Be it our rampant availability of bratwursts at our steadily thickening fingertips, the assortment of Lakefront Brewery taps lining almost any tavern in town, or every grocery store stocking the sweet, sweet nectar that is Koop’s Arizona Heat mustard, we Milwaukeeans are prone to take some of the city’s best things for granted from time to time.
So was the case of Thursday night’s show at Club Garibaldi, in which one of Milwaukee’s best and most accomplished bands (and an equally renowned opener) played to chairs and a small-yet-impassioned audience.
The under-attended event was set into motion by Boston solo project-turned-L.A. three piece The One AM Radio. Frontman Hrishikesh Hirway wasted little time before reaching into the vault to dust off a few classics from his acclaimed 2004 record A Name Writ In Water. Hirway’s hushed vocals, intricate loops and impressive feat of manually playing the drum machine were padded by the contributions of The One AM Radio’s new additions. Guitarist Scott Leahy’s hot licks and ever-present falsetto background vocals added substance to the bare bones pop songs, as did the various vocal, xylophone, accordion, organ and bell contributions lent by multi-instrumentalist Fontaine Cole.
Sadly, The One AM Radio’s impressive set was wasted on a lackluster crowd that waned to as few as eight onlookers at certain points. Still, Hirway and Co. played as if the room was full, energetically traversing its catalog from A Name… before setting camp at the band’s latest, Heaven Is Attached By A Slender Thread.
The One AM Radio’s Dangerbird Records labelmates Maritime followed and brought with them the remaining 25, give or take, attendees. They kicked off the show with Heresy And Hotel Choir hit “For Science Fiction.” They followed with “It’s Casual” the opening track from its latest, the great Human Hearts. And casual it stayed from there on out, as frontman Davey von Bohlen ribbed with guitarist Dan Hinz, compared bassist Justin Klug to Brad Pitt, quoted his kid’s pre-show advice (“Don’t drink too much beer”) and interacted with the front row about such gripping topics as “Fourth Meal” between songs in the band’s Human Hearts-heavy set.
The veterans made sure to affix a few oldies and goodies to the lighthearted performance—including “Parade of Punk Rock T-Shirts” and crowd favorite “Guns of Navarone”—before calling it a night.
Maybe Thursday’s turnout wasn’t indicative of either band’s true standing in the Milwaukee music scene. But Maritime served to remind the fortunate few scattered in the spacious Bay View Club what they were—a local delicacy.
