TGIT: All-Halloween Weekend Picks Edition

It’s that time of year, where everyone dresses up and pretends to be something they’re not (be it undead, famous or “sexy”), so if you’re gonna catch some live music this weekend, why bother with bands that aren’t doing the same? This is the one weekend where you won’t be shunned and shamed for going to see a band playing covers, so do it up right with these shows:

Friday, Oct. 30

Halloween Spoof Night Part 1 @ Club Garibaldi, 8 PM: DEVO, Replacements, Green Day, & Last Sons of Krypton

Chances that the Green Day cover set will contain material from their most recent 21st Century Breakdown album? Probably close to 0, although that would be a weird sort of genius move, doing nothing but recent Green Day covers and foregoing their Kerplunk! and Dookie classics. Expect to be confounded by the Last Sons of Krypton set, unless you grew up in the Green Bay and Manitowoc areas in the mid-1990s. Then again, if this version can anger the crowd as much as the originals did back in the day, that could be worth the price of admission alone.

Saturday, Oct. 31

Halloween Spoof Night Part 2 @ Club Garibaldi, 8 PM: Alice Cooper, Dictators, Weezer & Link Wray

The Dictators will apparently be represented on stage by Texas retro-punks Bad Sports, and according to their MySpace, it looks like they’re making a trip up to Milwaukee just to play this show, which is pretty crazy. Show up since they apparently are gonna need the gas money. They’ll be joined by Link Wray (awesome) and the Alice Cooper Band, who will hopefully storm the stage during the Weezer cover set and stage some sort of theatrical guillotining of Rivers Cuomo, which would make my Halloween truly complete and would even prompt me to leave my Halloween party on the East Side to see that fantasy of mine acted out live.

Cactus Club, 9 PM: Summertime Dudes w/Father Phoenix (as The Who), E-Coli Cherry and Big Balls (AC/DC Tribute)

Just a shot in the dark, but a band featuring a member of Call Me Lightning covering songs by The Who will probably be pretty damn solid. E-Coli Cherry = The Red Knife Lottery doing whatever the hell they feel like covering, and the Summertime Dudes will likely be doing the same. If you like your cover bands not rooted in one specific oeuvre, these two bands will satisfy that fix and save you a trip out to the Main Stage in Waukesha.

TGIT: Our Weekend Picks!

photo of Javelin from MySpace

Thursday, August 6th

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.

TGIT: Our Weekend Picks!

photo of Fire On Your Sleeve courtesy of MySpace

Friday, May 29th

Fire On Your Sleeve +the Delta Routine, So So Radio @ Cactus Club (2496 S. Wentworth), 10 p.m

Milwaukee’s Fire On Your Sleeve is adept at running the gamut of blues, rock, country and folk , never letting their audiences drift into a state of recognition. The Delta Routine unapologetically delivers straight-up blues-rock, laying down old-school riffs reminiscent of the Stones, but keeping it distinctly contemporary, joining the ranks of such local acts as Invade Rome.

photo of Partisan courtesy of MySpace

Saturday, May 30th

Partisan + Dear Astronaut, Quest for Fire @ The Borg Ward (823 W. National), 8 p.m. 

Partisan have brought their dynamically intense performances to Milwaukee’s less-dominated stages for quite some time, but Saturday brings their last hurrah. Sometimes stark and somber, sometimes squalored and distorted, Partisan recalls the most chilling and cranked moments of fellow amped-up folk rockers, Low.

photo of Terrior Bute courtesy of MySpace

Terrior Bute + Jail, Zebras, Squidbotz @ Cactus Club (2496 S. Wentworth), 10 p.m.

This city likes its music night/day: either it’s tough as nails or it’s all Pixy Stix. Saturday, Cactus plays host to the sweeter variety with the day and night-glo pop of Terrior Bute, who’ve just released their delicious Realm Dwellers. Adding to the sugar buzz are Squidbotz, Zebras and Jail.

 

photo of the Uptown Savages courtesy of MySpace

The Uptown Savages @ Frank’s Power Plant (2800 S. Kinnickinnic), 10 p.m.

Greasy rock and roll gets a little bit purtier when flowers are added to the mix at The Uptown Savages’ 3rd Annual Luau. Slug back a Malibu & Pineapple or a Red Stripe and hit the dance floor. Just not too hard.

image courtesy of MySpace

Red Knife Lottery + the Bangkok Taxi Pimps, Wizard of Cause @ Mad Planet (533 E. Center), 10 p.m.

Red Knife Lottery is still kicking…and screaming, as a proper hardcore rock band is bound to do. Representative screamer, Ashley Chapman hasn’t lost her vim, switching from throat-rattling to soulful swoon on the turn of a vocal dime. The group is looking forward to releasing some of their most churning, vehement tunes yet: Soiled Soul & Rapture is due out in July.

image courtesy of MySpace

 Sunday, May 31st

Hot Dog! Classic Country Spin @ Burnhearts (2599 S. Logan), 5 p.m.

When will you get your next chance to hear Hank Williams, Rick Nelson, Nancy Sinatra and George Jones besides at a family holiday get-together? This time around, it’s way better: no weird relatives and the beer just got 75% more delicious. The Hot Dog! Classic Country Spin is celebrating it’s one year anniversary at Burnhearts with DJs Kevin and Austin playing the classics and dishing up a potluck dinner and complimentary country compilation for each buckaroo present.

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.