Green Bay Packer legend Jerry Kramer, a New Wave music fest, an art opening at Real Tinsel and country music ranging from legend Ricky Skaggs to new pioneer Paisley Fields and more This Week In Milwaukee.
Thursday, Nov. 11
Michael Cudahy @ Saint Kate-The Arts Hotel, 5 p.m.
Back in July, Michael Cudahy jumped onstage to jam with the Walter Salas-Humara Band. At Saint Kate, the fingerstyle guitarist will take a decidedly different approach, performing solo acoustic. Well maybe not totally solo. Last month in his residency slot, Cudahy was joined by Greg Marcus on melodica for a performance of Emmett Miller’s “Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)” more recently recorded by Van Halen.
The Flat Five @ Anodyne (224 W. Bruce St.) 8 p.m.
“Kites Are Fun” by The Flat Five
Chicago’s pop savvy Flat Five offers as much talent as one stage can handle. Individually, Kelly Hogan, Nora O’Connor, Scott Ligon, Casey McDonough and Alex Hall, have made music with The Mekons, The Jody Grind, Neko Case, NRBQ, The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, Mavis Staples, Iron and Wine, Jakob Dylan, Robbie Fulks, Alejandro Escovedo, The New Pornographers, J.D. McPherson and Tortoise. McDonough was tapped to share lead vocal duties with Brian Wilson on the 2017 Pet Sounds tour … with no rehearsals!
Friday, Nov. 12
Darrell Scott @ Thrasher Opera House (506 Mill St., Green Lake), 7:30 p.m.
“You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” by Darrell Scott
Darrell Scott is a songwriter’s songwriter. His harrowing autobiographical song “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” was a hit for Patty Loveless. As a picker, multi-instrumentalist Scott plays mandolin, guitar, accordion, pedal, lap steel and banjo—roles he filled with Robert Plant’s Band of Joy.
Saturday, Nov. 13
You Can If You Will: The Jerry Kramer Story @ Marcus Performing Arts Center, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
This exclusive screening of the feature-length documentary film, You Can If You Will: The Jerry Kramer Story, shows Jerry Kramer’s life is not only about winning football championships with Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers, but also about helping people around him reach their full potential. The film takes the viewer on a journey of Kramer’s life, from a small-town family with modest means to the mountaintop of NFL glory. This special event features a post-show Q&A with the film’s director, Glenn Aveni, and the legend Jerry Kramer himself.
|
|
More info here marcuscenter.org/tickets-attend/calendar
“Punching Bag Punchline” Opening Reception @ Real Tinsel, 6 p.m.
Like any good punchline, the audience must experience the full story to understand what makes the punchline work—that little reward at the end that makes all the punches worth it. The featured works in this exhibit strike a balance between presenting its story, whether it be by image, process, or form, and offer an uneasy giggle at the end to bring the work full circle.
Artist Ray Chi captures this nuance with his cut-through panels, letting the material’s layered and complex patterning take center stage. In process, the work is a laborious effort in rationalization—strategically cutting through areas with respect to the material, allowing both the vacancies and chipped fragments to coexist. Brian Schneider’s section-built paintings capture opposition by way of bright colors and loose gestures; a funny interpretation of recreational violence. Chase Travaille, an Arkansas-based ceramicist, presents to the viewer a studded club lying in wait and charged with potential energy. In a moment of dark hilarity, Travaille adorns the club with a bow—a sweet moment in the face of the inevitable.
Through January 15. More info here realtinsel.com
Early Music Now: Parthenia-Italia Mia: Music of Renaissance Venice @ St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 5 p.m.
Photo by Robert Trentin
Parthenia Viol Consort
Parthenia Viol Consort
Parthenia Viol Consort and soprano Sherezade Panthaki present a program of canzonas, dances, madrigals, and motets by composers of the 16th and 17th centuries, including Monteverdi, Gabrieli, Willaert, and Gesualdo. There will be a 4 p.m. lecture in the Great Hall.
New Wave Fest @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
“Fade to Black” by The Quilz
The third annual New Wave Fest blasts off with music inspired by the sounds of the ‘80s with The First Wave; dreamy synthpop from The Quilz (the restless local duo who recently covered Metallica); dork wave from The Smart Shoppers and a New Wave dance party from DJ Avets.
Harborcoat w/Floor Model and Spud Bucket @ Linnemans, 8:30 p.m.
This show lands smack dab in the middle of Harborcoat’s Fall 2021 Tour. The Lansing, Mich. band came together as a project that was like casting a movie that breaks down the belief of idyllic small-town life and the underlying clouds of disappointment. Not unlike Sherwood Anderson’s stories Winesburg, Ohio, Harborcoat’s 2019 debut album, Brutal Gravity, has been followed up with this year’s Joy Is Elusive. Primary songwriter Matthew Carlson’s intelligent jangle-pop recalls such cult favorites as The Windbreakers and The Vulgar Boatmen.
“Fraction of a Reaction” by Spud Bucket
Now a quartet, locals Floor Model have been agitating for over two decades, while the members of Spud Bucket are legit, grizzled veterans who first treading local stages in 1979. Tom Tiedjens talked about staying busy during the early days of the pandemic here shepherdexpress.com/music/artists-beating-covid-19/spud-bucket-gains-momentum-during-pandemic/
Ricky Skaggs Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder @ Potawatomi Northern Lights Theater, 7 p.m.
“Highway 40 Blues” by Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs is a living legend of American music, carrying the torch and bridging the gap across generations. He began playing mandolin on stage with Bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe at age 6 and appearing on television with Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs at age 7. In 1971 he and his friend the late Keith Whitley were invited to join the legendary Ralph Stanley’s band the Clinch Mountain Boys. Skaggs then went on to record and perform with progressive bluegrass acts like the Country Gentlemen and J.D. Crowe & the New South, whose self-titled 1975 Rounder Records debut album was recognized as a landmark bluegrass achievement. He then led Boone Creek, which also featured Dobro ace and fellow New South alumnus, Jerry Douglas. In the ‘80s Skaggs held course, become part of the new-traditionalist movement. Now an elder statesman himself, Skaggs shows no sign of slowing down.
Wednesday, Nov. 17
Driveway Thriftdwellers w/Paisley Fields and The Sapsuckers @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
“Stay Away From My Man” by Paisley Fields
Here’s a midweek buffet of cutting-edge country music. Paisley Fields’ songs are tender and authentic, but also pretty good with a joke. They’re mindful of tradition, but deeply informed by his singular background—as a teenage Midwestern church pianist, a Manhattan piano bar survivor, and a touring member of pioneering queer country outfit, Lavender Country. The stories are his, but the feeling they convey—love, loneliness, lust, and so on—are, hopefully, still universal.
Soldier’s Grove, WI duo The Sapsuckers perform original country/Americana songs that blend humor, heartache and honky-tonk. They balance a lively take on country ranging from hillbilly roots to Nashville pop with creative lyrics, catchy melodies, and a clever stage show. The Driveway Thriftdwellers started out as a few guys who just wanted to play some Flying Burrito Brothers tunes—which is where country music took a left turn in the first place.
