Jaill
Being the best holiday, Halloween often presents discerning concertgoers with some challenging decisions. It’s an utterly frivolous problem obviously, picking the ideal place to drunkenly enjoy music in the company of costumed weirdos, but between all the special tribute sets, dance parties and other festivities, making the most of Halloween (and thereby appeasing Satan) usually requires a little thought. This year however, despite stiff competition, this free show featuring four of Milwaukee’s best bands stood out as a clear choice.
Kicking off the night was Midnight Reruns, who may have been sporting a sort of sleazy Kid Rock/Limp Bizkit-style rap rock look for the occasion, but thankfully didn’t channel those personas musically, instead sticking mostly to their typical brand of hook-packed garage pop. As is almost required for a Halloween set though, they also mixed in a few covers alongside the fun originals, in this case Neil Young’s “The Loner” and a raucous, crowd-pleasing rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Travelin’ Band.”
Following Midnight Reruns was Sat. Nite Duets who, after some fairly recent lineup changes, sounded as tight as ever throughout a set that drew largely from this year’s endlessly listenable Los DJs, including standout cuts like “Bessie Goes Blonde” and the maddeningly catchy “Burning for the Flame.” Naturally, they got in their tribute songs too, using “Big Worm” from 2013’s Electric Manland as a springboard into the Ghostbusters theme before also dropping a memorable version of David Bowie’s “Starman.”
By the time a heavily glammed-up Platinum Boys took the stage, Linneman’s was really starting to fill with revelers in various states of dress and inebriation, which added an extra charge to fist-pumping heartland anthems such as “Cruisin’ USA” and “Candy,” the lead-off single from their hotly anticipated debut Future Hits, due out on vinyl soon via Dusty Medical Records. Considering tonight’s performance, they’re also in fine form for their upcoming Midwest tour with the equally rocking Dogs in Ecstasy.
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Wrapping up was Jaill, who’ve stayed sharp since 2012’s Traps, their second Sub Pop outing, ripping energetically into cuts like “Waste a Lot of Things” and the non-album single “Pointy Fingers” while also making time for the obligatory cover, albeit cheekily, with Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Musically the show was more than solid, but factor in the live video manipulation by Matt Plain and Xav Leplae and it all added up to a spooktacular Halloween.
