by Chris Aponick

* It's year three for the MAHA Festival and its organizers have just put out what may be the most diverse initial lineup of their indie-focused outdoor concert event's history. Matisyahu, Guided By Voices and Cursive will take the event's main stage at downtown Omaha's Lewis and Clark Landing on Saturday, August 13. Guided By Voices is the big coup, as Robert Pollard and the mid-90's line-up of the Ohio lo-fi indie rockers will only be playing select summer dates. It's this line-up that spawned GBV career highlights Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes. Matisyahu brings MAHA its first foray outside of indie rock, as he rocks a reggae-meets-hip-hop style. Matisyahu will take the MAHA stage after sundown, to comply with his Hasidic Jewish beliefs. Cursive is the known local commodity, having been one of the three bands that built Saddle Creek Records. Expect the rest of the line-up to be filled out over the next several weeks. Tickets for the year's MAHA Festival, which go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m., are $30 in advance and $35 day-of-show. For more information, visit MAHAMusicFestival.com. * The Black Lips once again did their live reputation justice during a Monday night show at the Waiting Room Lounge, 6212 Maple St. The Atlanta flower-punk act ripped through elements of psychedelic rock, garage pop, 70's punk-pop and more during a brief, but beautiful set. The band has increasingly focused on 2005's Let It Bloom and 2007's Good Bad Not Evil to round out its set and because of that, songs like “Dirty Hands” and “Bad Kids” have become anthems. Vivian Girls showed new shades of themselves during the Brooklyn trio's 45 minute opening set. While early material hit quick with its simplified girl-group-garage attack, this set highlighted Cassie Ramone's growing comfort as a musician. She's writing better songs and she's now embarking on these cleverly simple guitar solos that cut closer to the Breeders and late 80's guitar-hero indie rock than 60's revivalist stagnation. Solid Goldberg, the new one-man act of Dave Goldberg (Box Elders. Carsinogents) took his proper debut on the Waiting Room floor. Goldberg played a rolling cart of organs, pedals, drum machine loops and other effects, backing by his own self-contained light system. The sound was greasy, mutant pop, filled with distorted soul, garage and punk rock elements, but carved out in Goldberg's own image. The set's highlight was two old Terminals' songs that featured Liz Hitt on guitar and vocals. Despite the cameo, Solid Goldberg has plenty of life on its own merits.

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