I
haven't posted on this blog for a while. I've been so busy! Over the past
month, I went to some shows. I have this blog to talk about music, after all,
so I figured I should recap them.
Bully In
Studio Session @ 88.9 Radio Milwaukee -- 1/19/2016
I had listened to Bully in the past. I thought they were alright. This show was free, so I figured I would take a chance. I'm glad I did! I've noticed that I much prefer to discover bands via seeing live first and THEN listening to the recordings (instead of the other way around). Bully was no exception to this preference. Their singer, Alicia, was really entertaining during her short interview, and they played great. I have been listening to them a lot more since then, and I doubt I would had I not gone to this show. I don't really have a lot to say about this show because they only played three songs. I couldn't attend their full show at the Cactus Club because I can't go to bars... that card at the door.
Tommy
Stinson, Midnight Reruns + Platinum Boys @ Turner Hall -- 1/21/2016
It's no secret that The Replacements are my favvv bandd eveeerrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I came into this show without any expectations (which is something I've learned to do), and honestly, it kind of sucked. It wasn't 100% shitty, though... Only 50%.
Both of my favorite Milwaukee bands opened for the Stinsonator. My best friend and I saw the Midnight Reruns and the Platinum Boys many times during the summer of 2015, and we hadn't seen either band since July. It was exciting to say the least. The Platinum Boys played all their hits ("Candy", "Feel Young", "Downtown"), but somehow their performance lost the magic it possessed in the summer. I'm guessing this is due to the fact that we've only ever seen them outside, and this show was inside a stuffy, ancient (but still beautiful) venue.
The Midnight Reruns played better than I ever remember them playing in the summer. I'm guessing they've been practicing real hard since the summer festival season ended. They played a bunch of songs off their most recent release "Force of Nurture", including my personal favorites "There's An Animal Upstairs" and "Ain't Gonna Find".
Now, onto the shitty part of this night. Tommy was pretty wasted (I think?) and played for WAY TOO LONG. I guess it didn't help that I didn't know any of his songs. I have a personal vengeance for members of my favorite bands' solo projects. Like, you left the amazing band you were once in... For this...? I'm looking at you, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. And you, Dave Grohl (even though I know you didn't really have a choice). I don't think I ever wanted to leave a show so badly in my life. I was relieved when it ended.
Tommy, f you're reading this, I think you need to call up Paul again. No offense.
Riverwest
FemFest 2016 @ Jazz Gallery -- 1/22/2016
Riverwest FemFest is yearly event that happens in the aforementioned super-hip-n-trendy Milwaukee neighborhood. It exclusively showcases musical acts with women in them. As a feminist and music fan, I am naturally pretty into it. To my dismay, this was the only night of the festival that I was able to attend due my UNDERAGE STATUS. The highlight of this show, for me, was the amount of women close to my age who were in attendance. I'm used to being in the female minority, and am almost always one of the youngest, if not THEE youngest person at shows I go to. At this show, I was definitely in the median age range, and there were tons of other women. Yay!
I saw, I think, 5 bands? Yeah, I was too busy paying attention to take notes. They include local bands Dupont Dupond, Fox Face, Static Eyes, and two bands who came into Milwaukee specifically for the event. Static Eyes and Fox Face share some of the same girl members, which is so awesome and important. All of the bands played very well, and I am proud to live in a city that hosts a festival specifically dedicated to women musicians.
Mittenfest
2016 @ Burnhearts -- 2/06/2016
Okay, so I know I said the Midnight Reruns played their best when they opened for Tommy Stinson. Less than two weeks later, they proceeded to blow me out of the water AGAIN. This time, they did some really great covers. "See No Evil" by Television, "The Boys Are Back In Town" by Thin Lizzy (<3), and a cover of the Mistreaters' "The Other Man" that they included on one of their older EPs were all included in their set. I'm confident that they will "make it" or whatever, but if they don't, they are basically guaranteed a career as the best wedding band in the world.
I also saw local rapper Queen Tut perform for the first time at Mittenfest. I had heard her music from the Riverwest FemFest comp tapes, and was intrigued. I don't know a lot about hip hop, so this might be reaching, but she reminds me of Nicki Minaj. Her voice glimmers with confidence. She has great stage presence. She performed with Zed Kenzo, another local Milwaukee rapper. I loved her take on Vitamin C's "Unpretty". I am excited to see what she is going to accomplish this year.
Henry
Rollins @ Turner Hall -- 2/14/2016
This was not a rock n roll concert event. I spent my Valentine's Day Eve (gross) in the presence of Henry Rollins, most famous for being the singer for seminal punk band Black Flag. I was expecting to be yelled at about what it means to be punk for three hours, but had quite the opposite experience. Henry talked about his friendships with recently passed rock icons David Bowie and Lemmy. He said Lemmy was the most punk person ever because he did whatever he wanted and if people didn't like it, he didn't care. This is a way that I wish I could live my own life. He told us that we need to make sure that we tell people that we think they're cool, because someday we might not get the chance to do that anymore. He talked about meeting his angry fans. He told us that we shouldn't judge peoples' anger and aggression because we don't understand what goes on in their lives. I left this event feeling very inspired. I felt like I needed to hear a lot of these things, like Henry was talking only to my best friend and me. He was very funny and charming. He has every right to be pretentious and condescending, but he was totally the opposite. I felt like I was having a conversation with one of my friends, even though I didn't say a word.
Parquet
Courts + Love of Everything @ Turner Hall --2/15/2016
After spending my adolescence as an "indie teen",
I have learned to never expect much when seeing contemporary bands perform
live. I saw Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys in 2014. Both sucked, especially
Vampire Weekend. I love the Monkeys, but their live shows simply are not up to
the par of their albums. I've seen Twin Peaks and FIDLAR and Best Coast and
Jake Bugg and Foster The People. THEY. ALL. SUCKED.
I was under the impression that Parquet Courts was under the same umbrella as those other bands - popular among teens who spend too much time on Tumblr, view Lana Del Rey as a role model, and spend their parents' money at American Apparel and Urban Outfitters. Yeah, I sound really pretentious. However, I am 19. I was not an "indie teen" that long ago. I hate indie teen Lauren, and am glad I got past that phase in my life.
ANYWAY, I was pleasantly surprised by every aspect of this show. The audience was approximately 90% chill. There were only like ten indie teens, who were chill. There were only a few punk bros, who were chill until the second to last song. I got beer spilled on me, but it was chill. I like the smell of beer. The opener, Love of Everything, was neat. I didn't really care for the sound of his voice (it kind of gave me a pop punk mixed with Owl City vibe...), but I appreciate that he had a whole "band" consisting of his own playing. It was really cool to watch, if not to listen to.
Parquet Courts were absolutely fantastic. They were very engaging with the audience (one of the most important aspects of a band IMO). They were funny. Their live versions of the songs were very close to the recordings, but even better because they included a bunch of SICK RIFFS. They even did the audience a favor by playing their "Creep", their "Wonderwall", their most famous song "Stoned and Starving". To my surprise, they even played my favorite song of theirs, "Pretty Machines". I left that show feeling optimistic... Maybe good old fashioned rock n roll isn't dead after all.
I was under the impression that Parquet Courts was under the same umbrella as those other bands - popular among teens who spend too much time on Tumblr, view Lana Del Rey as a role model, and spend their parents' money at American Apparel and Urban Outfitters. Yeah, I sound really pretentious. However, I am 19. I was not an "indie teen" that long ago. I hate indie teen Lauren, and am glad I got past that phase in my life.
ANYWAY, I was pleasantly surprised by every aspect of this show. The audience was approximately 90% chill. There were only like ten indie teens, who were chill. There were only a few punk bros, who were chill until the second to last song. I got beer spilled on me, but it was chill. I like the smell of beer. The opener, Love of Everything, was neat. I didn't really care for the sound of his voice (it kind of gave me a pop punk mixed with Owl City vibe...), but I appreciate that he had a whole "band" consisting of his own playing. It was really cool to watch, if not to listen to.
Parquet Courts were absolutely fantastic. They were very engaging with the audience (one of the most important aspects of a band IMO). They were funny. Their live versions of the songs were very close to the recordings, but even better because they included a bunch of SICK RIFFS. They even did the audience a favor by playing their "Creep", their "Wonderwall", their most famous song "Stoned and Starving". To my surprise, they even played my favorite song of theirs, "Pretty Machines". I left that show feeling optimistic... Maybe good old fashioned rock n roll isn't dead after all.
