This Week in Milwaukee: March 9-15, 2023

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An avalanche of album releases with Mike Fredrickson and Bristlehead, Derek Pritzl and Astral Hand, the Branford Marsalis Quartet, Jazz Week at UW-Parkside, Os Mutantes and more—This Week in Milwaukee!

Thursday, March 9

Open Mic @ Milwaukee Improv (20110 Lower Union St., Brookfield), 6 p.m.

Stand-up comedy, they say, is exhilarating. Like Karl Wallenda working without a net—the immediate feedback decides, either you triumph or fail. Think you have what it takes? Here is your chance.

Friday, March 10

Branford Marsalis Quartet @ Bradley Symphony Center, 7:30 p.m.

After four decades in the international spotlight, the achievements of saxophonist Branford Marsalis continue to grow. From his initial recognition as a young jazz lion, he has expanded his vision as an instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and educator, crossing stylistic boundaries while maintaining an unwavering creative integrity. Growing up in the rich environment of New Orleans as the oldest son of pianist and educator, the late Ellis Marsalis, Branford was drawn to music along with siblings Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason. The Branford Marsalis Quartet, formed in 1986, remains his primary means of expression.

Bristlehead album release @ Linnemans, 8:30 p.m.

On the surface Mike Fredrickson and Bristlehead’s new album Home for Lunch is another chapter in a long collection of albums that walk a tightrope stretched between catchy pop and twangy country music. Yet, as is often the case with Fredrickson, there is more to the picture than meets the eye: shepherdexpress.com/music/local-music/mike-fredrickson-heads-home-for-lunch.

Astral Hand album release w/Dead Flowers and BLOOD @ Cactus Club, 8 p.m.

With their new album Lords of Data, Astral Hand may be the newest entry in Milwaukee psychedelic music history. Previously known as Calliope, the group’s suspended animation—thanks to the pandemic—allowed for an embryonic journey to reemerge as Astral Hand. 

The collection of tight songs leads off with the anthemic “Not Alone” and peaks with “Psychedelicide,” a driving muscular rock song that includes space whoosh flourishes, “Meet me on the mountain, when you go inside” the vocals boom as the cocked wah-wah ride-out solo takes shape. “Navigator” includes a perhaps subliminal encounter with Pink Floyd’s “Breathe.” The video for “Contact” suggests interstellar contact of several kinds, drawing references from the monolith to Klatuu to Grover’s Mill.

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Saturday, March 11

St. Patrick's Day Parades and Events (Downtown, Bluemound Road, and the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center)

Saturday features not one, but two, St. Patrick's Day parades in Milwaukee: downtown starting at noon, and the Bluemound Road parade on the West Side at 3:30. Following the downtown parade is the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin's Post Parade Parade Party at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center (2133 W. Wisconsin Ave.) as well as events at Irish pubs around town. For complete details visit our St. Patrick's Day Guide: shepherdexpress.com/upcoming-events/st-patricks-day-guide.

Artists Respond: Walking Tour with Mutòpe Johnson and Scott Terry @ Racine Art Museum (441 Main St., Racine), 2 p.m.

In partnership with Mahogany Gallery as part of their 2nd Annual Wisconsin Black Art & Culture Expo, RAM will host an interactive walking tour of works by artists of color in the museum’s permanent collection.

Milwaukee-based artist Mutòpe Johnson and artist/Mahogany Gallery owner Scott Terry will guide visitors throughout the RAM galleries while discussing a selection of pieces that resonate with them. This free, educational event invites visitors to ponder their perception and experience of the artwork while considering curatorial and historical aspects. More info here: ramart.org/events.

Derek Pritzl and The Gamble, Great Disaster album release w/Erik Koskinen, Promises, 8 p.m.

Derek Pritzl takes his craft seriously. Back in 2016 he played a rough mix of “Ossippi,” a song in progress. “There are probably 75 recordings of that song,” he said then. “Every night I just veg out and play. That song could have started out as a waltz or in a different key. I’ll get into a groove and play it again maybe two days later and it has evolved into something different. Maybe the water was dripping and I am in that rhythm.” Here we are seven years later, and Pritzl and the Gamble are playing the harrowing “Ossippi” again. shepherdexpress.com/music/local-music/derek-pritzl-and-the-gambles-great-disaster

Sunday, March 12

Best Westerns @ Tonic Tavern, 4 p.m.

The Best Westerns meld instrumental virtuosity and the powerful charm of classic songs old and new, from way out West to Tin Pan Alley, with a repertoire that ranges from Bob Wills to Benny Goodman, with stops along the way for Slim Gaillard, Speedy West, Count Basie, and Carl Smith, Carl Perkins and Ray Price. Most of all, it’s dance music. The band runs on rhythm. Once people are dancing, the Best Westerns are in business.

Monday, March 13

Os Mutantes @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.

As a child my grandpa gave me this advice, if you live long enough and keep your eyes open, you’ll see just about everything. It’s a real longshot he was talking about Brazilian psych legend Os Mutantes, but there you go.

Linked with the Tropicália movement of the late 1960s, Os Mutantes combined influences from English-speaking artists like The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Sly & the Family Stone with bossa nova, tropicália, samba and the cultural legacy of the Brazilian art vanguards from the modernist movement. Following a break that began in 1978, the group resumed in 2006. Leader Sérgio Dias vowed to keep the reformed band alive, not wanting to let “the giant sleep again” and continues with a new chapter. Writing in the The Guardian, Richard Williams wrote, “There was nothing quite like Os Mutantes, and there still isn’t.”

Weyes Blood @ The Pabst Theater, 8 p.m.

Weyes Blood (Natalie Mering) explores everything that drives us, divides us, and destroys us. After five albums and years of touring, Mering has a lot on her mind. Her music tells stories of both ancient and modern myths. Why, you ask? Because, she says, "Shared myths are part of our psychology and survival."

Jazz Week @ University of Wisconsin-Parkside

The Rita- Bedford Concert Hall (900 Wood Rd. Kenosha)

UW-Parkside’s Jazz Week 2023 kicks off with Jon Irabagon, the Chicago-born saxophonist who is influenced by the self-empowering philosophies and aesthetic of the great AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) ensembles as well as the historic world-class tenor saxophone lineage from his hometown. 

Other performances include Marques Carroll, Mai Sugimoto, Matt Wilson, UW-Parkside Jazz Faculty and UWP Jazz Ensembles plus RUSD High Schools.

More info here: uwp.edu/therita/jazzweek.cfm.

Tuesday, March 14

Angel w/Siin @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

Music fans of a certain age (read: old) will recall the ‘70s trend of bands using stylized logos for their name. So it makes sense that Gene Simmons of KISS is credited with discovering the white satin-clad ANGEL, with their eye-catching ambigrammatic logo. Releasing their debut album in 1975, the Washington, D.C. glam band kind of called it quits in ’81 but reformed with some of the original members. Guitarist Punky Meadows was immortalized by Frank Zappa in the tune “Punky’s Whips.”

Wednesday, March 15

Morehshin Allahyari: ماه طلعت Moon-faced @ John Michael Kohler Arts Center (608 New York Ave., Sheboygan), though July 16

In ancient Persian literature, the adjective ماه طلعت (moon-faced) was used to describe the beauty of an individual, regardless of their gender identity. Today, the word refers to the beauty of women only. 

In her video work, ماه طلعت Moon-faced, artist Morehshin Allahyari collaborated with an artificial intelligence program to repair cultural and artistic changes that brought an end to the queer representation in Iranian portraiture. Using a carefully researched set of keywords and digital images of Qajar dynasty portrait paintings, a series of videos was generated featuring new genderless portraits. In doing so, the machine program and Allahyari intervene within the history of Westernization to undo conditions that ended nonbinary gender representation in Persian visual culture.