courtesy of Polyvinyl Records
MUSIC NOTES SHOW OF THE WEEK
Monday, May 27: Japandroids with A Place To Bury Strangers at Turner Hall, 7
p.m. ($17)
Vancouver guitar-and-drums
duo Japandroids quickly vaulted to notoriety in the states with its debut
full-length Post-Nothing,
a collection of triumphant, exceedingly energetic garage-rock hymns. Last
year’s follow-up Celebration
Rock saw the two-piece
reaching new, previously uncharted expanses, both critically and sonically.
With rockers like “The House That Heaven Built” in tow, Japandroids is sure to
make Memorial Day unforgettable for anyone fortunate enough to get a ticket to
the holiday hullabaloo. Brooklyn noise rockers A Place To Bury Strangers open. (1032 N. 4th St., pabsttheater.org)
Also: Old Lights with Dr. VeVito, and Heartthrob at Quarter’s
Rock ‘N’ Roll Palace, 9 p.m. ($5) – (900
E. Center St.)
Tuesday, May 28: Arrington
De Dionyso at Quarter’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Palace, 9 p.m. ($5) – (900 E. Center St.)
Also: Vital Remains with Burial Ritual, Micawber, Mass Murder
Messiah and Emblazoned at Miramar Theatre, 7 p.m. ($8) – (2844 N. Oklahoma Ave., themiramartheatre.com)
Wednesday, May 29: Bloc
Party at Pabst Theater, 7 p.m. ($25)
British
indie rock outfit Bloc Party crossed the pond into international consciousness
with its great and critically lauded debut Silent
Alarm, which still holds a spot on many an iTunes playlist. After striking
twice more while the iron was hot with rapid-fire follow-ups A Weekend in the City and R&B-tinged departure Intimacy, the band took a brief
hiatus, allowing singer Kele Okereke to record a pair of solo albums. But the
Party reprised isn’t heavy-accented indie rock renderings in 2011 to lay down
tracks for the band’s aptly-titled fourth album, Four, a return to the stripped
down, effect-free sound of Silent
Alarm-era Bloc Party. (144
E. Wells St., pabsttheater.org)
Also: Bret Michaels (see below) at Potawatomi’s Casino’s Northern
Lights Theater, 8 p.m. ($25-$50) – (1721
W. Canal St., paysbig.com)
And: Broken Water with Technicolor Teeth and Wasted Island at
Quarter’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Palace, 9 p.m. ($7) – (900
E. Center St.)
Thursday, May 30: Bret
Michaels at Potawatomi’s Casino’s Northern Lights Theater, 8 p.m. ($25-$50)
I defy you to conjure a
musician – not named Rick Astley – who’s logged more career mileage off one
song than Bret Michaels has. The former Poison front man’s 1988 ballad “Every
Rose Has Its Thorn” made the world’s collective eyes well up with sappy,
embarrassing tears and kept the bandana-donning crooner in the limelight (or at
least leering in the shadows nearby the illumination) ever since. Now 50,
Michael has added reality show regular, pet accessory pitchman and musical
hobbyist to his shockingly short resume. While the albums keep on coming,
Michaels has yet to overtake the success of his 25-year-old hit. I bet he’ll
play it. (1721 W. Canal St., paysbig.com)
Also: Kinth at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 9 p.m. (FREE) – (1001 E. Locust St., linnemans.com)
And: Ambassador Gun with Ara at Frank’s Power Plant, 10 p.m.
($5) – (2800 S. Kinnickinnic
Ave., frankspowerplant.angelfire.com)
Friday, May 31: B.B. King
with Paul Cebar at Riverside Theater, 7 p.m. ($55-$75)
He’s a legendary bluesman, one
of the greatest guitar players in history to grace the stage with his presence,
Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a Presidential Medal of Freedom
recipient. After more than 40 studio albums and thousands of hours spent
performing over the last 65 years, the list of B.B. King’s accolades during his
lengthy and incomparable career now resembles a biblical scroll. Even at 87
years young, the “Lucille” (among dozens of other iconic, blistering
guitar-driven numbers) troubadour is still on the road, taking a well-deserved
victory lap he’s earned through hard work and staggering influence. Milwaukee
institution Paul Cebar opens. (116
W. Wisconsin Ave., pabsttheater.org)
Also: They Might Be Giants with Moon Hooch at Turner Hall, 7 p.m.
($25) – (1032 N. 4th St., pabsttheater.org)
And: Heavy Hand with Lamb’s Legs and Soup Moat at Cactus Club,
10 p.m. – (2496 S. Wentworth
Ave., cactusclubmilwaukee.com)
And: Bret Michaels at Potawatomi’s Casino’s Northern Lights
Theater, 8 p.m. ($25-$50) – (1721
W. Canal St., paysbig.com)
Saturday, June 1: Alkaline
Trio with Bayside and Off With Their Heads at The Rave, 7:30 p.m. ($19)
Chicago emo outfit Alkaline
Trio has come a long way since its days playing Milwaukee basements, Globe East
and under-attended Atomic Records in-stores more than a decade ago. The changes
have spilled over into the Alk 3’s sound, too, as the band once deemed a
favorite for every emo kid of a certain era underwent a malaise of mailed-in
albums after gaining traction with its still-durable year 2000 release Maybe I’ll Catch Fire. Alkaline
Trio’s sound further homogenized in each of its five releases that followed. In
2011, the band treated Summerfest to a
nostalgic night to remember in
accordance with Damnesia,
a 15th anniversary album with
acoustic versions of favorites from the band’s lengthy run. Despite solo
efforts and countless side bands, Alkaline Trio is still churning out records,
the latest of which – April release My
Shame Is True – will likely be the focal point of Saturday’s show. (2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., therave.com)
Also: Myles Coyne & The Rusty Nickel Band (album release)
with The Fatty Acids and Kane Place Records at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 9:30
p.m. ($6) – (1001 E. Locust
St., linnemans.com)
And: Sea Wolf with Savior Adore at Mad Planet, 9 p.m. ($14) – (533 E. Center St, mad-planet.net)
Sunday, June 2: The
Menzingers with Fake Problems, Restorations and Captain We’re Sinking at Cactus
Club, 8 p.m.
Now that The Office is off the air, Pennsylvania punkers
The Menzingers might be the biggest thing in Scranton right now. Formed from
the ashes of ska band Bob and the Sagets in 2006, the quartet has found a sweet
spot of punk rock credibility with a three-album catalog of sugary, unabashedly
pop-punk songs. Its latest, On
the Impossible Past, was released last year on punk rock label behemoth
Epitaph Records, which boasts Bad Religion, Alkaline Trio, Social Distortion,
Propagandi and Pennywise among its active roster. (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com)
