The Black Angels and Black Lips

Two bands shared the stage with a mix of psychedelic and garage rock for the Birds and the Bees tour, which hit Omaha's Slowdown on March 22.

The psychedelic part of the pairing, the Black Angels, has been touring steadily since the release last year of the band's latest album, "Death Song." The Black Angels put on a great show last May in Kansas City, and its playing was even more well-honed in Omaha.

Black Lips opened the show with its anything-goes style. The band is a motley crew. Guitarist Cole Alexander, looking as if he belongs in a '90s grunge band, and bassist Jared Swilley, rocking an old-timey mustache, trade off lead vocals. But the group's wild card is Zumi Rosow — playing an at-times cacophonous saxophone, singing backup, or engaging in David Bowie/Mick Ronson interplay with Alexander.

Black Lips (All photos by Christopher Windle)

Black Lips has worked with Duran Duran producer Mark Ronson on 2011's "Arabia Mountain," and Sean Lennon produced its last album. For its next outing, the band said that it's planning a country-western album, "for Middle America." Though Alexander proclaimed that the crowd in Omaha didn't look like it was from Middle America, the audience did seem to enjoy the Black Lips' country-inflected songs best.

If Black Lips' live show was all about chaos, the Black Angels' was all about control. Perhaps because of accompanying visuals produced by the Mustachio Light Show, the Austin, Texas, band doesn't vary its setlist much from city to city. While the Black Angels are great at delivering its songs sounding exactly as they do on its albums, or perhaps even better, there's not a ton of spontaneity in its live show.

The Black Angels.

One slight change in the band's presentation over the past 10 months is the emergence of vocalist Alex Maas. While he still plays guitar, organ, and even bass in the band's live show, he now seems to be a bit more comfortable standing at the front of the stage.

The band took the stage to the song that inspired its name and the title of its most recent album, the Velvet Underground's "The Black Angel's Death Song." From there, it played songs the audience knew well, many off the "Death Song" and "Passover" albums. Highlights were "Young Dead Men," "Black Grease," and "Half Believing." Especially impressive is the band's hard-driving rhythm section led by drummer Stephanie Bailey.

The union of the two bands for this tour was like a showcase for the best of rock 'n' roll: the free-wheeling entertainment of Black Lips and the pure precision of the Black Angels.

Clan of Xymox puts on ethereal show in Denver

I'm in Denver, at a store called FashioNation, when Clan of Xymox walks through the door.

I put aside my goal of finding a pair of creepers to shake the hand of band founder, singer and guitarist Ronny Moorings. When I tell him that we drove all the way from Nebraska for the band’s concert, the Dutchman deadpans, “You drove too far.”

But the show later that night would prove him wrong.

Xymox played 19 songs from 11 of its impressive discography of 17 studio albums. The band started with "Days of Black," the title track from its newest album, which is also the title of the tour.

"Days of Black"

The sold-out crowd at the Oriental Theater on March 16 seemed to quiet down a little bit to become mesmerized by Xymox's ethereal sound. It kept coming in waves. And fueled by the reactions of the crowd, the band kept playing fan favorites like "Louise," "Emily," "Hail Mary," and "Jasmine and Rose," to name a few.

I found myself getting excited about some of my favorites, like "Back Door," "Cry in the Wind," and "Obsession," during which Ronny jokingly said the song was a remake (think Animotion's one-hit wonder, which it's not).

But the highlights for the crowd were the goth classics "Muscoviet Mosquito" and "A Day!" With everyone dancing and singing along (not loudly), the show kept going and going in such a good way.

"A Day!"

Ronny seemed unstoppable, joking with the crowd and almost even taunting them. At one point he was asking the crowd if the band was playing too long and if the audience members needed to get home to take care of their cows. LOL! Love it! But unfortunately, the show had to come to an end.

After 18 songs, Ronny must have felt that was not enough, and came out for a third encore. The band played its cover of Shocking Blue's "Venus" (from Xymox's remakes album "Kindred Spirits") during which the singer and the crowd danced together.

If you're not familiar with Xymox, you should give this great goth band a chance. The band's ethereal sound is at times soothing or exciting.

A quick shoutout to my niece, Lexi, for informing me about the concert. It was an amazing show.

Review and photos by Christopher Windle