It's the type of conundrum I like to see: Two tempting concerts in one night. Tonight, two killer acts, college-rock icon Morrissey and younger up-and-comers Los Campesinos!, headline conflicting concerts at 8 p.m., at the Rave and the Turner Hall Ballroom respectively. The appeal of both acts is similar, with each turning out catchy guitar-pop and sharing the same comically acerbic world view. Likely these concerts will be demarkated by age, with the old faithful turning out for Morrissey and their younger equivelents following Los Campesinos!, but there must be plenty of music fans torn between both options.
That's been the theme this week, with most nights offering multiple shows to pick from. Wednesday was a showdown between the Ladytron/Faint concert at the Turner Hall Ballroom for those who wanted to dance and a free Tallest Man on Earth performance at the Pabst for those who prefer folk music and velvet seats to dancing (with a strong "none of the above option" available via the Stonefly Brewery's Sleepy Sun concert). UWM students Thursday could pick between seeing Milwaukee's Celebrated Workingman in their union or fast-rising roots-punks The Gaslight Anthem at Turner's Ballroom. And tomorrow night is a testament to Milwaukee's fordifying music scene, with a Mad Planet performance from Collections of Colonies of Bees (an instrumental ensemble for whom the stars are alligning) and a high-profile finale for the Miltown Beatdown producer competition, where local hip-hop producers test themselves in front of ?uestlove, Masta Ace and Diamond D on one of Milwaukee's biggest stages.
It's easy to take all this for granted, but Milwaukee's calendar did not look anything like this just four or five years ago.
