Monthly Archives: April 2012

ROUND N’ ROUND WE GO UP: KINETIX AT THE MIRAMAR 4/19/2012

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The Miramar Theater on Milwaukee’s East side welcomed Kinetix from Denver, Colorado on April 19th. This lyrical funky rock group was preparing to come on stage lit with high energy following a Madison local favorite, WOOK. However, due to unfortunate transportation issues the Madison homies could not make the show. After many headaches trying to confirm alternate transport methods, and attempting to find fill-in openers, WOOK sadly confirmed their unwanted defeat. We Love You WOOK, and know you were there in spirit.

Kinetix took the stage around ten thirty that evening in front of a whopping ten patrons. The final tally for the evening was 14.The expected turnout for the event was primarily hindered due to the absence of fans in anticipation to see WOOK. This road bump however did not affect the performance Kinetix displayed.

These guys love having fun on stage. It shows through their emotions during their connection with one another on stage as well as in their individual soulful jams. Their first set gave off a mellow mood, ending with a drums solo containing vibes of sporadic calmness, and led the five piece brain train into a carnival of sounds for their wildly fanatical second set.

The full, rich audio comes from a talented crew made up of two guitarists Adam Lufkin and Jordan Linit, bassist Josh Fairman, drummer Pete Koopmans and keyboardist/vocalist Eric Blumenfeld. These five members have found a way to put a poppy spunk into a realm of generalized rock. There were no visual aides to assist this show beyond an audio pleasure. The lasers were not mourned.

The boys encored with a Beastie Boys cover, ‘Fight For Your Right,’ and then snuck in a fan favorite, ‘The Round’ with a sneaky sample into hip-hop legend Nelly’s ‘Ride Wit’ Me’ off his fresh Country Grammar album. Let me tell you, the 14 people in that place were jumpin.

Twitt

420 FESTIVAL AT THE MIRAMAR

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In observation of the holiday that gives marijuana enthusiasts and civil rights activists an unclaimed right to speak up and smoke out, the Miramar Theater hosted their annual 420 Festival on Friday, April 20th, 2012.

Headlining the event were Cosmic Railroad, Undercover Organism, and Boney Fingers. The artists were accompanied by local vendors including Nathan Folsom with SydeTrek Glass, Paul with his legal healing stand, and Ariel Tucker-Jones, Mary Inderrieden and Ashleigh Fischer with Euphoric Clothing.

The hazy stupor in the attendees showed through with relaxed attention spans, glazy eyes, cemented stances, and permanent smiles and gave away their celebratory secrets. The conversations regarding ganja edibles, strains of marijuana, and variations of hash oils, kief pucks, and devices to smoke these meticulous products out of seemed enlightening. The enthusiastic approach smokers take to this particular plant intrigues the majority, but draws negative attention from others.

Cosmic Railroad, a Kenosha local jam band, kicked off the event that night with a stellar performance. Their style varies from one of their shows to another. Songs they played in the past come alive in new direction as the band plays to the mood they feel at a particular place in time.

Undercover Organism’s set supplied a natural flow from their set-list to the dance floor. These boys were on point and just let the disposition stream. This was the aura of the entire evening, but the set displayed by Undercover had a trance-like nature, bending the ability to simply watch the performance by engaging the fans mentally. A heavy, dream-like state dripped from the instruments, held by the members, lending an almost visual feel.

Paul, The High-Stepper, gave his long awaited annual speech on respecting your fellow self, relaxing the mind and body, and healing the soul. This portion of the event is always a humorous fan favorite.

By the time Boney Fingers laid their fingers on the strings there was a high presence of people utilizing the seating area. The ones left standing…forgot to sit. This Grateful Dead cover band takes the sunshine blues from the ever-so-loved Dead, and use their individual talents to create a compilation of new age Dead jams. The soulful vibes cherished during this performance reach out and give a warm tribute to the one and only, Grateful Dead. It was one happy bluegrass moment after another as the jolly ole artists brought out the sun in the Miramar that eve.

This event although slow-moving, mind you, showed divine respects to the local talent that came together to make this year’s 420 Festival one for the bedtime books.

Twitt

PRETTY LIGHTS MUSIC PRESENTS: GRAMATIK & BREAK SCIENCE 4/12/2012

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Pretty Lights Music presented Gramatik and Break Science, along with Paul Basic at Turner Hall Ballroom on Thursday, April 12th, 2012. These individuals take the stereotype out of electronic music, and convert it into a clever “type of stereo.”

Gramatik recently headlined the 2012 Winter Warmer Festival, and has been creating a name for himself in the Milwaukee electronic music scene. His laid back, yet explosive palette of ideas shows through during his on stage presence by seeming emotionless, but confident knowing that everyone digs it.

Break Science, also part of the Pretty Lights Music record label, have had their name tattooed on some fine tuned line-ups in the past few years. Drummer Adam Deitch, previously touring as a co-operative duo with Pretty Lights legend, Derek Smith, is tailoring his style and having some fun along the way.

The electronic music scene receives much negative criticism for its “monotonous, repetitive, elementary sounding styles” however, there are few groups that take the genre to a more “educated” standpoint and are essentially breaking the audio thresholds of science. The use of other instruments, hence the drums, keyboards, and guitars used during this performance bring the futuristic sounds of electronic music back down to the basic understood and cherished respect for composition and live music. These instrumental techniques equipped with a DJ using the power of technology to replicate these extremely difficult, and sometimes impossible sounds to imitate on standard instruments brings positivity to enhance the show.

The lighting during this performance captured the vibe of the audience quite flawlessly. The sepia-toned spotlights had a drawn out motion to them, as if time were passing at half pace. These were complimented by a series of clear lamp spotlights. Their sets held this bogged down attitude, but in a positive way. There were no unruly heart-stopping drops, or quick-cut glitch techniques, but more of a melodic, sensitive, laid back tone where the music seemed to just glide over the crowd, rather than scare them. The levels were easy on the ears, and there was no annoying breach of audio discomfort.

The crowd was manageable and the walkways were maneuverable. A few couples in the crowd seemed to have felt out of place by their acts of looking around in question and whispering heavily; maybe catching a show after dinner downtown or just regulars to Turner Hall, but they loosened up and ended up displaying a variety of affections towards the artists.

This self-motivated duo displayed a smooth-retro, yet fresh approach into the intimidating era of electronic music.

Twitt

SHOOT DOWN THE MOON AND MYLES COYNE & THE RUSTY NICKELS BAND AT FRANK’S POWER PLANT 4/27/12

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Frank’s Power Plant is a small, unassuming venue that hosts lots of great, local Milwaukee bands. With a distinctive name hard to forget and a centralized location in Bay View, Frank’s is a hidden gem. The stage and viewing area isn’t big but the sound is good and the drinks are cheap and who can argue with that? I’ve never not had a fun time and last night did not break that trend, featuring friends’ bands Myles Coyne & The Rusty Nickel Band and Shoot Down the Moon, two bands dissimilar in sound but not in talent or energy. Earlier in the night, DW of DW & Co. played a solo set and Slander Cannon performed as well. Unfortunately, we arrived late and only caught the majority of Myles’ set and all of Shoot Down the Moon.

As I’m sure you’ve guessed, Myles Coyne is the frontman of the Rusty Nickel Band and perfectly fits the role. A veritable force in Milwaukee’s music scene, Myles is everywhere around town, whether playing a show or attending in the audience. His other band, Animals in Human Attire is more alternative-rock than the Rusty Nickel with its sound that runs the gamut from folk to bluesgrass to rock but Myles’ energy is the same. The show last night was a great mix of old and new, slow and fast, a true representation of their eclectic style. Two of their band members, including their bassist (Chris Thunder and Justin Miller) were not able to make the show last night but the rest of the band carried on without them. Jack Tell was on acoustic and electric guitar and lap steel, Caley Conway on backup vocals (and one song on lead vocals) and xylophone and Tim Stone on drums. And of course Myles on lead vocal and his guitar set high on his chest, constantly keeping the crowd entertained with his exuberance on stage and banter in between songs. This is obviously a multi-talented group with many instruments and surprises up their sleeve. Their folky sound is reminiscent of Bob Dylan at times and Bright Eyes at other times. If you haven’t had a chance to check them out, I highly suggest that you catch a show soon, it’s quite a treat. Download all The Rusty Nickel Band’s releases for free at mylescoyne.bandcamp.com.

The headliner of the night was Shoot Down the Moon, a band I’ve seen many a time with a unique alternative rock style that blends classic rock with experimental jams and the occasional folk-tinged tune. They cranked up the sound level and mood of the night with their loud but not too loud, big but not too big sound. Last night’s crowd had unfortunately dwindled a bit towards the end but those left couldn’t help but sing along, dance and head bang from the first note to the last. The band is comprised of Jake McDonald and Matt “Fizz” Flanagan who both sing lead vocals and play electric guitar, Jon Taglienti on bass, Justin “Hippie” Cohen on electric guitar and Zak Ihlenfeld on drums. Three guitarists can be a gamble and sometimes a mess but not here. Jake, Fizz and Justin all contribute a different layer of sound and don’t step on each other’s toes. Last night’s set ended too early as it was but a malfunction halfway through could’ve made it even shorter when Justin’s amp broke. Luckily, Jack Tell had stuck around for their set and was more than happy to contribute his amp so the show could go on. The transition was quick, taking only half a song before Justin was back up and running, another sign of the band’s experience as musicians. Friends since childhood, they’ve all played together for years and the bond carries over to their music. Extremely talented individually, as a whole, they are a force to be reckoned with, only seeming to get tighter and tighter with each performance. With a new album in the works and many shows coming up in the near future, I personally can’t wait to see what they bring to the table next. Go to shootdownthemoon.bandcamp.com to download their last full length album “Swollen Teeth” for only $2.50 and their Live on WUWM session for free, which includes three songs that will be on the new album to be released this summer. Shoot Down the Moon’s next show is Thursday, May 10th at Yield for the YouphoriClothing Kickstarter party, check out the details here. They’ll be playing two sets, one at the beginning and one at the end of the night so you have no excuse not to be there!

Twitt

THE NEW SEVEN AND KEVIN HORRIGAN AT THE JAZZ ESTATE 4/23/2012

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Why do I like The Jazz Estate so much? Is it that I feel like I’ll see Don Draper wooing a potential advertising client? I won’t continue with the 60’s jazz bar references, I could go on forever, trust me.  The reason I love this place so much is the fact that the sheer size enables everyone in attendance to experience as intimate of an experience as the next.

The opening act was Kevin Horrigan, a fingerstyle guitar player from Milwaukee. Some of you may have never heard of this style of music, or write it off as all “sounding the same” which could be argued for pretty much every genre. But for such an intimate setting, Horrigan and the music he played perfectly fit the bill. Between songs during the show, Horrigan stated, “If you were to ask me what it (fingerstyle) is, I would say, I don’t really know.”  For someone of his technical ability and track record to say that is really surprising and honestly quite refreshing. And yes, he does have quite a track record.  Kevin won the 2011 Canadian Fingerstyle Guitar Championship, which put him on the radar and has given him a vastly growing online presence.

As he started his first song “Snorkel” (a Leo Kottke cover), the crowd was still chattering, anxiously awaiting the set, many didn’t know the show had actually started. Kevin didn’t introduce himself, just sat quietly, reserved, looking down at his guitar picking the opening notes with the only substantial light on him and the small candles placed on each individual table. Soon after, the conversations subsided, and Kevin had complete control of the room. Not a soul was talking above a whisper and I even caught myself muting my breaths of air, as to not interrupt each ascending and descending note and harmonic. His microphone in front of him was reserved for talking to the crowd between songs. Between songs he spent his time either briefly chatting with the crowd or tuning.

 Many of his songs were quiet works of art, swells of high notes followed by him playing the song’s bass line at the same time. Like a painter, each note was like a brush on canvas, each its own significance. I couldn’t help but draw comparisons between him and Keller Williams. They are both phenomenal guitar players and most people who don’t have a background in finger-style guitar would take the easy way out and say Kevin is merely influenced by Keller. But his set proved to be more than just imitation of a great.

As Kevin strummed the funky afro-beat intro to “Lion’s Lament” you could see a universal nodding of heads. It’s ironic the set flowed so well because before the show I asked him what the set order was, he replied, “I don’t really have any order, I just play what I feel like playing.” It’s truly a gift for an artist to control a crowd the way he did, yet to also do so with such modesty.

The headliner was The New Seven, a local Milwaukee band who are new to the music scene. I say that for this specific band as it was their first official show together, but some of the members have been in the Milwaukee music scene for a while and with quite successful bands. The New Seven consists of Tony Smith on guitar and vocals, Jeff “Muska” Purcell on mandolin, Timothy Koehler on upright bass, and Morgan Montesanto on vocals. The New Seven is essentially the brainchild of front man Tony Smith, who was in well known Milwaukee jam band Gypsy Kitchen, alongside mandolin player Muska (who played keys in Gypsy Kitchen). Between the time that group broke up and Monday, Smith suffered a serious injury to his fretting hand, one that lead to the potential of never being able to fully play like he used to again. Through a surgery and countless physical therapy sessions, Smith came back stronger than ever. Quietly writing songs in his downtown loft and casually jamming with Purcell, he then recruited Koehler and Montesanto to bring his vision to fruition.

As they loaded their equipment in, Muska glanced over at me with a grin and told me to check out what he brought from home for the stage. In the trunk of his car was a hat rack, with an old red barn lantern hanging from it (which they lit on stage during the show) and a vintage gin barrel. As they made their way onto the stage the audience began to boisterously applaud. Smith strapped up his high set guitar, casually approached the microphone and introduced the band. They began with the light, airy folk song “Hold My Fingers”, which had Smith singing, “We’re gonna make it…alive and well.” It was an appropriate song choice as to not rush the audience into their faster-paced folk-bluesgrass set. The next song “In Light of” was a slow paced instrumental, which had Smith laying down a finger picking intro, followed by a faster paced chord progression with Purcell strumming chords and playing individual notes over it. The upright bass playing of Koehler was spot on, as he followed with what Smith was doing on acoustic guitar.

Most of these songs were being played for the first time for an audience and the response was tremendous. The pacing of many of the songs was built up, just to be torn back down. Highs and lows. Extreme to fragile. In “Run in Circles”, Smith started out by singing “You long for the end of the morning sun!” and then Montesanto joined in with her spot on harmonizing. It seemed like the song would never slow down, until it hit a stop and Muska began to gently pick individual notes. The closer “Old Vincent” had a Tom Waits influence and I couldn’t help but picture him listening to it on a steam-punk boat, nodding in approval. The driving force behind the song’s faster moments was Koehler’s bass playing and proved to all the haters why this band doesn’t need a drummer.

It’s really hard to put an exact genre on the kind of music The New Seven plays. Is it folk? Yes. Is it bluegrass? Yep. Do some of the songs have that Tom Waits-esque idiosyncratic musical style? For sure. Is that why Milwaukee should be excited about up and coming band The New Seven? Absolutely.

Twitt

RECORD STORE DAY WITH ARCHIE POWELL & THE EXPORTS

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As I entered The Exclusive Company on Saturday the 21st of April I was unaware that anything like Record Store Day even existed.  I came to see Archie Powell and the Exports, a band local to Chicago who have still found a way to be a participant in the Milwaukee music scene on a regular basis.  Although their newest album “Great Ideas in Action” doesn’t drop in record stores technically until May 1st, the band had copies on hand, and allowed the eager crowd to purchase the new album.  Watch for my upcoming review within the next few days.  Archie Powell and the Exports also have an excellent new music video check it out at their website.

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Although you might be underwhelmed to hear that Archie Powell and the Exports were playing in a record store, thinking to yourself “How good can the band be if it is playing in a record store?”.  Answer: Real good.  Their appearance in the record store is just the type of gig that bands that love music this much lick their chops over.  Just think an entire store of people who already love music listening to your tunes as they pull out their pocketbooks to pay for music.  I mean, really, with the internet threatening to eliminate the need for physical media entirely those who made it out for Record Store Day are obviously die hards.  When is a band going to get a chance at an audience this ready to invest in music?

Playing an appropriately short set, which included songs off their new album, Archie’s sound demanded the attention of the patrons as they flipped through old records.  Brandishing a wonderfully refined garage rock sound that is reminiscent of bands like The Ramones, The Strokes, and even a touch of Green Day (before they sold out, sorry if you think they haven’t), Archie Powell is about to kick off a month long tour that will take them across the midwest to New York and then international with 2 weeks of touring in Canada.  The tour kicks off with their CD release show in Chicago this Friday at Subterranean in Chicago, and is highlighted with a live performance on NPR’s World Cafe on May 4th at 1pm.  If you get a chance to see this band, count yourself lucky because they may not be playing record store gigs for long as I can see big things in their future.

(Photo courtesy of William Ryan Gardiner)

Twitt

IKARUS DOWN “FRICTION” ALBUM RELEASE PARTY 4/21/2012

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It has been said that the sign of a great band is its ability to change its sound. Whether that is done one song at a time, or one album to the next, or even during a song I feel that it is something that every band should strive for. Ikarus Down with the help of their friends Delta Routine and I’m Not A Pilot, and along with the songs off their new album “Friction” did just that. This Saturday Ikarus Down threw an album release show for their first full length album “Friction” (their self-titled EP was released over a year ago) and brought a fresh and excited atmosphere to Bayview’s Cactus Club.

I can’t help but wonder if the fact that Delta, Δ in the Greek alphabet, which translates into change, was intended to have that meaning for the fittingly named (in my opinion) Delta Routine as they took the stage first. Playing hard and fast right from the get go, a fact signified by a broken string on Delta frontman Nick Amadeus’ guitar, is just par for the course for this high energy local band riding the high from what has been a very successful year. The band recently picked up hardware for band of the year at the 88.9 Awards and Alternative-rock band of the year at the WAMI’s respectively. Delta Routine played a set highlighted by Nick Amadeus changing it up by playing a solo song so new he said “it didn’t even have a name yet”, and their ever popular cover of “Twist and Shout” that got the whole crowd at Cactus Club dancing.

I’m Not A Pilot followed Delta Routine with a pitch perfect show where they were aptly able to mix their own material with tastefully chosen covers including Bill Withers, Arcade Fire, and Radiohead. If you ever needed an illustration of a band dynamically changing their sound within a song, then look no further than I’m Not A Pilot. I’m Not A Pilot’s mix of symphonic tones along with pop lyrics are what made them Band of the Year at last years Radio Milwaukee Awards. Their set was excellently constructed to set up Ikarus Down for their headlining performance and at the same time allowed I’m Not A Pilot to show off their own classical meets indie/progressive style.

After the two performances that kicked off the night the energetic and anxious crowd that waited for Ikarus Down was about ready to burst with enthusiasm, and after the band took the stage the crowd was not left disappointed. Ikarus played their entire new album from beginning to end in order and truly showed their ability to change their sound with songs. From the anthemic climb that is “Faulty” (check out the YouTube video here) to “Where Do We Go?” where guitarist Ryan Gardiner sounds like he must be playing two or three guitars at a time with the amount of varied guitar sounds he is able to produce, and then stops on a dime, and a few steps on his vast pedalboard later and he is gingerly playing the very catchy melody that is at the center of the song. The band made it a family affair inviting pianist Nick Brenneman’s wife Fernanda to the stage for “Call Me Luck”, and Ryan Gardiner’s fiancee Clarissa Anderson joined for the acoustic duet “River Romance” with lead singer Jonathan Ferrer. The crowd met the performance with unanimous shouts of “more!” so the band played one older song and two new ones to finish out the night. After all was said and done at Cactus Club on Saturday night, the crowd, which appeared that it was not all that eager to leave, took their copy of Friction, and probably put it into their cd player on their way home, and I’d like to think will find themselves humming a catchy tune from it at some point during this work week. I know I will be. The release show was a complete success and “Friction”, which has already gotten the band a headlining gig at Summerfest, has definite potential to change everything for this local band looking to get the attention this wonderfully dynamic album deserves.

Twitt

BIG BOB’S BIRTHDAY BASH AT MIRAMAR 4/13/2012

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We attended the show “Big Bob’s Birthday Bash” on April 13th, 2012 to check out some of the local hardcore/metal scene and local bands here in the Milwaukee area… something that I feel Milwaukee could use more of. First of all let me start out by acknowledging the fact that from an outsider’s perspective most people wonder why anyone would be in to this sort of music. After all, how much fun can a loud concert full of screaming, people running into each other and arm flailing be? I know this perspective myself, as I used to be there. After slowly being introduced into the genre by my brother giving me CDs, I began getting into it myself, and now am a big fan. You come to realize the powerful emotion of the song, the heavy beats, and the musical talent is awesome. Unfortunately many will never come to realize this, as they can’t get over the initial shock to the screamed lyrics. There is also a certain “brotherhood” at these types of shows, more so than with other genres. We know we are into something that is different from what people perceive as normal, so we take in the fact that we are all a gathering of friends with the common music bond. The moshing and hardcore dancing further emphasize this fact, as no one is there to hurt anyone. If one person falls, four people instantly pick them up.

Now this was my first show at the Miramar and I didn’t know what to expect. From the outside the place looks a lot smaller than it actually is inside. When entering from outside and checking in, you are immediately in the “bar area”, where fans are gathered from a break from the main music. Since it’s local, people really seem to know each other here. I was happy that drinks weren’t as ungodly expensive as they are at some venues. Next you enter through another set of doors into the main stage area. The layout is kind of cool, almost reminded me of a movie theater, minus the screen. Unlike a lot of venues, there is seating in the back and surrounding the main dance floor (standing area) and stage. Now I know some will say “It’s not a concert if you sit”, which is partially true, but it was nice to be able to sit down somewhere between sets. It’s also a much more intimate venue due to the small size so you can literally get up within a foot or two of the band if you like. This of course being a metal show…the middle area opened up into a nice pit. Overall the Miramar was better than I had expected, and I will definitely be looking to attend more shows here in the near future!

Now onto the show…Unfortunately I was not able to see every band in the lineup. This for me wasn’t a problem though, as there were eight bands playing with plenty to see. I went into this show with a clean slate, not knowing really anything about any of the bands besides a bit about A Night At the Chalet. Luckily my brother did, so he filled me in beforehand, all of the bands are local from the Milwaukee area, some with a bigger following than others. Now let me state that I am more a fan of hardcore/metalcore bands, and a little less of my collection is death core, however I am interested in the genre & partake in a show from time to time.

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For sake of time I will keep comments on each band fairly short, plus many of them have a similar sound. Level the City was first up & it was very loud in the theater so it took a minute for the ears to adjust, but the band sounded great. I also noticed and liked that they threw in some clean lyrics occasionally, which isn’t typical of the harder death-core style. Next was A Place for the End, again another brutal death core band here from Milwaukee. They had a GREAT lead vocalist/screamer for a local band, with a very deep growl. Great sounding guitar riffs backed him up perfectly. Here was the kicker with this band… they were selling t-shirts for $1 at their merch table. So of course I picked one up…Hell ya I’ll help them get their name out there for a buck! Next on the list was the band Micawber. Now this band is also deathcore, but has elements of thrash metal in it as well… such as FAST guitar and drum riffs, as well as their appearance… long hair on every member of the band. This enabled a sick display of headbanging, on the stage, and in the crowd of course. They also fired up a great circle pit that I was sure to get in on. Afterwards was Meth Tooth with a different style than the previous bands that I can appreciate, with a slower tempo, but more random screaming. The drummer for this band really stood out. Last but definitely not least came A Night at The Chalet, the only band that I had listened to previously. Again, another brutal death core band and everyone in this band really played and looked the part. Deep growling, quick drumming, and excellent guitar work.

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I was not able to stay for the last band, but I’m sure they put on a hell of a show. Overall these bands were all solid performers. All had GREAT sound quality, and I hope make it big in the music industry. What a sick show! When these bands play locally again soon (hint hint) I will definitely be in attendance.

Photo #1: Micawbre Photo #2: A Night at the Chalet

Twitt

THE NEW SEVEN DEBUT SHOW @ JAZZ ESTATE

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Local Playlist has this ability to magnetize to the music that is being created and performed locally. That opportunity is never dismissed when presented, so when we met The New Seven, I knew we needed to get involved. What better way than to support their debut show at the Jazz Estate tomorrow.

Hanging out at the Jazz Estate on a given Monday or Tuesday is bound to fit perfectly into the last hours of the evening in order to fly away from the stresses of busy schedules and weekly activities. A joint that provides an intimate atmosphere combined with a great venue for local music is makes The Estate a unique gem. This particular Monday, The New Seven is debuting their musical stylings with their first performance as a new group. One might recognize Tony Smith and Jeff “Muska” Purcell from the ever popular Gypsy Kitchen. Gypsy Kitchen is no longer performing, however Tony and Jeff have continued to write music together. In addition to Tony holding it down on acoustic guitar and vocals, Jeff plays the mandolin, Timothy Koehler on upright bass and Morgan Montesanto filling in on vocals. This culminates into a progressive folk grass sound that is very light and from the heart. They gave us a little preview on Wednesday during Linneman’s open mic night. All the performers that night were great & unique musicians but The New Seven is going to take the local music scene by the bull’s horns if you will. This is a FREE show so don’t be shy and come on down.

Event Details:

When: Monday, April 23 @ 9:30pm

Where: Jazz Estate

Twitt

YOU DON’T NEED TO BE COY, ROY

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The attendees of G. Love & Special Sauce with special guest, Scott H. Biram, at Turner Hall Ballroom on March 15th, 2012, were giggling like little school girls to the funky humorous style of the performance.

G. Love is a crowd favorite at festivals such as Summerfest, Summercamp, and more. Even his indoor venue shows get people talking due to his outlandish presence. With his playboy wit and harmonized flirtatious vocals, G. wins over the hearts of damn near every hula gal in the structure. The energy he has on stage is across the map. From guitar and harmonica solos, to beat boxing improve raps, this Philadelphia home-boy releases his energy when necessary, yet, seems to maintain this suave demeanor throughout his performances.

G. Love & Special Sauce is a three-piece blues/alternative, and hip-hop fused group out of Pennsylvania, with frontrunner Garrett Dutton, also known as G. Love. The band is also comprised of a laid back keyboardist, Mark Boyce, with a groovy attitude and an appropriate portrayal of emotion, along with drummer Jeffery Clemens. These fella’s are part of Brushfire and 550 Music record labels, and have played alongside bands such as Jack Johnson, and The Expendables.

The visual display to compliment the soulful jams matched the mood of the show that evening. The image was of a large, color changing morning swallow that slowly floated around the backdrop. The colors arrayed from a warmer palette of orange, to pink, to clear, to a cooler style of blues and ice tones.

Somewhere near the middle of the show G. Love raised his drink in the air and said, “I’m about to play ya’ll my favorite song off my newest album…it’s called ‘Milk N’ Suga,’ baby, and it goes a lil’ somethin’ like this.” He proceeded into the song with a devilish smirk of hilarity. Exercising crowd interaction, G. Love followed by asking individual ladies of the audience “how they like their coffee?” Various responses included, “I like mine dark and strong.” Another, “I like mine white and creamy.” G. Love reacted by saying “I like mine with Milk N’ Suga’!”

This was shortly followed by an exclusive Milwaukee Rap that seemed to be an improvisational piece displaying his interpretation of the city. Other songs included on the set-list for that evening included: My Baby’s Got Sauce, one of G. Love’s coined go-to songs. Also on the ballot was a Paul Simon cover, ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, including the unmistakable chorus

“You just slip out the back, Jack

Make a new plan, Stan

You don’t need to be coy, Roy

Just get yourself free

Hop on the bus, Gus

You don’t need to discuss much

Just drop off the key, Lee

And get yourself free.”

The crowd went absolutely bonkers during this song! A student was heard saying “This is my favorite Paul Simon song ever!” Also during the show there were talks of people that couldn’t get into the show until the second set were fortunate to have received discounted tickets if purchased at the door. The price on these discounted tickets was $10.

The audio during the routine was crisp and the tones and levels came across respectful. The fresh waves allowed for easy listening during multiple volume variations throughout the show. The lighting also compliments the piece as well; the mellow auburn toned sepia spotlights, blended with the foggy hazed clear lamps cast over the stage to create a pleasant antique-y vibe.

There was not an ounce of disappointment in the air as the fans filed out of the venue. G. Love commented on how he loves this city and always receives such a loving energy when he’s in town.

Following the show, right around the corner taking place at Notte’, a swanky disco dance den & Nite Lounge, located on the second level of Tutto, the upscale sports restaurant, on Old World 3rd St. was a FREE electronic promotional party hosted by female DJ,DJ Fortune, also known as Jessica Fenner, representing Ultra Fest going on that same weekend in Miami, FL. The male bartender was his boxers, wearing a yellow tank top with glow sticks placed aimlessly around his body.

It was one good ol’ fashioned electro-hoedown.

Twitt