Down at Slowdown Jr. More details here. Should be a hedonistic debacle not seen since that bash they threw when Moses climbed the mountain. Believe it or not, this one has yet to sell out. Show starts at 9 p. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. All rights reserved. In years past I made it to at least a hundred shows in a calendar year. This year the number was around 60, but looking over the following list, was as good as any year that I can remember:.
Cal surf music, even though Best Coast had the better songs. April 17 — The Decemberists at The Holland — Frontman Colin Meloy had the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout almost two hours of music, which included most of the songs off the new album and plenty of old stuff from Crane Wife. The night ended with a cover of M. May 6 — Of Montreal at The Slowdown — Strangest moment: Simulated sex between two stage performers in flesh-colored body suits wearing pig-head masks.
Who says cabaret is dead? Bright Eyes at its peak. Once on top, he looked out over the crowd he just conquered, and saluted them with his microphone. Herring owned the stage with a voice that ranged somewhere between Richard Burton, Pee Wee Herman in la-la-la-la mode , a monster and Billy Idol. Except for one thing: There used to be a glimmer of hope that a talented band with good songs could maybe land a record deal with some small independent label.
That glimmer of hope continues to fade, and not just for young bands like local heroes So-So Sailors, who in any other year would have had labels like Saddle Creek or Merge clamoring to release their debut album.
No, even established acts like Morrissey have been left out in the cold. The world, I expect, will somehow endure, even as the follow-up to Years of Refusal grows less and less likely. Left with the choice of either going the self-release route like So-So Sailors or never getting his music heard, Morrissey, it seems, has chosen the latter.
