Music Notes

Milwaukee is sitting pretty when it comes to great bands and talented musicians. But why not add 16 more bands populated with 64 randomly selected musicians to that tally? For the past three years, All Messed Up has brought the local music community together with the unorthodox pairing of people to form makeshift bands tasked with writing and performing 20-minute sets over the course of two nights at one Riverwest Bar. Some of the representatives hail from established locals like Lambs Legs, Lady Cannon, IfIHadAHiFi and Holy Shit. The unique and unifying showcase is set for its fourth year. Before…

Monday, Feb. 10: Robert Cray with Mavis Staples at Potawatomi Bingo Casino’s Northern Lights Theater, 8 p.m. ($60-$70) Robert Cray isn’t exactly a household name in rock and roll, but he ought to be. The proficient blues guitarist owns five Grammys and has logged time in the backing bands of icons like Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton and even played on of Otis Day’s Knights in a classic party scene in the film Animal House. Even at 60, this Blues Hall of Fame inductee can still shred. Mavis Staples opens. (1721 W. Canal St., PaysBig.com) MUSIC NOTES SHOW OF THE WEEK…

Since we last caught up with Sam Ahmed, the 21-year-old WebsterX mastermind has been a pretty busy fellow. He’s played out avidly; he’s snagged a spot on NEWaukee’s Eastside Music Tour (March 1) and is among the 20-plus artists representing Milwaukee at SXSW next month. Wednesday evening, WebsterX’s first music video, for “Blue Dream” off his debut, Desperate Youth, (one of MilMag’s favs of 2013). Don’t adjust your tracking. This video was shot on VHS by the BLACKMANN video team of Phil Hoffman and Dan Black. The basement shots were done at Black’s Eastside home. Interesting fact: there are actually…

Wednesday, Feb. 5: Trey Anastasio Band at Pabst Theater, 7 p.m. (SOLD OUT) Undoubtedly more famous (or, in some cases, more infamous) as the head honcho of legendary jam band Phish, Trey Anastasio is also instrumental in a number of other projects, including Space Antelope, SerialPod, Bad Hat and Oysterhead, among others. Between Phish tours – or possibly as part of a lengthy break during one of Phish’s never-ending mid-song interludes– Anastasio comes to the Pabst with his unimaginatively named 15-year-old side project, Trey Anastasio Band. (144 E. Wells St., PabstTheater.org) Also: Dr. Dog with Saint Rich, and Moses Sumney…

It was a yet another good month in music, and we highlight the 10 (or so) best and most notable moments from January – and technically of 2014, too. 10. Myles Coyne does a Little Elephant session Before he hit the road with Temple (one of his numerous other bands) earlier this month, Myles Coyne embarked on a November jaunt with Jordan Maye and Jack Tell for a partial-band Rusty Nickel tour. Along the way, the trio stopped in Little Elephant Room in Toledo, Ohio, to shoot some live, stripped down versions of Rusty Nickel cuts off last year’s celebrated…

Monday, Jan. 27: Yellowcard with What’s Eating Gilbert at The Rave, 8 p.m. ($20) Yellowcard has the distinction of being the most famous Jacksonville band since Limp Bizkit. Fortunately, the band’s pop-punk outfit has a lot more longevity than its Nu-Metal predecessor due to the now-12-year-old album Ocean Avenue. The violin-driven, implicitly Jesus-ish outfit comes to town to give the aforementioned opus the acoustic treatment. What’s Eating Gilbert opens. (2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., TheRave.com) Wednesday, Jan. 29: Screaming Females with Tenement, and Rio Turbo at Cactus Club, 9:30 p.m. Jersey three-piece Screaming Females is a tad misleading, in that two of its members…

Todd Umhoefer is a machine. In 2013, Old Earth – the product of that well-oiled musical machine – had a banner year, with a handful of great releases (including Small Hours, which cracked our Best Albums list), some captivating local outings and even some shows in Europe. Under a month into 2014, Umhoefer put the wraps on 13-minute opus All Kill, his first release of a year that holds the promise of even greater Old Earth output – both in terms of volume and in quality. A storm of distorted palm-muted guitar and feedback lunges All Kill into action. The…

Last year, we introduced you to Temple, a Milwaukee-Madison post-punk band that grabbed our attention with its great debut, The Conscience Of The King (download it now!). This year, Temple guys took its Wisconsin-tested 2013 material on the road shortly after new year, as they struck out on a 17-day tour that found them playing 12 shows – and having two cancelled on account of weather – in 10 states. Temple guitarist John Larkin was kind enough to pen an exceptionally informative and well-written account of the experience. Unfortunately, 17 days worth of diary entries requires a lot of words.…

Tuesday, Jan. 21: Sigmund Snopek at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 9 p.m. (FREE) It’s a Tuesday, and there’s not much going on in the way of music. You know what that means: You’re up, Snopek! The Brew City troubadour has a standing Tuesday night gig at Linneman’s for a reason. The accomplished multi-instrumentalist has been an ever-changing yet ever-present fixture in Milwaukee music for more than three decades. His regular playing schedule may leave him susceptible to being buried in our show listings, but give him a chance. You might like what you hear. (1001 E. Locust St., Linnemans.com) Wednesday, Jan. 22: Forgotten…

Photo by Damien Klaven This time last year, Sam Ahmed was just a Milwaukee kid with some verses and an overriding sense of apprehension. Fortunately, the 21-year-old soon shed his self-doubt and added some flesh and blood to his skeleton songs, creating WebsterX. As 2013 drew to a close, Ahmed released WebsterX’s encouraging debut album, Desperate Youth. The 16-song introduction (which appears on our year-end Best Albums list) spawned an array of live shows – with fellow rappers and indie bands alike – and quickly made this youngster one of the most exciting artists in Milwaukee’s rapidly growing hip-hop scene.…