This Week in MKE Music: Feb. 13-19, 2025

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

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This Week in MKE Music

Turtles, horses, Pjörk, Cadets, defeated Nazis and more—This Week in Milwaukee Music!

Thursday, Feb. 13 

Trampled by Turtles w/ Wild Horses @ Pabst Theater, 7:30 p.m. 

Over twenty years ago Dave Simonett had lost most of his music gear, thanks to a group of enterprising car thieves who's ransacked his vehicle while he played a show with his previous band. Left with nothing more than an acoustic guitar, he began piecing together a new band, this time taking inspirations from bluegrass, folk, and other genres that didn't rely on amplification.  

Simonett hadn't played any bluegrass music before, and he filled his lineup with other newcomers to the genre, including fiddler Ryan Young (who'd previously played drums in a speed metal act) and bassist Tim Saxhaug. Along with mandolinist Erik Berry and banjo player Dave Caroll the group began carving out a fast, frenetic sound that owed as much to rock and roll as bluegrass.

Friday, Feb. 14 

All Messed Up XIII @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 7 p.m. (also Saturday) 

Milwaukee’s annual randomized musical experiment opens up the sonic petri dishes. In December a drawing was held to select members for 16 bands. Each band is formed, named and comes up with a 20-minute set. Collaboration? Humor? Chaos? A sound person’s nightmare? All Check. If band names can be helpful, some include:  Pjörk, A Bidet to Remember, Reefsweeper, Alanis Morissette and Magick Prism. More info at linnemans.com.

R&B Cadets @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m. (also Saturday)

It’s not every day a band gets to leave its gear set up over night, but Milwaukee’s long-running dance orchestra plays a pair of shows. After four-plus decades they deserve a break from schlepping gear. At this stage of the game, the R&B Cadets are a legacy band performing a few times a year. Featuring a trio of lead vocalists, horns and keyboards and one of the best rhythm sections you will likely hear anywhere—the group still packs dance floors. 

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John Sieger chatted about recent events here.

5 Card Studs @ Shotzy’s 2 West Allis, 8 p.m. 

Love love? Hate love? Want love? The 5 Card Studs provide the soundtrack to this Valentine’s Day Lovefest. Line dancing was cancelled for Thursday, so it is a safe bet that a conga line break-out.

Saturday, Feb. 15 

Open Decks Series – Vinyl Edition, 1 p.m. and Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol w/ Lip Critic and Zang! @ Cactus Club 8 p.m.

All people of all levels of familiarity with vinyl DJing are invited to the Open Decks Series. Guidance for the equipment will be readily available. Play a couple songs, chat about records and hear new music. Stay to practice blending, cutting, layering and beatmatching. 

If you don’t have your own records and you’re interested in learning about vinyl DJing, you are welcome to spin from the Open Deck library. 

Things get louder later with Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol. “Our catalog has never been short on big dumb riffs, but the idea on this record was to really turn the screw,” says RBBP bassist Aaron Metzdorf. On Big Dumb Riffs, that screw is cranked incredibly tight. “We just wanted ‘the part’: the opening of Pantera’s “Primal Concrete Sledge,” the breakdown in Primus’ “Pudding Time” —the shit that makes you move and lose your mind. Just that part the whole time.” 

Casablanca Film with Orchestra @ Bradley Symphony Center, 7:30 p.m. (also Sunday) 

“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine,” Rick Blaine. 

Walk into Allen-Bradley Hall Valentine’s weekend and experience one of classic Hollywood’s most romantic tales on the big screen with live orchestral accompaniment. Cozy up with a loved one as you savor the story of Rick and Ilsa’s romance, the beautiful visuals, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performing Max Steiner’s Oscar-winning score live in sync with the iconic film. And witness one of the most stirring music scenes in film history. More info at mso.org/concerts/casablanca-film-with-orchestra/.

Sunday, Feb. 16 

Alternating Currents Live presents Jim Baker and Chad M. Clark @ Woodland Pattern, 7 p.m. 

This event marks the first time Jim Baker and Chad M. Clark will perform together as a duo—they have played together in the past in an improvised trio with Chicago drummer Bill Harris. the.  

Induced by the danger of the art form, the players will seek to shape acoustical anomalies and extemporized musical elements into meaningful form. Baker will be playing some combination of synth, midi piano and viola, while Clark will rotate between guitar and amplified zither.

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.

For the past 50 years, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet has been making some of the most potent and popular Cajun music on the planet. Born out of the rich Acadian ancestry of its members and created and driven by bandleader Michael Doucet’s spellbinding fiddle playing and soulful vocals, BeauSoleil is notorious for bringing even the most staid audience to its feet. The band’s distinctive sound derives from the distilled spirits of New Orleans jazz, blues rock, folk, swamp pop, Zydeco, country and bluegrass.

Wednesday, Feb. 19 

DDDDangit! w/ Saint Red, Bashford and Old Wolves @ X-Ray Arcade, 6 p.m.

Rage against the midweek doldrums with a buffet of music at this all-ages show. dddangit! takes the stage as do Chicago metal duo Saint Red, Madison’s Bashford brings the grunge from Madison and Old Wolves mixes industrial, folk and doom sounds.