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Photo credit: Nabil Elderkin
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One of the year’s most divisive rappers heads to the Rave, while the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra does Harry Potter.
Thursday. Dec. 14
The Colors of Christmas Tour @ Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, 8 p.m.
For 25 years, the Colors of Christmas tour has rounded up R&B and soul singers, usually from the more adult contemporary side of the genre, for a program of holiday standards and greatest hits. This year’s lineup features singers Peabo Bryson, Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., Jody Watley and “American Idol” veteran Ruben Studdard. They’ll perform accompanied by a 12-piece band and a choir.
Mark Olson @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Fans of the Twin Cities Americana-rooted rock band The Jayhawks know that the band’s best albums relied on the interplay between two songwriters, Mark Olson and Gary Louris. Olson split from the band in 1995 to play with the band Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers, though he returned to the group for their solid 2011 comeback album, Mockingbird Time. That reunion was short-lived, though; he split from the group again the following year. His most recent albums, 2014’s Good-bye Lizelle and this year’s Spokeswoman of the Bright Sun, have been collaborations with his wife, Ingunn Ringvold.
Friday, Dec. 15
Matt Braunger @ The Underground Collaborative, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee’s Underground Collaborative wraps up a year of big comedy shows with one last act: a one-night, one-off performance from stand-up Matt Braunger. Since cutting his teeth as a cast member of “MadTV” during its final season and appearing on Conan O’Brien’s “Tonight Show” in various roles, Braunger has appeared on Comedy Central and Netflix specials and landed guest spots in TV shows like “Agent Carter,” “Disjointed” and “Bojack Horseman.” Tickets are $18 in advance or $20 at the door.
Photo credit: Chapman Baehler
The Crystal Method @ Site 1A, 9 p.m.
Few acts epitomized the blustery, big-beat aesthetic of late-’90s electronic music than The Crystal Method—a Las Vegas duo who released one of the great blockbuster albums of the MTV Amp era: 1997’s Vegas, a dazzling assault of kinetic loops and breakbeats. The duo has continued recording since, updating their sound accordingly over the years. Their latest album, a 2014 crowd-funded, self-titled effort, reached out to modern EDM audiences with some of the gnarliest, heaviest sounds yet and featured guest vocals Dia Frampton and, more unexpectedly, LeAnn Rimes. VIP bottle service is available at this show, which will featuring supporting DJ sets from Thrasher and Drezli.
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert Featuring the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
Given the enormous popularity of the books the movie franchise was based on, the Harry Potter films were destined to be hits even if they weren’t especially good, but Warner Bros. Pictures spared no expense on them, even recruiting film giant John Williams to pen their scores. This weekend, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra will perform in its entirety the 2002 score of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (the second of the Potter movies), accompanied by a high-definition projection of the film. (Multiple performances through Sunday, Dec. 17.)
Saturday, Dec. 16
Northless w/ Aseethe, Sunless and Pig’s Blood @ Cactus Club, 9 p.m.
It’s not easy being in a metal band. Milwaukee metal acts have traditionally had a hard enough time getting their own city to pay attention to them, let alone listeners and critics beyond the state. Northless, however, have been one of Milwaukee metal’s great success stories, finding national acclaim for albums like 2011’s Clandestine Abuse (which even NPR, not usually ones to go out on a limb for metal, crowned one of their favorites). At this show, the group will celebrate the release of its latest album, Last Bastion of Cowardice—quite possibly their heaviest yet—as well as their 10-year anniversary as a band. They’ll be joined on the bill by Iowa City doom metal devotees Aseethe, the avant-garde Minneapolis death metal act Sunless and Milwaukee’s Pig’s Blood.
Chevelle w/ 10 Years and Aeges @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
There’s no mistaking a Chevelle song; Pete Loeffler’s distinct vocal grit and heavy, 3/4 time guitar riffs make the band’s music instantly recognizable. He and his brother, drummer Pete Loeffler, have kept the trio alive for more than two decades, finding frequent success on the alternative and hard rock charts since their 2002 breakthrough album, Wonder What’s Next. Like its predecessors, their eighth and latest album, The North Corridor, draws from the heavier sounds of ’90s alternative rock, including acts like Tool and The Deftones. Two similarly heavy rock acts, 10 Years and Aeges, will open for the band when they headline FM 102.9 The Hog’s Not So Silent Night holiday show.
Monday, Dec. 18
The Sleighriders w/ Dianna Jones Band @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Now in its 35th year, The Sleighriders are one of the Milwaukee music scene’s oldest holiday traditions, an annual jam session that brings together dozens of veterans from the city’s rock and blues scenes. Among the many players slated to take the stage this year are Sigmund Snopek, Eddie Butts, David Hall, Warren Wiegratz, Zeno, Annie Denison, Mike DeRose, Peter Alt, Mark Kreuger, Joe Hite, Nils Anderson, Craig Evans and Tom Burgermeister. Some of the Sleighriders will also back the Dianna Jones Band during their opening set. As usual, all the money raised at the event will go toward a very deserving cause: Children’s Variety of Wisconsin, which supports disabled children.
Tuesday, Dec. 19
Photo credit: Nabil Elderkin
Lil Pump @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
Every year or two, a rapper comes along with such little regard for traditional lyricism that old-guard rap fans cry foul. This year, that rapper was Lil Pump—a heavily-tattooed, syrup-obsessed Miami teenager with a blown-out, decidedly of-the-moment sound. Hip-hop fans have dedicated entire online forums to ridiculing his simplistic rapping. To complain that Lil Pump can’t rap is to miss the point, though. Released this October, Pump’s sticky self-titled debut album is one of the most deliriously entertaining rap records of the year—an excitable exercise in Soundcloud rap that puts Pump’s ebullient personality on full display. It features Pump’s breakout single, “Gucci Gang,” and cameos from Lil Yachty, Gucci Mane, Chief Keef, Rick Ross and 2 Chainz, all of whom sound like they’re enjoying the hell out of themselves.
