If you pay a visit to Omaha, Nebraska, you might have a difficult time finding the Hotel Frank. It’s not listed in the phone book. If you ask for directions, one or two people might only remember it by one of its former monikers, like the Gunboat or the Jerk Store. Others, of course, may have no idea what in the hell you’re talking about. But if you find just the right person to ask, say, a twenty-something who looks like he cuts his own hair and maybe slept in his clothes, you might get a more helpful answer. The fact is the Hotel Frank, as it’s currently known (although probably not for long, since these nicknames are fleeting), is an innocuous brick duplex that also happens to be one of the hottest house show venues on the Omaha music scene.

And the distinction isn’t a new one. The duplex has been home to, and a stage for, some of the finest musicians to come out of Omaha in the past 10 years. Its basement was where the much-beloved Park Ave. held their final show, and where the much-underrated Desaparecidos held one of their first. Nowadays, although the bands have changed, the ideology hasn’t, and the latest group to set up camp at Hotel Frank is a little indie band called Capgun Coup.

“We knew some people from the suburbs that had moved down there and started throwing fucking crazy fun parties, and they suggested we move in to the vacant west wing of the complex,” says Sam Martin, lead guitarist and vocalist of the band, when asked how he ended up at this Omaha hotspot. “Soon after, we filled up the east wing with friends, too. I’m sure it’s the same now as it was when it was the Gunboat from an outside perspective; we just party, make art, and make music.”

If the idea of an Omaha music scene is a surprise to you, get thee to a record store forthwith. If the idea of an Omaha house show scene is new, however, you’re not alone. The house show culture of Omaha is largely unknown once you get outside the circle of locals, but the same can no longer be said for Capgun Coup. Chances are at least marginally good that you’ve heard of them, even if you’re not from the big O. Perhaps you read the Rolling Stone online blurb where Conor Oberst name-checked the band as his current favorite. Or perhaps you’re paying really close attention to who’s out there shaking things up.

So just who is this band, and what are they doing? The story of Capgun Coup began about three years ago, when Martin and Greg Elsasser were two bored suburban kids in Nebraska with nothing to do after school but write and play music. They dubbed their collaborative project Acrobat Alice and experimented with a variety of sounds, recording their efforts while developing a working rapport. Eventually, after graduation and a move to the (much hipper) midtown district of Omaha, they met up with Eric Ohlsson and Andy Matz, thus solidifying Capgun Coup’s current line-up. And the rest is (very recent) history. The band quickly grew to become a favorite amongst Omaha locals who, judging from their past record, tend to know what the hell they’re talking about.

There’s a reason, of course, for this backstory on the setting. And the reason is that the sound of this band is largely a product of their surroundings. While calling Capgun Coup a “house show band” or a “basement band” (or even an “Omaha band”) is both unfair and limiting, there are elements of all of those cultures alive and well in their music. If you can’t begin to imagine what a house show in a bored Midwestern town is like, then Capgun Coup is here to demonstrate. This isn’t canned, commercial indie rock (as much as it pains me to admit that such a thing exists, it now does, contradiction in terms and all); this is music that is steeped in youth culture, that makes you wish you were standing in a crush of sweaty people on someone’s basement stairs, drinking cans of Old Style and smoking black cigarettes. It’s the music of summer night dance parties that send you staggering home at 2am in thriftstore high heels. This is ragged, danceable, experimental rock with some muscle behind it; this band can go from soulful to poppy, from folksy to frantic, within the course of one set (and maybe an encore, if there’s time).

But what I don’t mean to do is to make it sound like Capgun Coup is falling apart at the seams, jumping wildly from one idea to another without rhyme or reason, without letting the listener latch on to what’s happening. That’s not the case. Frenetic guitar, impatient yet oddly melodic vocals, and a sense of urgent carelessness might drive the songs, but all of that noise is wrapped around a surprisingly tight and listenable spine. In short, the songs hold together; they stand up under their own weight without dissolving into a discordant mess like you might expect. At least they don’t do it any more often than you’d want them to. Clearly, there’s an underlying intention to all of this, even if the intention is just to make a good song, have a good night, and get a good response from the kids on the porch. The songs pick a destination on the map; they drive there, with a few pit stops along the way, and then they see what it looks like and decide whether or not they like it. If they do, they might try that drive again next time. Backwards. You get the point.

As far as what the band might have in mind for their own destination, they’re not the type to be chatty and philosophical about it. “For now we’re planning on playing shows and touring in the fall, along with starting to write and record for our next release. We’re also working on some fun splits with some friends around town,” says Martin, when pressed. No grandscale plans to sell their tunes to Volvo just yet, apparently. Their casual refusal to make claims grander than what lies just ahead of them is refreshing.

Capgun Coup’s experimental sound might translate best to the stage, but their recorded efforts also have their share of surprises. The band’s debut album, Brought to You by Nebraskafish, is an eclectic collection of songs originally recorded over the span of more than a year. First released on Slumber Party Records, Nebraskafish is being re-released this month on Team Love, a sister label to Saddle Creek Records. The album features a wide range of songs, some self-produced, and others recorded under the watchful eye of the prestigious Presto! Studios in Lincoln, Nebraska. The group is also on tour later this month with Saddle Creek darlings the Good Life.

At this point, some writers might find it necessary to say something along the lines of how there’s no telling if Capgun Coup will thrive outside the borders of the Omaha scene. But such a statement hardly seems to fit this situation. First of all, they’re already outside of the borders. But secondly, the band seems past the 50/50 line of possible success. Considering the experimental detours they’ll make along the way, it might not be a neat progression from point A to point B. But once they figure out where they’re going, they’ll get there.

Listen: Various tracks [at myspace.com]

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