Vinyl giveaway winner

About a week ago, I announced that, along with the folks at Because Sound Matters, I was giving away a copy of the Black Keys' "Brothers" on vinyl.

I collected 25 entries from folks and this afternoon, I drew a winner along with the help of one of my editors.

Winning the Black Keys vinyl: Shawn Woodman.

Congrats, Shawn! The package is in the mail.

That's not the only contest we have going on right now. We're giving away a pair of tickets to the Maha Music Festival through Thursday.

Last Maha band announced: Voodoo Method

The OEA awards showcase was Friday night and last night. I missed out on both, but caught the SPEED! Nebraska soapbox derby race and showcase yesterday. You can read the whole report on the race and the show in Tuesday's paper and online.

But Voodoo Method won the showcase vote last night. I've never ever heard of them, but the band calls itself a "rock and soul" band on its Facebook page. Seems like a pretty apt description from the YouTube videos posted there.

I hope next year they just select 5 local bands instead of having voting. I'm all about letting the people "have a voice," but part of showcasing Omaha's talent is to pick those bands and tell people that these bands are the cream of the crop, not letting fans tell you want they want to hear. That's just my opinion.

Anyway, the lineup is set for Saturday's show. Get your tickets soon. If you haven't bought them yet, please enter my Maha ticket giveaway.

Contest: Win a pair of Maha Music Festival tickets

Lucky for you folks, we have another giveaway for you.

This time, it's a pair of tickets to see the Maha Music Festival, headlined by Spoon and featuring The Faint, Superchunk, The Old 97's, Ben Kweller and It's True.

Last week, I had an exclusive interview with Spoon and bassist Rob Pope (check it out). In next week's GO, we'll have more with Spoon as well as interviews with Superchunk, The Old 97's and The Faint.

The good people at Maha provided us with two tickets to give to one of my lucky readers. So, click the link below and submit your info. Happy hunting.

[Update: Contest is closed! Winner will be announced later today (Thursday).]

Contest will be open until Thursday, July 22, at noon.  A winner will be drawn and announced then. Good luck!

Late nights at the rock clubs?

If you're out tonight (and into tomorrow morning), you'll notice that they'll wait an extra hour to make you dump out the rest of that PBR can and get your sorry self out of the club.

In case you've been living under a rock somewhere, Omaha bars are allowed to stay open until 2 a.m. starting overnight tonight.

Will it affect your concertgoing experience? Maybe.

"We're going to be open until 2 a.m.," Marc Leibowitz (of One Percent and Waiting Room fame) told me.

But most shows aren't going to change that much.

"Weekday shows are going to stay exactly the same. Our normal shows are going to be 9 o'clock shows. We're not going to be doing any 10 o'clock shows," he said.

If there's four bands on a lineup, maybe they'll add a fifth band since there's more wiggle room as far as closing time is concerned. But to break it down, shows will start at the same time and, for the most part, you won't have to stay at the club until 2 to catch the headliner's set.

The only things that are planned to go extra late are dance parties such as Goo and Gunk.

* * *

Tonight, I'll be hitting up Slowdown and the Barley Street (and maybe the Waiting Room for the comedy show) to see if anything's happening with the 2 a.m. stuff. Oh, and to check out the good music.

Of special note is the show at Barley Street, which is a fundraisier for the Benson Musician's Hostel.

What is the hostel? It's run by Brad Hoshaw and is a place to stay for the dozens of musicians and bands that play in Benson during any given week.

I think it's a great idea and tonight's your chance to help out. Music starts at 9 tonight and features Chad Wallin, All Young Girls Are Machine Guns, Hoshaw, Jake Bellows, Justin Lamoureux, Cass Brostad and Andrew Bailie. $5 gets you in and there will be a donation jar on the bar.

Contest: Win double vinyl copy of The Black Keys' "Brothers"

The fine folks at Because Sound Matters want to give my readers some vinyl. So, they were nice enough to ship me a double-LP copy of The Black Keys' latest effort, "Brothers." Lucky you, it also has a big poster and a CD copy inside.

It's a great record, and I currently can't get enough of the lead track, "Everlasting Light." It has a dirty beat and a delicious guitar track.

I'm also looking forward to the band's show at the Anchor Inn on Aug. 9. Tickets to that shindig are $25. It's sure to be a helluva show.







To be entered in the contest, fill in your information below!

[Update: Entries are closed! Thanks for registering. A winner will be announced later today.]

The contest ends Sunday, July 18. A winner will be drawn and announced on Monday, July 19.

Concert For Equality tickets

Hey folks... It appears that One Percent Productions' website is down this morning. Inconvenient, since the Concert For Equality tickets go on sale this morning.

In case you hadn't heard yet, the July 31 show in Benson will feature a reunited Desparecidos and reunited Lullaby For The Working Class, plus Bright Eyes, Cursive and others.

Recently, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings were added to the lineup. This thing is shaping up nicely and the few thousand tickets are going to be snapped up FAST. Especially since a lot of out-of-towners will be making the trek to see these reunions.

If you're having trouble getting to the site, head here. Or, you can actually get them through the Waiting Room's site here.

Happy hunting.

Update: The "deluxe" tickets, which includes entry into the Waiting Room for a special show, are all gone.

* * *

If you're interested more in the issues, Conor Oberst's thoughts, the impact and the money, check out the long article I wrote for the front page of the Omaha World-Herald last week.

Desaparecidos are back for Bright Eyes, Cursive, Lullaby show to fight Fremont immigration law

This morning, I saw a tweet from One Percent that I knew was on its way:
 

DESAPARECIDOS with CURSIVE, BRIGHT EYES and LULLABY FOR THE WORKING CLASS!!! SATURDAY JULY 31ST in DOWNTOWN BENSON!!

I guess it's official, now. Benson was buzzing about it last week when I was at the Waiting Room and Jake's, but no one would give the official word until now.

Called the Concert For Equality, this is going to be a big show on a host of levels. First, Desaparecidos are back. Seems like people have been clamoring for this ever since they got back from a tour and Conor Oberst decided not to make any more records. My question: Will it be the original lineup? Will folks like Landon Hedges and Matt Baum be back in the band? We'll see.

[Update: Landon Hedges told me that he and Matt Baum will be playing the show. Oberst is obviously in and so is Denver Dalley, according to the newly-launched Desaparecidos Facebook page. So, it will be a true reunion.]

Second, this can and will easily attract national attention. These bands are coming together for a show probably for the first time ever, if not for many years. And they're fighting an issue that Oberst has had some national press on already.

Oberst has recently been at the forefront of musicians fighting against a similar law in Arizona. He joined Sound Strike, a non-profit group that includes artists boycotting performances in Arizona.
Just last week, Oberst penned an open letter to Arizona concert promoter Charlie Levy, who has argued that bands should make other efforts and not boycott performances in the state. In the letter, Oberst mentioned his distaste for the Fremont law.

“I was outraged, saddened and embarrassed for their town and my state,” Oberst wrote. “This way of thinking and legislating is so dangerous, and such a threat to our basic ideals as Americans and humans, that we cannot stand by and do nothing.  We cannot play on as if nothing is wrong.”

The show will take place on Maple Street and Military Road in downtown Benson, which will be blocked off for the event. Marc Leibowitz from One Percent Productions estimates that the area will hold at least 1,000 people.

Tickets to the show are $20 and will go on sale Saturday at One Percent. Deluxe tickets will be available that will give you access to an additional show inside the Waiting Room after the main show has wrapped up.

All proceeds will go to the ACLU to help fight the law in Fremont.

Desaparecidos photo courtesy of Saddle Creek Records.

Son of 76 & the Watchmen; Weekend roundup

I didn't catch Son of 76 and the Watchmen's whole set last night, but I enjoyed what I saw. There was a crowd of around 100 to catch the show, and an abnormal amount of dedicated fans for a local group. People were dancing in front of the stage and one woman was singing all the words to every song. I guess you could call her a fan.

Josh Hoyer is talented and has a voice that I can only describe as interesting. It's kinda gruff, but soulful. In addition to his chops, he also has a confidence about him because he's been doing this for awhile, which is a great asset for a frontman.

My only complaint would be that the show seemed to lack variety. The songs didn't sound the same, per se, but most were played at the same tempo. Then again, I didn't catch the whole set, so I very well may be full of crap.

Check out some of their songs. You like? See the band Saturday at Stir for $5.

* * *

What else this weekend?

• You have Foreigner, Styx and Kansas tonight at Memorial Park. Plus fireworks. I'll be there with some friend, but I honestly won't be paying a ton of attention to the music.

• I would also recommend Honey & Darling's Saturday show at the Waiting Room. They're always a treat. I wish I could go, but I'm being sent to cover Justin Bieber's concert at the Qwest. So excited about that one.

• Also Saturday is the Red, White & GOO dance party. How better to celebrate our nation's independence? $5 at Slowdown.

This is a little early, but there are two great shows next Tuesday: The Hold Steady at Slowdown and Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers at the Waiting Room (with Brad Hoshaw). Wish I could go to both.

Conor Oberst explains his position on Arizona (and Fremont)

Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst fans in Arizona won't be seeing either anytime soon (unless they travel out of state).

As you probably already know, Oberst and quite a few others decided to boycott performing in Arizona due to the state's recent adoption of a new anti-immigration law. Headed by Rage Against the Machine's Zach de la Rocha, the organization is called Sound Strike.

Earlier in the week, Arizona promoter Charlie Levy urged bands to reconsider. He thinks using performances in Arizona as a way to rally against the law would be better than a boycott. I understand the guy's position since he's going to lose his ass if enough bands sign onto this boycott. He won't have any shows to promote.

Oberst penned an "open letter" to Levy basically stating that while he doesn't like the boycott, it's the best option.

Remember the op-ed Oberst was going to write for the OWH? This is more or less it. Honestly, the open letter is even better.

In it, Oberst mentions Fremont a bit.

"If this Fremont law had been passed statewide instead of in a rural town of 25,000 people, I would be the first to call for a boycott of my home state," he wrote. "This way of thinking and legislating is so dangerous, and such a threat to our basic ideals as Americans and Humans, that we cannot stand by and do nothing."

He also mentioned a concert here in town that will raise money for an ACLU challenge of the Fremont law. Expect details soon (that is, if you haven't already heard all the rumors).

Head over to Billboard to read the letter.

It's True breaking up? It's, uh, true

I wasn't there last night, but I heard that It's True frontman Adam Hawkins proclaimed on the Slowdown stage that the band was calling it quits

Is it true? Apparently so.

I asked keyboardist Karl Houfek if they were breaking up. "That is, in fact, the truth," he told me.

Maha Music Festival, where the band is playing the main stage, will be the group's last performance. (Maha confirmed it.) The band performs tonight at the Bourbon Theatre for its next-to-last show.

It's a shame, really. They're a great band and have been a pleasure to see each time I've caught them live. They were doing the right things, such as performing at South By Southwest and taking a long jaunt down the west coast.

They received plenty of press around town, including from me. They seemed happy about the band and the album and such when I last talked to all of the.

"I don’t think we’ve arrived or anything. We need to remember that the songs are first and we are all second to the songs," Hawkins said back in April.

So, what happened? I have no idea. They never signed with a label, which appeared to be frustrating. The trip to SXSW seemed to lack any real benefits, they told me afterward. And the most recent tour? Perhaps it was a bad experience. Who knows?

Anyway, I am sad to see them go. All of the guys in that band are very talented and, I'm sure, will move on to other gigs. We'll have to wait and see where they end up.