Photo Credit: Benjamin Wick
There’s certainly some validity to the argument that Milwaukee Day tries a little too hard to plaster a happy face (quite literally, considering this year’s smiley, 70s-inspired logo) on a city with more than its fair share of serious problems. But if the yearly celebration of all things Milwaukee can be a tad cloying in its relentless boosterism, there’s really no harm in setting aside 24 hours to remind ourselves why we live here, even superficially, especially when it provides an excuse for area venues to book a bunch of local shows, such as Tuesday night’s eclectic lineup at the Turner Hall Ballroom.
The flagship event among a number of concerts spread throughout the city, the bill began with Greatest Lakes, a hippie-friendly outfit that incorporates touches of Animal Collective into its very du jour brand of folk-inflected indie pop. The selections on display here were mostly pulled from their recent, self-titled debut full length, a well-produced set of songs that provided a mellow, if somewhat overly innocuous, backing as more and more people came trickling into the ballroom. Even the Bucks’ mascot Bango seemed to be feeling it as he roamed around the room handing out T-shirts and generally creeping everybody out.
By the time WebsterX was introduced, the crowd had filled out in earnest, and it’s a good thing too, because he delivered a performance that deserved to be seen. The swiftly rising MC sits at the center of the city’s currently booming alt-rap scene, and tonight he decided to bring all of his collaborators along for the ride. Beyond playing with his New Age Narcissism backing band, featuring ex-Fresh Cut Collective members, he brought out guests too numerous to list here save for fellow rapper Lorde Fred33 and singer Lex Allen, who came through with song-stealing turns on the mic.
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After the promoters took one last chance to hurl PBR trucker hats and such from the stage, and implore the crowd to give themselves one more pat on their collective back, they brought on the headliners, Hugh Bob and the Hustle, whose polished honky-tonk rock provided an easygoing comedown, even if Hugh Bob did commit the faux pas of unfavorably comparing the audience to those in Nashville, his new homebase. Overall, the show could’ve better represented the talent here, but it did have a positivity which almost made you forget that Milwaukee Day is mostly just another day in Milwaukee.
