There was maybe 50 people on hand at Slowdown Jr. for Beep Beep Tuesday night -- a bit disappointing, but not entirely surprising. Beep Beep's arty noise is definitely an acquired taste that hasn't exactly caught on in the Omaha metro area. For those who "get it," these last few shows of their immediate existence (including Dec. 6 and Dec. 23 at The Waiting Room) are a rare, valuable treat. This was the first time I've seen their new bass player who replaced Darren Keen, and I was impressed. He doesn't have Keen's stage presence (and who does?) but he knows his way around the fretboard. Tuesday's show was the most varied set I've heard them play, but I've still yet to hear them perform "Baby Shoes" live (and I suspect I never will). Opening was the Sacramento/Austin all-girl trio of Agent Ribbons, who play that kind of whimsical, waltz-driven, gypsy-flavored indie rock where you're not at all surprised when one of them pulls out a kazoo and goes to town. Cute and fun.

* * *

Here's a Black Friday music special for you: Last week Portland-based music publicity firm XO Publicity put online their second volume of Christmas music recorded by some of their clients, including The Winter Sounds, Piney Gir, Caravan of Thieves, The BAcksliders and Blue Skies for Black Hearts, who contributed what is destined to become a holiday staple in the McMahan household, "Wishing You a Merry Xmas." The best part (well, one of the best parts) is that XO For the Holidays Volume II is absolutely free to download right here. If you dig it, Vol. I is still online here.

* * *

Here are some headlines that have been clogging up my inbox:

-- There has been a recent wave of Cursive news hitting the net. Among the more amusing articles is this one from Onion AV Club Austin titled "Recluses and martyrs: Five Cursive characters you wouldn't want to invite to Thanksgiving dinner." My favorite: The Great (failed) artist from "What Have I Done" (the closing track off Mama, I'm Swollen). What'd he bring for dinner? "Leftover kung pao chicken, and—what's this? An unfinished manuscript that you should totally read after the game is over? He'd love to hear your thoughts on it." Funny.

-- On a more serious note, there's this recent interview with Cursive's Ted Stevens in the Louisiana Advocate, where Ted talks about the impact of their recent performance on Late Night with David Letterman, as well as their recent tours of Asia and his origins with the group. Interesting stuff. On Letterman: "It's like everything is different," he said in the article. "Suddenly my family, and my extended family, they're all aware of what my band looks like and what we sound like. We came home and were validated for all these years that we'd 'wasted' in this futile pursuit."

-- A brief follow-up on that interview with Chris Crisci of Old Canes from a few weeks ago. At the time, Crisci had said he wasn't quite sure what was next for Appleseed Cast, his other band. Well here's what's next. Appleseed Cast will be hitting the road for a month beginning Feb. 24 in Norman OK, performing what are considered their landmark albums -- Low Level Owl 1 and 2 -- in their entirety. The band also announced that it signed with Chicago independent label Graveface Records, home to Black Moth Super Rainbow and Monster Movie, among others. Their first release on Graveface will be a live album that will be available on tour, and then look for a new Appleseed full-length in late 2010.

* * *

Here's what we got for the weekend, which starts tonight:

Down at Slowdown Jr. it's the return of A.A. Bondy (ex-Verbena) with Lissie and Phil Schaffart. $10, 9 p.m.

Satchel Grande is playing a full set at The Waiting Room tonight. $7, 9 p.m.

The Dark Lord is celebrating his birthday by playing a set at The Saddle Creek Bar with his Sexy Minions. I feel strangely responsible for this, having indirectly named the band/performer. Too bad I have to miss it as I'll be wandering around central Iowa tonight (sorry Mike). No cover, starts at 9.

The highlight tomorrow night -- Saturday -- is Brian Poloncic (Tomato a Day, Cactus Nerve Thang) opening for Golden Mean and Black Lillies at The Barley St. $5, 9 p.m.

Last but not least, this Sunday at The Waiting Room is the 20-year reunion of Kansas City noise-rock legends Season to Risk. Who remembers their 1995 buzzsaw classic In a Perfect World, released by Sony/Columbia? Or maybe you remember them as the band playing in the warehouse party scene in the sci-fi thriller Strange Days? The band is only playing five gigs on this anniversary tour, including ours, thanks to Little Brazil's Oliver Morgan -- LB now records for Anodyne Records, which also is the home to Roman Numerals, the current project by S2R's Steve Tulipana and Billy Smith. Opening is Techlepathy and Comme Reel (members of No Blood Orphan). $8, 9 p.m. Do not miss this one.

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

Because of The Reader's holiday printing deadlines, this column was actually written two weeks ago. I was going to write a "Gee, these are things I'm thankful for" yawner until the NPR piece mentioned below dropped into my e-mail box. There's a lot more to the interview than what I've summarized below, and it should be required reading for anyone with more than a passing interest in how technology has impacted the indie music business. Too bad Sub Pop couldn't participate, but it's hard to beat Cosloy... and Nansel. My annual "predictions" column isn't due for another month, but I can make this one right now: The '00s will be remembered as the last decade of the "record business" as we knew it. If a record label really is "a filter, a bank, a promo machine," as Kill Rock Stars' Portia Sabin defined it, than Pitchfork is poised to become the biggest indie record label of all time. Fact is, if you can somehow land that elusive 9.1 rating from Pitchfork, you don't need a record label, and the booking agents and the publicists (and the lazy music journalists) will come looking for you. Someone once asked me how Pitchfork became so important in such a short time. Everyone agrees that their reviews are poorly written (and as Cosloy points out, with their numbering system, no one reads the reviews anyway). To me, the answer was Pitchfork's willingness to go "all in" and invest in covering indie music with its heart and soul. With hundreds of new indie records coming out every month, fans needed an easy, convenient, well-organized and well-designed resources to filter through the dross and find the wheat. With no one else willing to step up to the degree that Pitchfork did, they shouldered their way to the front of the pack. And that numbering system didn't hurt, either.

Column 248: Sound Advice
Indie label owners discuss the state of the biz…

The topics ranged from iTunes to the role of record labels, the "single" to the resurgence of vinyl, bands vs. brands vs. Pitchfork, and in the end, there really was no consensus other than it's harder to make a buck in the music business these days.

The discussion happened last week when National Public Radio (NPR) conducted an online summit of indie music industry movers and shakers to get a then-and-now take on how the business has changed since the beginning of the decade. The panelists were Maggie Vail and Portia Sabin from Kill Rock Stars (Elliott Smith, Deerhoof), Gerard Cosloy from Matador (Yo La Tengo, Cold Cave), Mac McCaughan from Merge (Conor Oberst, Arcade Fire), Chris Swanson and Darius Van Arman from Jagjaguwar/Secretly Canadian/Dead Oceans (Yeasayer, Okkervil River) and our very own Robb Nansel from Saddle Creek (Bright Eyes, UUVVWWZ). NPR's Carrie Brownstein was the moderator.

The transcript is online at here -- it's 4,000 words of wisdom from people who have been in the trenches since the Compact Disc was the only game in town.

Matador's Cosloy got the most interesting (and clever) points across. Discussing the advent of digital file-sharing, Cosloy said initially he thought the technology would be beneficial. "That was before it took only a matter of minutes to download an entire box set," he said. He went onto say that early downloaders/uploaders were hardcore music nuts who tended to buy more records than anyone else. "In the years to follow, file-sharing became mainstream... and younger audiences had less of a fond connection to things like records stores, record labels, etc."

In fact, the tone of the entire discussion centered on the relevance of record labels, both to bands and listeners. KRS's Portia Sabin defined a record label as "a filter, a bank, a promo machine. A source of contacts in the industry."

Merge's McCaughan said the 'net gives consumers access to any music they want. "If you don't know what you are looking for, it's like trying to find a good record in a thrift shop. So the label is, as Portia says, a filter or at least a starting point for fans."

But most agreed that more and more, music buyers have no idea what record label a band is on. If that's true, that's a real problem for these guys who partially depend on brand loyalty to get people to consider their new bands (certainly they can't depend on radio, and never could). Add to that a one-and-done mentality from record buyers and the problem gets worse. They call it "the churn factor."

"The churn factor is severe; the public burns out on supposed faves very, very fast these days," Cosloy said. "... I think it is fair to say that anyone who is making a second record is about to contend with it to some degree."

The rise of the (generally unprofitable for indies) "singles" market -- driven in part by iTunes -- supports listeners' short attention spans. "People are more into songs right now than bands, albums or labels," said Jagjaguwar's Swanson, who added that his label is actively encouraging some of its artists to only focus on singles, but he was alone among the execs on this.

What they all agreed on is that the resurgence of vinyl is very real, even though its overall share of the market is miniscule. Nansel said Saddle Creek just raised its list price and scaled back packaging (of non-180-gram vinyl) for most of its fall releases, while Cosloy said Matador is introducing a lower-grade vinyl with "more Spartan packaging" for less money.

And then there was Pitchfork, the music news and criticism website that seems to drive the entire indie music world. Cosloy said one of the most effective ways to get people excited about a release is to get a high rating from Pitchfork. "A Pitchfork 9.1 (out of 10) is more influential to the audience and the retailers than a Rolling Stone or New York Times review," he said. KSR's Sabin said a 4.5 rating could "kill a record," but Nansel disagreed. "I'd be inclined to say a high Pitchfork number helps; a low Pitchfork number is irrelevant," he said. Considering how poorly Creek scores with Pitchfork, that may be wishful thinking.

Nansel went on to say bands playing shows and word of mouth is what sells records. "It's 1995 from that perspective."

There was one sobering fact that Sabin threw in that has nothing to do with '95: "There were 105,000 records released in the U.S. last year," she said, "and of those, 1,515 sold more than 10,000. So indies now have a greater share of the market that exists, but we still don't have the part that the majors always had: 500,000-plus (sellers)."

Cosloy pointed out that even the majors have fewer gold records than ever before.

If you didn't read closely, it all could sound somewhat bleak, especially if you're in a band. To me, it pointed out that the future is wide open, that the industry underwent (and is undergoing) a complete reset, and those who are willing to anticipate -- and embrace -- change are going to be fine. Thanks to all this technology, more people than ever are listening to music. Now the labels just need to figure out how to get them to pay for it.

* * *

There are a number of pre-Thanksgiving shows going on tonight around town. On top of my list is Beep Beep at Slowdown Jr. with Thunder Power and Agent Ribbons. According to Thunder Power's Matt Hutton, this will be his last show with the band and the last time you'll get to hear several of their songs performed live as he's moving away from Omaha after Thanksgiving. So send him off in style. $7, 9 p.m.

There's also a lot going on in Benson tonight:

-- Landing on the Moon plays at The Sydney with Blue Rosa and The Answer Team. $5, 9 p.m.
-- Matt Whipkey plays a set backed by Scott "Zip" Zimmerman at The Barley St. Kris Lager also is on the bill. $5, 9 p.m.
-- Zeppelin tribute band The Song Remains the Same is playing at The Waiting Room. $7, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow: Some free Xmas music and some headlines and (maybe, probably) a review about what happened at Slowdown...

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

Ah, O'Leaver's, where everybody knows your name. Quite a show there Friday night. The highlight was the first band, John Barrett's Bass Drum of Death, an electric guitar-drums duo with a raw, gritty delivery on spare songs that were as subtle as a machine-gun tearing a hole in your living room wall. Their recipe was lightning-fast riffs over scatter-shot drums and Barrett's barking yowl vocals -- twitchy, nerve-rattling garage rock played at blazing speeds. As pure as it gets. The second opener, Lover!, was a four-piece that consisted of former members of Jay Reatard's band playing '70s-style rec-room rock loud and fast and, unfortunately, unvaried from song to song -- kind of boring. Last up was Brimstone Howl, sounding about the same as they sounded when I heard them at the Barley St. last month, though this time they only played for around 20 minutes -- disappointingly brief, especially for a "CD release party." Oh well…

O'Leaver's had another marquee show Saturday night -- the Omaha return of Mercy Rule, along with Wagon Blasters -- but I missed it, figuring I just saw them at Lincoln Calling and will be seeing them again at the Mousetrap reunion show Dec. 23. Tickets are still available to that show, by the way.

* * *

It's an evening of shoegaze (sort of) tonight at The Waiting Room. Philly dream-pop band A Sunny Day in Glasgow headlines a show with Drakes Hotel (remember them?) and Honey & Darling. $8, 9 p.m.

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

Also tonight, Canadian sludge-space band Pink Mountaintops returns to Omaha, this time at Slowdown Jr. with Dim Light and The Mulanix Street Orchestra. $10, 9 p.m. And I would be remiss in not mentioning the Big Al video shoot tonight at Barley St. Tavern. Opening is Jes Winter and Sarah Benck. $5, 9 p.m. While over at The Waiting Room Detroit dance-rock band Electric Six plays with The Gay Blades & Millions of Brazilians. $13, 9 p.m.

Saturday night, it's back to O'Leaver's for the Omaha debut of the reunited Mercy Rule -- the lights, the sounds, the songs, it'll be 1994 all over again. Opening is Speed! Nebraska bands The Wagon Blasters (ex-Frontier Trust) and Ideal Cleaners, along with Jake Joyce McCoy. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also Saturday, Vancouver rockers Japandroids (Polyvinyl Records) plays at Slowdown Jr. with West Palm Beach masters of echo rock Surfer Blood (Kanine Records) and The Answer Team. $10, 9 p.m.

The annual Homeless for the Holidays benefit concert also is going on Saturday night at The Hideout (320. So. 72nd St.). $10, 7:30 p.m.

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

Just posted online, an interview/feature with Brimstone Howl's John Ziegler, where he talks about the making of the band's new album, Big Deal. What's He Done Lately?, their record label (Alive) and the sometimes one-note nature of garage rock. Read it here.

Among the stuff that didn't make it into the interview was discussion about some of the more commercial elements of being in a rock band. Ziegler said that Brimstone albums sales have been steady -- if not slowly increased -- from record to record. "If we're lucky, we can get a song used on a TV show," he said. The band already had a song used in the series Supernatural but "we didn't tell anyone. It's a horrible TV show about these guys that hunt demons. Someone saw it and said our song 'Bad Seed' was playing on the juke box in the bar (scene)." They've also had a song used on Friday Night Lights, which he said "the guys like watching." For payment, the band received "a little more than a grand" each time. "It seems to be the way bands make money these days instead of record sales," he added. "A lot of bands like The Dirtbombs have gotten big car commercial deals."

Read the whole feature/interview here, then get ready to see the band play their CD release show tomorrow night at O'Leaver's with Lover! and Bass Drum of Death.

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

According to MarQ Manner, who organized the OEAA showcase, all the venues did well "and if I were to guess there were 500 to 600 people around." He said The Waiting Room swelled for Black Squirrels and Brad Hoshaw.

From an "issues" standpoint, he said the PS Collective had PA problems and that the singer for Song Remains the Same walked off during their performance -- I guess Robert Plant would have done the same thing, so it fits with the overall "tribute" theme of the band. There also were some scheduling issues with the DJs, but overall, "We got through it and everyone once again seemed pretty happy, especially the people attending the event."

Column 247: Shark Jumping
The OEAAs and Benson.

And so with last Friday night's Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards (OEAA) showcase in Benson, another Omaha music festival season comes to a close. But did it go out with a bang or a whimper?

If you judge the event by its turnout, it would appear to be the former. When I showed up at PS Collective at around 8, the venue's music room (where the stage is) already was mostly full. By the time the first band, Son of 76 and the Watchmen, began playing, it was standing room only. So crowded, in fact, that a couple of strangers happily shared our table in the back of the room while we scarfed down a pizza.

About a half-hour later, the scene was repeated (sans pizza) down the street at The Sydney where Jes Winter and her band were playing -- every table was filled. And while it wasn't SRO at The Waiting Room for Matt Whipkey and Midwest Dilemma, the crowd was respectable (It is, after all, a rather large venue). Keep in mind -- this was all happening before 10 p.m. in a city where no one shows up before halftime.

While I saw the usual cast of lovable miscreants that make up the Benson music scene out and about, there were a lot of new, unfamiliar faces in the crowd, which one assumes were drawn to the showcase by its reputation for quality bands and a good time. So, a success, right?

But, there were a few cracks in the foundation. Some of the best bands nominated for OEA Awards played the following night at the very same venues. This may have had more to do with the late date in which the showcases were booked than the fact that the bands that played Saturday night actually got paid to play. Whether it's their showcases or their big annual awards ceremony at The Holland Center, the OEAAs never have paid their performers. It is, after all, a non-profit organization.

The venues, on the other hand, are for-profit businesses and made profits Friday night, strengthening the theory that the OEAA showcases are pseudo-fundraisers for Benson music venues. But I've been down that road before.

For me, a bigger indication that the OEAA showcase might have jumped the shark is the fact that I only lasted a couple hours before heading downtown to see Simon Joyner (an OEAA nominee) and his band perform at Slowdown.

My capsule review of what I did see in Benson:

Jes Winter: The young, wizened music critic that stood by my side during her set made this brilliant statement: "If she did nothing but covers, she could make a killing in West Omaha." Truer words were never spoken.

Son of 76 and The Watchmen: Gorgeous, bluesy Americana by a Lincoln ensemble fronted by a guy who sounds like he grew up on a steady diet of Tom Waits and Joe Cocker. You're lucky if you discover one new talent at these showcases; this was the one for me.

Matt Whipkey: Proved that he don't need no steenk-ing band; he can do just fine backed only by the über-talented Scott "Zip" Zimmerman on drums, his own mercurial guitar playing and the tightest pants in the business.

Midwest Dilemma: With his ensemble paired down below double-digits, I fear that our hero, Justin Lamoureux, will (fairly or not) forever be dogged with the Bright Eyes comparisons, as the person next to me who had never seen or heard him before said, "Is he kidding? Is he singing like Conor on purpose?"

Other than The Filter Kings, there wasn't anything that tempted me to stay in Benson. As one OEAA show-goer who showed up later at The Slowdown put it: "Is that really the best that Omaha has to offer?" Of course not, despite the fact that every one of the performers had been nominated for awards.

The fact is, it's been a long, long festival year. It started with the Lincoln Invasion in June and was followed by the OEAA Summer Showcase, the MAHA Festival (and its "play-in" benefit for The Waiting Room), the glorious RatFest, the Nebraska Pop Festival, Lincoln Calling and ended last Friday night with the OEAA Fall Showcase. Only half of those "events" were paying gigs for bands. Throw into that cauldron a plethora of benefit shows, and you've got a recipe for a lot of good bands making little to no money. And after awhile, even the most kind-hearted of the bunch gets tired of playing for free.

With no bars outside of the Maple Street corridor involved (again), the criticism continues to get louder -- and more credible -- that the only ones benefiting from the OEAA program are Benson and its venues. And what's wrong with that? Now if we could only find an organization that brought the rest of the Omaha/Lincoln music community together.

* * *

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band plays tonight at The Waiting Room as part of their "My Feet Can't Fail Me Now 25th Anniversary Concert Tour." Show starts at 9. One Percent doesn't list any opening bands. $15.

Also tonight, Fortnight is playing at The Barley Street with a couple Nashville singer/songwriters -- David Condos and Charlie Hardin. The event is a pot-luck dinner -- those who bring something to eat get in for $2, otherwise its $5. Dinner starts at 6:30 and the music begins at 7:30.

Tomorrow at Lazy-i: Brimstone Howl

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

It was an exhausting weekend, starting Thursday with Old Canes, then OEA's and Simon Joyner Friday, and then UUVVWWZ on Saturday.

The final tally for my OEA showcase experience was seeing Son of 76 and The Watchmen at PS Collective, Jes Winter and the tail-end of Mars Black at The Sydney, and Matt Whipkey and Midwest Dilemma at The Waiting Room before hauling it downtown to Slowdown for the Joyner show. I'm weighing my comments on all of it in this week's column -- now to decide just how candid I should be...

The question that came up a few times late in the evening was whether Friday night's OEA showcase really was the best that Omaha had to offer. It's a matter of opinion, but if your answer is "no," than you have to ask whether the OEAs have jumped the shark. To me, it's too early to say, and it's probably not fair to judge based on Friday's showcase, especially when you consider that this summer's showcase was one of the best things that the OEA's have pulled off. More later.

Joyner and UUVVWWZ were both remarkable in their own ways. I can't remember Joyner ever coming off more like a straight-up indie rock performer instead of a folk-art relic. Wearing a crumpled straw cowboy hat, Joyner mostly played songs off his new album, Out Into the Snow -- the most straight-forward record that we'll ever get out of him (Translation: It's good) -- as well as "The Only Living Boy in Omaha" from Skeleton Blues and a couple others I didn't recognize. There was a point during the opening song, "The Drunken Boat" (from the new album), where sideman Alex McManus put down his bass and picked up a violin to create an effect as brutal and cutting as any powerchord from any Strat, Tele or SG -- a crushing avalanche of sound.

As I've said before, Joyner is now creating music that's as thoughtful and emotionally engaging as his lyrics. He still has his off-key moments vocally, and it's hard to say why they're there. I asked someone standing next to me if she thought he was singing off-key on purpose -- it never dawned on her that he could be as part of a "style." I've always thought that the off-kilter warble was intentional, but I doubt we'll ever know for sure.

Also backing Joyner Friday night was the most underrated guitarist in Omaha: Mike Friedman on pedal steel, along with drummer Chris Deden and a keyboardist that I didn't recognize. Terrific stuff. (See photo).

I got a second chance to hear Midwest Dilemma Saturday night when they opened for UUVVWWZ -- the ensemble sounded like they were playing the same songs from Friday night, but of course it didn't sound nearly as good on the Sydney's smaller sound system. UUVVWWZ didn't go on until after midnight. Their set was familiar since I've been listening to those same songs for almost two years now. They did unveil a new one that was more abstract, more art-tortured than anything on their album, pointing the way (possibly) to where they're headed next time -- many odd time and key changes and a disregard for traditional melody, the word "prog" came to mind. (See really out of focus blurry photo).

* * *

The Waiting Room is screening Anvil, The Story of Anvil tonight at 8 p.m. I saw the movie at The Dundee in July and reviewed it here. It's one of the best rock documentaries that I've seen since Some Kind of Monster in 2004. See it. Then tell Jim and Marc to get the band here in Omaha for a gig.

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

Pop-Americana is how one guy described Old Canes as we stood outside of Slowdown and listened to the band through the glass overhead doors, leaning against the metal fence that surrounds the beer garden. Old Canes plays a kind of nostalgic indie folk. Not nostalgic in reference to any style of music, but in the sense of a reminder of things you recall from growing up -- dusty old houses, kids playing football in an empty field, finding a grocery list from last winter a jacket pocket. It's Midwestern white-man's blues with nothing urban at all about their sound, and there isn't supposed to be.

Frontman Chris Crisci, with his pulled back, thinning hair and bushy going-gray beard, played an acoustic guitar and pumped out his melodies with an honest earnestness. Behind him were three guys playing a variety of instruments, just trying to get a note in edgewise -- cello, banjo, bells, melodica, trumpet, a cacophony of hand-held rhythm shakers. Imagine the kind of Christmas music they could pull off. Above it all soundwise was a drummer pounding out an Ozark backbeat from the 1950s, the only country-sounding thing about the band. They (thankfully) do their Pop-Americana without a hint of twang -- a hoe-down in tennis shoes and untucked button-down dress shirts. (See photo)

I like it more than Crisci's other band, Appleseed Cast, and I have a feeling Crisci does, too. Or at least he enjoys playing in it more. How could he not? The performance seemed loose and fun vs. AC's furrowed-brow rocket-launch party. But I guess he probably views both bands as different sons of different mothers -- there are things he loves about both, and he could never turn his back on one for the other, though, in the end, one may emerge stronger and permanent while the other becomes a fond memory.

Saddle Creek was wise to sign them as the label stumbles forward, trying to find the right recipe to fuel their next decade of existence. Though I'm not sure how a band like this ever takes off. Then again, how did Deer Tick break through (and OC is better -- certainly more interesting -- than Deer Tick)?

* * *

I'll be doing some driving tonight.

The early show(s) are part of the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards (OEAA) showcase, strung out across five bars in Benson. The earliest set doesn't start until 8:30 (most begin after 9), which means my exposure will be somewhat limited. The full schedule is here. The bands I suggest you try to catch are at The Waiting Room (all of them), and PS Collective (Filter Kings at 11:45). Your $10 gets you into all the five venues all night.

Across town tonight at Slowdown Jr. Simon Joyner is playing a CD release show for Out Into the Snow (Read my review of the disc here). Opening is Hubble (Reagan Roeder and friends) and Outlaw Con Bandana. $8, 9 p.m.

Ironically, some of the best OEAA nominees are playing Saturday night in Benson rather than tonight. It's True is headlining a show with Anniversaire at The Waiting Room. Opening is O Giant Man and Family of the Year. $5, 9 p.m.

Meanwhile down the street Saturday night at The Sydney, UUVVWWZ is playing with Midwest Dilemma and Underwater Dream Machine. That show also is a mere $5, and starts at 9 p.m.

Cross town at the fabulous O'Leaver's, Fromanhole is headlining a show Saturday night with Perry H. Matthews and Engine Orchestra. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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

Just posted, an interview with Old Canes (and Appleseed Cast) frontman Chris Crisci. Crisci talks about how Old Canes was born out of Appleseed, the new album Feral Harmonics, his relationship with Saddle Creek, and more. (Read it here).

Old Canes is playing at Slowdown Jr. TONIGHT. That's right, the show is this evening. I'm not sure, however, that Old Canes is the headliner as Slowdown Jr. has Dave Dondero listed on top at their website, which is odd since this is sort of a CD release show for Old Canes.

Opening is Muscle Worship, a Wichita band that's touring with Old Canes. Crisci described them as "flavored in Polvo, maybe a little more Braid-meets-surf rock. The guy has an amazing guitar tone. He plays a Jazzmaster but I don't know what else he has going on there. It's awesome." All three bands for just $8. Starts at 9 p.m.

Also tonight is the closing night for screenings of the Nik Fackler film Lovely, Still at the Marcus Midtown Theater. Check it out and see if you can find O'Leaver's tucked away somewhere in the middle.

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

There were other challenges in making the score and soundtrack to Lovely, Still, including acquiring the rights to use certain Christmas songs throughout the movie. As a result, "We put more money in for that than I thought we would," Fackler said. In some cases, the price was too high. Jake Bellows and Alessi Laurent-Marke recorded a version of "I'll be Home for Christmas" that you won't hear in the film because the cost was simply too steep. Instead, the duo recorded an original Christmas song that sets a similar mood.

I asked Fackler if he ever thought of pulling a John Carpenter and write/compose his own score. "No," he said, followed by "I mean, I will never say 'no,' but who knows what the future holds? Originally I wanted to do some music and have one of my songs in (Lovely, Still), but it was fun collaborating with everyone involved. There's so much great music out there."

Go see the movie. It's playing at the new Marcus Midtown Theater through Thursday night.

Column 246: Lovely, Score
Mogis and Walcott provide the background music...

I've been hearing about Lovely, Still for what seems like forever -- or at least five years -- and last Friday night I got to see the final product.

Lovely, Still is a film by local maverick filmmaker Nik Fackler, who over the years you've read about in this column, whether it was about his early days as a music video maker for a plethora of Saddle Creek Records bands or his work creating a video montage that was projected as a backdrop during a Bright Eyes tour or his various music projects, including fronting the band The Family Radio and his work with Derek Pressnall in the revamped Flowers Forever.

Throughout all of that, Lovely, Stillhas provided the ongoing background music to Fackler's personal symphony. It was (and still is) his day job (though he no longer gets paid for it), the career that his entire life-circle can point toward with pride.

This isn't going to be a review of the film. Hopefully Ryan Syrek or Ben Coffman will take care of that in the movie section when the film has its "formal release" next spring. Still, I can't help but add my two cents. The movie, which stars screen legends Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn, was much better than I expected based on the film's early word-of-mouth and chatter from those associated with the production. All I'd heard was that it was an "Alzheimer's love story," but it's much weirder than that. Two days after seeing it, Teresa and I were still talking about it and what certain sequences meant or why Fackler went in the direction that he did. We also conducted the obligatory search for the house used in the film (and found it on 54th St.).

Instead, this is a look at the film's score. Not the collection of popular songs tied together by a theme -- that's the soundtrack. The score is the orchestral tip-toeing of curiosity or thunderous rise of trumpets when the hero enters the room. The score is the thing you hear but may not notice that is coaxing tears when boy-loses-girl and a smile when boy-gets-girl-again.

Lovely, Still's score was created and composed by Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott of Bright Eyes. As local music insiders know, Mogis, who also plays in Monsters of Folk, is the "secret ingredient" and mad genius arranger that has fueled Conor Oberst's Bright Eyes albums. Walcott, who also played keyboards in the Mystic Valley Band, is a virtuoso who knows how to write sheet music. Fackler's known both of them for years.

He said the scoring process involved first creating a "temp score" comprised of music from eight different films by composers like Danny Elfman, Jon Brion, Ornette Coleman and Clint Mansell. The temp score, compiled by Fackler, gives the composers an idea of what he has in mind for certain scenes in the film. "We assemble and edit the film, and once we lock the picture, we split it up into five reels, each 15 to 20 minutes long," Fackler said. "You edit it in portions. You lock reel one, send a DVD of it with the temp score and start scoring the film with keyboards."

Fackler said Mogis and Walcott would work on themes and he would come in and listen and make suggestions -- slower here, faster there, and so on. After that was "locked," the three entered Mogis' ARC Studio with a "small orchestra" comprised of members of the Omaha Symphony who brought the score to life. All of the score's guitar parts were played by Mogis, while the keyboards were played by Walcott.

When it all comes together, it sounds like, well, a motion picture. Like any good score, the music is both subtle and necessary; it quietly tugs the viewer along like a sonic flashlight without getting in the way, and like anything else that these two composers have created, could stand on its own as modern classical music.

Facker said the score was one of his favorite parts of the movie. "I listen to a lot of classical music, and the only place you can go and hear new orchestral music is in film and video games," he said. "Mike and Nate did an amazing job."

Of course there also is a soundtrack, comprised of songs written and performed by Saddle Creek Records' artists who are Fackler's friends and associates. Since this is a (spoiler alert!) Christmas film, most of those songs are holiday themed or covers of Christmas classics, all picked by Fackler. "For a long time, I gave copies of the screenplay to bands I've worked with and asked if they'd be interested in contributing original music," he said.

Among them, Cursive's Tim Kasher, Tilly and the Wall, Son, Ambulance, Bright Eyes, Alessi Laurent-Marke, Jake Bellows (Neva Dinova) and Lawrence Kansas singer/songwriter Arthur Dodge. The song that plays during the end credits -- Bright Eyes' "Make a Plan to Love Me," was written especially for the film and was originally called "Lovely, Still Theme." Fackler said Oberst changed the name when he included it on his last Bright Eyes' album, Cassadaga. That's followed by Son, Ambulance's "Quand Tu Marches Seul," which also appeared on that band's last record, Someone Else's Deja Vu.

Some of the original songs didn't make it into the film, but will be included in the Soundtrack to Lovely, Still, which Fackler said Saddle Creek Records will likely release next spring when the film gets its formal national release.

The score, the soundtrack, it all works. Find out for yourself before the film's special engagement at the new Marcus Midtown Theater ends Thursday night.

* * *

Tomorrow: An interview with Chris Crisci of Old Canes. They're playing at Slowdown Jr. tomorrow night...

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

More than any recent band performance, I've had more people ask for my comments about the Nik Fackler film Lovely, Still. I'll be talking about it in length in this week's column (which focuses on the film's soundtrack and how it was made). The short answer is that it was a lot better than what I was expecting based on the film's early word-of-mouth and various chatter from those associated with the production. Two days after seeing it, Teresa and I were still talking about it and what certain sequences mean or why Nik went in the direction that he did. We also did the obligatory search for the house used in the film (and found it). I suggest that you go see the film, which is playing at the new Marcus Midtown Theater through Thursday.

My experience with the Marcus theater wasn't as… positive. I realize it was the opening week and that they still have a lot of things to work out, but come on folks, there are some basic things about running a theater that should be ingrained before you open the doors -- things like good concession service and an explanation when your theater is offering something outside the norm.

Some background: The Marcus Midtown is a four-level entertainment complex of which only one floor is dedicated to the actual theater (level 3). There's an entrance on the first floor, the Glo Lounge on the second floor, the actual theater and concessions on the third floor and a "VIP area" on the fourth floor (which I didn't see) -- all connected via escalators. Once inside, the complex feels like something you'd find in a big city (i.e., New York City). The lounge was bustling when we showed up at around 8 for the 9:15 screening. I talked to a couple people in the lounge who told me they weren't there to see a movie, only to booze it up in Glo.

So the gripes… There are two kinds of seating at Marcus -- CineDine and General Admission. If you want to try some of their restaurant fare, you have to have CineDine seating, otherwise you're stuck with the traditional movie theater grub (hot dogs, popcorn, etc.). You can't order the "good food" from the concession area. You also can't order booze from the concession area. I assume it's some sort of liquor license restriction. I guess you can get your beer at Glo and bring it with you? There certainly were a lot of people drinking beer/wine in the theater.

If (as we did) you get stuck with general admission seats, get ready for a horrible experience. GA seats are designated to the first three rows of the theater, below the stadium-style CineDine seating. When they designed the theater, they put these rows too close to the screen, so viewing is terrible from all three rows -- a real Clockwork Orange experience, as I overheard one patron describe it. Don't get GA seats.

Then there's the concession stand. We ordered some hot pretzels and an Icee. It took 10 minutes to get the pretzels. The Icee ended up being a Sudsee -- warm punch-flavored goo instead of, well, ice. Literally warm foam. The person running the concession stand apologized and promised to bring us a frozen one "in 10 minutes, as soon as they're ready." It never arrived. Again, you expect some turbulence during opening week, but not theft.

I'd like to tell you that the screening itself was good, but I'm still nursing my sore neck from the horrible GA seats. I want nothing more than for this theater to succeed, however until they get their act together, I'll see you at the Dundee…

* * *

I saw a lot of people at the Meat Puppets show at The Waiting Room Saturday night that I haven't seen at shows in, well, years. It was an old school crowd in every sense of the word. The average age of the 200 or so fans on hand had to be somewhere in the 30s. Someone described the band as "the Grateful Dead of punk rock," and that's kind of what it looked like. The Kirkwood brothers themselves visually added to that hippie vibe, but musically it was anything but. While not the over-the-top arena rock that I saw in Austin earlier this year, the Meat Puppets still bought the noise with equal parts thunder and twang. Nice set, with no chit-chat between songs, just one song right after another. I left two songs into the encore. See photo.

* * *

Tonight at The Waiting Room, it's Har Mar Superstar with Bang Bang Eche. $10, 9 p.m.

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

I'm foregoing music in the early evening tonight as I attend the Marcus Theater screening of Nik Fackler's feature length motion picture debut, Lovely Still. Marty Landau is supposed to be in attendance (Why couldn't Nik also get yummy co-star Elizabeth Banks?). There actually is an indie music angle here: Bright Eyes' members Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott scored the film's music. And Nik is in The Family Radio (He's the frontman). This also is the grand opening weekend for this new theater located at the Midtown Crossing development. I heard they serve booze. We'll see. I'll give you the skinny on the whole evening maybe this weekend but probably Monday.

Afterward, it's off to O'Leaver's for Honey & Darling, The Sleep Over and The Golden Mean. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Tomorrow night is crowded for shows.

The Meat Puppets take the stage at The Waiting Room with Little Brazil and Winston Audio. I caught the Meat Puppets at SXSW this past March, and it was quite a surprise. I was expecting a gritty acoustic rock sort of thing, but instead it was huge, grinding, arena rock -- quite a spectacle, and very entertaining (and loud). $13, 9 p.m.

Down the street at PS Collective, the Filter Kings unveil their new line-up for the first time ever, with Jason Fergusen (ex-Sarah Benck/Robbers) on guitar. Filling in on drums is Scott "Zip" Zimmerman. If you miss it, you'll be able to catch the same line-up next week at the OEA showcase. No idea on the cover, but it probably won't be more than $5. Starts at 9.

Capgun Coup will be celebrating the release of Maudlin, their sophomore effort for Team Love Records, at a CD release show at "Old Orifice" Saturday night, according to the band's publicist. It took me a while to figure what venue she was referring to, then it dawned on me that she was talking about The Faint's old practice space at 2406 Farnam, where Ratfest was held this past summer. I've been listening to Maudlin for the past week, and it indeed sounds like a drunken house party, slurred and happy and ready to puke. Very garage-y. It's also a leap forward from their debut album. The rest of the night's line-up includes punk-rock legends Hercules, and The Pharmacy. No idea what it'll cost to get you in, but it's a fun little place to see a show. Capgun Coup embarks on a tour of the south and southeast starting Nov. 24 that concludes with a show at The Waiting Room Dec. 13.

Also Saturday night, The Stay Awake headlines a show at The Brothers Lounge with Falcon Crest (Twin Cities) and Baby Tears. $5, 9 p.m.

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

Just posted, a feature on Har Mar Superstar that includes comments both from his alter ego/true self Sean Tillmann, and innocent bystander Denver Dalley. It's right here.

I've interviewed Tillmann before, way back in '02 and again in '06 when he was touring as Sean Na Na, and knew I wasn't going to get a lot out of him over the phone. He's just not a phone interview kind of guy, which may explain why there are so few interviews with him online. Knowing this, I hit up Denver for the Technicolor, and got what I needed. Unfortunately because of space limitations, I left out how Denver got "ruffied" and lost control of his motor skills. And how he's able to multi-task by having Sean pour shots directly into his mouth while he's playing. And how he played their last show in L.A. barefoot in swim trunks and sunglasses. And how Project Runway's Tim Gunn was "genuinely concerned" for Denver after Har Mar's Jimmy Fallon performance (which you can see right here) where he broke a fake-blood capsule in his mouth. And on and on...

I also left out some Tillmann comments, most notably, how he worked with Clark Baechle and Jacob Thiele to create "Creative Juices," off the new Har Mar album, Dark Touches. The process involved sending tracks back and forth, adding melodies and vocals. The finished product has a distinctively "Faint" quality to it. The Faint boys also worked on a second song -- "Just the Tip" -- which didn't make the album, but is available from a b-sides collection that you can get if you order Dark Touches through the Har Mar Superstar website.

If you go to Slowdown regularly, there's a good chance that you've seen Tillmann hanging out. I know I have. "Yeah, I love Omaha," he told me. "I try to make it down whenever I visit Minneapolis. It's like a second Minneapolis."

Anyway, check out the story, and then get your tickets to next Monday night's Har Mar Superstar show at The Waiting Room for a mere $10.

* * *

Tonight at The Slowdown it's Matisyahu with Trevor Hall. The show is sold out, and I'm told it will be a real hippie scene, despite the fact that Matisyahu is a Hasid who sings reggae songs about his faith. Actually, that does sound hippie-esque. I may attend this. I'm on the list. It could be… colorful.

Also tonight, acoustic old-time-style bluesman William Elliott Whitmore returns to Omaha, this time to The Waiting Room with Hoots & Hellmouth. $10, 9 p.m.

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

This column is a recasting of last Thursday's blog entry with about 500 words added on the end. The Conor Oberst concert that I mentioned Monday (and is mentioned in the column) sold out last night. Game 6 is tonight…

Column 245: Safe at Home
Monsterless by choice...

This was supposed to be a review of last week's Monsters of Folk concert at The Holland Center, but the "poets of our time" were up against the Yankees, and they didn't stand a chance.

In their defense, there was more than a little uncertainty helping the Yankees in this battle. I'd had a conversation a few weeks ago with Monsters of Folk's publicist about that Conor interview that never happened. At the time, the publicist said she was putting me on "the list" for the show, but it was spoken almost as an aside. I e-mailed her the morning of the show asking for confirmation, but never heard back.

Late in the afternoon I stopped down to the Holland box office to see if I was on the guest list, but they said they wouldn't know until an hour before the show, and that I could just call down to confirm. But when I did, the grunt on the other end of the phone said the only way I was going to find out for sure was to drive downtown. A side note: I've had three bad experiences with the Holland box office in my critic's capacity. Good thing I rarely attend shows there.

Anyway, while on hold with the Holland, the World Series was beginning. So: Do I drive downtown and possibly get turned away at the Will Call window, or do I stay home and watch the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series?

It didn't take long to decide. The Monsters of Folk record -- which very likely will be at the top of a number of national critics' "best of" lists -- is somewhat boring. The thought of sitting in Holland's pine-box seating for three hours listening to yawn-inducing singer-songwriter fare just wasn't appealing -- that is, if I even got inside the concert hall. But had I made it in, I probably would have been glued to my iPhone the whole time keeping track of the score, and hoping they'd just wrap it up so I could at least catch the last inning. And that wouldn't be fair to Conor and his pals.

I need to clarify something: I don't do this for a living. Never have. I occasionally run into people at shows or record stores or bars, people who have read my column or my website, who think that I make my living writing for The Reader. I guess it's a reasonable assumption when the only way they know me is through my writing, but really, how much do they think freelance writers make, and do I really look that destitute?

All those years that Sex and the City was on the air, I always was amused that the heroine, Carrie Bradshaw, could afford to live alone in a Manhattan apartment on an income generated from writing a column for a local paper that wasn't The New York Times. Think about that the next time you watch a movie based in NYC -- could the protagonist really afford his or her luxury Upper East Side lifestyle based on his/her salary? Ah, but that's why we go to the movies isn't it, to suspend our belief in reality.

It is because I don't do this for a living that I don't have to go to every "significant" rock show, and certainly the Monsters of Folk gig will go down as one of the landmark shows of '09, whether it was or not. In the old days, just a few years ago, I would have felt an overwhelming sense of guilt for missing the event; I would have felt a need to attend it just for "history's sake," and probably would have gone.

But these days, there are the other "distractions" that are taking precedent -- like the Yankees. I'm finally beginning to get to that point where it's becoming easier and easier to let myself stay home or do something else. Fact is I don't -- I couldn't -- see every significant on-stage performance; my life simply won't permit it. The act of lifting my head off the warm, inviting pillow at 5 a.m. the morning after -- my whole body vibrating with a sense of all-encompassing inner fatigue -- is becoming too brutal. Keep in mind, most of the people that you saw last night at The Waiting Room or Slowdown or O'Leaver's or wherever didn't wake up until the rest of us were going to lunch.

There still are "can't miss" shows, and I rarely miss them. Unlike his Monsters of Folk project, I won't be missing Conor Oberst when he performs a solo set at The Waiting Room Dec. 22 as a benefit for a very worthy cause. I already bought my ticket.

This may not be what I do for a living, but this is what I do. Not because I have to, but because I want to. So if you see my writing -- online or right here -- talking about last weekend's mind-blowing concert or ultimate let-down, it's because upon weighing the plusses and minuses, the band came out on the plus side.

By the way, the Yankees lost.

* * *

More interesting than the headliner are tonight's openers at The Waiting Room. Pomegranates album, Everybody Come Outside (on Lujo Records), has been on my iPhone since it was released in April. If you dig, say, Tokyo Police Club or Vampire Weekend or Shout Out Louds, you're going to love this band. Fellow opener, Minnesota singer/violist/keyboardist Anni Rossi signed to 4AD Records last year, and just got off the road with Camera Obscura. The headliner, Headlights, has come through Omaha a few times in the past (to both O'Leaver's and The Waiting Room). This will be a helluva show that I'm going to very likely miss for reasons given above…9 p.m., $10.

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

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., it's Brooklyn indie band Bishop Allen (Dead Oceans) along with Seattle's Throw Me the Statue (Secretly Canadian) and the quirky, cute pop of Darwin Deez (get there early). $10, 9 p.m.

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

Friday night's Whore Moans show at The Saddle Creek Bar was probably the loudest thing I've heard on that bar's stage. I'm not sure why I'm leading with that, especially considering that the Seattle act was one of the better touring punk bands I've seen in a while -- hard, heavy, with a pop sheen that kind of reminded me of The Towers of London but without the accents. The crowd of around 50 seemed properly perplexed and mesmerized -- i.e., they mostly sat and stared, despite the fact that their clothes were rippling from the sonic waves rolling off the amps. Very loud, very good. Opener The Upsets did their usual snarling, grimy set of more traditional punk. The evening ended with The Shidiots, joined at times by members of The Upsets and a Whore Moaner or two -- it was like a brotherhood of punk. See photo.

* * *

Though it hasn't been announced, tickets to the Dec. 22 Conor Oberst show at The Waiting Room went on sale over the weekend at the One Percent website (here). The $12 show also features Simon Joyner and Renee Ledesma Hoover, and I'm told the door money will go to a good cause. Get your tickets before this one sells out.

By the way, the same "cause" that is receiving money from the Oberst show also will be the recipient of money taken in for the Dec. 23 Mousetrap reunion show at The Waiting Room. It has been brought to my attention that Chris Hughes, one of the original vocalists for Beep Beep (whose performance as an opener for this show will be their last ever) will not be joining the band on stage as previously announced. To be honest with you, I had my doubts that something like that was going to happen, but I got the info from one of the horses' mouths, so to speak.

* * *

Tonight at The Waiting Room it's Wu Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah with Fashawn, Skyzoo, Gaiden Gadema, & Maxilla Blue. $20, 9 p.m.

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