OMAHA, NEBRASKA — Downtown Benson was alive and bustling on 12th September 2026 as dozens of dedicated fans and casual listeners alike made their way towards The Waiting Room. The co-headlining tour, starring Macseal and Ben Quad, is nothing short of iconic – one of those tours that people will see flyers for ten years down the line and express just how much they wish they had made it out to the show. Also part of the bill are trio Aren’t We Amphibians, hailing from San Diego, CA and Omaha’s very own Lou Lou Louie!, who had the honor of being the first act of the night.

Not only did the Nebraska natives seem right at home on stage during their performance, their sound also fit in perfectly alongside the other bands on the lineup. As the crowd started to pour in, they played songs from their debut album Social Smoking, namely ‘HBDL (Happy Birthday Luke)’ and ‘Rest, Assured’. After a moment of encouragement from the crowd, the band began to talk about their new release, letting both new and old fans know that they’d have CDs for sale at the merch table all night long.

Aren’t We Amphibians were the second band on the bill, giving the audience a taste of Parade! Parade!, their first album which was released last September. After they finished up ‘Rock, Etc.’ and ‘Family on 6’, they dug deep into their discography and pulled out the 2023 single ‘Carrion’. Between their math-rock inspired guitar, as well as the vocals and lyrics that are almost reminiscent of Fall Out Boy at the time of their debut, they were a perfect choice for this tour.

Up next was Ben Quad, an emo-adjacent group from Oklahoma City. The band initially formed after meeting through a Craigslist ad back in 2018, and they’ve been putting out solid bangers since then. Back in 2019, the group was actually given the opportunity to open for Macseal on their headlining tour at Classen Coffee in OKC. Now, though, the two bands have gotten together to share the stage again, this time both as headliners. Their first songs of the night were ‘What Fer?’ and ‘Painless’, both from their 2025 album Wisher. ‘What Fer?’ begins with the soft strumming of a guitar and soft vocals to match, but what makes it unique is the twang of a banjo underneath it all. The second half of the song is marked by an almost cinematic swell of the guitar. It could not be more different from ‘Painless’, which opens up with fast-paced guitar and prominent drums. The vocals and instrumentals on this particular song are almost evocative of early Underoath, but also just so uniquely Ben Quad that it’s impossible not to become entirely entranced by them. This set was a true demonstration of how versatile this group can be. The crowd was not only excited by that, but also by the interactiveness of their performance as guitarist Edgar Viveros approached them at the edge of the stage numerous times, even occasionally holding his guitar out and giving audience members the opportunity to play along with the band. They closed out with ‘Blood for the Blood God’ from their debut album I’m Scared That’s All There Is.

Macseal, indie rockers from Long Island, New York, were the last to take the stage. They opened up their set with ‘A + B’, a track from their second and latest release, aptly titled Permanent Repeat. Despite the fact that their setlist was very different from the last time they’d played in Omaha, they didn’t shy away from playing fan favorites like ‘Cats’, a story of apparent seasonal depression told over the band’s signature intricate guitar riffs. As they played through more songs from their sophomore album, Macseal were briefly joined by Aren’t We Amphibians’ Brandon Cunningham on the drums, and later by their vocalist, Joshua Talbot. The pair plopped down right in the middle of the stage for a quick cameo before they made their exit, leaving the band to finish out the night with ‘Harry’ and ‘Next To You’, both from their well-loved 2017 EP Yeah, No, I Know.