Thursday, February 5
Photo: Trisha Brown Dance Company (c) Julieta Cervantes
Winterdances: Set To Reset @ UWM Mainstage Theatre, 7:30 p.m
Set and Reset was a pioneering 1983 performance by the postmodern choreographer Trisha Brown with music by Laurie Anderson and visual design by Robert Rauschenberg. Brown’s legacy is the subject of a yearlong exploration by the UW-Milwaukee Dance Department. Melinda Myers, a former member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company, has reset the work on the students. Since the material demands extensive co-creation from its dancers, every version is a world premiere of sorts. Rauschenberg’s work has been reinterpreted by UWM Art & Design Professor Leslie Vansen. Anderson’s music remains the constant. New dances by Simone Ferro, Luc Vanier and Darci Wutz are also featured. (Multiple performances through Sunday, Feb. 8.)
Courtesy of Paradigm
Chris Robinson Brotherhood @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
Along with his guitarist brother, Rich, singer-guitarist Chris Robinson has been the face of The Black Crowes since the late-’80s. When that band went on a three-year hiatus in 2002, Robinson stayed busy recording a handful of solo albums, and now that the Crowes have announced another breakup, he’s carrying on with his new project, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood. The band doesn’t depart too much from the Crowes’ signature blues-rock (Crowes keyboardist Adam MacDougall is even one of the members), but fresh faces Neal Casal (the guitarist for Ryan Adams’ band, The Cardinals), bassist Mark Dutton and drummer Tony Leone (who replaced original drummer George Sluppick) bring a new energy to the sound.
Friday, February 6
Riff Raff / Via Facebook
Riff Raff w/ Chanel West Coast and WebsterX @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
Riff Raff received what must have been a massive ego boast in 2012 when rumors circulated that he was the inspiration for James Franco’s trashy aspiring rapper character in Harmony Korine’s cult film Spring Breakers. And indeed, there were more than a few similarities between the two oddly coifed characters, but Riff Raff is ultimately a more ingratiating, entertaining personality than Franco’s underground rapper Dangeruss, less interested in street credibility and more interested in simply moving crowds. Last year Riff Raff released his debut album for Diplo’s Mad Decent label, Neon Icon, to absolutely scathing reviews, but those reviews don’t do justice to how much fun tracks like “Versace Python” and “Tip Toe Wing in my Jawwdinz” are to hear in the club.
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Photo Credit: Mariusz Skiba
Nick Moss Band w/ Tallan Noble Latz @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Some blues artists just look the part. Hefty, bearded and tatted-up, Chicago guitarist Nick Moss cuts an imposing figure, one that matches the searing ferocity of his electric blues. A 16-time Blues Music Award nominee, Moss was schooled on the sounds of his native city, though with his Nick Moss Band he also dips his toes into more soulful, Southern-style blues and straight-up rock ’n’ roll. That diverse sound and his long, showy guitar solos have earned him a loyal following in both blues and jam-music circles.
Saturday, February 7
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Woman Up! @ Wisconsin State Fair Park, 10 a.m.
Last winter thousands of women packed the Wisconsin State Fair Park’s Exposition Center for the Shepherd Express’ inaugural Woman Up! festival. This year the event returns with an even bigger lineup. Guests will have the opportunity to sample a variety of delicious food and drink from some of Milwaukee’s finest restaurants, chocolatiers and wineries, while vendors from around the city will offer guests amazing products and luxurious services to browse and purchase. A fashion show promises an exciting array of apparel and expert presenters are lined up to share tips on topics such as finance, education, family and healthy living as well as fashion, well-being and beauty.
Burnhearts / Via Facebook
Mitten Fest 2015 @ Burnhearts, Noon-8 p.m.
Who says it has to be summer in order to hold a ripping party? For the third year in a row, Burnhearts tavern in Bay View will throw a summer-style street party in the middle of winter. Once again Mitten Fest will feature strong beer, bourbon barrel-aged brandy Old Fashioneds, an arts and crafts fair and live music. Fresh off the release of one of last year’s most exciting local albums, psych-rockers Canopies will headline, supported by indie-rockers Greatest Lakes, Towers and Sin Bad, along with DJ Chris Schulist, who'll supply the music between sets. The event is free, but organizers are encouraging donations of food, clothing or cash to the Hunger Task Force.
Dark Star Orchestra / Via Facebook
Dark Star Orchestra @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
While the surviving members of The Grateful Dead continue to tour frequently—and have planned a huge reunion event for this summer—they still can’t meet all the demand for their music, hence the huge number of Dead tribute bands. None of these tribute acts are more elaborate, however, than the Chicago-based Dark Star Orchestra. The group’s members operate as musical historians, not only recreating historic set lists from the Dead’s 2,500 performances song by song, but also arranging the stage, replicating the visual imagery and even adjusting the band’s personnel to mirror the Dead’s lineup from whatever era the set stems from. That attention to detail hasn’t gone unnoticed. The band has received its own tributes when Grateful Dead members and alums including Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay joined them on stage. Dark Star Orchestra’s founding guitarist John Kadlecik has even gone on to join Weir and Dead bassist Phil Lesh in their latest band, Further.
Photo Credit: Zack Smith
Galactic w/ Monophonics @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
New Orleans’ Galactic distinguished themselves early in their career for their ability to seamlessly incorporate hip-hop into their funky, jammy sound, and over the years they’ve toured with distinguished rappers like Chali 2na of the Jurassic 5 and Boots Riley of The Coup. Recently, though, they’ve toned down the hip-hop influences to play up other styles that capture their imagination. Their 2011 live album The Other Side of Midnight: Live in New Orleans celebrated the traditional sounds of their city, while their 2012 studio album Carnivale Electricos broadened their sound even further, drawing from Brazilian rhythms and the anything-goes spirit of modern world music.
Marilyn Manson / Via Facebook
Marilyn Manson @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
As his relevance dwindled after the late ’90s, when he was briefly the most controversial musician in America, Marilyn Manson remained a public figure, albeit more for his romances with teenage actresses and the occasional burlesque performer than his music. He’s since settled into a comfortable role as a free-speech advocate, weighing in with surprisingly intelligent opinions about current events like last month’s tragic Charlie Hebdo attack. And though radio has been indifferent to his recent output, Manson has been churning out some reliably entertaining hard-rock albums. His ninth and latest is The Pale Emperor, which, though recorded without his fan-favorite guitarist Twiggy Ramirez, has attracted some of Manson’s strongest reviews in a decade.
