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One of the Midwest jazz scene’s great innovators returns to Milwaukee with his latest ensemble.
Friday, Jan. 12
The Cult of Lip w/ Slow Walker and Calliope @ Company Brewing, 10 p.m.
With their messy, immediate blend of ’80s underground rock and murky shoegaze, Minneapolis rockers The Cult of Lip imagine what My Bloody Valentine might have sounded like if they didn’t sweat the details too much. The group released the short but captivating EP Your Feedback last spring through the label Rare Plant. The group is joined at this show by two of Milwaukee’s most perennially underrated psych-rock bands, Slow Walker and Calliope, on a bill that’ll double as a 30th birthday celebration for Calliope’s Victor Buell.
The Mike Benign Compulsion and Eagle Trace @ Anodyne Coffee, 8 p.m.
Few Milwaukee bands capture the spirit of ’80s college rock more deftly than The Mike Benign Compulsion, a group whose witty, tuneful guitar-pop recalls the heyday of artists like R.E.M., The Replacements and Matthew Sweet. At this show, the group is joined by a Milwaukee alternative band from a younger generation of local musicians: Eagle Trace, who last month released an electrifying new EP that draws from some of the more charged modern rock sounds of the ’90s and ’00s, Rivals. Its lead single “Haywire” has received regular rotation on Radio Milwaukee.
Saturday, Jan. 13
Criss Angel @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
Before he found international fame with his extreme brand of magic, Criss Angel fronted an industrial band, and he brings a good dose of rock-star cockiness to his various stage and television shows, which according to one astonishing Bloomberg report have netted him as much as $70 million a year. For this appearance, a show billed “The Mindfreak Unplugged,” Angel will forgo the big-budget mega stunts he’s best known for and focus on smaller-scale illusions and street magic.
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Hassles ft. Terrie Ex, Ken Vandermark, Paal Nilssen-Love and Jon Rune Strøm @ Sugar Maple, 8 p.m.
A staple of the Chicago jazz and experimental music scenes (and the Milwaukee jazz scene, through sheer proximity), Ken Vandermark is the rare artist who never seems to repeat himself. Shuffling between tenor and baritone saxophones and the clarinet, the composer has juggled countless projects over the years, including the Free Fall Trio, Territory Band and, until 2010, The Vandermark 5, in addition to dozens of duets and collaborations. This year he’s dedicating himself to yet another new ensemble: Hassles, featuring guitarist Terrie Ex and drummer Paal-Nilssen-Love, one of Vandermark’s go-to collaborators. Their brand of free-jazz often flirts with Tropicalia and post-punk.
Sunday, Jan. 14
Big Head Todd and the Monsters w/ Ronnie Baker Brooks @ The Pabst Theater, 7:30 p.m.
Like the Spin Doctors and Rusted Root, Big Head Todd and the Monsters was a jam band before there was an organized jam scene. Where younger jam bands built their following on the road, then, Big Head Todd and the Monsters did through radio play. The band still retains a loyal following from their time in the spotlight, and their early ’90s hits “Bittersweet” and “Broken Hearted Savior” continue to draw faithful old fans to their shows. The band has dabbled in the blues on recent albums, including their 2011 covers record, 100 Years of Robert Johnson, which featured contributions from blues greats like B.B. King, Hubert Sumlin and “Honeyboy” Edwards, but their latest album, New World Arisin’ returns them to sunny, jammy pop.
Monday, Jan. 15
“Our Children, Our Future” @ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, noon
Milwaukee’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center (1531 W. Vliet St.) celebrates Martin Luther King Day with a program featuring dance, music and spoken word, as well as guest speaker Nicole Brookshire, director of the newly created Milwaukee County Office on African-American Affairs. The office was created to develop policies that address the county’s racial inequities. After the program, there will be an open house and teen dance party from 6 to 9 p.m. in the community center’s gym.
Wednesday, Jan. 17
Jackie Venson w/ Shonn Hinton @ Cactus Club, 7:30 p.m.
With her effortlessly smooth hybrid of soul, blues and rock, Jackie Venson can’t help but recall another Austin-based singer/guitarist who easily shifts between those genres, Gary Clark Jr. She brought a light touch to the songs of her 2014 debut album The Light in Me, but her 2017 EP Transcends put her assertive guitar front and center. She’s supported on this bill by Milwaukee’s Shonn Hinton, whose breezy blues-rock draws from the sunny spirit of The Isley Brothers.
