(Ed. Note: Yeah, yeah, this video is from San Francisco in 2007, but it features a song performed at Sunday night’s Cactus show, and seeing as it was performed by mechanical robots, how much different could it have been? Yeah, yeah, we were too busy rocking out to get any photos or video. We blew it. –F-B)
Words by Abbie Amadio
Cactus Club was surprisingly packed for a Sunday night—with Juiceboxxx and Captured! By Robots wrecking the back room and metalheads filtering in post–Mastodon/High On Fire/Converge to drink beers and talk metal. As typical for human hip-hop beat machine Juiceboxxx, he ripped through his set, climbing on tables, throwing himself on the floor, grabbing people by the hair and giving their skulls a good shake, and, per usual, delivering an unnervingly energetic performance. (“God, this is fun, but please don’t tackle me!”) The guy is seemingly possessed and always a good time, bouncing off the walls like some backwards preacher; his eyeballs wide, rolling them upward as he stares antagonistically at the crowd. Some of his more masochistic fans followed suit, getting up close to catch some of his sweat, dance, and join in the spastic chaos of his performance.
Photo of Captured! By Robots courtesy the band's MySpace
Words by DJ Hostettler
Not a lot of bands make use of the old-fashioned e-mail list anymore—not in the age of Facebook, Twitter and MySpace (where bands friend bands to see what other bands are up to). But getting the occasional email from JBOT of Captured! By Robots reminds me how handy this archaic form of electronic communication can still be, especially when he sends missives like the following:
“It’s been a long 2 years since we toured, lots of things have happened in the world, eh?
Everyone I have been speaking with is depressed, or struggling to keep their heads above water,
and I felt that something must be done by C!BR for all you folks needing some help at this difficult time.
Let’s face facts, people…
Times are tough these days…
Have you lost your job, lost your home, or lost your way?
Are you sick and tired of being down in the dumps?
Do you need some inspiration to help you get back on track?
Are you ready for Success? It’s ready for you!
The “Get Motivated by C!BR” Fall 2009 tour will inspire,
motivate, and make you want to grab for that brass ring.
It will include well known songs that will make you jump out of your seat .
You will be ready to take on the World, and YOU will WIN!
You are #1! (more…)
The same folks who brought you the carefree pop stylings of Hockey Night are back at again as Free Energy. Bringing a little Bowie and T. Rex swagger to their MGMT leanings, the band from Philly offers up a more classic sound than is usually heard on their home label, DFA. Tonight, they join forces with two Milwaukee dance/electro/pop mainstays, Juiceboxxx and Big Fun 4Ever, for a show that will have more than enough energy to throw at the crowd, and then some.
Free Energy plays tonight at the Mad Planet (533 E. Center). With Juiceboxxx and Big Fun 4Ever. 10 p.m. 21+
Javelin + Leo Minor, Juiceboxxx, Club Nutz DJs @ Y-Not III (1854 E. Kenilworth), 10 p.m.
Hailing from New York, Javelin makes good use of their record crates, digging in for the hidden dub, pop and psych deliciousness that leaves their live audience more than eager to eat up more. Leaving digital track trails across the Internet to complete their full-length Jamz n Jemz, Javelin’s cast of recycled characters, mainly comprised of George Langford and Tom Van Buskirk, will undoubtedly will be two DJs that will inspire the materialization of pens and notebooks.
photo of The Misfits from MySpace
Friday, August 7th
The Misfits + Speedfreaks, Get Rad, Self Destruckt @ The Modjeska (1134 W. Mitchell), 8 p.m. (all-ages)
The Misfits, the old-school, horror-punk band from New Jersey, will be in Milwaukee Friday to play alongside Milwaukee’s own hardcore heroes, Speedfreaks and Get Rad. Best associated with former front man Glenn Danzig (now, the band is lead by bassist Jerry Only), the Misfits made popular songs such as “Die, Die My Darling” and “Halloween” and played alongside The Damned and Black Flag. Their skull logo, ripped from a 1940s film poster, is still their call-image to this day.
photo of Sleeping in the Aviary by Mike Krol
Sleeping in the Aviary + the Candeliers, Amo Joy @ the Cactus Club (2496 S. Wentworth), 10 p.m.
Madison’s Sleeping in the Aviary has recently released a split 7″ with fellow Madisonian punkers The Hussy, which contains the pumped up track “Automatic (for Krol)”. This Friday, they hit the stage with Milwaukee’s “kitchen-sink pop” band The Candeliers, demonstrating that they fit right in between rambunctious pop and punk quite nicely.
photo of King Hell Bastard from MySpace
Saturday, August 8th
KingHell Bastard + Exotic Matter, The MVs, SLDSUC, DJ Butta Tooth @ Stonefly (735 E. Center), 10 p.m.
With a name stolen from the pages of Hunter S. Thompson, it’s obvious that KingHell Bastard is as smart as they come. The local hip-hop mavens, when alongside local funk/jazz pros, Exotic Matter, KHB is an unstoppable force. The two join forces at Stonefly this Saturday as they bring down the house with The MVs and SLDSUC (Logic and Eddie Nygma).
photo of Red Knife Lottery by Chris Stingl
Rockerbox 2009: Center Street: The Wildbirds, Red Knife Lottery, Speedfreaks, The Fatty Acids, Battle Royale, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Go for the bikes, stay for the bands. While custom bikes are the main attraction at the seventh-annual celebration that is Rockerbox (dreamed up by Scott Johnson of Fuel Cafe), the event hasn’t overlooked the celebratory aspect of the event, inviting local bands to play the Rockerbox stage every year. This year features performances by The Wildbirds and Red Knife Lottery. The event runs from 11: 00 a.m. – 7 p.m. with bands playing sets between 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Huntsville, Alabama is a long way from Milwaukee. Five hundred and seventy nine miles to be exact. No matter, according to Huntsville’s garage rockers, Thomas Function. The quartet finds ways to play Milwaukee shows as often as they can and likewise, brings Milwaukee bands such as The Goodnight Loving and International Datelines to their city to play shows and festivals. While technically not considered to be ‘sister cities’, Huntsville and Milwaukee have been acquainted in this fashion for quite some time. How did it all come about? Thomas Function’s Josh Macero backtracks for Fan-belt as the band heads up to their home away from home for two shows this Saturday: one at the Borg Ward and one at the Cactus Club, throwing us a song from their upcoming Fat Possum release In the Valley of Sickness as a snack ’til they get here.
When was your first Milwaukee show and who did you play with?
That’s a hard question to ask. Travis and myself were in a band a long, long time ago that played in Green Bay, and the and previous to Thomas Function (Alabama Jihad) also played in Milwaukee quite a bit. So, I’m not real sure. Maybe the summer of 2005 or 2006?
About how many times have you played here since then? What keeps you coming back?
Ten? Twenty? Who knows. We keep coming back because we have more friends in Milwaukee than we do in Alabama and the shows are just too much fun.
Is Milwaukee’s scene similar to Huntsville’s?
Eh, not quite. Milwaukee has a lot more people adding to the ‘scene’. More local bands, more shows, more places to have them, etc.
Bamalama Fest just happened recently and lots of Milwaukee bands played (Squidbotz, The Goodnight Loving, International Datelines, Juiceboxxx, etc.), plus Digital Leather, Wizzard Sleeve and Dan Sartain. Why do you think Milwaukee bands fit well into the mix?
Well, it’s an easy source to pull from. There are a lot of really good bands in Milwaukee, and as I said earlier, we happen to be friends with a lot of the people involved, so it’s almost a given.
The title from your album Celebration has ties to Milwaukee from what I’ve heard, and the back cover features a few Milwaukeeans. How did that come about?
Um, Tabman, Matt Chic and Adam K came up with the whole cult religion of Celebration and it seemed applicable to the album. They’ve always been super supportive of what we’re doing, so we figured we’d honor the people and the town. As for the back cover, Holy Shit! just happened to be in town when we took the photo. P.S.: don’t eat muscle relaxers to try and get fucked up. It’s messy.
What’s in store for your shows here this weekend?
Gongs, pyrotechnics, Meth, venereal disease, pizza, gin, a show at the Borg Ward and a show at the Cactus Club. Oh, and we may all get bent!
