Author Archives: Anne Conway

About Anne Conway

Anne Conway is Local Playlist's co-founder, President and Editor-in-Chief.

THE SALTSHAKERS’ EP “HALLEY” REVIEW (RELEASE SHOW TONIGHT)

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    Bands come and go quickly sometimes, the Milwaukee music scene’s past is littered with groups that have fallen apart, moved on to bigger things or reformed under new names. So the word longevity doesn’t always apply and when it does, it can be either impressive or stale. However, Milwaukee group The Saltshakers has been going strong for a while now, 2012 marks the ten year anniversary since their formation. The band is made up of Chad Curtis on lead vocals & guitar, Chris Holoyda on lead guitar, Jon Strelecki on drums and Jamie Owart on bass. The members are relatively young so I was surprised they’ve been around this long and the band is doing something unique, releasing a series of EPs over the next year versus one full-length. “Halley” is the first of these, being released Saturday, December 1st at BBC to celebrate a decade of music-making. A quick appetizer of three songs, “Halley” is a fun mix of pop, punk and indie rock that leaves you hungry for the next course.
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MENAHAN STREET BAND & DE LA BUENA AT MAD PLANET 11/15/2012

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Written by Sean Williamson

Last Thursday the Mad Planet played host to a collective of musicians who know their instruments better than most and music that strikes listeners’ core, even without a vocalist. Brooklyn’s Menahan Street Band & Milwaukee’s De La Buena was a great pairing, bringing together bands with different musical roots, but the same ideology on the stage and intent to the listener. One could not help but move, as grooves and horn based melodies were consistent throughout the night, fading the gap between latin jazz & afro-beat. The show was put on by Tap the Masses, an organization founded by Peter Adams of East Town Association, who has a knack for putting together great events from front to back.

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“WEATHER MACHINE” BY THE BLUEHEELS ALBUM REVIEW

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Before starting the album review of Blueheels’ recent release “Weather Machine”, I did some research on the band, having never seen them live. Finding several descriptions of their earlier music as alt-country, I pushed play thinking I’d probably like the album (upon a trusted recommendation from a friend) not love it as the genre isn’t necessarily my favorite or go-to. However from the first track it was obvious the band has gone in a more experimental, alternative rock direction with this project. And painfully obvious to me that the review would be a challenge as I loved the album. Music I feel attached enough to care if my writing will do it justice is my Kryptonite if you will. Hopefully my words represents this great album well, I encourage you to get lost in it’s mesmerizing atmosphere as I did.
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SHOOT DOWN THE MOON “MEETINGS & GREETINGS” ALBUM REVIEW

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Shoot Down the Moon “Meetings and Greetings”

2012 has been a great year for Milwaukee’s audiophiles, with a wide array of quality albums released by area bands these past months. One such release is local band Shoot Down the Moon’s highly anticipated “Meetings & Greetings”. It’s difficult to categorize this band to specific genres, but the energy they provide live, their ability to jam out on stage and the raw emotion in their lyrics make this album a must listen to. Anyone who’s seen them perform at area bars knows what I mean. The follow up to their album, “Swollen Teeth”, shows a tighter, more unified sound that is showcased well by the high production quality. The members of the band (singer & lead guitarist Jake McDonald, singer & guitarist Matthew “Fizz” Flanagan, drummer Zak Ihlenfeld, guitarist Justin Cohen and bassist Jon Taglienti) all stand out as they together create a great product. Here’s my take on the album, to be released next week Wednesday (Halloween) at Yield Bar.
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MKE UNPLUGGED FEAT. THE MIDWESTERN CHARM 10/11/2012

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As I’ve discovered more & more over the past year, one of the most diverse and hidden music venues is one of the most well known places in town, UW-Milwaukee. The impressive music program at the Peck School of the Arts goes beyond education in the common sense by offering free concerts open to the public and a new live music series featuring local talent. MKE Unplugged which is held at the Helene Zelazo Center, kicked off on September 20th with Trapper Schoepp, the lead singer of Trapper Schoepp and the Shades, who played a solo set. On October 11th, Unplugged brought The Midwestern Charm onto the stage to play a stripped-down, acoustic set for students and fans. As the Oshkosh/Milwaukee homegrown rock outfit usually tends more toward the loud, I was excited to see a different, intimate side of their music.

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DO414 PRESENTS: DELTA ROUTINE, MUTTS AND CALLIOPE AT STONEFLY 10/24/12

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Do414 has a knack for throwing events by putting together great bands in fun venues. Tomorrow will be one such event at Stonefly Brewery, with two Milwaukee acts, The Delta Routine and Calliope along with Chicago-based band Mutts. All three bring it with the best of ‘em, each providing a different brand of rock’n'roll.

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MAD PLANET RAMPS UP THE ENERGY ON THE FIRST DAY OF FALL

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Saturday was a busy day and night with events scattered all over town. After the WI Avenue bridge celebration, I headed over to Mad Planet to warm my feet up with some dancing. Mad Planet is one of those well known venues that has a lot of history, with many great bands passing through over the years. Do414.com organized the show on this particular night so not surprisingly there was a decent crowd by the time I walked in at 10:30pm.

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WI AVE BRIDGE PARTY 9/22/2012: ROCKIN IN THE RAIN & COLD

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Saturday was the much anticipated Wisconsin Avenue Bridge Celebration in honor of the “Main Street of Milwaukee” finally having a working bridge again. Since it has officially been open a couple weeks, Art Milwaukee & Newaukee got permission to close it down one last time to throw a bash in its honor. This all day event was filled with art, music, yoga, a flotilla (boat parade), beer, food & more. Unfortunately the first day of fall was in full force with low temperatures, strong winds and even some rain. But that didn’t stop the thousands of people who showed up or the hundreds of dancing fans in front of the stages late into the night. After all, this is Wisconsin, right?

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EMPIRES: BRINGING A TASTE OF CHICAGO TO MILWAUKEE SATURDAY

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Empires is a Chicago-based grungy-indie rock band who has been busy touring with national acts, recording & releasing their 2nd full length album and almost landing the cover of Rolling Stone recently. I had a chance on Tuesday to chat with lead singer Sean Van Vleet, in preparation for their upcoming show at Mad Planet on Saturday with local acts Ikarus Down and Fossils. The show was arranged by Jeremy Rogers of Do414 so it’s bound to be a fun night filled with great music. Sean & I talked for nearly a half hour about the exciting journey his band is on but more significantly to me, just music in general. It’s a sign of talent & character when a musician, let alone a frontman, talks to blogger he doesn’t know from Adam like an old friend he’s catching up with. City rivalry aside, you gotta love that Midwestern camaraderie.

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SUMMERFEST 2012 SHOW REVIEWS

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WEDNESDAY 6/27/12

Cascio Interstate at 1:30pm-10 Paces, Fire (contributed by Anne Conway)

The first show I saw at Summerfest 2012 was literally one of the very first shows of the festival. And being that Local Playlist focuses on local music, Milwaukee group 10 Paces, Fire at the Cascio stage was a perfect way for me to kick off a great run of music. The crowd was large for such an early show, with the majority lined up in front of the stage, braving the sun’s rays despite the 100 degree weather. 10 Paces’ blend of math-rock and emo-punk is filled with epic pauses, breakdowns and solos, keeping the audience’s heads bobbing along. This young group of guys would fit right in on the Vans Warped Tour and already had their own mini-tour earlier in the summer. Their next show is this Saturday at Cactus Club, check out their Facebook page for more upcoming shows!

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