Springing Eternal

Monday, Feb. 14: The Memorials at Mad Planet, 8 p.m. ($8) After his departure from The Mars Volta, drumming prodigy Thomas Pridgen handpicked musicians he knew and loved to comprise his latest endeavor, The Memorials. The aggressive Berkeley rock band boasts an airtight rhythm section – led by Pridgen – but allows wiggle room for just the right amount of Volta-like spacey adventure too. The unique and assertive vocals of the beautiful Viveca Hawkins round out this band you’ll soon regret not seeing, should you miss this tremendous Valentine’s Day alternative. Just Like Vinyl Opens. (533 E. Center St, Mad-Planet.net)…

Monday, Feb. 14: The Memorials at Mad Planet, 8 p.m. ($8)
After his departure from The Mars Volta, drumming prodigy Thomas Pridgen handpicked musicians he knew and loved to comprise his latest endeavor, The Memorials. The aggressive Berkeley rock band boasts an airtight rhythm section – led by Pridgen – but allows wiggle room for just the right amount of Volta-like spacey adventure too. The unique and assertive vocals of the beautiful Viveca Hawkins round out this band you’ll soon regret not seeing, should you miss this tremendous Valentine’s Day alternative. Just Like Vinyl Opens. (533 E. Center St, Mad-Planet.net)

Tuesday, Feb. 15: Sigmund Snopek at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 9 p.m. (FREE)
I find the amount of Sigmund Snopek shows we feature in our show listings to be a telling testament to just how little goes on in Milwaukee most Tuesday nights. Still, the veteran musician is a multi-instrumentalist who’s treated Wisconsinites to a versatile collection of quality tunes for more than 30 years. (1001 E. Locust St., Linnemans.com)

Wednesday, Feb. 16: Motörhead at The Rave, 8 p.m. ($26.50)
If the winter doldrums have you holding a weak hand and you fear a fun February just isn’t in the cards, heavy metal royalty Motörhead will be your Ace of Spades during an otherwise fold-worthy time of year. Frontman Lemmy Kilmister and his weird-ass mole will speed through the long-tenured band’s almost-50-year discography. Who knows, the mole might even sing background vocals. Clutch and Valient Thorr open. (2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., TheRave.com)

Also:
Bobby Long at Turner Hall, 8 p.m. (FREE) – (1032 N. 4^th St., PabstTheater.org)

Tony Memmel at Art Bar, 9 p.m. (No cover listed). – (722 E. Burleigh St., Artbar-Riverwest.com)

Thursday, Feb. 17: Streetlight Manifesto at Turner Hall, 7:30 p.m. ($14)
The veritable army of New Jersey musicians that make up Streetlight Manifesto will, as they always have, incite a dance party, backed by strangely tolerable (when not actually good!) ska. Terrible Things, A Loss For Words, and Lionize start the night’s skankin’. (1032 N. 4^th St., PabstTheater.org)

Also:
Chasin’ Mason at Mitchell Park Domes, 6:30 p.m. ($6.50) – (524 S. Layton Blvd., County.Milwaukee.Gov)

Canvasmen at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 9 p.m. ($5) – (1001 E. Locust St., Linnemans.com)

MUSIC NOTES SHOW OF THE WEEK

Friday, Feb. 18: Get Rad at Cactus Club, 9:30 p.m. (No cover listed)
Get Rad, makers of my personal favorite Milwaukee release of last year, chase the release of the excellent I Can Always Live with the release (they hope) of Choose Your Own Adventure on 7” vinyl. Making an increasingly rare Get Rad appearance all the more special are openers Hellmouth (ex Suicide Machines), Explode And Make Up (ex 88 Fingers Louie) and Detroit’s own Against The Grain. (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com)

Saturday, Feb. 19: Icarus Himself at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 9 p.m. ($6)
Icarus Himself is good and all, but what makes this show really appealing to me is the alluring openers. Preceding the headliner are the likes of Surgeons In Heat and Sat. Nite Duets. The former has been strangely quiet in Milwaukee of late, so it should be interesting to see how the Surgeons are operating following a temporary leave of absence. Conversely, Sat. Nite Duets has made it a point to leave their Four Loko-stocked dwelling and play out more on the heels of extensive local praise and some favorable words from GQ magazine. (1001 E. Locust St., Linnemans.com)

Also:
Ifihadahifi at Mad Planet, 8 p.m. ($7) – (533 E. Center St, Mad-Planet.net)

Jonathan Burks (with opener Joel Huber) at Circle-A Café, 8 p.m. (No cover listed) – (932 E. Chambers St., Circle-A-Café.org)

Sunday, Feb. 20: The Spring Standards at Mad Planet, 8 p.m. ($8)
The Spring Standards aren’t your typical trendy Brooklyn band du jour. Rather, the 3-piece is your typical trendy Brooklyn band du jour without a drummer. Amid the band’s nifty guitar and keyboard work and its rich vocal tapestry, each member also assists in drumming when time and an available hand or foot allows. Joey Ryan opens. (533 E. Center St, Mad-Planet.net)