When it rains, it pours. When it doesn’t rain, outdoor concerts take over. Also, benefit for Warrior Songs, Fox Face’s album release and a show from Nashville’s Smoking Flowers.
Thursday, August 5
Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound @ Boerner Botanical Gardens (9400 Boerner Drive, Hales Corners), 6:30 p.m.
A Chicago Tribune article once described Paul Cebar as “the eternal rock ’n’ roll tourist.” Cebar’s website notes he takes “cues from the dance bands of western Louisiana (and his native Midwest), the streets (and 45s) of New Orleans, touring African and Caribbean combos and the soul, funk and blues of his youth coupled with early, teeth-cutting experience in the verbal hotbeds of the coffeehouse scene…”
With a band anchored by the grooves of drummer Reggie Bordeaux and bassist Mike Fredrickson and utility infielder Bob Jennings on sax, keyboards and accordion, this outdoor setting should be the feelgood dance party to kick off the weekend.
Smoking Flowers w/The Truck @ Neighborhood Bar (4607 S. Whitnall Ave., St. Francis), 8 p.m.
“Here 4 U Now” by Smoking Flowers
Nashville duo The Smoking Flowers might be the most rock and roll couple you will ever come across. Multi-instrumentalists Kim and Scott Collins seamlessly veer from acoustic ballads to bombastic rock, switching from drums, accordion, acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, harmonica, tambourine and vocals that capture each song’s mood. When Kim beat cancer, the self-contained band hit the road in their Volvo station wagon. They prove the DIY ethic is still a good model. And their take on “The Boys of Summer” will make you forget you ever heard the other one.
Openers The Truck offer hard rock with a Southern taste. These veterans of many local acts have been working on an album set to see the light of day soon.
Friday, August 6
Fox Face End Of Man Album Release w/ Red Stuff, Negative/Positive, Toadskin And DJ Ken Dirtnap @ X-Ray Arcade (5036 S Packard Ave., Cudahy), 6:30 p.m.
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Fox Face will finally, officially celebrate the release of their latest Dirtnap Records album, End Of Man. The socially conscious, female-forward Milwaukee punk band can stand toe-to-toe with their Riot Grrrl foremothers L7, Bikini Kill and Nemesisters. They successfully harness the noise and fury onto vinyl that often is only captured on stage. Red Stuff’s Tom Wanderer has quietly released Private Revolution, a solo project. If it is any indication of Red Stuff’s evolution, we are in for a treat.
Buskerfest @ East Town, Westown, Historic Third Ward and various Sculpture Milwaukee sites
Over 60 local acts including the Donna Woodall Group, Ms. Lotus Fankh and Matthew Davies will perform at local spots including “Apollo/Poll” at Wisconsin Center (400 W. Wisconsin Ave.); “Love Podium” at 3rd Street Market Hall Entrance (275 W. Wisconsin Ave.); “Gild The Lily (Caribbean I, II, III)” at Chase Tower at Water & Wisconsin (111 E. Wisconsin Ave.); “After Harry” in Pocket Park (424 E. Wisconsin Ave.); “Bronze Fonz” on the Milwaukee RiverWalk (117 E. Wells St.); Milwaukee Public Market (St. Paul Avenue Plaza); Historic Third Ward Mid-Block Park (100 Block of N. Broadway); “Hand Heart” at Catalano Square and 1000 and 1100 Blocks of Old World 3rd Street/Dr. Martin Luther King Drive
Through Sunday
Yum Yum Cult @ Boone and Crockett, 7 p.m.
The pandemic postponed the release of Yum Yum Cult’s debut album It Kills Me, It Really Does until fall, but the group has released a pair of teaser cuts on Soundcloud. Yum Yum Cult’s Palmer Shah talks about his music here.
Saturday, August 7
Watermelon Slim w/ Richard Travis and Jason Moon @ Linnemans, 7 p.m.
Image via Wikipedia
In an ever-expanding career of ramshackle grandeur, Bill “Watermelon Slim” Homans has built a remarkable reputation with his raw, impassioned intensity. A Vietnam veteran, Slim is in Milwaukee supporting the release of The Last Thing We Ever Do: Warrior Songs Vol. 3, which includes his song “Trying My Best To Get Back Home.”
Opener Rich Travis’ trio has been working on an atmospheric sound that blends folk, blues and rock. Their way of bending sonic molecules is a refreshing take on familiar forms.
The CD release party for Warrior Songs: The Last Thing We Ever Do will be Sunday, 3 p.m. at Turner Hall.
Monday, August 9
The R&B Cadets @ Musical Mondays, Lake Park Summer Stage,
After a 30-year break, the R&B Cadets resumed playing select dates, reprising the festive soul and rock music that made them such an enormous live draw nearly four decades ago. Few bands cast a bigger shadow over the Milwaukee music scene than The R&B Cadets.
Though their initial run only lasted for a few years in the early ’80s, the group served as a launching pad for some of the city’s most prominent musicians, including John Sieger (who went on to form Semi-Twang), singer Robin Pluer and Paul Cebar of The Milwaukeeans and Tomorrow Sound fame. Mike Sieger on bass, Bobby Schneider on drums, Bob Jennings playing both sax and keys, and Juli Wood on tenor, provide an all-star backline.
