Neva Dinova with Twinsmith, Outlaw con Bandana, and Both at the Slowdown, Omaha, 12/23/14

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Jake Bellows
We went to Omaha for Christmas, and I did my best to contain my Saddle Creek enthusiasm, in favor of family time. But on Christmas Eve eve, I received intelligence that Neva Dinova was playing a reunion show -- the first time in the six years since the band broke up that they had played a show. Since the band had no intention of ever playing a show again, and since tickets were not only available but only $10, I was pretty psyched. We headed to the slowdown, and met Jacob's brother and his girlfriend for drinks.

I hadn't been to the Slowdown since my first trip to Omaha, before I turned 21. We showed up to bask in the Saddle Creek-iness of the place, and made the bartender make us coffee in the middle of the afternoon, since we couldn't buy beer. The place has been remodeled and expanded since then. They have a whole new side of the room with a full-size stage, now, including a split-level area and a balcony from which you can take in the show. It's turned into a kind of great venue. They still have board games and a pretty decent beer selection.

A hip-hop outfit called Both opened. I was initially really unimpressed, as they were gesturing along with pre-recorded music rather than performing. I didn't pay a lot of attention after that, to be honest, but I did notice that they actually performed.

What followed was Outlaw con Bandana, a two-piece band with a male acoustic guitarist and lead vocalist and a female backup singer. It was folksy and simple. I thought it was pretty good at the time, but now I find I don't remember a lot about it. The guy said he had the flu, so I was pretty impressed they went on with the show. I have never seen such a mismatched pair of opening bands in my life -- it was a truly strange opening set.

Twinsmith was up next. They're one of the newer Saddle Creek bands that I haven't paid much attention to. They're playing upbeat hipster-rock, it seems like. The lead singer wore the most 90's button-up shirt you can imagine, open over a pale tie-dyed t-shirt. At the beginning of the set, he put lipstick on his bassist, which I think was supposed to be transgressive in some way. I wasn't totally impressed.

Neva Dinova, though. Oh man.

I got into Neva Dinova in the same way I got into many other Saddle Creek things -- because of a collaboration with Conor Oberst. Together, Bright Eyes and Neva Dinova released an EP called "One Juge of Wine, Two Vessels" -- 5 of the greatest songs either one of them has ever written alone. Recently, they revisited the collaboration to record five more, and released the album again, with new material, under the same name. I love that record.

From "One Jug", I moved on to other Neva Dinova, and I found it immediately captivating. It's more electric than I usually listen to, but frontman Jake Bellows has a smooth, expressive voice and writes the best lyrics. Bonus: he can play the guitar. I got really into the band my fourth year of college...but had no hope of ever seeing them play together. In the last few years, Jake Bellows has been getting his solo career off the ground with a debut record called "New Ocean" -- I like it, but not as much as I liked Neva Dinova.

The reunion show was fantastic. The band sounded exactly like their records, even after so long (though the songs haven't had a lot of opportunity to grow since their recording, which is sad). Jake Bellows was charmingly enthused, saying at one point that they had never had such a supportive audience. The Slowdown was packed -- it was beautiful.

Neva Dinova hit all my favorite songs, and just as I was beginning to hope against hope they would play "Spring Cleaning" from that "One Jug" EP, Conor Oberst came out on the stage, and they played it. They played it together.

And then they played a few more -- "Get Back" from the original set of songs, and two from the new set of 5. It was beautiful. Conor said he'd watched from the balcony, where we had noticed conspicuously empty reserved tables during Both's set earlier. He was dressed kind of goofily, for winter, puffy vest and waterproof boots -- I say this because, by the time he hit the stage, my phone was totally dead. A rabid Neva Dinova fan behind me said he would share some videos, but never did contact me. Alas. Neva Dinova may never play another show, and it was a special moment to get to see Conor and Jake do those "One Jug" songs together.

The rest of the show was also fantastic. They came back out for an encore, which ended finally with "Dances Fantastic", one of my absolute favorites. All in all, it was the best concert I've ever gone to on three hours' notice.


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