This Week in Milwaukee: Oct. 19-25, 2023

Here are the Milwaukee events we are looking forward to coming up this week.

by

Gallery Night, improvised music at Woodland Pattern, AfterDark: For the Culture storytelling, Pumpkin Pavilion, Hallowings, Psycho Spook-A-Thon, and more—This Week in Milwaukee!

Thursday, Oct. 19

The 54th Annual Morris Fromkin Memorial Lecture Out of Sight: The Black Middle Class in Milwaukee @ UW-Milwaukee, Golda Meir Library, 4 p.m.

Through an exploration of the middleclass African American experience in Milwaukee, this collaborative project challenges and complicates existing narratives about Black Milwaukee that are mired in narrow assertions primarily focused on poverty, residential segregation, criminalization and educational achievement gaps. While scholars have exposed these realities and their negative impacts, these are not the only stories to tell about the African American experience in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Turning the lens to the middle class broadens the representation of African Americans in Milwaukee.

More info at uwm.edu/libraries/special/events/fromkin.

Tim Kaiser w/ Cool Beauty - Formations Series for New & Improvised Music *HYBRID* @ Woodland Pattern Book Center, 7 p.m.

Formations is a monthly music series curated by Jay Mollerskov and dedicated to fostering the growth of new and improvised music in Milwaukee. Tim Kaiser is well known in the atmospheric experimental music scene for his blending of acoustic-electric contraptions and Frankenstein electronics to create ethereal, layered drones. His sonic landscapes have been called “experiments in adventurous art” and “eclectic genius” by the likes of Make magazine, Wired, the New Art Examiner and the Associated Press. 

Cool Beauty featuring Pedro Gutierrez (keyboards), John Larkin (bass), Didier LePlae (guitar) and Joe Kirschling (Samples and Trap Kit) is an infinitely flowing confluence of improvised cinematic soundscapes and resonant experimentation forged by a quartet of sonic conspirators.

Nineteen Thirteen w/ The Quilz @ Anodyne, 8 p.m.

Cellist Janet Schiff and percussionist Victor DeLorenzo (founding drummer of Violent Femmes) are the creative forces behind Nineteen Thirteen. Schiff plays a cello that was made in Romania in 1913 while DeLorenzo plays a set of drums made in modern day America. Together their music suggests mystery, romance and future thought.

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The Quilz, Milwaukee’s is a dream-pop /synth-pop organization consists of vocalist Becky Heck and guitarist-keyboardist-producer Sage Schwarm (Codebreaker, The Sounds of Time, Citizen King). The duo have produced original tracks featuring cinematic, dreamy vocals with modern production since 2015.

Friday, Oct. 20

Pumpkin Pavilion @ Humboldt Park, through Sunday

Come see 1,000 glowing jack-o-lanterns, enjoy magic shows, fire twirlers and food trucks. Music from Dairyland’s Finest, Devil’s Teeth and Grim Paddle. More info here: facebook.com/photo/?fbid=635095678794034.

Gallery Night MKE, Third Ward, East Town, Walker’s Point and beyond, also Saturday

Gallery Night MKE, Milwaukee’s original gallery hop event, unites the city through art. Experience the vast creative culture in Milwaukee while you discover local galleries, art and artists. This free, two-day quarterly event offers the opportunity to buy original art, dine in outstanding restaurants and shop in unique boutiques. Admission is free to more than 50 participating venues during event hours. More info here: gallerynightmke.com/participants/historic-third-ward.

AfterDark: For the Culture @ Radio Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

HYFIN and Ex Fabula celebrate Black and Brown poets and storytellers at AfterDark: For the Culture. Stories and poems will be shared by community members around the theme of culture. The event will have two curated artists, Darius Smith and Element Everest-Blanks, and a featured artist Jamai Fisher. Audience members can also sign up for the chance to share a story onstage or be a part of the evening’s programming by submitting an “UltraShort.” These brief stories on the night’s theme will be read onstage by the emcee.

Prior to the StorySlam, Ex Fabula will host a free StoryStarter workshop for Black and Brown community members with a special guest facilitator, Jamai Fisher. Beginning at 5:15 p.m. at Radio Milwaukee, attendees can prepare to share a poem or story at the evening’s event or use the workshop to connect with other storytellers. Interested storytellers can reserve their space at exfabula.org.

Widespread Panic @ The Riverside Theater, 7 p.m., though Sunday

Widespread Panic returns for a weekend of jam band hijinks. Each night a street party kicks off the festivities with Steez, Spare Change Trio and Modern Joey warming things up.

Le Vent du Nord @ Irish Cultural & Heritage Center, 7:30 pm

Le Vent du Nord, the traditional folk band from Canada, plays Québécois music—a blend of French, French Canadian and Celtic folk music with instruments including fiddle, guitar, Irish bouzouki, accordion and hurdy gurdy—and sings in French. The Juno Award-winning group has released 10 albums. Info here: irishculturalandheritagecenter.ticketspice.com/levent231020.

Saturday, Oct. 21

Old Fashioned Fest 2023 @ Tripoli Center, 3000 W. Wisconsin Ave., 6 p.m. 

Round up friends for an evening out at Milwaukee-style. Old Fashioned Fest presented by Shepherd Express. The event at the Tripoli Shrine Center offers local vendors who serve up the beloved Milwaukee classic—the Old Fashioned. Sample both classic and re-imagined versions, with brandy sponsored by Drink Wisconsinibly and whiskey sponsored by Great Northern Distilling. Then, vote on your favorite brandy and whiskey versions to see who will be crowned winners at the end of the night. Attendees can also enjoy live music, entertainment and food.

Competitors include Clementines, Eldr + Rime, Finks Cocktail Bar, Fuel Café, Patti's Power Plant, Red Maple MKE, Potawatomi Casino & Hotel, Craft | The Trade Hotel, Great Northern Distilling, Drink Wisconsibly, Tripoli Shrine Center and The Union House Cedarburg.

More details and ticket link here: shepherdexpress.com/upcoming-events/oldfashioned.

Fundamentals w/Cassini Echoes and the Geodes @ Voyageur Books, 6 p.m.

Here’s a unique event, a trio of artists all performing at Bayview’s Voyageur Books. Fundamentals return for their first show since the pandemic, their 2021 release End Times conjures perfectly the dreamy and foreboding sense that comes with the season.

Sam Llanas @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

Since 2018 Sam Llanas has focused on his Goya series of albums. With this show he take a detour into his past, performing the 1986 album Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams in its entirety, assisted by fellow former BoDeans drummer Guy Hoffman and bassist Bob Griffin.

Psycho Spook-A-Thon w/ Stone Theory, Rainbow Cobra and Nectarious @ Company Brewing, 9:30 p.m.

Are you ready for Halloween? Here’s a warmup for the upcoming Nightmare on Center Street Block Party.

Sunday, Oct. 22

Women of the West @ Baird Center, 9:30 a.m.

Most Dangerous Women is the latest effort from award-winning documentarian and Alverno alumna Janet Fitch ’95. Most Dangerous Women features the often untold or little-known stories and voices of “dangerous women” fighting for equality, social justice and peace over the past century. The pilot episode, Women of the West (35 min.) begins in Wyoming, the first governmental territory in the world to recognize women’s right to vote and to hold public office, and whose female elected officials remain powerful voices on the national stage. 

In the film, contemporary leaders reflect on this early legacy of visible women, as well as the challenges they and their peers face today and their hopes for the future. Fitch’s films have aired on PBS and are screened in numerous festivals and other venues in the United States and internationally. Come for the film and stay for the lively conversation afterward. More info at bairdcenter.com/events/womens-convention.

Soft Machine @ Shank Hall, 7 p.m.

British prog-rock band Soft Machine was a central cog in the mid- 60’s Canterbury Scene, touring with Jimi Hendrix and venturing into dimensions of jazz. The group continues to evolve, as evidenced by 2020’s Live At The Baked Potato. (shepherdexpress.com/music/album-reviews/live-at-the-baked-potato-by-soft-machine)

Monday, Oct. 23

Fourthcoming @ Cedarburg Cultural Center (W62N546 Washington Ave., Cedarburg), though Nov. 26

Four artists, Jonathan Ellis, Bev Richey, Miriam Sushman and Adria Willenson, came together over a year ago and launched their collaborative initiative, Foursights, to showcase their unique styles. Their first exhibit was at Urban Ecology Center in the spring and summer of 2022. Now they are happy to create new work showcasing their evolving styles at the Cedarburg Cultural Center. Work displayed will include gestural abstract paintings, paintings, mixed media on canvas and mosaics based on the flora and fauna of Wisconsin.

Tuesday, Oct. 24

Gift of Wings @ Gazebo Park in the Historic Downtown Greendale Village, through Oct. 29

Hallowings 2023-Gift of Wings will light it up for a great display of nearly 500 pumpkins. Pumpkin Bowling and Gourd Golf are part of the fun, in addition to live music, food and beverages Thursday through Sunday. 

On Saturday, Oct. 28 at Greendale High School, Gift of Wings will be featuring Pumpkins Over Greendale with the Gift of Wings Trebuchet throwing and smashing pumpkins.

Wednesday, Oct. 25

Transit Transmissions: WMSE Hop Tour 2023, noon.

WMSE 91.7 partners with The Hop for a live broadcast event. The WMSE Hop Tour leaves the station and the broadcast hits the airways during the station’s popular Squid Inc. show. Hosted by Sid and DJ’d by Christreater (Chris Schullist), the duo will soundtrack their journey along The Hop’s M line, which includes a station stop right outside the WMSE studios.

Special guests will join the fun and ride the WMSE Hop Tour 2023 including Milwaukee Department of Public Works Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke; Chuck Jones and Marty Defatte of Guerrilla Ghost; Jeremy Kedziora, the Pieper Power Endowed Chair in Artificial Intelligence at Milwaukee School of Engineering; rapper NilexNile; Beth Weirick, CEO of Milwaukee Downtown; and more.