Steve Poltz, Jeff Tweedy, Daniel Donato, Mosh Wah, Present Music - All Souls Eve, Paul Cebar and more—This Week in Milwaukee Music!
Photo via Shank Hall
Steve Poltz
Steve Poltz
Thursday, Oct. 30
Steve Poltz w/ The McDonald Brothers @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
“Trash” by Steve Poltz
Steve Poltz might be best known for co-writing “You Were Meant for Me” with Jewel; that song went to #2 and spent 65 weeks on the charts. The flipside of that coin, and perhaps Poltz’ best song is “Trash,” an empathetic, tragedy that turns Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” inside out.
“Trash” is told from the perspective of “the man in Reno” and “Trash” is sung from the perspective of the man Cash shot. In Poltz’ telling, that man turned out to be Johnny Cash’s star-crossed transvestite lover.
Poltz said “The reason I wrote this song is that it’s fun to lie in songs,” pointing out that because Johnny Cash got to lie in his song, he should enjoy the same freedom.
Mosh Wah's Birthday Bash w/Large Professor, Don Black, Swadetrackz, Michael Knueppel and more @ The Cooperage, 4 p.m.
Photo by Ben Slowey
Mosh Wah
Mosh Wah
Legendary Milwaukee producer-DJ-radiohead Mosh Wah presents a day of curated music in honor of his birthday down on the harbor front. The longtime DJ, entertainer and producer has been getting rooms moving with his vast, eclectic taste in music since the mid 1990s. Wah is known to play everything from new wave to hip hop to punk to reggae to industrial music. He can be put pretty much anywhere and find his groove.
Special guest DJ Large Professor has worked with The Beastie Boys, Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Busta Rymes, The Brand New Heavies and more.
Friday, Oct. 31
Present Music - All Souls Eve @ Milwaukee Art Museum, 7:30 p.m.
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Cultures across the Northern Hemisphere have long marked the somber days when October fades into November as fall prepares for winter and the boundaries between past and present, the living and the dead, feel somehow permeable. For All Souls Eve, Milwaukee’s premier exponents of contemporary (or recent) composers will present a shape-shifting program of music that conjures the spirit(s) of the season. “It’s a mash-up of traditions with music illustrating many facets,” says PM’s co-artistic director Eric Segnitz.
Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country presents Udder Invasion: A Barn Burner w/ The McDonald Brothers @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
“Sunshine In The Rain” by Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country
On Horizons, Nashville singer/songwriter/guitarist Daniel Donato has adopted Cosmic Country as both a group name and the descriptor for his ambitious blend of twangy country, roadhouse rock, modern Americana and old-school jamming. Each of those elements can be heard throughout Horizon’s 15 songs and 79 minutes. Think Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys dueling with the Grateful Dead.
The jammy 11-minute “Chore” and the epic 10-minute finale “Down Bedford” punctuate the shift and prove Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country can live up to its unconventional name.
Girls Rock MKE Halloween Benefit & Tribute show @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 7:30 p.m.
Girls Rock MKE believes in the power of music to inspire confidence, creativity, and leadership in girls, women and gender-expansive individuals. Through transformative camp programs, participants find their voices, form bands and take the stage—cultivating mindsets and skillsets that last a lifetime.
The mission of Girls Rock MKE is to empower individuals of marginalized identities and diverse experiences through music education and performance.
This Halloween Benefit & Tribute show features Pabst Benatar, Chappell Hoan, Bobby Portishead and more.
Saturday, Nov. 1
Willy Porter Humans in a Room Album Release Show @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
“Empathy” by Willy Porter
Willy Porter’s 2023 album The Ravine found the Mequon singer-songwriter in one of his most creative and sonically ambitious albums to date. He found himself with an abundance of time due to the pandemic “to work on music in a more focused way as a songwriter.”
For this show Porter will be joined by cellist and vocalist Mai Bloomfield, singer-percussionist Carmen Nickerson and guitarist Ryan Pearl. The quartet will perform Porter’s brand new ATMOS/ Immersive live recording from Weasel Records, Humans in a Room, in its entirety as well as venturing into music from his catalog, which dates back some 35 years.
Sunday, Nov. 2
Rivers of Nihil w/ Psycroptic, Solshade, Illusion of Fate and Scroll @ Falcon Hall, 6 p.m.
“Architects of Extinction” by Psycroptic
Empire Productions and X-Ray Arcade Present this extravaganza at the Falcon. Five flavors of metal to ease you out of the Halloween weekend. Rivers Of Nihil (technical death metal from Reading, PA) are joined by Psycroptic, Tasmania’s most prolific metal band. Madison’s Solshade are joined by Milwaukee’s Illusion of Fate and Scroll.
Monday, Nov. 3
Living Hour w/ So Zuppy and Tom Oeffling @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
Photo by David Knipe
Living Hour
Living Hour
Living Hour’s expansive, gentle and slow indie rock is distinguished by lovelorn melodies, transient polyrhythms and a dreamy instrument palette that includes heavenly interlocking guitars, Casio tone keyboards and brass. Floating over these warm sparkles of sound are Sam Sarty’s emotive lead vocals, which are intoxicatingly smokey and vulnerable.
Living Hour recorded their early songs with friend and producer Riley Hill in the west end of their hometown, Winnipeg, Canada. Their self-titled debut album was released on cassette in early 2016 on Bloomington’s Tree Machine Records, introducing the band’s cinematic sound and propelling years of DIY touring in Canada, the USA and Europe.
Milwaukee’s So Zuppy is the solo project of producer Micah Foust. Over the past several years he has perfected a bright and bubbly bedroom pop production merged with a distinct soft voice. In the last year or so, So Zuppy has transformed into a quietly engaging live act, with members of Overhand, Big Laugh and Obess Tact backing up Foust’s delicate but hook-laden songs.
Tuesday, Nov. 4
WMSE Local Live: Paul Cebar @ Anodyne Coffee, 6 p.m.
Photo by Ken Hanson
Paul Cebar
Paul Cebar
He sings the weather report, he is a musical archaeologist ,and he is a songwriter who recently released an album titled Paul Cebar. “(Kick Up) The Lovin’ Sound,” from that album is a slice of manic inspirational joy—a nearly a capella tune that is certainly informed by the gospel section of Cebar’s experience. Cebar suggested a treatment of the song as if recorded by Little Richard and The Upsetters, with producer Alex Hall’s playing in keeping in mind drummer Earl Palmer.
Wednesday, Nov. 5
Jeff Tweedy w/ Liam Kazar @ The Pabst Theater, 7:30 p.m.
“Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Jeff Tweedy
From playing The Toad Café and sleeping on the floor of Milwaukee bands with Uncle Tupelo to headlining shows at Summerfest with Wilco to book-signing events, Jeff Tweedy is no stranger to Cream City. Tweedy’s new release is Twilight Override, a triple album affair with a band that includes his sons.
