Before we get to the weekend, here are a couple interesting Internet tidbits you may or may not have found on your own.

Continuing the parade of Cursive interviews, each with a bit of a downer theme, here's an interview with Ted Stevens in the University of Toronto's thevarsity.ca. Among the notable comments:

(Says Stevens): "Originally, [Saddle Creek] was designed to be a communal thing that we all shared a part of. Those were naive dreams. Bright Eyes was the first band to sell lots of records, and that was when it became obvious that each musician had to work on their own thing. We needed a CEO to run major operations. It then broke off from the community aspect.

"The sense of community is still there, but the label, family, and bands are not the same as they once were. We have had to set up a new business model, instead of this utopian all-for-one mentality.

"The cynic in me believes that it’s not possible, once debt and revenue enter the picture. I started off as an enthusiastic spokesperson of what I wanted it to become, but now I am leveling off into a realistic position, mellowing."

Is it me or does Cursive seem disenchanted with Saddle Creek these days?

* * *

The Reader's news editor, Bryan Cohen, sent me a link to this item at American Public Radio's Marketplace, a business-news show on the local NPR affiliate at 5:30 p.m. weekdays. I had heard part of this report driving home from work and wasn't sure what I was hearing (and missed the end), but it's an interview with Billboard Magazine news editor David Prince, where he and host Kai Ryssdal chat about the recession and how it's reflected in pop music. Where the interview goes off the tracks is at the very end, where Kai asks about indie music. From the transcript:

RYSSDAL: What about indie music? I mean some of the folks out there just doing their own thing.
PRINCE: You know, I think of indie music in a lot of ways as the most elitist and the most ignoring the recession and the economic realities. Because if you have the opportunity to really pursue a music career in this day and age and do nothing else, then you probably have some expendable income.
RYSSDAL: Expendable income. So it's kids who have some money, basically.
PRINCE: Indie yuppies is a phrase I think of a lot when I'm reading Pitchfork.

Wow. Indie Yuppies. I guess that accurately describes most of the indie bands around here, right? Seriously, you can't blame Prince, who sounds like he's never met a touring indie band before. Even the most successful ones I've interviewed have members that hold day jobs or second jobs just to survive. Strange comment, that of course ended up getting blasted in the "comments" section of the story. Amusing.

* * *

For the first time in a while, there are no stand-out shows this weekend (except of maybe The Hood Internet, but that's not a band, is it). I blame the long, arctic winter, which seems to just go on and on and on. To be honest, we can't complain. We've done pretty well show-wise the past few months, a time which historically is slow in terms of decent touring bands. Local unsigned bands should take note that if you're working on an album next year, there are distinct advantages to a deep-winter release in that you'll have less competition from headline touring acts for your CD release show. That certainly would have been the case this weekend.

But that said, there are shows going on this weekend, including the aforementioned The Hood Internet, a couple guys who record dance-floor mashups. The duo is at The Slowdown tonight with Capgun Coup and Flowers Forever. $10, 9 p.m.

Everyone's favorite drunk house, O'Leaver's, has Gyromancer, Lightning Bug and The Power, a hot new Lincoln band (or so I'm told). $5, 9:30 p.m.

The best show of the night, however, is in Lincoln at The Bourbon Theater for a fundraiser for KRNU, 90.3 FM. On the docket is Ideal Cleaners, Pharmacy Spirits, The Machete Archive, Once a Pawn and coming off a glistening 12-inch release show at Slowdown last night (that I didn't attend because of work), Talking Mountain. $5 if your over 21, $7 if you're 19-20. Show starts at 9.

Tomorrow night The Hood Internet plays in Lincoln at The Bourbon. Meanwhile, back in Omaha, it might be a good time to check out the new Hole, formerly the Diamond Bar in downtown Omaha at 712 So. 16th St. It's hosting a benefit for Repower Nebraska featuring The Yuppies, The Prairies (members of Yuppies), Solid Gold, Peace and Space and Lawrence Kansas band Bandit Teeth (KS). $5, 7 p.m. (it'll be over by 11). Just a reminder, The Hole is a all-ages space and doesn't serve alcohol.

Also Saturday night, The Answer Team plays at The Sydney with Auternus and Masses, $5, 9 p.m.; and Ground Tyrants play at The Barley Street with Citizens Band and Chantilly Reign. $5, 9 p.m.

Like I said, quiet weekend.

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Just posted, an interview with Talking Mountain. The band talks about their masks, their music and changing the lyrics to one of my favorite songs. Read the story here. Because of space limitations, I had to cut the ending -- the part about money and touring -- so here it is:

Instead of laying out multi-thousands on a recording, the band bought a '98 Dodge Ram 2500 van to replace their '94 Econoline. They're ready for the road, but only the one that leads to neighboring states.

"I have a day job, Dan goes to school and Brad is unemployed," Meyer-Cusack said. "I have a mortgage and a wife and a dog, and I need a steady way of paying those bills. I've been in bands that have gone on tours, but weekday shows are a total bust in Omaha, and that goes for everywhere else. Touring is a huge, noble thing and awesome when you do it, but unless you have a solid following, i don't know how viable it is. We're building a decent audience within our circle in the Midwest, and can come back home after the tour with money in our pockets."

That's saying a lot these days. Talking Mountain has been one of my favorites since I first saw the band a few years ago stumbling around the Slowdown stage beneath those loveable monster masks, and their 12-inch will likely be on my list of top recordings at the end of the year. Read the article, then go down to Slowdown Jr. tonight and check them out for free as part of Slowdown's free-Thursday series. Openers are the labelmates Honeybee and punkers Flesh Eating Skin Disease. Show starts at 9.

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Checking his website, Wildsmith has no upcoming shows scheduled. None. Odd, considering that he just released a new album.

Column 260: A Serious Man
Live Review: Tim Wildsmith

I got a text from Whipkey at 10:30 last Friday night telling me Tim Wildsmith began his set 20 minutes ago. This was a CD release show. He was the headliner. He started at 10. I was told he wanted to play early because he had a lot of friends and family in the audience that don't like to stay out late. Fine. Not so great for the traveling band, Charn, who had come all the way from Minneapolis. Anyone who knows anything about Omaha music crowds knew what was going to happen to Charn. But we'll get to that.

So, I missed the first half-hour of Wildsmith and his band, The Lost Cause, but still got about 45 minutes' worth since he played a long set with a long encore. This was the first time I've seen these guys, and my first impression was that they're a tight, talented band that plays middle-of-the-road, mid-tempo suburban "Adult Alt" music.

There was a time when "alt" meant alternative. These days, alt is a catch-all phrase that radio programmers use for non-traditional (non-classic) rock that's approachable enough for the general public to grasp; music that has key familiarity aspects that people who casually listen to music will recognize and be comfortable hearing in their cars. It's the kind of music by bands like The Fray and Snow Patrol that winds up on television shows like Grey's Anatomy or programs on the old WB. In other words, it has the potential to be hugely popular with a large audience -- a much, much larger audience than listens to indie music.

But beyond being safe, the primary characteristic of Wildsmith's music to me was its insistence on being taken seriously. This is earnest stuff, and Wildsmith said at least a couple times from stage that "writing music is his therapy." So instead of just enjoying it, you feel like you have to acknowledge its importance, at least to Wildsmith and his fans. If you, for example, were to dislike a song like "Recovery," off his new album, you also are disliking Wildsmith as a person and whatever he went through or is going through or will go through.

Should an artist be penalized for taking himself that seriously? No, probably not. It certainly didn't hurt a band like '90s alt-rock act Live, a band that I've loathed from the first time I've heard one of their songs, years before their placenta fell to the floor. Live always sounded like it was trying to manufacture drama for an audience that also takes itself too seriously.

Well, Wildsmith isn't Live. He's got an enormous, loving fan base made up of great people, and I know this because the first time I heard of him was from a great person who said, "You should check out Tim Wildsmith's music. He's the nicest guy in the world." Yeah, I said, but is his music any good? Her response: "He's a great guy."

That's too much analysis for only hearing 2/3rds of one performance. To be fair, I'm listening to some of the tracks on his Myspace page as I write this. It's nice. It's catchy. It's just not the kind of music that I usually listen to or write about. As Dave Sink used to say when asked his opinion about a band that he didn't care for (and toward the end of his days at The Antiquarium record store, that was most new bands), "It's not my cup of tea."

Anyway… Before leaving the stage, during his encore, Wildsmith beseeched the crowd to stick around for one of his favorite bands, Charn from Minneapolis. He said it a few times, actually, but I knew it wouldn't matter. And sure enough, by the time Charn got to its second song, the crowd of 200 or so dwindled to 20 people dancing in front of the stage while a few dozen others focused on Women's Olympic Curling being broadcast on the Waiting Room's plasma screen network. In other words, Charn got "Omaha'd" in the most classic sense of the word.

* * *

Continuing the wave of Cursive news, KC's Pitch has a nice, long feature on Cursive that just hit the Intergoogle yesterday. Tim Kasher talks about some of the reasons behind his not-so-recent move from LA to Montana. One of the more interesting quotes from the story is in this paragraph:

Omaha's tightknit music scene blew up like a mini Seattle in the early part of the last decade as bands on the Saddle Creek record label blossomed into critical darlings. "Saddle Creek: That really came and went," Kasher says. "A lot was really happening for, like, five minutes." He laughs and continues: "It seems like I came out of it pretty well. I have a tendency to dismantle the machinery if things are going too well, so working on a lower, steadier profile with more of a cultish group of music fans is a healthier place for me to live."

Came and went? I think ol' Saddle Creek is still open for business. The label even has another showcase this year at SXSW...

* * *

Tonight at O'Leaver's, it's Reagan Roeder's project, Hubble. The line-up recently changed as keyboard player Annie Dilocker no longer is in the band (she's in Digital Leather these days). Also on the bill is Winston Audio and Sam Martin (Capgun Coup) and Sean Pratt. $5, 9:30 p.m. Turn off the Curling and come on down.

BTW, I'll be updating the site early tomorrow morning with an interview with Talking Mountain. Their CD release show is tomorrow night at Slowdown Jr., and it's absolutely free.

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Cursive is releasing a new single via Saddle Creek Records March 9 called "Discovering America," which, according to their publicist, focuses on the mistreatment of the American Indian community. "Given its content, Cursive has decided to release the song as a standalone single for charity, with all profits to be donated to the American Indian College Fund," according to the statement. "The single will be available at major digital music retailers."

Speaking of Cursive, the band is in the heart of a nationwide tour with Alkaline Trio. Bassist Matt Maginn is providing updates from the road via a Facebook page titled Matt Cursive. And did anyone else see this story in the Salt Lake City Tribune where Ted Stevens commented on the "darkness" of the Mama, I'm Swollen? Here's an excerpt:

"It reflects people who are in a dark place," said Ted Stevens, Cursive's guitarist. "I'd be lying if I said I was a happy person, or that [lead singer and lyricist] Tim Kasher was in a happy place."

Some of the bad feelings are a result of fans' reactions to the band's previous album, Happy Hollow, a concept album that was more experimental than ferocious. "We alienated most of our fans with Happy Hollow," Stevens said. "People are still quick to criticize."

Has the reaction to Happy Hollow really been that bleak? Are things really that bad? I thought Cursive had a pretty solid 2009, which included an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. Maybe not...

* * *

Looks like The Reader and The City Weekly are getting some new competition March 3. That's when Shout! Weekly hits the news stands, a new arts & entertainment newsweekly that I'm told is from the folks who brought you The City Weekly -- Jim Minge and Dan Beckman. The publication already has a Facebook and Twitter page as well as a placeholder for shoutomaha.com. Can Omaha support three alt weeklies and a revitalized Go! Section of the Omaha World-Herald? Time will tell.

* * *

Tomorrow's column: Tim Wildsmith live review; and Thursday, a feature on Talking Mountain. Join us, won't you?

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Briefly, I did attend the Tim Wildsmith CD release show Friday night and I did write a live review, but I'm thinking of using it for this week's column, so stay tuned...

Tonight at The Waiting Room it's Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman Alec Ounsworth performing songs from his New Orleans-inspired album Mo Beauty (Anti), his self-titled Flashy Python project as well as some CYHSY favorites, according to his publicist. Opening is Mitch Gettman. $10, 9 p.m.

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In addition to having a large fanbase, Tim Wildsmith has a supporter in Kevin Coffey of the Omaha World-Herald. Kevin has been following Wildsmith's album project for months in the OWH, and that's not something to sniff at. As Matt Whipkey once told me (and I'm paraphrasing here): "It's nice to get a write-up in The Reader, but a write-up in the Omaha World-Herald, I mean, my family reads The World-Herald." He's right. Coffey's latest piece on Wildsmith (here) is in support of tonight's CD release show at The Waiting Room (Chris Aponik's take on Wildsmith in The Reader is here). I've never seen Wildsmith perform before, and the only music of his I've heard was online (there's two tracks linked from that OWH article). So, maybe tonight, eh? Opening is two performers I've never heard of: Levi Weaver and Charn. $8, 9 p.m.

Actually, for $5 I can see Cat Island, Cave Kids and If Only He Had the Power at The Sydney. I like that name: Cat Island. That one starts at 9 also.

Saturday night, The Filter Kings headline a show at The Waiting Room with Ground Tyrants, Brave Captain (a fIRHOSE tribute band) and Two Drag Club. $7, 9 p.m.

Also Saturday night, Well-Aimed Arrows (ex-Protoculture) is playing at O'Leaver's with One to Three for Band and Everyday/Everynight. $5, 9:30 p.m.

The Hole (formerly the Diamond Bar) has punk shows slated for both Friday and Saturday starting at 7 p.m. and costing $5. Tonight's six-band bill features Bent Left from Kansas City and Bandit Sound. Saturday night's show features Iowa's Boy Meets World and Eastern Turkish. These shows are all-ages, and there's no booze for sale, period.

Sunday night former Lemonhead Evan Dando is at The Waiting Room. Adam Hawkins (and not his full band It's True) is opening. $13, 9 p.m.

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I may be the only person in Omaha who hasn't heard Little Black Stereo perform live. The band is opening a free show tonight at Slowdown Jr. with All Young Girls Are Machine Guns and headliner Danielle Ate the Sandwich (from Ft. Collins). 9 p.m. Tonight. Free.

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Which of these are "must haves"? Ted Leo/Pharmacists, Shearwater, Beach House and Japanther. I like the Yeasayer CD a bit more than Vampire Weekend disc, but really, they're basically the same idea. Thanks to Webboard member JOC for the idea for the column lead; you can read the whole Midgett essay here.

Column 259: Quarterly Report
A glance at 1Q'10 releases.

Tim Midgett of seminal '90s Chicago rock band Silkworm (now, unfortunately, no longer a band) said in a frighteningly insightful essay about music criticism that critics should listen to every album five times before putting their thoughts to electronic paper. And while I generally agree with Midgett, you don't need to take five bites out of a turd to realize that you're eating a piece of shit. On the other hand, a really good album could take five times that long to really understand, and then you still may not "get it." With that in mind, the following aren't CD reviews as much as casual impressions after listening to these albums in shuffle mode for the past few weeks. The bottom line: Very few will leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, The Brutalist Bricks (Matador, out March 9) -- Remember the first time you heard My Aim Is True? You thought you finally found a new rock album that was cool (It was 1977, after all. Wait a minute, that was 10 years before you were born?). And then Elvis Costello began to pander to his inner poet and become all wordy and that was the end it. Well, Ted Leo picked up the ball sometime around 2001 and started running and never looked back. Yes, this is hyperbole, and no, TL sounds nothing like EC. BTW, "Bottled in Cork," and "One Polaroid a Day" already are the best songs of the year. Start counting the days until March 9.

Yeasayer, Odd Blood (Secretly Canadian) -- With its weird noises, stuttering rhythms and gaggle of production tricks, this is the Avatar of indie rock, thanks to Chris Keatings' wholesome croon that drains away any and all of the recording's subversive-ness. Playful as Vampire Weekend and more interesting (most of the time), and just as mindless (and in this economy, who wants to think anymore?).

Spoon, Transference (Merge) -- The guy in the corner of the pool furiously treading water is frontman Britt Daniel, who after six albums in 14 years is just trying to keep his poorly combed hair from getting wet. Do you really need this if you already have one of his last four albums? Probably not, but in an era when indie rock keeps getting younger and cuter, it's nice to hear something that the teenagers rocking out to MGMT (or vegging out to Animal Collective) won't understand for a few more years.

Shearwater, The Golden Archipelago (Matador) -- Sure, it's dreamy and atmospheric (as per usual) and head mewer Jonathon Meiburg still sings like he's trying to coax a camel to sleep, but there's more drama here than on any of their past albums. And when they get all heroic up in your face, like on standout "Castaways," you'll fondly recall John Denver singing "Aye Calypso!"

Sade, Soldier of Love (Epic) -- The undisputed queen of loungecore is back after an unexplained 10-year absence (Somehow, we persevered). Same midnight beats, same sultry voice, same pleasant yet forgettable melodies. Get the album before you hear these songs while pushing a shopping cart or staring at ceiling tiles at your dentist office.

F_cked Up, Couple Tracks (Matador) -- This singles comp contains selections recorded from 2002 to 2008 that border on goon rock but with indie cred thanks to its Matador pedigree. Included here only so the garage band guys and the folks down at The Hole don't think I'm a total pussy.

Los Campesinos!, Romance Is Boring (Arts & Crafts) -- You can almost see their angry, Walesian snarls through the (oh-so-carefully applied) dirt on their faces. You appreciate the new, slick production, but you can't help but want it raw and ugly in a way they could never pull off (at least not now). "Nicer" than their last one, and that's not a compliment.

Beach House, Teen Dream (Sub Pop) -- A friend of mine compared them to Al Stewart (Come on, you remember "Year of the Cat"). But for all I know, she was joking (or as drunk as everyone else at O'Leaver's that night). This is real underwater dream machine music (sorry Mr. Vovk) that's as appealing as rolling up in your favorite snuggie with your dog (or significant other) asleep on your lap, too afraid to move for fear you'll wake them up. And now you have to go to the bathroom.

Four Tet, There Is Love In You (Domino) -- Like all "electronica," (or for that matter, like all instrumental-only albums) it can become somewhat tedious after the novelty of the first 30 seconds of each song wears off. OK, I get it. Next. Unless, of course, you're dancing with 100 people at 3 a.m. in someone's funkily-lit downtown loft. And you're drunk. Like that's going to happen at my age...

Basia Bulat, Heart Of My Own (Rough Trade) -- Imagine Tracy Chapman hugging an autoharp while fronting a fiddle-driven hayrack ride of a band emoting shades of The Green Isle by way of Toronto and you're halfway there. With the Dixie Chicks on hiatus, Bulat is the next in line.

Japanther, Rock 'N Roll Ice Cream (Menlo Park) -- Chock full o' the cool songs that your pals will include on their next mix CDs (Do people still make mix CDs?). Sure, some of the songs sound like an amateur improv sketch, but that's half the fun.

Vampire Weekend, Contra (XL) -- The most hyped album of 2010 and it's only February, which makes you want to hate it even more. Despite that inner contempt, you can't help but smile when you hear their Graceland-ripped melodies, the blue-light keyboard bounce, the hyper-kinetic beat and the silly-love-song lyrics. Utter cuteness wins again

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I missed Ladyfinger at O'Leaver's Friday night. I'm told they slayed. If you don't already know, Dan Brennan is the band's new member, which means you're going to have to wait a few months to see him play in this capacity again as he'll be out on the road with Cursive through the first week of April.

I didn't miss the trifecta of bands at O'Leaver's Saturday night, however. The out-of-towners, Weatherbox opened the night with former Omahan Landon Hedges swinging a big ol' bass from his childlike shoulders, looking like he was having the time of his life, while a couple of his Little Brazil bandmates looked on with pride. Live, the Criteria/Cursive comparisons are justified, even moreso as the band didn't play any of the slower, mellow stuff off the last full-length. Instead it was a lesson in angular-indie -- a compound modifier that still doesn't mean anything, but somehow fits this category of music. Hedges remains a formidable bassist, lest we forget that he slung one way back in his Desaparecidos days; he didn't seem to mind letting someone else handle the frontman chores.

On paper, Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies were a strange fit, sandwiched between two hi-energy post-punk bands. And maybe they were, but their style provided a nice respite in the middle of all the angst. Hoshaw rolled out at least one brand new song and a couple that I didn't recognize, providing proof that there's more on the way as good -- or better -- than what we got on his debut. I even got a shout-out before their last song -- set staple "Powdernose," which is a lesson in rock dynamics, as loud as a gang fight one moment, drunk and alone the next. Hoshaw and his clan certainly broke a few hearts on that Valentine's Eve.

Finally, there was The Photo Atlas, who just played at O'Leaver's last April, when I described them as "twitch-dance-rock that reminded me of The Rapture, sort of... shiny post-punk with an ever-present dance beat beneath everything all the time," and "the kind of band that a label could turn into something huge, at least with 15-year-old girls." The description still stands, but Saturday night they had all the boys in the house climbing all over each other in some sort of man-love rock ritual, trying to get to frontman Alan Andrews and too often succeeding. Their style is as direct and in-your-face as At The Drive-in during that band's heyday -- the only thing missing are the Afros. Andrews and Co. do just fine with their current hairdos, and make up for any deficit with shear exuberance (and sweat). Their Myspace page says that they're still unsigned, which seems hard to believe, especially when they have a journalist following them around writing a book about their tour (or so I'm told).

Don't believe me? You can check out all three bands tonight at The Sydney for free. That's right, all three bands are playing a free repeat show before Landon and his crew head out for the next leg of the Weatherbox tour, which runs through the end of March. For those of us who were there Saturday, it's worth going just to see if The Sydney can pull off the same vibe that O'Leaver's had -- there's just something about the tiny bar on Saddle Creek Rd. that brings out the best in bands despite its lack of stage, no lights and an amateur-quality PA. In a town with two world-class music venues that have invested thousands (and in Slowdown's case, millions) to maintain the highest standard of live performance excellence, O'Leaver's remains my favorite place to see a live band.

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It would appear on the surface that O'Leaver's has the weekend cornered with two marquee shows tonight and tomorrow. Tonight at everyone's favorite drunk tank, Ladyfinger plays a set for the first time in a long time. They'll be joined by Lightning Bug. Then tomorrow night O'Leaver's conducts an experiment in overkill by booking three bands that each could fill the club on their own -- Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies, The Photo Atlas and Weatherbox, who you read about yesterday (with new member Landon Hedges of Little Brazil). Both shows are $5 and start at 9:30 and will be uncomfortably packed, so get there early.

But O'Leaver's ain't the only thing going on this weekend. Lincoln Exposed is happening tonight and tomorrow. You can check out their schedule in Facebook here. $6 per night for all three venues.

Tomorrow night The Brothers Lounge is hosting a special show called "Better Than Television," featuring Vampire Hands and Nathan Nelson of The STNNNG performing Television's Marquee Moon in its entirety. Before that, The Leisure Birds will be covering some classic Monks songs. The evening will be kicked off by a set from Well Aimed Arrows (ex-Protoculture). $5, 9 p.m.

Sunday is Valentine's Day, but it's also the day before a holiday, which means I don't have to go to work Monday. So there's a good chance that I'll be swinging by The Waiting Room for a show featuring Bear Country, Sara from Honey and Darling and headliner One for the Team. $8, 9 p.m.

Also Sunday night, Lincoln punk band Once A Pawn plays their CD release party at Duffy's with UUVVWWZ and Gooses. Reader scribe Andy Norman, now of Michigan State University, wrote about Once a Pawn in this week's issue of The Reader (online here) and name-checked me in the article where I described OAP's Catherine Balta as sounding like "a very young, angry Rebecca Gates of pioneering mid-’90s guitar-and-drum duo The Spinanes." Kind of a useless description since no one knows who The Spinanes are. Judging by his tone, I don't think Andy agrees with me, but I stand by the description (as meaningless as it is). Once A Pawn's new disc, Mission Accomplished, is one of my favorites so far this year and is worth checking out. Someone needs to get this duo to come to Omaha. Anyway, that Duffy's show is $5, and starts at 9…

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

Just posted, an interview with Weatherbox frontman Brian Warren (read it here). Warren talks about why he prefers being in a band vs. writing and performing music by himself in the studio. He also talks about luring Little Brazil frontman Landon Hedges away to the Left Coast to join his band. Check it out. I'd tell you to buy tickets to Saturday night's Weatherbox show, but it's at O'Leaver's and there ain't no tickets for sale -- you'll have to pay your $5 at the door. This one will be crowded, as both The Photo Atlas and Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies also are playing. Get there early.

* * *

Speaking of shows, tonight The Korey Anderson Band opens a show at The Waiting Room for Caleb Hawley and Reed Waddle. Anderson had one of the best songs on this year's Christmas at Pine Ridge compilation. In fact, his voice is so high and purty on the track (which opens the collection) that I thought it was woman singing (and a hot one at that). Turns out it was just Anderson, who may or may not be hot (I've never actually met him). Anderson's band is an all-star line-up featuring Craig Balderston (bass), Wayne Brekke (percussion), Andrew Penke (guitar & keys) and Michael Campbell (guitar). 9 p.m. $7.

Also tonight, the Lincoln Exposed Festival is in full swing. Here's tonight's schedule with Z=Zoo D=Duffy's B=The Bourbon Theater

06:00 (Z) Triggertown [bluegrass/roots]
06:30 (D) Son Del Llano [salsa/latin]
07:30 (Z) Dr. John Walker [pop/rock]
08:00 (D) Ron Wax [rock/garage]
08:45 (Z) Ember Schrag . South Of Lincoln . Kill County [singer/songwriter]
09:00 (B) Josh Hill Band [rock/blues]
09:30 (D) Her Flyaway Manner [progressive/rock]
10:15 (Z) Bottlerocket [ska]
10:20 (B) Hundreds Miles [folk/rock]
11:00 (D) The Vingins [psychedelic/rock]
11:30 (Z) Tie These Hands [indie/pop]
12:00 (B) The Amalgamators [americana/rock]

Just $6 gets you into all the venues all night. The festival runs through the weekend, and the full schedule is in Facebook, here.

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

Yes I know I'm overselling The Hole by even mentioning The Cog Factory, and no it has nothing to do with my 2010 predictions (which so far have been uncanny). While its success or failure will depend solely on the folks running it, maybe just as important is the booking. I talked to one local garage rock musician about The Hole this weekend and he said he's waiting for a band outside of the skatepunk/hardcore genre to perform there before he checks it out. The fact is The Cog booked a diverse collection of bands including quite a few nationals that would go on to become some of the most important bands of that era. Will Black Heart be able to do the same thing? Time will tell, though a glance at their calendar indicates The Hole's initial focus is squarely on punk and little else. That said, Mr. Wright told me Saturday that he's already been approached by some of the area's non-punk musicians (including local bluesman Matt Cox) about playing at the all-ages club. If that happens, and if The Hole becomes an option for touring bands looking for a place to play an early set for an all-ages crowd (without having to deal with Omaha's archaic permission-slip restrictions), comparisons to The Cog may not be so far-fetched.

Column 258: Long Live The Hole
The all-ages club closes, then reopens.

This story of the death and rebirth of an all-ages music venue (in 24 hours) begins with me being chastised by show promoter Lucas Wright.

He'd read my annual "Predictions" column and took offense to the part where I said no young local promoter had stepped up in '09 to give One Percent Productions a run for its money. "You couldn't be more off base," Wright ranted. "I think you may be just unaware what's been going on in some circles of music in Omaha. I know I don't own my own venue and book HUGE national touring acts very often, but there's still a LOT going on in underground music that you have no idea about, Tim."

Of that, I had no doubt. Wright sent along a list of shows he'd put together under the moniker Black Heart Booking -- a long list, made up of such local high-flyers as Ladyfinger, UUVVWWZ, It's True, Simon Joyner and The Stay Awake; national bands such as The Have Nots (Boston), Theodore (St. Louis) and Dozal Brothers (Texas), and venues including Slowdown, The 49'r, The Sydney, The Barley St. and, most of all, The Hole.

I'd been hearing about The Hole, which I was told was in the basement of the Convicted Skateboards shop at 715 So. 16th St. The all-ages venue was where Wright had been focusing his attention for the past few months. So I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone -- get Wright's story and also check out this new all-ages club.

When I arrived at Convicted, Wright led me downstairs to The Hole. It was pretty much what I expected -- a drab, low-ceiling cinderblock basement with a mattress wrapped around one of the support poles. Pieces of skateboard ramp were littered along the concrete floor. But something was wrong. Where was the stage?

Wright told me that just the day before, Convicted's landlord showed up for a surprise inspection, unaware that shows were being held in the basement. And that, as they say, was that. Regardless of the landlord visit, it was only a matter of time until someone would have put a stop to it. While local police had checked out shows and let them go on, one visit from a fire marshal would have shut them down. The public entrance to The Hole was an unmarked 3-foot-high door in the side of wall. The single bathroom was a plywood stall with a toilet bolted to the floor. You get the picture.

But despite the spartan conditions, The Hole had quickly earned a reputation as a place where youth could enjoy their music and skateboard without being hassled. Yes, it was a basement, but it was their basement.

The day The Hole ended, Convicted owner Anna Diederich, who runs the shop with husband Donny (Double D), needed to find another venue for a show booked at The Hole that very night. She remembered that shortly after Convicted opened, she had met Cindy Sechser, the owner of the long-closed Diamond Bar located right across the street. Sechser had told Donny she was looking for someone to do something with the old bar.

"Donny was out of town when all this went down," Anna said, "So I called Cindy and told her what had happened." And so The Diamond became The Hole.

That Saturday afternoon a small team of teenagers was busy inside the old bar building a stage under the direction of Cordial Spew frontman Jay Bacon. The night's show was scheduled to begin in just a few hours. Power and audio cables already had been fished from the PA -- brought over from the old Hole -- to the soundboard in the back of the room. Old furniture and other dusty junk still needed to be cleared out.

The new Hole appears to have a lot going for it. It has a similar layout as The Barley St. Tavern -- a long barroom next to a separate stage room. There's one functioning bathroom and room for a second that needs repair. The building is a stone's throw from Douglas County Corrections, which means there will be plenty of cops keeping an eye on things. There's also parking across the street in Convicted's lot (as well as on-street parking). Best of all, the club is rent-free. Money from the door is split between the landlord, Convicted, Black Heart Booking and the bands.

"Technically, The Hole is run by Donny and me, but it's more of a collective," Anna said. "We have meetings every week and agreements on the way things are run. Everyone pitches in. Donny's cousin, Leonard, is the door guy. Jay (Bacon) does sound, and either Donny or I are at every show -- we lock up and patrol."

Could The Hole become a modern-day Cog Factory? Only time will tell. "When the kids refer to The Hole or the skateboard shop, they say it's their place," Anna said. "They put their sweat into it and help out in all kinds of ways. I just like watching them enjoy themselves and have a good time."

Wright has shows booked at The Hole through July. You can check out the schedule at myspace.com/theholeomaha. Most shows start at 7 p.m. and end by a parent-friendly 11 p.m. The club has strict no drinking/no drugs rules that Wright said are stringently enforced. There's also a no-pretention rule.

"The other night, we heard one kid tell another that he 'wasn't punk enough' to be there," Wright said. "We quickly put an end to that. That's not what this place is about."

So while Black Heart Booking will continue, Wright says The Hole is his labor of love. "I'm in this for the long run," he said. "I want my kids to go to shows there some day."

* * *

Tomorrow: Weatherbox

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Before we get to it, I've updated yesterday's blog post at the insistence of members of It's True, so go back and read it again if you only read it before 5 p.m. yesterday (otherwise, skip it).

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A couple SXSW updates…

Little Brazil will be playing the festival this year in Austin, according to LB guitarist Greg Edds. Venues and times have yet to be scheduled.

Thunder Power's official SXSW show also has yet to be scheduled, but they have three unofficial shows already slated. They're playing at The Parlor at 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday 3/16; Sonny's Vintage at 5 p.m. on Friday 3/19, and the band is teaming up with It's True for a day show at Lovey's Loot on Saturday 3/20.

So as it stands now, Omaha participants at SXSW are It's True, Digital Leather, Thunder Power, The Mynabirds, UUVVWWZ and Little Brazil.

More details as they become available.

* * *

Tomorrow: Black Heart Booking and the rise and fall of The Hole…

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It was a strange, mopey night at The Waiting Room Saturday, or maybe I was the mopey one. The crowd seemed restless for a good time and you'd figure they'd get it from Eagle Seagull, who announced from stage that their full length is finally coming out March 28 (but they didn't say who was putting it out, maybe they're doing it themselves?). Edit: A reader pointed out that I reported back in December (in this blog entry) that the record is coming out on [PIAS] Recordings.

If the band seemed a bit listless it might have something to do with not having one of their guitarists -- has there has been a personnel change that I wasn't aware of or was he just under the weather? Or maybe their rather detached performance had something to do with violinist/keyboardist Carrie Butler, who looked sullen bordering on upset throughout their entire set (Or maybe that's just her way). No matter. The music was the usual good stuff, despite the band looking bored and distracted (They say Fleetwood Mac's best album was borne out of conflict.)

The chatter in the crowd focused on It's True, who has announced that its having a CD release party for their debut full-length at TWR April 30. No one, however, knows who is releasing it, and now people are speculating that the band will release it themselves.. No one understands why this band doesn't have labels nipping at its heels, be they local or national imprints. Here's a band with a solid collection of songs that seems willing to do whatever is necessary to get the music in front of a larger audience. What more could a label want? Then again, it's getting harder for bands to figure out why they need to be on a label at all, other than the bank and the marketing that goes with it (and certainly they'd like someone to pick up the tab for their recording). Distribution, which was a key advantage in the old days, is losing its value as more people quit buying CDs altogether.

By now, the story of Eagle Seagull's multi-year constipation in releasing their material is well documented, which doesn't make it any less unfortunate. They were a rocket left on the launching pad, bogged down with too many delays until people began to wonder whether the darn thing could ever get off the ground. If nothing happens with their new record, it'll be another in a series of tragedies that seems to characterize Nebraska bands these days. No one wants to see what happened to ES happen to It's True, which is why if the band decides to put out the record themselves that it makes all the sense in the world, especially in an era where patience is often mistaken for indifference. It's True has to push forward right now, and should a label suddenly take interest in them, they can always release the album again. In the meantime, they're hitting their stride, growing with every performance, which means there's never going to be a better time to get out and share it with the rest of the world. (See photo).

Friday night was spent at O'Leaver's with The Third Men and Des Moines rock band North of Grand. My take on The Third Men: Just about any bar or venue would be better off having them perform in some sort of residency capacity, say every second Thursday or the first Friday of the month. The Third Men play good-time rock music for smart people who recognize well-played good-time rock music. There's something comfortable and familiar with their sound, which is probably due to the fact that the band grew up -- and continues to -- love good, unpretentious (and fun) rock music. It also helps that they roll out a few covers with every set. This time they unveiled a snarling version of Warren Zevon's "Poor Poor Pitful Me," along with "Next Time Round," an Elvis Costello chestnut off of 1986's Blood and Chocolate (That's right, that record came out 23 years ago).

Chatting with North of Grand's drummer Pat Curtis before their set, I was expecting a full-on punk attack, but in fact NoG has more in common with post-punk power rock than straight-up punk (and to me, that's a good thing). Despite being hard with their guitars, the band isn't afraid of hooks or cranking up white-knuckle backbeat rhythms right after a break. For whatever reason, I was reminded of post-punk acts like Bad Religion, Fugazi and Husker Du. But that's just me. With four albums under their wing -- all apparently self-released -- it's bands like this that epitomize the DIY business approach that every band will have to adopt sooner or later. Just ask It's True. (See photo of North of Grand).

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Briefly, Mastodon announced its spring tour this morning, and Omaha's Sokol Hall is on the list for May 14.

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Alt country band Dr. Dog returns to The Waiting Room tonight with The Growlers. $12, 9 p.m. I'm told TWR is one of their favorite venues. Since they haven't been here since Sept. 2008, they're in for a surprise.

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It was a pseudo "goth night" at The Waiting Room last night, which meant plenty of the expected costuming (heavy eyeliner (men and women), dyed-black hair, the usual). None of it got in the way, and to be honest, the style of music for the first two bands didn't really fit the vibe.

Opening band Blue Rosa's lead singer had sort of a Lilith Fair lilt to her voice, which either compliments or clashes with their post-neu-wave-ambient style depending on your expectations. It was kind of like listening to Sarah McLachlan front The Cocteau Twins with a cello accoutrement (and I could have used more of that cello in the mix). It was pleasant, but not particularly threatening. Not bad, but these guys need to turn it up. See photo.

Dim Light played as a four-piece and sounded like a leather burlesque show held in an anonymous Manhattan basement club; there's something dirty and decadent about their brazen swing that teeters so close to out of control. One fellow patron told me that he thought frontman Cooper Moon was trying to channel Nick Cave. Maybe so. I've compared him to Mark Lanegan before, and I stand by it, though last night's performance seemed more lucid and coherent than anytime I've seen them in the past. They're ready for prime time. (See photo)

Strap On Halo didn't go on until about a quarter to midnight, so I only caught a couple of their songs, which sounded like attempts at throbbing industrial meets metal played to a drum machine. Lots of lights and smoke; I guess this is where the goth came in.

* * *

Lots going on this weekend. Tonight you have Matt Wilson from Trip Shakespeare reinventing himself as The Twilight Hours at The Waiting Room. Matt Whipkey is opening. $10, 9 p.m. Me, I'll be getting my drink on at O'Leaver's where The Third Men are headlining tonight with North of Grand and At Land (ex-Fizzle Like a Flood). $5, 9:30 p.m.

Tomorrow night, It's True headlines at The Waiting Room with amazing Lawrence band Cowboy Indian Bear and Lincoln heroes Eagle Seagull. $7, 9 p.m. Meanwhile, there's a solid punk show down at The Hole, 715 So. 16th St,. headlined by Dead Town Revival and including Redo, Cordial Spew, Officially Terminated, The Upsets and The Brigandines. $5, 7 p.m.

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It's only the beginning of February, but I'm already making plans for the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, which isn't until March 17. Yesterday, Jason Kulbel at Saddle Creek Records told me that his label will again host a showcase at the event. The deets:

Location: Maggie Mae's Gibson Room
Thursday, March 18

10 p.m. The Mynabirds
11 p.m. UUVVWWZ
12 a.m. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
1 a.m. The Rural Alberta Advantage

SXSW has filled in the earlier part of the evening with the following Nicodemus Agency bands:

7:30 - 8:00 p.m.: Common Loon
8:15 - 8:45 p.m.: Unwed Sailor

Last year I missed the Creek showcase as I was making a concerted effort to avoid all the bands that I see on a regular basis 'round these parts -- what's the point of going to Austin if you're going to see bands that always play in Omaha? In the end, I still saw Cursive play a couple times at other day shows. Without a doubt, all of the Creek bands will be playing numerous times throughout this year's four-day foray. Seriously, can you ever get too much of The Mynabirds?

Other Omaha acts confirmed for SXSW this year include Thunder Power, Digital Leather and It's True, though I don't know where any of them will be playing. More details as I get them.

* * *

It's an evening of dark wave/goth/gloom tonight at The Waiting Room with Strap On Halo, Dim Light and Blue Rosa. $7, 9 p.m. Don't be afraid of the snow.

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This week's column is a look back on Sunday's Grammys -- three-plus hours of my life that I'll never get back...

Column 257: Child's Play
The Grammys get younger...

Oh my, The Grammys. There was a time when they meant something to me. But that was a long time ago, back when I was working at K Mart and sneaking (underage) into The Depot in Council Bluffs. Back when bands like The Police and Michael Jackson dominated the awards. All these years have led up to last Sunday night's Grammys, where I realized, to my chagrin, that I didn't know most of the acts that were nominated (and I bet you didn't, either).

Had I finally become what I've always dreaded becoming: An adult who doesn't like music; an old fuddy-duddy who's "out of touch"?

I contemplated this unfortunate fate as the Black Eyed Peas -- a band that does little more than bleep out meaningless five-word phrases followed by "Yeah!" on top of aerobics soundtracks -- received yet another award for best something or other for a song that we won't remember a year from now. And than it occurred to me that I haven't stopped liking music, I stopped liking popular music.

"Pop music" has always been the stuff that appeals to the great unwashed masses. But these days, those masses are comprised mostly of 15 to 19 year olds, the majority of the population that still buys new music, preferably online or at Wal Mart. It's these consumers of the mass bile that, in the next five to 10 years, no longer will listen to music at all. That pleasure will have been replaced with watching television, listening to talk radio and following sports when they're not keeping an eye on their kids.

Yeah, most people "grow out of" music, or more accurately, they grow out of the shitty kind of music that the mass media seem to embrace. They certainly lose the ability to listen to new music, forever lost in the soundtrack of their adolescent years.

I contemplated that unfortunate fate while shopping at Homer's Saturday afternoon, where I picked up new CDs by Spoon (just okay) and Los Campesinos! (amazing). A few years ago, Homer's end caps would have been filled with only the most mainstream, commercial-appealing fluff -- i.e., what's heard on the radio. These days, those end caps are stocked with CDs that you won't hear on the FM, lazily categorized as "indie music" (that Spoon album, for example, released on indie label Merge Records, was listed as Homer's No. 1 best seller).

Now out front, Homer's "indie section" used to be a few feet of shelf space in the back, dedicated to bands whose music and lyrics were more challenging, more personal, and consistently better than whatever won the top prizes at The Grammys, but that rarely sold as many CDs throughout their lifetime as a Black Eyed Peas album sells in a single day.

Anyway, my conclusion: When it comes to pop music, I haven't grown older, the music has grown younger, and dumber and more youth-oriented than it ever was when I was "their age."

There was very little no adult content at The Grammy's this year, unless you count the adult language used in the hip-hop medley. Watching the telecast was like watching The Nickelodeon Awards or some other kids' show. The fact that powder-perfect Barbie Doll Taylor Swift, whose off-pitch voice sounds like she's struggling through puberty, could be honored with the "Album of the Year" was amusing since her music could only appeal to girls in their late teens, and their parents who have to put up with it. It's kind of like giving an Oscar to a Twilight movie, while "Tetro" goes ignored.

Pop music has once again been defined as being kid's stuff. So what else is new?

But imagine this: A Grammy Awards broadcast that opens with Yo La Tengo performing alongside Beck, where Brother Ali and Atmosphere do a medley with Ludacris; where The xx and Phoenix front a huge production number with Lady Gaga and Depeche Mode, where Annie Clark sings a duet with Antony Hegarty and Kris Kristofferson, where Mastodon humbles Metallica, where Mogwai performs with the San Francisco Symphony, where Wilco shares a tune with George Strait. And where the winners' music will be remembered 10, 20, 30 years from now, let alone next year.

* * *

One local guy watching The Grammys last Sunday had some skin in the game. Arguably the area's most talented mastering engineer, Doug Van Sloun, watched as Rhonda Vincent's Destination Life, released last June on Rounder, was up for Best Bluegrass Album. Doug mastered the record, his first project to be nominated for a Grammy. Alas, the award went to comedian Steve Martin (yes, the arrow-through-the-head guy) and his album The Crow / New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, which shouldn't be a surprise since Martin performed songs off the album on just about every late-night talk show. Still. It's honor just to be nominated, right Doug?

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Now for something completely different: Next week, the star city celebrates its best and brightest at Lincoln Exposed 2010. The event, which is held at Duffy's, The Bourbon Theater and The Zoo Bar, runs from Feb. 10-14 and features 60 performances from some of Lincoln's finest musicians including Charlie Burton, The Machete Archive, Darren Keen/The Show Is the Rainbow, Triggertown, Ember Schrag, Her Flywaway Manner, Mercy Rule, The Mezcal Brothers and Pharmacy Spirits. Your $6 per night gets you into all three venues. For a full schedule, search for "Lincoln Exposed 2010" in Facebook.

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The Waiting Room is a whole different -- and louder -- animal when it's not packed to capacity, as evidenced by last Saturday night's show, which drew fewer than a 100 people. Walking toward the bar down Maple St. at 10:30, I could hear the noise coming from the venue as far away as Jane's. Imagine how loud it was inside -- but it was nothing earplugs couldn't control.

On stage, Perry H. Matthews tore through songs from their upcoming full-length (to be released by start-up label Doom Town Records). This is loud, propulsive noise rock that chugs along with with serious, pounding riffage. I don't remember if I've ever seen them as a five piece, with a dedicated frontman/vocalist. The guy looked the part, with a striped, sleeveless T-shirt and suspenders. Throughout the set, however, it felt like he was holding back. Though he could be heard above the band (barely), he needs to turn it loose if he's going to keep up with what's happening all around him.

There was no holding back Her Flyaway Manner, who I haven't seen in years. The trio fronted by Brendan McGinn on guitar and vocals was spot on. Their post-hardcore sound reminded me more of Fugazi than the last time 'round -- good, brutal stuff from one of Lincoln's best. (See photo)

A few more thoughts on TWR: They adjusted the stage camera, so that the monitors around the bar are sharper, and are now in living color. While the room does seems semi-empty with only 100 people in the audience, it still feels less empty than, say, Sokol Underground or Slowdown's big stage with a similar-sized crowd. This could be another advantage TWR has over other larger rooms -- small shows don't feel sadly unattended, though just having a crowd that gets off their asses and stands by the stage (as we did Saturday night) always helps.

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If you didn't watch The Grammy's last night you didn't miss anything. I watched only because I intend to mention the telecast in this week's column. It's amazing just how far American popular music has fallen from any resemblance to adult content (unless you count the adult language used in the hip-hop medley). It was like watching The Nickelodeon Awards or some other kids' show. The fact that Taylor Swift, whose off-pitch vocals sound like she's struggling through puberty, could be honored with the "Album of the Year" among other awards, is amusing since her music could only appeal to girls in their late teens, and the parents who have to put up with it. It's kind of like giving an Oscar to a Sponge Bob movie. During her performance with Stevie Nicks, Taylor could have used some auto-tuner action, and believe me, there was plenty to go around.

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