MILLIONS OF BOYS DIARY

In Sara Bertuldo’s own words, when Millions of Boys records or performs, “it’s just a buncha songs.”

As the only Nebraska band to play Maha’s Weitz Stage, they embraced the “buncha” and tapped the early day 35-minute set limit for all it was worth, squeezing in about a dozen of their poppy dashes.

Million of Boys showcased a baffling selection of either ironically morbid songs (e.g. “Dead Girls” or “Gimme Yr Blood,” which hinges on the lyric “give me your blood”) or songs dripping with teenage sentiment, something like Lover’s Lane pop punk.

The Omaha trio of multi-instrumentalists — Bertuldo (vocals/guitar/bass), Alex van Beaumont (vocals/guitar/bass) and Ryan Haas (vocals/drums) — bolstered their ranks with two more on Saturday, adding a supporting guitar and keys. Even if Omaha in-town crowds are used to something more pared-down, Millions of Boys came the main stage with a fuller platter.

Ignoring any glibness, Bertuldo’s remark on Millions of Boys’ songs could be taken as a suggestion for consuming them. About two minutes long and often in the same key, it’s better to look at their sets for the trees than a thematic forest.

The band drew mostly from their debut album Competing for Your Love (on the Kansas City label Golden Sound Records), as well as a few new tunes from a forthcoming second record.

Pre-Matt and Kim (more on that later), Millions of Boys brought Maha’s liveliest acrobatics, including an impromptu piggy back for Bertuldo — who is maybe 5 feet tall with her shadow and looked a bit like an incognito gardener in her droopy black hat— on van Beaumont’s shoulders.