Stein & Dine returns to State Fair, garage-cabaret, jazz with strings, Tex-Mex, the Monkees Farewell Tour and more this week in Milwaukee!
Thursday, Nov. 4
The Claudettes @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
The Claudettes: Bad Babe, Losin' Touch
Chicago’s Claudettes snuck out the album High Time in the Dark in pandemic year 2020 and are finally getting around to showing it off live. Musically, the band’s garage-cabaret/punk blues sound is built around Johnny Iguana’s piano and vocalist Berit Ulseth who’s presence ranges from pop-perfection to ‘60s girl group swagger. In an alternate universe, these would be radio hits. And as if to prove he used his time wisely in the year when everything changed, Iguana released Chicago Spectacular! On the legendary Delmark label, featuring contributions from featuring Billy Boy Arnold, John Primer and Bob Margolin.
Terence Blanchard Featuring The E-Collective with Turtle Island Quartet @ Marcus Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m.
Trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard celebrates both the brilliance of Wayne Shorter’s legacy and the inspiration he has given Blanchard, influencing his ever-expanding amalgam of music and storytelling. Blanchard will unite his internationally acclaimed band The E-Collective, featuring young musical pioneers Charles Altura on guitar, Fabian Almazan on piano and synthesizers, Oscar Seaton on drums, and David “DJ” Ginyard on bass, with the double-GRAMMY®-winning Turtle Island Quartet.
The repertoire will include arrangements of Shorter’s original work, including “Diana” from Native Dancer and “When It Was Now” from Weather Report’s 1982 self-titled release. Blanchard’s compositions will continue to expand on the reservoir of E-Collective tunes, utilizing a string quartet that is uniquely equipped for the full range of color and expression of the Blanchard sonic and stylistic sphere.
Friday, Nov. 5
Peter Rowan’s Free Mexican Airforce featuring Los Texmaniacs @ Thrasher Opera House (506 Mill St., Green Lake), 7:30 p.m.
Peter Rowan & The Free Mexican Airforce w/ Los Texmaniacs
A short road trip to Green Lake? This show carries on the Tex-Mex musical tradition started in the late ‘70s when bluegrass musician Peter Rowan and the great accordionist Flaco Jiménez teamed up. Rowan’s roots go back to playing with Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass boys and Old & In the Way, his collaboration with the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia. Conjunto band Los Texmaniacs was founded in 1997, honoring tradition by playing old-time Tejano polkas, redovas, chotises (schottisches), waltzes and huapangos—while keeping the music relevant. This under-the-radar concert is definitely worth considering.
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Big Al Dorn @ Mamies, 9 P.M.
Photo courtesy bigaldorn.com
Big Al Dorn
Big Al Dorn
Big Al Dorn and the Howlers play at “The Last Real Deal Blues Club on the South Side of Milwaukee.” If you are looking for Chicago-stye blues, look no further.
Funky Chemist @ The Gig, 9 p.m.
Influenced by Stanton Moore Trio, Soulive, Dr. Lonnie Smith and The Meters, Funky Chemist is an organ trio that fuses funky grooves with heavy guitar and adds a strand of psychedelic rock into what would otherwise be categorized as a jazz act. We wrote about Funky Chemist’s 2020 debut album Groove Generator https://shepherdexpress.com/music/local-music/funky-chemist-cook-up-some-new-grooves/
Saturday, Nov. 6
The Mike Benign Compulsion w/ Eagle Trace @ Anodyne, 8 p.m.
The Mike Benign Compulsion - Bonafide Americans
After 10 years and five albums, the Mike Benign Compulsion is signing off shepherdexpress.com/music/local-music/mike-benign-says-bygones-to-his-compulsion/ . But the members of this veteran local group (Benign, Paul Biemann, Michael Koch and Joe Vent) will remain busy with other projects. Four-fifths of opening act alt-rockers Eagle Trace are Benign’s nephews. The band has been around since 2011 with a pair of EPs to their credit.
Stein & Dine @ Wisconsin State Fair Park-Products Pavilion, VIP 1 p.m. / General Admission 2 p.m.
Stein & Dine
Join the Shepherd Express as we celebrate all things Wisconsin at the 8th annual Stein & Dine craft beer festival! Enjoy unlimited samples from the state’s finest breweries, local restaurants, distilleries and wineries with live entertainment.
Stein & Dine is truly a sampling affair for all beer buffs. Last year (2019), we welcomed over 60 breweries, wineries and cideries to sample their best products. Sausage makers and local restaurants will also be on hand to serve up tasty treats. More info here: steinanddinemke.com
Sierra Ferrell w/ John R. Miller @ Colectivo Back Room, 8 p.m.
Sierra Ferrell - The Sea
Sierra Ferrell sounds like an old soul; high-lonesome sincere twang and ache with just the right touch of lightheartedness. Her songs are legitimate earworms and don’t be surprised if years from now people are talking seeing her in a small room.
The Monkees Farewell Tour with Michael Nesmith & Micky Dolenz @ The Riverside Theater, 7 p.m.
Two of the Prefab 4, Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith will commemorate 55 years Of Monkee-mania. The group that was formed for a 1966 television sitcom, found chart success and eventually became a real band. Nesmith’s group the First National Band can lay legitimate claim as pioneers of country-rock. Davy Jones and Peter Tork passed away in 2012 and 2019 respectively.
