The Top 10 Contemporary Fall Music Shows
1. Pearl Jam helped pioneer the Seattle sound with its radio-friendly alt-rock. As Eddie Vedder nears 50, he’s gracefully reached elder statesman status, routinely sharing the stage with the likes of Bruce Springsteen. But regardless of age, he and his grunge stalwarts still deliver enrapturing live performances, sprinkling in fun covers (“Let It Go”) that keep us guessing. Oct. 20. BMO Harris Bradley Center. (KM)
Photo by Dusdin
Condren
2. Long touring schedules exact a heavy burden on any musician, but none romanticize the journey like the War on Drugs singer Adam Granduciel. Like a cross-county road trip, his sprawling songs maneuver between sleepy, indistinctive towns and popular, stimulating landmarks. Fuzzy synthesizers relax beneath the surface of the songs and incorporate a mesmeric ambient sheen to Granduciel’s ramblin’ take on classic rock great Tom Petty. Sept. 21. Pabst Theater. (KM)
3. The electro-pop duo Sylvan Esso began at the Cactus Club, where Amelia Meath’s Appalachian folk trio, Mountain Man, and David Sanborn’s electronic project, Made of Oak, shared a bill. Originally scheduled for the Cactus, growing demand necessitated this move to the Pabst. Sept. 5. Pabst Theater. (KM)
4. The swift ascension of alt-pop chanteuse Lorde (née Ella Yelich-O’Connor) to prominence is thanks to the precocious singer’s brash, counterculture attitude toward current top-40 music as heard on 2013’s debut full-length Pure Heroine. It’s fitting her triumphant single, “Royals,” dethroned reigning pop star icon Miley Cyrus’ No. 1 hit “Wrecking Ball.” Sept. 26. BMO Harris Pavilion. (KM)
5. Any discussion regarding this year’s “song of the summer” begins – and ends – with Iggy Azalea’s southern rap braggadocio anthem “Fancy,” which features an infectious hook from Charli XCX and smooth production. The New Classic lead single spent weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100, and, perhaps as a better indicator of the seasonal status, received the requisite parody treatment from Weird Al. Oct. 19. The Rave. (KM)
6. Spoon perfected its catchy, up-tempo formula during an impressive five-album stretch during the 2000s, broken by 2010’s Transference. Ironically, the more cerebral (and therefore aggravating) direction actually re-energized the group. August’s follow-up, They Want My Soul, celebrates a return to tight, groovy melodies. They haven’t sounded this fresh in ages. Sept. 17. Riverside Theater. (KM)
7. Members of the brash, power-pop collective New Pornographers achieved the rare feat of growing in popularity separately while joining forces every few years to record and tour – and to simply have some fun. Carl Newman (A.C. Newman), Neko Case and Dan Bejar (Destroyer) just put out the band’s fifth release in August, Brill Bruisers, a self-described “celebration record.” Nov. 13. Pabst Theater. (KM)
Photo by Eliot Lee
Hazel
8. Along with The Strokes, the brooding Interpol became synonymous with turn-of-the-century NYC indie-rock. The stylish, post-punk revivalists blazed a path for a generation of up-and-coming Big Apple musicians. Interpol earned significant buzz around 2002’s debut Turn on the Bright Lights, and now, after slight stylistic changes, Interpol returns with El Pintor, an anagram of its moniker. Nov. 15. Pabst Theater. (KM)
9. “Ya know that old trees just grow stronger/ And old rivers grow wilder every day,” John Prine bellows on “Hello in There” from his eponymous 1971 debut. Decades later, those words describe the singer-songwriter’s steadfast career behind the acoustic guitar. Although his original output has been scaled back during the latter half of his career, the witty troubadour, who’s overcome battles with neck and lung cancer, still tours relentlessly. Nov. 1. Pabst Theater. (KM)
10. Founded by original Cheap Trick singer Randy Hogan more than 30 years ago, the Sleighriders – a jolly collection of around 40 local musicians of the scene’s most established names, like Greg Koch, Eddie Butts and Sigmund Snopek – often push Shank Hall’s crowd to capacity. This fundraiser donates its proceeds to Variety, the Children’s Charity of Wisconsin, one more great reason to pack the house. Dec. 22. Shank Hall. (KM)
The Top 5 Classical Music Performances
1. This year, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra really goes all-in to the opera game with its opener, a concert version of Mozart and DaPonte’s Don Giovanni. And better yet, it’s the beginning of the MSO’s plan to present one of the dynamic duo’s operas every year. So come hear the Commendatore this fall. And get ready for Figaro and Cosi fan Tutte in the coming years. Sept. 13-16. Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. (PK)
2. The Prometheus Trio is out to show just how little a Beethoven “symphony” can get. For their opening concert, Scott Tisdel, Stefanie Jacob and Timothy Klabunde will play Beethoven’s own piano trio arrangement of his spritely Second Symphony. They will open the show with a trio by the French romantic Gabriel Pierné. Sept. 22-23. Wisconsin Conservatory of
Music. (PK)
3. MSO concertmaster Frank Almond has moved some of his popular Frankly Music concerts to a larger venue, and he’s marking the occasion with “larger” music. The season kickoff includes two Bach Brandenburg concertos. As usual, Almond enlists an attractive group of collaborators, including MSO principals Sonora Slocum (flute) and Katherine Young Steele (oboe). And a former principal – and now executive director – Mark Neihaus (trumpet). Sept. 29. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. (PK)
4. The Florentine Opera stretches a bit to include contemporary American work this season, but to open up 2014-15, the company will wrap its vocal cords around its first Wagner opera in ten years, The Flying Dutchman. Former Milwaukee Shakespeare director Paula Suozzi will be teamed with the Florentine’s inventive lighting and set designer Noele Stollmack, and the dependable conductor Joseph Rescigno. Oct. 24 & 26. Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. (PK)
Photo
courtesy of Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
5. The MSO’s program featuring conductor Asher Fisch is a gem you shouldn’t overlook – a trio of not-quite-war-horses with interesting resonances. Robert Schumann’s moody and revolutionary Second Symphony was the composer’s bold assertion that there’s symphonic life after Beethoven. Richard Strauss’ “Death and Transfiguration” pays tribute to one of the giants of Western music on the 150th anniversary of his birth. And Alban Berg’s “Seven Early Songs” are surprisingly lush for a composer known best for the dense and jagged. Nov. 21-22. Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. (PK)
