Thursday, April 7
Nick Offerman @ The Riverside Theater, 7 p.m.
Though he may not share his hardline libertarian beliefs, Nick Offerman otherwise has a lot in common with his “Parks and Recreation” creation Ron Swanson, a walking celebration of masculinity in its purest, meat-devouring, wood-splitting form. Offerman has swung through Milwaukee a couple of times over the last few years, as part of a solo comedy show and a joint show with his actress wife Megan Mullally, but this time he’ll be appearing as part of a book tour. His latest book Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America’s Gutsiest Troublemakers draws comedic inspiration from 21 figures from American history. All tickets to this author appearance will include a paperback copy of the book.
Jay Leno @ Potawatomi Bingo Casino, 8 p.m.
Consider this for a moment: It was Jay Leno, not Conan O’Brien, who was the real victim of the great “Tonight Show” debacle of 2010. When NBC torpedoed O’Brien after a brief stint hosting the program, Leno took most of the blame, becoming the most-hated man in comedy even though he wasn’t the one who was calling the shots—after all, NBC had already removed him from that program against his wishes. And unlike O’Brien, Leno has actually been booted from “The Tonight Show” twice; NBC eventually threw him under the bus to make way for the younger Jimmy Fallon. Nonetheless, the bad press has followed Leno for years, even as he’s largely moved on from network politics and returned to his true love: doing his regular-Joe stand-up shows.
The Sword w/ Royal Thunder @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
Compared to the prog and experimental metal bands that now dot the scene, The Sword are relative traditionalists. Their brand of metal isn’t all that far removed from the hard rock that metal pioneers like Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer introduced four decades ago, though the Austin band is too smart to play into obvious retro tropes—their albums are grounded in the past, but they still sound modern. Produced by J. Robbins, formerly of Jawbox, the group’s 2012’s Apocryphon broke from the linear narrative of the 2010 concept album Warp Riders to explore metaphysical themes about the nature of being. Robbins returned for their latest record, last year’s High Country, which might be their most immediate yet, thanks to a pronounced classic rock influence.
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Friday, April 8
Made of Oak w/ Chris Rosenau @ Cactus Club, 9 p.m.
Milwaukee expat Nick Sanborn has been busy for the last couple of years as the producing half of festival-headlining favorites Sylvan Esso, but he’s also continued producing on the side, recording under his longtime solo moniker Made of Oak. Last year he finally got around to releasing his debut EP, Penumbra, on Partisan Records. It’s wider-ranging and less soda-pop fizzy than Sylvan Esso’s instant-pleasure electro, though nearly every track makes room for at least a little bit of the signature bump he brought to that project. Sanborn shares this show with his sometimes collaborator and fellow experimentalist Chris Rosenau of Collections of Colonies of Bees and Volcano Choir.
Ani DiFranco w/ Chastity Brown @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
With 18 studio albums under her belt and her record label Righteous Babe Records backing many grassroots cultural and political organizations, Buffalo’s folk-rock siren Ani DiFranco hasn’t lost her sense of political activism. The singer-songwriter continues to address contemporary social issues on her recent albums, like 2012’s ¿Which Side Are You On?, which paired punchy horns and staccato rhythms with lyrics on environmental disaster, government inaction and growing older. She hasn’t completely lost the fire of her early punk-folk days, though she’s now capable of much more sophisticated statements. Recorded while DiFranco was six months pregnant, her latest record, 2014’s Allergic to Water, is one of her most thoughtful and mellowest yet, including reflections of spirituality and existence.
Tyler Perry’s ‘Madea on the Run’ @ Milwaukee Theatre, 8 p.m.
You could argue that no playwright of his generation has been more successful than Tyler Perry, who made the leap to the big screen with his 2005 film debut, Diary of a Mad Black Woman. He’s written and directed more than a dozen movies since, starring in many of them in drag as the saucy matriarch Madea, a role he’s also occasionally played on his TV shows “House of Payne” and “Love Thy Neighbor.” Many of those projects have confounded critics outside of Perry’s intended black audiences, but Perry’s role in promoting the critical hit Precious affirmed his reputation as one of the entertainment industry’s most powerful (and prolific) moguls. For his latest play, Madea on the Run, Perry dons his signature fat suit and returns to live theaters—or, more accurately, gigantic arenas—in a musical production that allows him plenty of room to ad-lib and break character. (Also 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Saturday, April 9.)
Saturday, April 9
Hot Buttered Rum w/ The Last Revel and Evergreen Bluegrass band @ The Miramar Theatre, 9 p.m.
Though they’re inspired more by The Grateful Dead’s twangy, jammy tributes to Americana than bluegrass’ Appalachian forefathers, Hot Buttered Rum is nonetheless one of the more traditional modern bluegrass (“newgrass”) acts, a San Francisco quintet that may exaggerate the genre’s sharp tones, but never plays them for novelty. Of course, the group brings its own ideology to the music. It’s doubtful, for instance, that Bill Monroe would have written a jam about biofuel, as Hot Buttered Rum did for the title track of their 2006 disc, Well-Oiled Machine. The group’s recent albums have taken them even further from their string-band beginnings, incorporating eclectic rock and jazz influences.
The Steepwater Band w/ The Young Revelators @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Named for a Lake Michigan cargo ship, The Steepwater Band wasn’t born into the jam music scene. The trio began in the late ’90s as a fairly traditional blues-rock act, opening for Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal and playing regional blues festivals. Mid-2000s performances with Umphrey’s McGee and Yonder Mountain String Band, as well as a 2010 tour with Gov’t Mule, increased their following in the jam scene, though, and the group’s sound has shifted a bit to reflect the tastes of their new fanbase. Their 2014 album Diamond Days draws as much from the leisurely, rootsy rock of The Allman Brothers Band as they do the searing blues of their hometown. Rising Milwaukee blues-rockers The Young Revelators open this show.
Sunday, April 10
Marshall Crenshaw and the Bottle Rockets @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
A true songwriter’s songwriter, Marshall Crenshaw endeared himself to pop-rock aficionados with his 1982 self-titled debut, a spry collection of good-humored rock ’n’ roll tunes that took more than a few cues from Elvis Costello, but over the following decades Crenshaw has escaped those Costello comparisons, maturing into a more reflective writer without ever fully abandoning the warm humor and nervous energy that made his debut record such a thrill. Crenshaw shares this show with his regular tourmates the Bottle Rockets, the long-running alt-country outfit led by former Uncle Tupelo player Brian Henneman. Unlike many of their alt-county peers, the Bottle Rockets were never afraid to dabble in unabashed Southern rock, as they demonstrate on their latest album, 2015’s South Broadway Athletic Club.
Wednesday, April 13
Peter Murphy @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
Outside of The Cure’s Robert Smith, of course, few artists did more to shape the look and feel of goth music than Peter Murphy, who led perhaps the gothiest of all goth bands in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Bauhaus. That band has periodically reunited since its split in 1983, but Murphy has dedicated most of his creative energy to his solo career, most recently releasing his 10th and latest album, Lion, in 2014. At this show he’ll perform acoustic versions of songs from his entire career.
