IM MAHONEY
and the Meenies
Songwriter can’t lose Minneapolis vibe
By Ann Stack
Senior Reporter
Tim Mahoney is watching “Saved
By Hie Bell” and searching for inspi
ration.
While the two may not go hand
in-hand, Mahoney has proven that he
and songwriting can — and do.
The 25-year-old Minneapolis na
tive burst onto the scene nearly four
years ago as the frontman for the Blue
Meenies. After a falling-out with the
other frontman, Mahoney moved on
with a solo career. He retained Meenie
drummer Mike Pacello and became
Tim Mahoney and the Meenies.
Mahoney, a confessed sucker for
the three-minute pop song, writes
catchy, hook-laden rockers, complete
with loads of guitar-fueled melodies
and heavy vocals.
He’s been compared to radio-rock
ers Hootie and the Blowfish and other
male singer/songwriters like Duncan
Sheik and Richard Marx.“A Hootie
comparison’s correct in the format
because of the crossover ability of
getting picked up by a variety of sta
tions, but I don’t think I sound like
that,” he said. As for the Richard Marx
comparison, “I’m not cheesy like that.
Our voices might be alike, but I’m
nothing like that music,” he said.
Mahoney writes most of the parts
and arrangements for his music, hav
ing started writing songs when he was
14.
“I started playing the drums when
1 was in fifth grade,” he said. “I also
played piano for a country club.
“Now I watch ‘Saved By The Bell’
and screw around with my guitar. If I
get a quick idea I run over to the pi
ano.
Mahoney recorded a self-titled al
bum released in June 1995, which sold
well in the local market. He’s on tour
to support his latest effort, “Now,”
which will be in stores Feb. 11. This
was produced by Marc Ramaer, who’s
worked with kd Lang. The Meenies,
composed of Pacello, keyboardist Rich
Farris, bass player Mike Liska and
lead guitarist Bruce \bsberg, back him
live as well as on the album.
“Now” has a certain trademark
Minneapolis vibe to it — all the New
York polish in the world could no
more take it away than it could taint
his soft Northern accent.
“The Replacements are one of my
favorite bands,” he said. “I’ve seen
Paul Westerberg around town a few
times, but I never go up and talk to
him.”
With $3, you can catch this alt/pop
rocker at the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St.,
tonight at 9. If you miss Tim Mahoney
and the Meenies tonight and feel like
a road trip, they’re playing at the
Ranch Bowl, 1600 S. 72nd St., in
Omaha Thursday night with Moment
of Release and Neptune Bloom.
m MBINMEY art the Meeaies will
perfena at the Zee Bar, 136 N. 14 St.,
tealgbt la a 21-aai-ever shew. The
baaB amabers are (freai left te right)
Brace Vesberg, Mike Pacelle,
Mabaaey, Rich Fanrls aai Mfta Uska.
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Bt Bret Schulte
Staff Reporter
It is difficult to properly explain to
other people just how spiritual a rock
‘n’ roll moment can be.
Mike Ness, frontman and punk
demigod of Social Distortion, took the
stage Monday night at Omaha’s Sokol
Hall. Armed only with his quivering
guitar, Ness proceeded 10 ieaa me vio
lently swirling crowd through an old
school punk show the likes of which
Omaha had never seen. And Omaha
responded.
Swingin’ Utters, who opened for
The Descendents in their show at the
Ranch Bowl last November, once
again christened the punk evening.
Their searing and bouncing set was
briefly interrupted by an overweight,
half-naked white supremacist who
decided to grab a male adolescent by
his head and fling his squirming body
into the crowd. He shouted “white
power” and was immediately besieged
by the variety of punks and skins
standing nearby.
Swingin’ Utters stopped briefly,
proclaimed that this was no place for
a racist attitude, and swung back into
song as the man was escorted from the
building. Hie Swingin’ Utters finished
with incredible energy, burying their
last Omaha performance.
Just as exciting, but not quite as
eventful, was the Supersuckers, who
followed up the Swingin’ Utters. Hik
ing mainstage in full late ’70s Hank
Williams Jr. garb (except for one,
sporting an early ’80s AC/DC concert
T-shirt) they postured with tongue-in
cheek stage antics and over-the-top
Van Halen-esque guitar solos.
n_«_*_t__i__i_
9 puim ouu aiuia
song mutations constantly redlined at
9000 rpms and are brilliantly con
ceived and terribly entertaining.
Social Distortion, a band nearly as
old as American punk itself, slowly
walked onstage complete with smirk
ing faces and slicked hair. Mike Ness,
in dark eye shadow and sparkling
blade shirt, stared out at the crowd as
his band members donned their instru
ments.
He struck a chord as the crowd
screamed. Ness answered with the
Rolling Stones’ cover “Under My
Thumb,” which appeared both cn the
“Mainliner” and “White Light, White
Heat, White Trash” album.
As the crowd slammed against the
stage. Social Distortion delivered sev
eral songs offits newest album, includ
■ HJU
ing its two radio releases “I Was
Wrong” and “When the Angels Sing.”
Hie pit directly in front of the stage
continued to barf out kids as Ness
growled into the microphone. As the
show progressed, Ness shed his shirt
to reveal his torso depicting a reck
less youth complete with prostrated
naked women, fast cars and a variety
of other symbols and designs.
Social Distortion covered the
gamut or its career mciuumg
such as “1945" off “Mainliner,"
“Prison Bound" and a few cuts off
“Somewhere Between Heaven and
Hell,” including the release “Bad
Luck."
Most cuts were deliciously and in
dulgently elongated, and Social Dis
tortion seemed in prime form, strut
ting up and down the stage, flicking
the occasional guitar pick into the
crowd and grinding their guitars and
teeth from song to song.
The show ended with a tribute to
Johnny Cash with a raucous and harsh
cover of his classic “Ring of Fire.” The
crowd, still not satisfied, seemed to
take solace in Mike Ness' promise that
Social Distortion would return this
spring.
Tradition, quality shone
in orchestra performance
ByLaneHickenbottom
Music Critic
What can be said bad about one
of the world’s finest orchestras with
nearly 100 years of symphonic tra
dition? c
Nothing bad at all, or at least
that was the case of Tuesday night’s
Lied Center performance, when the
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
played three exciting pieces. It is
certainly difficult to say anything
bad about the quality of music
played Ibesday night, especially in
recognition that the great Ludwig
van Beethoven created half of it.
Tbe Warsaw Philharmonic Or
chestra started the evening with a
Witold Lutoslawski’s “Symphony
No. 4.” The 21-minute symphony
was created about a year before
Lutoslawski’s death in 1994 and
sounds remarkably close to the
background music of a murder
mystery movie.
The second symphony was
Sergei Rachmaninov’s “Rhapsody
on a Theme of Paganini for Piano
and Orchestra.” The centerpiece
of this symphony was the piano
played by internationally acclaimed
concert pianist Jon Kimura Parker.
A deaf perron could easily en
joy the contrasts of power and deli
cacy in “Rhapsody” simply by
watching Parker and his borderline
psychotic piano playing. During
the strong musical moments,
Parker leaned into the piano with
both his strong fingers and the rest
of his body with ferocity, playing
the insanely fast-paced piece.
Beethoven's “Symphony No. 3
in E-flat Major, Op. 55” filled the
ears of Ued-goers after intermis
sion. During “Marcia funebre:
Adagio assai,” the second move
ment of the four-part sypiphony,
Warsaw conductor Kazimierz Kord
broke a vein and let loose, waving
his hands up and down and all over
creation, creating the most intense
moment of the evening.
