Digital Leather isn't the only new wave act to come from Omaha -- you've also got the Faint. However, while Digital Leather's recorded output brings to mind Joy Division, their live show is something more akin to Warsaw, the band that would come to be Joy Division.
The Omaha act mixes dark new wave and punk, with a definite emphasis on the punk, sounding like an '80s movie soundtrack ran through a dirty Sunset Strip rock club. They play songs that are perfect to get lit and dance to. Unfortunately, there were only about three or four people doing that at the Replay last night.
The band had a lot of energy, and they played as well to the mostly-empty floor at the Replay as one would assume they would to a full auditorium. It was unfortunate that they played a Tuesday during spring break, but that's the risk a band takes picking up shows on their way to SXSW.
Openers the Lepers, fellow Omaha residents, played music that was the most hypnotic thing I've ever heard come wafting out the speakers at the Replay. The two man band had a sound that was far larger than their numbers would suggest, thanks to a staggering array of effects pedals on stage. The Lepers' drummer, Ken Brock, had a real tribal groove going on, and the songs ebbed and flowed from one to another, with guitarist Owen Cleasby making his guitar do things that amazed.
Unfortunately, I was distracted throughout much of their set by a very fucked up young lady who was shuffling and dancing all over the bar. After attempting to give several male patrons unwanted lap dances, and losing her coat, she was eventually hauled away in a fireman's carry by someone who obviously knew her.
Speaking of people who know people, local openers Eagle Us Pets had a good-sized audience obviously there to see them. They're a new band from Lawrence, with only a few shows under their collective belt. The band's sound is actually like it's two bands in one. There's the band fronted by keyboard player and vocalist Kit that sounds like a version of the Doors fronted by Stan Ridgway of Wall of Voodoo. That version of Eagle Us Pets has a loud-quiet-loud aesthetic, with a lot of spoken/sung vocals then buzzy riffing, followed by a brief guitar freakout.
Then there's the other version of Eagle Us Pets, fronted by drummer Taylor. He took the keys after a few songs, and the band became a poppy organ-powered rock band. Soundman Seth Wiese was dancing by the front door. More of this please, or at the very least, something like the Kit-fronted cover of the Clash's "White Riot." It was a barely-together, kind of shakey version of the song, but fun enough to garner some interest.
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