TGIT: Our Weekend Picks!

photo of the Pulltops courtesy of MySpace

Thursday, April 30th – Sunday, May 3rd

International Pop Overthrow Festival: Linneman’s (1001 E. Locust), 8 p.m. (Thursday-Saturday), 3 p.m. (Sunday)

Nope. This isn’t a four-day stint of bands covering Material Issue’s  1991 album of the same name: The International Pop Overthrow Festival is a four-day pop festival that started eleven years ago in Los Angeles, and has since crept Midwest-wards. Other IPO festivals are being held in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Cleveland and even Liverpool, England. Milwaukee’s version hits this weekend as Linneman’s plays host to some of Milwaukee’s finest procurers of major chords jammed into a less than five-minute time slot: Bored Games, the Pulltops, Heathrow, the Reckless Hearts, the Nice Outfit, the International Date Lines, Jetty Boys and Certain Stars are just a few of the bands that will be taking the stage.

 

image courtesy of Google

 Friday, May 1st – Sunday, May 3rd

Okka Disc 15th Anniversary Celebration: The Sugar Maple (441 E. Lincoln), various times

The best in avant garde music and free-form jazz will be filling the cavernous space of Milwaukee’s premiere spot for craft beer, the Sugar Maple this weekend. Owner of the Sugar Maple, Bruno Johnson, prior to feeding Milwaukee’s appetite craft beer has fed Milwaukee’s growing appetite for music cerebrally akin to a Rubik’s Cube through his Okka Disc label. Okka Disc, throughout its fifteen year existence, has put forth music by Peter Brotzmann, Ken Vandermark and Joe McPhee. See these avant gard-ists and more: Jeb Bishop, Tim Daisy, the Engines, Survival Unit III and Collections of Colonies of Bees will all be playing throughout the weekend, with a special Saturday afternoon set at Johnson’s additional, more intimate establishment, The Palm Tavern (2989 S. Kinnickinnic).

image courtesy of MySpace

Friday, May 1st

E=MC Hammer + Zebras, ifIHadAHifi, All Tiny Creatures, Dear Astronaut @ The Borg Ward (823 W. National), 6:30 p.m.

Celebrate, because Madison’s Zebras and Milwaukee’s E=MC Hammer are releasing a split this Friday. Anyone with a penchant to shake off some excess energy should take to this show like a thirteen year old to a paintball gun. Zebra’s high energy riffage  and shouts is Pretty Girls Makes Graves’, tougher, more cracked-out older sister and the drums and bass duo of E=MC Hammer (Peter Woods and Danny Friedman) is loud, crunchy, abrasive and carnival-esque headbanging at its finest. Also playing: ifIHadAHifi, All Tiny Creatures and Dear Astronaut.

TGIT: Our Weekend Picks!

Photo of Codebreaker courtesy of MySpace

Thursday, February 26th

88Nine Radio Milwaukee Presents: 2nd Annual Milwaukee Music Awards Celebration featuring: Fever Marlene, Codebreaker, Figureheads & Quinn Scharber and the…, DJs Kid Millions + Why B.E. Rich  & Luke Warm @ Mad Planet (533 E. Center), 10 p.m.

Join 88Nine Radio Milwaukee as they honor some of local music’s brightest and best to hit their airwaves over the last year. Catch the on-air awards on 88Nine from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. and head over to Mad Planet after full disclosure for full celebration of the winners of ‘artist of the year’, ‘memorable concert of the year’ and ‘club DJ of the year’.

Image courtesy of MySpace

 Saturday, February 28th

Broad Vocabulary Benefit @ Frank’s Power Plant (2800 S. Kinnickinnic): potluck dinner, raffle: bands: Plexi 3 + the International Date Lines, Uh Oh, Pigs On Ice & Exotic Matter

Independent bookseller and cooperative, Broad Vocabulary (now ‘A Broader Vocabulary Cooperative‘) found helping hands and creative organization from locals Kate Scanlan and Brian Whitney, who put together a fundraiser for this Saturday to blow all other fundraisers out of the water (this one includes a potluck dinner, raffle and  five bands). Find more information about  upcoming events and projects A Broader Vocabulary Cooperative is working on for/with the Milwaukee community at their blog *here*. 

Photo of Abaddon courtesy of MySpace

Abaddon + the Muzzler & Regrets @ The River Horse (1701 E. Center), 7 p.m.

What’s it like to see a hardcore and metal show staged next to a pinball machine? Only one way to find out: go and see for yourself on Saturday as some of Milwaukee and Chicago’s finest and loudest exports play at one of Riverwest’s best places to catch a cold PBR.

Photo of the Blind Shake courtesy of MySpace (it was taken @ Circle A in MKE!)

Sunday, March 1st 

The Blind Shake + Wereworm & Analytik @ The Sugar Maple (441 E. Lincoln), 8 p.m.

Minneapolis’ The Blind Shake are making use of their Spring Fever energy and booking it down to Milwaukee once again to play at The Sugar Maple. Sounding raw and twitchy, they’re not too far off from city-mates, Stnnng, but maybe a bit more of a walk on the psychedelic side. Check out this review *here* for a more accurate description. Also playing: the elusive ‘Wereworm’ of Milwaukee.