TGIT: Our Weekend Picks

 

photo courtesy of Google

Thursday, June 25th

Summerfest: day one @ Maier Festival Park (through July 5th)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know. Summerfest is being crammed down Milwaukee’s throats and for some, it means a bad case of indigestion. Maybe acid reflux. Still, some are reveling in the fact that today is the start of the 700 + band lineup over the next eleven days. Check out the local sounds of The Invaders, Cougar Den, Fresh Cut Collective and Testa Rosa at the well-stocked Cascio Interstate Groove Garage with WMSE and the Shepherd Express or one of the many nationals such as KISS, Rodrigo y Gabriela the Meat Puppets or Lupe Fiasco. Even if you’re not into the music the day of your attendance, at least the fireworks will put that sparkle in your eye.

 

photo of Shellac courtesy of Google

 Friday, July 26th

Shellac + Three Second Kiss, Bear Claw @ Club Garibaldi’s, 2501 S. Superior, 8 p.m.

Minimalist rock’s favorite bitter pill and engineering guru Steve Albini will spend Friday night on the stage of Club Garibaldi in Milwaukee, dousing his audience with shards of guitars and gnarled, meaty lyrics while drummer Todd Trainer provides the controlled variable percussion of Shellac. Best consider trading your ear plugs for gauze pads, because Shellac does not play nice. 2007′s Excellent Italian Greyhound is evidence of the band not planning to sugar-coat their music anytime soon. Also, get there early, as half the tickets were pre-sales and space is limited.

 

flier courtesy of MySpace

Saturday, June 27th

Masonry + Bored Straight, Armada, Parrhesia @ The Borg Ward (823 W. National), 7 p.m.

For those looking to get exercise their inner aggro without getting arrested, the Borg Ward offers enough in hardcore, fastcore and heavy post-punk to loosen the worst hot weather-addled nerves. Sweat it off while Milwaukee’s Bored Straight pays homage to Black Flag and Parrhesia (Chicago) tears it up, claiming they [play as though] “stuck in a whirlwind of shit”; maybe a shitstorm of pummeling guitars and crash cymbals? Masonry rounds out the bill with their brainy guitar/bass/drums instrumental catharsis, sans vocals. Heavy and layered, Masonry is captivating, live.

TGIT: Our Weekend Picks!

Image courtesy of MySpace

Thursday, March 19th

Condominium + Herds, Truthdealer @ Franks Power Plant (2800 S. Kinnickinnic), 10 p.m.

Herds will rip faces off with its frenzy of hardcore and punk guitars and intense drumming whether the audience wants them to or not: there’s just no other way. The four-piece are an intense whirlwind of sound that will appeal to fans of everything musically brutal from Get Rad to Speedfreaks to Northless. 

Photo courtesy of MySpace

 

Friday, March 20th

Cougar Den + Father Phoenix, Cloud Mouth, Red Knife Lottery @ Y-Not III (1854 E. Kenilworth), 10 p.m.

Cougar Den is getting a lot of well-deserved respect for their keepondrifter release of last year: the Milwaukee hardcore scene is getting thicker than thieves, but Cougar Den is navigating the waters just fine, going strong on a standard three-person set-up but cranking it up with an edge of energy and enthusiasm and a strong basement following, setting them ahead of the rest by creating a genuine appeal with their hardworking ethos.

Photo of K_Digital by Ryan Zajicek

DJs K_Digital + Jayx, Crisgo Disco, Geewiz & Speed Tek @ Moct (240 E. Pittsburgh), 9 p.m.

Hit the dancefloor this weekend with DJ (Kory) K_Digital as the regular Moct DJ shakes the speakers with skill and ease. Joining him is Jayx, as much of a talent on the club turntables as a talent on the mic, manning his own electronic dance music show (“Streamline”) on WMSE for the past twelve years.

    

Photo courtesy of MySpace

Saturday, March 21st

Wizard of Cause + Jonathan Burks, Spransy & Kolb @ Mad Planet (533 E. Center), 10 p.m.

J. Todd truly is a wizard of sorts, first conjuring up dance-pop bliss with Leo Minor and hip hop rhythms of the former Def Harmonic. Mr. Todd is back with his newest musical cause, aptly entitled Wizard of Cause, sure to get feet moving. To create a truly magical evening, the pure pop of Spransy & Kolb will be paired along with the honky tonk drunk punk of Jonathan Burks.