Coverage of Navy Gangs, Staffers’ homecoming
A pair of Omaha native bands returned home last night in Navy Gangs and Staffers, the former in town from Brooklyn and the latter from Washington D.C.
HN intern Lauren Farris went to a tightly packed Milk Run to grab a few photos. Navy Gangs returned home as part of tour in support of its forthcoming self-titled debut. If you missed last night, both Navy Gangs and Staffers play Almost Music, 3925 Farnam St, with Sean Pratt & the Sweats. (Show starts at 7 p.m. sharp, costs $5, and is BYOB. RSVP here).
Vegetable Deluxe and Lush Bruise Crew rounded out last night’s four-band billing. The latter is of course led by David Nance, who just released solo album More Than Enough via BaDaBing Records. The former heads to Ord, Neb., tomorrow night to open HN’s Good Living Tour with The Good Life, CJ Mills and DJ Tyrone Storm. RSVP to the free, all-ages concert here.
See Farris’s photos below:
Vegetable Deluxe
Staffers
Navy Gangs
Lush Bruise Crew
Photos by Lauren Farris
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Conny Franko’s trippy new video
In the run-up to his long-awaited sophomore record, Conny Franko has dropped a second, very trippy preview video.
“Virgin Shirley Temple” opens kaleidoscopically, director Salvador Herrera creating a visualization of the experience of taking hallucinogens. The video shifts during its second verse, Franko’s mouth appearing to awaken the subject from their stupor. Within the symbolism lies a critique of multifaceted exploitation.
“This song is about the exploits of our cultures…. It’s about beautiful women that are like drugs and men that want what they can’t have,” Franko says in the YouTube video’s accompanying description. “It’s about our food and domestication of animals. The process of breeding and killing animals for our benefit. It’s about having all the knowledge in front of us but we waste our time on stupidity. It’s about how our leaders (presidents, governors, princes, princesses) are failing us and how power isn’t being used to help the people but only control the people. It’s about substance abuse.”
The track appears on La Maga, which drops digitally this Friday via Make Believe Records. As promised, the rapper has already been hand-delivering pre-ordered vinyl to Omaha residents:
Franko celebrates the album release Friday, Aug 5 at Slowdown with Stylo Tha Don, Ichiban Hashface, Cool Drug Music and Dojorok (RSVP here). Before that, he’ll join HN’s Good Living Tour this Saturday in Grand Island, along with The Good Life, The Mezcal Brothers and DJ Brent Crampton (RSVP here).
Watch “Virgin Shirley Temple” below:
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The Faint adds date at Beach Goth V Festival
The Faint has added a festival date to its fall tour.
The Omaha dance-punk band will play The Growlers’ Beach Goth V Festival, which happens Oct 22 and 23 at Oak Canyon Park in Orange County, Calif. Other notables include Bon Iver, James Blake, Future Islands, King Krule, Violent Femmes, Kali Uchis (who’ll play Lincoln Calling earlier that month) and more. Judging by the band’s schedule, it’s likely they’ll play the first day of Beach Goth, though that hasn’t yet been confirmed.
The band is set to tour all of October with English post-punk group Gang Of Four, which also plays Beach Goth. Their trip culminates in Halloween night show at Sokol Auditorium (RSVP here).
In May, The Faint shared “Young & Realistic,” its first new music since 2014 LP Doom Abuse. Frontman Todd Fink has also been working with hise wife Orenda on their electronic project Closeness.
Hear “Young & Realistic below:
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Jump The Tiger’s Dave Backhaus in The Basement On a Hill podcast
Jump The Tiger bassist Dave Backhaus joined the Omaha-based horror podcast The Basement On a Hill this week. During the series’ 21st episode, the trio of Backhaus and hosts Anthony and Kevin talked Lost Boys, hession vampires and the guest (a non-horror-fan) stumbles through the Seven Deadly Questions. There’s also talk of brains, marijuana and department store embalming (yikes).
Listen below:
https://soundcloud.com/thebasementonahill/21-dave-backhaus
The Omaha rock band releases its debut EP Nightlife this Saturday at Slowdown with Timecat and For The Birds (RSVP here). The band also released a video for lead track “Part Of The Problem” last week. Watch it below:
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Concert Round-Up
Tonight, Monterey, Calif.,-based synth-pop duo Lillie Lemon comes to Vega, 350 Canopy St, currently on tour in support of its new EP Aether. Vocalist Lemon is originally from Wisconsin, and met producer Erica Wobbles after moving to California. Think gentler Passion Pit, a less epileptic CHVRCHES. Lincoln artists Like Noise But Louder and Jacoby Levi Vann open the show. Entry is $5. RSVP here.
Pageturners hosts a pair of electronic acts for tonight’s installment of the Dundee bar’s free summer concert series. Closeness and ridgelines perform, the show starting at 10 p.m. RSVP here.