The Reader Dec. 30, 2010

dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011 VOL.17

news 7 Anger Danger

dish 12

Eaten in 2010

art 17

Paint By Numbers

music 22 The Year in Music

OMAHA JOBS 2

2010 refreshed from music to art and film to theater our annual Year in review issue

Weird 34

MOjo 36

FUNNIES 37

45

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Depending on your experience and qualifications, The Reader is seeking a lead editor to take the position of Culture Editor or Managing Editor. Responsibilities include managing one of the most experienced and sharpest freelance writing teams in the area to create relevant, credible, compelling daily online content, culminating in weekly print editions and longer features, driving reader engagement and building audience. The ability to recruit and challenge writers and contributors is the top priority, but beating deadlines, streamlining production, media collaborations, tackling technology -- including video -- and building community contributions are also very important. Pioneer Publishing is the most dynamic and fastest-growing media company in Omaha, with a total of ten channels -- half in print, half online -- targeting the area’s fastest-growing demographic and consumer segments. An agile culture, we embrace the digital convergence, and responsive journalism ethic help us define local, alternative media. Start in January. Compensation to match role, health insurance available. Please send resume to work@thereader.com.

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omaha jobs

Graphic and Web Design Openings Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite, HTML, Expression Engine experience a PLUS. Work with creative team of Local Print and Digital Media. Varying M-F schedules. English and Spanish required.

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dec. 30 BURST_6_Upper_A_News - Jan. 5, 2011

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P.O. Box 7360 Omaha, NE 68107 Phone 402.341.7323 Fax 402.341.6967 www.thereader.com OUR STAFF

Letters to the Editor: letters@thereader.com

EDITORIAL

Publisher/Editor: John Heaston Content Director: Eric Stoakes, erics@threader.com Managing Editor: Sarah Wengert, sarahw@thereader.com Contributing News Editor: Andrew Norman, andrewn@thereader.com Listings Editor: Paul Clark, listings@thereader.com Copy Editor: Ed Howard Contributing Editors: Ryan Syrek, Lainey Seyler Senior Editorial Contributors: Leo Biga, Michael Braunstein, Warren Francke, B.J. Huchtemann, Michael Pryor, Jesse D. Stanek, Kyle Tonniges Editorial Contributors: Brian S. Allen, Chris Aponick, Avishay Artsy, Mike Babcock, Sarah Baker Hansen, Nicole Blauw, Wayne Brekke, Steve Brewer, Chalis Bristol, Jill Bruckner, Jeremy Buckley, Jesse Claeys, Paul Clark, Ben Coffman, Brent Crampton, Sally Deskins, Kyle Eustice, Jarrett Fontaine, Adam Froemming, Layne Gabriel, Phil Jarrett, Tessa Jeffers, Camille Kelly, Michael J. Krainak, Jason Krivanek, Casey Logan, Sarah Lorsung Tvrdik, Jasmine Maharisi, Sean McCarthy, Rob McLean, Neal Obermeyer, Adam Payson, Hal Senal, Justin Senkbile, Patricia Sindelar, Darian Stout, Carson Vaughan, Brandon Vogel, Brady Vredenburg, John Wenz, David Williams Photography Contributors: Neal Duffy, Bryce Bridges, Adam Brubaker, Justin Barnes, Fletch, Eric Francis, Dale Heise, Bill Sitzmann, Paparazzi by Appointment, Sean Welch, Marlon A. Wright

PRODUCTION AND DESIGN

Creative Director: Eric Stoakes, erics@thereader.com Production/Graphics Assistant: Derrick Schott, derricks@thereader.com

DISTRIBUTION

Distribution Manager: Clay Seaman Delivery Team: Adam Payson, Brad Stoneking, Don Henkens, Jason Hipsher, Joe Shearer, Juan Ramirez, Karen Bequette, Kenta Butler, Mark Kelley, Micah McGaffin, Neal Duffy, Roy Allen

ADVERTISING & BUSINESS

Sales Manager: Carrie Kentch, carriek@thereader.com Account Executives: Jess Meadows, Kathy Flavell, Mike Hagstrom, Sergio Rangel, Marcia Soe, Rita Staley Sales Associate: David Mills Communications Coordinator: David Williams Management Analyst: Diana Gonzalez Office Manager: Kerry Olson Classified Sales: Sergio Rangel

publisher’s note

d e c . 3 0 - j a n . 5 , 2 0 11 V O L . 1 7 n o . 4 5

Ch..Ch..Ch...Changes Bye-Bye Crossword and An Abundance of Stops, Hello Digital

H

appy Old Year! As we close the first year of the Aughts, all of us here at Pioneer Publishing would like to thank you -- the readers -- for our continued growth and evolution and update you on recent changes and new directions.

According to independent media studies, we continue to engage a leading readership in alternative newsweeklies and bilingual publications, while quickly growing our online traffic. Your readership and support allows us to build on this trend and we hope that we can not only continue to deliver compelling content from our incredible team of freelancers, but that we can continue to open the conversation to you, which is the least you should expect in this digital age.

In 2010 we launched our third major publication, Neighborhood News, with the support of Hy-Vee, NP Dodge, Boys Town Pediatric, Cox Communications, Pella Windows and a multitude of small, locally owned

businesses. They supported an idea to provide microlocal news through direct-mail to 255,000 households, delivering over 3 million copies this year. Our executive editor Summer Widhalm and managing editor David Williams, along with their team of editors and freelance writers, brought an old idea back and made it new. For the first time, all its content was placed online, before it appeared in print. This new approach that embraces online technology wasn’t intuitive, but it’s now becoming a habit.

As our existing production and sales teams supported this significant addition, we have shifted our focus to a model that more effectively meets the demands of today’s businesses, implementing digital and social media solutions, developing community collaborations and managing events, in particular the Downtown Living Tour and our first job fair for OmahaJobs.com, one of five active online channels. In our meager 16 years, never has so much adaptation occurred so quickly.

With these changes, comes hard choices. As a small, but very vocal group has noted, we dropped the New York Times Crossword puzzle. We will be evaluating all of our syndicated features against our

commitment to continuously growing local coverage, particularly in culture and watchdog journalism. Coming in early 2011 and timed to follow the relaunch of TheReader.com, we will be shortening our free pick-up locations from 780, more than seven times our nearest competitor, to a more managealbe list of 500. A complete list of pick-up locations will be online shortly and for those interested in home delivery, just stop

by The Reader’s Facebook page and click on the Shop Now tab. Also coming very shortly is a relaunch of DishOmaha.com -- our comprehensive online restaurant guide -- and our first mobile apps, for the iPhone and then for Droid.

No one said evolution was easy. Drop me a line at letters@thereader.com if you have any questions or thoughts about our new direction. Your feedback has kept us the No. 1 alternative media operation in the region. Thanks and here’s looking forward to a terrific 2011!

John Heaston Publisher, letters@thereader.com

PROMOTIONS

Promotions Director: Rita Staley, ritas@thereader.com Creative Director: Eric Stoakes, erics@thereader.com Style Events Coordinator: Jessica Hill

Interns

Steven Adams, Kelly Engquist The Reader is published every Thursday by Pioneer Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 7360, Omaha, NE 68107, 402.341.READ, Fax 402.341.6967. The Reader is free in the Omaha, Lincoln, Council Bluffs area. Domestic subscriptions area available for $35 a year. Opinions expressed herein are those of the writer(s) and may not reflect the opinion of The Reader, its management and employees or its advertisers. The Reader accepts unsolicited manuscripts. For more advertising rates contact sales@ thereader.com. To send comments to the editor, contact letters@thereader.com

PARTNERS Heartland Healing: Michael Braunstein, hh@thereader.com

Today’s Omaha Woman: Carrie Kentch, carriek@thereader.com

Woman TODAY’S OMAHA

Omahajobs.com: omahajobs@thereader.com

El Perico: elperico@abm-enterprises.com Directorio Latino: dlo@abm-enterprises.com

contents

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dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

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Store Location: 700 South 72nd Street • Omaha, NE Omaha local: 402-255-6327 toll-free: 800-359-1200

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Q nzaa Extravaganza: Thursday, Dec. 30, 6 p.m., Charles B. Washington Library, 2868 Ames Ave. Holiday celebration featuring an African dance performance and a Kwanzaa ceremony and supper. 444.4849 Q First National Bank Fireworks: Friday, Dec. 31, 7 p.m., Gene Leahy Mall, 14th and Farnam St. Free fireworks show to ring in the New Year. holidaylightsfestival.org Q Omaha Press Club Gala: Friday, Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m., Omaha Press Club, 1620 Dodge St. Fireworks, food and music highlight the New Year’s Eve party at the OPC. omahapressclub.org

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by Brandon Vogel

aint a picture of America in 2010 and you’re left looking at a lot of angry brushstrokes.

Angst was evident — from the anti-incumbent backlash that defined midterm congressional elections, to the raging JetBlue flight attendant who deplaned in such spectacular fashion that even unemployed Americans were left wishing they could’ve gone out the same way.

From a national perspective, Omaha is an oasis. Our unemployment rate is about half the national average, and our housing market is relatively robust. Bright young minds are staying here and the state is still growing, albeit more slowly than in the past. But that’s the macro view.

On a local level, the year could be best described with one word — unresolved. Will we have a new mayor next year? Will Fremont become a bellwether for local immigration law? Will a multinational oil pipeline saw through the Sandhills? The biggest news stories of the year are all still awaiting an end.

New Year’s resolutions should be easy enough.

B y

a n d r e w

n o r m a n

Governor won’t reappoint chair of foster care review board The state’s Foster Care Review Board is not a fan

Immigration Arizona, Hazelton, Pa., Farmers Branch, Texas — at the start of the year those locations were well known to anyone following the national fight over local immigration control.

In 2010, Nebraska joined those cities and states on the front page, thanks to a pair of lawsuits in Fremont and Fairbury from anti-illegal immigration attorney Kris Kobach.

On June 21, 57 percent of Fremont voters voted for a new city ordinance — authored by Kobach — that would punish employers and

landlords who hire or rent to undocumented immigrants. The law was scheduled to take effect July 29, but the Fremont City Council delayed its implementation after the Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund challenged it in district court.

Six months later, the fight is still raging. U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp gave city attorneys a Jan. 21 deadline to file arguments against the injunction.

Despite being elected Kansas’ Secretary of State in November, Kobach says he will continue representing Fremont in court.

But he lost an immigration battle on a different front Dec. 17 when a Nebraska judge threw out the lawsuit filed in Fairbury that challenged a state law granting a path to citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.

Meanwhile, Nebraska’s college tuition break remains, for now, for undocumented immigrants who graduate from state high schools.

But in December, the state’s five congressional delegates helped defeat the DREAM act, a law offering a similar path to citizenship for children of immigrants nationwide.

Politics

courtesy kvno news

Mayoral recall, local immigration fixes, foreign oil and more murders highlight turbulent 2010

e d i t e d

upfront

Anger Danger

topnews

Nothing and no one dominated local headlines this year like Mayor Jim Suttle. The first-term mayor spent most of the summer struggling with a projected $33.5 million budget gap. After four heated community forums in July and a lengthy public hearing at city hall in continued on page 10 y

numberscruncher WIN SOME, LOSE SOME:

Percent decrease in instances of infectious disease in America since 1990: 57 Percent decrease in prevalence of smoking: 39 Percent increase in prevalence of obesity: 132 Percent increase in people lacking health insurance: 19

Source: United Health Foundation

of Nebraska’s child welfare privatization. And it will lose two members, including its chair, after Gov. Dave Heineman announced in December he wouldn’t reappoint Alfredo Ramirez and board member Ron Albin for second terms. The move came after the board’s 2010 report in which it was critical of the reform Heineman supports.

“A little over a year into the reform, the FCRB is finding that there are safety issues, accountability issues, implementation issues, and evidence that there has not been a correction of issues that existed prior to the reform,” the report said.

“That’s the governor’s right,” says Heidi Ore, the board’s administrative coordinator.

The governor’s office argues board members are shuffled through often, to maintain fresh perspectives and offer new ideas — but some have raised concerns that the governor’s decision was politically motivated, or at the least, unwise.

According to board data from the last 14 years, 61 percent of members’ terms have been renewed. Remove two former board members, who were midterm replacements, from the equation and the number increases to 77 percent.

(Ramirez has said he intends to appeal to the governor for reappointment; he declined to comment for this story.)

Albin and Ramirez were the only two board members up for reappointment this year. The board has had an empty seat since November of 2009. And Heineman has not yet announced new candidates.

“One of the things that is the most important, is that this board be strong, and be able to stay very focused on the work of health and human services,” says Kathy Bigsby Moore, executive director of Voices for Children in Nebraska.

“And right now, with the child welfare reform being in such a state of flux, it seems to me that the continuity gained by reappointing Alfredo and Ron would outweigh any desire to give other people an opportunity to serve.”

Author of the legislation creating the board, Bigsby Moore isn’t aware of any safeguards in place to prevent politically motivated appointments or dismissals.

Since the reform began in November of 2009, three of five lead agencies have eliminated their contracts. The newest stage of privatization begins Jan. 4, when case management duties are transferred from the state to private contractors. The board will likely be short three people during that process — Moore says it takes time to schedule the legislative hearings necessary to approve new members.

— Hilary Stohs-Krause

theysaidit they “This is just more big government intervention in the marketplace to try and fix something that isn’t broken.”— Rep. Lee Terry in an official statement on the FCC’s new Net Neutrality plan approved Dec. 21. Terry plans to fight the plan banning service providers from limiting Internet access.

news

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dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

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thenewshound

P O L I T I C O | L AW A N D O R D E R | B U S I N E S S A N D D E V E L O P M E N T Republican poll shows Nelson trailing in 2012 race

with the music of the Beatles!

Dec. 3–31, 2010

An Interactive Beatles Experience Featuring Billy McGuigan © 2007 By Rave On Productions

A new poll by a right-leaning consulting group released Dec. 22 shows Sen. Ben Nelson trailing a pair of potential challengers for the Senate seat in 2012.

Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies — a firm that claims to offer data solutions for the GOP — commissioned the poll of 1,789 “likely 2012 voters” and found Nelson’s overall approval rating at 43 percent.

The poll also showed that 52 percent of voters favored Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning in a race against Nelson (38 percent), while 46 percent favored State Treasurer Don Stenberg over Nelson (40 percent). An earlier BEN NELSON poll commissioned by the Nebraska Republican Party showed Bruning with a 15 percent edge over Nelson in November.

Bruning announced Nov. 5 that he had formed an exploratory committee to evaluate a run at the Senate in 2012. Stenberg also said in November that he is considering entering the race.

The margin of error of the poll is 2.3 percent.

Nebraska keeps its House seats The U.S. Census Bureau released its first data set from the 2010 census on Dec. 21 showing that Nebraska’s population has grown by 6.7 percent

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DEC. 30 - JAN. 5, 2011

| THE READER |

news

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to 1.83 million people since 2000, a lower rate than the national average but enough to retain the state’s three seats in the House.

Eighteen states will either lose or gain a seat, based on the new population numbers.

Nebraska now has the third-lowest populationto-representative ratio in the country, with each Congressman representing 608,000 people. Only Rhode Island (526,000) and Wyoming (568,000) are lower. Iowa and Missouri were among the 10 states to lose a seat. Texas gained four seats.

Between 1990 and 2000, Nebraska’s population grew by nearly 10 percent. The U.S. population grew by 9.7 percent to 380.7 million people.

Judge rules recall can proceed Mayor Jim Suttle is facing his second election in as many years after a Douglas County judge ruled Dec. 23 that the effort to recall the mayor can move forward.

After three days of testimony, District Judge Peter Bataillon ruled that there was not enough compelling evidence of fraud to throw out the 28,720 petition signatures verified by the Douglas County Election Commission on Dec. 4.

Last week the City Council set Jan. 25 as the date for the special election.

murderink they more shootings: Antoine Davis, 31, was shot and killed Dec. 23 at 2006 Maple St. Police have made no arrests.

2010 HOMICIDES: 34 (THERE WERE 30 HOMICIDES THIS TIME LAST YEAR)

Fortenberry named chair of ag subcommittee Rep. Jeff Fortenberry was named chair of a House Agriculture Committee subcommittee on Dec. 22.

The 1st Congressional District representative — covering most of eastern Nebraska, except metro Omaha — will head the Department of Agriculture’s subcommittee on operations, oversight and credit.

A member of the Ag Committee since 2005, Fortenberry will assume the new role in January.

Nebraska healthier in 2010 Nebraska is the 11th healthiest state in the country, according to the United Health Foundation’s 2010 America’s Health Rankings released Dec. 22. The overall ranking is based on 40 different economic, health, population and economic measures.

The ranking was Nebraska’s highest since 2008. The state ranked 16th in 2009.

Vermont ranks as the healthiest state in 2010; Mississippi is the unhealthiest.

Firefighters sue to protect pay raises The local union representing Omaha firefighters filed suit on Dec. 22 with the state labor court to protect its right to pay raises in 2010. The court is considering a similar suit regarding pay raises for 2009.

Last fall, Mayor Jim Suttle and the Omaha Firefighters Local 385 agreed in principal to pay freezes in 2009 and 2010. But a final contract has not been drafted, as both sides continue to negotiate other items in the deal. The firefighters have operated without a new contract since 2007,

allowing the state labor court to determine raises based on comparable cities.

Suttle urged the City Council to approve the deal, saying the wage freezes would save the city up to $4.5 million versus the $10 to $14 million the city could owe if the court rules in favor of the raises.

Extra patrols scheduled for Whiteclay The Sheridan County Sheriff ’s Department will use a $10,000 grant to add patrols in and around Whiteclay, Neb., in hopes of reversing the town’s troubled reputation as the primary source of alcohol on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The money will pay for mileage and overtime hours to increase police presence in the town located 22 miles north of the county seat in Rushville.

The money is part of $25,000 set aside by the state legislature earlier this year for Whiteclay. Located just 200 feet from the South Dakota border, Whiteclay sells more than 4 million cans of beer each year, most of it crossing the border into South Dakota and the Pine Ridge Reservation where alcohol is prohibited.

State officials say they may wait until next year to award the remaining $15,000.

Two found dead in South Omaha garage Sergio Rodriguez Jr., 20, and Dominique Reyes, 18, were found dead Dec. 24 in a parked car inside a garage at 4420 S. 33rd St. Investigators are still trying to determine a cause of death and if foul play was involved. ­-Brandon Vogel

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dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

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topnews y continued from page 7

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Canadian oil company TransCanada spent most of 2010 trying to convince Nebraskans that a prospective oil pipeline passing directly through the Ogallala Aquifer poses no threat to the state’s largest source of fresh water. Landowners, environmentalists and state politicians spent the time either arguing — or dodging — the question of whether North American oil was worth the risk.

Ideologically, the Keystone XL pipeline has already divided the state. It’s up to Hillary Clinton and the U.S. State Department to decide if it will divide do so physically. The department is expected to rule early next year on whether it will grant or deny building permits for TransCanada.

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dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

| THE READER |

By early November, Omaha was already deadlier than last year. The city’s homicides reached 34 for the year, up from 30 in 2009 but well below its 44 murders in 2008.

Omaha police officers were also involved in eight shootings this year. Five of the suspects died. This despite the city still not having a public safety auditor to serve as a liaison between police and citizens.

And in what should be sobering news, a report from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration showed 21.5 percent of Nebraskans had driven drunk over the past year, the third-highest rate in the country behind Wisconsin and North Dakota. , n Here’s a New Year’s resolution you can actually keep: to read more books this year. If you’re already an avid reader, try something out of your comfort zone. There are lots of terrific books in areas other than the fiction section. When next in a bookstore or the library (you still go to bookstores and the library, don’t you?), consider wandering over to the history, travel or cooking sections and leaf through a few titles that catch your eye.

If that’s not your thing, consider checking some of the free online tools designed to help readers find recommended reads.

To get you started: Goodreads.com is a terrific resource. Though they’ve got plenty of topical content, like author interviews, trivia and book swap events, it’s their lists that’ll get you hooked. Using input from thousands of members, GoodReads offers recommendations for just about every imaginable topic. It’s free, but you need to become a member to access their content.

Shelfari is a sort of Facebook for books, enabling you to build a shelf of your favorite reads to share with friends. You can browse reviews, and when you begin to add content of your own, such as reviews, you’re likely to find books that’ll appeal to you. Also free.

Another rather obvious source is Amazon.com.

You’re able to see what other items people bought with similar interests as well as the Amazon lists.

List after list after list of favorites. The key to navigating Amazon’s recommendation lists is patience and persistence. Some are literally just lists, but others offer insightful commentary on the featured product and help point you in the right direction when you’re stymied. n It’s all well and good when Batman’s blowing up all of downtown Gotham in an effort to apprehend the Joker, but who’s responsible for the repairs?

Does Batman need to have a license for all those cool weapons? All these and many more nitpicky questions are answered over at lawandthemultiverse.com, a blog dedicated to the legal ramifications of comic book mayhem, characters and powers written by two very serious lawyers.

booked

®

August, the City Council approved a 2011 budget that included a wheel tax increase to $50 for residents and commuters, a 2.5 percent tax on all restaurant and bar tabs, and a 2.5 cent property tax increase.

Suttle said he was responding to public desire to maintain city services. His detractors felt it was reason enough to try to force him out of office.

The Mayor Suttle Recall Committee formed mere weeks after the budget was approved in August, and spent the 30 days surrounding the Nov. 2 election engaged in a petition drive to try to oust the mayor. The effort was supported primarily by six businessmen, including TD Ameritrade executive Pete Ricketts, a Republican and failed 2006 Senate candidate.

After a 15-day review, the Douglas County Election Commission confirmed the group had collected enough signatures to force a special election. Anti-recall group Forward Omaha leapt into action, presenting videos and a sworn affidavit alleging the Recall Committee violated numerous state laws. But Douglas County District Judge Peter Battalion said Dec. 23 that the evidence presented did not constitute fraud. The recall election is set for Jan. 25.

And while the anti-incumbent backlash raged elsewhere, Nebraska’s governor, attorney general and three members of the House all won easy reelection bids in November.

The first reports from the 2010 census showed Nebraska will not lose House seats – unlike Iowa and Missouri – despite having the third-lowest person-per-representative ratio in the country.

— Kyle Tonniges Comments? Questions? Want more? Check out Booked online at thereader.com. Or email us at booked@thereader.com.

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heartlandhealing

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Chrome and Carcinogens in Your Tap Water

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our relationship with Steven Soderbergh is at least as personal as mine.

Soderbergh is the Oscar-winning director of such fabled films as Sex, Lies and Videotape, Erin Brockovich, Oceans Eleven and Traffic. In 2001 he became the first film director since 1938 to be nominated for Best Director Oscar for two movies in the same year: Traffic and Erin Brockovich. He is the only director ever to be double-nominated for Oscar, Golden Globes and Directors Guild awards all in the same year. (He won for Brockovich.)

I knew him when: Soderbergh’s Erin Brockovich also earned Julia Roberts an Oscar. The film was about a small town in California that was polluted by a cancercausing chemical called hexavalent chromium or chromium-6. But years before his breakthrough film, Soderbergh and I sat side-by-side working on a Barry Manilow concert film for release on Showtime back in the mid’80s. Soderbergh was film editor, cutting the film to my music mix. He was looking for a gig and trying to break into the Hollywood scene. He later sent me a demo video of a band he was working with back home in Louisiana called The Backbeats.

It’s in the water: Your connection with Soderbergh goes much deeper than that because according to the Environmental Working Group, the subject chemical of his hit film Erin Brockovich, hexavalent chromium, enters your body every time you chug a glass of Omaha tap water. In a report just released this past week, the EWG found excessive amounts of chromium-6 in 31 of 35 cities tested. Omaha ranks number seven on the list.

Chromium is a nasty and pervasive pollutant. There are many versions of the metal. Some are unknown in nature and are produced by industrial processes. Such is the case with chromium-6, a by-product of steel production and pulp mills. The EWG tested specifically for chromium-6 and found that Omaha’s tap water has a level of 1.07 parts per billion. The state of California proposed safety limit is .06 ppb. Our water is nearly 18 times above that safety level. Things could be worse. Number one on the list of chromium-6-polluted cities is Norman, Okla. with nearly 13 ppb.

Chrome links: So what’s so bad about chromium-6 found in our tap water? Well, according to multiple sources, including the EPA and EWG, we’re talking about a known carcinogen with links to various cancers.

In the real-life story of Erin Brockovich, Hinkley, Calif., a town with a chromium-6 polluted water supply, sued Pacific Gas & Electric. Residents blamed the pollutant for numerous cases of cancer, miscarriages and immune system problems. Lab tests found that even miniscule amounts can cause cancerous tumors.

Municipal water systems are charged with an almost impossible task if we expect them to remove ev-

Heartland Healing

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ery bad chemical, toxin, pollutant and pathogen from the water flowing to our taps. Utility companies do an incredible job as it is. But it’s plain impossible to keep up with the level of pollution we humans are capable of. Though exact numbers are hard to come by, various sources estimate that there are over 100,000 different chemicals in everyday use. The European Union has a register of 140,000. Only the tiniest percentage is ever tested for safety. Trying to keep all of these chemicals out of our water supply is not really what utilities systems are built for. While John Q. Public may think the water coming from the tap is pure because someone is watching out for him, the fact is that it is not. With the thousands of chemical pollutants that we just shrug and chug, when is enough, enough?

Water utility companies do an amazing job; our local version included. It’s just that they can’t do it all.

They do their best to meet government standards and usually do but government standards don’t mandate removing all the chemicals. That’s why groups like EWG find everything from Prozac to chromium-6 in our water supplies. Utility companies aren’t enough.

Don’t hit the bottle: Of course the sale of bottled water has soared over the past decade. It’s not a good idea to source water that way. Pollution breeds pollution, in this case. Billions of used plastic bottles hit landfills each year. In addition, most bottled water is just municipal water run through a “taste-good” filter that doesn’t remove much more than what you’ll find at the tap.

The responsibility for removing all of the bad stuff in municipal water should not fall on the shoulders of the utility company. The system is incapable. In the end, if the means to purify water to your home is cost-effective and available, doing so becomes a viable option.

A simple solution to impure water engages one of the most effective filtering methods known: reverse osmosis. Using a series of filters, RO can remove chromium6, pharmaceutical drugs and pollutants that municipal water systems cannot handle. It can also remove harmful chlorine or chloramine that utilities add to the water.

“RO is very effective in removing ions like chromium-6,” said Philip Rhodes, owner of Futuramic Water Systems in Omaha. “We’ve got complete statistics on everything RO systems can do.”

Rhodes’ family-owned company provides water purification systems to homes and businesses in the Midwest. They have a low-cost RO system that can be installed under the sink for less than $19/month. Most of us spend that much on bottled water.

Along with the findings of chromium-6 in municipal water supplies the media is reporting that a survey found cancer rates in Hinkley are no greater than other cities. That won’t mean Steven Soderbergh will have to return his Oscar and it doesn’t prove the pollutant is safe. Chromium-6 may not be the worst thing that could be in our tap water, but along with the hundreds of other chemicals that might be, I’d prefer not to drink it.

Be well. ,

by Michael Braunstein examines various alternative forms of healing. It is provided as a source of information, not as medical advice. It is not an endorsement of any particular therapy, either by the writer or The Reader. Access past columns at HeartlandHealing.com

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| THE READER |

dec. 30 - Jan. 5 , 2011

11

dish Anthony’s Steakhouse/The Ozone Club For more than 38 years, Anthony’s has been known for its steaks, using premium black angus beef aged on premises.

Anthony’s is dedicated to bringing customers a truly special dining event every visit.

7220 F St. • 331.7575 anthonyssteakhouse.com Bailey’s Best breakfast in town. “King of Eggs Benedict.”

1 block south of 120th & Pacific • 932-5577 absolutelyfresh.com Attic Bar & Grill Great food and great drinks with live music.

3231 Harney St. • 932.5387 atticbarandgrill.com Blue Planet Natural Grill Healthy People. Healthy Planet.

6307 Center St. • 218.4555 blueplanetnaturalgrill.com Cascio’s Steakhouse Established 1946, 63 years of selling great steaks.

1620 S. 10th St. • 345-8313 casciossteakhouse.com Dundee Dell Omaha’s Finest Neighborhood Restaurant & Pub 5007 Underwood Ave. • 553.9501 dundeedell.com Hector’s Boasting the only Baja-style Mexican cuisine in the city, Hector’s serves fresh food with panache from Baja California and northwest Mexico.

Two Locations: 1201 S. 157th St. • 884.2272 3007 S. 83rd Plz. • 391.2923 hectorsomaha.com La Casa Pizzeria Fine Italian Dining Since 1953. Located on historic Leavenworth street in midtown Omaha, La Casa has the freshest pizza in town.

4432 Leavenworth St. • 556.6464 lacasapizzaria.net La Mesa An authentic Mexican experience, from mouthwatering enchiladas to fabulous fajitas. Top it off with one of La Mesa’s famous margaritas. Voted # 1 Mexican Restaurant seven years in a row.

Locations: 156th and Q • 763.2555 110th & Maple • 496-1101 Ft. Crook Rd. and 370 (Bellevue) • 733.8754 84th and Tara Plaza (Papillion) • 593.0983 Lake Manawa Exit (Council Bluffs) • 712.256.2762 la-mesa.com Matsu Sushi Downtown’s Original Sushi Restaurant 1009 Farnam St. • 346-3988 matsusushi.wordpress.com

Shucks Fish House & Oyster Bar Great Seafood. Great Prices.

Southwest corner of 168th & Center 1218 S 119 St. • 827.4376 absolutelyfresh.com Ted & Wally’s Premium Ice Cream Voted best ice cream in Omaha!

1120 Jackson St. • 341.5827

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by Lainey Seyler

hings come and go in the food business just about as regularly as in fashion. That fondue sensation? Defunct. Asian fusion isn’t as enticing as it once was. And let’s not even start on which restaurants shuffled through which strip malls in Omaha’s suburbs. 2010 saw the same closings and openings (notably the near completion of the Midtown Crossing development and Metropolitan Community College’s new building for the Institute for Culinary Arts) but also signs of fads now nearly fully integrated into daily life.

Some folks thought the green, local and organic movement would go the way of the 8- emerging terrain track, passed over by something more user friendly. But it looks like it may be here to stay. Trader Joe’s opened a retail location for the nationwide, organic-centered grocery chain in November at 103rd and Pacific. The store has been packed since opening day with shoppers going nuts over Trader Joe’s brand of wallet-friendly natural and organic products and food.

Local food was the forefront; a five-course meal that christened an art installation gracing the sides of some towering grain elevators. Organizers of Emerging Terrain’s Stored Potential dinner brought together the best of the area’s farmer and chefs to present a harvest meal to 500 attendees in early October. The dinner involved the work of many artists and volunteers to shine a light on the importance of knowing where food comes from. Every food item served at the meal was sourced locally except the salt and sugar. The chefs, nine in all (plus the Nebraska Beer Company brewmaster), all source local and organically grown or raised food for their restaurants, dem-

| THE READER |

dish

onstrating a commitment to sustainability from members across the Omaha community.

Midtown Crossing at Turner Park received its first tenants just more than a year ago, bringing a plethora of new dining options to Omaha. Marcus Midtown Theater has four screens and a full-service kitchen that brings dinner and drinks to moviegoers. Though technically something that happened in 2009, it was a prelude to the eating that would and will continue to happen around 33rd and Farnam.

Loft 610 was the first sit-down restaurant to open, serving fine contemporary cuisine in a flashy setting. Ingredient was the second restaurant, followed shortly by the return of Délice European Bakery and Café.

Both restaurants cater more to the lunch crowd, although Délice, once a resident of the Old Mar-

brycebridges.com

Dish Year in Review

crumbs

Eaten in 2010

84th Street Café Serving delicious cost-conscious food.

8013 S. 83rd Ave. • 597-5003 www.facebook.com/84thstcafe

ket, presents Omahans with French pastries and elaborate cakes. CRAVE, a small chain out of Minnesota, opened in October, and Cantina Laredo, another small chain, came weeks later.

Both restaurants bank strongly on an exuberant environment to draw crowds. The Grey Plume, the nation’s greenest restaurant, opened at the beginning of December, making it only the second locally owned restaurant to take up space in the new development (after Délice). Blanc Burgers will be the final restaurant (save Cold Stone Creamery) to open at the development when it debuts in January.

It has been almost a year since Metro’s Institute for Culinary Arts moved into its new, LEED-certified building on the Fort campus

n Gluttons for punishment and those with an affinity for culinary traffic accidents are likely familiar with Food Network personality Sandra Lee’s godawful Kwanzaa cake, an unholy adulteration of angel food cake that Anthony Bourdain claimed would make unlucky viewers’ “eyeballs burst into flames.” Turns out America’s favorite can-opening sweetheart didn’t even come up with the recipe — or any of her “recipes,” from the sound of veteran food writer, food stylist and recipe developer Denise Vivaldo’s article on Huffington Post last week. In it, she takes responsibility for that monstrosity as well as Lee’s Hanukkah Cake, begging forgiveness from readers. The story’s too good to condense here, so do yourself a favor and check out the Sandra Lee clips on YouTube then surf over to Huffington to get the full scoop. n Here’s something to look forward to in 2011: a new study from the Centers for Disease Control announced that approximately one in six Americans catch some form of food-borne illness each year.

It’s the first study in 10 years on the subject, and findings from the 1999 study posited that one in four Americans got sick each year. While one in six sounds like an improvement, experts cautioned that the updated numbers are more likely due to more reliable reporting than a safer food supply.

Kirk E. Smith, DVM, PhD, supervisor of the Foodborne Disease Unit of the Minnesota Department of Health said the nation has done a better job in terms of reducing Listeria and E. Coli 157 outbreaks “presumably because of a lot of the work that industry and regulators are doing in beef processing plants,” he told WebMD. At the same time, experts acknowledged that virtually no progress had been made in reducing the number of salmonella outbreaks, which accounted for 28 percent of deaths and roughly 35 percent of hospitalizations caused by known pathogens.

All that said, experts stressed that this is still an estimate — the new numbers rely heavily on estimates of food poisoning caused by unspecified agents. There were also undoubtedly cases of food poisoning that weren’t reported and were chalked up to some type of flu.

Regardless of what the stats say, the old rules still apply: only purchase food from trusted sources, practice safe food handling procedures and wash your hands.

— Kyle Tonniges Comments? Questions? Want more? Check out our Booked blog online at thereader.com. Or email us at booked@thereader.com.

with the Sage Bistro opening soon after. The new building and bistro matches the institute’s already sterling reputation. It will be exciting to see how the institute’s graduating students impact Omaha’s culinary landscape in years to come. Perhaps they will be the subject of future “year in review” features. ,

Ring In The New Year at ra

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(402) 345-4545

“You Don’t Have a Clue” The Best Gameshow You Will Ever Play!

345 Riverfront Drive (just east of the Qwest Center) FIND US ON FACEBOOK! “Rick’s Cafe Boatyard Omaha”

Dance to the tunes of R Style Band in the lounge. | THE READER |

dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

13

8 days Through Dec. 31

Yesterday and Today

Omaha Community Playhouse 6915 Cass St. Thurs. 7:30 p.m., $38; Fri. 7 p.m., $50 and 10 p.m., $75 553.0800, omahaplayhouse.org

Tribute shows are de rigueur for certain performers so ingrained in the collective consciousness that fans crave vicarious incarnations of them. Any Beatles tribute is hot stuff right now given the confluence of Fab Four phantasmagoria in 2010. First, this is the 30th anniversary year of John Lennon’s death. Then there was the debut of Beatles music on iTunes in late 2010. And Paul McCartney earned a kind of American knighthood with his Dec. 5 recognition at the Kennedy Center Honors.

Taken together, it’s a “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” good vibe that Billy McGuigan and Co. are channeling the Beatles with an interactive, live music show. McGuigan and his band will be rocking out a selection of Beatles standards, some by audience request. NYE shows will include special celebratory perks.

— Leo Adam Biga

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dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

t h e r e a d e r ’ s entertainment pic k s dec . 3 0 - J an . 5 , 2 0 1 0

FRIDAY31 Dec. 31

Happy GOO Year

Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St. 9 p.m.-2 a.m., 21+, $15 ADV/$20 DOS, theslowdown.com For those of you brave enough to have attended a GOO New Year’s party, you know it’s kind of like an episode of “Survivor.” Only those who can survive the lines and massive crowd are worthy to reap the benefits of a party so epic that I’m surprised it isn’t sold out as I write this. For those not familiar, GOO was a monthly themed dance party started a few years ago by members of The Faint. Now more spaciously dated, GOO brings its annual NYE celebration to Slowdown, this year featuring guest DJ and Reader contributor Brent Crampton. Masquerade-themed, with a huge dance floor and a champagne toast at midnight, this event is at the top of many lists to ring in the new year.

— Chalis Bristol

Dec. 31

Secret Weapon New Year’s Bash

Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. 9 p.m., $10, onepercentproductions.com The only thing better than New Year’s Eve is New Year’s Eve on a Friday night. Celebrate this double dose of bacchanalia with ’80s cover band Secret Weapon. Priding itself on performing rock concerts rather than background noise, Secret Weapon transports audiences to the dawn of the MTV Generation. Hard Rock? Covered. Glam Rock? You bet. Children and fans of the decade will pump fists to Billy Idol and scream along to Bon Jovi. You didn’t have to live through the ’80s to enjoy this show. Whitewash jeans and AquaNet optional.

— Jasmine Maharisi

| THE READER |

picks

HAPPY GOO YEAR Dec. 31

Learning to Floyd w/ Disposable Heroes

Stir Live and Loud, Harrah’s Casino 9 p.m., FREE, 21+, harrahscouncilbluffs.com I love Pink Floyd, from the sweeping guitars to the trippy synths echoing under Roger Water’s operatic vocals, so I’m glad there is a free cover show featuring their material. But really, “Learning to Floyd” was the best name they could come up with? Bad monikers aside, these guys are in their second year of performing Floyd covers that keep up with the originals note for note. They’ve even been known to run down the nine tracks that make up Dark Side of the Moon, my favorite ninetrack album. Joining them for this New Year’s Eve gig are Disposable Heroes, who slay through Metallica songs like it’s nobody’s business.

— Jarrett Fontaine

Dec. 31

All-Ska New Year’s Eve w/ Linoma Mashers and The Bishops

Pauli’s, 4016 Leavenworth St. 9 p.m., $10 ADV/$13 DOS, 21+ 345.7959

From its chill roots in 1960s Jamaica to the punk edge of Sublime, ska has come a long way. Pauli’s presents A New Year’s Eve Rockin’ Reggae N Ska Party, featuring locals Linoma Mashers and The Bishops. The Linoma Mashers are a power calypso-ska sextet that defy its heartland roots and play some surf tunes. The Bishops play some rock steady reggae that’s sure to help you show off your skanking skills on the dance floor. Stick around to watch the ball drop and enjoy some champagne while you’re at it.

— Jarrett Fontaine

the reader’s entertainment picks Dec. 31

The Song Remains the Same w/ Ten Club and Surfer Rosa Horseshoe Casino, Council Bluffs 8 p.m., FREE, 712.329.6000 horseshoecouncilbluffs.com

How often do Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam and The Pixies get to share a stage? Probably as rarely as cover bands of those groups sharing one. (Well, except one band is long broken up with a dead drummer and another is on-again-off-again due to infighting.) But that’s just the confusing New Year’s Eve party in store at the Horseshoe Casino, where Pixies cover band Surfer Rosa will lead to Ten Club, hopefully Nebraska’s only Pearl Jam cover band, which will lead to The Song Remains the Same, a Led Zeppelin tribute band hammering their way to Valhalla. It may be a mutt, genre wise, but the admission is free and it’s New Year, and you can just think of it as free-form radio, except in tribute form. And hey, you’re not the one who has to pay the ASCAP royalties!

— John Wenz

town. Basically, they bring Mardi Gras with them.

Kicking off the 16th Annual Mardi Gras Tour, Cowboy Mouth gallops into Omaha for a night of welcome debauchery.

— Kyle Eustice

SUNDAY5 Jan. 5

Mitch Gettman w/ Landing On The Moon and Lonely Estates Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. 9 p.m., $7, onepercentproductions.com

Mitch Gettman, who is supposedly still in high school, is producing material that usually takes

dec. 30 - Jan. 5, 2010

decades to formulate. Similar in both sound and looks to Jeff Buckley, Gettman’s croon is also reminiscent of early Radiohead (he does a mean acoustic rendition of “Paranoid Android”).

Gettman, along with band mates Andrew Malashock and Adam Gerber, have put together a debut EP worth of material, a straight-up indie rock sound they’ve showcased at several local hotspots. Gettman and company also scored a best new artist nomination from the Omaha Entertainment and Art Awards last year. Fellow performers Landing On The Moon have also seen some OEAA-lovin’ for its We Make History Now release. To say that you should check out this show is an understatement.

— Jarrett Fontaine

COWBOY MOUTH

Through Jan. 9

Poinsettia Show

Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft St. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily (closed New Years Day), $6/$3 children 6-13/FREE for members and children under 6 and all on Sundays through Dec. 346.4002, lauritzengardens.org Catch some coveted fresh air in the cozy atmosphere of Lauritzen Gardens’ greenhouse winter wonderland before it closes.

Take in over 5,600 poinsettias of deep reds, and sparkling whites, amid the over 300-foot model train track whirring through miniature Omaha landmark structures wholly made from natural materials.

With holiday music, a warm treat from the café, the crackling fireplace, decorated trees and antique sleighs, the trip is sure to be an unforgettable holiday happening.

— Sally Deskins

Dec. 31

SATURDAY1

Noon Year’s Eve

Cowboy Mouth w/ Dash Rip Rock

Henry Doorly Zoo, 3701 S. 10th St. 10 a.m.-1 p.m., FREE w/ membership and for ages 2 and under/$7.75 ages 311/$11.50 ages 12 and over/seniors $10, omahazoo.com

When you were sitting there stoned, watching the movie Half Baked, a cover of Steppenwolf ’s “The Pusher” played in the background at some point.

The song was revamped by a little band called Cowboy Mouth, a New Orleans-based rock quartet with a reputation for putting on live shows equivalent to “religious experiences.“ Founding members Fred LeBlanc and John Thomas Griffith take their latest incarnation on tour to share an infectious blend of southern rock and punk influences. Formed in the early ’90s, Cowboy Mouth is notorious for playing more than 200 shows a year and displaying blatant admiration for its home-

For those with children, the days of going out on New Year’s Eve may have long since passed.

Few places offer events for families of all ages to come together and celebrate the coming of the new year. With an early countdown and beach ball drop, Henry Doorly Zoo offers a new alternative for you to ring in the new year with the little ones, parents, grandparents … and a few members of the animal kingdom. No long drink lines, crowds or figuring out your way home; this gives you an opportunity to be with loved ones and get to bed at a decent hour.

Sounds like a great way to start off 2011.

— Chalis Bristol

Jan. 1

Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. 9 p.m., $15, onepercentproductions.com

picks

| THE READER |

dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

15

So Much To See And Do... www.oldmarket.com

402.342.2885

12th & Jackson Old Market 341-5827

Ice Cream made the Old-Fashioned way using Rock Salt & Ice

16

DEC. 30 - JAN. 5, 2011

Best Ice Cream Shop

| THE READER |

bigbrainomaha.com

Paint By Numbers Year in visual art a matter of quantity as well as quality

culture

art by kent bellows

by Michael J. Krainak

I

t’s said in any given year in any given metropolitan community that about 25 percent of its population attends a museum or gallery at least once and 15 percent watch or listen to programs about art, artists and museums as well. That’s according to a 2008 Survey of Public Participation sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Interestingly, visual arts participation is greater than for, say, plays (1217 percent), classical music (12 percent), ballet (4 percent) or opera (3 percent). If this is true, it means in Omaha in 2010, potentially 150,000 to 200,000 (city vs. greater metro population figures) of us attended an art exhibit and related event. A much smaller percent of that amount will have joined an arts venue or bought an original work of traditional or contemporary art or maybe even created one.

Potentially, because it’s virtually impossible to establish exact figures, especially as to the latter two endeavors, or their overall significance.

For instance, a museum’s record of admissions is no doubt partially due to multiple visits by a single individual and membership opportunities at a venue offering free admission is more qualitative than quantitative. That said, it is up to museums, centers and galleries to maximize that potential annually in light of socio-economic conditions, a none too easy task.

If a quarter of the area’s population did support the visual arts in the past year, what did they see and do that stands out? What kind of year did Omaha have? In this first review, we will look at some key figures and events that shaped the area arts vibe, count our blessings and make note of a few regrets and room for improvement. At the end of January, in Part II, The Reader will publish its annual A-list, a summary of the best contemporary arts exhibits in this area for 2010. Consider the following key events for the past year:

n The Joslyn Art Museum found a new director, Jack Becker, after a protracted search and he made good on his promise to rebuild its curatorial staff by hiring new Chief Curator Toby Jurovics who started in December. Becker also promised to hire a contemporary arts curator in the very near future. Meanwhile, Joslyn’s impressive but selective Kent Bellows retro exhibit, which ends Jan. 16, 2011, may account for the venue’s 10 percent increase in membership in the 2010 fiscal year but can hardly account for a reported and inexplicable 10 percent decrease in admissions.

n Mark Masuoka, director of the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts also reports an increase in memberships which is impressive for a non-admission venue. In addition the Bemis confirms a 22 percent increase in its door count over 2009. For 2010 the Bemis also boasts its most successful fundraising auction in the past 12 years with admissions up 17 percent over previous year and a 9.5 percent increase in proceeds.

This comes on the heels of an announced $2.5 million Building Capital Campaign in 2011 that will, among other things, increase its extraor-

art

dinary artist residency program capacity by 30 percent.

On a sadder note, Brigitte McQueen, the manager of the Bemis Underground, resigned after reestablishing the venue as a significant player in regional contemporary art. McQueen will pursue her plans to start a new area arts center devoted to local artists while promoting social change in the greater community. A new Underground manager hasn’t been named, but for now, its 2011 schedule will continue.

| THE READER |

continued on page 18 y

dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

17

art

y continued from page 17

to be the Nebraska Arts Council. In the fiscal year 2009, the NAC awarded over $900,000 in arts-related grants, an increase of about $100,000 from the previous year. Though not all the funds went to visual artists, $23,000 was awarded to nine fellowship honorees who will be featured in a concurrent exhibit at the Fred Simon Gallery and Bemis Center which opens this January.

■ The Sheldon Art Museum in Lincoln must also be singled out for its impressive year-long exhibition showcasing American women artists from its permanent collection. Particularly noteworthy are works on display by Mary Cassat, Georgia O’Keefe, Bessie Potter Vonnoh, Diane Arbus and Cindy Sherman. The exhibit continues through April 1.

■ The Omaha Entertainment and Arts orga■ Though Omaha’s KANEKO creativity center nization celebrated its fifth year with a popular extends its influence and programs to science and awards night at the Mid America Center. Music philosophy as well as the arts, in 2010 it currently and drama continue to dominate the voting and enjoys a popular exhibit by renowned sculptor event but new chairperson of the Visual Arts Fletcher Benton, Folded Square Alphabets and Numericals which runs through Feb- THE BOYS OF THE NEW BLK GALLERY ruary.

■ The well-established Kent Bellows Studio and Center for Visual Arts officially opened its home base in the former studio of its namesake at 3303 Leavenworth St., and if its recent open house and exhibit is any indication, it is already bursting at its seams. Dedicated to the education and mentoring of junior and high school studio artists, the center is at full capacity.

■ Additional support and recognition for local artists can come from grants and awards and chief among the agencies responsible for this continues

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DEC. 30 - JAN. 5, 2011

at I-80 and add to Council Bluffs’ reputation as the region’s leader in public art display.

■ Speaking of recognition, special mention must be made of two outstanding examples of public art in 2010, especially as they gave a unique, cutting edge to the area’s contemporary vibe. The first is the collaboration of the Emerging Terrain organization and 13 artists that painted images on silos near I-80 and Vinton Street with more to come. The second is the more controversial creation of famed international sculptor Albert Paley called Odyssey, four spiky, metal thunderbolts that adorn the 24th Street overpass

■ On the local gallery scene, two new fundamentally different venues opened in the Old Market. The traditional Anderson O’Brien gallery occupies the former Jackson Artworks space and the more experimental New BLK Gallery has renovated the Old Krug Brewing building at 1213 Jones St. Gallery success doesn’t come easily anywhere as witnessed by the demise of Pulp, JAW and Polyester Gallery (PG reported in November it was looking for a new location, slated to open in January 2011), and the presence of these two newer venues along with the nearby RNG on Leavenworth, the 616 and the Moving Gallery in the vicinity is a welcome addition.

■ Finally, we must acknowledge the passing of Omaha’s premiere collector of contemporary art, Phil Schrager, who died last spring. Though much speculation persists as to the future of this most significant array of 400 plus works, director Janet Farber, says no changes to the collection are being made at this time. Meanwhile, it’s business as usual as part of the collection is still on display by appointment at its current location as part of Schrager’s legacy, and the family foundation continues to benefit Omaha socio, religious and educational charities. ,

■ For adult studio artists with career aspirations and need for low income housing, the Harvester Artist Lofts in Council Bluffs opened up last summer as part of Artspace Project, Inc. out of Minneapolis. Harvester Lofts offers 36 combo studio/living spaces and is currently over 50 percent rented or leased.

by

Committee, Rob Gilmer, vows improved recognition, disclosure and organization in 2011.

| THE READER |

art

theater Local Theater’s Year In Review

I

by Warren Francke

f you look back at two types of triumphs in 2010, you could be arguing well into 2011 about the age-old theater question: can the most significant and challenging plays draw big crowds?

In the earlier days of the 85year history of the Omaha Community Playhouse, when they were doing O’Neill and Shaw with regularity, some would insist that the most intellectually demanding drama drew better than lighter fare. While occasionally true, that claim didn’t stand up well in the long run at the OCP. So how did that work this year? You could make the case at the Playhouse that the most critically honored musical and drama, Fiddler on the Roof and Death of a Salesman, also drew the largest audiences.

But some high-quality and highly serious theater by SkullDuggery didn’t keep it from losing a lease and suffering financially. That’s not the best case, of course, given the instability of Andrew McGreevy’s ambitious operation.

And sold-out houses aren’t that common for the brilliant August Wilson plays at the John Beasley Theater or for Shaw and Shakespeare at the Brigit Saint Brigit or for some cutting edge drama at the Blue Barn.

An exception: their rabbit hole recent Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, with a stellar title turn by Nils Haaland. A great script and solid cast packed them in for fun that wasn’t fluffy. The rule: Rabbit Hole won a best drama award but didn’t fill Barn seats.

More important, the Barn and Brigit jointly announced last summer that they’d fared well enough with their lofty missions to survive the recession

and return to separate locations in the fall of 2011 after sharing the Old Market space.

My favorite plays most years aren’t everyone’s favorites if measured by attendance. I’ve cheered the likes of Jitney at the Beasley or Julius Caesar at Brigit or SkullDuggery’s recent The Vertical Hour with small audiences.

That’s not to pretend that both middle-brow and lowbrow stuff doesn’t have a prominent place in the pleasure we get from an evening

the color purple

of theater. Two of my favorites mid and low: The Philadelphia Story at the Bellevue Little Theater and a hilarious The Valley of the Dolls parody by SNAP! Productions.

At the BLT, the best-attended show was Get Back: Super Hits of the ’70s, directed by Bridget Robbins and produced by Bette Swanson, with Mame doing well in September. At Chanticleer, back-to-back musicals last spring, Jesus Christ Superstar and Footloose, drew good-sized crowds to the east side of Council Bluffs.

And Superstar featured some of this writer’s favorite supporting performances

by Dwayne Moore, John Morrissey and Joe Blackstad, who won a Theater Arts Guild award as King Herod. Denise Putnam was a supporting standout in Footloose.

The Broadway Across America series by Omaha Performing Arts offers another test for quality vs. crowds. For me, by far the most substantial and satisfying musical was The Color Purple, but it was outsold by the more familiar Beauty and the Beast.

I’m guilty as anyone when it comes to preferring the familiar — never tire of Chicago. But when you catch a play a week and often two or even three, you lean toward the new and different.

Sometimes “different” is a matter of degree. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing All Shook Up again after a so-so production toured at the Orpheum, but director Carl Beck made the Elvis songs far more appealing at the Playhouse. It gave me a new appreciation for comedic star Theresa Sindelar when she sang “Heartbreak Hotel.”

Drawing crowds isn’t the top priority for university theaters, of course, but Creighton has a crowd-pleaser in Dan Tracy, who went from starring in the previous season’s West Side Story to the title role in the Floyd Collins musical and Jesus in Godspell. The University of Nebraska at Omaha challenged playgoers with a puzzling Eurydice (a switch on the old Orpheus story), and entertained them with Noises Off. The two schools traded drama faculty at the top of the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, with Creighton’s Alan Klem replacing UNO’s Cindy Melby Phaneuf.

And 2010, as every year must, saw losses to the theater community, including the wonderful actress Phyllis Doughman and benefactor Howard Drew. He didn’t just give a generous gift for a stage that bears his name, he was also a good friend who often drove senior volunteer Dee Owen to her Playhouse duties. ,

theater

coldcream

2010 in Stages

n When SkullDuggery lost its lease and dropped plays from its schedule, Lilyhorn/ Martin Productions was born. So the play with the unprintable title will go next month at the Bancroft Street Market.

That’s Shopping and F***ing (when feeling bolder, we include the k but never the horseshoe-shaped vowel).

Randall T. Stevens agreed to direct when Andrew McGreevy was producing it for SkullDuggery, and didn’t want to abandon the project.

In stepped Patricia Lilyhorn, who worked often with McGreevy and proved her talent in A Thousand Clowns at the Playhouse. She lined up the 10th and Bancroft venue, east of Rosenblatt Stadium, and plans two more projects in the year ahead, including Laughing Wild, a Durang play at the Pizza Shoppe.

Collective.

Meanwhile, we’ll see who is willing to post the undeleted name of the play running Jan. 14-23. It’s billed as a black comedy with “nudity, violence and very explicit sex.” Warnings about sexual content aren’t unheard of, but I’m not sure I’ve seen “very explicit” promised or threatened.

Stevens cast Colin Ferguson, Eric GrantLeanna, Kirsten Kluver, Kelcivious Jones and Brian Zealand. Characters include a junkie stockbroker, a teenage male prostitute and a gangster obsessed with The Lion King. It plays Fri.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m. and Sun. at 6 p.m.

n It never fails. You write about the year in theater, run out of space and start feeling guilty about all the good stuff that didn’t quite fit the concept.

Not visions of sugar plums, but memorable performances dance in my head. Did I mention Rob Baker’s tremendous work in A Thousand Clowns at the Playhouse? The powerful portrayal by Mike Markey in Hot n’ Throbbin’ at the Blue Barn? Was there a better pairing than Charleen Willoughby and Ashley Spessard in Mrs. Warren’s Profession

by Brigit Saint Brigit?

Did anyone put together a more polished musical offering than Gordon Cantiello with the Kander-Ebb revue, The World Goes Round? How about those nights when Jerry Longe and John Beasley (not to mention Carl Brooks) were delivering smashing performances in different parts of town? Or when Audrey Fisher made it well worth the drive down to Olde Towne Bellevue to see her do Hepburn proud in The Philadelphia Story?

And all those nutty gender-switched characters in Valley of the Dolls, aided and abetted by Mark Cramer’s crazy video concoctions? I can’t wait for more winners in 2011.

— Warren Francke Cold Cream looks at theater in the metro area. Email information to coldcream@thereader.com.

| THE READER |

dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

19

art

OpeningS

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER, 333 S. 132nd St., 572.8486, jccomaha.org. SCREAM TRUTH AT THE WORLD: Emanuel Ringelblum and the Hidden Archive of the Warsaw Gutter, opens Jan. 5-Feb. 25.

ONGOING

THE 815, 815 O. St., Suite 1, Lincoln, 261.4905, the815.org.

NEW WORK: New work by artist Gonca Yengin, through December.

9 MUSES STUDIO, 2713 N 48th St., Lincoln. NEW WORK: Dr. Barbara Tracy, through Dec. A TO Z PRINTING, 8320 Cody Dr., Lincoln, 477.0815, atozprint. com. COMMUNITY OPEN STUDIO: A community group show, through Dec. ANDERSON O’BRIEN FINE ART COUNTRYSIDE VILLAGE, 8724 Pacific St., 390.0717, aobfineart.com. NEW WORKS EXHIBITION: Group show featuring new work by regional artists, through Dec. 31.

ANDERSON O’BRIEN FINE ART OLD MARKET, 1108 Jackson St., 884.0911, aobfineart.com. NEW WORKS EXHIBITION: Group show featuring new work by regional artists, through Dec. 31.

ART FRIENDS GIFT GALLERY, 14738 Grover St. UNIQUE GIFTS: Local artists, through Dec. BELLEVUE UNIVERSITY GALLERY, Hitchcock Humanities Center, 1000 Galvin Road. S., 293.2048, Bellevue.edu. BOXES AND RELIEF: New work by artist Marc Manriquez. HOLLYWOOD TIMES: New work by artist Mervi Pakaste. Both shows through Jan. 11.

BENSON GRIND, 6107 Maple St., octopusesgarden.org. NEW WORK: Paula Phillip, through Dec. BLUE POMEGRANATE GALLERY, 6570 Maple St., 502.9901, bluepom.com. PHOTOS OF ORNAMENTS: Group show featuring photography by Sandra Gerber, Heidi Riha and Anne Nye, through Dec. CATHEDRAL CULTURAL CENTER, 3900 Webster St., 551.4888, cathedralartsproject.org. NEW WORK: Regional Latino artists, through Feb. 4.

DURHAM WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM, 801 S. 10th St., 444.5071, durhammuseum.org. 100 YARDS OF GLORY: Omaha’s football history, through Jan. 2, 2011. ETHNIC HOLIDAY TREES EXHIBIT: Through Jan. 2. SCHOOL HOUSE TO WHITE HOUSE: THE EDUCATION OF THE PRESIDENTS: Through Mar. 27.

FRED SIMON GALLERY, Burlington Building, 1004 Farnam St., nebraskaartscouncil.org. NAC IAF VISUAL ARTS SHOW: Group show, through Feb. 25.

GALLERY 616, 616 S. 11th St, 301.9713. NEW WORK: Robert Miller, through Dec.

GALLERY 9, 124 S 9th St., Lincoln, 477.2822, gallerynine.com.

ALL MEMBER HOLIDAY SHOW: Group show featuring all members, through Dec..

GOVERNOR’S RESIDENCE EXHIBITION, 1425 H St., Lincoln, nebraskaartscouncil.org. NEW WORK: Sue Thelen, through Jan. 3.

GRAND MANSE GALLERY, 129 N. 10th St., Lincoln, grandmanse.com. BLUE CAT: David Christiansen, through Jan. 21.

GREAT PLAINS ART MUSEUM, 1155 Q St., Hewit Plc., Lincoln, 472.0599, unl.edu/plains/gallery/gallery.shtml.

INTERNATIONAL QUILT STUDY CENTER AND MUSEUM, 1523 N. 33rd St., Lincoln, 472.7232, quiltstudy.org. MARSEILLE: WHITE CORDED QUILTING: Explores white corded quilting, through May 8. REVISITING THE ART QUILT: Examining the quilt as a work of art, featuring items from the collection, through Apr. 3, gallery talk Apr. 3, 3 p.m.

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER, 333 S. 132nd St., 572.8486, jccomaha.org. SOME OF ALL KNOWLEDGE: Tom Swanson, through Dec. 31.

JOSLYN ART MUSEUM, 2200 Dodge St., 342.3300, joslyn.org.

BEYOND REALISM: THE WORKS OF KENT BELLOWS 19702005: Through Jan. 16. SEASONS OF JOY: Currier and Ives Holiday Prints from the ConAgra Collection, through Jan. 23.

GOLDEN KITE, GOLDEN DREAMS: The SCBWI Awards, through Jan. 16.

KANEKO, 1111 Jones St., 341.3800, thekaneko.org. FREE. FOLDED SQUARE ALPHABETS & NUMERICALS: Sculpture exhibit by Fletcher Benton, through Feb. KIECHEL FINE ART, 5733 S. 34th St., Lincoln, 420.9553, kiechelart.com. HOLIDAY SELECTIONS: Student work by University of Nebraska students, curated by Karen Kunc and Francisco Souto, through Jan. 5.

KRUGER COLLECTION, UNL Architecture Hall, 10th and R, Lincoln, 472.3560, krugercollection.unl.edu. THINK GREEN: Interior/green design and miniatures that explore forward thinking design, through Mar. 18, 2011.

LA CASA’S PIZZARIA, 4432 Leaveworth St., omahaartistsinc. com. 2010 FALL ART SHOW: New work, group show, through Jan. 3.

LAURITZEN GARDENS, 100 Bancroft St., 346.4002, omahabotanicalgardens.org. HOLIDAY POINSETTIA SHOW: Through Jan. 9.

THE LICHEN, 2810 N. 48th St., Lincoln, thelichen.com. 0 < ART < 100: New work, group show, all art priced $100 or below, through Dec. LUX CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 48th and Baldwin, Lincoln, 434.2787, luxcenter.org. VIS-A-VIS: New work, group show, through Mar. 1.

GARDEN: New work by Susan Stark, through Dec. MODERN ARTS MIDWEST, 800 P St., Lincoln, 477.2828, modernartsmidwest.com. RED DOT: 8th Anniversary celebration, through Dec. 31.

MUSEUM OF NEBRASKA ART (MONA), 2401 Central Ave., Kearney, 308.865.8559, monet.unk.edu/mona. POSTMASTER INTERACTIVE GALLERY: Group show, through Jan. 10, 2011.

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM: Through Jun. 5, 2011. SATURDAY

YESTERDAY AND TODAY, Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St., 553.0800, omahaplayhouse.com, through Dec. 31, Wed.-Sat., 7:30 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m. $38.

poetry/comedy thursday 30

check event listings online!

EVENING POST: Holiday images, through Jan. 10. NEBRASKA NOW: Renee A. Ledesma, oepns Through Jan. 2. A GREATER SPECTRUM: African American artists of Nebraska, 1912-2010, through Apr. 3. OF PEN, PAPER, PENCIL: Group show, through Feb. 27.

NOMAD LOUNGE GALLERY, 1013 Jones St., 884.1231, nomadlounge.com. REPURPOSED: New work by Matt Jones, through Dec. NORFOLK ARTS CENTER, 305 N. 5th St., Norfolk, 371.7199, norfolkartscenter.org. NEW WORK: New work by Inna Kulagina, through Dec. NOYES GALLERY, 119 S. 9th St., Lincoln, 486.3866, noyesartgallery.com. FOCUS GALLERY: New work, Group show. MAIN GALLERY: New work by Mike Fluent, Janna Harsch and Marin Hacker. GOLD ROOM: New work by Marla Blush and Julia Noyes. All shows through Dec. OLD MARKET ARTISTS, 1034 Howard St., Lower Level of Old Market Passageway, oldmarketartists.com. GROUP SHOW: All member show, through Dec. OLSON-LARSEN GALLERY, 203 5th St., Des Moines, IA, 515.277.6734, olsonlarsen.com. SMALL WORKS SHOW: Group show, through Jan. 15. NEW WORK: Group show, through Jan. 15.

OMAHA’S CHILDREN’S MUSEUM, 500 S. 20th St., 342.6163. ocm.org. BIG BACKYARD: Through Apr. 10.

PARALLAX SPACE, 1745 N St., Lincoln, parallaxspace.com.

TWEEN: New work by Anne and Michael Burton, through Jan. 31.

PASSAGEWAY GALLERY, 417 South 11th St, passagewaygallery.com. THROUGH THE KEYHOLE: New work, group show, through Dec. PROJECT ROOM, 1410 and 1416 O St., Suite #8, Lincoln, 617.8365, projectroom.us. GUNK: New work by Colin C. Smith, through Dec. RNG GALLERY, 1915 Leavenworth St., 214.3061. FLYING PEOPLE SERIES: Larry Sosso. LEFT: Rob Gilmer. Both shows through Dec. SHELDON ART GALLERY, 12th and R, UNL, Lincoln, sheldonartgallery.org. BETTER HALF, BETTER TWELFTH: Women artists in the collection, through Apr. 1, 2011. ORLAN & MIND OVER MATTER: Through Jan. 30. NEW MATERIAL WORD: RETHREADING TECHNOLOGY: Through Jan. 2. A WINTER GEM: Through Dec. 31.

STRATEGIC AIR & SPACE MUSEUM, 28210 W. Park Highway, Ashland, 944.3100, strategicairandspace.com. ANAKIN SKYWALKER’S PODRACE: Through Jan. 2. THE SECRET LIFE OF HOWARD HUGHES: Through Jan. 2.

TUGBOAT GALLERY, 14th and O, 2nd floor, Lincoln, tugboatgallery.com. PLEASE POST: Group show featuring new work by Denny Schmickle, Joey Lynch, Bonnie O’Connell, Fred Hosman and Justin Kemerling, through Dec. 31.

UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD MUSEUM, 200 Pearl St., Council Bluffs, 501.3841, uprrmuseum.org. MODEL TRAIN DISPLAY: Through Dec. 31.

WESTERN HISTORIC TRAILS CENTER, 3434 Richard Downing Ave., Council Bluffs, 515.281.3858, iowahistory.org. OVER HERE, OVER THERE: Iowa and WWI, through Fall 2010. ART IN DAILY LIFE: A comprehensive look at the art of Native Americans, through Jan. 2011.

WORKSPACE GALLERY, Sawmill Building, 440 N. 8th St., Lincoln, sites.google.com/site/workspacegallery. EARTH CUTS: Jonathon Wells, through Jan. 5.

theater ongoing

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN, Rose Theater, 2001 Farnam St., 345.4849, rosetheater.org. Through Dec. 30, various showtimes, $16. Kris Kringle and his animal friends are determined to save Christmas for the boys and girls of Sombertown.

20

dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

| THE READER |

art/theater listings

PARK TEEN CENTER UNDERGROUND OPEN MIKE COFFEEHOUSE NIGHT, Park School, 855 S. 8th St., Lincoln, 7-8:30 p.m., 441.9471, $1. Open mic/slam poetry/acoustic music for Grades 8-12. (last Thurs. each month) RACHEL FEINSTEIN, Funny Bone, Village Pointe, 17305 Davenport St., funnnyboneomaha.com, 493.8036, 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY 31

RACHEL FEINSTEIN, Funny Bone, Village Pointe, 17305 Davenport St., funnnyboneomaha.com, 493.8036, 7:30 p.m., 9:45 p.m.

SATURDAY 1

RACHEL FEINSTEIN, Funny Bone, Village Pointe, 17305 Davenport St., funnnyboneomaha.com, 493.8036, 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m.

monday 3

POETRY AT THE MOON, Crescent Moon Coffee, 816 P St., Lincoln, 435.2828, crescentmoon@inebraska.com, 7 p.m. Open mic and featured readers. (every Mon.)

tuesday 4

88 IMPROV, Pizza Shoppe Collective, 6056 Maple St., 8 p.m, 88improv.com, $5. Each performance is one-of-a-kind because the audience helps create the show. (1st and 3rd Tuesday) SHOOT YOUR MOUTH OFF, The Hideout, 320 S. 72nd St., 9 p.m. sign-up, 9:30 start, 504.4434, myspace.com/shootyourmouthoff, spoken word, comedy, music and chaos (every Tues.)

Wednesday 5

ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC FOR MUSICIANS & POETS, Meadowlark Coffee & Espresso, 1624 S. St., Lincoln, 8 p.m., 477.2007. Hosted by Spencer. (every Wed.) MIDWEST POETRY VIBE, KENO Kings/Royal Crown Lounge, 6553 Ames Ave., 9 p.m., poetry, R&B, Neosoul music, live performances, concert DVD and food and drink, come out and vibe to some of the best spoken word and soul the midwest has to offer. (Every Wed.) NAKED WORDS, Soul Desires Bookstore, 1026 Jackson St., 6 p.m., prairie.sky@gmail.com, open mic hosted by Heidi Hermanson. (First Wed.) NEBRASKA WRITER’S WORKSHOP, Ralston Library, 5555 S. 77th St., ralstonlibrary.org, 6 p.m. A weekly workshop dedicated to the continual craft of fiction, poetry and screenwriting. (Every Wed.).

PEOPLE’S FILM FESTIVAL: 500 YEARS LATER, McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe, 38th and Farnam, 7 p.m., FREE. Crime, poor education, poverty, self-hatred, prison system, broken homes plague people of African descent globally. Why? Filmed in over twenty countries and on five continents, 500 Years Later is a compelling journey, infused with the spirit and music of liberation, that chronicles the struggle of a people from enslavement who continue to fight for the most essential human right: freedom. 500 Years Later, is an epic multi-award winning documentary directed by Owen ‘Alik Shahadah. (every Wed.) POET SHOW IT, 1122 D St., Lincoln, 8 p.m. Local writers come together to drink coffee and beer and to read fiction, poetry, or whatever they want to read to the group. (every other Wed.)

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music

T

by Tim McMahan

he local 2010 year in music will be remembered locally for festivals, reunions and departures.

Here are a few highlights: n After a rocky launch in ’09, the MAHA Music Festival proved that Omaha can produce a true indie music festival. The one-day concert, held on Lewis & Clark Landing, attracted first-tier bands like Spoon, Ben Kweller, Superchunk and local heroes The Faint, along with thousands of indie music fans. Can MAHA top it in 2011? n Organized by Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst, The Concert for Equality was a day of performances built upon a message about divisive immigration laws that made headlines from Arizona to Fremont, Nebraska. Oberst, who had become a poster boy for the cause, got help from old friends Gillian Welch, David Rawlings and Cursive as well as members of Desaparecidos and Lullaby for the Working Class, who played together for the first time in years. n On a legislative front, local boozers no longer had to flee to Council mynabirds Bluffs to get their late-night drunk on, as new new state laws allowed local bar closing times to expand from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. in Nebraska.

Meanwhile, Omaha bars felt the sting of a new entertainment tax that not only drove drink prices up, but may drive Mayor Suttle out of office. n One of Omaha’s oldest venues for live music, The 49’r, closed for good in October after a drawn out battle that pitted the Dundee neighborhood against CVS Pharmacy. In the end, everybody lost. n Perhaps the biggest music news of the year came after the festival season. MECA, which runs the Qwest Center and the new downtown TDAmeritrade ballpark, announced it’s hosting the Red Sky Music Festival July 19-24. MECA will work with Live Nation to book 50 bands that will perform in and around the ballpark for what they hope will be a festival that rivals Milwaukee’s Summerfest.

On a national level, we all watched last year as the music industry continued to decay. More and more bands, whether local singer/songwriters or national acts that have sold millions, complained that fewer and fewer people are buying CDs. There will be those who say that it’s too early to write the obituary for the Compact Disc — including our friends at Homer’s, who saw their worldwide chain

of seven record stores dwindle to two, including a smaller Old Market location. They’re right. The CD will be around for a few more years. But its prognosis is dire.

That doesn’t, however, mean that the music industry is dead. Not yet. There are more musicians and bands and recordings being made available today than ever, thanks to the same technology that’s killing the CD, a technology that allows anyone with a laptop to become a record producer, for better or worse. As record sales dwindle, musicians are beginning to depend more on licensing deals (selling their music for use in TV commercials, movies, etc.) and live performance

richard swift

The Year in Music

income. The age of the CD is over. Here comes the age of the Stage.

Now, without further ado, here are my 10 favorite recordings of 2010, in no particular order (Note that I didn’t say “favorite CDs” — all 10 are in regular rotation … on my iPhone). n Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (Merge) — Mewing frontman Win Butler may be too smart for his own good — a sad, tortured realist, he’s stuck in a rut, dwelling on the past, on the future and on our current situation. And yet, his music on this, his band’s third album, is as inventive as anything on 2004’s Funeral. n Titus Andronicus, The Monitor (XL) — The New Jersey band expanded on its low-fi punk sound, adding new instruments (bagpipes, fiddle, trombone, cello) that elevated these epic, drunken, Celtic-flavored sing-along ballads to a level as grand as the album’s so-called Civil War theme. n It’s True, self-titled, self released — Adam Hawkins and company soared to new heights on personal songs of love, heartbreak and redemption. It’s a fitting elegy for a band that could have been a contender, could have been somebody. n Tim Kasher, The Game of Monogamy (Saddle Creek) — Closer to The Good Life than Cursive, the differen-

tiator is the baroque strings, the upbeat brass, and the cool hand claps on “Gonna Die Here,” which would be a radio hit in any other universe. In the overall Kasher oeuvre, this is a minor, simple, but ultimately satisfying guilt trip. n The Black Keys, Brothers (Nonesuch) — Auerbach and Carney take their gritty blues sound, meld it with a dollop of psychedelia and smooth out the edges just enough to make this their most accessible — and enjoyable — long player since ’04’s Rubber Factory. n Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, I Learned the Hard Way (Daptone) — It’s not so much a reinvention of the classic old-school R&B as an embrace of days past by a band and a singer that embodies the best of ’60s soul. n Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, Brutalist Bricks (Matador) — There’s something simmering just below the surface of every one of this album’s 13 edgy, angry, catchy pop songs, as if a smiling Mr. Leo was about to stroll into a bank with a bomb beneath his overcoat. n Belle & Sebastian, Write About Love (Matador) — A return to form for a band that defined a style of chamber pop that’s been copied by every mopey scenester indie band in this country and theirs. n LCD Soundsystem, This is Happening (Virgin) — The long-awaited follow-up to ’07’s Sound of Silver finds our hero James Murphy more concerned about writing embraceable pop songs than getting your feet moving, and that’s OK (I guess). n Pete Yorn, self-titled (Vagrant) — Everyone’s favorite indie crooner enlists the help of everyone’s favorite post-punk rocker (Black Francis of The Pixies) to pull his music out of a mire of heartbreak and into something leather-clad and angry. Who ever thought that Yorn knew how to rock?

Check out more year-end lists in this section, and my list of the year’s best local live shows in this week’s Lazy-i column, on page 24.

2010 Top 10

by Jesse D. Stanek

n Band of Horses, Infinite Arms (Columbia/Fat Possum) — BOH had opening tours with Widespread Panic and Pearl Jam this year, and perhaps that reflects the band’s overall appeal better than anything. Infinite is an epic rock ‘n’ roll record, the kind our descendents will look on with the same slack jawed reverence we all look at Led Zeppelin IV, and more contemporary efforts like Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Pearl Jam’s Ten. A bold prediction for sure but one I would bet the farm on. n Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, I Learned The Hard Way (Daptone) — Ain’t heard this kind of soul since continued on page 22 y

music

n This week’s 8 Days section features many of your most exciting options for an in-tune New Year’s Eve celebration set to live music, but here are two quality stragglers: The Firm w/ special guests play Side Door Lounge, 3530 Leavenworth St. The 9 p.m. show will feature classic album covers including T.Rex, Iggy Pop, The Cure, Velvet Underground and Talking Heads, from Bill Eustice, Dereck Higgins, Joe Budenholzer, Gary Foster and others.

Thunderstandable is back after a fiveyear hiatus for a 9 p.m. NYE gig at Duffy’s in Lincoln w/ Rent Money Big and Machete Archive. n A few weeks ago, after my It’s True tribute in The Reader’s 2010 Music Issue, Adam Hawkins and I exchanged some messages on everyone’s favorite social network regarding the band’s current status. I mentioned in my piece the band had indicated via Facebook that it was working on new music. I can now confirm it, and you can take that from the horse’s mouth straight to the bank. Hawkins says he and a new band will release another It’s True album April 1 — save the date, no foolin’ — at a Benson venue. The evolved It’s True is comprised of 10-11 members, including several former members. The new record is all new material. An excited Hawkins says the recording will “live somewhere between the early home recordings and somewhere completely new.” He adds, “I think the live show is going to be something unique and memorable. I can’t wait to perform these songs.” We can’t wait either, Adam. n Lastly, I must divulge dear readers that this is my final Backbeat column. Ever. I have so enjoyed sharing the comings and goings of the local scene with you — from classical to hip-hop, breakups to reunions and releases, stolen gear to endowments and benefit concerts, and beyond. My favorite times writing this column were when I could report good news regarding the local music scene or an exciting just-announced show, as well as being able to endorse new acts I’d heard and thought Omaha should embrace, including my personal favorites It’s True and All Young Girls Are Machine Guns. After nearly three years in this space it is, as Boyz II Men wisely sang so many years ago, so hard to say goodbye. But I’m the type who prefers to emphasize the new beginning inherent in every end. I’m not the first to pass the Backbeat baton and I won’t be the last. Our music section will ring in the new year next week with Chris Aponick’s music musings in this space. Let’s raise a glass to New Year’s and new beginnings!

— Sarah Wengert

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Sounds Like 2010 Spirit

Backbeat takes you behind the scenes of the local music scene.

Send tips, comments and questions to backbeat@thereader.com.

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dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

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music 2010 Top 10

n Deerhunter, Halcyon Digest (4AD) — I wrote in The Reader a few months ago just how close Bradford Cox and

by Chris Aponick company’s latest was to greatness. Well, if Deerhunter never It’s hard to put together these Top 10s in years where there does better than this, they will still have left behind a startling aren’t one or two albums that you know are going to be beautiful record of hazy, dreamy, noisy, cathartic garage pop. permanent fixtures on one’s playlist for years to come. n Henry Clay People, Somewhere On the Golden Coast (tbd) Instead, 2010 was a year of great songs on otherwise — The so-called West Coast Hold Steady aren’t so much fanimperfect records. These stood out amid a crowded pack ning the Bruce Springsteen flame as they are acting as boozy of good-not-great releases I happened upon during these Replacements acolytes, “praying for a Saturday night.” This last 12 months. is a literate bar band with a taste for classic rock that would n The National, High Violet (4AD) — Previous National sound perfect pumping from a 1970s model Camaro, as it albums had been uneven affairs, with lesser material barely tears ass down some coastal highway in California. supporting tentposts n Backyard Tire like “Abel” and “Mr. Fire, Good To Be November.” This time, (Kelsey Street/Thirty Some of our music staff’s favorite releases of 2010 came from there’s still the great Tigers) — Songwriter local acts, including: “Bloodbuzz, Ohio,” but Ed Anderson gained a n It’s True, It’s True nothing else falls too city edge on his roots n The Mynabirds, What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood short, as singer Matt rock sound, having n Baby Tears, Baby Tears EP Berninger laments settled in Bloomington, n Son of 76 & The Watchmen, Letters From Shangri-La life in “the Manhattan Ill. after starting his n All Young Girls Are Machine Guns, Secret Attic Recordings valleys of the dead.” playing days in North n Tim Kasher, The Game of Monogamy A group of brooding Carolina. This is workn Tim Wildsmith and The Lost Cause, Little Armor indie rock veterans ing class stuff, drawfinally unfurls a clasing from Tom Petty sic album. and the better angels of John Mellencamp, as Backyard Tire n Ed Harcourt, Lustre (Nice Music Group) — Ed Harcourt Fire sing of life on the road and being happy living life with blends all the stylistic diversions that held back his last two next to nothing, as they do on this great record’s title track. records into something organic and downright tuneful. The n Black Angels, Phosphene Dream (Blue Horizon) English piano-based songwriter now has a second great — Austin, Tex. psych rockers the Black Angels found work to stand with his 2001 debut Here Be Monsters. new edge to raise they pitch-black drone jams into

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dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

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captivating and raw rock ‘n’ roll. Where they used to aimlessly space-out, they now add a pop-wizened urgency that makes this record worth repeated listening well into the future. n Los Campesinos!, Romance Is Boring, (Arts & Crafts) — Gareth Campesinos!, the singer of the band, reaches deep inside and rips out tragicomic diary entries, where sarcasm and fatalism take stage. The band’s darkened outlook hasn’t changed the hurtling energy, but it has switched channels from exuberance to anger. There’s still some wit shining through, when Gareth proclaims “We need more post-coital and less post-rock.” n Deer Tick, Black Dirt Sessions (Partisan) — John McCauley chooses more of a forlorn expression of loneliness on the latest from the Rhode Island indie Americana act. It’s Jeff Magnum gone to the bottle and the howling pangs of depression on what could be the last stark Deer Tick album, with the band promising a rock record next time around. n Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday (Sub-Pop) — Kyle Thomas got Sub-Pop’s attention by recording a bunch of power pop in his bedroom. When he formed his power trio Happy Birthday, the label signed him almost immediately. This self-titled debut proved his pop smarts were no fluke, as “Girls FM” and “Subliminal Message” are instantly unshakeable. n Crowded House, Intriguer (ATO) — Neil Finn settled back into his long-running pop band after reforming in 2006. At 52, Finn has changed songwriting focus, but these minor key gems are still packed with detail and are immaculately crafted. ,

y continued from page 21 Marvin Gaye and Aretha’s glory days. Sharon has the voice and stage presence to become a legend and this record does a fine job of showcasing her exquisite vocals along with the band’s tighter-than-shit grooves. n Mavis Staples, You Are Not Alone (Anti-) — Mavis made a name as a young woman singing with her family band The Staples Singers, who released several classic albums on Stax in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Although several musicians have tried to produce a record for this gospelsoul icon in recent memory (Prince, Ry Cooder), it took Jeff Tweedy’s (Wilco) expert ear and touch to compile a track listing and backing music that might be the best thing Staples’ has released. it’s true n Darker My Love, Alive As You Are (Dangerbird) — With a nod to early Grateful Dead and the Beatles harmonizing, DML released an album capturing the soul of its influences and put a new spin on an old classic. In the way of all the great ones, this record gets better with every listen. n VA, Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: The Songs of John Prine (Oh Boy) — John Prine will long be one of my favorite songwriters. This modern-day-twist of Prine classics does an excellent job of illuminating the brilliance of Prine’s simple if not genius lyrics. Contributors include The Avett Brothers, Conor Oberst, Lamb-

chop, Drive-by Truckers, Old Crow Medicine Show and the album’s most stunning cut “Wish You All The Best” from My Morning Jacket. n Foals, Total Life Forever (Sub-Pop) — This UK-based five-piece managed to make some of the most gorgeous, ambient music I’ve heard recently. With a healthy nod to Talking Heads and a modern spin on that band’s epic sound, Foals released one of the most unique sounding records of 2010. n Giant Sand, Blurry Blue Mountain (Fire) — Giant Sand is not for everyone. Howe Gelb’s scorched earth, cactus-country is at times brilliant beyond imagination and in the next, weird and muddling. Blurry is no doubt among the more accessible GS records but also has the same off-tempo irreverence Gelb’s made a career of. n Deerhunter, Halcyon Digest (4AD) — Deerhunter has been teetering on the edge of brilliance for some time and with this record finally fall heavy on the right side of the equation. The music is still weird enough to be compelling but also offers a few choice cuts you could put on mixes for your mother. n Delta Spirit, History From Below (Rounder) — This band’s comfort with classic country-rock is beyond refreshing. The singular sound also owes something to folk sensibility and passion and the resulting sound can be both tear-stricken and out of control jubilee. DS is definitely a band I expect big things from in the years to come. n Superchunk, Majesty Shredding (Merge) — Time and again we’ve seen once-great bands pop up a decade later and release sonic crap which serves as a watereddown imitation of their earlier work. Not the case with Superchunk. Majesty rips with the same intensity of much of the band’s earlier canon and even manages to

showcase a breadth and depth not found on its prior records.

Honorable Mentions: Beach House, Teen Dream (Sub-Pop); It’s True, It’s True! (self released); The Mynabirds, What We Lose In The Fire We Gain In The Flood (Saddle-Creek); Drive-by Truckers, The Big To Do (New West); Elton John & Leon Russell, The Union (Decca); El Ten Eleven, It’s Like A Secret (self released); Mastodon, Crack The Skye (Reprise); Chuck Prophet, Let Freedom Ring! (Yep Roc) ,

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lazy-i

rapping up the music year in review, here is my list of the best shows of the 100 or so I attended in 2010. Yeah, I know there are a few missing (Where’s the Pixies? Where’s Justin Bieber?), but I can’t attend all of them. Help fill in the blanks by listing your favorites in the comment section of this story at thereader.com.

Jan. 22-23, The Waiting Room (TWR) re-grand opening: After gutting the interior and literally “raising the roof ” (or at least the ceiling), the centerpiece Benson club celebrated with two nights of shows — a local gig featuring Little Brazil, Little Black Stereo, Ground Tyrants and Kyle Harvey, and a national show featuring afro-beat band NOMO. The verdict, Omaha had another world-class club to compete with Slowdown.

Jan. 29, Haiti Relief Concert at Slowdown: What more could you ask for than Conor Oberst singing “Lua” backed by Nate Walcott on flugelhorn? The Bright Eyes reunion was one of the highlights of a soldout show benefiting the earthquake-torn country; it also included performances by Tilly and The Wall, It’s True, Simon Joyner, The Mynabirds, Bear Country, McCarthy Trenching and Brad Hoshaw.

March 15, Digital Leather at O’Leaver’s: With a full beard, frontman Shawn Foree resembled an indie version of Jim Morrison circa Morrison Hotel. And with an extra keyboard player, he was free to get more involved on stage and with the crowd on such moving anthems as “Studs in Love.”

April 5, Beach House at TWR: Visually, a boring show.

Sonically, nothing less than amazing. Every note of their chamber pop echoed and glowed as they played all the songs from breakthrough album Teen Dream. Between numbers, they talked about Malcolm X, the Omaha Beef and 311, dedicating songs to each of them.

May 2, So-So Sailors at Slowdown Jr.: I came to see Jeremy Messersmith, the crowd came to see The Mynabirds, but it was So-So Sailors that everyone was talking about after the show.

May 22, Criteria at TWR: You couldn’t tell this band hadn’t been on a stage in almost two years. Everything was tight, including Stephen Pedersen’s high-flyin’ vocals that still had that pop. They were having the time of their lives, and so was an audience that greeted old favorites with raised fists.

June 13, The Mountain Goats at Slowdown: Balladeer John Darnielle did a “Storytellers” shtick, with bits about life on the road or what inspired the next rousing anthem or stirring ballad, delivered in the rapid-fire style of a well-seasoned stand-up comic or monologist.

June 28, Deerhoof at TWR: As a live band, Deerhoof eclipsed its restrained, measured recordings with sheer

S C E N E

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ferocity, transforming from an art band into something that more closely resembled punk.

June 30, It’s True at Slowdown Jr.: “This is our third to last show,” said inebriated frontman Adam Hawkins without giving an explanation. The performance had the charm of a drunken wake, with Hawkins taking double shots between songs. Despite proclaiming that he was “wasted,” he still put on one helluva show.

July 9, Lincoln Invasion in Benson: Twenty bands from Lincoln descended on Benson for one night, but it was Mercy Rule that made the best argument for Star City’s superiority.

July 24, MAHA Music Festival: We all had a favorite performance. Some said Spoon, others Ben Kweller and The Faint. For me it was conquering heroes Superchunk playing for their first time in Nebraska.

July 31, Concert for Equality in Benson: For one day, 2,000 people crowded the streets of Benson to celebrate freedom, or the lack of it. While host Conor Oberst shined with Bright Eyes, it was the reunion of his other band, Desaparecidos, along with Lullaby for the Working Class, that made the day historic.

Aug. 27, Slowdown Block Party: With his stringy hair and big, crazy graying beard, Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch looked like he just walked out of a survivalist compound. And though his Neil Young-meets-Kermit the Frog voice couldn’t hit the high notes, he could still shred on guitar like few others in the indie world.

Sept. 16, Titus Andronicus at TWR: I wouldn’t say it was “epic” as much as an attempt at being epic. Every one of Titus’ tuneful anthem punk songs started small before exploding into pounding riffs, sing-along lyrics and the occasional Celtic-flavored melody.

Sept. 24, Serena-Maneesh at TWR: Slowdive. Ride.

My Bloody Valentine. I never saw any of them perform live on stage. And after this show, I get the feeling that Serena-Maneesh will be the closest I’ll ever get.

Oct. 22, Bad Luck Charm at The 49’r: The headliner was BLC, but the real star was the bar itself, which was celebrating its second-to-last show before closing its doors forever.

Nov. 19, Tim Kasher at TWR: Backed by a solid band, an unusually reserved Kasher was all business, serenading the crush mob with solo ballads, Good Life covers and a tip o’ the hat to David Bowie.

Nov. 29, Mark Mallman at TWR: Ever the professional showman, Mallman played as if he were in front of a sold out Carnegie Hall instead of a virtually empty room. He deserved better.

Were we saving the best for last? An early press cycle kept me from including the Dec. 23 reunion of Slowdown Virginia and Polecat, and the Dec. 29 return of Mousetrap to The Waiting Room. I guess I’ll just have to include them on next year’s list. ,

Lazy-i is a weekly column by long-time Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on the Omaha music scene. Check out Tim’s daily music news updates at his website, lazy-i.com, or email him at lazy-i@thereader.com.

hoodoo Reasons to experience Reasons to experience

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cancer in August 2010, and sent home. She remained a fighter, inspiring friends and fans with her positive attitude and grace in the face of a terminal diagnosis.

Her new disc Back in the Fire (Blind Pig) has brought her to a wider audience. The new CD was released this fall to rave reviews and is well worth checking out.

An interview on NPR aired barely a week before her passing, in which she talked about fighting the cancer but also discussed her “sweet departure.” “I’ve learned that time is fleeting, and you should do everything you can do, while you have the chance,” she said in the interview, her voice welling up with emotion.

Find the interview online at npr.org in the Weekend Edition archives. Learn more about Rogers’ life and music at robinrogers.com.

#74 No commercials. !

W l a e R t e G ell, we’re in that never-never land between Christmas and New Year’s. I hope you’ve had peace, comfort and joy in the truest senses in your holiday season. If it was a struggle, remember time keeps passing and things do change. Here’s wishing us all peace, joy, health, prosperity, good fortune and great music in 2011.

www.theatreartsguild.com

Reasons to experience

LIVE THEATRE

#151 No two shows are alike!

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New Year’s Eve New Year’s Eve offers plenty of live music options.

Catch Sarah Benck’s new band The Boring Day- Jon Dee Graham in the Works lights opening for Devon Allman’s Honeytribe at Hoodoo hero and Austin legend Jon Dee Graham has The New Lift Lounge. Sample Allman’s music at thet- two new discs in the works. Chubacabra is a new live ribalcommunity.com. His new CD is Space Age Blues. CD by Jon Dee Graham & the Fighting Cocks that will Tickets are $19.75 advance or $24.75 day of show. soon be available for digital download. Then, Graham’s recent collaboration The New Lift is offering a limwith the iconic Susan Cowsill ited number of reserved tables and acclaimed rocker Freedy for four at $150 purchased in Johnston, recording under advance, this includes a complithe name The Hobarts, culmentary bottle of champagne. minates in the release of their Call the club at 339.7170 for new CD At Least We Have more details.

DEVON ALLMAN’S HONEYTRIBE Each Other. The disc is curRock out at Lincoln’s Zoo Bar with a full night of roots music. The Tijuana rently scheduled for a March 2011 street date. Watch Gigolos play the happy hour slot from 5-7:30 p.m. jondeegraham.com for updates. Graham and Cowsill Admission is $8 advance and $10 day of show. The have both performed in Omaha as part of the Sunday Kris Lager Band plugs in after 9 p.m. for a separate Roadhouse concert series. cover charge of $20 advance/$25 day of show.

Here are a few other New Year’s Eve options. Hot Notes If you’re looking for a family-oriented New Year’s acBlue House is at Ameristar.

Burgundy & Gray play at Pieces Lounge, 2607 tivity, the Henry Doorly Zoo offers a “Noon Year’s S. 120th St. Matt Gagne & the Blues Experience Eve” event Jan. 31, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. with your paid admission or Zoo membership. The Zoo invites families party at Grant Street Bar, 90th and Blondo.

That’s just a sampling of what’s going on around to “have a wild time with activities, entertainment the metro. You can find more blues-roots listings for and an early countdown to 2011.”

Catch the old-school boogie, R&B and classic New Year’s and beyond at omahablues.com. Also try slamomaha.com or omahanightlife.com for more music blues of The Bel Airs at Lincoln’s Zoo Bar Wednesday, Dec. 29, 6-9 p.m. and at The New Lift Thursday, listings.

Dec. 30, 5:30-8:30 p.m. The dance floor will be hopping.

Robin Rogers Dies of Cancer The new Brad Cordle Band is gathering lots Contemporary blues lost one of its up and coming female artists when Robin Rogers died after a cou- of buzz. They play Lincoln’s Zoo Bar for an early 6-9 rageous battle with liver cancer. She passed away at p.m. show on Thursday, Dec. 30.

If you’re looking for a party on Saturday, Jan. 1, home on Dec. 17, with her husband Tony at her side.

She was 55 years old. Rogers was seen locally in 2009 Matt Gagne & the Blues Experience are at Shamdoing some great duo work with Debbie Davies and rock’s, 5338 N. 103rd St. Meanwhile New Orleans’ rock band Cowboy her band. It was the metro’s introduction to Rogers.

The North Carolina native was beginning to estab- Mouth is at the Waiting Room Jan. 1, celebrating the lish herself with the national blues audience. Her kick-off of its 16th Annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras rich, sweet voice would have put her among the top Tour. Lead singer Fred LeBlanc says, “If The Neville women on the national scene if illness had not inter- Brothers and The Clash had a baby, it would be Cowvened. Sadly, she was diagnosed with inoperable liver boy Mouth.” Take a listen at cowboymouth.com. ,

www.theatreartsguild.com

Reasons to experience

LIVE THEATRE #10

Julia Roberts doesn’t need another million dollars.

Hoodoo is a weekly column focusing on blues, roots, Americana and occasional other music styles with an emphasis on live music performances. Hoodoo columnist B.J. Huchtemann is a Reader senior contributing writer and veteran music journalist who has covered the local music scene for nearly 20 years.

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livemusiccalendar SEND CALENDAR INFORMATION — including addresses, dates, times, costs and phone numbers — to The Reader’s calendar editor. Mail to or drop off information at P.O. Box 7360 Omaha, NE 68107; email to listings@thereader.com; fax to (402) 341.6967.

Deadline is 5 p.m. the Thursday prior to issue date.

THURSDAY 30

OPEN MIC, 9 p.m., 12th St. Pub, FREE. GALVANIZED TRON, ELLMATIQ, DARK REIGHN, BUDA FUNK CREW, LUNATIK, (hip-hop) 10 p.m., 415, $5.

SECRET SHOW, (rock) 9 p.m., Barley St. Tavern, $5.

READER RECOMMENDS

Mr. Hand P ixies, Pearl Jam and Led Zeppelin Tribute Bands

Down to Here

Audition Night

Rock Mafia

Easy Street Band

Audition Night

Dr. Bombay

Switchback

Dirty Secret

Audition Night

112 NORTH DUCK, (blues/rock) 8 p.m., Beer & Loathing In Dundee, FREE. RURAL METER FRIENDS, (folk) 8 p.m., Benson Grind, FREE. WHAT’S REALLY HOOD W/ OL’ MOANIN’ CORPSE, DJ RELIC, $BILL, (DJ) 9 p.m., Bricktop, FREE. OPEN JAM, 9 p.m., Chrome Lounge.

OPEN MIC W/ SYLVIA GRIFFITH, (singer-songwriter) 7 p.m., Crescent Moon, FREE. SHITHOOK, (karaoke) 9 p.m., Duffy’s, FREE. CHAD LEE, (country) 9 p.m., Firewater Grille.

NASHVILLE REJECT, (cover) 8:30 p.m., Grove, FREE. NOVAK & HAAR, (jazz) 6 p.m., Jazz Louisiana Kitchen.

THE SUMMER SOUNDTRACK, NAT RUNGE, PILOT FOR KITE, TOM FICKE GROUP, (rock) 9 p.m., Knickerbockers.

LUKE JOHNSON, (singer-songwriter) 8 p.m., LIV Lounge, FREE. THE BEL AIRS, (blues) 5:30 p.m., New Lift Lounge, $9.

CHASERS, (jazz) 6:30 p.m., Ozone, FREE. SWAMPJAM, (blues) 8 p.m., Pour House, FREE. ZACH LEGREW, (singer-songwriter) 10 p.m., Side Door, FREE.

READER RECOMMENDS STOLEN KISSES, OUR HEARTS ARE STARS, DARREN KEEN, (rock/electronic) 9 p.m., Slowdown, FREE. A CHOKING MELODY, LABEL ME RED, DIRE GNOSIS, ANEURYSM, MC GRINGO, RIDERS OF THE APOCALYPSE, (rock/hip-hop) 6 p.m., Sokol Underground, $7.

JR HOSS, (acoustic) 9 p.m., Two Fine Irishmen, FREE. WEST WIND, (country) 9 p.m., Uncle Ron’s, FREE.

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DEC. 30 - JAN. 5, 2011

READER RECOMMENDS THUNDERSTANDABLE, RENT MONEY BIG, THE MACHETE ARCHIVE, (rock) 9 p.m., Duffy’s, $5.

JITTERBUGS’ NIGHT OUT, (jazz/dixieland) 9 p.m., Eagles Lodge, $10.

DJ CHOPPS, 8 p.m., Elite.

ACOUSTIC GROOVE, (rock) 9 p.m., Firewater Grille.

FISH HEADS, (cover) 9:30 p.m., Goodnight’s, FREE. DEREK VENTURA, (cover) 6:30 p.m., Gorat’s, FREE. MATT GAGNE & THE BLUES EXPERIENCE, (blues) Grant St. Bar. NEW YEAR’S EVE BASH WITH DR. BOMBAY AND K9 SUITE, (DJ) 9 p.m., Grove, $5, $10/under 21.

THE GODZ, (cover) 8 p.m., Island Bar, FREE. NIGTH SHAKERS TRIO, (jazz) 8 p.m., Jazz Louisiana Kitchen.

SOUNDBITE, (cover) 9:45 p.m., Kennedy’s, FREE. CYNGE, GRENADES AND HAM, DUSK BLED DOWN, (rock/ metal) 9 p.m., Knickerbockers.

DJ SUIT JONES, 8 p.m., LiT Lounge.

THE PERSONICS, (cover) 9:30 p.m., Loose Moose, FREE. ASHANTI AFRICAN ROOTS & REGGAE DANCE PARTY, (reggae) 9:30 p.m., Louis, FREE. NATALIE THOMAS & KARLEY JURGENSEN, (cabaret) 7 p.m., Market Basket, $60.

CHRIS SAUB, (acoustic) 10 p.m., Myth, $10.

READER RECOMMENDS

THURSDAY NIGHT JAZZ, 7 p.m., Venue, FREE. THE END IN RED, THE CURTAIN CALLS, HELLO FROM GHOST VALLEY, LONELY ESTATES, (rock) 9 p.m., Waiting Room, $7.

MR. HAND, (cover) 8 p.m., Whiskey Roadhouse, FREE. BRAD CORDLE, (singer-songwriter) 6 p.m., Zoo Bar, $8.

DEVON ALLMAN’S HONEYTRIBE, THE BORING DAYLIGHTS, (blues/rock) 8 p.m., New Lift Lounge, $19.75/adv, $24.75/dos.

SOUL DAWG, ROUGH CUT, (cover) 8:30 p.m., Ozone, FREE. THE BISHOPS, LINOMA MASHERS, (ska/reggae) 9 p.m., Pauli’s, $10/adv, $13/dos.

BURGUDNY & GRAY, (blues) Pieces Lounge.

D*FUNK, E-ROK, CHIEF, (cover/DJ) 9 p.m., red9, $20.

HIFI HANGOVER, (cover) 10 p.m., The Reef.

THE BOBBY LAYNE ORCHESTRA, (jazz) 9 p.m., Rococo, $32.

JAMES EHRMAN, (DJ) 9 p.m., 415, $5.

THE FIRM & FRIENDS, (rock) 9 p.m., Side Door.

FRIDAY 31

READER RECOMMENDS

Must be 21 years or older to gamble. Know When to Stop Before You Start®. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-BETS-OFF(Iowa) or 1-800-522-4700(National). ©2010, Caesars Entertainment.

ENCHANTED EVE W/ MORGAN HILLYARD, MISS KNOTTY, MIX MASTER MEZA, (DJ) 8 p.m., Bricktop, $5.

HARD ATTACK, (rock) 9 p.m., Chrome.

PAUL SCOTT HOAGBIN TRIO, (blues/rock/jazz) 6:30 p.m., Crane Cafe and Bar, FREE. JR HOSS, (acoustic) 5 p.m., Cunninghams, FREE. QUARTUS, (cover) 9 p.m., Cunningham’s.

MATT COX TRIO, (acoustic) 9 p.m., 1020, FREE. LAST BLAST WITH PLYMOUTH BRASS, 8 p.m., Abendmusik, $20.

BLUE HOUSE, RENT TO OWN HORNS, (blues) 9 p.m., Ameristar, FREE. DESPERATE BANDWIVES, (cover) 9 p.m., Arena, $10.

ZAC SHORT, SOMETHING TROUPE, PAINT THE COASTLINE, ROBIN FEY, SQUARE 1, (folk/rock) 6:30 p.m., Benson Grind, FREE. MUZIK AMBIENCE BY JACQUES, (piano) 4-7 p.m., Big Mama’s Kitchen.

SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND, KID B, THE ALLENDALES, SCROGGINS AND CLARF, OL’ MOANIN CORPSE, BOLZEN BEER BAND, (various) 8 p.m., Bourbon, $7.

THE TURFMEN, (celtic) 9 p.m., Brazen Head.

LEMON FRESH DAY, DJ MIKEY, (DJ/cover) 8 p.m., Brewsky’s Park Drive, $20.

| THE READER |

music listings

READER RECOMMENDS READER RECOMMENDS HAPPY GOO YEAR W/ BRENT CRAMPTON, (DJ) 9 p.m., Slowdown, $15/adv, $20/dos.

LEARNING TO FLOYD, DISPOSABLE HEROES, (cover/ tribute) 9 p.m., Stir Live, FREE. LAVA ROCKETS, (cover) 9 p.m., Two Fine Irishmen, FREE. WEST WIND, (country) 9 p.m., Uncle Ron’s, FREE. 30 SECONDS LATE, (rock) 9 p.m., Venue 162, $3.

READER RECOMMENDS SECRET WEAPON, (cover) 9 p.m., Waiting Room, $10.

SURFER ROSA, TEN CLUB, SONG REMAINS THE SAME, (cover/tribute) 9 p.m., Whiskey Roadhouse, FREE. TIJUANA GIGOLOS, (blues/rock) 5 p.m., Zoo Bar, $8/adv, $10/dos.

NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH KRIS LAGER BAND, (blues/rock) 9:30 p.m., Zoo Bar, $20.

SATURDAY 1

VIBENHAI, TUGG, H.E.M.P., (jam) 9 p.m., Bourbon, $5, $7/under 21.

DEREK VENTURA, (cover) 6:30 p.m., Gorat’s, FREE.

8TH WAVE, GORRILLA WARFARE, WEST OF REALITY, (punk/rock) 9 p.m., Knickerbockers.

MATT GAGNE & THE BLUES EXPERIENCE, (blues) Shamrock’s.

NEW YEAR’S DAY PARTY, (DJ) 9 p.m., Slowdown, FREE. THE PERSONICS, (cover) 9 p.m., Two Fine Irishmen, FREE. WEST WIND, (country) 9 p.m., Uncle Ron’s, FREE.

READER RECOMMENDS COWBOY MOUTH, DASH DIP ROCK, (rock) 9 p.m., Waiting Room, $15.

DOWN TO HERE, (cover) 9 p.m., Whiskey Roadhouse, FREE.

SUNDAY 2

READER RECOMMENDS SUNDAY GOLD W/ GREG K, (DJ) 9 p.m., 415, FREE. ’80S NIGHT W/ OL’ MOANIN’ CORPSE, (DJ) 8 p.m., Bricktop, FREE. THE KICKBACK, GOOD WITH GUNS, BANDIT SOUND, (rock) 9 p.m., Duffy’s.

LIVE GUITAR, 6 p.m., Espana, FREE. MIDWEST POSSE, (R&B) 6:30 p.m., Side Door, FREE. MOHANNA WITH RED SHOES, (cover) 7 p.m., Whiskey Roadhouse, FREE.

MONDAY 3

SOUP AND SONG W/ KYLE & ANDY, (variety singersongwriter) 8 p.m., Barley St. Tavern, FREE. OMAHA BIG BAND, (jazz) 6:30 p.m., Ozone, FREE.

READER RECOMMENDS SOUR BOY, BITTER GIRL, MIDWEST DILEMMA, (indie/ folk) 9 p.m., Slowdown, $7.

MONDAY MOVIE NIGHT: THE CURE TRILOGY, (rock) 8 p.m., Waiting Room, FREE.

TUESDAY 4

THUNDER ON THE PLAINS CELTIC JAM SESSION, 7 p.m., Crescent Moon, FREE. TRINIDAD, (DJ) 9 p.m., Duffy’s.

BENT LIFE, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, ACID MOUTH, GORRILLA WARFARE, (rock) 9 p.m., Knickerbockers.

TIM KOEHN ACOUSTIC JAM, (acoustic/blues) 7 p.m., Louis, FREE. JR HOSS, (acoustic) 6:30 p.m., Ozone, FREE. CHRIS SAUB, (acoustic) 8 p.m., The Phoenix, FREE. MARK “SHARKY” SANFORD, (piano) 6:30 p.m., The Reef, FREE.

READER RECOMMENDS CONCHANCE, INDREAMS, NO I’M THE PILOT, DAPOSE, (rock) 9 p.m., Waiting Room, $7.

WEDNESDAY 5

THE TURFMEN, (celtic) 7 p.m., Brazen Head.

THE JAZZ AGENDA, 7 p.m., Crescent Moon, FREE. DB REDUCTION, (acoustic/cover) 9 p.m., Cruiser’s, FREE. MANNY COON, MIDWEST DILEMMA, THE BETTIES, (folk) 9 p.m., Duffy’s.

DJ J.A.B., (DJ) 9 p.m., Firewater Grille.

THE ZEBRA JAM, (rock) 9 p.m., Gator O’Malley’s, FREE. CITIES NEVER SLEEP, OUR LIFE STORY, A SUMMER BETTER THAN YOURS, (rock) 6 p.m., Knickerbockers.

LIVE KARAOKE BROADWAY NIGHT, 7:30 p.m., Omaha Community Playhouse, FREE. THE GREAT IMPOSTERS, (oldies) 6:30 p.m., Ozone, FREE. OPEN MIC, 9 p.m., Sean O’Casey’s, FREE.

READER RECOMMENDS MITCH GETTMAN, LANDING ON THE MOON, LONELY ESTATES, (rock) 9 p.m., Waiting Room, $7.

POWERFUL SCIENCE, CLIMATES, WELL-DRESSED MAN IN DISGUISE, (indie/rock) 9 p.m., Zoo Bar, $4.

0

VENUES Ameristar Casino, 2200 River Rd., Council Bluffs, ameristar.com Arena Bar & Grill, 3809 N. 90th St., 571.2310, arenaomaha.com BarFly, 707 N. 114th St., 504.4811 Barley Street Tavern, 2735 N. 62nd St., 554.5834, barleystreet.com Bourbon Theatre, 1415 O St., Lincoln, 730.5695 Downtown Blues, 1512 Howard St., 345.0180 Duffyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tavern, 1412 O St., Lincoln, 474.3453, myspace.com/duffystavern The Hideout, 302 S. 72nd St. Knickerbockerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 901 O St., Lincoln, 476.6865, knickerbockers.net LIV Lounge, 2279 S. 67th St., 884.5410, livlounge. com Louis Bar and Grill, 5702 NW Radial Hwy., 551.5993 McKennaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Blues, Booze & BBQ, 7425 Pacific St., 393.7427, mckennasbbq.com New Lift Lounge, 4737 S. 96th St., 339.7170 Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Leaverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pub, 1322 S. Saddle Creek Rd., 556.1238, myspace.com/oleaverspub Ozone Lounge at Anthonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Steakhouse, 72nd and F, 331.7575, ozoneclubomaha.com.

Pizza Shoppe Collective, 6056 Maple St., 556.9090, pscollective.com Qwest, 455 N. 10th St., qwestcenteromaha.com Side Door, 3530 Leavenworth St., 504.3444.

Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St., 345.7569, theslowdown.com Sokol Hall, 2234 S. 13th St., 346.9802, sokolundergound.com The Sydney, 5918 Maple St., 932.9262, thesydneybenson.com Stir, 1 Harrahs Blvd., Council Bluffs, harrahs.com Venue 162, 162 W. Broadway, Council Bluffs, 712.256.7768, myspace.com/venue162 Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St., 884.5353, waitingroomlounge.com Whiskey Roadhouse, Horseshoe Casino, 2701 32nd Ave., Council Bluffs, whiskeyroadhouse.com Zoo Bar, 136 N.14th St., Lincoln, zoobar.com

0INK &LOYD !.$

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COWBOY MOUTH

Friday, 12/31/10 9:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

SECRET WEAPON NEW YEARS!!!

MONDAY MOVIE NIGHT The Cure Trilogy

w/ InDreama, No Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m The Pilot, & Dapose

WedneSday, 1/05/11 9:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

thurSday, 1/06/11 9:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

w/ Landing On The Moon & Lonely Estates

GUNKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s EXCELLENT ADVENTURE!

Friday, 1/07/11 9:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

w/ Kobrakyle, $pencelove, & VJ Dinan

ANNIVERSAIRE CD RELEASE

Saturday, 1/08/11 9:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

Sunday, 1/09/11 9:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

Monday, 1/10/11 8:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

w/ Cold Steel, Coincide & Illuminati

w/ The Architects & The Beat Seekers

!.$

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MITCH GETTMAN

w/ Bear Stories

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With Special Guests:

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Rock Paper Dynamite

tueSday, 1/04/11 9:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

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Monday, 1/03/11 8:00PM @ the Waiting rooM

4HE "IG $EEP

MusicOmahaShow.com

SPOtlIGHt SHOW

w/ Dash Rip Rock

=MRON_VO KXN K\^S]^] ]_LTOM^ ^Y MRKXQO 7_]^ LO Y\ YVNO\ ^Y QKWLVO 5XYa AROX >Y =^YZ ,OPY\O CY_ =^K\^ Â&#x17D; 1KWLVSXQ :\YLVOW) -KVV Ă " Ă ,/>=900 3X 3YaK Y\ Ă " Ă Ă ! Â&#x160; -KO]K\] /X^O\^KSXWOX^

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1/11/10 KOO KOO KANGA ROO 1/12/10 SOFT ROCK CAFE 1/13/10 TOUBAB KREWE 1/14/10 CURSED BY MOONLIGHT 1/15/10 SAILOR JERRYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PINUP PAGEANT 1/17/10 MOVIE NIGHT: SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL 1/18/10 CURSIVE 1/19/10 FANCY PARTY COMEDY 1/19/10 ANBERLIN/CIRCA SURVIVE 1/20/10 VOODOO METHOD

MONDAY MOVIE NIGHT Heavy Metal Parking Lot

1/21/10 SCREAMING FOR SILENCE 1/22/10 HABITAT FOR HUMANITY CONCERT 1/23/10 AARON MANSFIELD 1/24/10 MOVIE NIGHT: RESPECT YOURSELF 1/27/10 GUNK 1/28/10 THE SHOW IS THE RAINBOW 1/29/10 PLAIN WHITE Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 1/29/10 REBELUTION 1/30/10 GORILLA PRODUCTIONS 1/31/10 MOVIE NIGHT: THE LAST WALTz

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music listings

| THE READER |

DEC. 30 - JAN. 5, 2011

27

GOOD FELLAS NIGHT CLUB

16th & JONES FREE parking for customers!

Big Red Keno Live dancing Monday - Saturday 6 pm – close 402.341.9030 Enjoy your evening Great entertainment and drinks!

Apply in person after 6 pm Monday – Saturday.

28

dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

| THE READER |

E D I T E D

Film’s Year in Review

T

by Ryan Syrek

single ticket of more than $20 (cue the “boing” sound effect), 2010 squatted and dropped a fat, smelly egg at the box office.

The final annual gross will be well below last year’s (down as much as 4 percent), and the total tickets sold (the true gauge of attendance) will be the lowest since 1995 (cue the “wawa” sound effect from “The Price is Right”).

According to boxofficemojo.com, this year saw only 22 films cross the “blockbuster Mendoza line” of $100 million domestic gross, the lowest since 2005. Although it’s hard to hate that Toy Story 3 was the top dog this year with more than $415 million, it’s easy to hate that 7 of the top 10 films were remakes or sequels, with Inception as the only original film in

here are years in film history that have pressed their indelible handprints into our cultural sidewalk, forever changing the way we collectively share and experience cinema. 2010 was not one of those years.

2010 was as unappealing as Facebook status updates from a depressed former high-school acquaintance — “Y won’t anyone luv me?” 2010 was as repetitious as my next sentence.

2010 was as uninspired as an Adam BLUE VALENTINE Sandler comedy, was as expected as an Adam Sandler comedy and was as simplistic as an Adam Sandler comedy.

Sure, there were a few bright spots, but even a crippling migraine comes with a few bright spots. Let’s take a walk down memory lane before you flush this year twice for safety.

We’re (Not) in the Money As is our tradition, let’s do the numbers to kick things off.

Despite the largest annual hike in ticket prices in over a decade (6 percent) and an onslaught of high-price add-ons (like IMAX, 3D … and smello-vision) that allowed for the first-ever

Film Streams at the Ruth Sokolof Theater 14th & Mike Fahey Street (formerly Webster Street) More info & showtimes 402.933.0259 · filmstreams.org Facebook & Twitter: /filmstreams

the top 5 (cue “One of These Things Is Not Like the Other”).

In short, 2010 raised prices, sold less tickets and had less successful movies … and the ones that were successful were uninspired. Happy Holidays from 2010, here’s a fruitcake made of crap.

It’s a Beautiful Year for a Scandal 2010 also offered two interesting lessens in continued hypocrisy and self-entitlement, two great tastes that taste like hate together.

First up was the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) continuing to demonstrate their overall uselessness and sporadic vileness when it comes to rating films. The Tillman Story, a documentary on the friendly fire death and cover up of former NFL star-turned-Army Ranger, was slapped with an “R” for “language.” This continued the MPAA’s insistence that F-bombs and boobies on screen do more to warp our youth than decapitation and disembowelment.

For an encore, the MPAA initially slapped Blue Valentine, an awards hopeful starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as a couple in turmoil, with an NC-17 rating for some emotionally tumultuous sex. Although the rating was later reduced to an “R,” let 2010 be remembered as the year the MPAA reminded the world it is still a useless coalition of moral apologists and morons.

But the best hateful moment of 2010 in film came from Opie and Vince continued on page 32 y

B Y

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S Y R E K

■ Your Zen question of the day: When does being at the top make you feel like you’re at the bottom? Answer: When you are on TorrentFreak’s list of “Most Pirated Movies of 2010.” Guesses as to what the most frequently stolen movie was, clocking in at more than 16.5 million downloads? If you guessed the most recent Twilight movie, you think about pasty vampires too much. The answer is Avatar, which may have lost as much as $250 million in box office. That’s like stealing the food right from the mouths of James Cameron’s children’s real unicorn. Most notable was the second on the list, Kick-Ass, which was downloaded nearly 11.5 million times despite posting a global gross of less than $100 million. Thanks Internet for continuing to ruin the finances of others.

■ Like I’ve always said, if you can’t beat ’em, hope they get disqualified for arbitrary reasons. The best score of the year was either from The Social Network (by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) or Black Swan (by Clint Mansell). Well, Reznor has an easier path to Oscar gold now (that’s a sentence I thought I’d never say), as Mansell’s score got tossed for being “diluted by the use of tracked themes or other pre-existing music.”

He has good company though, as The Fighter, True Grit and The Kids Are All Right were all pitched from competition in a move to remind all of us how much the Academy often hates things that are good.

■ Warner Bros has discovered an additional 17 minutes of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 in one of their seemingly infinite vaults. The footage was cut by Kubrick, so he didn’t want it in there. Still, if I can see another 17 minutes of monkeys, obelisks and starchildren, sign me up, yo.

— Ryan Syrek

CUTTINGROOM

Thanks for Nothin’, 2010

film

Cutting Room provides breaking local and national movie news … complete with added sarcasm. Send any relevant information to film@thereader.com. Check out Ryan on the radio on CD 105.9 (Fridays at around 7:30 a.m.), on his blog at thereader.com/film/C19 and on Twitter (twitter.com/thereaderfilm).

This Week Black Swan First-Run (R) Directed by Darren Aronofsky Now Showing!

Tiny Furniture

First-Run (NR) Directed by Lena Dunham Friday, December 31 - Thursday, January 6

Monday, January 3

Golden Globe Nominee: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Natalie Portman), Best Supporting Actress (Mila Kunis)

Winner: Best Narrative Feature Award at the SXSW Film Festival

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“Visceral and real even while it’s one delirious, phantasmagoric freakout.”

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Student Night at the Ruth Sokolof Theater

“Irresistibly funny.”

—Wall Street Journal

film

| THE READER |

DEC. 30 - JAN. 5, 2011

29

YOU AND A GUEST ARE INVITED TO A SPECIAL SCREENING OF

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Film: Green Hornet Paper: Omaha Reader Run Date: Thursday, January 13 Ad Size: 5x5 Publicist: T. Campbell Artist: L. Hassinger

film m o v i e

r e v i e w s ,

c o m m e n t a r y

y continued from page 31

Vaughan. In a year when suicides by tormented gay youths gained national attention, Ron Howard’s upcoming abomination, The Dilemma, released a trailer wherein Vaughan told a “that’s gay” joke. Blasted by various gay rights organizations, the studio pulled the trailer. Yay for equality and compassion! Wait, what’s that paragraph doing below this one?

Tolerance apparently has a fruit fly lifespan, as Howard quickly announced the gay joke would stay in the final cut of the movie.

In a wrong-headed, self-promoting, B.S.-spewing letter to the Los Angeles Times, Howard defended his decision by citing character development and freedom of ideas. In other words, the contents of that letter are sure to be funnier than his lovely, still bomb-in-waiting.

Thanks for the censorship and discrimination, 2010!

Unless you owned stock in Blockbuster — and if you did … what the hell were you thinking? — the death knell of that company likely saddens you very little. Still, the rise of Netflix and Redbox has meant the eradication of the physical video store, a place where you could once browse the racks with your sweetie and make heartfelt compromises based on back-cover blurbs — “Wow, the guy from Wireless Magazine gave it 4 stars … it MUST be good!” Yes, the convenience and price of these non-brick-and-mortar alternatives is nifty, but pour some of your .40-oz out for the dead corner video store homies. 2010 pounded the nail in their coffin with fists full of dollars.

Oh, and it’s resulting in war: a release date war. Studios are negotiating with On Demand cable services, Blockbuster and other outlets to delay streaming availability to Netflix and rental options for Redbox. These “exclusive win-

127 Hours Boyle’s film is so good, it deserves more than the sound of one hand clapping.

A-

The American C The theory you “could watch George Clooney do anything” is tested.

READER RECOMMENDS

Black Swan A It’s like Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” … only with more sexytime.

dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

| THE READER |

film

m o r e

e d i t e d

b y

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s y r e k

dows” are expanding from a few days to weeks or months, forcing the public to choose between subscription services that offer wider selections or faster releases. Do you want it now or do you want more? Any year that forces us to choose between instant gratification and excess is un-American.

At Least We Live in Omaha Here’s the good news: Omaha is still killin’ it, yo.

Native son Nik Fackler scored a Spirit Award nomination for Lovely, Still. The new, beautiful Aksarben Theater just opened, and the Marcus Midtown Theater just completed its first full year of operation; this gives Omaha the widest selection of theaters in its history, which is never

The Date Wars Are Coming

reportcard

30

a n d

a bad thing. Film Streams at the Ruth Sokolof Theater continues to unspool brilliant art house fare, pump out wicked-cool events and deliver important community involvement … so much so that they were given a fatty-fat grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Heck, they even announced this year that Steven Soderbergh is coming soon (in February).

Thus, safely tucked inside the womb of Omaha, 2010 was definitely livable. Check it out, we ended on a positive.

Look, 2010 could have been worse. No, wait, there was a fourth Shrek sequel this year.

Let’s just quickly flip the calendar and pretend this never happened. , The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The only things tread here are water and patience.

C-

The Fighter If you can be punch-drunk on crack, Bale nails it.

B+

The Tourist As much fun as sifting through the vacation photos of a couple you loathe.

D

True Grit AYippee ty yi yay! The best Western since The Unforgiven.

| THE READER |

DEC. 30 - JAN. 5, 2011

31

thejump

sports

Nostalgia and New Beginnigs

I

by Brandon Vogel

n 1991 Madonna wrote a terrible song called “This Used to be My Playground.” It was a nostalgic slab of nothingness designed to support the singer’s role in the significantly-better-by-comparison baseball film A League of Their Own. The nice thing about 2010 is that, as far as I know, no one used that song in tribute to Rosenblatt Stadium.

This was the year of farewells to the old South Omaha ball yard and from the start of summer on it felt like there was hardly time to do anything but say goodbye. The temptation towards wistfulness was everywhere but rosenblatt stadium folks largely elected to party instead. Well played, Omaha.

In June, Rosenbaltt hosted its final College World Series. This was the big farewell. The reason the dusty old municipal stadium resonates on the larger sporting landscape is because of the CWS, and that whole show moves downtown in 2011. But the last neighborhood party down on South 13th Street didn’t seem to be tinged with too much regret. It was still loud, raucous and hot as ever. The way it should be. And South Carolina won. File that away for sports bar trivia face-offs 30 years from now.

The Royals had their last hurrah at the stadium Sept. 2. The surviving Rosenblatts and 23,000 other Omahans were there for the appropriately reverent send off, but the best gift for fans of Omaha baseball might have been the presence of Mike Moustakas.

The 22-year-old third baseman made Rosenblatt his personal launching pad over the last two

32

dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

months of the season, swatting 15 homers in 52 games with the Royals, and finished with 36 on the season to lead all of Minor League Baseball.

He was, simply, the best player to come through Omaha in a while and it was fitting that he homered in the last home game of the season.

Will he be back next summer to batter Werner Park as a newly minted Storm Chaser? That’s up to the Kansas City Royals. Moustakas is expected to start spring training next season with the big league club.

But that game wasn’t the true end for Rosenblatt either. That honor went to the Omaha Nighthawks, the new United Football League franchise that obliterated attendance records in the fledgling league. Take out the part where the team didn’t

man who built and then revived the storied Bluejay soccer program, abruptly left to coach Penn State. Both coaches were instrumental in building the two tent poles of Creighton athletics and before Memorial Day they were gone.

But their lasting legacy may have been in who the Bluejays were able to get to replace them.

With Morrison Stadium serving as one of the crown jewels in college soccer the Jays snapped up one of the hottest young coaches on the scene in Jamie Clark. He took an unranked team, picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference, to within a penalty kick of advancing to the third round of the NCAA tournament.

The transition on the court has been a little slower to develop but, like they did with Altman, the Jays were able to sway a Big 12 coach to make the move to the MVC. Getting Greg McDermott

courtesy omaha royals

The year in sports

make the league title game hosted in its home stadium — in fact, let’s just ignore that the actual final game at Rosenblatt involved teams from Las Vegas and Florida — and this was a storybook first year for professional football in Omaha. The team reported sellouts for its four home games this year.

Change was the constant elsewhere as well.

In 2010 Creighton lost two coaching legends. In April, Dana Altman, the most successful basketball coach in school history, left for Oregon.

Little more than a month later Bob Warming, the

| THE READER |

sports

says something.

Perhaps the biggest splash of 2010, however, came on the ice. After finishing a respectable 2016-6 last year, University of Nebraska at Omaha Coach Dean Blais was faced with the challenge of moving to possibly the best hockey conference in the country with a team full of freshmen in his second season at the helm.

Few would have faulted the Mavs if they wallowed in the middle of the pack in their first season in the WCHA, but by Christmas UNO had been ranked as high as fourth in

n I wholeheartedly approve of Gregory Echenique’s look. The new Creighton big man sports goggles and the number 00 — the same number Jays alum Benoit Benjamin wore for most of his 15-year NBA career. It’s redolent of late ’80s/early ’90s NBA post players and I can’t decide if he reminds more of Benjamin, Kevin Duckworth, Moses Malone or Antoine Carr (another MVC alum). Those were all big and occasionally begoggled bruisers and that’s what I see when I look at Echenique.

If his play reminds Jays fans of any of those guys, Creighton could be in good shape. Coach Greg McDermott has shown patience working Echenique into the rotation, playing the transfer 18 and 21 minutes in his first two games. The center performed well enough, scoring 28 points and blocking seven shots in 39 minutes, but the real measure of his efficiency might be in what he does to opposing defenses.

Though Echenique hasn’t played major minutes, he’s still gone to the foul line 23 times. He’s a lot to handle inside and that creates individual scoring opportunities while wearing down opposing post players and making things a little easier for Kenny Lawson and Doug McDermott. It’s been a while since Creighton has had that sort of depth and talent inside; and with the Jays still struggling to find consistency from three-point range, post play could become the team’s calling card as it heads for conference play. n Council Bluffs is in the hunt to host Olympic team trials in weightlifting and wrestling in 2012.

The Olympic selection committee announced Columbus, Ohio and Iowa City, Iowa as fellow finalists for the trials scheduled to take place April 20 and 21.

Delegations from the three prospective host cities will travel to the U.S. Olympic Training Facility in Colorado Springs, Colo. to present their bids for the event Jan. 12 and 13. The selection committee is scheduled to announce the host city Jan. 17.

On Dec. 20 Council Bluffs was designated by the Iowa Tourism Board as a Sports Authority District for 2011. The city will receive $50,000 for the promotion of youth, high school and nonprofessional sports next year, the fifth consecutive year Council Bluffs has received the designation.

— Brandon Vogel The Jump takes you behind the local headlines. Email jump@ thereader.com and look for daily updates at twitter.com/brandonlvogel.

the country with wins over traditional powers Minnesota, Michigan and North Dakota. Not bad for a program that didn’t exist 13 years ago and, with half a season still to come, it could be just the beginning.

Isn’t that always the best thing about turning over a new year? Now if we can just make sure that the Black Eyed Peas “Let’s Get It Started” isn’t used to christen TD Ameritrade Park we’ll be in good shape for 2011 as well. ,

United Way of the Midlands

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fri 1/7/2011

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MEN’S BASKETBALL u Saturday, Jan. 1 @ TBD Creighton vs. Drake

u Tuesday, Jan. 4 @ 7:05 p.m.

Creighton vs. Missouri State

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL u Friday, Dec. 31 @ 3:05 p.m.

Creighton vs. Drake Men’s basketball home games played at Qwest Center Omaha (10th & Cass St.) Women’s basketball home games played at the Ryan Athletic Center/D.J. Sokol Arena (19th & Webster St.)

fri 1/21/2011

wed 1/26/2011

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FRIDAY 12/31 vs. BALTIMORE BLAST 2:05PM SUNDAY 1/23 vs. KANSAS CITY COMETS 3:05PM *NOTE: Mexican Nat’l Indoor Team game on 12/12 rescheduled for FEB. ALL HOME GAMES PLAYED AT THE OMAHA CIVIC AUDITORIUM 20TH & CAPITOL

AdvAnce TickeTs noT AvAilAble AT venue | THE READER |

DEC. 30 - JAN. 5, 2011

33

newsoftheweird

T H E W O R L D G O N E F R E A K Y B Y C H U C K S H E P H E R D W I T H I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y TO M B R I S C O E

Unscrupulous Sale

T

he Cabral Chrysler dealership in Manteca, Calif., was so desperate for a sale in October that one of its employees picked up potential customer Donald Davis, 67, at his nursing home, brought the pajamasand-slippers-clad, dementia-suffering resident in to sign papers, handed him the keys to his new pickup truck (with the requested chrome wheels!), and sent him on his way (even tossing Davis’ wheelchair into the truck’s bed as Davis sped away). Shortly afterward, Davis led police on a high-speed chase 50 miles from Manteca.

He was stopped and detained (but at a hospital the next morning, he passed away from heart failure). The Cabral salesman says Davis called him twice the day before, insisting on buying a new truck.

Cultural Diversity Though the death and injury rates for motorbikers in Nigeria are high, compliance with a helmet law is notoriously bad — because so many riders fear “juju,” which is the presence of supernatural spirits inside head coverings. Juju supposedly captures a person’s brain and takes it away, leading most riders to “comply” with the helmet law by wearing only a thin cloth hat that spiritualists assure them will not allow “juju” to take hold (such as Ralph Ibuzo’s Original Lapa Guard, which, in addition to preventing brain disappearance also supposedly prevents disease).

Latest Religious Messages Imagine the surprise in November when a burglar rummaging through the St. Benno Church in Munich, Germany, was suddenly attacked.

He’d bent down to open the donation box, and just then, a statue of St. Antonius fell on top of

him, momentarily knocking him to the floor and forcing him to flee empty-handed.

— Mixed Message: Larry Falter, the owner of a Superior, Wis., jewelry store and an elder in a local messianic church, began staging in November a “Second Coming” sale, supposedly to commemorate the Day of the Lord when Jesus returns, triggering the Apocalypse. Among the responses by local residents: Why would anyone planning to be taken away need jewelry anyway, and, especially, why would Falter need to sell his jewelry instead of just giving it away? Falter says that he owes money to people right now and is obliged to pay them back as best he can before departing.

Questionable Judgments In November, Singapore’s Information Ministry denounced the country’s water polo team for wearing swim trunks in a likeness of the nation’s flag (stars and a crescent) — especially since, on the men’s trunks, the inch-thick, 5-inch-long crescent is placed vertically on the front in what appears to be an “are you glad to see me?” design.

The team’s manager denied even the “slightest intention” of insulting the country.

— An unnamed plumber in Stockholm, Sweden, was arrested in August for attempting to procure sex from an underage girl after he had confronted the girl’s father on the telephone.

According to the plumber, the girl’s sex services were advertised on the Internet, and the plumber paid online and scheduled a session, but the girl failed to show up. The plumber somehow found the girl’s home telephone number and demanded a refund from her father, who reported him to police.

People With Issues “Dr.” Berlyn Aussieahshowna, 37, was arrested in Boise, Idaho, in November and charged with

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DEC. 30 - JAN. 5, 2011

| THE READER |

weird news

COPYRIGHT 2010 CHUCK SHEPHERD. Visit Chuck Shepherd daily at NewsoftheWeird.blogspot.com or NewsoftheWeird.com. Send Weird News to WeirdNewsTips@yahoo.com or P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, FL 33679.

Illustrations by Tom Briscoe (smallworldcomics.com).

practicing medicine without a license after she convinced at least two women to let her fondle their breasts under the guise that she was performing a breast “exam.” According to police investigators, Aussieahshowna is neither a doctor nor even Berlyn Aussieahshowna. She is Kristina Ross, and is not even a biological female, although she was identified in a 2004 arrest as a male-to-female transsexual. Authorities were puzzled why the two women were duped since both times, “Dr.” Aussieahshowna performed her “consultations,” including the exams, in bars.

Update

When News of the Weird reported in 2004 on Disney fanatic George Reiger of Bethlehem, Pa., he was in full glory, with a 5,000-piece collection of Disney character and movie memorabilia and some 2,000 tattoos covering almost all of his body. He said then that he’d been married six times, but that each wife left him, unable to compete with Disney for his affection. In November 2010, Reiger, now 56, opening up to The Philadelphia Inquirer, admitted that he had not been married at all and was in fact extremely lonely in his Disney obsession, but that he had finally found the love of a woman and wanted to end his fanaticism and remove the tattoos.

Bright Ideas Robbery Modus Operandi: (1) Caroline Slusher, 32, and two associates were indicted in Willoughby, Ohio, in the November “armed” robbery of a BP gas station convenience store. After a clerk caught Slusher shoplifting, Slusher raised her arm menacingly and threatened to touch the clerk, claiming she was infected with the highly destructive bacteria MRSA. The clerk backed off, and the three fled. (2) Nakita Norman, 44, aided by two distracting associates, was captured on

surveillance video stuffing two fur coats down the front of her pants, directly into the crotch area, and departing the Sword Furs store in Westlake, Ohio. Norman was arrested based on informants’ tips.

Now, Which One Is the Brake? (all-new) Elderly drivers’ recent lapses of concentration, confusing the brake pedal with the gas: A woman, age 83, accidentally plowed into Lickity Split Yogurt in Carmichael, Calif. (August). A man, 89, accidentally drove into the waters off the Dunedin (Fla.) Marina (but was rescued before his car sunk) (August). A man in his 80s accidentally drove through the front window of the Petco store in Chico, Calif. (August). A woman, 89, accidentally backed over her husband while pulling out of her garage in Allentown, Pa. (April). A woman in her 70s accidentally drove into an optometry office in Anaheim, Calif., in March. A woman, 73, accidentally crashed into a Pizza Hut in Houston (March). A woman, 82, arriving for her appointment at Classic Hair Design in Plainfield Township, Mich., accidentally drove through the front window (April).

A News of the Weird Classic (June 1996) Autobiography of the Least Interesting Man in America: According to a Seattle Times feature in March (1996), Robert Shields, 77 (since deceased), of Dayton, Wash., was the author of perhaps the longest personal diary in history — nearly 38 million words on paper stored in 81 cardboard boxes — covering the previous 24 years in five-minute increments. Example: July 25, 1993, 7 a.m.: “I cleaned out the tub and scraped my feet with my fingernails to remove layers of dead skin.” 7:05 a.m.: “Passed a large, firm stool, and a pint of urine. Used 5 sheets of paper.” ,

The MET Opera Returns Dec. 18

Chicago Symphony Orchestra • Mondays 8 PM Live at the Concertgebouw • Tuesdays 8 PM Modern Classics • Fridays 6pm Midnight Special • Fridays Midnight Metropolitan Opera • Saturdays Noon Classical Guitar Alive • Sundays 10 AM Composer Spotlight • Sundays 11 AM Going Beyond Words • Sundays Noon From The Top • Sundays 5 PM New York Philharmonic • Sundays 6 PM

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weird news

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| THE READER |

dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

35

planetpower w ee k l y

h oroscopes

Happy New Year’s everyone! Thanks for another year of PLANET POWER. I promise my CD, The ZODIAC, will be released in 2011 through my Website one sign at a time, and next week I’ll prepare my year ahead article for your amusement and perusal in The Reader’s Jan. 6 issue. When people party, I work. When people work, I party. I like it like that.

Always have, always will. Thanks for the thrill. I love you all. See you next year, from the best dressed barefoot man you know, the Golden (Silver?) Troll of Rock ‘n’ Roll, MOJO PO(PE) — the High Holy Guru of Omaha Rock ‘n’ Roll Vou Dou. — MojoPoPLanetPower.com j CAPRICORN (12.221.20) How was last week?

How does the MOJO know?

What force forced you to renew, re-screw, review, redo, rescue and regenerate this lifetime’s karma before it’s too late and affecting your mate(s)? Your personal New Year’s New Moon, Solar eclipse is Tuesday, Jan. 4, at dawn, followed by a stream of good aspects minus a square with Saturn (sleep late) but finished off with an energizing lunar/Martian conjunction at dusk. Plant your seeds whether Spiritual or materialistic. Wednesday is beautiful and allows for blessed continuation. Unexpectedly everything works out Thursday. Harmony will be the key. Let’s learn to sing together. You are the DOER. k AQUARIUS (1.21-2.19) Take this week off. For you, this coming week is best served in solitude. It’s all happening in your theoretical 12th House of the sub-conscious, which is best served amidst privacy.

Warm yourself on the embers of your past, to be born again with the Chinese New Year, Feb. 2. Meditate in/on silence. Start now. You are the SILENCE. l PISCES (2.20-3.20) Party next Tuesday. Love or art will be looking for thee. Wake up early or stay out late — or both! Wednesday’s cool, and Friday, Jan. 7, your dreams are due to come true, followed by a beautiful weekend! Start the New Year’s with your new dream. Wish happiness unto all humans on the way to wishing happiness unto all life. You have the power. You’ve always had it. (You’ve always known you had it. Don’t worry, I won’t tell.) As always, you are the DREAMER. a ARIES (3.21-4.20) As usual you’re ahead of everybody. Business is good. Get your new plan together individually and then prepare to share it, if you dare it, with likeminded cohorts in mid January. You are the WARRIOR.

36

dec. 30 - jan. 5, 2011

| THE READER |

mojo

b y

mo j opo

b TAURUS (4.21-5.20) Are you so in love with love that you cannot love your self? (This last statement has at least two interpretations. That’s a clue … ) If love has no meaning, life has no meaning. If life has no meaning it’s because love has had no meaning.

Quietly center yourself. Touch the Earth. Create.

Love is there, across the room/bar in a chair, the proof ’s in your underwear, across the Earth, across the Universe. Find what your dreams are worth. You are our (MOTHER) EARTH. c GEMINI (5.21-6.21) OK, still with us? Good, you made it. We made it. Now what to do with what this last three weeks of December has dealt us/you.

There’s money in mistakes? Find it. You are the OPPORTUNIST. d CANCER (6.22-7.22) Time to low profile for a while. Put any energy you can muster on your partners and/or partnerships, ’cause your ship just isn’t due, BooBoo. You are the SILENCE. e LEO (7.23-8.22) For you, time for work, health and then underground.

Read Cancer for your answer. There’s a lot of freedom in being underground. Everybody thinks you’re cool. You don’t have to say nothin’ with nothin’ to do. Just be cool … You are the FAMOUS! f VIRGO (8.23-9.22) Now’s the time to make your move. Find the grooove and take offff smmoooothhh … like a Porsche convertible veering through the Malibu Hills listening to “Born to be Wild” at full volume. You license plate is CALIFORNIA DREAMING. Can I hitch a ride with you to the ROXY for New Year’s? g LIBRA (9.23-10.22) It’s serious time for you — seriously beautiful. Here come$ the $ub$tance to make your mo$t beautiful dream$ come true. How wa$ you Chri$tma$? Two years from now … ? How does the MOJO know? You are the BEAUTIFUL. h SCORPIO (10.23-11.22) Brothers and sisters are calling you on the astral telephone so you won’t feel alone. Could they use your help? It’s your karma and would please your Mama. Money always helps; favors and the proper gift will heal the rift. How does the MOJO know? He’s a Scorpio. You are the MYSTIQUE. i SAGITTARIUS (11.23-12.21) A strange kiss next week for or from a strange Miss, next Tuesday?

Jesus, It’s either your sister or an Aquarian/Pisces friend of your sisters. How do you get all the people in CB together at the same time? You are the FAMILY REUNION. ,

’ Eve New Year’s

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UÊ iVi LiÀÊÎä]ÊÓä£äÊU 4HERE WILL BE A LARGE GROUP OF !MERI CANS THAT DEVELOP IN THE NEXT YEARS WHO EARN THE NICKNAME h4HE 0OD 0EO PLE v 4HANKS TO THE MULTITUDE OF APPS AND COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES AVAILABLE ON I0HONES AND OTHER SMART PHONES THEY WILL NEVER BE WITHOUT THEIR MOBILE DE VICE WHICH THEY WILL USE TO ORGANIZE THEIR SCHEDULE CONTROL THEIR DIET CREATE EXER CISE PROGRAMS MAKE MOVIES TAKE PHOTO GRAPH AND TEACH THEMSELVES VARIOUS SKILLS

5PON SITTING DOWN OPPOSITE SOMEBODY AT RESTAURANT THEY WILL IMMEDIATELY PLACE THEIR I0HONE ON THE TABLE NEXT TO THEM

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Save the date!

February 13, 2011

Convention Center Council Bluffs, IA

More details coming!

Keep your eyes peeled for the 2011 Visual Arts Showcase dates! www.oea-awards.com