slowdown

Alas, the drab winter has surely taken it's toll on us Midwest dwellers. Endless days spent in an ice chest will have that effect from time to time, and now that it has been gloomy and foggy for the past week, Seattle syndrome will soon set in. Well luckily, thanks to our good friends over at Rad Kadillac, a slew of shows have taken over the south eastern corner of the good life state, allowing us to cease writing out suicide notes. That takes us to Sunday night, as a sold out all ages crowd at Slowdown in Omaha, NE played host to Keller Williams, which may have been the only ounce of sunshine I'll see in the month of January.

State Radio may very well be one of our most covered bands here on BOT. We have had the opportunity to catch them at several festivals, and never miss an chance to see them when they are near. Needless to say, when I found out they were playing Slowdown in Omaha on Friday, October 16th, I was all over that shit! Well, sort of. Being a constant procrastinator, I forgot all about it until the Monday before, which relieved some of my excitement going into the weekend.

More after the jump.

Amazingly, I managed somehow not to devote my entire summer to traveling for music. I was lucky enough to take a two week trip with my BOTheads to a couple festivals and a mini Phish tour in early June, but have since been on kind of a musical drought. Luckily, the scene has since picked up quite a bit in my area, keeping me plenty busy and entertained also.

Read more after the jump!

There are a lot of acts out there that people always say you have to see live. The Hold Steady firmly belong to this group, and since I've been a big fan of their studio work for some time now, I jumped on the opportunity to catch them close to home at the Slowdown in Omaha, NE on April 8. Known for their high energy performances led by singer Craig Finn, The Hold Steady have received rave reviews across the board. The War on Drugs were set to open up the evening and would do so in timely fashion.

Read all about it after the jump

The Hold Steady

Omaha's Slowdown has consistently brought in a diverse array of acts – ranging from rock and reggae to hip-hop and singer/songwriters – since its inception, and has provided much-needed relief to the rather lagging music scene in the area, forcing me to become increasingly familiar with the Omaha metro area. Saturday, November 22 warranted another trip to the venue for what promised to be a stellar night of music featuring Mason Jennings and support act Zach Gill.

Read about the night and view photos after the jump

Hip-hop has always been one of my true loves. The problem is, most "commoners" can't audibly separate hip-hop from rap, thus shoveling us fans into one category. In all actuality, they are two very opposite ends of the spectrum. While most mainstream rap artists rhyme about how many cars, women, houses, money etc. they have, hip-hop artists speak truth about real life problems, triumphs, tragedies and other things that you and I can easily relate to.

Read more on the evening after the jump!

In my younger years, my aunt Jolene was always talking about this band that she was infatuated with that went by the name of Phish. I had given them a few listens, but never enjoyed it because, in my shortsightedness, I couldn't see their sound for the genius that it was. But while I and the rest of mainstream America wrote Phish off as circus music, the truth was that they were making history. Finally, when I was about 18, another good friend of mine came along and was successful in converting me to the Phish fan base. By 2003, I was finally able to catch them live in Kansas City, which solidified Phish, in my eyes, as the greatest act I had ever personally witnessed. If only this had happened a few years earlier.

Read more on the evening after the jump!

Minnesota hip-hop group Atmosphere will embark on a U.S. tour this fall to plug their new album When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint That Shit Gold. The duo, made up of lyricist Sean “Slug” Daley and beat master Anthony “Ant” Davis, has continued to impress crowds throughout the nation. Joining them on their tour are Abstract Rude, Blueprint and DJ Rare Groove. The first leg of the tour, appropriately named the “Paint The Nation Tour,” has been announced, and so far features quite a sporadic array of cities in its path.

Check out the dates after the jump

Slug

Ant

A friend of mine introduced me to Rilo Kiley about a year or so ago, throughout several “sessions”. This friend seemed to have a very similar musical taste as I, and therefore was always open to suggestion. At the time, I enjoyed the sound and have since added a couple of their studio acts to my eternally growing collection. So, with little hesitation, when they announced a two show run in Omaha, I quickly jumped on it and purchased a pair for each night. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the second night, but then again was able to spread the wealth to my buddy who tuned me into Rilo Kiley, as he was without tickets to either of the sold out shows.

Yet another night spent in Omaha at the Slowdown on April 19th, 2008. The night was sure to be an interesting one with some experimental rock provided by Yeasayer out of Brooklyn, NY. Following them was Man Man, who could only add to the madness with their gypsy styled grooves out of Philadelphia, PA. I have had the chance to check out both of their studio releases, particularly Man Man, as they have been on the scene for some time. After knowing what both of these acts were all about, I thought that it would be interesting to see them live. The complexity of each of these acts seemed as if it would be a great one two punch.

Chris Keating, Luke Fasona and Ira Wolf Tuton of Yeasayer

Man Man