THE READER OMAHA JUNE 2023

FLI

PC OV ER

Ju n e 2 0 2 3 | vo lUME 30 | I SSUE 04

M U S I C

I S S U E

The Zoo Bar Turns 50!

Historic Venue In Lincoln Keeps The Blues Alive

Story By B.J. Huchtemann photos By chris bowling

MORE 

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Dish: A Day at Henry Doorly Can Be a Walk in the Park

Film: Where have You gone, ‘Bull Durham’?

Editor’s Note: The Reader & El Perico plan to end in September

M E M O R I A L PA R KC O N C E R T. C O M C O N U N I N V I TA D O E S P E C I A L

HERMAN’S HERMITS PROTAGONIZADO PETER NOONE

MELISSA ETHERIDGE VIERNES 30 DE JUNIO

FUEGOS ARTIFICIALES ESPECTACULARES DESPUÉS DE EL CONCERTO!

6:30 PM

PATROCINADO POR

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June 2023

PATROCINADOR DE RADIO

GESTIONADO POR

June 2023

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t a b l e

o f

c o n t e n t s

Good 06| Jobs Summer Jobs

n ew s

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News | Into the Fire: Wildfires, Spurred by Climate Change, Leave Scars in Nebraska Communities

Cover | Lincoln’s Historic Zoo Bar

14

Celebrates 50 Years of Keeping Roots Music Alive and Thriving

f ea tu res 26| Picks Cool Things To Do in June

29| Backbeat

18| Music

Enjoli & Timeless Are Popping Up All Over

Legendary Jazz Guitarist Recalls His Omaha Roots

22| Theater

30| Dish

‘Buffalo Women’ Come to Life on the Stage

24| Culture A Make Believe Story

34| Film Review

40| Over the Edge

‘GOG Vol. 3’ is a Great Family Film for Families That Love Animal Cruelty

A Killer of a Grand Opening

36| HooDoo Zoofest Promises a Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On

38| Crossword

It’s a Zoo Out There

by Matt Jones

32| Film

39| Comics

Where Have You Gone, ‘Bull Durham’?

by Jeff Koterba, Jen Sorensen & Garry Trudeau

publisher/editor........... John Heaston john@thereader.com graphic designers........... Ken Guthrie Albory Seijas news..........................Robyn Murray copy@thereader.com production editor... Michael Newgren spike@thereader.com lead reporter............... Chris Bowling chris@thereader.com associate publisher.... Karlha Velásquez karlha@el-perico.com report for america corps member..........Bridget Fogarty bridget@el-perico.com creative services director....................... Lynn Sanchez lynn@pioneermedia.me

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS arts/visual.................... Mike Krainak mixedmedia@thereader.com backbeat.................... MarQ Manner backbeat@thereader.com dish................................ Sara Locke crumbs@thereader.com film.................................Ryan Syrek cuttingroom@thereader.com hoodoo................. B.J. Huchtemann bjhuchtemann@gmail.com over the edge..............Tim McMahan tim.mcmahan@gmail.com theater.................... Beaufield Berry coldcream@thereader.com

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Stay Up to Date on City and County Meetings

New Film Reviews Every Friday From Ryan Syrek

Shop Local & Visit These Great Omaha-Area Farmers Markets

“Immigrants’ Rights In Nebraska | Derechos de los inmigrantes en Nebraska

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June 2023

Proud to be Carbon Neutral

Farewell for Now

The Reader and El Perico plan to end with September’s issue It was always an unexpected journey.

What started in 1992 as Sound News & Arts to preserve the old Sokol polka hall (today’s Admiral), led to launching an alternative investigative newsweekly with arts coverage that caught the wave that was Omaha’s indie culture explosion and all that followed. Partnering with Omaha’s original bilingual media helped center equity in our coverage and contributing to a vibrant nonprofit and community media ecosystem, one that helped bend local news coverage to be more fair and just. It’s been nothing short of an incredible adventure and honor.

However, due to life circumstances, I’ve decided it’s time that I can no longer do what’s best for myself or those closest to me by being a local media owner and operator. I currently intend for The Reader and El Perico to cease operations, effective by the end of August, and with our September issue.

This isn’t an easy decision, but I’ve made no secret of my medical challenges. I thought I could come back as if nothing had changed. But I made a commitment to myself and now, a bit over a year out, is a time for a reckoning to honor that, even as my treatments continue.

I need to slow down. I need to find more space in my life.

I will focus my time catching my breath, managing health, maybe even smelling some roses, with some consulting, thinking about the future of local media and hoping to otherwise make myself useful.

This is a very personal decision. I’m still very bullish on local media opportunities and still intend to contribute as I’m able in other capacities. The Reader and El Perico are viable businesses with some extra work, financing and if you can find that secret sauce with some staying power, potentially quite profitable. They have a lot of the right ingredients, but this line cook has to hang up

his apron. They could only continue in the right hands, and if you think that’s you, I’m open to a conversation.

Absent that, the hardest part of this is helping our outstanding team find their own next adventures. They embraced our mission and there is not a group out there more dedicated to supporting and telling stories that need to be told. I can not endorse them enough. Any organization would be lucky to have them.

I want to express my deep gratitude for a city full of stories we’ve been allowed to tell over these last decades. These are your stories. It’s been our honor to share them. Grateful for an audience that supported that coverage. For all of our paid members, we will prorata refund your membership fees, though we would encourage you to redirect them as donations to Omaha Documenters. That’s the type of program that will really redefine journalism’s future.

Fortunately, we have a number of great, strong local community newsmedia operations — Flatwater Free Press, the Omaha Star, 1st Sky Omaha, Mundo Latino and Nebraska Examiner — working on reinventing local media and journalism. They have my full support and I hope I can help them thrive to meet the needs of our growing, diverse metropolis.

So as we wind down almost 55 combined years (29 years for The Reader, 24 years for El Perico), we’d love to hear your stories, and to share those in these last issues.

And you can bet there will be a little shin-dig at that old polka hall. Welcome any thoughts or suggestions on that. Let’s celebrate all that we’ve done together.

Thank you, as always, for reading.

John Heaston publisher/editor

June 2023

5

O M A H A

J O B S

Beat the Heat with Good Summer Jobs Omaha internships, seasonal work and volunteer opportunities abound

by Elle Love

F

lowers are blooming, tem­ peratures are rising, and everyone has one ques­ tion: “Where am I working this summer?”

OK, maybe not. But for young people, those transition­ ing jobs, or others looking to volunteer, summer is a great time to learn about potential careers, build your resume or get involved in the community.

Seasonal Jobs With the City Omaha Parks and Recreation hires more than 400 peo­ ple every sum­ mer to help at day camps, public pools, trap and skeet ranges, marinas, golf courses and much more.

Kiewit Corporation Kiewit, one of America’s largest con­ struction com­ panies, has a few summer internships available at its headquarters in Omaha. Kiewit’s business services intern will help with day-to-day operations while its compliance intern will utilize

6

analytics, business and ac­ counting skills.

First National Bank of Omaha First Na­ tional Bank of Omaha is looking for a graphic de­ sign intern to work under brand standards to develop graphics for banners, social media, presentations, fly­ ers, posters, T-shirts and more.

Metropolitan Utilities District Omaha’s water and natural gas provider has internships in data ana­ lytics, geographic information systems, communications and customer engagement.

Planned Parenthood If you’re interested in civic engage­ ment, repro­ ductive rights or nonprofit work, Planned Parenthood North Central States is hiring a public affairs intern.

June 2023

Volunteer Opportunities If you’re not looking for extra income, there’s a vari­ ety of ways to volunteer.

Several volunteer opportu­ nities are available at Omaha gardens through the City of Omaha, City Sprouts, The Big Garden, Lauritzen Gardens, the Benson Community Garden and the United Way of the Mid­ lands.

Lutheran Family Services has volunteer opportunities to work with its refugee reset­ tlement program. Together, which advocates against home­ lessness and poverty in Omaha, offers volunteer and internship opportunities to help with its food pantry, events and other needs. No More Empty Pots, which advocates for communi­ ty growth and food security, is also accepting volunteers.

Those interested in men­ toring can join Latino Center of the Midlands’ Pathways to Success program, which fosters student leadership and aims to strengthen familial relation­ ships. Other mentorship oppor­ tunities are available through Boys Town, the Hope Center for Kids, Youth Emergency Ser­ vices, Big Brothers Big Sisters of

the Midlands and Partnership 4 Kids.

SHARE Omaha, which sup­ ports Omaha’s nonprofits, keeps a database of hundreds of year-round volunteer oppor­ tunities. As of this writing, there are more than 400 open posi­ tions for the summer.

Start Planning for Next Year Step-Up Omaha has placed thousands of 14 to 21-year-olds in beneficial summer jobs since the Empowerment Network started it as the Great Summer Jobs program in 2008. Applica­ tions usually open early in the year and close between March and April.

The Latino Center of the Midlands’ Siembra Nebraska program has five internship tracts that connect students age 16 to 21 with jobs in urban agriculture, me­dia, business, construction and public health.

College students can check career services such as Hand­ shake at joinhandshake.com for postings from local universities.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s internship co­ ordinators can be found here.

June 2023

7

Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group Inc.

with Job Ref# 067463 in subject line.

Company: Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group Inc. Job Title: Software Engineer #459750 Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group Inc. has mult. openings for Software Engineer in Omaha, NE; travel and/or reloc to various unanticipated locations throughout the U.S. is required. Telecommuting may be permitted. Responsible for designing, programming, coding, & analyzing new computer programs & data structures in accordance with specifications & user needs. Req. Bachelor’s degree in Comp Sci, Engg (any), or related tech/analytical field, plus five (5) yrs of exp in an IT/ Comp-related position.

To apply, email Resumes via email to Ctlyst_postings@concentrix.com with Job Ref# 459750 in subject line.

Company: Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group Inc. Job Title: Programmer Analyst #459729 Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group Inc. has mult. openings for Programmer Analyst in Omaha, NE; travel and/or reloc to various unanticipated locations throughout the U.S. is required.

Telecommuting may be permitted.

Responsible for designing, developing, integrating and implementing of business and process automation solutions for the enterprise. Req. Master’s degree in Comp Sci, Engg (any), Business Admin, or related tech/analytical field, plus two (2) yrs of exp in an IT/Comp-related position.

To apply, email Resumes via email to Ctlyst_postings@concentrix.com with Job Ref# 459729 in subject line.

Company: Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group Inc. Job Title: Software Development Engineer in Test #000445 Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group Inc. has mult. openings for Software Development Engineer in Test in Omaha, NE; travel and/or reloc to various unanticipated locations throughout the U.S. is required. Telecommuting may be permitted. Responsible for developing and writing computer programs to store, locate, and retrieve specific documents, data, and information. Req. BS degree in Comp Sci, Engg (any), or related tech/ analytical field, plus 5 yrs of exp in an IT/ Comp-related position. To apply, email Resumes via email to Ctlyst_postings@concentrix.com with Job Ref# 000445 in subject line

Software Development Engineer in Test #067463 Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group Inc. has mult. openings for Software Development Engineer in Test in Omaha, NE; travel and/or reloc to various unanticipated locations throughout the U.S. is required.

Telecommuting may be permitted.

Develop/write computer programs to store, locate, and retrieve specific documents, data, and information. Req. Master’s degree in Comp Sci, Engg (any), or related tech/analytical field, plus one (1) yr exp in an IT/Comp-related position.

To apply, email Resumes via email to

Ctlyst_postings@concentrix.com

8

June 2023

June 2023

9

N E W S

Into the Fire

Wildfires, Spurred by Climate Change, Leave Scars in Nebraska Communities

by Jenna Ebbers | Photo courtesy of Brian Sisson

T

he wind kicked up parched earth, blowing it across drought-stricken fields in southwestern Nebraska.

In the dry farmland sits Arapahoe, a town of about 1,000 that has one of the few movie theaters in a 30-mile radius and sits at the intersection of two state highways that stretch for miles across the flat landscape.

It was April 7, 2022, when Brian Sisson got the call.

Fire near Arapahoe.

Sisson had extinguished plenty of fires in his 15 years as chief of the town’s volunteer fire department. One time he helped put out a fire that stretched 1,200 acres. But this was different.

“You couldn’t even fathom what you were seeing, what you’re going through, how fast everything moved,” Sisson said as he remembered flames that reached higher than his truck and smoke so thick it felt like his eyes were always closed. “It was just crazy.”

The wildfire burned 30,000 acres. Two weeks later another fire ignited 15 minutes away near the town of Cambridge and burned 44,024 acres. In total, the two fires burned a chunk of land about the size of Omaha and caused nearly $2.3 million in damage, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. It also led to the deaths of two firefighters. By year’s end, 2022 would be the second-most active for wildfires in state his-

10

The Road 739 fire, photographed at night outside Arapahoe, Nebraska. tory, according to the Nebraska Forest Service.

of things they don’t want to talk about.”

But a year after the wildfires were extinguished, anxieties still smolder.

‘Close to Hell’

Climate change, drought and ecological changes are increasing wildfire risks in Nebraska, experts say. Fighting these blazes also introduces challenges for rural fire departments, which are overwhelmingly volunteer-based, as well as for residents who have to adjust to these new natural disasters.

“I think it’s still fresh in everybody’s mind, especially the firefighters I have in our department,” Sisson said. “I think a lot of people have seen a lot of things that they don’t want to talk about and experienced a lot

June 2023

As Sisson approached the wildfire outside Arapahoe, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. By 2 p.m. the blaze, later named the Road 739 Fire, spread rapidly as winds whirled at around 60 mph. State fire marshal investigators later determined the fire sparked after a tree branch had fallen onto a power line and spread as it ignited dry grass.

The fire was unlike anything Sisson had seen. The air, thick with smoke and ash, reminded him of a blizzard. Several firefighters fled after their trucks broke down to avoid being engulfed in the flames, he said.

“My best description of the initial attack phase would be Hell,” Sisson said. “If that is anything close to Hell, I would never want to visit.”

Sisson manned a 1,200-gallon tanker truck filled with water, at first using it as a refilling station for other trucks but eventually as a way to fight fires in fields.

By the time he returned to the station at 1:30 a.m. he saw other firefighters’ eyes, bloodshot from staring through smoke all day. That night he barely slept.

By 7 a.m. he was back running incident command, operating on 12-hour shifts with another chief.

In Nebraska, nearly 90% of all firefighters are volunteers like

N E W S Sisson and his crew, and that produces obstacles. “[The department’s] trucks are not normally meant to do what we’re asking them to do. You’re asking it to go through heat and smoke,” Sisson said.

“So regular maintenance is key.”

ignition from lightning storms,” reads a 2015 UNL report.

“Combining drier conditions with higher fuel loads will lead to more catastrophic fires with erratic fire behavior … These fires will be more severe, placing entire ecosystems at high risk.”

A combination of factors is increasing these risks, including more available fuel.

the understory of a forest, the shorter cedars create a ladder for the fire, crawling upward and igniting the larger trees.

“That changes the way a fire behaves from a low-intensity surface fire into what we call a crown fire, a much more intense fire that’s much more damaging, and they’ll often spread over a much larger acreage,” Wedin said.

“I don’t have a crystal ball,” he said. “We need … good rains to keep down that fire risk as things warm up, dry out and get windy.”

‘I Don’t Know if You Can Say We’re Fully Recovered’ In the week it took to contain the wildfire near Arapahoe, Sisson watched his community come together. Ninety fire departments, as well as the Nebraska National Guard, converged to quell the fire from April 8-12, he said. Firefighters spent 10- to 12-hour shifts dousing flames or running communications while local farmers joined to protect their property.

Without them, Sisson expects the number of homes lost could have gone from seven or eight to 20.

Increased frequency and While Sisson severity of drought in Nebraska said there also has an effect. In 2012 and isn’t much 2013, Nebraska experienced he’d change some of its worst drought since about how his the Dust Bowl, and for much of crew fought 2023 most of the state has been “The the fires, radio in a severe level of drought, structure of communiaccording to the U.S. Drought the forest is cation was Monitor based at UNL. Nechanging; difficult. Each braska’s fire season, which was the structruck was considered to stretch from early ture of the equipped with summer to mid-fall, is now a grasslands is a radio; howNearly 90% of all year-round threat, according to changing.

So, ever, not every firefighters in Nebraska “I just couldn’t believe how the U.S. Department of Environthere’s more station of the are volunteers. much help we received and ment and Energy. fuel that can dozens of how everybody came together contribute departments Mark Svoboda, a climatologist and we had one common goal,” to a severe fire,” said David that responded to the fire used and director of UNL’s Drought Sisson said.

Wedin, an ecosystem ecologist the same frequency. This made Mitigation Center, said he can’t and professor at the University it nearly impossible to commuBut two weeks later, a secpredict the severity of a wildfire of Nebraska-Lincoln’s School of nicate, Sisson said. ond, more severe burn formed season based solely on drought Natural Resources.

15 miles west near Cambridge. levels, but consistent rain Statewide only 27 of the It would later be called the Road lessens the odds.

Wildfires, like campfires, 429 rural fire departments and need to build off ambulance services have radios smaller kindling, that can access the Nebraska such as dry grass, State Radio System established leaves, branches in 2010, according to the and other brush.

Nebraska Examiner. During this Controlled burns legislative session, state Sen. Tom Brewer proposed allocating have been used throughout $26 million to outfit units with history by Native the centralized communication American tribes tool — which can cost about to clear forests $52,000 per department. As of and grassland this writing the bill has not been of this material, passed. but Wedin said Since last year’s fires, Sisson the practice isn’t has been working to supply being utilized each of the trucks with multiple enough today. radios in case a similar situation In Nebraska’s arises — something experts say more wooded climate change, drought and areas, species such ecological changes are making as the eastern more likely. red cedar have “Wildfires in Nebraska are found a way to expected to increase in frequenthrive underneath cy because of drier conditions, taller pines. If a The Arapahoe wildfire burned 30,000 acres. Two weeks later a fire with more fine fuels and more fire catches in ignited 15 minutes away near Cambridge and burned 44,024 acres.

June 2023

11

N E W S 702 fire. Sisson and his crew were once again deployed.

provided by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Hansen said, one of the Nebraska Farm Crisis Council’s many partners, which also include the state’s Department of Agriculture, United Methodist Church, Farm Aid and Legal Aid of Nebraska.

“Everybody was exhausted already from two weeks prior, and we were still fixing trucks and everything,” Sisson said.

“It just took the wind right out of me.”

That fire burned up another huge swath of land and led to the death of retired Cambridge Fire Department Chief John P. Trumble, 66. Trumble was acting as a fire spotter when he swerved off the road and was overcome by smoke and flames.

Darren Krull, 54, the Elwood Volunteer Fire Department chief in Gosper County, died in a head-on collision on April 7 in the Road 739 fire. Justin Norris, 40, emergency manager for Phelps County and Sisson’s brother-in-law, was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries from the crash. Sisson and around 15 other firefighters were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

Those deaths, lost property and memories of wildfires that turned farmland into infernos still linger in southwestern Nebraska.

“On the surface, the community of Arapahoe is doing very well, and if you were not from the area, you would most likely not know that it ever happened,” Arapahoe Mayor John Koller said in an email. “Although, beneath the surface, it is very much a memory that will be on the minds of this community and surrounding area for a very long time.”

Volunteer firefighter Brian Sisson remembers flames higher than his truck and smoke so thick it felt like his eyes were always closed.

Road 739 and Road 702 fires, housing families and community members who had been displaced due to mandatory evacuation orders. At least one student’s home was lost, Stagemeyer said.

Sisson and his wife have had their three kids speak to a counselor following the fires.

“If I put myself in my kids’ shoes and I saw that, how would you digest that? You don’t know exactly what’s going on. All you see is smoke. You see orange glow and flames,” he said. “So, a lot of kids, mine included, we ended up taking them to counseling.”

To this day, the fire department tries to warn the school before firefighters ring their sirens, Sisson said.

“I don’t know if you can say we’re fully recovered. I know there’s still a lot of emotion,” he said.

As fires burn Nebraska farmland, pastures and homesteads, local farmers see an already-volatile industry become more harsh, according to John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union and secretary of the Nebraska Farm Crisis Council.

Calls to the council’s Rural Response Hotline, which connects people with mental health resources in addition to food, legal and other types of assistance, have been increasing. In 2019, the council helped distribute 2,200 vouchers for free mental health consultations.

In 2022, the number was 8,600, Hansen said. The vouchers are

12

Hansen said if you want to gauge a farmer’s mood, the forecast is a good indicator.

“Tell me if it’s going to rain,” Hansen said. “If so, how much and when and where?”

In the year since the fires, Sisson said life has moved on for the Arapahoe Fire & Rescue Department. They’re still working on repairing damaged equipment. Sisson also had to let go of the truck he used to fight the Road 739 fire when he passed it on to the Dunning Volunteer Fire Department in central Nebraska.

“Especially when the wind blows,” he said.

The school quickly became an evacuation site during both the

About half of rural Nebraskans are concerned about more extreme droughts and temperature increases and agree that humans are contributing to climate change, according to the 2022 Nebraska Rural Poll from UNL. Research from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Minnesota and University of Iowa as well as federal agencies also found drought is a major contributor to farmers’ stress levels and recommended early mental health intervention when droughts are identified.

‘A Lot of Sadness’

Koller said many people in the community are now more aware than ever of the risk factors for wildfires.

Many kids from the area also have memories of the blaze, said Reid Stagemeyer, technology director at Arapahoe-Holbrook Public Schools.

The increase could be due to a variety of reasons, according to Hansen, such as more awareness of the program, accessibility to vouchers and advertising. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and weather have all had impacts on farmers’ mental health.

Only 27 of the 429 rural fire departments and ambulance services have radios that can access the Statewide Radio System.

June 2023

“I ran in that truck for almost 12 hours, me and another guy, and we had our ups and downs with it,” he said. “By the end of the night, it took us home, and it got me home.”

NEWS

Quality Assurance Engineer

The flag that flew above the Arapahoe Fire & Rescue Department during the Road 739 and Road 702 fires, framed inside Brian Sisson’s home. Inset: A memorial image for the two firefighters who died fighting those fires.

Sisson has also been working to design and install decals in memory of the two who lost their lives during the fires on every truck at the department in Arapahoe, as well as trucks at other fire departments that helped fight the wildfires.

At his home, Sisson has framed and hung the American

flag that flew above the Arapahoe Fire & Rescue Department during Road 739 and Road 702 fires — moments in his life he will never forget.

“There’s a lot of sadness in these fires,” he said, “and it’s just unfortunate that a lot of bad things had to happen.”

Design, implement, collaborate and consult on automated testing strategies.

Leverage automation to create test scripts and standards for visualizing and reporting system health. Implement tools and processes enabling consistent visualizations and report across solutions. Perform regression testing to identify risks and interdependencies prior to releases. Design and develop testing solutions and automation. Create, design and execute test plans and cases for multi-component products across multiple resources and parallel development tracks. Analyze business requirements and design documents for completeness and testability. Perform and coordinate test validation activities; participate in selection, support and maintenance of testing automation tools; develop technical documentation and guidance. Identify and track defects; perform root cause analysis; collaborate with technology teams to resolve. Define quality metrics and implement measurements to determine test effectiveness, efficiency and solution quality. Identify, test, track and report KPI trends for platforms and complex distributed systems. Champion testability and quality assurance practices, provide technical expertise and support; contribute to development of QA guidance and testing strategies.

Minimum Requirements: Bach degree or equiv in Software Engineering, CS, MIS, or closely related field with 4 years of exp with QA strategies, test planning and design including: exp with automation and scripting languages (C#, Angular, PowerShell, JavaScript, Selenium, NUnit), development tools (Visual Studio, Visual Code, Postman, JMeter, Chrome development tools), web technologies and frameworks (HTML5, JavaScript, CSS, Angular, ReactJS), Microsoft SQL Server or similar data repository for apps and test data, assessing risk, implementing risk-based testing strategies using CI/CD tools (Azure pipelines, Octopus, Jenkins), creating visualizations, supporting data and tests and in functional, performance and system integration testing across variety of platforms, software quality strategies and tactics, logging/app monitoring tools, modern tech platforms, and scheduling platforms, continuous builds, and source control repositories; understanding of service based, multi-tier, object-oriented architectures; and knowledge of performance testing and stress testing tools and techniques.

Send resumes to C. Messersmith, Farm Credit Services of America, 5015 S. 118th St, Omaha, NE 68137 or caylee.messersmith@fcsamerica.com.

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Visit mccneb.edu/CareerForward for more information.

June 2023

13

COVER

Sweat, Soul & Magic

Lincoln’s Historic Zoo Bar Celebrates 50 Years of Keeping Roots Music Alive and Thriving

by B.J. Huchtemann | Photos by Chris Bowling

“I

left buckets of sweat on that stage,” musician Johnny Reno remembered via email. Looking back on his gigs at Lincoln’s historic Zoo Bar, the sax man added, “It was cramped, it was hot, it was loud as a train, the sound system was weak, I fell off that stage more than once. WE LOVED THAT PLACE!” The Zoo Bar in Lincoln has been called an alley with a roof on it by local drummer Dave Robel. It was dubbed the Carnegie Hall of the Blues by Americana songwriting star Dave Alvin. The historic blues venue celebrates its 50th anniversary in July.

Reno, a Fort Worth, Texas, musician and his band, Johnny Reno & the Sax Maniacs, packed Midwest clubs in the ’80s and ’90s with their blend of jumpblues and rockabilly. Reno was famous for charismatic showmanship that included playing his sax while doing spirited walks across tabletops and even on top of the bar.

“The exuberance of the audience at The Zoo Bar took us by surprise,” Reno wrote. “From the first song, the place went crazy! Non-stop dancing around the whole room. We played, they danced, on a school night too, and they stayed as long as we did! It was unpretentious, it was rowdy, and the audiences loved to dance.

“And, this is the most important thing,” Reno explained,

14

Josh Hoyer [with his band, pictured above], Levi William, Sean Benjamin and Kris Lager were all raised and fed from the music of The Zoo. “The owner, Larry Boehmer, was a musician, a music lover, and a friend. He was so friendly and accommodating, not your usual club management experience.

He was a lot like [Austin, Texas, club owner] Clifford Antone, always looking after the musicians that came to his club. As much as anything, Larry was the reason we enjoyed playing The Zoo Bar, because he knew what it took to get up there! The long drives, the crappy road food, the even more crappy motels, we just needed a good place to do our music.”

June 2023

The late Boehmer was the sole owner and talent booker of the club beginning in 1977. In the early ’70s, it was his friends Jim Ludwig, Bill Kennedy and Don Chamberlin who had purchased the bar. Boehmer began bartending at The Zoo Bar while working on his master’s in fine art at UNL. He was a hard-core blues fan in the days when it took pilgrimages to Chicago to find old blues recordings on vinyl. He soon got permission to stock the jukebox with blues.

Dave Robel was part of the second band to play The Zoo

Bar in 1973 with The Megatones, one of Charlie Burton’s many bands through the years.

Robel still gigs at The Zoo weekly as the drummer for the band Shithook, which plays live band karaoke most every Thursday at 9 p.m.

Originally the bands set up along the north wall. “There was no stage, no PA, no lights,” Robel recalled via email.

“Someone got the idea to put the bands in the back of the bar, east end. The problem was there was a foosball table there!

So we had to carry the damn

COVER The zoo bar bar.

foosball table out to the back alley, then set our stuff up. At the end of the gig we had to tear down our equipment and bring the table back from the alley into the bar. Pain in the ASS!!!

Luckily that was short lived — someone stole the foosball table from the alley!

Pete Watters took over as the sole owner of The Zoo in 2001 after Boehmer retired, and he’s been there over half his life.

Watters became a bartender in approximately 1985 or ’86, when Keith Landgren was manager. He expected it to be a temporary job. When Landgren

left in the mid-1990s, Watters took over as manager.

Watters remembers his first experiences at The Zoo clearly.

It was 1978. At that time the legal drinking age was 18, and some bars may have been lax in enforcing the law.

“I came to Lincoln when I was 17, and this was one of only two bars I couldn’t get into,” Watters said, laughing, “the other being the Uncle Sam’s Disco at 25th and O … I wanted to see what was happening in here, but yeah, I had to wait till my birthday.”

The entrance to one of the most iconic blues bars in all of Nebraska.

Asked what the first band he saw at The Zoo was, Watters answered, “I think it was Magic Slim, but I’m not positive.

Once I started coming, I started coming here a lot and a whole world was opened up to me. I knew who B.B. King was, and that was the extent of my blues knowledge … I was a big B.B. King fan. We would

listen in the dorms all the time. I’d always played B.B. King records and stuff like that …

I was a big soul fan and, and rock and roll fan.

But, you know, I didn’t know Robert Cray, Albert Collins, Luther Allison and James Harman, The Bel Airs, you know, all that stuff. It was just wild, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“Luther Allison and Albert Collins and Magic Slim were just absolutely mind blowing to me,” Watters added. “Magic Slim became a good friend.

But, the first time the James Harman Band came in here, I was just knocked out. I thought, I still think that’s one of the best bands I’ve ever seen in my life.

“One that was crazy to me was … you know, Robert Cray was $3 or Luther Allison was $3, $4, and $2 for some things that I couldn’t believe how good they were. All of a sudden there’s a band I’d never heard of, and

they were a big jump in the cover. It was $6 or $8, something like that. I was really poor.

It was not easy, but I said, ‘Man, I’ve seen all these unbelievable things for two or three dollars.

I’ve gotta check out this $6 or $7 or $8 thing.’ And that’s the first time I saw Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. And I had no idea who they were before I saw that … But the only reason I went is because The Zoo Bar had never let me down,” he said, laughing. “And so I said, this must be important, this must be good.

But I didn’t know who they were until this, until I saw ‘em.”

Thanks to Boehmer’s dedication to booking the most

June 2023

15

COVER celebrate his life and gather his friends together. People came from Lincoln, Omaha and around the country, including Boehmer’s longtime hero and friend Charlie Musselwhite. Boehmer lost his battle with cancer in 2012. Musselwhite returns to The Zoo as a headliner for this year’s 50th anniversary celebration.

acclaimed original blues artists he could, the young Watters and The Zoo audience learned about the best of this uniquely American music by seeing and hearing the best. This was music that wasn’t heard much outside of small urban clubs.

In 1974, Boehmer hired a rising star in the blues “One of the world, guitarist most wonderful Luther Allison, Some of the staff at the Zoo Bar. Front row, from left: Amanda Watters, Jean things about to play The Johnson, Dominic Brazda, Tim Carr, Otto Meza, Pete Watters (owner). Back row: The Zoo is that Zoo. The conHeather Murphy, Craig Jackson, Riley Agena, TJ Roe, Josh Hoyer. you get to meet tract was drawn the players,” up on the side friendships with Boehmer, that Slim moved his family to Catharine Huddle said via email. of a paper sack. Allison was the Watters, the staff and the highly Lincoln in the early 1990s.

Now retired, Huddle was a jourfirst national act to play The discerning, ready-to-dance So many musicians had spenalist at the Lincoln Journal-Star.

Zoo. Allison continued to peraudiences. A gig at The cial ties to The Zoo Bar thanks She traces her introduction to form at The Zoo Bar until a few to their The Zoo to 1975. “Slim and Nick months before his death from [Holt, Slim’s brother] were the lung and brain tumors in people I got to know best, but 1997. Boehmer also made I’ve probably met at least one a valuable Chicago blues person from every band I’ve connection with musician seen there … This is a family. I and promoter Bob Riedy, could not be more fortunate booking Magic Slim at The to be a part of it. All bars have Zoo. Magic Slim played the regulars … but I think the bond Nebraska bar before he had that ties Zoo Bar patrons togetheven played the North Side er is unusually strong. Just think of Chicago. Magic Slim and about it: 100 people came from Boehmer built such a bond all over the country for Larry’s birthday in Arkansas. I know, because I counted and wrote all their names down. That’s amazing.”

Zoo helped a touring band get established.

“I learned so much from Larry,” Watters said. “I always remember thinking to myself, Larry’s seen this business from all sides. He’d seen it as a traveling musician, and he’s seen it as a club owner and as a promoter … It sounds like kind of a cliché, but I still have, ‘What would Larry do?’ moments.”

Boehmer retired to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in 2000. In 2011, he was diagnosed with cancer and threw his own birthday party as a way to

“I feel lucky for having lived most of my life where a place like this can exist. As a fan, as a musician, and as a person.”

Dave Boye said via email. Boye

Past acts include Johnny Reno & The Sax Maniacs (80’s PR photo above), and Magic Slim (left, at the Zoobar in the 70’s).

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June 2023

COVER

James Harman and Larry Boehmer.

Photo by Conrad Good. is a longtime local bass player who’s played over the years with Charlie Burton’s bands. Boye also joins drummer Dave Robel in Shithook.

Boye points to the local music scene and such musicians as “Josh Hoyer, Levi William, Sean Benjamin and Kris Lager. All people raised and fed from the music of The Zoo as they came into their own. And all thriving because of it.”

These days there is third generation of younger Zoo Bar musicians such as guitarist Myles Jasnowski, who has been leading a late-night Wednesday residency with his latest band, Vibe Check. Now he’s also the guitarist for Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal.

Hoyer joined The Zoo community when he turned 21, performing at the weekly jams and with his own bands. Hoyer started bartending at the club in 2006 and “booking bands in tandem with Pete in 2007.”

He stepped away from his role at the bar to focus on heavy touring with Soul Colossal. In 2021 he returned to help with booking again, including for the annual ZOOFEST outdoor street festival.

ZOOFEST has happened most years since the 25th anniversary. The festival missed a year due to COVID-19, a challenge The Zoo weathered thanks to to-go orders and the generosity of its community. This year’s ZOOFEST is Thursday through

Saturday, July 6, 7 and 8. The ticketed event happens on an outdoor stage in front of the bar on 14th Street between O and P streets. Find all the details in this month’s Hoodoo column on Page 36.

“I have been blessed to play hundreds of shows in 38 states and nine countries,” Hoyer said, “and there still is no place like The Zoo Bar. It sounds crazy, but when the vibe is jumping it is almost as if you are transported to some place that is a mix of a Southern backwoods juke joint and Fraggle Rock, located in New Orleans or Memphis or perhaps another planet. It is greasy and joyful, funky and church-like. It truly is the best club in the world in my humble opinion. It can be magic — I’ve seen it.”

“It’s my favorite thing that happens in The Zoo Bar,” Watters said. “It’s just when you can tell the crowd is feeding off the band and the band’s feeding off the crowd. And … this energy just is magic to me.

It’s amazing … Now I said this long before I owned The Zoo, it’s, I just think the only place that I’ve ever been in Lincoln, Nebraska, where I would, if I could be anywhere in the world at this moment, I wouldn’t. I’d be right here.

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“You got a crowded room of smiling faces and you had a little tiny bit to do with that. You brought it together. It’s pretty satisfying.”

June 2023

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C U L T U R E

Legendary Jazz Guitarist Recalls His Omaha Roots

Calvin Keys’ Journey Includes City Housing Projects, International Stardom Story and Photos by Jesse D. Stanek

T

he path that took guitarist Calvin Keys from the housing projects near 30th and Lake to international jazz superstar was rarely a straight one. The roads leading to greatness seldom are.

Keys, who relocated to California’s Bay Area in the 1970s, recalls a vibrant Omaha music community and a town that served as a frequent rest stop for players on the “Chitlin’ Circuit.” Keys would go on to an almost Forrest Gump-ian career, playing and recording with the likes of Ray Charles, Ahmad Jamal, Bobby Hutcherson, Pharoah Sanders, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Taj Mahal, Tony Bennett and a myriad of others.

“The music scene back then was pretty advantageous for me,” Keys said of Omaha in the ’50s and ’60s. “There was a lot of music going on. My uncle Ivory played guitar. My uncle would come home and play Lightning Hopkins, you know, the blues, stuff like that.

When I was around 12 years old, we moved into those projects on 30th and Lake. So I’d see my uncle go into the basement and play. He told me, ‘If I ever catch you with

18

With two reissues and a new album on the way, Calvin Keys is still writing his story through music.

June 2023

C U L T U R E played drums for him so there was a connection. Now, my mom didn’t want me playing music, she thought it was all gamblers and junkies. But I traveled with Preston all over the Midwest. So, when I got asked to play, I said, ‘I have to ask my Mom.’ She said, ‘No, he’s still in school.’ But I had enough credits down at Tech High so I said, ‘You and I always been tight, so I’m going to tell you, if I have to sneak out the back door after you go to sleep I will.’ Eventually she said, ‘OK. I don’t want you to be a musician but if you’re going to be one anyway, be careful. You’ll always get what you want.’

“She said that a lot. ‘Be careful. You’ll always get what you want.’ Had to get older before I understood what she meant, but she was right. You will.”

Calvin Keys, a jazz guitarist par excellence, remembers Omaha of a bygone era as a vibrant music community. this guitar, I’m gonna put my foot where it don’t belong.’

“So naturally I picked it up,” Keys said. “I started getting these different sounds from watching him. I could learn just from listening. Well, he came in one night and he said, ‘Don’t freak out, Mama told me you’ve been playing.

Show me what you’re doing.’

So I showed him, and he asked where I learned to do that, and I told him from watching you. He gave me that guitar a little later. It was a Little G with a Sears-Roebuck amp. Man, I’d play all day and night. The police were knocking on the door.”

Keys was born in Omaha in 1943, his father being Otis Keys, who some call “the greatest natural drummer” to come from Nebraska. Otis made his mark playing with Preston Love and others on

the Midwest circuit. The elder Key’s friends and fans would become a valuable resource for the budding guitar virtuoso.

“There were a lot of places to hear music,” the 81-yearold Keys said during a recent phone conversation from his home in Oakland, California.

“The Carnation Ballroom on North 24th, Jimmy Jewel’s Dream Room. I’d sneak in from the fire escape. I saw all the big acts, Little Richard and James Brown, Wilson Pickett.

The security guy that watched that fire escape knew my father, so he’d let me sit there.

“There was a place called the First and Last Chance down in South Omaha. I had started a band called Doctor Spider and The Rock & Roll Webs. We’d play down there.

But back on the North Side they had Allen’s Showcase

House on 24th Street,” Keys said. “That’s where the big boys played. That’s where I was trying to get to, you know. During one jam session we had Jack McDuff, George Benson and Red Holloway all sitting in. They were on their way out to California. For some reason they took a liking to me.”

Keys made a name for himself as a desired guitarist for organ trios, playing with a host of top artists, including Brother Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff and the legendary Jimmy Smith. Along with P-Funk and James Brown, Smith’s sureshot brand of organ funk remains among the most sampled music in hip hop.

“Be careful.

You’ll always get what you want.”

Around the age of 15, after gigging locally with Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson and others, Keys was offered the opportunity to move to Kansas City and play full time with Omaha’s Preston Love, who was keeping busy with The Count Basie Orchestra.

“My turn came with Preston Love,” Keys said. “My dad had

“Man, I worked with every organ player I could. After playing with Jimmy [Smith], I got tired of working with the organ. I really wanted to work with a piano player. About this time, I got a call from Ray Charles, and I ended up working with him for 15 years, not steady, just off and on when he needed a guitar player. At one point Ahmad Jamal came

June 2023

19

C U L T U R E through Denver while I was playing out there, and so I asked him if I could sit in. He said, ‘No, young man, I have a closed set.’ But 10 years later I got a call from Ahmad needing a guitar player. I worked with Ahmad for 15 years, did seven albums with him.”

During this fruitful period working with Jamal, Keys tells the story of a young Miles Davis coming to catch their set. As was customary in jazz circles, Davis approached Jamal after the set and asked his permission to speak with Calvin about playing together.

An unimpressed Keys couldn’t understand why anyone would think he would leave Jamal, though he does acknowledge that had he known the acclaim Miles would achieve he may have done it just for his resume.

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Keys relocated to Los Angeles in the late 1960s. “I went to LA with the purpose of joining up with a record company,” he said. “When I started with Black Jazz Records, I had to get a band together. I had been playing with The Red Holloway Quartet and we started coheadlining those gigs, and then I was getting my own gigs. I was becoming a leader. That’s what it was all about. And it has been a beautiful experience for me.”

Keys released two albums on Black Jazz: “Shawn-Neeq” in 1971 and the ferocious follow-up “Proceed with Caution!” in ’74. Both records find Keys young and hungry.

Both albums have recently been reissued and have found purchase with younger ears 50 years later, placing Keys firmly

June 2023

in the spotlight for another generation.

a testament to the bond between Keys and Martin.

Soul-jazz-funk is Keys’ sweet spot. His playing is fluid and comes off as effortless, accenting all the right places and times. Fingers flying, dancing up and down the fretboard, Keys on a full roar can almost sound unhinged, notes bursting forth recklessly. But the way he brings it all back time and time again shows he knows the road well enough to take the turns at that speed.

“They used to tell me,” Keys said, “the only time Terrace would be quiet as a kid was when you’d play that guitar.

That’s my godson. After he won those five Grammys with that one boy [Lamar], He said, ‘Calvin, I want to do a record with you. People say you’re one of the OGs and all these young cats want to play with you.’ So, we just finished recording an album down there. That’ll be out before too long.”

Local drumming legend Curly Martin and Keys crossed paths many times throughout. Martin’s son Terrace is a successful musician, rapper and producer, best known as a producer on albums by Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dog and Stevie Wonder, among others.

Terrace is also Keys’ godson,

When it comes to Keys, the tale can’t be told without mentioning guitar wizard Pat Metheny, who penned the epic “Calvin’s Keys” as a tribute to his childhood hero. Metheney and his father would drive around the Mid-

July 8 7:30 PM

enjoli & timeless

dreion

August 12 7:30 PM

Keys doesn’t tour these days, but he’ll still do the occasional out-of-town gig.

Opting rather to enjoy his time in Oakland with his wife of 46 years. As our most recent phone conversation was winding down, he paused for a minute and said, “You know, I’m from Omaha and I’ve done some amazing things in my life. You learn certain things as you get older. I turned 81 in February, and I started playing the ‘e’ guitar when I was around 12 years old. If I left here tomorrow, I had a great experience.”

June 10 7:30 PM

west to catch Calvin performing, the young legend-to-be in awe of Key’s playing. “He wrote that beautiful song for me,” Keys said fondly. “But damn, I’m still trying to figure out that bridge.”

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June

Special Events

June

Special Events

Asteroid City

INDEPENDENT FILMS FOREIGN FILMS REPERTORY NEW RELEASES FAMILY SERIES ...AND MORE!

The Met in HD Die Zauberflöte (Mozart)

TRAILERS, SHOWTIMES & TICKETS

Dir. Denis Villeneuve

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Dir. Simon McBurney

Jun 3, 11:55 AM & Jun 7, 6 PM

Ruth Sokolof

Arrival Post-Screening Discussion Jun 6, 6 PM

Ruth Sokolof

June 2023

21

T H E A T E R

‘Buffalo Women’

Come to Life on the Stage

Omaha Playwright Beaufield Berry’s ‘Black Cowgirl Musical Dramedy’ Set for Benson Theatre

by Tom Knoblach | Photos courtesy of Beaufield Berry

I

n my first encounter with Beaufield Berry, all that was visible was the back of her head at the BlueBarn Theatre during a performance of her play, “Red Summer,” in 2019.

She had agreed to an interview about the show, which depicted the life of Will Brown and the events leading to his lynching during the Omaha race riots of 1919.

The plan was simple: Watch the play, introduce myself, schmooze, and lay the groundwork for the following week’s conversation.

The reality was more complicated: “Red Summer” is such a powerful, moving piece of art that I was too overwhelmed to talk to anyone after the curtains closed. All I could do was confront our city’s ugly history, wonder how far we’d really come, and marvel at the humanity Berry brought to the stage in her masterful telling of this story. More than good, more than great, the consensus among the audience was that we’d just experienced something fundamentally important, existing within the tradition of using fiction to reflect on the past and its ripples into the present.

Her new production, which will be performed on June 16-19 at the Benson Theatre,

22

of grit and redemption and sisterhood and motherhood, which I think are just things that we overlook because there’s so much trauma around slavery that we don’t really talk about what the aftereffects are.”

Omaha playwright Beaufield Berry bases three characters in “Buffalo Women” on former slaves whose stories have largely gone untold. is “Buffalo Women.” Berry has described it as a “Black cowgirl musical dramedy.” Not exactly a genre that most playwrights dabble in. Instead it draws from several tropes and genres across a wide tonal spectrum to create something new. It’s too simple to call it “an intentional pivot” from the “really difficult” “Red Summer,” she said, though “Buffalo Women” did grow out of what she learned from the former production.

Again, Berry leaned on history.

“Out of our five characters,” the Omaha playwright said, “three of them are based on real-life women: Cathay Williams,

June 2023

Stagecoach Mary, and Biddy Mason. These three women’s stories have largely gone untold.

All of them were former slaves.

And then our two hybrid characters [are] based on historical facts, but I fictionalized them for the play’s purposes. They were also former slaves.”

Like “Red Summer” before it, “Buffalo Women” draws on trauma rooted in structural racism within America’s past, though Berry clarifies that. “I don’t want to live in that space,” she said.

“This is a really empowered space for [our characters] and for our audience. This show’s so much bigger than the story of slavery, because it’s the story

A recurring focus in Berry’s work is addressing what has been overlooked in our cultural narratives – people, communities, struggles – and to use art to reclaim what has been lost along the way. It’s hard not to feel an urgency in this mission.

Over the past few years, 36 states have either passed or introduced proposals that would restrict teaching the history of racism and the art that reckons with it – something Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen made a centerpiece of his successful campaign for the statehouse. Pillen has since promised to continue to make efforts to restrict what kind of history with which Nebraskans can – and, in his view, should – engage.

America exists, perhaps perpetually, at a crossroads on this question: What do we do with our past? Can it be molded into shapes that are more appealing and easier to accept than the messiness and myriad tragedies of history? Can trauma be smoothed over if it is ignored?

And for whom?

T H E A T E R For Berry, it’s a fool’s errand to run from history, to pretend it’s anything but what it was, and she lets this inform her art. “It’s literally in my DNA,” she said. “I think that’s why it’s important.”

And, in the case of “Buffalo Women,” it was always going to be a musical.

“In 2020,” Berry said, “I [posted] on my Facebook, ‘I want to put on a musical.’”

Two complications quickly arose: In 2020, nearly every performance venue shut down during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she had never written a musical. Facing what many may have found to be insurmountable hurdles, Berry didn’t give up. “‘I’m gonna do it in the park somewhere,’” she said with a laugh, recalling how her motivation manifested during lockdown before she had a plan.

She’d do this all on her own if she needed to. But she didn’t need to.

“Omaha has supported this show since the beginning,” she said. “People gave their time and their energy, they gave their money, to support me and the show.”

The BlueBarn workshopped an early iteration of “Buffalo Women” with outdoor performances and intentions for a full production as Berry worked through the evolution of the concept and its tricky genre navigations.

in its mythmaking of the American frontier, didn’t so much overlook as exclude, leaving a door closed that someone like Berry couldn’t resist opening.

“I grew up hearing stories about Bass Reeves, some of the Black cowboys,” she said. “And then in turn, I have my own kind of love of Western folklore. All of the old stories of Dodge City and Tombstone and all of that.

I really have a – I wouldn’t say a passion for it – but I definitely love it. So it really inspired me to think: ‘Well, who else was on the Western front?’”

roles for both trans and disabled actors.”

She found Tricia Martineau Wagner’s “African American Women of the Old West,” and then, she said, “I knew immediately I wanted to make a musical based on whatever I was gonna find in that book. And it really didn’t disappoint.” Within this framework, she created space for saloon songs, R&B, rap, honky-tonk, and ballads – mixing the old with the new.

The plot is both familiar to fans of the genre – a woman searching for her child – and a Just how inclusive can the platform for Berry to continue to Western be? Berry isn’t alone engage in innovative ways with in wondering. Bass Reeves, history, legacy, and personal the first Black growth. “Along U.S. marshal, the way,” recently became Berry said, IF YOU GO: a major figure in “she meets all HBO’s “Watch‘Buffalo Women’ of these other men.” Netflix’s women who “The Harder help in that o Where: Benson They Fall” had effort. And Theatre a principal cast we watch her o When: June 16-19 of entirely Black battle those men and womaftereffects [of o Tickets: Pay what en loosely based enslavement]. you can on figures from We watch the the 19th centunightmares. ry. But can you We watch the go further? Berry stresses that breakdowns, the loss of faith.

“Buffalo Women” was designed But she wakes up. And laughs to embody “true inclusivity. You with her friends. And she drinks can cast it from 18-90 in age, it’s a cup of coffee. And she gets designed for all sizes and shades back on her horse. And that’s of Black women, [including] the real story.”

“I’m really eager to give it back to the people who supported the show from the beginning and let them know that it may have been three years, but their contribution is the only reason we’re here now,” Berry said.

Here, “Buffalo Women” is a co-production with Benson Theatre and the BlueBarn that can again be seen on Juneteenth in what Berry hopes will be a unique experience for all audiences.

“So many times we hear these tropes,” she said, “and, and it’s really, it’s re-traumatizing for Black audiences. And I don’t want to live in that space, I want to live in a place where we’re watching people overcome their challenges every single day, and they wake up and they choose life. They choose to be better.

They’re choosing to walk into their purpose.”

Despite the trauma that history passes down through generations, Berry is adamant that there are ways forward, and that art can be a step in this direction; art can be the confrontation, the exorcism, and the absolution. But, perhaps most revolutionary, it can also be fun.

Why a Western? Maybe the stuffiest of stuffy, old white-guy genres.

Berry acknowledges that this was the appeal: “I grew up with my grandfathers loving Westerns,” she said, “watching all the John Wayne movies.”

But, of course, just because the classics of the genre focused on the white men of these eras doesn’t mean they told the whole story. Often Hollywood,

Life throws any number of curveballs, and this is what Berry does: She gets back on her horse. When creative differences led to the cancellation of the full production of “Buffalo Women” at the BlueBarn just weeks before its premiere, she moved forward with venues in Des Moines and Kansas City.

The Tiffany Johnson-directed co-production between the Des Moines Playhouse and Pyramid Theatre, which opened on Juneteenth last year, is the same team that will be bringing the show to Omaha this month.

Omaha playwright Beaufield Berry, far left, with the cast of “Buffalo Women.”

“Nothing’s going to stop me from achieving my greatness,” Berry said with a smile.

June 2023

23

C U L T U R E

A Make Believe Story

Omaha Studio Has Earned Recognition for Producing Big Records & Recording Software

by Matt Casas

W

here the lines between downtown and midtown get hazy, you can find Make Believe Studios tucked away, its headquarters concealed behind Omaha’s trees.

When people pass beyond the gates and cross the grounds to enter the brick building, they come across mixing consoles, control rooms, and a dedicated space to capture a great sound. Magic is in the air. You think, Make Believe must be one hell of a place to record a song.

But the facility isn’t a commercial recording studio — not anymore. Make Believe creates high-end analog models and easy-to-use plug-ins. The software helps artists make pristine-sounding music on their computers in fewer central processing unit (CPU) cycles.

How did a recording studio in Omaha become a software company?

Beginnings Born and raised in Detroit, Rick Carson finished high school at age 16 and became the youngest to enroll in Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. He lived in Prague and Chicago before moving to Nebraska in 2010 to build

24

Rick Carson sits inside Make Believe Studios. Photo by Brock Stillmunks. an audio ecosystem. But why Omaha?

Studios in Omaha” produced just five results.

the hit song “Sail” by AWOLNATION (2010).

The 20-year-old Carson discovered that “Omaha, at that time, had more retired millionaires per capita than most cities, more disposable income between 16-24 year olds, and the second-lowest unemployment rate in America.”

The plan was to build here before moving to Los Angeles.

But something else happened.

Recalling the limitations of the internet, Carson said, “It used to take me all night to download those files!” Once he awoke to the completed downloads, he got to work as Carkeet’s mixing engineer and began balancing the session recordings.

On MySpace, if you remember what that is, Carson said he found 1,500 artists from Omaha. A search for “Recording

June 2023

Mix It Up Things turned up a notch for Make Believe when Carson began working with Kenny Carkeet, who had just engineered

Other producers in musical hotspots such as L.A. and New York soon took notice. Sudden-

C U L T U R E ly, Carson and his crew were recording and mixing 24/7.

Changes By 2014, Carson decided to relocate Make Believe Studios.

It was time to wave goodbye to Studio C. For the next two years, Carson and his team built the present-day studio on 20th and Leavenworth from the ground up. “Make Believe is as close to walking through one of my dreams as you can get,” Carson said.

Around this time, Carson connected with Terrace Martin, a producer and musician for Kendrick Lamar and Herbie Hancock, among others.

The late drummer Curly Martin — Terrace’s father and an Omaha native — played jazz in the city for over 50 years. When Terrace learned that Make Believe was in Omaha, he and Curly decided to make a record. The result: “Velvet Portraits” (2016), which was up for Best R&B Album and earned Carson his first of five Grammy nominations.

Gearhead The studio grew into a thriving recording software company seemingly overnight, but it took a little longer than that.

“We always had to have another hustle,” Carson said.

His knowledge of rare music equipment — and how to sell it — translated into a beneficial side gig early. In the end, vintage gear helped the studio survive. It also inspired innovation.

“Once you develop a reputation for buying gear, people start to reach out to you,” Carson said.

Digital Love Conversations in the studio on the subject of digital signal processing (DSP) stretch back to 2014, when development for the new location began.

As a champion of music-makers, analog equipment, and digital solutions, Make Believe began to work with Sontec in selling high-end hardware in 2019.

In 2020, Make Believe landed Metric Halo as a co-developer, lauded for its ChannelStrips software series. The two companies collaborated with the 50-year-old audio legend Sontec to bring an uber-efficient digital “equalizer” plug-in to life.

On Oct. 28, 2022, Make Believe released the MES-432D9D Sontec plug-in at $299 — a fraction of the cost of the original hardware unit that sells new or used in today’s market for between $11,000 and $20,000.

Today Make Believe has expanded to four staff members. The others are Ryan Harvey, the studio’s chief engineer; Justin Valentine, the studio’s dedicated manager; and Daniel Thompson, a Detroit native and friend of Carson’s since age 12 who oversees the “new media” and graphical user interface (GUI) design.

Carson and the studio continue to collaborate selectively with global, national, and local artists.

One such local artist is JACK. Carson co-wrote, produced,

Rick Carson turned a recording studio in Omaha into the innovative Make Believe software company. Photo by Brock Stillmunks. and mixed JACK’s upcoming debut album “Sad Songs in C Major.” The album’s first single, “Internet Rock Man,” was recently released.

At 34, in addition to heading an innovative software company, Carson is looking forward to transforming Make Believe into more of a resource for the city.

He wants to host community events like open jams and gaming gatherings, as well as bring in more local engineers.

“There is more music,” he said, “to be made in this facility for years to come.”

The Make Believe Sontec mastering equalizer is all the rage in the music industry.

June 2023

25

W PICKS W Afterward, Maestro Ankush Kumar Bahl will direct the Omaha Symphony in an expansive undertaking of “Symphony No. 5” by Mahler.

Tickets are $20-$81 before fees for the 7:30 p.m. performances.

June 2-4

26th Annual Taste of Omaha

to do in

JUNE The space is activated by video projections of bodily rhythms and movements, strategically placed mirrors, kinetic humanoid plants, hyperreal vocal recordings and several interactive components.

Go to www.amplifyarts.org/ exhibitions-current for more information.

Through June 16, 2023

<pr0xy-fl3$h> Generator Space

The exhibit “<pr0xy-fl3$h>” is open at Vinton Street’s Generator Space. It provides a multilayered visual, sensory and interactive experience imagining a future in which “bodies are liberated from the interdependencies of their discrete parts.”

A closing reception for the show takes place on June 9 from 6-8 p.m.

The exhibition is organized

by Omaha composer and artist Alex Jacobsen and features a collaborative installation by Aspen Monet Laboy and Matthew Strasburger, accompanied by Jacobsen’s sound design and sculpture by Margo Johnson.

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Through Aug. 6

Jens Pepper and Mario Wyrwinski: Polaroids and Nudes

Liberty First Arena | The Granary (two locations) Pepper’s nude photos have an intentional snapshot aesthetic; candid and unretouched, his images of non-professional models taken over the course of several years become portraits of the development of their role-playing. By contrast, Wyrwinski emphasizes the illusion of intimacy through the sensuality of classical nude photography.

June 2-3

Omaha Symphony: Brahms and Mahler 5 Holland Center

June 2023

If you’ve never been, you’re probably thinking of food, and beer, but there’s much more on the table at Taste of Omaha.

The free festival showcases local artists and food, wine, and beer from around the world.

In addition to the mouth-watering food, thirst-quenching drinks, and killer live music, check out the world dance music showcase, including the fire and glow show.

June 2 – June 24

Garden of the Zodiac Gallery When instant photography giant Polaroid introduced its sporty 1965 camera, it coyly invited users to “Meet the Swinger.” More than half a century on, this coded acknowledgement of the camera’s popularity for “intimate portraiture” lives on in the images of the film’s devotees, including Berlin-based artists Jens Pepper and Mario Wyrwinski, with “Polaroids and Nudes” beginning June 1 at Garden of the Zodiac Gallery.

Taste of Omaha takes place at two locations across three days, and that means free concerts all weekend long.

The Omaha Symphony finishes the season strong with two dates at the Holland Center, backing two of the most promising young artists in the world of classical music, composer Carlos Simon and violinist Stella Chen.

The orchestra will perform Simon’s exciting 2020 work, “Fate Now Conquers.” Chen will lead a stormy rendition of “Violin Concerto” by Brahms.

Don’t Let the Name Deceive You by Amy Haney Ming Toy Gallery

W PICKS W The Ming Toy Gallery welcomes artist Amy Haney for an exhibit of her new work, “Don’t Let the Name Deceive You,” opening June 2.

Primarily a printmaker, Haney reconstructs some of her previous concepts, creating fresh imagery by repurposing old plates, piecing, weaving and stitching images together, and exploring imagery through a purely aesthetic lens.

June 9 – July 1

Amalgam Grafica — America

Go to rcmc.org for more information and tickets.

Midcentury Nebraska Artist” at Gallery 1516.

June 9-11

Aksarben Village

After successfully finding its niche and mission on Vinton Street, arts venue RBR G continues its works on paper with “Amalgam Grafica — America.”

The exhibit continues until July 1.

Venue owner John Rogers will give a gallery talk June 9, at 7 p.m. featuring 46 prints from this portfolio published

by Fermin Lopez of Pata Negra Editions in Oviedo, Spain.

Don’t miss the 49th annual Omaha Summer Arts Festival at Aksarben Village.

The outdoor event features 135 of Omaha’s most dedicated artists, including 100 visual creators, 30 bands across several stages, and several food vendors.

Other features include crafts, mural cubes, and vibrant chalk art displays, as well as an extensive children’s fair and young artist exhibition.

You can check out the festival from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Attend a Studio 54-themed afterparty following the 7 p.m. concert at the Holland Performing Arts Center. Attendees can meet chorus members, get photo opps with a couple of special guests and partake in a cash bar.

And, of course, dancing queens, get ready to boogie.

RBR Gallery

The public is invited to an opening reception for the artist on June 2, from 6-9 p.m. The exhibit runs through June 24.

Ming Toy Gallery is located at 6066 Maple St. Further information is available at mingtoygallery.com.

49th Omaha Summer Arts Festival

Selections from such artists as Elton John, Queen and Fleetwood Mac will embrace the power of performance to transform hearts.

RBR G will host two additional events open to the public while this exhibition is ongoing.

Rogers will conduct a printmaking workshop: Lino Cut Relief Prints, Saturday, June 10, from 1-4 p.m. and give a talk on print collecting, Wednesday, June 14, at 7 p.m.

The gallery is located at 1806 Vinton St.

As part of its continuing mission to feature Nebraska artists, the gallery will select several of Wolsky’s works from its permanent collection in celebration of the exceptional career of this professional illustrator and fine artist. The retrospective show will give insight into Wolsky’s evolving and genre-spanning talents.

Gallery 1516 Make plans to attend the opening reception on Friday, June 9, for “Milton Wolsky: A

June 10

Juneteenth SteamPunk Tea Party North Omaha Music and Arts (NOMA)

This exhibit runs through Aug. 13. The opening reception is from 6-8 p.m., Friday, June 9. Gallery 1516 is located at 1516 Leavenworth St. Further information is available at gallery1516.org.

June 10

River City Mixed Chorus Holland Performing Arts Center

June 9 – Aug. 13

Milton Wolsky: A Midcentury Nebraska Artist

Juneteenth Celebrations

Get groovy with the River City Mixed Chorus as it ends its 39th season at the disco with “Our Own Kind of Music.” Join its 130 members and a full orchestra as it jives to the music of the ’70s.

The House of Afros, Capes and Curls is throwing its second annual Juneteenth SteamPunk Tea Party. This event celebrates Black excellence and the vibrant history and success of Black Victorian-era inventors, entrepreneurs, and activists.

Activities include Steampunk cosplay, delicious bites, hot and iced teas, professional portraits with original backdrops designed by Black artists, a board game parlor, a fandom-themed murder mystery, a treasure hunt, and plenty of fun.

This is a safe space to explore your love of sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, and Afrofuturism and the artistic, literary, and historic

June 2023

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W PICKS W merits of geek culture. Steampunk attire is encouraged.

The event runs from 3-7 p.m.

Tickets are $25-$50 and can be purchased through Eventbrite.

June 17

Juneteenth Joy Fest

feature authentic African and Afro-Caribbean cuisine, drinks and music that highlight Omaha’s rich African heritage and culture.

The vital conversation from 6-7:30 p.m. features panels, group discussions, and breakout groups aimed at promoting greater cultural understanding.

To amplify the senses, The Steppe Center will host dancing and drumming performances

by African and Afro-Caribbean talent.

If you cannot attend this free event, join via Zoom. Register to attend online at Eventbrite.com.

You will receive a link to the meeting a few minutes before the start time.

Taste of Africa is free to attend and takes place from 12-9 p.m.

Fabric Lab

The host will provide ASL and Spanish-language interpretation.

June 17

Fiber Arts Omaha will combine visual creation with education in this unique, free Juneteenth celebration at the UNO Barbara Weitz Community Center on June 19 from 5-8:30 p.m.

Malcolm X Memorial Foundation

The theme for the cultural-educational meeting revolves around black swans, whose natural symbolism aligns with this holiday of emancipation.

UNO Weber Building and Gene Leahy Mall Pavilion

Omaha Freedom Festival Check out the Juneteenth Joy Fest at Fabric Lab on June 17 for delicious food, righteous music, and the Black Flea Market.

Poets Jewel Rodgers and Developing Crisp will also perform, followed by a dance performance by AP Legacy dance studio.

The free community fest runs from noon to 10 p.m., following the 24th Street parade.

June 17

Taste of Africa 2023 Steppe Center

Visit the Juneteenth-inspired Omaha Freedom Festival at the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation on June 17.

Juneteenth, established in 1865, honors the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States — for context, Omaha was established just 11 years earlier.

In the spirit of this holiday, the Omaha Freedom Festival celebrates the history and culture of North Omaha while spotlighting local actionable resources for social and business needs.

Attendees must be 19 or older and must register beforehand, as space is limited. Register at Juneteenth 2023 — Fiber Arts Omaha est 2019.

June 27

Omaha Table Talk: “We Aren’t All Mexican” UNO Barbara Weitz Community Center

The event runs from noon to midnight, with the concert starting at 5 p.m. Day-time activities are free to attend, and tickets for the concert cost $50-$100.

June 19 All are welcome to attend Taste of Africa on June 17 at The Steppe Center, an exciting and relatively new venue in La Vista.

Fiber Arts Omaha: Juneteenth ’23

The nine-hour, family friendly indoor and outdoor event will

UNO Barbara Weitz Community Center

28

Footloose

Partake in the guided collage exercise: guests will receive an email of what to bring, but the host will provide most of the supplies.

Juneteenth Joy Fest is a Black arts and culture festival that champions North Omaha and the history of Black heritage.

Musical artists include Rexx Life Raj, Cyanca, Tylynn, Lite Pole, and Corro.

June 29-30 & July 2

June 2023

Inclusive Communities will present another installment of Omaha Table Talk entitled “We Aren’t All Mexican: Understanding Latine Diaspora.” The event will be held at the UNO Barbara Weitz Community Center on June 27.

Want to cut loose? UNO Summer Musical Theatre Academy is soon to kick off its second season.

Theatergoers can kick off their Sunday shoes, so to speak, by attending productions of “Footloose” across three dates and two stages.

Fifty high school performers and technicians from 16 local schools embarked on a tuition-free, month-long intensive workshop to bring you the shows on June 29-30 in the UNO Weber Fine Arts Building Theatre, followed by the July 2 performance at the Gene Leahy Mall Pavilion.

All performances are free.

— This report was compiled by Matt Cass, Mike Krainak, Janet L. Farber, Kent Behrens, Lynn Sanchez and Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter.

B a c k B e a t

It Comes Down to the ‘Vibe’ For R&B Band From Omaha

Enjoli & Timeless Are Popping Up All Over

O

n the day I started writing this piece, I walked by Steelhouse Omaha and saw R&B band Enjoli & Timeless listed on the marquee. They were scheduled to be one of the first Omaha acts to put their stamp on that stage the following day. A short time later, driving down Saddle Creek, I saw them on a billboard promoting their performance at the Omaha Freedom Festival on June 17, at the Malcolm X Outside Event Plaza, alongside 13-time Grammy nominee Musiq Soulchild and gold-certified recording artist Lyfe Jennings.

Billboards will pop up any day now promoting their show as part of the Omaha Performing Arts Music at Miller Park series on July 8.

Enjoli & Timeless took time during one of their weekly practices to talk about their upcoming performances, their influences, and the process for putting out music.

I was led through the house to their basement rehearsal space by a relative as the band was listening to a song it had laid down. They were listening to it so intently they did not notice I was there, listening along with them.

“We needed new material for Black Friday (an event at the Holland Center) last year,” songwriter and vocalist Enjoli Mitchell said about the song, “Instead Of Me,” we had just listened to. “Not that my wife is loving anybody instead of me, but you have to feel the groove of the music. When the vibe hits you, you have to know what type of song to put to it, and that is what came out of that track. Basically, who are you out here loving instead of me? I am not blind. I can see. But it has a really good feel, and it just came out way better than I thought it would be.”

Enjoli & Timeless are a contemporary R&B band, but when asked about their influences, the answer was “the church” from all band members. “I like to think of us as

by MarQ Manner

three PK kids and a sinner,” bassist Ray Williams said. “I am the only one who is not a preacher’s kid.”

through, problems they have been through, and different relationships, and we like to play that through music.”

“I grew up in the church,” Mitchell said. “I always sang. My Besides the church, Mitchell says mom was a lead singer, and my she is influenced by her parents, dad was an organ player. Music was Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle, and always around me. I always went to other artists “who really sang with choir rehearsal with them, but as feeling and emotion and belted it far as the group, we came together out.” She also mentions Omaha in 2017. I had the opportunity to artist Dani Cleveland: “I haven’t open for Pleasure P at the Bourbon seen anyone in the city as unique.

Theater in Lincoln. I didn’t even She is just so versatile, and I want have a band, and I to be versatile just like asked, ‘Can I bring a that. I really lean into band? and they were people like her.” like yeah. So [by] a Corbitt, a selfserious fluke, we came taught musician together. We met one and composer, day, I saw her mentions artists (drummer Eden such as Stevie Butler), I saw Wonder, Herbie IF YOU GO: both of them Hancock, and (also keyboardist Corey Henry as Musiq Soulchild, Timothy Corbitt) his influences. playing, and that Lyfe Jennings, “These are just was that.”

Enjoli & Timeless musicians that I When it comes wanted to play o Where: Omaha to writing songs, like and feel Mitchell said, what they feel Freedom Festival, “Tim or Ray will like when they Malcom X Outside come up with the play music,” Event Plaza melody and the he said. “I told o When: June 17, 5 music. Eden and myself that I p.m. to midnight I along with our want to be just other people will like that.” o Tickets: $50 - $100 VIP sit down and feel Williams at Eventbrite.com the track out first. mentions gospel You have to feel singer and what type of song bassist Fred Hammond and Omaha it is. Is it a love song? Is it a breakup bassist Greg Bowie as influences. song? Is it an I hate you song? It He says he loves everything around has to have a feeling, so you follow music, whether it be classical, rock, that feeling, and we just run with or even *NSYNC. Butler names it. We critique each other. We are Snarky Puppy, Nicki Glaspie, and not afraid to say no, that sucks or Omaha drummer Curly Martin, however it goes. We have been who recently died. “I was able to doing this long enough to know sit in under him for six months,” that constructive criticism is not a she said, “and that was life-changproblem for us.” ing for me. He had so much “It is a thought process,” knowledge, and that man is going Williams said. “We all think it out. to really be sorely missed. I just We go through every situation, remember long and hot sessions everything that everyone has been

and talks in the garage about the history of Omaha.”

Besides the upcoming single, the band is working toward a second full-length album. “The game has changed,” Mitchell said. “It is no longer about the album; it’s about throwing singles out or maybe three or four songs on an EP. It’s all about social-media presence, and the singles and the visuals.

“I like the feeling of selling CDs out of the trunk, but I like the option of uploading the video in one place and it is going to go everywhere. Either way works, but you have to stick with the way, and right now the way is social media.”

The band has been getting gigs over the past few years with Omaha Performing Arts. The show on July 8 will be their third time performing at Music At Miller Park. Mitchell said OPA is crushing on them a little bit, and they are crushing back.

“It is a blessing to be back three times,” Mitchell said. “I have said it before: There are so many other artists in this city who haven’t had that opportunity, and we have been there twice before. It is great to see the community come out, and they really come out. Even when it rained...we still had a huge turnout. It lets you know who really supports you, that the city is really behind you, and that OPA really does support Enjoli & Timeless.

Who else would you want to be associated with? It’s an opportunity, and we don’t take any for granted.

We are grateful.”

What would she like to see the audience come away with? “Every single word, every single beat, every single key that Tim plays, every string that Ray plays, every kick, snare, and high hat that Eden plays, every note, every word, feel everything that we do because that is what music is about.

Why have music if you can’t feel it?”

June 2023

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D i s h

It’s a Zoo Out There A Day at Henry Doorly Can Be a Walk in the Park If You Know Where to Find Respite

by Sara Locke

I

f you’re reading this, it’s because you are from or are visiting Omaha. That means you probably have spent a day trekking the 160 acres of outdoor exhibits and 6 acres of indoor exploration at the Henry Doorly Zoo. There are infinite reasons to waste a day wandering the wild with your friends and family, and most of us have managed this with a kid on one hip and a bag of tricks and snacks to keep little kids fed and ready to walk. But what if you don’t want to lug the extra 25 pounds of picnic? Where is a family to find sustenance?

We’ve got you covered.

Let’s take a look at some of the dining options the zoo has to offer.

zoo, in case you didn’t know, is approximately 350 miles closer to the sun than anywhere else in Omaha.

Durham Tree Top Café Lied Jungle

Ordering kiosks are fairly new to the zoo experience and can make the process significantly smoother … for the tech-literate. For those who find using technology confusing, those with communication barriers, or those with questions that aren’t easily answered in the FAQ section of the menu, staff is available at each concession window to be of assistance.

Bring sunblock. Even if you put some on before you leave home. Even if you have a base tan. Even if you never burn. The

A large window overlooks the Lied Jungle, and diners can enjoy an immersive experience while still separated from the

Members receive a 5% discount on dining and concessions.

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Omaha Steaks Patio and Grill Lied Jungle Burgers and hot dogs from Omaha Steaks with a wideopen patio to people watch and eat in peace.

a little extra action. Two slides, a climbing wall, interactive elements, and a soft-landing zone are just a few of the attractions kids can’t seem to get enough of.

Sea Turtle Café Scott Aquarium

Glacier Bay Landing

Nebraska weather can promise to be only one thing, and that is unpredictable. When planning your day, be sure to scout for indoor areas to take a break from the heat or escape a sudden storm. The Durham Tree Top Café is an excellent option, specifically for its indoor view. While the menu and service at Tree Top are reminiscent of a college cafeteria, it’s the view that you’re there to enjoy over your BBQ beef sandwich and fries. Other options include fish tacos, an assortment of soups and salads, burgers and hot dogs, and a dessert menu featuring pies, cookies, rice crispy treats, and brownies.

A few things to note before you plan your visit:

humidity (and signature aroma) of the rainforest exhibit.

June 2023

Near the North Gate The outdoor concession option at Glacier Bay features 10 service windows, although you’ll never find it staffed to that extreme. Dining options include crab-cake sliders, Alaskan cod sandwiches, garlic parmesan fries, and a cheeseburger. A sweet shop with three service windows offers edible cookie dough, loaded sundaes, and icy treats and beverages.

The public plaza throughout Glacier Bay Landing and Fisherman’s Landing at Stinson Pier offer seating for more than 400 with seven fixed shade covers and table umbrellas throughout for protection from the sun.

Fisherman’s Landing is available for the public to rent, with access to an open kitchen for private catering and seating for 240.

A children’s play area is located nearby, making this a must-visit zoo destination for families with children who need

While the menu is focused, the covered dining area is the perfect meeting place for larger groups. Pizza, hot dogs, burgers, popcorn, and a few frozen treats are available, and the docile critters who wander the area looking for a dropped potato chip are fun for littles to look at.

Plaza Café

Desert Dome A fairly new offering at the zoo, Plaza Café offers much of the same basic fare as the Sea Turtle Café. Just outside the desert dome, the area offers a brief break after a long trek, or

D i s h a place to fuel up before your visit really gets going.

Tusker Grill African Grasslands

Grab a giant pretzel or cookie to share. Don’t be a hero, there’s no way you’re going to eat these bad boys by yourself.

Late Nights at the Zoo

While the zoo is the perfect place for a day of family fun in the sun, when the day is done, it’s an adults-only adventure after hours. Late Nights at the Zoo is a 21-and-over event most Thursdays through the summer. Explore the zoo, enjoy local food trucks, and sip and stroll from 7 to 10:30pm. There are several Late Nights at the Zoo this season, so be sure to register and save your spot:

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o June 8 and 29 A personal favorite not only for the indoor (air conditioned) dining area, but for the spiced sweet potato fries my kids can’t get enough of, Tusker Grill is an oasis in the African Grasslands.

o July 6, 13, 20 and 27 o Aug. 3, 10, 17 and 27.

The Henry Doorly Zoo is located at 3701 S. 10th St.

It would be wrong to say the freshest beer is automatically the best beer. But the best beer almost always tastes its best when it is, in marketing speak, at the peak of freshness.

And it’s hard to get any fresher than beer brewed thirty feet away from your table. And it’s doubly hard to get any better than when that table is here at Upstream.

But we suspect you already knew that.

Celebrating Over 30 Years Of Making Ice Cream Th e Old Fashioned Way

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F I L M

Where Have You Gone, ‘Bull Durham’?

The Coming College World Series Reminds Us of a Big Absence on the Big Screen

by Ryan Syrek

E

very June in Omaha, baseball becomes more than just a tool for fathers to avoid real communication with their families. It is also a reason to yell “You can’t turn left on Dodge Street!” at an oblivious TCU Horned Frogs fan in town for the College World Series. As virtually everything else ever has or will, this time of year leaves me thinking about movies.

Specifically, why hasn’t there been a good baseball flick in the last decade?

You could argue that “Everybody Wants Some!!” — writer/ director Richard Linklater’s comedy about a college baseball team released in 2016 — should be considered a winner. But I have a strict rule that you get one exclamation point in a film title at most. Even if you ignore grammar and good punctuation, it was a sparingly seen film, even by Linklater standards.

Besides, I’m not talking about an indie joint with longhairs. Where hath our Bulls of Durham gone?

Wherefore art thou “Moneyball?” Whither “The Natural” and “Major League?”

Sure, you could argue that the lack of motion pictures about “America’s pastime” indicates that baseball is simply past its pastime prime. To “chicken and egg” this thing a bit, what

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after falling in love with baseball movies. Football doesn’t need movies. The failure of “80 for Brady” won’t ding the NFL’s bottom line if concussions didn’t. A fresh take on “Field of Dreams,” however, may spike MLB popularity like upturned cleats on a hard slide into second.

What if baseball’s biggest problem isn’t that it is a dull, slow game for old folks but that a good movie about it hasn’t been made in a decade? Image: A still from “Bull Durham” if the opposite were true? In a year when MLB has rolled out a slew of changes designed to make games shorter and more entertaining, what if the sport just needs more Kevin Costner?

Or, even better, someone popular who can actually act.

narrative, at least after the final out. In an age when studios are willing to exploit any intellectual property, from childhood toys to athletes making shoe deals, where are the remakes of “Rookie of the Year” and “Angels in the Outfield?”

Legitimately, I think it says something about us culturally, societally that we have actively left baseball out of the most dominant modern artform. The sport has long been lauded as physical storytelling, with players given closeups and backstories during their at-bats and action that reads like a definitive

I think the message in the decade-long absence of major-league Major League Baseball movies suggests two things. First, film executives have lost faith in the metaphor without realizing they helped perpetuate it. I legitimately don’t know if I fell in love with baseball before or

June 2023

Second, the lack of baseball movies tells me that storytelling is evolving. That can be a good thing. Actually, that should be a good thing. Provided we aren’t leaving behind things best kept close to the heart. So many movies these days fail at the barest, most basic aspects of how we should shape stories.

Cinema and baseball were a perfect fit for how we once wove narratives, in part because they leaned on core elements such as well-defined characters, patient pacing, solid structure, and faith in audiences/fans.

If modern filmmaking has progressed past adaptations of this sport for good reasons, like inclusivity and innovation, fine.

If not, perhaps what anxious theater ticket takers and the baseball commissioner could both use is a brand-new, big-screen “Little Big League.”

?

Got an idea for a Ryan Tell him @thereaderfilm

Omaha Community Broadcasting Presents

The 6th Annual Father’s Day Festival

“A Celebration of Fatherhood”

6pm Showtime Featuring Grammy Group En Vogue, Legendary Meli’sa, Morgan & Special Guest June 18th @ The Orpheum Theatre, Omaha Nebraska Get tickets May 19th @ www.Ticketomaha.com

Call 402-714-6482 for more info.

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F I L M

In Space, No One Can Hear Sarah McLachlin Scream ‘GoG Vol. 3’ Is a Great Family Film for Families That Love Animal Cruelty

by Ryan Syrek

A

s a fan of Cronenbergian body horror, am I hypocritical for finding “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” repulsive for its copious CGI animal torture? No! Because fuzzy creatures didn’t invent genocide, Twitter, or the 50hour work week.

Although writer/director James Gunn’s trilogy has always had a cheeky, juvenile sensibility, “Vol. 3” seemingly rejoices in explicit torture. You simply cannot envision how many teary-eyed closeups of traumatized wildlife are in this film, nor how many innocent creatures get brutally slaughtered.

Frankly, it is amateur-hour emotional manipulation at best and genuinely deplorable at worst. If this is how you illustrate a villain’s villainy or motivate character catharsis, you probably screw screws in with a hammer.

Gunn, whose work has always been just barely on the good side of sophomoric stupidity, opts for a final chapter in which his affable rogues have still not changed an iota.

Things have happened to them

This movie may feature characters who have their own amusement park ride, but don’t show this to kids who like puppies or sleeping ever again. for sure. They talk about it a lot.

They simply haven’t evolved.

This alleged “final installment” for the squad essentially resolves with most players admitting they really should work some stuff out. So, to be clear, even if you don’t find the copious animal cruelty a dealbreaker, it has as much resolution as a long text message that gets replied to with “K.” “Vol. 3” tries to make the stakes personal but still winds up on the same planet-killing scale as every Marvel movie.

Rocket (Bradley Cooper) gets

attacked out of nowhere by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter).

His friends can’t heal him because the bad guy who tortured and physically/mentally altered Rocket installed a kill switch that will pop his heart if he receives medical attention. Pretty sure that’s a legally allowed medical insurance option in America.

A drunk-sad Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) enlists Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax (Dave Bautista), and Groot (Vin Diesel) to steal a code that will allow

them to help Rocket. This involves working with a resurrected Gamora (Zoe Saldana), who Peter still pines for, even though she has no memory of knowing him. The gang must also keep Rocket from falling into the clutches of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), who is pretty much how PETA sees anyone who eats a hamburger. You are simply not prepared for how often and in how many ways this wannabe Thanos hurts adorable little living things. Because he’s a bad guy, get it?!

O t h e r C r i t ical V oic e s t o C onsi d e R Gayle Sequeira at Film Companion says: “The High Evolutionary’s quest to build a perfect society, razing civilizations to the ground each time he discovers a defect, begins to feel like a potent analogy for the Marvel machine – churn out

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enough worlds, and you’ll eventually reach optimization.”

Kelechi Ehenulo at Movie Marker says: “There’s nothing subtle about Gunn’s writing and direction here, drawing parallels between corporate control, where

June 2023

everyone is viewed as intellectual property, to a commentary on child migrants with kids locked in cages – a national outrage at the height of Trump’s presidential reign.”

MontiLee Stormer at MovieReelist says: “I think one thing we

should all remember is that [this] is a James Gunn movie and as such, feels like a symphony conducted by a child who has heard the music a hundred times but has also had a box of Froot Loops and a 20-oz Mountain Dew.”

F I L M To be a little bit nice, although it tonally does not fit for a movie that is clearly studio sanctioned to be family friendly fare, the gross stuff that doesn’t involve raccoon vivisection is fun. A space station built out of biologic materials is as close as we may get to Cronenberg doing a “2001” remake. The seemingly obligatory hallway fight is a fluid-spewing delight.

Even the grotesque character design of the High Evolutionary’s chimeric posse is glorious.

If only there had been an actual movie around those moments.

Because “Vol. 3” isn’t really a movie so much as a series of callbacks that interrupt a Sarah McLachlan animal abuse ad. It isn’t subversive but redundant, even down to the characters.

Drax and Mantis are both portrayed as imbeciles. Gamora and Nebula are so similar they joke about swapping out as Peter’s romantic partner. Rocket and Peter are both gruff, arrogant ne’er-do-wells who want to lead a family. The High Evolutionary is so repetitive, Peter even calls him out for stealing the schtick of previous Marvel baddies.

The only thing that could justify all of this is hijinks. But even setting aside the perpetual pets weeping, the comedy is now reduced to “Gee, ya think?!” one-liners. The “new” thing here is Adam Warlock also acting as intellectually impaired as Drax and Mantis. If it seems like this review is too mean-spirited, please remember that somewhere tonight a parent is going to have to persuade a toddler to go to sleep after seeing a man with a missing face and creatures that look like the family pet brutally murdered.

Grade = C-

CUTTING ROOM

by Ryan Syrek

Apparently, in the 1985

film “Silver Bullet,” Gary  Busey yells “Holy jumped-up, bald-headed Jesus palomino!” A bit long for a tattoo, but I’ll make it work. On June 9 at 7 p.m., if you go to Alamo Drafthouse Omaha, you not only get to hear that line yelled in the vicinity of Corey Haim, you can also get a copy of “Where Wolf” signed by the creators of that graphic novel, Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli. I just want to be clear here: Should you attend, you will have the privilege of not only seeing an adaptation that Stephen King wrote the script for, but you will be able to pick up a comic book about a lycanthrope loose in the Lone Star State. I don’t know what you people want from this column, but I sincerely hope this is the sort of news you need.

Or maybe you want family

friendly stuff? Fewer “were wolves murdering people with baseball bats,” which apparently happens twice in “Silver Bullet,” and more “something to do with small humans when school is out?” The SumTur Amphitheater in Papillion is showing twilight movies that feature 0% Gary Busey/Corey Haim. On June 10 at dusk you can see “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.” On June 17, you can see “Minions: The Rise of Gru.” And on June 24, you can see “Marcel: The Shell With Shoes On.” The last one is an A24 movie, so you can use it to introduce the concept of midsommar to your wee ones. Tickets for all are free, so maybe give someone at SumTur a consensual high-five?

An event in Omaha this month will combine Gary Busey, a werewolf, and comic books. I declare that a wacky trifecta! IMAGE: A still from the 1985 movie “Silver Bullet” “Arrival” is one of the best

The pandemic laugh-blocked

science-fiction movies to “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del  leave me in the fetal position. Yes, Mar” from launching a goofy-reI said “one of,” as the number of films that qualify for that list is arguably I-should-talk-to-a-therapist-level long. Good news: Film Streams wants me to relive that pain … in the name of science!

That is to say, Science on Screen is an ongoing series in which arthouse theaters around the country show movies that involve scientific shenanigans and then engage in a post-screening discussion. On June 6, you can head down to the Ruth Sokolof Theater, watch the performance that should have won Amy Adams an Academy Award, and listen to a panel talk about the science of human language. I’d volunteer to serve on it, but I’m only an expert in cursing. “Holy jumped-up bald-headed Jesus palomino!”

Finally, they don’t make a

ton of comedies anymore.  At least, they don’t make broadly popular, completely stupid-hilarious mainstream blockbusters.

naissance. As a consolation, you can go to Aksarben Cinema on June 14 and ACX Cinema in Elkhorn on June 14 & 21 to watch “Airplane,” which maybe was the apex of funny for us as a civilization, Barb and Star excluded.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a Wednesday than yucking it up to Lloyd Bridges sniffing glue, can you? If so, don’t tell me.

I picked the wrong day to stop making bold proclamations.

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 KVNO 90.7 on Wednesdays and follow him on Twitter @ thereaderfilm.

June 2023

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H O O D O O

ZOOFEST

Promises a Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On in Lincoln

by B.J. Huchtemann

T

he annual ZOOFEST street festival takes place Thursday through Saturday, July 6, 7 and 8, with a big stage in front of the bar on 14th Street between O and P.

IF YOU GO:

Zoofest o Where: The Zoo Bar, Lincoln

Musician and Zoo talent buyer Josh Hoyer said via email: “It’s going to be a wonderful celebration of Zoo Bar past, present and future.”

o When: July 6-8 o Tickets: $120 for three nights, $40 Thursday, $50 Friday, $50 Saturday in advance. Prices increase at the gate.

Available at the bar or on ticketweb.com.

And what a history there is.

The late Larry Boehmer developed the bar into a destination blues venue that was recognized by the Blues Foundation in 1993 with the prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive Award for being club of the year.

The schedule for Thursday, July 6, is The Bel Airs (5 p.m.), Igor & The Red Elvises (7 p.m.) and Grammy Award and Blues Music Award-winner and friend of the Zoo Bar for decades Charlie Musselwhite (9 p.m.).

Then on Friday, July 7, catch the horn-driven blues of Wisconsin’s The Jimmys (5 p.m.) and Amythyst Kiah (7 p.m.), who Rolling Stone called “a masterful blend of lonesome folk and neo blues.” Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe (9 p.m.) puts the spotlight on funk and soul sax man Denson, who has played with The Rolling Stones and Lenny Kravitz. Andy William & The Nebraska All Stars (11 p.m.) close the night with their Afro-Cuban music.

Saturday music kicks off with local bands The Lightning Bugs and The Fabtones

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Grammy and Blues Music Award-winner Charlie Musselwhite returns to Lincoln to play July 6 as part of the Zoo Bar’s 50th Anniversary. PHOTO CREDIT: Rory Doyle (3 p.m.) followed by Chicago blues from former Magic Slim sideman John Primer & The Real Deal Blues Band (5 p.m.). The James Hunter Six (7 p.m.) will lay down a mix of blues rhythms and soul sounds. Then second-generation Chicago blues star and Alligator Records artist Shemekia Copeland (9 p.m.) takes the stage. Copeland just took home her 15th Blues Music Award for Best Instrumentalist — Vocals. ZOOFEST closes with “The 50th Waltz,” which Hoyer described as featuring “39 Lincoln musicians that span all five decades of the club’s existence: Jim (Little Jimmy Valentine) Cidlik, “Baby” Jason Davis, Kris Lager, Emily

June 2023

Bass, Shawn Holt, Levi William and more will be playing iconic songs of The Zoo Bar.” Hoyer added, “This is not to be missed. Bring your Kleenex.”

Zoo Bar owner Pete Watters said he has been wanting to book UK artist James Hunter for a long time. “He’s not like anybody else,” Watters said.

“You know, he’s really got a different sound, and it’s kind of cool. Sometimes it sounds real new and sometimes it sounds real old. It’s just hard to describe. But I think if people give the James Hunter Six a shot, I think they’re really gonna love them.”

See zoobar.com and www. facebook.com/zoobarblues

for all the info, other notable shows and the full calendar for the month. Advance tickets are available at the bar or by searching for the event on ticketweb.com. Prices for advance tickets are $120 for all three nights. Individual night advance prices are $40 for Thursday, $50 for Friday and $50 for Saturday.

Ticket prices will be more at the gate on show days.

BSO Presents Series The Blues Society of Omaha’s Thursday blues series is outdoors at Rathskeller Bier Haus in the beer garden all month. Bringing your own lawn chair is encouraged.

Thursday, June 1, catch the blues-rock of the Rusty Wright Band and the Laurie Morvan Band. Thursday, June 8, features Blue House with The Rent to Own Horns.

Thursday, June 15, guitarist Bernard Allison is scheduled.

Thursday, June 22, the Chicago blues of Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials is on tap. Thursday, June 29, Alligator Records guitarist Selwyn Birchwood is featured. All Thursday shows begin at 6 p.m.

Soaring Wings Blues Festival

H O O D O O Soaring Wings Vineyard’s annual blues festival is Saturday, June 3. Gates open at 3 for this is ticketed event. Advance tickets are available at etix.com.

The lineup features Lauren Anderson (5:30 p.m.), plus 2023 International Blues Challenge winner the Mathias Lattin Band (7 p.m.). The group’s 20-year-old guitarist Mathias Lattin took home the best

guitarist award. Songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Vanessa Collier headlines the evening, which concludes with a jam session. Soaring Wings Vineyard is south of Springfield at 17111 S. 138th St.

Hot Notes The Bel Airs play The Jewell on Friday, June 9, 6-9 p.m.

(One show, two sets.)

Acclaimed Texas singer-songwriter James McMurtry performs at Lincoln’s Royal Grove on Thursday, June 15, 7 p.m. Charley Crockett brings his soul-tinged country to The Admiral on Thursday, June 22, 8 p.m.

Omaha Performing Arts’ new venue, The Steelhouse,

booked by Live Nation, opened in May. Notable June shows include Counting Crows on Tuesday, June 13, 7:30 p.m.; The Flaming Lips on Friday, June 16, 8:30 p.m.; and Elvis Costello & The Imposters featuring Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets on Wednesday, June 21, 7:30. See steelhouseomaha.com.

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PPNCS.ORG | 1.800.230.PLAN (7526) June 2023

37

C R O S S W O R D

Director’s Cut

AnswerS in next month’s issue or online at TheReader.com

— where do we go from here? —

by Matt Jones

Across

1

1. Fashion mogul von Furstenberg

14

6. “And Winter Came...” singer

17

10. Sound-boosting devices

15. “High” places for pirates

33

21. Matriarch 23. Suffix after Insta- or auto26. Groups of quail 27. Arm muscle, informally 30. In addition 32. Uncompressed audio file format

5

6

7

21

28

24

29

25

30

42

43 45

51

52 55

56 62

46. Apartment, typically 48. Comes to light

68

69

64. “Blues to the Bone” singer ___ James

36. HRE part

48. Actress Tyler of “Archer”

65. Market order

49. Become less intense

66. “Dia de ___” (Shakira song)

52. “Help!” co-star Ringo

67. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” author Roald

54. Memorized perfectly

68. Graded item 69. Extra you may have to ask for at some drive-thrus (due to state laws)

50. Principal artery 51. “Blue Ribbon” beer brand 58

59

53. Vessel boarded by pairs 55. Sloth’s hangout

67

47. “___: Vegas” (rebooted TV series)

44. Circulatory conduit

49. Having a border

57

66

June 2023

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53

65

44. “Heads up” abbr.

37

48

34. Flautist Jean-Pierre ___

38

36

64

60. Sandpaper quality

40. Fill the tank

35

61

43. Birds, formally

37. Ancient legend 38. “CHiPS” remake actor Michael

60

42. Abbr. at the bottom of a business letter

35. Ques. response

44

54

56. Fasteners that pop into place

34. Minister, for short

32

47

29. Consults 31. “Let’s see what you got!”

22

31

61. Neither wins nor loses

41. “Bill ___ Saves the World” (Netflix series)

13

41

46

50

12

26

34 40

11

19

45. ___-One (“Sound of da Police” musician)

40. Colorful writing implements

10 16

33. Folk singer Phil

39. “___ is me!”

9

18

39

49

8

15

19. Laugh-and-a-half 20. Like tough push-ups

4

23 27

17. “Hairspray” director

3

20

14. “Citizen Kane” director Welles

16. “Who Let the Dogs Out?” group ___ Men

2

63

Down 1. “Cobra Kai” school 2. Metal that can rust 3. NYC tennis stadium namesake

57. Loving or lasting leader?

58. Part of TB

10. Brand used to treat cold sores 11. Big-ticket items 12. Counterfeit 13. Appeases fully

4. Obscure people

18. CPA’s entry

5. Swaddle

22. Cat noises at night

6. Yearbook superlatives ender

24. Underscore alternative

7. “Born,” in a Wikipedia bio

25. What the circled letters represent

8. Fabric shop purchase

27. Former heavyweight champ Riddick

9. NBA component?

28. Picture that can be dragged

59. Lots of it was created for the Beijing Olympics 62. South African golf legend Ernie 63. ___-newsweekly (paper you might be holding) © 2022 Matt Jones

AnsweR to last month’s “Mixed Emotions” J A M B I S P A N M A G S O N I O N H U L U O N E S J E N N I F E R A N I S T O N I D E S N A I L O W I E Y I N F B I B R E A K I N G A R E C O R D A I L E D M E R L I V R E D I V O T H A L O A C I D N E V E R M A N I N N E L C U S T O M E R S E R V I C E R O O D I E A L U M S N O G A R I A S P A N I S H S P E A K I N G L I F E H I N G E P U N K Y A W N A D D E D A P E S

C O M I C S Garry Trudeau

JeffREY Koterba

Jen Sorensen

June 2023

39

O V E R

T H E

E D G E

A Killer of a Grand Opening

Steelhouse Omaha Is a Testament to the City’s Resolve Story and photos by Tim McMahan

The Killers splashed the crowd with confetti during the sold-out grand opening of Steelhouse Omaha.

A

when COVID-19 became the center of everything, shutting down our world and the music industry with it.

The idea of a world-crippling pandemic was the last thing on anyone’s mind at the time. That would come a few months later, in March 2020,

O-pa’s plan suddenly seemed like a fool’s dream — no one knew what was going to happen with the pandemic.

At the same time, the project was a beacon of hope, assurance that somehow we’d get through all the sickness and death, that O-pa and its patrons must know something or they wouldn’t hold onto a

lthough still fresh in most of our memories, we have to acknowledge what we were about to face in November 2019 when Omaha Performing Arts (O-pa) announced the yet-to-benamed, $109 million project that would become Steelhouse Omaha.

40

June 2023

commitment to build a facility designed to host a crowd of 3,000 like a herd of cattle, standing shoulder to shoulder in a windowless, confined hall – the absolute last place anyone would want to be in the middle of an airborne-spread health crisis.

And yet, here I was, three-and-a-half years later, COVID-19 much less threatening, standing in a security line next to a bank of search lights on the night of Steelhouse

Omaha’s grand opening, waiting to dive head-first into a maskless crowd. Ain’t humanity amazing?

Located at 11th and Dodge, only a stone’s throw from the Holland Performing Arts Center, Steelhouse is destined to become a landmark for live music. From the ground up, it is an ultra-modern concert hall that appears to have erupted right out of the concrete in downtown Omaha.

O V E R For its May 12 grand opening, booking The Killers – a band that usually plays 20,000seat arenas — was like learning to swim by being tossed into a deep, dark lake. Tickets sold out in minutes. I guess if you’re going to pressure-test the system, do it right out of the box.

To O-pa’s credit, Steelhouse passed the hospitality portion of the test with flying colors, thanks to a massive phalanx of smiling, crew-shirted staff at every turn. No gruff, overworked bouncers here — all these folks looked like they were having a good time. After walking through the lobby with its large merch and bar/ concessions areas, I bee-lined to the main hall — crampacked with T-shirt-clad fans holding plastic cups.

First impressions: Wow, this is big and wide open. Conces-

T H E

sion stands were built into the walls on each side of the hall and in the back – they were everywhere. Even with a soldout crowd, I had no problem buying my $13 pint of mango wheat beer. All purchases were cashless, so if you go, grab your credit card and ID and leave your wallet at home.

Now with beer in hand, things got tricky. The main floor was already crush-full.

I stepped into the mass of humanity a couple of times just to check out the sight lines. Instead of being sloped, the standing-only floor area seemed flat, but the stage was raised high enough so sight lines would be a problem only for the most height-challenged fans.

Somehow, I ended up standing on one of the elevated decks along stage right,

E D G E

where I noticed a guy manning what looked like a battery of cannons.

“Confetti cannons?” I asked.

He nodded, smiling. “When will those go off? At the beginning? At the end?”

“All night,” the guy said.

“The Killers love their confetti.”

We all discovered this shortly after 8 p.m. when the band took the stage and – bamf! — off went the cannons in a glittering cloud of paper as The Killers slammed into their opening number. And the crowd, as they say, went wild.

The room sounded pretty good overall, if a bit tinny and oversaturated on the high end.

Volume was even throughout the facility. The arsenal of lighting was impressive, as was the giant backdrop video that

augmented every song. It was as if The Killers had brought a Las Vegas stage show to Omaha (because they sort of did).

The challenges began when I turned around to make my way to the back of the hall.

People were smashed all the way across the aisles, requiring that I shoulder my way against the current of flesh. Still, I never felt trapped. The main auditorium is designed with large exit doors that open into a secondary lounge where the bathrooms are located, then into a large patio area — both nice touches and places to escape to when you feel overwhelmed by the sound and noise.

Later that weekend, I returned to the Steelhouse Open House to get a look at the facility without all the people, and yes, all the metal and concrete did feel rather sterile in the cold light of day. But you go for the rock show, not the feng shui.

That evening The Killers slammed through one song after the next, never slowing down and only briefly acknowledging that they had the honor of playing the grand opening. “We’ve been asked to christen The Steelhouse,” frontman Brandon Flowers yelled.“Usually we’re asked to blow the roof off the place!”

Not tonight. All in all, the grand opening felt like a success for Steelhouse and for a city that somehow soldiered through a catastrophe and found music on the other side.

The grand opening of Steelhouse Omaha was nothing short of a smashing success.

Over The Edge is a monthly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.

June 2023

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