Tonight at the Slowdown brings Dan Deacon and his crazy in-the-crowd insanity back to Omaha, with Flowers Forever opening. There are a few things you have to know about this show – for one, it’s free. All you have to do is go >>here<< and print off a ticket, and be there before it fills up. I’m not sure how many people showed up for Dan Deacon earlier when he was at Sokol Underground, but $$free$$ always seems to bring the kids out. It’s an 8pm show, and you do not want to miss Flowers Forever. So here is what you do – click the above link, print it off, show up early and just hang out, then rock out to Flowers and dance out to Dan Deacon.

If you’re in Lincoln and looking for something to do, early show (6pm) at Box Awesome is Darren Keen/Adam Robert Haug and I’m sure that’ll be well worth checking out for $5 or whatever.

A pretty full schedule tonight with something for everyone around the town of Omaha Nebraska. At the PS Collective, Panang is playing (and featuring Orenda Fink tonight) along with the amazing Outlaw Con Bandana. That’s $5 and probably around 930 or so. Also in Benson is what should be a pretty loud and crazy rock show – Ladyfinger the Stay Awake, Techlepathy, Perry H Matthews, and Private Dancer (from St Paul). That’s $7 9pm, and should be great based on that lineup.

Of course, there is something going on at Slowdown too – The Show is the Rainbow doing a punk rock show. I guess Darren has the usual laptop/video setup, but plays guitar over prerecorded songs. Opening is UUVVWWZ (Lazy-I has a great interview with Teal right >>here<<), who are always hard to top. I’m gonna post a mp3 below. If you don’t have the record, go out of your way to get a copy tonight. Even if you don’t like the music, the cover makes me go cross eyed (in a good way). Playing first is Stolen Kisses, and this is going to be the final Stolen Kisses performance as a full band, which is kind of weak. Make sure you get your hands on that tape they put out. Maybe Talking Mountain can do even more Stolen Kisses “covers”. $7 9pm

UUVVWWZ – Jap Dad

Hey I didn't know about this until this afternoon, but there is a pretty cool concert happening at the always happening Barley Street Tavern tonight. Artists featured are Dance Me Pregnant and Eagles Blood, two acts that don't play nearly enough shows, so you don't want to miss. Plus, FREE. 9ish, $FREE$. Barley St. Should be a good time.

Quick notes on the openers:

Even as the second act of the night, it was clear that Ghengis Tron had a following. As the first throaty shriek's emerged from the front man's mouth, a hole opened in the middle of the crowd soon to be filled with amped up 20-somethings crashing into one another. The Philadelphia-based band proved to be an appropriate opening act for the Faint. The band's leanings on electronic music and a simple light show gave it a familiarity to the main act, but their obvious roots to metal made them distinguishable.

Even for someone who doesn't know the nuances of the metal genre (and would prefer not to), I could tell that Ghengis Tron was doing something different. They provided a modern deviation to the basic screams and driving baselines that I associate with metal music. It's fair to say that while these guys might never show up on my iPod, their live show was entertaining enough to convince me see them again.

Taking the stage next was Jaguar Love. When front man Johnny Whitney strutted onto the stage in true diva fashion, it appeared that the band just might deliver an entertaining set. The illusion continued as the union of musicians from Pretty Girls Make Graves and The Blood Brothers set up equipment and finished their sound check.
Then Whitney opened his mouth.
Apparently, his voice has an "either you love it or hate it" quality, but it was hard to imagine how anyone without serious hearing problems could enjoy listening to the shrieking mess that came from his mouth. Was the crowd supposed to be able to understand what he was saying? Because I didn't. Did the rest of the crowd cover their ears for fear of hearing loss? Because I did. Maybe this is harsh, but I was hard pressed to find almost anything positive in their performance. From Whitney's ear-bleeding shrieks and affected stage persona to the uninspired background instrumentals, it seemed that this band was a big bag of clichés minus the irony.

The Faint:

Few bands get an Omaha crowd going like The Faint, and in the minutes before the hometown digital heroes walked onto the stage at Sokol Auditorium, the rowdy crowd jacked up on pretty pills, caffeine and booze chanted their name fervently, fists flying in the air.

As a town that takes pride in its solid music scene, it's not uncommon for local bands to draw decent sized crowds. But The Faint, more than seven years after they released their breakout album "Danse Macabre," still has the ability to sell out show after show in their hometown.

The wood floor of the spacious Sokol was mostly invisible from a balcony view as people filled every inch and spilled into the concession and merchandise area. And as the first notes of "Agenda Suicide" blared through the speakers, the mass of stationary concertgoers suddenly burst to life, giving the floor the appearance of a can of worms.
The Faint is known for its high energy performances, and this night was no exception. Front man Todd Fink, dressed in a labcoat-esque jacket and goggles, sprang about the stage, only constricted by the length of the microphone cord. The rest of the band mirrored Fink's on-stage electricity, which was inevitably matched by the audience.

The guys rolled through a set of more than 20 songs including favorites from "Danse Macabre" and "Wet From Birth." But regardless of whether or not the crowd wanted to accept it, the purpose of the night was to introduce the material on their recently released album, "Fasciinatiion."

After releasing "Wet From Birth," in 2004, The Faint has come back with a new effort, on its own label Blank.Wav. Like most bands who have experienced a sort of meteoric success with their past two albums, there's a certain expectation and hope from the audience for them to play the songs they're familiar with. The Faint seemed to respect that expectation without sacrificing its own agenda of getting the new music out there.

While the new album has its share of thumping dance songs like "The Geeks Were Right" and "Get Seduced," without the instant charm and danceability of the songs from their previous albums, the "Faciinatiion" tracks proved to be a little more flat and a lot less familiar to the Omaha crowd.

Each time an unfamiliar tune reverberated through the room, the dancing mass of people slowed, almost as though they had to think through how to move to these new sounds. It was probably only the psychological trappings of the unfamiliar that lowered the energy level from completely insane to just insane when the new material was played, but the difference was noticeable.

Even still, the crowd was as sweaty and drained as ever as they walked out into the unusually chilled night air, giving hope that with time and a couple more stops in Omaha along their tour route, The Faint's new additions will be as epic as the old standbys. - Liz

Thank you for the great review, Liz!

If you don't have tickets to see the Faint's big return to Omaha after the release of Faciinatiion show, then you're not totally left out the cold, there are a few other cool shows going on. If you're in Lincoln, make sure to head down to Knickerbockers and see Darren Keen doing a Darren Keen show, opening is the fantastical Honeybee. 9pm $5ish? If you're here in Omaha, then the show you should see is Bazooka Shootout, the Lepers, and Giants at O'Leavers, 930 $5.

As far as the sold out Faint show goes, it's an 8pm show, so make sure you're there early, because the openers are almost as exciting as the Faint themselves. According to TMac and their own myspace, Box Elders have been added to this show. I'm not sure if that means another band canceled or what, but you should be there in time to see Ghengis Tron and Jaguar Love if you can. Jaguar Love features the dude from Blood Brothers with the voice that you either love or hate, and of course I love it. Otherwise expect a classic show from the Faint with a new crazy light show. Should be memorable, like usual. 8pm $SOLDOUT$

Arms is the solo-type project from Todd Goldstein who is also in a couple of Brooklyn bands - Harlem Shakes and the Sea and the Gulls. Both are cool bands, but Arms is where his best songs end up. Tons of catchy guitar playing all over this record. I've actually been waiting what feels like forever, Todd sent me a copy of his self released Shitty Little Disco EP about two years ago and I've been in love ever since. Kids Aflame has four of those EP songs, including the great 'Whirring' and 'Shitty Little Disco'. The title track might be the best, although it doesn't really sound like much else on the CD. Most of the tracks build to some pretty epic moments, well about as epic as a one man multi instrumentalist writing songs in his bedroom can get. Infinite replayability. If you dig it, buy it from Melodic and get a free 7 inch.

Arms - Kids Aflame
Arms - Whirring
Arms - Shitty Little Disco
Arms - Neighbors (from the Shitty Little Disco EP)

A few weeks ago I wrote a really long paragraph about a bunch of great touring bands coming to Omaha during the seven days between October 13th and the 20th, but that's a long time from now. Something much closer (less than a month away, at this point, September 17th-21st) to focus on, is the 2008 Lincoln Calling Festival, happening basically everywhere in downtown Lincoln. It's hard to believe it's the 5th year of the festival, which focuses on local bands from both Lincoln and here in Omaha but also includes a bunch of cool ones from all over the place too. One of what will no doubt be one of the best shows of the weekend actually is the one kicking the whole thing off. Eagle Seagull will headline on Wednesday the 17th at the Rococo Theatre, supported by Neva Dinvova and Manny Coon. Thursday and Friday are packed with stuff like Knots on the State Theatre marquee, Darren Keen at the 12th St. Pub, and what promises to be a crazy Speed Nebraska showcase at Duffy's. Friday includes an 8 band bill at Box Awesome for $8, and it includes basically all of our favorites (Baby Walrus/UUVVWWZ/Capgun/Honeybee/Bear Cuntry/CvsC/FTL/Conchance... God damn!). Saturday has The Show is the Rainbow at Knickerbockers, opening band being our numero uno favorite Lawrence band, Boo and Boo Too (same night as Conor Oberst + Jenny Lewis in Omaha....). Plus an all day music market of tee shirts and cds and stuff under the O St. Bridge. Sunday has softball (like a real softball game, and anyone is welcome!) at Havelock Park. Plus Pattern is Movement/Marianas (+ special guests). Guys, this isn't even a third of the shows going on. We're looking at 8 venues doing 70+ bands over 5 days. Stay tuned. The full line up will be out soon, the actual show schedule will be out soon, and the official website should be online soon. Exciting!

At around 6pm tonight, Orenda Fink and Brad Hoshaw will be playing at Lauritzen Gardens, for the last night of their Tempo of Twilight concert series. It should be a beautiful event. Brad Hoshaw opens, he opened for Frank Black last month, and the legend said that he has "a very seductive voice." I love that quote. Anyway, we saw Orenda on Saturday at the Peace Benefit concert, and her voice is just as incredible as I remembered. $7, 6pm. Plus, it's looking to be a gorgeous evening for outdoor concerts...

Which brings us to My Morning Jacket @ Stir Concert Cove in Council Bluffs. MMJ is renowned as one of the best live acts in the world, and you'll never find a poor show review. The deal is, their newest CD, Evil Urges... sucks pretty bad. I'm not a big enough fan to drop $26, but I know I'll be kicking myself after the show passes, just like usual. If you go, tell me how awesome it was. $26 730pm?

Here is your Saturday night list. Make note of the early start on the Peace Center Benefit show @ 7pm, you might be able to catch another show if it actually starts on time!

Peace Center Benefit featuring Baby Walrus, McCarthy Trenching, Bear Country, Orenda Fink, Simon Joyner, Outlaw Con Bandana, Bill Hoover, and the Watch @ the Waiting Room $10 SEVEN PM

Dereck Higgins, White Elephant Gift Exchange, Agronomo, and Stolen Kisses @ the PS Collective 9pmish, $3-$5?

Domestica and the Third Men @ O'Leavers 930 $5


I missed the Thunder Power CD release show last night (well, and Flamboyant Gods) and donuts and whatever else, and I'm jealous of all who were out and about. It's all thanks to me eating chili dogs and falling asleep. I'm a dirty, lazy glutton and I apologize. Pretty sure I just admitted to three deadly sins in that paragraph.

Tonight Thunder Power celebrates the release of their EP Love Yourself. It seems like they've had this scheduled for a long time, but it's still hard to believe it's the 15 the August, isn't it? I haven't heard the full EP yet (but I'm sure I will after tonight) but it features such favorites as 'Why Don't You Go Take a Hike' (video below) and 'Lucky To Be Alive'. I know they plan on releasing another EP later this fall/winter, so plan on hearing a bunch more from these folks over the next few months.

But hey, the rest of the bill is sweet too! Omaha's Midwest Dilemma is playing, no clue how big of a crew Justin will have with him tonight, but they seem to bring to goods regardless of how crowded the stage gets. Playing second to last is a very very cool band from DC, These United States. They self-released a pretty awesome CD earlier this year called A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate. I'm excited to see them in town. Oh, and of course I can't not mention Honeybee, who will be playing first. I'm not sure if they have copies of Quilt left, but if they do you should really get yourself one. I've been planning to type a little about it if I get the chance, I love it. Honeybee first, then Midwest D, followed by These United States, and finally Thunder Power. Sounds like a good bill to me. 9pm $5

Also, I'd like to mention that they'll be a notary on hand at Slowdown tonight before the show, from 5pm - 7pm. If you're still in high school/dropped out and still under 18/super smart and already a doctor but under 18/uh under 18, you should take your Mom or Dad or legal guardian to Slowdown, check out the venue and get your permission slip signed and put on file there. It's free and easy, plus your parents can check out a cool place to hang out with a free jukebox and a Donkey Kong machine for those nights when they leave you with your grandma so they can unwind away from you rotten kids. It's a win/win situation!

Oh yeah, here is that Lindsay Trapnell directed super awesome video for 'Why Don't You Go Take a Hike'. Go ahead and try to name a cooler video from an Omaha artist.

Hey guys, I know I've been really lite on the blogging lately. Sorry. I've got some stuff planned and there are some awesome shows coming up this weekend to talk about, let alone news on Lincoln Calling and the huge list of stuff coming up over the next few months. So stay tuned for more stuff really soon, I hope.

Anyway, tonight has a good show going on down at the Slowdown. I'm not sure who is playing last, but the big draws should be local I'm Drinkin This Monster Barfers Talking Mountain and Brooklyn's Deleted Scenes. I'm sure you all know about Talking Mountain at this point, it's gotta be obvious that we dig them. Shoot, you have like a 1 in 7 chance of seeing them in a header graphic above. Deleted Scenes are pretty great too, I think they'll go over really well here. Also playing is the band featuring the Bonacci Bros, Hyannis, who should be playing some cool new stuff from their upcoming LP, PLUS an Omaha favorite, Florida's one woman multi-instrumentalist White Elephant Gift Exchange. 9pm $6.