreal the MC. $20, 9 p.m.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my brackets... what do you got for Kentucky/UAB?

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Live Review: Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins; Of Montreal tonight... – March 12, 2006 –

One of the reasons I went to the Jenny Lewis show last night was to get a gander at the Scottish Rite Hall where the concert was held. I'd heard it was nice, but come on… it's really nice. It's downright gorgeous. And the bathrooms! It could become Omaha's version of Lawrence's Liberty Hall, except that it's a lot smaller. To think I've been driving past that place for years never knowing that there was a old-fashioned theater stage inside. Anyway… we got there early and took a pair of seat in the balcony, foregoing the main floor. I'm happy we did, but more on that later.

The show started rather unremarkably with opening act Whispertown 2000. The LA-based four-piece are pals of Lewis', having released a split single with her. Yikes, they were horrible. The band consisted of frontwoman/guitarist Morgan Nagler, a wedding-dressed tambourine shaker/harmony vocalist, a bass player and a guy on electric guitar. Nagler's voice is sort of Ricki Lee Jones-esque when it isn't completely off pitch. When Miss Wedding Dress joined in on harmonies, dogs from a five-mile radius could be heard howling in pain and fear. Particularly cringe-worthy was a butchering of Gillian Welch's "Look at Miss Ohio" and an a cappella number where the guys snapped fingers alongside the girls -- real high school talent-show stuff. Ah, but the crowd loved 'em… maybe because they were so cute, unsophisticated and obviously lacking in talent.

After that low-point, however, things took a decided turn for the better with Jonathan Rice. I guarantee that in five years you'll be seeing this guy on one of the late-night chat shows, and turn to whoever is lying next to you and say, "I saw that guy when he was just a kid open for Jenny Lewis" (Rilo Kiley having long been broken up). He reminded me of a young Jackson Browne, but without the broken-hearted lyrics. With acoustic guitar in hand and accompanied by a guy on pedal steel, Rice played a quiet, upbeat set that included a sing-a-long and a cover of Neva Dinova's "Poison" from the Neva/Bright Eyes split EP. In addition to being musically talented, Rice is quick-witted, with some funny between-song patter.

Then came the headliners -- Lewis and the Watson Twins. What to say about those twins… they're kind of creepy and kitschy, with their matching black cocktail dresses, '70s-era feathered LA hairstyles and mirrored do-what-I-do poses, it felt like something out of a David Lynch movie. There's no denying their vocal talents, they brought a whole new layer of sound to the ensemble, which included Rice, his pedal-steel player (doubling on keyboards), a bass player and Rilo Kiley's Jason Boesel on drums. I only wish the twins had been used more during the set. They spent most of their time standing side-by-side with their arms behind their backs, or adding bits of percussion (one song featured the two of them tapping rocks together).

The set began with the band on stage and Lewis and the twins entering from stage right singing "Run Devil Run" before launching into "The Big Guns." And here's where I'll add that note about the Scottish Rite Hall -- there is a wide space between the stage and the first row of chairs where about 50 people sat on the floor during the first two performances. About 30 seconds into Lewis' first song, the crowd rushed the stage -- everyone stood up and was joined by about 50 others. I couldn't tell from my seat in the balcony, but I assume everyone on the main floor (or at least most of the first few rows) stood up for the entire set, as there would be nothing to see seated except for a lot of blue-jeaned asses. Hey, this is a rock show -- what did they expect?

Lewis' entire set was twangier than her album (which, to me, sounds borderline Azure Ray). With those twins out front, the whole thing had a revival-tent flair, helped along by a crowd that was eager to testify. I half-way expected the twins to yell "Praise Him!" between songs. Lewis' voice has always been first-rate, like listening to an indie version of Loretta or Patsy. "Rise Up With Fists!!!," with its classic Van Morrison-style chorus, was made to be played your local Smooth FM radio station, and probably will wind up there eventually. The main set ended with a Boesel drum solo (this is the second drum solo I've heard at an indie show in a month, let's hope this isn't the beginning of a trend). Lewis came back out a few minutes later and did a solo number before being joined by the twins for another a cappella song and finally the whole band for one song. All in all, a nice set by one of tomorrow's radio stars. If she isn't already, Lewis is bound to become the biggest act on Oberst's Team Love label (besides Bright Eyes, of course), and could spur another C&W revival among the indie set -- God help us all.

Tonight at Sokol Underground -- Of Montreal. I was afraid that this show was being overlooked, but the promoters tell me that ticket sales have been brisk. With only one opening band, it could even be a early evening. $10, 9 p.m.

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Live Review: Ester Drang; Jenny Lewis, Criteria tonight... – March 11, 2006 –

Weak draw last night for Ester Drang. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. With a weekend full of shows, people have to pick and choose carefully, and something has to lose. So there I was with about 30 people watching one of the better sets I've seen down at Sokol in quite a while. Ester Drang managed to do something that few bands do well. They used electronics to replicate the strings and horns on their CD in a way that didn't sound cheesy or made-up. The mix blended the prerecorded orchestra tracks via Powerbook seamlessly with the live musicians, which included one guy who switched between keyboards and guitar throughout songs without missing a beat. The result was a lush, earthy, atmospheric sound that would make any Radiohead, Coldplay or Roxy Music fan nod in appreciation. The other thing they pulled off was effectively using AV equipment. How many times have you seen bands project video on a whitescreen during their performance only to distract or confuse the audience? Not with these guys, probably because a band with this much cinematic flair in their music has to live, eat and breathe the movies. Their footage appeared to be entirely drawn from film -- not digitally created on the Mac. All black-and-white, the images subtly supported every nuance heard on stage. The genius moment was when they used footage from High Noon -- cropped scenes of a self-conscious Gary Cooper looking stern and unafraid -- to enhance their spiraling, dustbowl epic "Hooker with a Heart of Gold." Inspired. Though they sounded remarkable, the four-piece didn't look like they were having a very good time up there, never once cracking a smile. Or maybe that's just their style.

Tonight: Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins at The Scottish Rite Hall. This is a sold-out, general admission "sit-down" show, and I'm told that if you, in fact, want to get a seat you better get there relatively early or else you'll be forced to stand in a small area in front of the stage (which, to be honest with you, sounds like the place I'd want to be anyway). Parking could be a challenge as the Omaha Press Club is having their annual grid-iron show at The Rose tonight. There should be a parking garage open nearby if you can't find a place to park on the street. The hall is located at 202 S. 20th St. (20th & Douglas). The show starts at 8 p.m. and is sold out. So for those who didn't get tickets, keep driving south to Sokol Underground where Criteria is playing tonight with Thunderbirds Are Now! and Rahim. $7. And I forgot to mention yesterday that there's also a show at O'Leaver's tonight: The Terminals and The Blind Shake. For whatever reason, the O'Leaver's myspace site says this one starts at 8 p.m. (The usual start time is 9:30).

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Omaha's SXSW weekend; Ester Drang tonight... – March 10, 2006 –

Yeah, I know, the music part of South by Southwest doesn't really begin until next Wednesday (though the film part begins today). In all my years, I've never been to the festival, not because it was too expensive (which it is) or because it interferes with my "real job" (which it does, though I's gets vacation too, massa). The reason I've never gone is because it sounds like such a hassle -- waiting to get into the clubs only to miss the act you wanted to see, then dashing down 6th St. to the next club so you can get into the queue to get inside. And so on. I'm sure it's more fun than that. What I've never understood, though, is people who go all the way to SXSW and then watch either Omaha/Lincoln bands or touring bands that come through here all the time. What's the point of that? (I know, I know... you're lending support in their time of need...).

Anyway, it's becoming a tradition that the weekend before SXSW brings some of the best shows to Omaha as the bands make their way to Austin. This year is no exception. We have four solid nights of good shows right here in river city.

It starts tonight with Ester Drang, The Minus Story and GO! Motion at Sokol Underground. You've already read about Ester Drang (here). Lawrence's The Minus Story came through Omaha last November. Here's what I said about that show:

I have no idea who GO! Motion is. $8, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, there's a four-band bill tonight at O'Leaver's featuring Omaha's Latitude Longitude, Denver's The Photo Atlas, Billings Montana's 1090 Club and Jake Bellows of Neva Dinova/Cocoon fame. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday night brings some big decisions:

-- Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins are performing at The Scottish Rites Hall with Jonathan Rice and Whispertown 2000. This show is SOLD OUT.
-- Meanwhile, down at Sokol Underground, Criteria takes the stage (on their way to SXSW) along with Thunderbirds Are Now! and Rahim. NYC trio Rahim are on French Kiss Records (home of The Hold Steady, Les Savy Fav, etc.). I've been listening to their new release, Ideal Lives, for a few weeks. Reminds me of laid-back Gang of Four, sort of. Very cool. $7, 9 p.m.

Sunday night, decisions are geographic in nature:

-- At Sokol Underground, it's the return of Of Montreal with Saturday Looks Good to Me. Not much buzz about this show, probably because it's been overshadowed by everything else going on this weekend. $10, 9 p.m.
-- Meanwhile, at Duffy's in Lincoln, you have The Heavenly States with The Floating Opera and Hockey Night. The Heavenly States just played O'Leaver's last October. Here's what I said about that show:

If you're in Lincoln, don't miss this show. 9 p.m. $5 (cheap!).

We're not done yet. Because Monday night there's a great show at O'Leaver's. Seattle's Slender Means takes the stage with Landing on the Moon and Le Beat. Slender Means records on Mt. Fuji (home of Little Brazil and The Cops) and sports a laid-back indie vibe and a lead singer with a smooth set of pipes. $5, 9 p.m.

After writing all that, I'm almost too exhausted to go out! Look for live reviews online this weekend.

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Column 67 -- The Return of The Protoculture... – March 9, 2006 –

The timing is a bit askew on this week's column. The Protoculture show is not this Sunday, but a week from this Sunday -- March 19 at O'Leaver's, with Kite Pilot. I didn't see any reason to sit on this story for a week, however. The only thing missing from the column is a description of the band's new material. The original Protoculture recordings are intricate little marvels of post-punk pop. The new stuff, of which I was lucky enough to hear a rough mix, is much more dense sounding even though it's the same three-piece we all know and love. Track "Formerly a Feeling" has a guitar sound reminiscent of Mercy Rule. "Airplanes and Fireflies" features Erica Petersen-Hanton on vocals and is poppier than any other Protoculture song I've heard (very near Kite Pilot territory). Final track, "The Brightest Twilight," is closest to the old Protoculture sound. It all rocks, of course, as does the mysterious never-released fifth track from the Whoop Ass sessions. The band has no clue as to how they're going to put this out. "I can't see someone locally putting out something by us," said drummer Koly Walter, adding that the CD is a "one-time thing. Saddle Creek wouldn't be interested. We're not a Speed! Nebraska-type band. (Dave) Goldberg started a new label, but we're not really their thing, either." That means the CD will likely be available (eventually) as a self-released CDR type deal with no distribution outside of their gigs. A shame, because I think there's an audience out there for this music. The Protoculture really is a revelation in that they combine the best qualities of math- and post-punk with a true pop sensibility (and you can dance it, too). Though the proposed compilation CD may be a one-off, the band's performance a week from Sunday isn't. The Protoculture plans to continue performing together into the foreseeable future. Walter said both The Stay Awake and Chicago's Head of Femur have voiced interest in playing with them.

One final addendum to this column. I asked the band what was their biggest exposure they received the first time 'round. They only played maybe a dozen shows locally, including an opening slot for Simon Joyner at a gig held in a rehearsal space inside The Rose Theater. "John Peel played our single on his radio show," Walter said. "Dave Sink acquired a recording of it from someone he knew in Sweden."

"Peel said something like 'With a clever title like this (Driving a Stolen Car on a Borrowed Road) it better be good,'" Clayton said.

"People called in to hear it again," Walter added, "So he played the song once more on his show. It was nice to know that someone somewhere liked it."

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Ester Drang's cinematic approach; Anathallo tonight... – March 8, 2006 –

Online here now, a new interview with Ester Drang's James McAlister (read it here). James talks about the band's lush, orchestrated sound, being on Jade Tree, the band's near-fatal van accident, and the live show they're bringing to Sokol Underground this Friday night. There was little from the interview left out of the story. Interestingly, Ester Drang is constantly touted for being from Oklahoma, even by the band itself -- they still call themselves a Tulsa band -- when in fact they've lived in Seattle for a while now. McAlister said there's probably more of a San Francisco influence to their new album than Tulsa considering most of it was recorded there at Tiny Telephone studios. The Oklahoma thing, he said, is a reporter's hook... sound familiar? I will be surprised if the band can pull off their lush sound live as well as McAlister says they will.

The same can be said for the 7-piece Anathallo, which plays tonight at O'Leaver's. I'm listening to Floating World, their latest on Nettwerk, as I type this -- it's big, with tons of keyboards and horns, very theatrical, reminds me a bit of Sufjan Stevens what with its hand claps, foot stomps and multiple harmonies. This could be a very cool show. Get there early. The beautiful acoustic splendor of Lincoln's Tie These Hands (here's their myspace) is opening. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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Where's the update?... – March 7, 2006 –

Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday, I was busy writing an interview with Ester Drang, that'll be online tomorrow, and a column on The Protoculture, that'll be online Thursday. On top of that, I also got a nasty head cold. And on top of that, I have jury duty this week. What other disasters can befall me? I probably wouldn't have written an update yesterday anyway since I didn't have anything to write about. With The Crud slowly creeping over me, I didn't go to any shows last weekend. I hope to god this pestilence has passed by later this week, when we'll all be swallowed up in a tidal wave of shows. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with a judge... I sure hope they let me listen to my iPod in there...

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Live Review: Nada Surf, Rogue Wave; the weekend (or what there is of it)... – March 3, 2006 –

The hand-scribbled message on the paper lying next to the cash register said it all: SOLD OUT. As in the room was at capacity. As in as soon as I said my hellos and turned the counter I was met with a wall of humanity. I didn't realize how popular these bands were. I guess a lot of people watch The O.C. Let me start by throwing some roses before I pick up a turd. Rogue Wave was impressive, much better than when I saw them back in January of '05, back when they were just another one of those bands riding the retro tip along with The Shins and New Pornographers and the various Elephant Six projects. They don't sound anything like that anymore (I confess to not having heard their most recent album). They seemed to have evolved into Death Cab for Cutie, but with denser, more haunting (and more interesting) arrangements, not at all what I was expecting.

And maybe it's the fact that I haven't been down to Sokol in a long time -- my ears seemingly having adjusted to the meager PA at O'Leaver's -- but the sound last night was just plain terrific, as good as I've ever heard in that smokey basement. Give credit to the sound guy, but give credit to the bands whose performances were clearly were honed and ready to make the most out of what they had (Christ, the drums from both bands were thunderous). Between sets the roadies set up large parabolic mirrors on stage -- five of them -- just like the ones used in grocery stores and convenient marts to keep an eye on shoplifters. The huge round mirrors mounted on stands were pointed at the crowd and made for an interesting visual (What is it about mirrors that make a room look bigger?). And so, with the stage set and after a prolonged (20 minutes?) break between bands, on came Nada Surf, and what can I say? They sounded good, I guess, but ultimately, well, kind of boring. I like The Weight Is a Gift, their new album, but live, for whatever reason (maybe I just wasn't in the mood; maybe it lacked the record's earnest dynamics), it felt flat. All's I could think of was how much they reminded me of those bands I remembered from the '90s -- bands like Goo Goo Dolls and Soul Asylum and Trip Shakespeare and Matchbox Twenty and maybe, most of all, Gin Blossoms. Don't get me wrong, they were doing what they do as well as they could (though the guitar parts seemed empty, evidence of the overdubs they must have used on their albums to compensate), I just got the feeling I'd heard it before, probably on the radio circa 1995, or on a television commercial circa now.

Moving on…

The weekend's looking a might-bit thin. Tonight, O'Leaver's has folk-rock outfit Goodbye Sunday and The Pendrakes. $5, 9:30 p.m. (Why not?). And that's…it. Nothing stands out for Saturday or Sunday. And maybe that's okay, because next week there are multiple worthy shows every night. Get some sleep, save your money. You'll need it.

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Live Review: Voxtrot, Kite Pilot; Nada Surf tonight... – March 2, 2006 –

Plead as they may, Voxtrot couldn't get them to come on up and dance last night at O'Leaver's. Had nothing to do with the music, which was certainly made for dancing -- poppy and loose, their arrangements were deceptively simple for a five-piece. If you closed your eyes you'd think you were listening to a trio, but there was a second guitarist tucked in the back and a guy that played keyboards here and there. Occasionally bands define themselves by the cover songs they play, or how they play them. Last night Voxtrot covered Talking Heads' "Heaven," a laid-back, shimmering, hangover track that throbs with the same hazy angst felt while driving home alone after a late-night party, one of my favorite Heads' tracks. Voxtrot reinvented it as a peppy back-beat pogo song, kicky and fun-loving house-dance fare. Lite. A perfect analogy for all their music -- hopeful love songs with snappy-patter percussion and shuffle rhythm guitar. Lots of smiles. Fun indie pop that means no harm. Simple. Nothing wrong with that.

Kite Pilot opened sounding as good as ever, though I noticed less trumpet during last night's set. Trumpeter/keyboardist Todd Hanton said that was by design. Fact is, he can't play keyboards and trumpet at the same time. Regardless, he came through with the brass on the back-half of the set, and the band finished with a new song that pop-pop-popped as well as anything from their records. A new guitar player even joined them on a couple songs. No idea if he's a permanent addition or not. If you're kicking yourself for missing them last night, don't worry. They're playing at O'Leaver's again March 19 with The Protoculture (yes, that Protoculture). More on that show in the coming weeks.

Tonight: Nada Surf at Sokol Underground. This should be a good one. NS drummer Ira Elliot said expect to hear most of The Weight Is a Gift as well as songs from their first two albums. "It's a pretty straight-up rock show," he said. "It's been running an hour and a half to two hours long. We cover lots of ground." Two hours? That's arena rock-show length. A lot of people will be there just to see their tour mates, Rogue Wave. Other opener Inara George (daughter of Little Feat's Lowell George) sounds exactly like Suzanne Vega (who I adore). It's gonna be a long night. $12, 9 p.m.

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Column 66 -- The art of going it alone; Voxtrot/Kite Pilot tonight... – March 1, 2006 –

A brief addendum on this week's column: I did know a number of people at the show in question, but they were sitting down, already busy talking to their friends and certainly didn't need to be bothered by me (I'm not a butt-in-er.) The 49'r is a notorious party bar if you're a regular. I'm not. I rarely go there. I do go to Sokol and O'Leaver's all the time, and as a result, I know people at those bars and feel comfortable going to them by myself. But it didn't start out that way.

Kite Pilot consistenly puts on a great show, and tonight should be no different. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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Happy Mardi Gras; brief live review of Past Punchy... – Feb. 28, 2006 –

This being a pseudo drinking holiday, you'd expect at least a few shows going on tonight. Nada. I guess Omaha started lent a little early this year. The rest of the week is dominated with shows: Voxtrot and Kite Pilot tomorrow; Nada Surf on Thursday (the weekend, on the other hand, is looking a might bit thin).

Those who might be wondering, I did go to the Past Punchy and the Present show Saturday night at The 49'r. My quick exit will be discussed ad nauseum in this week's column, which will be online either tomorrow or Thursday, depending on the amount of news worth passing on (No feature article this week, drat it). Suffice to say, what little I saw of Past Punchy was revelatory. I missed almost their entire set. Unsure of when the band was supposed to go on, I took a shot in the dark and missed, only catching the last two songs. Thornton Will was seated behind the trap set wearing a New York Yankees stocking cap (apparently it was stocking cap night, as Kyle Harvey and Alex McManus also wore them) while Thornton Bob was right out front in a suit. An apparently exhausted Reagan Roeder played seated on one of the steps. These guys make a big messy noise that is undeniably catchy. In a certain way, the ensemble had the same loose garage-band vibe of Crazy Horse but with punk overtones. I managed to catch the entire final song, an odyssey of dynamics that saw the band rise and fall from verse to verse -- loud than quiet than loud -- with the audience fooled at least twice into thinking the song was over when it wasn't. Dynamics and momentum are the lifeblood of this band. Listening to them is like watching them run madly across the surface of a frozen lake only to stop all at once and lean back in their shoes, sliding forward almost to halt before taking off again in an all-out sprint. Something tells me that Bob is the type of guy that likes to gun it then hit the brakes in his car just to see his passengers lurch forward and back in their seats. There was a lot of that going on in the Niner last Saturday night. Here's hoping they play again in the near future so I can hear their entire set.

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Live Review: Life After Laserdisque; Past Punchy and the Present tonight... – Feb. 25, 2006 –

That's it. I'm not going to post CD reviews the day before a band's CD release show anymore. Makes me look like an idjit.

Yesterday I said Life After Laserdisque's new disc reminded me of Blood Sweat and Tears, which it does at times. Then I go see them live and they sound nothing like BS&T. In fact, they sounded nothing like their CD. Good thing nobody reads this blog. LAL just sorta tossed out most of the retro posing and amped up the modern edges at last night's O'Leaver's gig. The arrangements were more uptempo than on the record, with brash guitar and keyboard lines glowing at new angles to a sound that bordered on post-punk prog rock. Still, there was plenty of jam-band stuff going on, including probably the first drum solo I've seen since my concert-going days at the Civic Auditorium. There was even a blitzed guy in the audience that looked like Trey Anastasio doing a pseudo hurdy-gurdy dance -- it doesn't get more hippie than that. Frontman John Klemmensen looked relaxed belting out his yodel-like vocals all evening, pulling the capacity audience into a fun-loving party stance -- yeah, this is one of them "good-time bands." Xtra-special features included a video reel that played on the plasma TV -- a conglomeration of stuff that included a hilarious safety video (Safety Only Takes a Second), an NBA slam-dunk contest, martial arts demonstrations and a long sequence from a cheesy horror flick that just seemed to go on and on and on.

Opener Landing on the Moon played a relaxed set in preparation of a mini-tour that takes them to Denver tonight and Lincoln tomorrow. The evening was also the unveiling of O'Leaver's upgraded PA. Sure enough, mounted from the ceiling were two big, beefy JBL speakers. The overall sound was indeed better, fuller, etc., but the vocals still sounded somewhat awful. The mikes were an ongoing topic of discussion throughout the evening. Was it the microphones themselves? Some said yes, but almost everyone pointed to how the microphones were wired into the PA. Theories varied. Look, I don't know anything about the science of sound engineering, all's I know was that the vocals sounded like they were coming out of a megaphone. Not good, but once they get that figured out, O'Leaver's sound will have entered the big leagues where it belongs.

Tonight, Past Punchy and the Present at The 49'r with Midwest Dilemma and The Ointments. $5, 9:30 p.m. Expect an over-capacity crowd. Look for me. I'll be the guy standing in your way.

The Weekend: Life After Laserdisque tonight; Past Punchy and the Present tomorrow... – Feb. 24, 2006 –

The agenda is in the headline. Please update your calendars appropriately. The details:

Tonight, O'Leaver's will be hosting Life After Laserdisque's CD release show for Laser of Justice. Niz wrote a nice little story on the band in the OWH yesterday (it's here, but you'll have to register to read it). The five-piece features Scott Klemmensen on guitar and vocals (brother of Landing on the Moon frontman John Klemmensen), guitarist Shawn Cox (Landing on the Moon) and irascible bassist Brendan Greene-Walsh, who you might recognize as the sound guy at O'Leaver's (He's the dude with the ponytail and trademark suspenders -- yes, that guy). LAL is rounded out by drummer Jason Koba and keyboardist Ian Simons. I've been listening to Laser of Justice for the past few days on my iPod. The six-song EP, recorded by Mike Saklar, has a distinctively retro R&B vibe that comes by way of funk guitar lines and Klemmensen's soaring howl. The band prides itself on its varied style from song to song. The opener is a funk deal, while the next two tunes sound like Blood Sweat and Tears ("Working in the Garden" even has a guitar lick that reminds me of "Ride Captain Ride"). "Stay Awhile" is a meandering stroller with no central melody (at least none that I could hum for you if asked), while the last two put a modern face on traditional back-beat album rock. I think there's something hippie-esque about LAL that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's because I'm not an aficionado of today's jam bands. That said. LAL isn't a jam band, though with a slight push and the right weed, I think it could become one.

Also playing tonight with LAL is Landing on the Moon (Shawn Cox will sleep well after pulling double duty) and Someday Stories. $5, 9:30 p.m. Also of note, Brendan from LAL left a post on my webboard saying he spent most of yesterday evening replacing O'Leaver's main speakers with "some very nice, vary large JBL's." If there's one thing that's been missing from O'Leaver's since it became a bonafide rock club (other than enough space) it's been a decent PA. I'll check it out tonight and let you know tomorrow how it sounded.

Tomorrow night's marquee show is at The 49'r with Past Punchy and the Present (read yesterday's blog for details) along with Midwest Dilemma and The Ointments. Bob Thornton e-mailed me yesterday letting me in on a surprise tune that they'll be playing during their set. Here's a hint: I mentioned it yesterday. It's either $3 or $5 and starts at 9:30.

Column 65 -- The past and present punchy... – Feb. 23, 2006 –

So I'm just getting started talking to Bob Thornton during our interview at Blue Line and we're running through the bands he was in and he mentions Culture Fire. I'd forgotten about Culture Fire, than realized that I recognized Bob from the one time I saw that band at the Howard St. Tavern. I mention it to him and he remembers the show, which must have been 13 or 14 years ago. Tell me if I'm getting this wrong, but didn't you guys call Simon Joyner up on stage to do a number? Sure enough, Bob says Joyner came on stage and did a punk rock version of "Song for D. Boon." I remember sitting there listening that night and thinking that Joyner's folk songs are really just punk songs sung solo with an acoustic guitar. The scene back then was The Howard St. before it became The Capitol which crossed the Cog Factory, Bob said, adding that they always had problems playing at the Howard St. because of noise complaints. "And I liked really loud bass amps," Thornton said.

The rest of the interview is pretty much in the column. Except the part about how music was something he and big brother Bill shared growing up. "We both love it and both have an extremely wide range music we like. It's probably weird to find two brothers that love Buck Owens and Slayer and anything in between."

In addition to Past Punchy and the Present, Saturday's show at The 49'r also includes Midwest Dilemma and The Ointments. Who knows what'll happen after that.

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Nada Surf goes indie... – Feb. 22, 2006 –

There's a nice little feature on Nada Surf that just went online (read it here). Drummer Ira Elliot compares and contrasts life on a major (Elektra) vs. life on an indie (Barsuk). They prefer the latter (and who wouldn't?). He also talks a little bit about Ric Ocasek, who must be one intimidating mofo when it comes to recording. I like Nada Surf and I like their new record. It took awhile. Actually, it took awhile just getting past their name. You hear Nada Surf, you immediately think jam band or hippie music. These guys couldn't be further from both. Bad name, Nada Surf. Oh well. They're succeeding in spite of it.

Stuff that didn't make it into the story: When it came time to release the follow-up single to the hugely popular "Popular," Nada Surf got the first glimpse at what they were in for at Elektra. The label wanted to push the somewhat milquetoast "Treehouse." "We knew it wouldn't work and it didn't," Elliot said. "We didn't even like playing it. We were into a song called 'Sleep,' with a killer riff in the middle. It blew up when we played it on stage and we knew it would sound smashing on the radio." Of course, the label will always win that argument.

What was it like working with Ocasek, who produced their debut, vs. Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, who produced their latest release? "Ocasek was a huge presence," Elliot said. "He was older, we were all awed by him when we met him. You can't help but be. Chris is a peer. He's younger than we are and at the same time was like another guy in the band. Chris was more of a peer and had a different energy. Ric's energy was quiet and reserved. Chris was manic. He has a childlike quality. He's always firing on all cylinders."

Nada Surf has a song included on Music from The OC: Mix 2 called "If You Leave." Some might consider that a subject of ridicule, unless they glanced at who else is on the album: Eels, Death Cab for Cutie, Interpol, Dios Malos, The Walkman, to name a few. They're also on the recently released collection from the WB show One Tree Hill (that one is a little more embarrassing). Have they seen an impact being on the kid-show soundtracks? "People are not calling that song out ("If You Leave")," Elliot said. "I do suspect it brought us a number of fans. I'm getting a sense of that looking at the audience. You can tell who's down front. At Chapel Hill, it was a college audience, but there were real young kids up front that would be into The OC and One Tree Hill. It has a lot of impact on kids getting into music and looking at new bands. We haven't gotten too many shoutouts for "If You Leave," and we wouldn't play it, anyway. I don't think there was any credibility downside. It's just a new outlet for bands to reach an audience."

Finally, does the band still play "Popular"? "Sometimes toward end of a set or when we do an encore, or on a hot not and we're doing a second encore, we'll pull out the heavy guns," Elliot said. "The other night, we overheard a conversation between guys from the other bands. One said, 'I heard they do,' and the other was absolutely certain we didn't. We do play it, but we don't play it as a matter of course every night. That night we did just to prove everyone wrong. We play it every three or four shows. One day we should open the show with it." Read more...

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Spend Another Evening with Saddle Creek... – Feb. 21, 2006 –

A friend of mine (the good Dr. Sheehan, to be exact) pointed out to me that the short film, "Omaha Rocks," is now online at Current TV (click here to view). The 7-minute video, produced by Rob Walter (who, along with Jason Kulbel, produced the recently released (on DVD) documentary "Spend an Evening with Saddle Creek"), takes a stab at what's driving the Omaha music scene, specifically the Saddle Creek scene. It includes brief interviews with the boys from Beep Beep, Dapose and Joel Petersen from The Faint, a special segment on The Cog Factory with shots from both outside and inside the bunker (good stuff). There's also shots taken inside what appears to be The Faint's rehearsal space (as well as some live Faint footage from a Sokol Auditorium show), shots of Tilly and the Wall rehearsing, and a microbrief comment from Ladyfinger. The given discription on the Current TV site: "Is Omaha the new Seattle? VCC Producer Rob Walters examines the explosion of independent rock music in, of all places, Omaha, Nebraska." The underlying theme: Omaha is a cheap and easy place to start a band, with both the necessary friend- and fanbase to keep it going even in the rough times. Omaha is a curiosity in the eyes of the national press. Omaha bands have a good work ethic. Consider it extra footage from the original Creek documentary, complete with the same pan-shots of the city skyline used from that film. Nicely done.

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Happy Presidents' Day; emo night at Sokol Underground – Feb. 20, 2006 –

A busy Monday, putting stuff together for the rest of the week including a feature on Nada Surf (online Wednesday) and a column with Past Punchy (online Thursday). Good thing I have the day off in honor of past and present presidents. Check out the live review that went online over the weekend (below). There's a rare Monday show tonight at Sokol Underground featuring Tooth & Nail band MAE with Lovedrug and The Audition. MAE plays keyboard-driven nerd rock, sort of an emo version of Ben Folds. Lovedrug is more of the same but without keyboards. Chicago's The Audition is on Victory and sounds like the kind of band that would be on Victory. It'll be all emo, all the time. Bring the kids. $12, 9 p.m.

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Live Review: No Blood Orphan – Feb. 19, 2006 –

Despite my better judgment, I went to The 49'r last night even though it was brutally cold out and I knew I'd be parking three blocks away (if I found a parking spot at all) and that the walk alone would be treacherous because no one along 49th street apparently has time to shovel their sidewalks, which had turned to sheets of ice. I knew that the place would be packed to the gills, that it would take a minimum of 10 minutes to get a beer and that after I got the beer, that I would walk around puzzled as to where I was going to stand to watch the band. I knew all of this, but I went anyway because I haven't seen No Blood Orphan before and I wanted to hear how their CD sounded performed live.

And, of course, all my arguments against going were fully realized. The place was packed, it took forever to get a beer (thanks again, Oliver), and there was nowhere to sit or stand to watch the band. I suppose if you're 5'7" you're okay to stand in front of other people, but if you're 6'2", you're going to feel more than a little bit "in the way" and worried that you're being a rude a-hole. But what else are you supposed to do? The 49'r is simply not designed for live shows. There is no stage so the band plays at the same level as the crowd, which means someone is always going to be in the way. There are too many tables so there's nowhere to stand. The only places you can stand are along the bar (in the way of people seated in stools or those trying to get a beer), in the back (in the way of people trying to get to the bathrooms), along the opposite wall (actually, there's no standing room over there) or right in front of the band -- where you'll effectively block everyone's view. Guess where I ended up.

I can, however, see why bands like playing at the Niner -- there literally is no line of demarcation between the band and the crowd, as if the band is playing within the crowd itself. The guy standing next to me, for example, put out his cigarettes in the ashtray that sat atop of the keyboard while the keyboardist was playing it. The keyboardist didn't mind at all -- why would he? At that point, he was literally playing inside the crowd. I assume this gives the band a feeling of not performing at all, but of actually being just another patron. That relaxed vibe results in some very comfortable performances, and last night's was no exception. Mike Saklar and company were in a groove from beginning to end. Just seeing Saklar's set-up, by the way, is worth the price of admission -- he has a panel on the floor with what appeared to have more than a dozen different pedals attached to it. To Saklar's left was a gizmo mounted three feet off the ground on a metal stand that looked like a piece of World War II-era medical equipment. Behind the keyboard player spun a large cylinder that looked like an ice-cream maker. I have no idea what any of these gizmos were for.

I can tell you that the set sounded good and somewhat different than the recording thanks to the extensive use of delays on the vocals and the warm keyboards that shifted beneath every song -- keyboards that I never noticed before on the recording. Saklar uses so much delay that it gives his voice an almost Peter Murphy-esque quality (You can tell he loves Bauhaus). The visible differences from song to song on the new album were somewhat glossed over live. All of it -- even the twangy stuff -- had an almost gothic sheen to it reminiscent of '80s bands like Teardrop Explodes, Joy Division, The Cure and Mission UK (Again, I have to point to the vocal effects). The highlights included a throbbing version of "Insect" from the new album, and the set-closer that featured solos by keyboardist Chris Esterbrooks and lead guitarist Steve Bartolomei. Saklar himself provided a number of flowing guitar solos throughout the set.

The sound quality, incidentally, was never better. I have no idea why that is. Perhaps The Niner has added a few things, or the band added their own stuff (the ice cream maker?) or the sound guy just did a good job (though I could have used more Bartolomei in the mix). After the set, Jake Bellows was supposed to perform. I'm told he had also played a set last night in Lincoln as Cocoon (without Todd Fink, who was in the Niner audience last night) and was headed back to Omaha right afterward for the solo set. I have no idea if he made it. With my beer long gone, I took a look at the crowd that I'd have to work through to get another and thought better of it. As uncomfortable as last night's set was, I know I'll be back there again next weekend for Past Punchy and the Presents. But you'll be reading more about them here later next week.

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An Ice Station Zebra weekend – Feb. 17, 2006 –

From a pure concert standpoint, this is one of the best weekends of the year... if you live in Lincoln. Tonight it's Nine Inch Nails and Moving Units at Pershing; tomorrow night it's the sold-out Jeff Tweedy show at The Rococo while The Elected and Cocoon (The Todd Fink side project) are at Duffy's.

The pickin's aren't so bad for the rest of us stuck in this iceball called Omaha, except for tonight maybe. The only show worth mentioning is former M.I.J. frontman Jeff Hanson at Sokol Underground with Southerly and Tim Perkins. Hanson's solo debut, released on Kill Rockstars, was produced by the Mogis Brothers at Presto! And yes, for those of you who remember M.I.J., Hanson's that guy that sounds like a girl. In fact, his new album sounds like a girl singing Elliott Smith songs. Southerly also keeps with the acoustic, earnest, emo theme. $7, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night is the bonanza night. At The 49'r you have the No Blood Orphan CD release show, which also features Jake Bellows (Neva Dinova), Microphone Jones, Lee Meyerpeter (Bad Luck Charm) and a number of "surprise special guests." I suspect this will be a madhouse, as all 49'r shows are. The problem with The 49'r, as I've written a million times before, is that there is no place to stand in the venue without being in someone's way, which makes for one pain-in-the-ass evening. Someone needs to rethink the venue's set-up for live shows. $3 (or $5, I'm not complete sure), 9:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, just a few blocks away, Outlaw Con Bandana is hosting its album-release show at Don Carmelo's on 35th and Farnam. How they'll pull this off in the pizza joint is anyone's guess, though frontman Brendan Hagberg said it'll be something to see. Opening the show is none other than Omaha icon Bill Hoover. And you can't beat the price -- it's free.

Look for a live review or two right here this weekend.

Column 64 -- Life of an outlaw – Feb. 16, 2006 –

I didn't know what I was getting into when I ran into Brendan Hagberg at O'Leaver's last weekend after Outlaw Con Bandana opened for Mi and L'au. I was talking to one of the editors at The Reader at the time. Brendan asked if there was any way the paper could do something for the album-release show that's going on this Saturday at Don Carmelo's on Farnam. Jeremy said the paper already was booked up. After just hearing his set, I quickly suggested we put it in my column, figuring we could focus on the recording, which was produced by Mayday's Ted Stevens. After Brendan walked away, Jeremy, who's known Hagberg for years, said, "Jesus, this could be a good interview," but wouldn't elaborate. I've already received negative feedback on this column, that it's a bait-and-switch, that it's too "insider." Maybe so. I knew before I wrote it that it could be perceived that way. But I didn't have much choice other than to ignore the album's dark back story altogether. During our interview, I warned Hagberg that by not discussing the details readers might draw even more morbid conclusions about the events. He said he couldn't imagine anymore more heinous than what happened. Point taken.

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This week's feature: No Blood Orphan – Feb. 15, 2006 –

One of the ways I originally wanted to approach this feature on No Blood Orphan (read it here) was to talk about the nature of guitar-playing with frontman/guitarist Mike Saklar, a living legend among local musicians. The problem, of course, was that Saklar is way, way too humble to talk about his skills. I commented that he was one of the most versatile ax-wielders in the scene today and he just sort of quietly, shyly said "Thanks" and indicated non-verbally that it was time to move on, that there's nothing to see here. It's sort of what I expected. As long as I can remember, Saklar always has deflected any attention to himself, preferring to let his guitar speak for him, and speak well it does.

What Mike was willing to talk about (beyond what's in the story) was the nature of digital and analog recording. He recorded Your Ship Sales the Seven Seas with NBO guitarist Steve Bartolomei and mastered it at Ant Studios, the name of Saklar's home studio in Ralston. "The studio is my whole house," he said. "It's like a rehearsal studio, we basically practice down there and I try to keep everything miked up all the time. I generally record every practice and we go back and fix things that sound weird."

For the actual recording sessions, however, Saklar unplugs the computer and plugs in an 8-track tape recorder. "The album was recorded entirely on analog equipment," he said. "Everything went to tape. I've been recording stuff since '96; actually I started recording albums in '89 or '90. If nothing else, I've learned the ropes a little bit."

Why analog? "It just sound better," he said. "Me and Steve (Bartolomei) talk about this every day. There's a richness and level of harmonics you can perceive when you compare digital to analog. It's just different. Seems like a lot of digital recordings can punch you. With analog, you get a cushy low end; everything sounds better."

"It's like putting a layer of varnish on the recording," added keyboardist Chris Esterbrooks. "You're also hearing the sound of the tape itself."

Saklar is also becoming a go-to guy when it comes to mastering, having recently handled the mastering chores on new albums by Life After Laserdisque and Landing On the Moon, among others. "I've been mastering since Ravine," Saklar said. "I mastered all my records and a little bit of Ritual Device. It makes sense to me since I feel really close to the music as the engineer."

Saturday's No Blood Orphan CD release show at The Niner falls on a busy weekend for shows. The Jeff Tweedy show is the same night in Lincoln, indie band MAE is down at Sokol and Outlaw Con Bandana's album release show will be going on at Don Carmelo's on Farnam. More on that band tomorrow.

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Happy V Day; Neva Dinova on Saddle Creek… – Feb. 14, 2006 –

Sorry about not updating the site yesterday, but I was waist-deep writing a profile on No Blood Orphan (online tomorrow) and a column about Outlaw Con Bandana's Brendan Hagberg (online Thursday). Lots of interviews last weekend. Not enough shows. I missed Shelley Short and Dan McCarthy. And despite the fact that we're midway through February, there are still very few mid-week shows on the ol' rock calendar (not that Valentine's Day was ever considered a good night for shows anyway). That won't change until we reach March. Anyway, here are a few newsy things:

-- The SXSW website updated their "confirmed band list" last Monday. Still the same Omaha bands as before listed: Criteria, Tilly and the Wall, Broken Spindles, and Neva Dinova. Criteria and Tilly, along with Two Gallants, are part of the combined Saddle Creek/Barsuk Showcase March 16 at the Parish Room. Creek press materials don't list Neva and Tilly at their showcase but I wouldn't be surprised if they made a guest appearance. Why Neva? Because Creek finally confirmed to me last week the news that everyone already knows -- the label is indeed putting out the next Neva Dinova album. Congrats and welcome to Saddle Creek, fellers.

-- MusicOMH has a 4-star review of Two Gallants' What the Toll Tells. "It's not really an easy listen, but it is an exciting one, even if the math-rock element seems, as it tends to, a little cold." Math rock element? Huh? I have yet to hear this, so I can't comment (where's my copy, Saddle Creek?). The release date is next Tuesday.

-- There's an item in PopMatters about a new Wrens documentary. The filmmakers apparently tagged along with the band for a year and recorded more than 100 hours of live concert footage and interviews, including with Cursive's Tim Kasher and Head of Femur's Ben Armstrong. The time-frame isn't given, but I don't remember seeing a film crew at the March 14, 2004, Wrens show at Sokol Underground.

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Live Review: Mi and L'au, Outlaw Con Bandana; Shelley Short tonight… – Feb. 11, 2006 –

It was one of the funniest, weirdest moments in O'Leaver's brief history. Outlaw Con Bandana came on at around 10:45, performing as a trio with frontman Brendan Hagberg, Matthew Rooney on upright bass and Pearl Lovejoy Boyd providing additional vocals. Chris Fischer, who's listed as a band member on the band's just-released 12-inch, was curiously absent. The absolutely packed crowd was respectful as Hagberg and Co. launched into a rich acoustic set of rural, turn-of-the-(last)-century-flavored folk ditties. Hagberg has a buttery croon that accentuates his Kerouac-meets-Guthrie road images. More on Outlaw in the near future…

Then came Mi and L'au. Looking like a pair of strung-out Western European refugees, the duo took a seat on stage with Laurent Leclère (the L'au part) quietly plucking his guitar. When I say "quietly," I mean he was barely touching the strings. O'Leaver's fell into a silence suitable for funerals and libraries as Mira Romantschuk (the MI part) leaned forward and whispered into the microphone. That's when the reverence turned into the absurd. Everyone began looking around, startled by the level of silence. So quiet was it that you could hear someone whisper-hiss to Chris the Bartender "Shot of Jaeger please." The absurdity turned to hilarity when an unassuming couple walked in and said "What's the cover?" and was met with SHHHH!!! followed by lots of restrained laughter. That's when everyone in the back of the bar realized how ridiculous the moment had become. We were in frickin' O'Leaver's, for God's sake. The phone of the guy standing next to me suddenly came alive. He fumbled to get it out of his pocket when Chris hissed "Turn that thing off!" The guy answered the cell in normal tone "What's up dog?" and everyone around breath-hissed in restrained laughter. Remember when you were in church as a kid and your brother or sister got you started laughing and trying to stop only made you laugh harder?

On one level, I was proud of O'Leaver's and the usually rowdy patrons for showing so much restraint. On the other hand, I couldn't help but wonder what MI and L'au were thinking playing a bar that only moments early was blaring Van Halen over its jukebox. Laurent knows that their music is a hard-sell in clubs, and says it's he and Mi's responsibility to keep the crowd focused. And they did for about two more songs, then people began to talk quietly among themselves again. It got louder but never really to normal O'Leaver's sound levels. Frankly, it couldn't or you would not be able to hear a note they were playing up there huddled over their microphones. Their music, which is somewhat monotone and tuneless in the first place, became even more uninteresting by a performance that wasn't as much restrained as it was just plain strained. It could have been pretty if the music were played and sung with just a little more umph. Instead the duo sounded like they just took an overdose of sleeping pills and decided to slowly pass away together playing their music, not alone but instead surrounded by a roomful of people who didn't understand what they were singing.

Tonight. Shelley Short with McCarthy Trenching and Steve Bartolomei as Mal Madrigal, though I'm told Steve will be performing solo. At O'Leavers, 9:30 p.m., $5. Leave your earplugs at home.

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An addendum to yesterday's Cursive review; the weekend is at hand – Feb. 10, 2006 –

Gee, I wonder if there's any interest in Cursive's new album?

Judging by the enormous amount of traffic to my site yesterday, I'd say that there very well might be. Double the usual hits? Triple? You're in the ball park. I received an e-mail from O'Leaver's soundman yesterday afternoon saying that there was to be a repeat "secret" performance last night. I haven't confirmed this, but I wouldn't be surprised. I didn't go, having already heard the set and knowing that I'm going to be spending tonight and tomorrow night at O'Leaver's. There is such thing as too much of a good thing.

One last comment about Wednesday's Cursive performance that I forgot to mention yesterday: It didn't dawn on me until I was in bed with my ears still ringing that Gretta Cohn wasn't there. Unlike their two-night stand at Sokol Underground last November when the effect of Cohn's absence was a topic of fervent conversation at the venue that night, Cohn was never mentioned Wednesday, and wasn't missed in the band's arrangements. I don't think having a cello in the middle of these more traditional, more rockin' songs would have made sense. Plus, there wouldn't have been enough room on O'Leaver's dainty stage.

I can almost guarantee that there won't be any secret Cursive performances at O'Leaver's tonight. The venue resumes regular programming with the quiet, romantic acoustic music of Mi and L'au and the coffee shop folk of Outlaw Con Bandana. $5, 9:30 p.m. Meanwhile, there's more folk going on over at Mick's with Caron Easley and the Gentiles (consisting of Austin Britton and Adam Weaver), along with Brad Hoshaw and Adam Weaver and the Ghosts. If not for Mi and L'au I would be at this show drawn by the sheer attraction of Easley's myspace tunage -- I like her voice and the simplicity of her songs. Maybe if O'Leaver's ends early I'll be able to catch it. $5, 9 p.m.

Saturday night at O'Leaver's it's Shelley Short w/ McCarthy Trenching and Mal Madrigal. When Chicago singer-songwriter Shelley Short entered the studio to record her latest LP, Captain Wild Horse Rides the Heart of Tomorrow (Hush Records), she brought a few talented friends with her. Among them violinist Tiffany Kowalski (Bright Eyes, Mayday, M Ward), Rachel Blumberg (Decemberists, M Ward), and Andy Rader (Pinetop Seven). The result is a record that switches from shimmering, Tonya Donelly-style haunters to simple Patsy-colored waltzes, all perfectly suited for some fancy two-steppin'. It's a shame O'Leaver's doesn't have a dance floor. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Look for live reviews here in the blog all weekend.

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Live Review: Cursive last night at O'Leaver's (Shhhhh); This week's Feature: Mi and L'au; Poor Sly – Feb. 9, 2006 –

"We're going to play 14 songs from our new album."

And so began last night's "secret show" at O'Leaver's featuring Cursive. How secret was it? I was told by a Saddle Creek Records executive that he didn't even know about it until a few hours before it went down. I found out via an e-mail yesterday morning from Sean, the guy who runs the venue, and was told "It's a secret. Nothing, zero, zip." The gig was originally supposed to happen Thursday night. Then later that afternoon I got another e-mail saying it was happening last night instead.

Obviously the word got out, because it was jammed in O'Leaver's (though to my knowledge, there was never a line to get into this free show). All the usual suspects were there -- most of the Creek staff and tons of local band people -- past and present. Everyone seemed to know it was a special occasion -- will there ever be another free Cursive show at a venue with a capacity of around 100? Unlikely (but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened again before their next tour).

The set got rolling at around 10:30 and lasted for about an hour. I don't know if they played 14 songs or not, but everything was brand new… and different.

About three songs before the end, the Creek executive asked what I thought. "It swings," I said. He laughed, but I wasn't kidding. Cursive's new music has a swagger to it not heard on their previous material. By contrast to the usual straightforward, arch, "angular" sound, the new material has an undeniable bounce, a swing, almost as if the band has been listening to a lot of jazz lately. Some songs were distinctly proggy, with breaks and syncopation and the usual breakneck time-changes. But all of it had a big-shouldered strut that felt more relaxed and, quite frankly, funner than the usual furloughed-brow Cursive stuff.

Perhaps he's always done this, but Ted Stevens handled more lead vocals than I've ever noticed before, and I liked it. Kasher, unfortunately, was strapped with a microphone that sounded like a toy, as if he was singing through one of those steel mikes they used to use at the Burger King front counter (Whopper. No Mayo). Don't ask me what he and Stevens were singing, you couldn't make out the lyrics in the din. Regardless, the music was profound, an obvious step in a new direction that looks back to an earlier ('80s?) version of punk. Two or three songs sported huge breaks where Kasher whispered into the mike before the band exploded with the usual response. The last song was fueled by a pounding a riff shared by both guitars and bass. Big and brash.

Was last night's gig an indication of what we'll get on the next Cursive album? I hope so, but there's no telling what we'll hear when the CD rolls out later this year. I remember hearing an early version of The Good Life's Blackout CD lent to me by a band member. When the record came out six months later, it was completely different. No doubt the same rules apply when it comes to arranging and mixing this CD, which will clearly be the centerpiece of Saddle Creek's 2006 releases.

* * *

Which brings us to this week's feature on Mi and L'au (read it here). The quaint European couple roll into O'Leaver's this Friday night for a quiet acoustic set. I asked Laurent (he's the L'au half) what he thought of the sometimes-noisy American audiences. "It's a part of the game," he said. "You just change when it happens. You have to grab the mood and make them listen. I don't mind people talking as long as they're listening. If they come and just talk, I don't understand why they came. We play a lot of finger-picking and faster songs, so it's not just quiet (songs). If the patrons complain about us, they would have to complain about folk singers in general."

I struggle with accents, by the way. Whenever I travel to Europe, my girlfriend has to translate -- even for people who speak English. It's a lot of me going "Huh? I"m sorry?" And her going (in a loud, slow, deliberate voice): "HE'S ASKING YOU IF YOU WANT SOUP OR SALAD." It happens in London as much as Paris. Anyway, the point is that it was a tough interview, and I'm sure I missed about half of it because I couldn't make out what he was saying over his cell phone. To illustrate this, here's more of Laurent's replay taken directly from my notes: "It's like usual life. Happens that day and good day. Play many gigs with silent people and people listening to us and even offer us bed and house to stay. My feeling is the kindness and hospitality of people." See.

* * *

Oh yeah, and the Grammy's were on last night. Well, if you were following along, you know that my picks (posted yesterday) went awry thanks to U2 (I did manage to get Clarkson and The White Stripes). It would have been more embarrassing had I gotten more of my picks right. The saddest part of the show beyond the overall lack of talent (as I said throughout the evening -- If you spend enough money you can even make a turd shine, at least to the eyes and ears of the academy) was poor Sly Stone. If you haven't seen it you probably already read about what happened. A bent-over Sly, looking regal in a huge white mohawk, stumbled on stage rather disoriented or maybe disinterested, joining the bands during the tribute number. With one hand wrapped up like a cast, he pounded on a huge Korg keyboard and tried singing along a couple times before waving to the crowd and leaving the stage well before the song was over. Steven Tyler almost looked concerned.

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Column 63: And the Winners Are... – Feb. 8, 2006 –

I moved the column up to today because tonight is the Grammy's and I wanted to get my predictions in place before the big shoe (Mi and L'au will be online here tomorrow).

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Comparing Jennys in New York... – Feb. 7, 2006 –

Here's a bit of web trolling:

-- I can't tell if this New York Times review of Sunday night's Jenny Lewis concert in a converted church on the Lower East Side is a pick or a pan. "Unfortunately, rather than projecting gutsy gospel sass, the Watsons' intermittent 'ooohs' remained mostly a ghostly echo. When Ms. Lewis defaulted to her prettiest mode, as on her cowpoke clomper 'Happy,' she too disappeared. Her more upbeat songs fared best, accompanied by Rhodes organ and lap steel guitar, and Johnathan Rice's second guitar. The pub-friendly 'You Are What You Love'showcased her near-tears resilience." Conor was there, as was M Ward, but they didn't sing "Handle With Care." Why not? Probably because that's what the fans wanted to hear.

-- Compare and contrast this review of the same Jenny Lewis concert that appeared in SPIN online (interesting how writers of both reviews are women). "The crowd was silently captivated during the performance except for the lone fan who shouted 'Great album!'-- a comment the singer bashfully acknowledged." The Times photo is better. So is their review. Better get your tickets to the March 11 Scottish Rites Hall show ASAP.

-- Personal writing mentor/guru Robert Christgau has another in his series of Consumer Guide entries in the latest Village Voice (read it here). He likes The Go Team (A-) and the new Neil Young (A-), gives Andrew Bird the "Dud of the Month" (but it still gets a B) and puts last year's Low album and the new Neil Diamond on the "Duds" list (I disagree about the Low and Diamond dud-ifications. I have the new Neil D. It's good, but it's no Jonathon Livingston Seagull).

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A couple things... – Feb. 6, 2006 –

I've got 10 minutes over lunch so I thought I'd mention a couple quick things. I didn't make to any shows this week, even though Saturday was a great night for shows. I blame general malaise. If anyone saw anything worth mentioning over the weekend, by all means give us a brief comment on the Webboard. Next weekend is shaping up to be a good one as well, with Mi and L'au Friday (look for a feature story on the duo online Wednesday) and Shelley Short Saturday -- both playing at O'Leaver's.

I did watch the Superbowl (The Seahawks got robbed) and caught the Stones at halftime. Say what you will about them being in their 60s and Mick being too old to wear a mid-riff T shirt, but the band sounded pretty good, especially on their new song, which accentuated their strengths -- i.e., Keith, Charlie and Ronnie. Mick didn't sound bad, just a bit froggy... and old.

I also caught Prince on SNL. His guitar work on the first number was (shall I say it?) Hendrix-esque. His vocals also have become Hendrixian in that he sounded more like he was talking than singing. The second song, a duet with a woman I've never seen before, sounded sloppy. Much more interesting is Prince's new single, "Black Sweat," which may be the best song he's released since "Sexy MF." You can see the video here. Wonder if the rest of his upcoming release, 3121, is as good.

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The weekend (briefly)... – Feb. 3, 2006 –

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today, which is good timing because a glance at the usual calendars shows there ain't nothing going on tonight anyway. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by tomorrow, when The Third Men, Anonymous American and Tomato a Day play at O'Leaver's. This is something of a homecoming for Anonymous American, who hasn't played at O'Leaver's in a long time. $5, 9:30 p.m. If you're in Lincoln Saturday night, Criteria, Ideal Cleaners and Little Brazil are playing at Duffy's. Surprisingly, this show also is just $5 and starts at 9:30 p.m.

Maybe the most noteworthy show of the weekend is Saturday night at Sokol Underground. The headliner is Back When, a metal band that plays dark, doomed lullabies sung by a growling Jonathan Tvrdik (who I believe has toured as part of Statistics). What I hear on their myspace page reminds me of current-day Swans but with lots more screaming. Opening are bands Noah's Ark Was A Spaceship, Paria and Father, a noise-metal project that includes Dapose and Clark Baechle of The Faint. Dapose also has been busy recording his side project, Precious Metal, with Joel Petersen. $7, 9 p.m.

And finally, at The 49'r Saturday night you'll have a chance to bid Wichita-bound Reagan Roeder adieu at a going-away show that features Justin Lamoureaux, Steve Bartolomei (Mal Madrigal), Brad Hoshaw, Kyle Harvey and Roeder himself. Should be a drunken mess.

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Blogs in the DN; Qwest Center rumors (The Who?) – Feb. 2, 2006 –

Daily Nebraska music editor and the guy behind the annual Lincoln Calling music festival Jeremy Buckley put together a nice feature on the impact of blogs on music marketing and even quoted little ol' me in the process (read it here). Buckley points out what folks who follow indie music already know, that Pitchfork has become the center of the webzine world, with the power to make or break previously unknown bands. He also got some nice comments from Christina Rentz at Merge, a label that has shouldered its way to the top of the list thanks to some smart, aggressive signings including Bob Pollard, Spoon, M Ward, American Music Club, Crooked Fingers and, of course, The Arcade Fire. It's taken a few years, but labels are actually starting to take blogs -- and more accurately -- online 'zines seriously. I had a chat with a guy who worked at Matador and Beggars a couple years back about why labels weren't interested in online media. He said the bias against them was a matter of not understanding a 'zine's potential reach. Back then, labels would much rather get their bands mentioned in Magnet or AP than in a variety of online 'zines that only get a few thousand unique visitors a week. That attitude seems to be shifting, thanks to Pitchfork and a couple other heavy hitters including Aversion and Drowned in Sound. Pitchfork, however, is still the big prize. I can only imagine the kind of chochkies the editors there are being showered in these days...

Since it's a slow news day, here are a couple rumors that have floated past my ears in the last couple days. That familiar-looking guy that you saw sitting front and center at the Stones concert the other night was, in fact, David Gilmour (yeah, that David Gilmour). I'm told he was in attendance not only to see Mick and Keith play for the first time on this tour but to check out the Qwest Center. No, there isn't going to be a Pink Floyd show here in the near future. Instead, Gilmour will be headed out on a solo tour, and Omaha is on the short list to get a date. The other big name I'm hearing that's headed to the Qwest -- The Who. We'll see if that really happens, but if it does, I'll actually be one of those idiots who rigs up some sort of system to snag a pair of tickets. With the exception of Radiohead, there's no other band but The Who that I'd suffer through the Qwest Center's bad sound and bad seating to see. Keep your fingers crossed.

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Column 62 -- Mogis Speaks (but not to me) – Feb. 1, 2006 –

Tape Op magazine is indeed free. Just go to the Tape Op website, click on the "Free Subscriptions" link on the left nav and fill out the form. The guy who runs the publication must make so much money off of advertising that he doesn't need to charge, though I have no doubt that he could get plenty of paid subscribers (me among them). The Reader had asked me recently to pursue an interview with the Mogis brothers, but after reading this interview, I can't imagine what I'd ask them that hasn't already been covered. And I doubt that Mike and AJ would have time for little ol' me. So with that in mind and the fact that Tape Op isn't exactly a staple on local magazine shelves, I thought I'd share some of the more meaty comments in my column. If you can track down a copy somewhere, pick it up. The Mogis interview is extensive and a good read.

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O'Leaver's online; Roeder to Wichita; Kasher and Fackler at Sundance; GLAAD Loves Conor – Jan. 31, 2006 –

No update yesterday because I was too busy writing this week's column, which will (most likely) be online tomorrow. Local promoter and boy genius MarQ Manner says the the new O'Leaver's MySpace is completely updated, with 29 shows listed. That said, somehow MarQ didn't list this Saturday's show featuring The Third Men, Tomato a Day and Anonymous American. But it's a little early to start talking about next weekend when I'm still recovering from last weekend.

A glance at Mick's schedule shows that The Song Show is tonight with Kyle Harvey and Reagan Roeder (The Ointments). Reagan told me last Friday night that he's moving to Wichita sometime this week. Apparently his girlfriend got a new job out there. Regardless, you'll still be seeing and hearing from Mr. Roeder and The Ointments on a semi-regular basis.

In other news (and there's not much of it today), while digging through information about the Sundance Film Festival I ran across this item -- scroll down to the Jan. 24 (4 p.m.) entry and you'll see a listing for a "musically inspired reading" by Tim Kasher and Nik Fackler of their "collaborative film" Lovely Still. It goes on: "Recently, Kasher adapted his gift for narration to suit the big screen with his screenplay Help Wanted Nights for which he has written the accompanying soundtrack." Is someone trolling for financing? Better yet, how does one get a copy of the scripts?

MTV online is reporting that Mr. Oberst is being honored in April by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, during the organization's annual Media Awards. "GLAAD picked Bright Eyes as the recipient of its Special Recognition Award; actor/director John Cameron Mitchell, who helmed the band's video for 'First Day of My Life,' will share the honor," MTV says. "The video features straight and gay couples sitting on a couch, listening to the track for the first time. The GLAAD Media Awards will air on Logo on April 15 and VH1 on April 16."

That's it for now...

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Live Review: Landing on the Moon, Eagle*Seagull, Ghosty, Clair de Lune – Jan. 29, 2006 –

Trend alert: The piano is back, at least judging by how the bands at Sokol last night relied on keyboards. And these keyboards weren't synth-tones or organs, they all were set to "piano." Which makes this some sort of trend in my book, at least among indie bands.

Eagle*Seagull sounded as good as you would expect on Sokol's stage with its superior sound system and room to roam. This was the first time I really noticed the violin (though barely) on a couple numbers. Their sound seems to continue to evolve, as this set was dramatically different than the O'Leaver's set a few months back -- fuller, more well-bodied, just like a good beer. Imagine how they'll sound after they tour for a few months. A glance at their myspace account shows that the band will be heading out for a month and a half of dates starting Feb. 9 at The Replay Lounge in Lawrence, traipsing throughout the south, southeast, east coast and back through the Midwest, returning home to Duffy's March 19. They are arguably the hottest band out of Lincoln right now, on the verge, and will likely be the first Lincoln indie to achieve a Saddle Creek-level of success.

Next up was Ghosty. The Lawrence four-piece played a tight set of poppy indie rock with shades of Pavement and Dismemberment Plan. Pretty. Interesting. Very radio friendly thanks to a frontman that can belt it out like a real pro.

Then came Landing on the Moon sounding the best that I've ever heard them, better than I thought they could sound, better than they sound on their EP. The first two numbers made me doubt the comments I'd written in my feature about the band, the ones where I said their music has a '60s flair to it. Those first two songs were decidedly modern-sounding, very Wolf Parade/Arcade Fire-esque, except for the keyboards that were front and center. Megan Morgan only uses a "grand piano" tone on her keys, and the effect adds a warm wash over their electric edges. LotM has a distinct advantage in that they have three vocalists, each handling leads on one of the first three tunes, and each adding harmonies throughout -- those harmonies make all the difference, especially in these days when so few bands know how to harmonize at all. That said, vocalist/guitarist John Klemmensen was the standout, with a gorgeous, brassy style that easily cuts through the arrangements. The fact that drummer Oliver Morgan could sing leads at all while providing his classic stickwork is impressive enough; his harmonies, however, are where he really shines. Then there's Megan, clearly the crowd favorite -- every intro where she was mentioned was met with hoots. In addition to playing the songs from their EP, they unveiled two new ones that they'll regret not having recorded for this release. One was a Klemmensen song that had a pop edginess, while the other featured Megan and reached back beyond the '60s to the '50s, glowing with Shawn Cox's Honey Drippers-style slide guitar. Central to every number was Morgan's drumming -- crisp and bouncing or deep and throbbing and exactly what it needed to be. Unlike the other three bands on the bill, LotM doesn't have well-defined tour plans. They'll have to figure out a way to build on this show's momentum to keep moving forward.

Finally, on came Minneapolis' Clair de Lune, drawing the biggest crowd reaction (though by midnight at least a third of the 165-paid had left). You could call them Cursive with keyboards, but that wouldn't be quite right. Their keyboard parts are so distinct and interesting that it makes the band stand apart. Again, using mostly an acoustic-piano tone, the keyboards were simple but added a layer of coolness echoed by the lead guitar. I can see why people dig this band, though they seemed almost too regressively indie to me, especially their vocals, which had a Victory Records tint to them.

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Live Review: Simon Joyner and the Wind-Up Birds; Landing on the Moon tonight – Jan. 28, 2006 –

When Joyner played the opening chords of "747" from the Golden Age landmark album, 1994's The Cowardly Traveler Pays His Toll, I was transported back to the last time I heard Joyner play the song, standing on stage at the old Howard St. Tavern with a drummer behind him, an electric guitar slung around his neck instead of the usual acoustic, and a head of curly black hair. That night was Joyner's '65 Newport performance, the first time I'd seen him "electric." And it was electric. It was a perfect moment that I never heard repeated again, until last night.

Every Joyner performance is a unique journey that could just as easily drift into dissonant chaos as splendid order. Last night's O'Leaver's gig was the latter. Backed by the Wind-up Birds, a band that includes guitarist/keyboardist Dave Hawkins, keyboardist/guitarist/pedal steel player Alex McManus, bassist Mike Tulis and drummer Chris Deden (at least I think that was him), Joyner found himself in the middle of solid rock, albeit with its fair share of rustic twang. This incarnation of Simon Joyner casts off the dark-blue Leonard Cohen frock for a well-wrinkled straw hat and western-cut shirt. No, the new music isn't C&W or alt-country, it's Joyner backed by The Band circa Blonde on Blonde. Equal parts folk, country, blues and rock, Joyner's new material sit atop a bed of broken-glass guitar noise, thick meaty bass and plenty of feedback. Joyner seems to have found the proverbial sweet-spot where melody and dissonance meet to form a beautiful, soulful noise that burns going down.

I don't know the names of the songs and couldn't tell you what he was singing (the vocals, though plenty up front, were still lost in the mix). I can tell you they were heartfelt and that I hope he includes a lyric sheet with the new record. The highlights included a song performed toward the end of the set where Hawkins switched to keyboards, pounding out Ray Manzarek-style keyboards atop one of Tulis' simple bass lines. As the song ground toward its inevitable conclusion, the band put itself and the crowd dead center deep within a trance-inducing riff that repeated itself like a throbbing headache (in a good way). Moments later, they followed it up with "747," a song that everyone in the ass-to-tea kettle crowd seemed to know even though you'll never find a copy of that record anywhere (even the folks at AMG don't list the album on their Joyner discography). It was a perfect fit for this band -- the best collection of musicians that I've heard Joyner perform with. It begs the question as to how tightly sewn this conglomeration of talent is. Would they tour with Joyner if he wanted to tour? Could they? Would they? Who knows. I know that if they did hit the road together, they would gouge a permanent mark across stages throughout this country and others. I wonder if Joyner wants that. He could have it all right now.

Just another quick reminder of tonight's marquee gig: Landing on the Moon with Ghosty, Eagle*Seagull and Clair de Lune at Sokol Underground. Get there early...

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The weekend is back... – Jan. 27, 2006 –

The annual winter lull in shows is slowly ending, based on this weekend's schedule. Take a look:

Friday Night:

Simon Joyner and the Wind-up Birds is at O'Leaver's with Iowa City's Miracles of God. Joyner and his band, as everyone knows, recorded a new number of new tracks recently for an upcoming album on Jagjaguwar Records. Word has it that it's some of the best stuff of his career. Here's a chance at a sneak peak. I've been spending a lot of time with Joyner's just-released B-sides and singles collection Beautiful Losers -- an excellent introduction to his early work (though nothing beats The Cowardly Traveler Takes His Toll, which remains out of print. Perhaps Jagjaguwar will step up and make it part of their Joyner rerelease campaign). Miracles of God is a low-fi indie/garage four-piece that reminds me of laid-back Neil Young. Good stuff. I suspect that this will be a very packed show, as Joyner shows usually are at O'Leaver's. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Madison, Wisc.-based Charlemagne is playing at Mick's with David Potter. Charlemagne records on SidCho Records, the same label as Neva Dinova. As a result, there's been some confusion as to the band's home town, with the good folks at SXSW accidentally reporting that they're from Omaha. There's a funny retelling of the blunder online at the Isthmus (read it here). Charlemagne plays jangly, acoustic-folk indie clearly influenced by Simon and Garfunkel and the Beach Boys. $5, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile, down at Sokol Underground, Sarah Benck and The Robbers are playing with Anonymous American and The Scott Severin Band. $7, 9 p.m.

Saturday Night:

A huge show at Sokol Underground with Clair de Lune (Deep Elm Records), Lawrence band Ghosty (Future Farmers Records), Lincoln's Eagle*Seagull (Paper Garden Records) and Omaha favorites Landing on the Moon, who are offering their brand new EP for sale that night. You'll never have a better chance to see these rising stars all on one bill. $7, 9 p.m. Get there early.

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Column 61 -- That New Hall Smell; O'Leaver's now online – Jan. 26, 2006 –

To be fair, I've never seen a symphony concert at The Orpheum. Sure, I've seen music performed there, but mostly rock music, like last year's Bright Eyes concert which sounded horrific, at least from where I was seated in the very front loge box. I'm somewhat confident that Bright Eyes would sound better in The Holland, that they would be able to tweak the sound and take full advantage of the space rather than just dump a tower of amps on stage. That's something for the Symphony to consider -- if they really want to attract a younger audience, support local music and guarantee a sold-out performance, put together a pops night (or weekend) with Saddle Creek Records. This is an obvious no-brainer. Unfortunately, no one at the symphony has the foresight and imagination to even consider something like this. It's a shame...

The new O'Leaver's myspace is now live at http://www.myspace.com/oleaverspub. MarQ Manner, who put the space together and is organizing shows at O'Leaver's these days, promises to keep the calendar up to date. But it's already askew -- MarQ forgot to list tomorrow night's Simon Joyner & The Wind-Up Birds/Miracles of God show. Perhaps it's just an oversight (though I reminded him of the Joyner show yesterday...) Regardless, MarQ promises to have 25 shows listed on the site by the end of the weekend (a number of them were listed here Monday).

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This week's feature: Landing on the Moon – Jan. 25, 2006 –

The Landing on the Moon piece went online this morning (read it here). The band is playing a star-soaked show this Saturday night at Sokol Underground with Clair de Lune, Ghosty and Eagle*Seagull. All six of us talked for a couple hours at Blue Line last Sunday morning. It's remarkable how long these guys have been playing together in various projects dating back to Blenny, Revilo and Reset. Topics that really didn't get covered thoroughly enough included how Oliver Morgan will coordinate his time between LotM and his other band, Little Brazil. Their schedules appear to be in sync, though, with LB going back into the studio in March and then going out to SXSW as part of the Mt. Fuji showcase. There should be plenty of time this summer for a LotM tour. That said, LotM's trial by fire will take place next month when they play O'Leaver's on the 24th, either Denver or Boulder on the 25th and then Duffy's on the 26th (They also have a March 13 gig at O'Leaver's with Mt. Fuji band Slender Means). Though he didn't come out and say it, Oliver indicated that Little Brazil is Landon Hedges' project -- Landon, after all, writes the music, Landon is the frontman. LotM is "five members each with a 20 percent stake." That said, guitarist John Klemmensen was quick to say that Oliver was the band's leader, while Oliver said he loves both bands equally for different reasons, adding that he's learned a lot being in Little Brazil. It'll be interesting to watch the two bands evolve and see how he juggles the responsibilities. If anyone can do it, it's Oliver. So far, Landing on the Moon has sent their EP to Deep Elm Records with plans to send it to the usual suspects (Creek, Mt. Fuji, etc.). Only labels with distro are being considered, and in return, LotM will essentially guarantee touring. Stay tuned.

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Jenny Vs. Chan... – Jan. 24, 2006 –

Both Jenny Lewis and Chan Marshall a.k.a. Cat Power are duking it out today as their releases hit the store shelves. Lewis strikes first with Rabbit Fur Coat and has a decided edge both because of her local connections -- the CD is being released on Conor Oberst's Team Love Records -- and in the press, easily outscoring Cat Power in the imaginary Google power ratings. There's a shit-ton of stories online about Lewis, about half of them still getting it wrong that she's from Omaha.

Marshall, on the other hand, has been around a lot longer than Lewis, she's sort of a legacy artist who released music on Matador back when Matador was "the label" to be on. These days, Matador is just another indie powered by those legacy artists, including Yo La Tengo, Stephen Malkmus (Pavement) and Belle and Sebastian (There are a few significant new adds to their roster, not the least of which is The New Pornographers, Mogwai and Interpol, but they're getting fewer and further between).

At the end of the day, it comes down to the music, of course. Rabbit Fur Coat, recorded with The Watson Twins, is easily the best thing Lewis has produced since The Execution of All Things back in '02. The focus has been on the CD's more-rural tracks, like the twangy "The Big Guns" and the intro "Run Devil Run" that seem to channel June Carter Cash. Fact is, once you get past those two tracks, the CD turns into an Azure Ray-style indie outing with plenty of uptempo numbers and the distinctive Mogis touch (on the numbers he helped produce).

That said, however, Rabbit Fur Coat doesn't stand a chance against The Greatest, the new one by Cat Power. This is the first album that Chan has produced that I've enjoyed from beginning to end. She's sanded down the rough edges, added the necessary accompaniment and written the most heartfelt and tuneful songs of her career. Sure, she's sounding even more like Mazzy Star with her sleepy, slurred vocals and warm mid-tempo dream-melodies, but she's also reminding me more and more of Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones, especially when she jazzes it up with horns (like on the centerpiece, "Willie"). Maybe she's just getting older, and wiser, and better.

Both CDs are worth the price of admission, but Chan wins this one in a knock out. Now if we could only get these two in a real ring...

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Garfunkel later; O'Leaver's now... – Jan. 23, 2006 –

If you're looking for an Art Garfunkel review, as a number of people were on Sunday, you're going to have to wait until Thursday when the column goes online, as I describe the show and the venue in there. It'll be worth the wait (probably). Artie was the only show I went to this weekend. Meanwhile, there's a crapload of shows coming next weekend, not the least of which is Landing on the Moon (who I'll be featuring online this Wednesday), Ghosty, Clair De Lune and Eagle*Seagull this Saturday at Sokol. Anonymous America/Sarah Benck is Friday at Sokol, the same night as Simon Joyner and the Wind-up Birds at O'Leaver's.

And speaking of O'Leaver's... local legend MarQ Manner, who has done more than his share of shows over the years, is now involved with organizing O'Leaver's shows. In fact, he e-mailed me the following shows listing, and promises that an O'Leaver's Myspace site will be going online Wednesday (If I get a link, I'll post it here). A glance at the list (which doesn't necessarily include every show, apparently some 1 Percent and Someday Never shows are missing) indicates that the venue will be plenty busy over the next couple months.

As they say in The New Yorker, rock stars' lives are complicated, so call ahead before attending if you're not willing to take a chance. I'll likely confirm most of these dates a day or so before the show, or you can always check out the anticipated O'Leaver's Myspace site.

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Feeling Groovy this weekend... – Jan. 20, 2006 –

That's a not-so-veiled reference to the Art Garfunkel concerts this weekend, which will be my first foray into the new Holland Center. Even though it's not very indie, I'll be reviewing the performance (and experience) the following morning (Sunday) on the blog. I so rarely get to wear a sportcoat these days (and I have a humdinger).

So what's going on tonight? Glancing at the various online calendars, the answer is: not much. Tomorrow night, however, is a different story.

At The 49r Saturday, perennial favorite The Third Men are playing with The Pendrakes. $5, 9 p.m. Should be packed.

Meanwhile, at Sokol Underground, The Atlas headlines a show with Kite Pilot and Luminoso Lashkar. $7, 9 p.m.

That's all I got, folks. If you know of any other notable shows, drop me an email.

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