The A.V. Club’s Top 15 Milwaukee shows of 2011
There are lots of ways to count the best shows we saw in Milwaukee this year—in tour T-shirts, in discarded earplugs, in mind-shredding hangovers. But ultimately, the truest barometer of great concert experiences is memories. Of all the nights we spent out in local clubs in 2011, these 15 gigs remain burned into our brains and the softest parts of our hearts. Here they are, in chronological order.
1. Northless, March 8, The Borg Ward
Metal and hardcore shows are some of the most densely packed, rowdy social gatherings in Milwaukee, so it was no surprise to see The Borg Ward respectfully packed to celebrate the release of Northless’ NPR-approved double-LP avalanche, Clandestine Abuse. What made this show stand out was how thoroughly the touring band, Louisiana sludge-metal outfit and critical darlings Thou, got its ass handed to it by the locals. Hard-touring hardcore vets Protestant primed the audience with spirited blasts of scream-y, crusty punk that carry enough musical complexity to shine in a genre that so often suffers from homogeneity, while Northless’ bear-slaughtering doom metal bulldozed the Milwaukee faithful with riffs as tuneful as they were loud. Northless and Protestant proved that Milwaukee’s heaviest bands can not only hang with the national favorites, but can also blow ’em straight out of the room. [DJ Hostettler]
2. Decibully, April 2, Cactus Club
Decibully’s final show ambushed fans with little more than a few days of word-of-mouth fanfare, but the Cactus was still packed. Who could believe that the first performances of songs from a new, self-titled album might also be the last? Follwing a stirring solo acoustic set from The Championship’s Joe Crockett, Decibully emerged, playing eight of the 10 tracks on, ostensibly, its final album, plus an expansive selection from its decade-long career. It may not have been the tightest show ever from one of Milwaukee’s all-time great live bands, but it was as powerful and memorable as any. If this was the end, it lived up to Decibully’s legacy. [Cal Roach]
3. Bright Eyes, April 3, Riverside Theater
Some of the best live shows take on the aspect of an Event. Much of Wisconsin was in the throes of peak political frenzy when Conor Oberst arrived here in April and, while his set probably didn’t deviate much from others on the tour, the charged atmosphere contributed to a spectacularly energized performance and audience. The tension in the room finally burst into cheers and laughter when Oberst suggested that everyone egg Gov. Scott Walker’s house. But, in between tidbits of liberal banter, Bright Eyes played an astounding set of music—mostly electric, but with just enough older, folky material like set-closer “Lua.” [CR]
4. The Danglers, May 7, Mad Planet
Mad Planet was the somewhat unlikely site of Milwaukee’s prog blowout of the year—the room best known for sweaty dance parties was taken over by headbanging and other jerky movements for this superior quadruple bill. For a band just starting out, Fibonacci Sequence had instrumental complexities that played well for a solid opening set. Next, the lone non-MKE band, Chicago’s The Hue, followed suit stylistically but with a decidedly heavier, tighter sound, and impressive twin lead guitars. Alpha Transit took things in a jazzy, highly improvisational direction and, to finish the night, The Danglers played a triumphant set of harrowing, experimental drum/bass/violin rock as only they could. Bassist David Gelting summed things up perfectly: “It’s been a lovely night of complicated music.” [CR]
5. No Future, May 13, Riverwest Public House
No Future properly heralded the beginning of summer with its taut, hardcore-versus-metal compositions and polished—but plenty skuzzy—presentation. Formed casually by storied Milwaukee rockers and punks from Since By Man, Seven Days Of Samsara, and Red Knife Lottery, the attitude from the band wasn’t about attention-grabbing. Instead, it was as if the band took itself from a circle in its practice space and repositioned itself directly to the venue. No Future’s music commanded the stage with a pent-up energy spilling out into the relentless drumming of Ryan Smith and the heavy-handed guitar storms from Kenny Siebert, Eric Alonso, and Brad Clifford. [Erin Wolf]
6. Radical Dads, June 26, Frank’s Power Plant
Radical Dads’ 2011 debut, Mega Rama, was one of the year’s most overlooked gems, boasting loads of short, punchy post-punk songs that pleased and punctured eardrums. Squalling noise battled good-naturedly with thorny hooks throughout this show and, best of all, you could dance to it, which is always a good sign for otherwise shoegaze-y rock bands. Whipping through most of Mega Rama, the Brooklyn, New York-based Dads applied for status as honorary Milwaukeeans, talking up their love of the similarly styled Sat. Nite Duets and pledging to return soon. Let’s hope they do. [Steven Hyden]
7. Mountain Man, July 11, Cactus Club
Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, and Amelia Randall Meath are just three ladies from Vermont, and their music as Mountain Man is mostly just their three voices. But voices with real weight carry on further than the ear alone. I can count on one hand the number of times one could have heard a pin drop at a packed-house Cactus Club show. Blending, folding, diving, and swooping, the three voices held the audience pinned to its spot with sparse beauty and transcendent loveliness that appeared effortlessly via those just-so harmonies. Even the trio’s cover of a lively Mills Brothers tune, “How’m I Doing Hey Hey,” failed to shake the spellbound audience. The result was nearly as dreamy as Mountain Man’s subtle vocal arrangements, filled with the musical history of the landform included in its name. [EW]
8. Bon Iver, July 22, Riverside Theater
No other Milwaukee musical event caused as much uproar in 2011 as Bon Iver’s two-night stint (and tour kickoff) at the Riverside. It was easy to see why: The Justin Vernon-fronted indie-folk group was enjoying a breakout year thanks to a critically acclaimed self-titled album, and suffering all of the requisite backlash that came along with it. Adding fuel to the naysayers’ fire was Mayor Tom Barrett’s decision to declare July 22 “Bon Iver Day” in Milwaukee, a curious honor for a band that hails from Eau Claire. But critics have always seemed more hung up on the idea of Bon Iver—a sensitive, bearded dude writing prissy indie-rock inside an igloo, or whatever—than on the band’s actual musical output. And they almost certainly never take into account Bon Iver’s live show, which was simply incredible. Big, boisterous, and surprisingly loud, the July 22 show was anything but wimpy and flannel-clad. Hell, even the Peter Cetera-esque “Beth/Rest” sounded great. [Matt Wild]
9. The Poison Control Center, July 28, Bad Genie
This rambunctious Iowa band plays Milwaukee on a fairly regular basis, and I’m kicking myself for not seeing it sooner. While the group draws on slacker ’90s indie-rock—Pavement, GBV, a dash of Pixies—the live show is in the tradition of Bruce Springsteen’s legendary club shows of the ’70s. Energetic, exhilarating, and potentially injury-inducing, shows by PCC don’t mess around; gigs are a matter of life-or-death commitment, and the band pulls you along, regardless of whether you know the songs. There were maybe 20 people at this show, but all of them left with as much enthusiasm as I did. Little by little, PCC is building an army. [SH]
10. Catacombz, July 28, Quarters Rock ’N Roll Palace
Packed into a muggy Quarters, Catacombz was worth every drop of sweat and warm beer, and the show the group put on was admirable and inspiring—even when you were stuck standing behind a stack of too-warm people at the show. Weather conditions aside, Catacombz are the odd band that has that mesmerizing appeal to warrant rapt attention. Not too psych for the punks, and not too paisley for the toughies, the band wields a powerful force that leans masterfully on solid influences such as CAN and modern beat-freaks Trans Am. It all made for an energetic show, even if you couldn’t see a damn thing. That’s a problem Catacombz should be more than pleased to have. [EW]
11. The Hold Steady, Aug. 24, Turner Hall
It hasn’t been an easy transition for The Hold Steady into the post-Franz Nicolay part of its career. The ex-keyboardist’s instrumental flourishes and showmanship were greatly missed at the band’s Summerfest appearance in 2010, and The Hold Steady seemed stuck in a holding pattern on Heaven Is Whenever. But if this summer’s show at Turner Hall was any indication, THS is finally back on the right track, with former Lucero guitarist Steve Selvidge forming a winning partnership with leading axman Tad Kubler and making the band roar louder than it ever has. [SH]
12. The War On Drugs, Aug. 27, Club Garibaldi
With Adam Granduciel at the helm of the waves and washes of sound filling the summer air of Garibaldi, you moved. You buzzed. You simmered with a looping energy. Most people in the audience were standing completely still, but it was obvious that they were standing very intensely, sucked in by the epic sounds of Philadelphia’s anthemic rockers, The War On Drugs. Even enlisting Milwaukee saxophonist Tony Scholl to further the band’s most swirling moments onstage did not cause the audience to lose their blissed-out form—a true testament to music that simply speaks to audience members rather than speaking at them. [EW]
13. TV On The Radio, Sept. 1, Pabst Theater
TV On The Radio’s first Milwaukee visit since a 2004 performance at Onopa (now Stonefly Brewery) was an impressive showcase of the band’s ability to take its loop-ridden studio creations and translate them into organic and full live-action triumphs. But it was an expertly mapped-out set list that pushed the show from “merely killer” to “transcendently magical.” As the band transitioned seamlessly from staple “Staring At The Sun” to Nine Types Of Light’s hip-conquering “Repetition,” the audience’s excitement echoed the band’s bubbling, frothing intensity, until the set-closing “Wolf Like Me” sent the entire room into an explosive frenzy. Audience/performer mind-melds like that generally don’t happen outside of gospel congregations, but TV On The Radio’s psychic manipulation of the enraptured Pabst faithful took clichés like “rave-up” and “celebratory” and showed the megachurches how it’s done. [DH]
14. St. Vincent, Oct. 3, Pabst Theater
What can one say about St. Vincent—the nom de plume of songwriter and axe-slinger Annie Clark—that hasn’t already been said? Turns out, not much. But for those who haven’t witnessed Clark and company live, it’s amazing to see just how muscular and frenzied St. Vincent can be. Indeed, after seeing a show as terrific as Clark’s fall gig at the Pabst, it can be hard to go back to her fussy and sometimes cold records. Toss in a well-chosen cover of The Pop Group’s “She Is Beyond Good And Evil,” and you’ve got a live act not to be missed. If anything, the show was notable for the opportunity to see how local music writers could subtly work in a version of “Annie Clark is a pretty lady” into their reviews without seeming creepy. (Oops!) [MW]
15. .357 String Band, Nov. 25, Turner Hall
While the focus of this show was rightly on the .357 String Band—who announced their impending breakup in the week leading up to this Black Friday barnburner—the real revelation was Those Poor Bastards. A Madison “Gothic country” trio, TPB have somehow managed to build an intensely loyal, sing-along fanbase despite the Milwaukee and Madison press sleeping on them forever. Guitarist and frontman Lonesome Wyatt—with his long black hair, top hat, and wide, laser-shooting eyes—projected a sort of rockabilly Peter Steele bravado that could be aptly described as “hilariously evil.” Bandmates Vincent Presley and Lacey Smith backed his strumming and wailing with effectively contrasting synth and minimalist, downright musical drumming. Meanwhile, the TPB faithful in the audience (and there were tons) dutifully and passionately sang along with Wyatt’s smirkingly bleak paeans to God, Satan, death, and hell. It was one of my favorite new musical discoveries of the year—a “discovery” five albums and countless EPs in the making, because I’ve been stupidly sleeping on the band, too. My bad. [DH]
