May 28th, 2014
The Slowdown
Omaha, Nebraska
The Naked and Famous
White Sea
Strange Babes
SOLD OUT!
It’s a wonderful feeling to see a SOLD OUT sign hanging on any venue’s door in Omaha for the night of a concert. What most bands don’t realize is that Omaha has a substantial music culture and with the right amount of promotion and the perfect venue, Omaha shows sell out. With doors opening at 8pm for a 9pm show, it was no surprise that of the 750 people who’d bought tickets some had started lining up at 5p for the sold out show. The 85 degree heat didn’t stop a group of girls who wanted to make sure they were the first in line. “We’re going to be up by the stage,” one had told me. I had no doubt that they would be. Slowdown’s Happy Hour goes from 4-6pm and gives the diehard fans a great opportunity to hear each band’s soundcheck before the show. I was lucky enough to have seen Morgan Kibby of White Sea pacing the floor before her band’s soundcheck.
With Madonna’s Ray of Light blasting at full volume from the venue’s main show side, the line steadily began to form and patrons found their chairs in the bar. The Naked and Famous were the first to soundcheck. White Sea followed, and jammed through heavy rendition of Future Husbands Past Lives and continued with Warsaw. Even though it was a soundcheck, these two tracks sounded amazing when played live. It’s been almost 8 years since Morgan Kibby has been on the Slowdown’s stage. Back then it was with her other band, M83. Tonight’s show would focus on her solo work. Kibby’s vocals are crystal clear and meld perfectly with the band’s music. Up next, the trio pushed through a portion of Prague. I snuck a quick peak between an opened gap between the partitions. I know that the band will glam up their stage appearence but it was cool to see Kibby and her boys rocking out on stage in jeans and t-shirts. Strange Babes finished their soundcheck next with just enough time to spare before door’s opened.
Limited merch at tonight’s show. A few CDs from the bands, 7 styles of t-shirts, some vinyl and a few posters and bags. Strange Babes CDs were the most interesting. The band gave each a unique design.
By the time Strange Babes took the stage, the floor was already packed. Their brand of psychadellic beach rock went over well with the crowd. This was the quartet from New Zealand’s first North American tour and the band used this opportunity to put forth their best music. While the band’s drummer was the most animated of the group, the rest of the band stuck to their own spots on stage. Strange Babes, even though being such a new band, did a great job keeping the crowd’s attention. The fan’s reaction was better than I’d seen for other little known bands who tour through Omaha. Fans were bouncing around and swaying with the music. The band kicked their set into high gear by the fifth song of their set, giving the crowd music with a more heavy edge, and kept that momentum going through the rest of their eight song set. The Slowdown’s stage lights alternnated between cool shades of blue and purple, and an intense red. The band’s lighting guy, whom Strange Babes’ lead singer thanked during their set, did an amazing job setting the visual mood. After their set was complete, during the band’s tear down, a few of the members leaned down from the stage to take selfies with a few of their newly made fans.
Morgan Kibby’s White Sea was the next to take the stage. The trio from Los Angeles helped with their own set up, and fine tuned for a few minutes before Kibby stepped off stage, presumably to change into her stage clothes. To give you a bit of history on White Sea’s founder and vocalist, Morgan Kibby has toured the world many times over with her other band, M83. During her first year touring with M83, the band did make a stop in Omaha so this isn’t technically Kibby’s first time on the Slowdown’s stage. Back then M83 played in front of roughly 100 people. Tonightt Kibby’s White Sea would be playing to a sold out venue of over 750 fans.
White Sea opened their set with Ex-Pat, a track that highlight’s Kibby’s ethereal vocals. Before Kibby started to sing, few in the room were paying attention to the stage, as soon as she began to sing, all attention turned and was focused on the glamorous woman standing behind a keyboard. Kibby continued to dazzle the crowd with Flash and then Warsaw. Future Husbands Past Lives followed and Kibby continued to keep the fan’s attention focused on the stage. It Will End In Disaster was up next. The track was given a more heavier edge than it’s album version, and had the entire floor of the venue bouncing. I could feel the thunderous bass coming from the band’s drummer through my feet and into my chest. I hope that White Sea will release a remix of It Will End In Disaster featuring this heavy version the band played live. It was great to see a few members of the crowd singing along with NYC Loves You. Kibby then took the time to thank their good friends in The Naked and Famous for bringing them on this tour, and thanked the crowd for giving White Sea the opportunity to play tonight. The musical intensity of White Sea’s set increased with each song the band played and culminated in their set’s last two tracks. White Sea raised the bar with their performance of They Don’t Know, and Kibby stepped out from behind her keyboard for the band’s closing song, Prague, and danced around the stage, inticing the fans to join her before their set was over. Kibby’s vocal control was spot on during White Sea’s set. Numerous times throughout the evening the crowd burst into cheers as she flawlessly hit several high notes. Speaking with numerous fans after the show, people were most impressed by White Sea’s music and the stage presence that Kibby and her boys commanded during their set.
I spoke briefly with Kibby after her set about how she’d feel about returning to M83. “I’d love to,” she told me, “if Anthony asks me too. Those boys will always feel like family to me.” I aksed about the possiblity of us ever hearing the original versions of the remixed tracks she’d released back in 2011. “The label didn’t like them, so they weren’t released.” If you, as a fan, would like to hear them, ask her at the next show. You’ll be pleasently surprised by her reaction.
Setlist:
Ex-Pat
Flash
Warsaw
Future Husbands Past Lives
It Will End In Disaster
NYC Loves You
They Don’t Know
Prague
New Zealand’s The Naked and Famous, making their return to Omaha, were set to close out tonight’s high energy performance. The Kiwi quintet took the stage to the pulsating sounds and accoustic guitar strumming of A Stillness. As soon as the first chord was struck, the crowd bounced. TNAF’s set was the perfect balance of tracks from the band’s current release, In Rolling Waves, and their debut full length album Passive Me, Aggressive You. Crowd interaction was perfectly timed. Lead vocalist Alisha Xayalith shined on stage like an angel ascending from Heaven. But tonight’s set wasn’t focused solely on Xayalith’s vocal strength and stage presence. Thom Powers’ voice coupled perfectly with Xayalith’s backing vocals on Girls Like You. Keyboardist and founder Aaron Short stuck close to the back of stage right, slamming away on the keys.
Watching Jesse Wood work his magic in his drum kit was inspiring. It’s great to see a drummer who’s just as animated as the rest of the band. Bassist David Beadle took double duty for this tour, playing bass and plucking at his stage left keyboard. The entire band worked in harmony, sharing the energy being created by the crowd and refocusing it into stellar stage presence.
I was not very familiar with TNAF before tonight’s show. I’d only heard a few of their songs that have been released on various soundtracks, Underworld: Awakening for example. After tonight’s show, I now consider myself a fan thanks to their brilliant live show. As fans, we can tell when musicians are just on stage to play their music and make a paycheck. This was not the case with TNAF. Seeing their live show, you can really tell that this band is passionate about their music and enjoys every show as much as we do.
Setlist:
A Stillness
Hearts Like Ours
Girls Like You
Rolling Waves
The Sun
Frayed
I Kill Giants
Grow Old
All of This
Punching in a Dream
Waltz
No Way
Encore;
The Mess
To Move WIth Purpose
Young Blood
