Photo Credit: Blaine Schultz
Live music returned to Anodyne Thursday evening with Walter Salas-Humara and Jon Langford. No stranger to Milwaukee, Salas-Humara’s rambling introduction to one song was a recollection of playing the long-gone Toad Café with The Silos, the group he formed in the ‘80s.
At Anodyne he was joined by his kick-ass “Midwest Band” featuring Jonathan Rundman on keyboard, Ron Gomez on bass and Gerald Dowd on drums, with homeboy Michael Cudahy guesting on lead guitar for a few songs.
Frequently performing solo or duo with Rundman, this rare full band setting allowed plenty of room for dynamics from ballads like “Commodore Peter” to the rocker “She’s a Caveman,” a song he co-wrote at Sturgeon Bay’s annual Steel Bridge Songwriting Festival. The elegiac “Come In A Singer” was balanced by show-stopper “Tennessee Fire,” that came on like a hurricane.
Decades ago, Jon Langford moved to Chicago, essentially setting up a second home for his UK group the Mekons. In the years since, the proximity to Milwaukee has meant almost taking his talent for granted thanks to frequent shows here. His set with guitarist John Syzmanski, offered a crash course in Langford’s long career with The Mekons as well as his humorous, ironic and compassionate looks at the world around him.
