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Photo credit: Arden Wray
Alvvays
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Earth, Wind & Fire
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Photo credit: Carlton Freeman
Drivin' 'N' Cryin'
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Granger Smith
Milwaukee musicians pay homage to anime’s greatest soundtracks, while William Shatner comes to town for an event unrelated to Hupy and Abraham.
Friday, March 23
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire @ The Riverside Theater, 7 p.m. Few bands had their thumbs quite as squarely on the pulse of ’70s music trends as Earth, Wind & Fire, the Chicago R&B and funk ensemble that scored a slew of brassy, celebratory hits like “Sing a Song,” “September” and “Shining Star.” Next year the group will commemorate its 50th anniversary, and although the band’s founder Maurice White passed away in 2016 (he had stopped touring with the band in 1994), the group still retains several original members, including lead singer Philip Bailey and bassist Verdine White.
Granger Smith
Granger Smith w/ Runaway June and Walker McGuide @ Miller High Life Theatre, 8 p.m. Milwaukee’s country station 94.5 KTI hosts this triple bill headlined by Granger Smith, the Nashville troubadour behind uplifting hits like “Backroad Song.” He’s supported by Runaway June, a Nashville trio featuring John Wayne’s granddaughter, Jennifer Wayne. That group scored a pair of spunky country radio hits in recent years, “Lipstick” and “Wild West.” Opening the night is the brother-brother duo Walker McGuire, who specialize in modern country at its most radio friendly. They’re from—yup, you guessed it—Nashville.
Saturday, March 24
VoodooHoney Anime Night @ Mad Planet, 9 p.m. It’s not just the characters and stories that draw fans to anime. It’s also the music—the genre has a long history of exciting, innovative soundtracks. Milwaukee’s VoodooHoney collective will pay homage to some of that music at this event, which will feature songs from two animated classics, Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, performed by musicians including Alan Harris, Reggie Bordeaux, Jay Anderson, Aram Feriants, Quintin Farr, Genesis Renji, Immortal Girlfriend and Old Man Malcolm. Radio Milwaukee’s Tarik Moody will DJ. Tickets are $12 in advance of $15 at the door. Festival of Laughs @ Miller High Life Theatre, 8 p.m. Several black stand-up veterans team up for this comedy festival, including Sommore (an actress who’s appeared in The Queens of Comedy, Friday After Next and Soul Plane); George Wallace (who’s appeared on “The Tonight Show” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and hosted his own HBO special); former BET “ComicView” host Bruce Bruce; and Earthquake, a larger-than-life BET and HBO veteran who also frequently appears on Steve Harvey’s radio show.
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Photo credit: Arden Wray
Alvvays
Alvvays @ The Pabst Theater, 8 p.m. Toronto indie-rocker Alvvays emerged fully formed on their 2014 self-titled album, an assured collection of hooky, romantic jangle pop, but it was their 2017 sophomore album Antisocialites that truly put them on the map. Leaps and bounds more confident and complicated than their debut, it set singer Kerri MacLellan’s lovelorn songs to grander, more dramatic arrangements and rocketed the band to indie-rock’s A-list. NME, Stereogum and The Guardian were among some of the many publications that ranked it as one of the year’s best records. Buckethead @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m. Buckethead is one of the most distinctive guitarists of his time, not only sonically but visually, given how he blurs the line between music and performance art by wearing an eerie, Halloween-inspired white face mask and a KFC bucket on his head. You’d also be hard pressed to find a guitarist with a more versatile resume. Since the 2000s he’s played with artists as diverse as Serj Tankian, Les Claypool, Mike Patton, Iggy Pop, Guns N’ Roses (during perhaps the oddest era of that band’s history) and actor Viggo Mortensen. This February he released his 304th and 305th albums (yes, you read that right), Bucketheadland 5-13 10 31 and Fourneau Cosmique. William Shatner: “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” @ The Riverside Theater, 7:30 p.m. William Shatner scored the role of a lifetime in 1966, when he was cast as the iconic “Star Trek” hero Captain Kirk. Even after that show’s success, though, he never shook the overdrive work ethic he had picked up from his 15 years as a character actor. He’s continued to appear in seemingly any movie, TV series or commercial that will cast him (he always has great things to say about Hupy and Abraham). He’s also an author, having written a line of TekWar sci-fi novels and a couple of autobiographies, and an occasional musician. For this appearance, he’ll follow a screening of one of his best loved movies—1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the franchise’s high watermark—with behind the scenes stories in a conversation moderated by Gino Salomone. He’ll also take audience questions.
Tuesday, March 27
Photo credit: Carlton Freeman
Drivin' 'N' Cryin'
Drivin’ N Cryin’ w/ Supersuckers @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m. Two alt-country bands team up for this double bill, including one with deep Milwaukee ties: Drivin’ N Cryin’, the Atlanta group formed by Brew City native Kevn Kinney. After slowing down in the 2000s as Kinney focused on his solo career, the band returned strong with 2009’s The Great American Bubble Factory, a heated set of punk-accented Southern rock that they followed with a series of four EPs, the latest of which was 2014’s Songs For The Turntable. For this show they’re joined by their Arizona kindred spirits Supersuckers, who put their own distinctly punk spin on country conventions. During their career, they formed an unlikely creative partnership with one of country’s greats: Willie Nelson, who they once backed on “The Tonight Show.” In turn, Nelson did a guest stint on the title track of the Supersuckers’ Must've Been High, perhaps the most traditionally country-minded of all the group’s albums. Their recent releases, including 2015’s Holdin’ The Bag, have been some of the loudest and most revved-up of their career.
Wednesday, March 28
Raw: Envision@ The Rave, 7 p.m. More than 50 Milwaukee-area artists—including photographers, fashion designers, jewelry makers, painters, illustrators and makeup and nail stylists—will show off their work at this showcase, which will also feature a fashion show and performance art. Chicago drag queen Toyota Corona, a Milwaukee native, will host, while electronic artist Chris Siegel, of the Milwaukee group KIINGS, will provide the music. Tickets are $22 in advance of $30 at the door.
