Here’s some stuff to keep you out of the sun this weekend.
#5: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at the Pabst Theater.
Why? Because you may be in that 24-hour outdoor state of being—eating outside, drinking outside, sleeping outside, romancing outside—but it’s still nice to seek gilded shelter and hang out in the Pabst Theatre, particularly when the Zeros are holding forth. At Club Garibaldi last fall, Alex Ebert and the band were hot off a Letterman appearance, and they brought the house down. No in the midst of a national tour, the group’s had a chance to tighten up its free-wheeling joy-ride vibe and should deliver a terrific show.
#4: Fine Arts Quartet at the Zelazo Center.
Why? Because it’s summer. And that means it’s time for Summer Music, the FAQ’s quartet of summer gigs that is always rewarding. This year, the quartet will feature a guest pianist in each of the first three concerts, and give them a chance to play some solo Robert Schumann before the quartet tackles the A minor String Quartet in the final concert. For the opener, they’ll also play Glazunov’s “Five Novelettes” and Brahms’ F-minor Piano Quintet. The guest pianist is Christopher Taylor from UW-Madison.
#3: The Verge Festival at Henry Meier Festival Park.
Why? Because it’s high time we started using the Summerfest grounds for events which don’t involve lederhosen or Polish duck blood soup. And this two-day, alt-rock extravaganza is just the ticket. Spread over three stages, it includes national acts like Weezer, Eagles of Death Metal, and M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel’s “She & Him” project. But also gives great Milwaukee bands like The Championship, Pezzittino and 1956 a chance to get in on the summer fun. There’s even a bit of international flavor, with The Raveonettes (Denmark) and Geri X (Bulgaria).
#2: “Summerdances: Uncovered” at UWM’s Mainstage Theatre.
Why? Because we’ve tried a lot of things to solve Milwaukee’s racial problems, so why not try dancing about them. Actually, this concert offers several variations on questions of racial identity explored by the UWM Dance Department this season, including a restaging of the classic “From Before” by Garth Fagan, who has been in residence this year. Fagan—known for his Lion King choreography—is also one of the most important dancemakers of the last few decades.
#1: Milwaukee Symphony plays Mahler at the Marcus Center.
Why? Because it’s not just any Mahler, but the rarely performed Symphony No. 3, which is by some measure the biggest, baddest (in a good way) symphony in the Western classical music canon (seriously, it’s the longest symphony around). And because it comes closest to Mahler’s motto: “A symphony must contain the whole world.” And because it’s the perfect cap to Edo de Waart’s ambitious (and successful) first season with the MSO.
