The next major voice in hip hop makes a stop through Milwaukee on Tuesday night, as Long Beach native Vince Staples brings his critically-acclaimed debut album Summertime ’06 to The Rave. The 22-year-old rapper cut his teeth with the controversial collective Odd Future before signing to Def Jam for 2014’s austere EP Hell Can Wait. But he really made his mark with Summertime ’06, which was one of the best rap albums of 2015.
Summertime ’06 displayed a similar no-nonsense So-Cal street aesthetic as Kendrick Lamar and proved that an album necessarily didn’t need hooks to be captivating. “No one listens to the radio anymore, Staples explained to the Fader in June. “We got auxiliary cords, Sirius, Pandora, and Spotify. Who wants to hear clean versions of music? In our phones is what’s important. The radio’s not breaking singles. Vine is breaking singles now. Twitter’s breaking singles.”
Over 20 songs, Staples presents the pivotal summer when his entire life seemed to change. “It was kind of a turning point as far as how life and things go,” Staples told Rolling Stone in July. “I was basically just drawing inspiration from that, trying to get a certain mood, how I felt at the time period.” That was when the rapper started losing friends to the destructive nature of the street life. The record significantly captures that confounded and somber mood of the horrors of what drug addiction, constant shootings and imprisonment can do to a community.
Vince Staples headlines the Rave, 2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., on Tuesday night with local opener AUTOMatic. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
The Pabst Theater ramps up schedule
The calm winter months are over for many Milwaukee music clubs, but no venue amped up their schedule like The Pabst Theater Group. Their three big venues (The Riverside Theater, Turner Hall Ballroom and the Pabst Theater, of course) see shows this week from Carly Rae Jepson (Friday at Turner Hall), Leon Bridges (Saturday at the Riverside), two nights of the star-studded tribute Experience Hendrix (Wednesday and Thursday at the Riverside), plus a loaded slate of comedians like Bob Saget (Friday at Pabst) and Paula Poundstone (Saturday at Pabst). There are even a couple performances at the organization’s newest space, The Back Room at Colectivo Coffee on Prospect, which hosts Basia Bulat on Thursday and Robbie Fulks on Friday.
Video of the Week
The Brandon Evans-animated video for Myles Coyne’s “Still Friends/Moon” finds the singer in distress, as his cat, Suha, has gone missing. When Coyne gets a lead on the cat’s whereabouts, Suha takes him on a perilous adventure deep below Lake Michigan and eventually deep into space. Coyne celebrates the cassette release of his four-song self-titled EP this Saturday at Company Brewing, 735 E. Center St. The show starts at 10 p.m. The cover charge is $5 (or $10 gets you in plus a copy of the tape).
This Week in Live Music
Monday, March 7: Argopelter at Boone & Crockett, 9:30 p.m. (FREE) – (2151 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., BooneMilwaukee.com)
Also: Jaeng with Lemonade, Iron Pizza and Fox Face at Quarters Rock ‘n Roll Palace, 9 p.m. – (900 E. Center St.)
Also: Caustic Casanova with Irata, Bongwraith and Galactic Hatchet at Frank’s Power Plant, 8 p.m. ($5) – (2800 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., FranksPowerPlant.com)
Tuesday, March 8: Vince Staples with AUTOMatic at The Rave, 7:30 p.m. ($18) – (2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., TheRave.com)
Also: Oketo with King Courteen and Bum Ileum at Riverwest Public House, 8 p.m. (FREE) – (815 E. Locust St., RiverwestPublicHouse.WordPress.com)
Wednesday, March 9: CFM with Holy Shit! and The Pukes at Lucky Cat, 7 p.m. ($5) – (2541 N, Bremen St.)
Also: Ricky Dillon and Trevor Moran at Turner Hall Ballroom, 7:30 p.m. ($29.75) – (1032 N. 4th St., PabstTheater.org)
And: Experience Hendrix 2016 featuring Billy Cox, Buddy Guy, Zakk Wylde, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang, Dweezil Zappa, Doyle Bramhall, Eric Johnson, Chris Layton, Mato Nanji, Ana Popovic, Noah Hunt, Henri Brown at The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m. ($55-$75) – (116 W. Wisconsin Ave., PabstTheater.org)
And: Brian McKnight at Potawatomi’s Northern Lights Theater, 8 p.m. ($65-$75) – (1721 W. Canal St., PaysBig.com)
Thursday, March 10: Basia Bulat at Colectivo Coffee on Prospect, 8 p.m. ($14)
Also: Experience Hendrix 2016 featuring Billy Cox, Buddy Guy, Zakk Wylde, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang, Dweezil Zappa, Doyle Bramhall, Eric Johnson, Chris Layton, Mato Nanji, Ana Popovic, Noah Hunt, Henri Brown at The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m. ($55-$75) – (116 W. Wisconsin Ave., PabstTheater.org)
And: Bell Witch with Wrekmeister Harmonies and Northless at Cactus Club, 9 p.m. ($8) – (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com)
And: The Big Pink with The Heirs at The Rave, 8 p.m. ($12) – (2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., TheRave.com)
Friday, March 11: Carly Rae Jepsen with Fairground Saints at Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m. ($27.50) – (1032 N. 4th St., PabstTheater.org)
Also: City Of Ghosts (album release) with Hidden Hospitals, Hot Coffin and Antler House at Club Garibaldi, 9 p.m. ($8) – (2501 S. Superior St., ClubGaribaldis.com)
And: Robbie Fulks with John Sieger at Colectivo Coffee on Prospect, 8 p.m. ($20 advance, $22 door)
And: Canadian Rifle with Storm Clouds and ASHELL at Cactus Club, 9 p.m. – (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com)
Saturday, March 12: Leon Bridges with Son Little at The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m. (SOLD OUT) – (116 W. Wisconsin Ave., PabstTheater.org)
Also: Equinox Music Festival featuring Space Raft, Calliope, The Atomic Spins, Faux Fiction and Low Down Sound at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 8:30 p.m. ($8 advance, $10 door) – (1001 E. Locust St., Linnemans.com)
And: Myles Coyne (cassette release) with Lurking, Halfloves and Live Tetherball Tonight at Company Brewing, 10 p.m. ($5) – (735 E. Center St., CompanyBrewing.com)
And: Ric Wilson with Lex Allen, Queen Tut and Zed Kenzo at Cactus Club, 10 p.m. ($7) – (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com)
Sunday, March 13: MAMA with Vamos and Bad Wig at Circle A Cafe, 8 p.m. – (932 E. Chambers St., Circle-A-Café.org)
