Top five live shows of 2024

Duran Duran

More than 35 years after Duran Duran last played Omaha, the band returned for an electrifying concert to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Steelhouse Omaha in May.

The show, from the atmospheric opening song “Night Boat” to the obligatory closer “Rio,” was indeed a celebration for everyone. This included the Duranies who had waited outside the venue for over 12 hours and the well-heeled Omahans who filled the balcony, which was closed for a private party.

“Black Moonlight,” a single from their latest album, made up the heart of the show, which included the streaming smash “Invisible” as well as “Friends of Mine” and “Careless Memories.” The Omaha show was the surprise of Duran Duran’s spring tour, according to synth guru Nick Rhodes. “Wow, what an audience. I guess we hadn’t been there for a very long time, and it just all clicked together that night,” he said.

Read more: Duran Duran at Steelhouse Omaha

X

Longtime Los Angeles punk stalwarts X brought their farewell tour to the Waiting Room in Omaha in July. 

X, with all four original members—vocalist Exene Cervenka, bassist and vocalist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer D.J. Bonebrake—played 22 songs, a feat that many much younger bands don’t even attempt, proving all the while that they're truly American treasures.

Read more: X bring farewell tour to Omaha

Crowded House

Crowded House showcased their familiar hits and familial ties at The Astro amphitheater in La Vista in September.

The Australian-New Zealand band, led by the ever-talented Neil Finn, also features fellow original member Nick Seymour on bass, longtime collaborator Mitchell Froom on keyboards and Finn’s sons, Liam and Elroy, on guitar and drums, respectively. They were still in top form, playing songs from their newest album as well as exhilarating hits like “Distant Sun” and “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”

Read more: Crowded House at The Astro

The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus and Mary Chain 

The Psychedelic Furs brought their current tour, with its impressive lineup, to The Astro in La Vista in October. After the death of saxophone player Mars Williams, The Furs have forged ahead, with longtime collaborator Richard Fortus joining the tour to add a new dimension to their live sound. 

The Jesus and Mary Chain, a band as formidable as the headliners, actually played three more tracks than The Furs. But The Furs, with their expertly curated setlist and dynamic stage presence, enthralled the audience until the final note.

Read more: The Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus and Mary Chain

Actors

Actors, a post-punk band from Vancouver, Canada, traveled down the West Coast (and elsewhere in the U.S.) in the fall, playing Lodge Room in the Los Angeles area in November. They brought along The Discussion and the new wave-inspired electro group Male Tears for the concert. Actors' 15-song set included favorites like “Slave” and “Strangers” as well as a new single, “Object Of Desire.” They even capped their encore with one of their most intense songs, “Bury Me.”

All photos by Christopher Windle and Karen Duran Windle.

X go out in style during farewell tour stop in Omaha

X, longtime Los Angeles punk stalwarts, may be disbanding at the end of their current tour, but they’re far from slowing down. The band showed this and more during their concert at the Waiting Room in Omaha on Sunday night. 

X, with all four original members—vocalist Exene Cervenka, bassist and vocalist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer D.J. Bonebrake—played 22 songs, a feat that many much younger bands don’t even attempt. Through it all, the band put on a high-energy show, playing tracks from its forthcoming and final album, Smoke & Fiction, and kicking off the encore with a surprise.

Singer Jesse Ahern opened the show with his honest and earnest protest songs, connecting with the audience and even getting them to sing along at times. Then the crowd drew even closer to the stage for X, as they started the show with a trio of superb songs off Wild Gift, “Beyond and Back,” “In This House That I Call Home,” and “We’re Desperate,” before launching into the title track from their seminal debut album, Los Angeles.

X played four tracks from Smoke & Fiction, among them the title track and the aptly titled “Sweet Til the Bitter End,” which fit in seamlessly with their classic songs.

Doe, an everyman who has also dabbled in writing and acting (and could be considered a bit of a punk historian as well), introduced “The World’s a Mess: It’s My Kiss,” by saying that given the state of current events, the chorus had been stuck in his head. The song began the heart of the setlist, starting with “White Girl” and ending with “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts,” which featured not only a sax solo by Zoom but also a turn on vibraphone by Bonebrake.

Photos by Christopher Windle 

The band played two more tracks from Los Angeles, “Your Phone’s Off the Hook, but You’re Not” and “Sugarlight,” and “Motel Room in My Bed” from Under the Big Black Sun, before closing out the main setlist with their cover of The Doors’ “Soul Kitchen” (also off Los Angeles).

For the encore, Doe returned to the stage with only Cervenka to do “something that we never do” during an X show. The pair performed the stunning “See How We Are,” which was even more powerful when stripped down to the duo’s vocal harmonies and guitar.

The rest of the band then took the stage to bring the show to an energetic conclusion with “Adult Books” from Wild Gift and “Water & Wine” off 2020’s Alphabetland.

After more than 45 years, it’s understandable that X want to leave recording and touring behind. But the Omaha show proved that the band will always be American treasures—and they’ll be missed.

Top five live shows of 2019

The Damned and X

Two bands that have been around for more than 40 years, the Damned and X, proved that they're still going strong at their show at Chicago's House of Blues in May. X, with its lineup of four original members, played several of its best-known songs while sounding great and having fun. The Damned's Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible, the two original members of the band, were joined by bassist Paul Gray to play the masterpiece album "Machine Gun Etiquette" in its entirety. The band ventured on to a second set of well-known songs and rarities, playing 22 tracks and two encores in all. It's rare to see not one, but two, bands that have been around for more than 40 years. To see two such bands that appear to still be having a blast doing it, well, that's pretty amazing.
Read more: The Damned and X show their punk rock staying power

Photos by Christopher Windle.

The Faint with Closeness

The Faint returned to its hometown of Omaha for a packed show at the Waiting Room in May. Closeness (pictured), Faint frontman Todd Fink's group with his wife, Orenda Fink, warmed up the audience. The Faint later stormed onstage, playing songs from new album "Egowerk" as well as the best of its back catalog of six other studio albums. The show was an intense, high-energy thrill ride, and the audience didn't want it to end.
Read more: The Faint displays the best of Omaha

The Psychedelic Furs

The Psychedelic Furs' touring machine roared into the Truman in Kansas City in May, and it was clear that the band was there to show the crowd a good time. Though the Furs got a bit political with "President Gas," the show was mainly a time to party. Like the best first wave '80s artists, the Furs offer music that fans can escape to. And the world could use an escape right now. So the Furs delivered, playing hits like "Heaven" and "Pretty in Pink." The band has since added new music to its live show and has a long-awaited new album on the way in 2020.
Read more: The Psychedelic Furs at the Truman

Clan of Xymox

The U.S. government shutdown early this year had effects that reverberated through all walks of life, including the goth/darkwave community, when Clan of Xymox was forced to postpone its U.S. tour because of delays in processing the band's visas. But the tour dates set for this past spring finally happened, with the U.S. stint by the Germany-based band beginning in Denver and hitting Omaha in November. The band proved that its delayed U.S. tour was well worth the wait. Bolstered by opening band the Bellwether Syndicate, Clan of Xymox had the crowd dancing, singing along, and even laughing to frontman Ronny Moorings' droll insights.
Read more: Clan of Xymox, at last, brings show back to U.S.

L7

The all-female grunge band brought its powerful live show to Omaha in June. The crowd at the Slowdown was treated to a 21-song set of hits and fan favorites from the band's longest-standing lineup of Suzi Gardner, Donita Sparks, Dee Plakas, and Jennifer Finch. Gardner, Sparks, and Finch took turns singing lead, performing songs like "Andres," "Dispatch from Mar-a-Lago," "Shitlist," and "Pretend We're Dead."

Honorable mentions: T.S.O.L., Interpol, the Descendents, Wilco.

The Damned and X show their punk rock staying power in Chicago

The Damned and X, survivors from two of punk rock's original scenes, teamed up for a concert at Chicago's House of Blues on May 30.

Both bands have been going strong for more than 40 years. The Damned, from the U.K. punk class of 1976, still has three of four members from its heyday. X, a band out of the Los Angeles punk scene, boasts a lineup of four original members.

X. All photos by Christopher Windle.

X, with vocalist Exene Cervenka, bassist/vocalist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer D.J. Bonebrake, showed why it has incredible staying power. The band performed a rather lengthy setlist for an opening act, playing several of its best-known songs, sounding great, and having fun. When Exene straightened the collar and wiped the face of her onetime husband, John Doe, he playfully proclaimed, "That's true love." 

Tracks like "In This House That I Call Home," "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts," and "Nausea" offered a chance for the band to showcase its energy, an energy often lacking in bands decades younger. 

The Damned is also a band that looks and sounds younger than its years. Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible, the two original members, have long outlasted their contemporaries from the class of '76, the Sex Pistols and the Clash. 

Also onboard for the summer U.S. tour is Paul Gray, who played on the Damned's "Black Album" and "Strawberries." He also happens to be the Damned's all-time best bassist. With drummer Pinch, the two formed a rhythm section that lent an exciting intensity to the show.

This tour, the Damned is also playing its best album, "Machine Gun Etiquette," in its entirety. Though the band usually performs most of the album in its live show, this time, it delivered the songs how they were meant to be heard. 

The 35-minute, rapid-fire album provided barely a second for a breather. After the five-song opening salvo of "Love Song," "Second Time Around," "Just Can't Be Happy Today," "Melody Lee," and "Anti-Pope," Vanian donned a clown nose and unleashed some diabolical laughter on "These Hands." The other lesser-played songs, MC5 cover "Looking at You" and "Liar" (with Vanian getting an assist from a lyrics sheet), were also much appreciated by the crowd.

After zipping though "MGE," the band ventured on to a second set of well-known songs and rarities. The band played deep "Black Album" tracks like "Twisted Nerve" and "13th Floor Vendetta," as well as the "Black" B-side and Jefferson Airplane cover "White Rabbit," which closed the show.

After the concert drew to an end without a Sensible-sung track, it seemed as if the guitarist would come back out to play a solo song, but it wasn't to be.

A Sensible solo song may have been the only thing the show lacked. The band played 22 tracks spanning from "New Rose" (with a manic dance from keyboardist Monty Oxymoron) and "Neat Neat Neat" off the band's debut, "Damned Damned Damned," to recent single "Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow." The Damned also played two encores, Sensible threw his trademark beret into the crowd, and he and Vanian even jousted with microphone stands. 

It's rare to see not one, but two, bands that have been around for more than 40 years. To see two such bands that are still going strong and appear to be having a blast doing it, well, that's pretty amazing.

Top five live shows of 2017

1. The Damned

The heart and soul of the band, goth god singer Dave Vanian and lovable goofball Captain Sensible on guitar, are still touring in top form and visited the Summit Music Hall in Denver in April. The Damned managed to touch on nearly every era of its career, from the first punk single, "New Rose," to "Alone Again Or," a cover of a Love song that was a hit in the late '80s. In all, the band played 23 songs, several more than many acts years younger manage to play. But 40 years on, the Damned is not the typical band just rolling through the hits. A new album is coming soon; the band recently previewed new song "Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow" live.

All photos by Christopher Windle.

2. The Buttertones

The Buttertones, a sharp-dressed five-piece with a ton of musical talent, brought a riveting live show to Omaha's Slowdown in August. Although the Los Angeles group reminds one of a certain band in the '80s at times, instead of Chic and Roxy Music, The Buttertones' musical style has been described as Johnny Kidd and the Pirates meets The Gun Club. The band played a slick and energetic set of songs off current album "Gravedigging" as well as tracks from further back in its six-year career. The band proved with its live show that it's the next big thing, and it will be exciting to see what's next. The review of this show also had the honor of being our most-read blog of the year, thanks to Facebook likes from "The Butterdads." Our comparisons to Duran elicited a "Well done, boys!"

3. Blondie

Blondie, with an assist from Garbage, a fellow band that helped define music over four decades with its fierce, age-defying female singer, came to a steamy Stir Cove in Council Bluffs in July. Despite the new songs, the reason to see Blondie live are the timeless originals: "One Way or Another," covered and used in commercials to the point that it's forever in the public consciousness. "Dreaming," a slice of '50s-inspired pop perfection. "Atomic," a keyboard-driven opus that helped inspire new wavers like Duran Duran. And "Rapture," a tour de force live, during which Debbie Harry hit the high notes and strutted to the front of the stage for the first and best female-led rap. At 72, it's clear that Harry, and Blondie, have still got it.

4. Wilco

Wilco, led by original members Jeff Tweedy and John Stirratt, came back to Nebraska for the first time in a decade to usher in fall on a summerlike September evening in Lincoln. While there were songs left unplayed, "War on War" and "Bull Black Nova" especially missed, Wilco proved that it's no slouch. The band touched on nine of its 10 studio albums, playing 26 songs and two encores, connecting with the audience on every level, encouraging cheers, sing-alongs and even boos.

5. X

The seminal punk band played Omaha just a few months after John Doe and Exene were in town to open for Blondie and Garbage. But the show at the Waiting Room was all X, and the Los Angeles band impressed with an extensive set list and boundless energy. Though guitarist Billy Zoom now sits on stage, that’s the only clue that the band members aren’t a young and hungry punk outfit.

Honorable mentions:

Echo and the Bunnymen, the Black Angels, Combichrist (opening for Lords of Acid), Ohgr (opening for KMFDM), Revolting Cocks and Frontline Assembly