Thursday, April 14
Milwaukee Day Party @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 6 p.m.
Not that Milwaukee needs an excuse to celebrate itself—city pride has been mighty high the last few years—but every April 14 (4-14, as in the 414 area code), the city comes together to toast all things Milwaukee for its annual Milwaukee Day celebration. There’s no one right way to commemorate the day, but the biggest, most official event this year takes place at Turner Hall Ballroom, which will feature performances from local acts Jaill, Def Harmonic, Lex Allen, Midnight Reruns and Space Raft. There will be local arts and crafts vendors on display, courtesy of Hovercraft, and all proceeds from the $10 cover charge benefit the Trans-Center for Youth’s Escuela Verde.
Kiefer Sutherland w/ Austin Plaine @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Yes, this is that Keifer Sutherland, the vampire with the cool hair from the Lost Boys and the secret agent who fed America’s appetite for torture during the Bush years on “24.” As it turns out, he’s also a musician. This year Sutherland released his first album, Down in a Hole, a set of rootsy folk, Americana and rock that’s actually pretty well done, especially by the low standards of celebrity vanity music projects. As part of his first tour as a headlining artist, he stops at Milwaukee’s Shank Hall.
“Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” @ The Riverside Theater, 7:30 p.m.
Nobody on NPR seems to be having more fun than the cast of “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!,” a weekly news quiz hosted by playwright and comedian Peter Sagal in which listeners play by phone. Each week a panel of humorists and journalists—including regulars like Amy Dickinson, Paula Poundstone, P.J. O’Rourke and Mo Rocca—guide the contestants through the games between chuckles and inside jokes, struggling to contain their laughter. The grand prize for one lucky listener is a personalized voicemail greeting from the show’s official judge and scorekeeper, esteemed newscaster Carl Kasell. The show returns to Milwaukee for this live recording.
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Friday, April 15
Lorde Fredd33 @ Fire on Water, 9 p.m.
With his deep, demon-dog growl, Lorde Fredd33 has one of the most distinctive voices in the Milwaukee hip-hop scene. On his latest release Dead Man’s View, he complements it with equally striking production that draws from classic hip-hop, psychedelia and contemporary trap. The album arrived digitally on Wednesday, April 13; following his all-ages show at the Colectivo on Prospect Avenue opening for Caroline Smith on Thursday, April 14, Lorde Fredd33 plays this cassette release party at Fire on Water.
Heat Death w/ Piles, Dream Vacation and Pink Trilliums @ Cactus Club, 9 p.m.
If The Fall’s classic lineup recorded an entire album in Buffalo Bill’s basement dungeon from Silence of The Lambs it might end up sounding something like Heat Death, a Milwaukee band with a knack for doomy, grimy post-punk. The group blanketed their 2015 debut EP Obsolescence in blistering guitars and bruising drums, and new album 9 Steps To a Happier Life only further dials up that intensity. They share this album release show with a trio of punk bands either from Milwaukee or with ties to the city.
Poliça w/ MOTHXR @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
Twin Cities producer Ryan Olson was one of the driving creative forces behind Gayngs, the sprawling 25-member soft-rock collective that included members of The Rosebuds, Megafaun and Bon Iver. But his main band features a much smaller cast. The R&B-inspired electronic dream-pop group Poliça reunites him with Gayngs singer Channy Leaneagh, who along with bassist Chris Bierdan and drummers Ben Ivascu and Drew Christopherson, record smooth and seductive electro-pop with more than a few hints of Sade. This spring the group released its third record, United Crushers, which doesn’t veer far from their usual sound, but features heavier production, bigger arrangements and some new twists in Leaneagh’s beguiling voice.
Brian Regan @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
Brian Regan makes a pretty mild first impression. At first he seems no different from all the good-guy, dad-type comedians who landed bland sitcoms in the ’90s. The subjects of his observational comedy are decidedly pedestrian, too. He riffs on doctor’s visits, jury duty and even airport security. His humor cuts a little deeper than the normal stand-up, though, and he has a way of making material about even the most conventional targets funny again. That’s no small feat, especially for a comedian who avoids the cheap shocks and confrontational profanity of so many young stand-ups. (Read our interview with Regan here)
Saturday, April 16
Record Store Day @ multiple locations
The early knock against Record Store Day, an annual promotion designed to drive traffic back to brick-and-mortar music stores with special releases, is that it was a corporate endeavor overly controlled by record labels. But over the years, cities have put their own local spin on the event, and that’s especially true here in Milwaukee, where the April event has become something of a holiday for local music fans. And this year’s Record Store Day might be the city’s busiest yet, thanks to sales and promotions at Acme Records, Rush-Mor Records, Bullseye Records, the Exclusive Company and Off The Beaten Path. Acme and the Exclusive Company will each host live music, too. Meanwhile Milwaukee music fans will have plenty of exclusive releases to seek out, from acts including Direct Hit!, The Crusties, The Pukes, GGOOLLDD and Sylvan Esso, who are releasing a 7-inch they recorded live at WMSE’s studios.
Eagle Trace w/ The Missing Letters @ Cactus Club, 8 p.m.
A literal band of brothers (four of their five members are siblings), Milwaukee’s Eagle Trace specialize in glimmering, hooky alternative rock with shades of Muse and Kings of Leon. Coming off of last year’s solid Off in the Night EP, the band is gearing up to release one that’s even stronger: The Restless Sea, a set featuring some of their catchiest tracks yet. It’s lead single “Without A Sound” has been in regular rotation on Radio Milwaukee 88.9.
Monday, April 18
Gingger Shankar @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Indian music still has a fairly low profile in America, in part because it hasn’t had a real crossover star. Gingger Shankar (yes, she’s related to Ravi Shankar, albeit it rather distantly) is the type of artist who could fill that void. A singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in the double violin, she’s scored some big films, including Passion of the Christ, and has lent her violin to Katy Perry’s latest record, Prism. Could she be looking to make a pop crossover of her own? There are signs. For her upcoming album she’s reportedly collaborated with hitmaker Linda Perry.
Andrew Bird w/ Dawn of Midi @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
Andrew Bird first gained exposure in the late ’90s as a member of the neo-swing movement, playing with bands like the Squirrel Nut Zippers. By his 2001 album with his band Bowl of Fire, The Swimming Hour, though, he had moved beyond swing to explore a much more complicated pastiche of jazz, rock, folk and world sounds. That album paved the way for his subsequent solo albums, which balance lovely baroque-pop with sensitive folk. In concert, Bird revels in taking bold risks, often looping himself, leaving plenty of room for error so his songs sound different each night. At this stop he’ll be playing behind his just-released latest record Are You Serious, which features appearances from Fiona Apple and Blake Mills.
