Recapping a week filled with shows

* For some reason, the first week of November brought on a glut of must-see clubs shows both in Omaha and Lincoln, While I missed Manchester Orchestra in Lincoln and A.A. Bondy in Omaha, headlining sets by Real Estate, Conduits and David Bazan created a memorable week of music. The week’s highlight was undoubtedly the David Bazan show at Waiting Room Lounge, 6212 Maple St. Ex-Pedro the Lion founder played plenty of selections from Pedro and his solo career with a drummer and bassist that gave a rich structure to Bazan’s rock-steady, hooky indie rock. The simple trio format still let ragged ends hang loose and made sure the stark lyrical content wasn’t buried in sonic layers. In between songs, Bazan bantered with audience members, allowing a humorous question-and-answer session to take place while the band tuned between songs. The crowd hovered around 100 and most of the attendees devotedly crowded around the front of the stage. The Sunday night set boldly made it clear just how underappreciated Bazan is. He’s an indie rock treasure. On Thursday night, Conduits packed cozy House of Loom, 1012 South 10th St., for a night that swapped out Loom’s dance beats for slow-burning indie rock. Conduits are obviously onto something and Thursday felt like the local band might just be approaching a tipping point onto greater and greater success. Singer Jenna Morrison captivates in a manner similiar to the shoegazey Beach House, while guitarist J.J. Idt and his band mates let melodies percolate down like a morphine drip before slightly fracturing those textures with noisier squalls. The vibe is there and the sound is right. The only ingredient that still seems to be taking form is the songs, which right now stand up effectively as mood pieces. However, given all the intriguing ideas and top-notch musicianship coursing through Conduits veins, these songs should be packing more of an emotional wallop. Real Estate brought their own rapidly-rising indie guitar pop to The Slowdown, 729 North 14th St. Wednesday night, bringing a sprightly bounce to their post-Yo La Tengo guitar jams. The band has nailed down its sound over the course of two albums, which builds hope that they will begin to mess around with their form as they continue on. When all the songs travel at the same pace, 45 minutes is about the perfect set length. As it stands, the set succeeded on the strength of the band’s breezy songs and on the set’s brevity.