Monthly Archives: October 2011

DELTA ROUTINE AT YIELD 10.20.11

This isn’t a review so much as a thank you, because a show like this cannot go unrecognized.  First and foremost, a huge thank you to The Delta Routine for yet another great performance.  Your love for what you do projects straight to the audience which allows for consistently great musical experiences.  You give us all of yourselves, and seeing a band have as much fun as the audience is truly awesome.  Speaking of the audience, I’d also like to thank all of the fellow dancers.  While I don’t mind being the first one on the dance floor, there’s nothing better than a crowded mass of great people collectively feeding off the same great musical energy.  The Delta Routine knows how to deliver, and we fans know how to capitalize on it.  And last but not certainly least, thank you to Yield bar.  Your support of local music is greatly appreciated by bands and fans alike.  Your atmosphere is always fun and friendly, and your wide selections of tasty, inexpensive drinks are always served by a wonderful staff.  I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating; nights like this make me feel privileged to be part of the Milwaukee music scene and the great community of people that are involved

THE ARCAS STRING QUARTET REVIEW 10/16/2011

Classical music is unfortunately a great genre of music that is oft forgotten in today’s world. But without it, modern music might not even be around. Some bands have caught on to this, adding classical elements to their mix, such as The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony”. Fortunately great classical musicians are still present in today’s society, carrying on the legacy of a time past, if you know where to look. The Arcas String Quartet is one such group and Localplaylist was lucky enough to experience them this past Sunday evening at the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, a beautiful church on the east side. The quartet is comprised of Ilana Setapen and Margot Schwartz on violin, Jenny Snyder Kozoroz on viola and Peter J. Thomas on cello, all young musicians with impressive portfolios spanning the country’s orchestras.

First on the bill was Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 1 in C Major, Op. 49, a playful piece, bringing to mind the season of spring and folk fairytales. Consisting of four movements in the traditional quartet style, it kept a light-hearted, happy theme for most of the piece.

Joel K. Boyd’s String Quartet No. 1 was up next, also called Abigail’s Rose. Milwaukee composer Boyd emceed the night so it was a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of the artist himself. Inspired by Abigail Adam’s life, the piece was very different from most modern compositions, bringing a colonial twist to the night.

Then there was a 15 minute intermission for the audience to stretch their legs, a welcome pause as the entire performance was about as long as a normal symphony concert. But instantly, our attention was again caught with the 3rd and final piece, Beethoven’s String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1 “Razumovsky”. A technically difficult and lengthy piece, it held the drama of Beethoven’s more well-known works, tinted with a warmth and playfulness not often associated with the composer. There was sorrow, magic and violence throughout all four movements. It ended on a high note, several mock climaxes finally bringing the piece to a magnificent finale.

All in all, a beautiful night of music, present by an amazingly talented group of musicians, who in their own right, are a lost art.

ZIGMORTIUS@ THE MIRAMAR THEATER- OCTOBER 14

Last Friday, October 14th, 2011 Milwaukee Noise Collective presented Zigmortius, along with Grimeatron, Boom Box Saints, DJ Chexx, and Apple Country. The event also saw support from Gamma Ray Sound & Lighting.

During his evening existence, the tribalic, demon-rock superstar, Zigmortius, took the stage and was in the midst of a doomsday style atmosphere. The theater had cut nearly every light leaving the dance floor and seating area in a questionable haze. Smoke machines plowed out puffy vapor clouds for the limelight lasers to slice through.

The only semi-visible image was the hellish silhouette image of the legendary electro-dark-rock phenomenon, ZIGMORTIUS! His improvisational style of looping imaginative kaossilation beat patterns with his solo improv electro drumming sequences puts Zigmortius in control of his shows. He plays with certain sounds he finds intriguing, and manipulates them to follow form for any given performance.

His scheduled slot was cut short by a good twenty minutes. Zigmortius then handed out his black skull stage props with red lit eyes to members of the crowd.

Here are some photos taken at the event:

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KANE PLACE RECORD CLUB, FRESH CUT COLLECTIVE & FRENCH HORN REBELLION AT MAD PLANET 10.13.11

Imagine your ideal dinner party.  A great group of friends come together; each one a talented chef and everyone contributes their favorite dish.  All the distinct flavors come together to create a delicious meal that everyone devours.  Now apply this scenario to music and that’s what we fans got to indulge in when Kane Place Record Club, Fresh Cut Collective and French Horn Rebellion played at Mad Planet.  From the up and coming to the well established to the hometown return, our musical taste buds were completely satiated  by this fabulous combination of artists.

Kane Place Record Club kicked off the night and since this was my first time seeing them, I prepared like I usually do by previewing their music throughout the week (their EP is available to download for free, by the way).  As much as I enjoyed their songs, I was blown away by their great high energy live performance.  This six piece outfit knows how to showcase their individual talents while simultaneously providing a cohesive sound that really got the audience moving.  They have an indie/pop/soul vibe that hinted at everything from Ray Charles to doo wop and even a little bit of ska.  I know I’ll be looking out for their future shows, so stay tuned to Local Playlist and make sure you check them out. 

At this point the energy was high and the crowd was primed and ready for more, and Fresh Cut Collective knew how to deliver.  After missing their last few shows I was more than ready to see them perform live again.  They began their set covering a bit of “Feel Me Flow”, a Naughty by Nature song that I haven’t heard in years but perfectly suited the fun vibe of the evening.  Hands were up and bodies were grooving as they progressed into their own material.  Their always infectious beats combined with Kiran’s rhymes and the whole band’s charisma immediately draw you in, and it’s awesome to watch such talented individuals perform as such a cohesive unit.  With a new album in the works, hot off the press t-shirts and a great video for their hit “Let Go” (you can see it here on local playlist or download it for free), there are great things for Fresh Cut Collective on the horizon, and we fans can reap the benefits every time we get to experience shows like this.

Fog machines, laser lights, keyboards, mad mixed beats and a French horn? That’s exactly what we got when French Horn Rebellion took to the stage.  Milwaukee natives now doing their thing in New York, they brought their “basement dance party” grooves back to their hometown to finish out the evening.  With the energy that Kane Place Record Club and Fresh Cut Collective already stirred up, the bar had been set pretty high for this final act, but French Horn Rebellion had no trouble keeping the mojo going.  These brothers continued the trend of the evening by delivering a continuous flow original and highly danceable music. 

While I never need to be reminded of all the fantastic local music we have here, nights like this really make me proud to be a part of the Milwaukee music scene, even if just as a fan.  When you have groups of talented artists that are passionate about what they do and what they treat their fans to, a fantastic evening of music is inevitable.  Be on the lookout for these bands fellow music lovers, then come to a show and just try not to dance. I dare you.

UNDERCOVER ORGANISM – CRISP – OCTOBER 9, 2011

Milwaukee’s own Undercover Organism, an improvised, dance, rock, funktronica band, played at Crisp Pizza & Lounge Bar on Brady to celebrate a great day for Wisconsin Sports!      { GO BREW CREW!   GO PACK! }

The turnout was not immense, however that didn’t stop them from jammin’. And to be fair, Undercover usually plays the first Sunday of every month so it wasn’t their usual slot. These FREE

Sunday evening shows are a good way for these guys to improvise, tweak audio imperfections, attempt new maneuvers, and perfect lighting displays. It’s a day for these guys to get together after the daily sporting events and have fun playing for whoever decides that Sunday night is the night to party!

The show began shortly after the Packer game, and wrapped up shortly before 1 A.M. Fans danced around, meandering from the smoking area to the pizza-bar, mingling with friends, and enjoying the 2-4-1 DRINK SPECIAL offered during the concert.

Here are some photos taken at the show:

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SOUND TRIBE SECTOR 9- The RIVERSIDE – SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

STS9 kicked off their Fall Tour here in Milwaukee at The Riverside on Wisconsin Avenue promoting their new EP “When the Dust Settles.”

The Riverside Theater provides multiple viewing angles to watch the show from. They have an upper balcony, a lower deck, a pit, and the extending side balconies. This is a fun venue to hop around in and check out the shows from all locations. They wasted no time breaking into Shock Doctrine to start off set one, a track off of their Peaceblaster album.

The second set ferociously tore right into one of their well known tracks, The Rabble. This song has a catchy “swagga” to it that really gets the crowd ragin’. It was also rumored that the Drummer and Bassist from Umphrey’s McGee sat in for a song called Move My Peeps. (Not Confirmed). The second set came to an end with Aimlessly, and the artists finalized their fall kick-off tour concert with Somesing!

Here are some photos from this event:

 

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BASSNECTAR- THE RAVE (EAGLES BALLROOM) SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Just over a week ago Lorin Ashton, with the stage name: Bassnectar, voyaged himself and crew of Bass Cadets to our hometown to play a whimsical performance. EOTO (2 members of the String Cheese Incident) was the opening act for this event.

Today, the “Bassnectar Music/Band Fan Page” on Facebook has 646,074 fans. Comparing this fact to that of a band such as Phish with 521,554 fans on Facebook one may see how our current generation of music-goers cater to this electronic Disk Jockey style of performance. Hence, the reason this genre of concert is beginning to see the average age to be significantly younger. This event followed suit.

Bassnectar has been selling out concert venues, bars, and clubs all across globe, including tours internationally. He provides music enthusiasts with jaw-dropping bass performances and incorporates DubStep, hip-hop, and electronic alterations into his setlists. He is considered a solo DJ that produces unique and creative bass reverberations and has recently been coined the “Monster of Womp,” due to his catchy dubstep bass waves.

The Eagles Ball Room was near capacity and Bass Heads occupied the entire balcony area  above. This concert was part of his fall tour promoting his new EP “Divergent Spectum,” containing remixes of Ellie Goulding- Lights, and also sampling Ill Gates and Gogol Bordello.

Bassnectar’s lighting displays have always correlated well with the music he is playing at a given time. Years ago during his mellower drum and bass performances the visuals would match the melodies in an organically, in-depth-growing, adventurous way. Today, his shows contain lighting displays similar to those of Umphrey’s McGee or Future Rock in the aspect that they are more fast paced, continuous bright patterns that rapidly change to the damaging bass cannons Lorin has began to drop.

The show was intriguing because he found a proper way to thread his new tracks into his set-list without making the show seem like too much of a new album promotion. He also found modern ways to incorporate pieces of his previous work into the exploration of his current trends.

There is another minor part of his shows that sets him apart; he tends to mildly sample certain portions of songs out of the realm of the mainstream ear, such as “Juicy Juice, By: Zion I & The Grouch.” He finds a way to mend these short lower-key pieces of songs into his act, and doing it without having to make them “known.”

Here are some photo’s from his performance:

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EOTO @ The Majestic Theater

EOTO is the combination of two members from String Cheese Incident. Recently EOTO has embarked on a midwest tour taking them to Madison, WI @ The Majestic Theater on September 28th, 2011. This show was a precursor for their Electronic Duo with Bassnectar the following evening at Milwaukee’s The Rave. Here are a few show photos from their Madison show.

 

Thursday is nuts!

Ok just wanted to give a shoutout to local talent this Thursday…lots of great stuff going on. First off, Art Milwaukee’s Art Jamboree at the Grand Avenue Mall, starting at 6. Local artists displaying their pieces, some records spinning, bound to be a good time. Next, there’s Trocadero’s 10th anniversary party going down at 7. Live music provided by Milwaukee’s very own classically-infused indie pop-rock group, I’m Not A Pilot. If you haven’t seen them play, Thursday’s your chance! Then Myles Coyne and the Rusty Nickels Band will performing at Yield around 10. Lots of free, fun events to hit up. Hope to see ya, localplaylist will be all over town that night!