The Wherehouse, a 5,000-square-foot, beautifully renovated old cooperage with bars, dance floors and party rooms, and the adjacent Hot Water, are hot. Last week, the first of Scott Robbe’s summer music and party series called “Sound and Vision” was launched with FUNK, spotlighting Chicago’s master of funk DJ Plez (Michael Pleasants) and the retro FUNK sound by Milwaukee native Andy Noble of the Noble Brothers.
The psychedelic “video wallpaper” projected on the wall was spectacular. “Cocktail specials for the New Depression” were served by dynamic dancing bartenders Adam Garringer and Mitchell Olszewski. The latter also designed the hotwatermilwaukee.com site. Fancy hula-hooping put another exciting spin on the revelry. Anna Stone, head of Hoop Vive, performed with students Rita Burlingame and mother/daughter duo Kristi and Lindsey Tarantino.
Stopping by were Mike Ralph and Ken Wolf, regulars at the Wherehouse’s ballroom and swing dancing nights, while Susan Winecki and Kathy Carter were first-time Wherehouse partiers.
Bar owner Paul Mueller and GM Adam Smith circulated, as did Robbe’s assistant Jonathan Bare, who also kept an eye on the door. In his former life, Robbe, now Film Wisconsin’s executive director, managed NYC’s Tunnel Nightclub and produced shows at the Limelight. His next not-to-be-missed “Sound and Vision” is coming up June 11. For the Cause: Battling Crohn’s disease hasn’t slowed down UW-Milwaukee grad Marie Barabas. She’s working at the Medical College of Wisconsin and starting graduate school this fall to pursue a doctorate. Barabas has pledged to raise $6,000 for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America and just held a fun fund-raiser at Don Krause’s Art Bar. Delicious Transfer pizza was shared; Allen Russell and James Redding from Union Pulse performed; and Barabas’ artist friendsglass-blower Patrick Bennette, painter Nicki Gerstner, MIAD grad Jessica Manske and jewelry designer Melinda Heilmandonated a portion of their evening’s sales.
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Among the attendees were UWM grad student Matthew Youngblut and his brother, Nick; Karen Olson; volunteer Amber Campbell; Tyrone Luckett; and Chicagoan Ryan Nagel. The lucky raffle winners included Patrick Kerstein, earning burrito bucks from Chipotle; Eric Mattson, capturing a Lakefront Brewery six-pack; and Holly Gerstner, taking the $100 grand prize. Barabas’ next fundraiser will be June 6 at Live on North with a fashion show featuring Hamm’s Universal Fashions, hopping music by DJ Machi and free Pizza Shuttle pizza.
Raising the Bar: Attorney Craig Mastantuono has been hosting annual fund-raisers for the Boys & Girls Clubs at his law office on Marshall Street for the past eight years. His most recent soiree attracted a beneficent bunch of more than 75, who tossed a collective $10,000 into the pot. The proceeds are earmarked for the Ethan Allen School in Wales, aiming to help prevent juvenile delinquency.
Mayor Tom Barrett stopped by the party before running off to deliver MATC’s commencement address. The room overflowed with legal types, including Judges Bill Pocan, Karen Christenson and Glenn Yamahiro, as well as the newly appointed Stephanie Rothstein; plus attorneys Rebecca Coffee, Nancy Corbin, Benjamin Wagner, Jeremy Levinson, Joe Peltz and Yvonne Vegas. State Rep. Pedro Colon mingled.
Among the non-legalese were Jim Clark, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs, and their programs VP Denisha Tate; and Channel 12’s Colleen Henry and her husband, Steve Kohn. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Santelle, a finalist for the U.S. Attorney for Wisconsin’s Eastern District, made the rounds.
River Art: For the 12th time, RiverSculpture is adorning Milwaukee’s RiverWalk. This year, Marsha Sehler, the force behind the project, found jewelry designer and artist John Ready, who subsequently created an imaginative collection of “River Gems” to adorn the bridges, bridge houses and balconies along the reconstituted waterway.
Using “re-purposed objects,” everything from pots and pans to polished bowling balls, the “jewelry” draws attention to the beautiful architectural elements along the river, according to Sehler.
Check out the fanciful displays at the 20th annual RiverSplash! this weekend. Artful Digs: The DeLind Gallery celebrated the grand opening of its beautiful new digs, now at the south entrance of George Watts & Son. Owner Bill DeLind is thrilled with the smaller footprint, but one that has almost equal linear feet of wall space as his previous digs. Supporters dropped in throughout the evening: Richard Yahr and Cherryl Erlandson; hair designer Dean DiPlaris, now at Le Court Salons on Jackson after more than two decades at the Pfister’s Janice Salon; Chris Bauer, back from Florida; attorney Alyce Katayama; the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Doris Heiser and her husband, attorney Ed Heiser; Fred and Kay Austermann; etiquette diva Margery Sinclair; art consultant Catherine Davidson; consultant Tim Murphy; and Cindy Molloy, owner of Molloy’s. DeLind employees Michael Goforth, Pam Brown and Tina Bertoni ensured that the event ran smoothly.
If you have any tips for Boris and Doris, contact them at borisanddorisott@aol.com. Their next column will appear in the June 18 issue of the Shepherd.
