The cold clench of winter is upon us. Cuddle up with a nice warm drink and reminisce about the good times with us. Here are the top picks from October.
10. Good month for EPs
Even though it’s already November, it’s not too late to catch up on the great EPs that came out this last month. Especially of note are Volunteer’s noisy, punishing punk rock effort Goner, Wealthy Ghosts’ frosty bedroom pop album Cold Hands and El Shareef’s nine-song, 29-minute blistering rap on Nonchalant EP, which he admits is probably actually a mixtape in the intro.
9. Who’s that playing the BMO Harris Bradley Center?
The booking at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in the past several months has been solid. In a place that seems routinely underused, upcoming concerts include James Taylor (tonight), Fleetwood Mac (Feb. 12), Ariana Grande (Feb. 28), Neil Diamond (April 9) and just announced this month, a big get, The Who (Oct. 13). It’s the legendary rock band’s 50th anniversary and final tour.
8. Pele emerges on social media.
Read into this how you like, but the late ‘90s Milwaukee post-rock band Pele began to emerge onto a few social media sites this month. It remains to be seen what a Facebook page, Twitter handle or Instagram account (no Pinterest yet) really means, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the trio take the stage in the near future, say, maybe at a certain show in April?
7. Milwaukee Record puts a new spin on local coverage
It’s been seven months since the launch of local arts and entertainment website Milwaukee Record, but they’ve accomplished quite a bit within that time. In January, the site will host a night where local bands cover a different local band. The proceeds will benefit local nonprofit Girls Rock Milwaukee.
6. Direct Hit! shows up on Carson Daly
Probably the biggest WTF moment from this month came when Milwaukee punk band Direct Hit! tweeted about their appearance later that night on Last Call with Carson Daly. Weirder still, the appearance didn’t even include a performance from the band, or from Carson Daly for that matter. The “snapshot” segment includes some live footage cut with an interview with Nick Woods, where he compares a Direct Hit! performance to an amalgamation of fart jokes and Andrew Dice Clay. Watch the segment and listen to their latest record Brainless God below:
5. Breadking collective release debut album from Ladders
It’s astonishing that the perpetual motion machine of the Breadking collective hadn’t notched a physical album release on its belt until this October. Listen below to the meandering folk of Suha, the debut album from Ladders and first from Breadking.
4. Sleater Kinney reunite, sell out Turner Hall
Influential riot grrl pioneers Sleater Kinney broke up in 2006 after releasing one of its best records to date, The Woods. Corin Tucker would go on to record a couple solid solo albums over the last decade, while Janet Weiss and Carrie Brownstein scored a critically-adored self-titled record in 2011 as Wild Flag. Weiss also spent some time touring with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, and Brownstein wrote starred in the television comedy show Portlandia. Sleater Kinney announced a reunion tour this month, including a stop in Milwaukee at Turner Hall Ballroom, which coincided with a re-release of their entire discography and a new album No Cities to Love due in January. The Milwaukee show quickly sold out and moved to the much larger confines of the Riverside Theater. Tickets are still available. For now.
3. The Delphines reconfigure as NO/NO and unleash new EP Drag
After releasing its brash, noisy, post-punk debut full-length Hush (Music Notes top pick of May), The Delphines have been quietly taking a breather. While the future of The Delphines seems to be in question, three members teamed up with Rio Turbo dancer Cat Ries to form NO/NO, which recalls the Delphines sound, but somehow accomplishes an even dreamier aesthetic. Listen to the excellent debut EP Drag below.
2. Pearl Jam puts on memorable, Matt Flynn-approved performance
Eddie Vedder is known to deliver long, crowd pleasing concerts, but he set a new bar during Pearl Jam’s stop through Milwaukee this month. He took a packed Bradley Center crowd through a tour of the band’s 1998 album Yield, front-to-back, a complete surprise to everyone in the stadium. Also, surprising: Vedder donning a No. 10 Packers jersey to the delight of backup quarterback Matt Flynn during the encore. The number signified Pearl Jam’s seminal grunge album Ten and ironically, was given to the singer by starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But the moment when Matt Flynn was raised above shoulders in the pit can never be taken away from him.
1. Field Report unveils Marigolden; plays welcome-home show on Field Report Day
October had been marked in red on Field Report’s calendar for a while. The month saw the release of sophomore record Marigolden and a gracious welcome-home show at the Pabst Theater. But even frontman Chris Porterfield probably wasn’t expecting a freakin’ proclamation from the Milwaukee mayor. Tom Barrett declared that October 22, 2014, the day of the Pabst show, would be officially Field Report Day.
