Omaha Block Party | Concert Review

Story by Nick Teets 

| Published Sep 6, 2011

A couple weekends ago, Toyota Antics brought back one of my favorite annual concerts. Each year, the Omaha Block Party sets up behind the Slowdown in Omaha to provide the hip downtown community with a night of free music and expensive booze. Headlining the event this year was Brooklyn’s The Hold Steady and supergroup Mister Heavenly, with support from The Donkeys and Omaha natives The Conduits.

Now, from reading underground music blogs and tween fan sites, I was led to believe that Micheal Cera himself would be playing with Mister Heavenly. Much to my dismay, he didn’t show. Browsing the forums later that night, I would find out that Cera ended his stint with Mister Heavenly to go make some shitty movie (or something of that nature). However, the loss of star power didn’t seem to weigh the band down. Self-coined “doom-wop” pioneers, the band seamlessly melted doo-wop and indie rock with groove & rhythm. Vocalists Nick Thornburn and Ryan Kattner, of Islands/Unicorns and Man Man, respectively, shared vocal duties all night, telling seemingly dark and dramatic tales over the pulsing beat of Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer.

Craig Finn stole the show, however. Leading The Hold Steady through anthem after anthem, Finn let the crowd know how much fun he was having as the ringmaster of a band that looked my dad’s age. It was apparent that age was no issue as the band flew through 16 post-Springsteen indie rock songs. Finn and gang ran around the stage and played their hearts out as any 40-year-old rock star would, and drove straight through crowd favorites such as ‘Hurricane J’ and’ The Weekenders.’ However, after the hundredth time Craig Finn reminded the audience to “stay positive,” the band wrapped up their set and left a hungry crowd with no encore.