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Photo courtesy of the band
Reigning Sound
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Photo courtesy of the band
The Lost Toothbrushes
Milwaukee Public Schools celebrate civil rights leaders, Reigning Sound’s original lineup plays Cactus Club, The Lost Toothbrushes reunite and more this week in Milwaukee.
Thursday, Feb. 27
‘Devil's Pie: D’Angelo’ @ Oriental Theatre, 6:30 p.m.
Milwaukee Film hosts the Milwaukee premiere of this documentary. D'Angelo had it all: two platinum albums and a sold-out world tour. One day, at the height of his career in 2000, the soul singer vanished. For 12 years, he descended into darkness, then in December 2014, his third album, Black Messiah, was suddenly released, soundtrack of the lost years.
Wake-Roller Duo @ Transfer Pizzeria Café, 7 p.m.
Two of Milwaukee’s finest musicians pair up for this low-key show. David Wake, best known as director and keyboardist of the many incarnations of the Afro-Latin supergroup De La Buena and bassist with Aluar Pearls, Riverwest’s ambassadors of Afrobeat and international groove. Long ago, Peter Roller made the leap from Alverno College professor to playing with bands The Tritonics and Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans.
Friday, Feb. 28
The Flat Five @ Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co., 8 p.m.
Originally, Chicago’s Flat Five played together on special occasions. While members Kelly Hogan, Nora O’Connor, Scott Ligon, Casey McDonough and Alex Hall have performed and recorded with the likes of Neko Case, NRBQ, The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, Mavis Staples, Iron & Wine, Jakob Dylan, Robbie Fulks, Alejandro Escovedo and The New Pornographers, they have since coalesced into a group focusing on the music of revered songwriter Chris Ligon.
Saturday, Feb. 29
We Are the Drum 2020 @ Milwaukee Marshall High School, 7 p.m.
We Are the Drum is a show featuring student performers from Milwaukee Public Schools paying tribute to Milwaukee’s civil rights leaders. The show traces the roots of African Americans in the United States from Africa through the Emancipation Proclamation, the mid-20th-century civil rights movement and beyond. (Through March 8.)
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Photo courtesy of the band
The Lost Toothbrushes
The Lost Toothbrushes Reunion w/ The Mighty Deerlick @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 8:30 p.m.
In the early ’90s, an unsolicited cassette of catchy, original music from a raggedy band of New Berlin high schoolers arrived in my mailbox. Several years later, while attending college at UW-Oshkosh, some of those musicians formed The Lost Toothbrushes, a band that came of age in Milwaukee venues like The Boardwalk, The Unicorn and the Y-Not II. Songs like “Shelf” and “100 Reasons” belied a scruffy charm not unlike The Replacements, balancing musicianship and unhinged energy.
Times changed, people moved on, and the band whose name came from the punchline of a nearly unprintable joke played its last show in 1994. Al Weatherhead moved to Richmond, Va., where he played with Sparklehorse and worked with artists like Lucero, Daniel Johnston and Cracker. Guitarist Bob Eickhoff stayed put playing with The Lackloves and The Carolinas. Drummer Brent Kirby moved from behind the kit to become a force in Cleveland’s songwriting scene, and Eric Lodahl moved to Minnesota where he played with Dallas Orbiter. When the organizers of Racket Fest, a three-day festival in Oshkosh celebrating 30 years of original music, asked, The Lost Toothbrushes regrouped.
Roots: Haitian String Trios @ Milwaukee Art Museum, 1 p.m.
Hear string trios by Haitian composers rooted in the beauty of the country’s culture, history, religion and folk traditions. Haitian compositions and folk song arrangements celebrate Haiti’s revolutionary freedom-seeking origins, its unique music and religious traditions, as well as Haiti's fascinating connections to the Midwestern United States.
Monday, March 2
Photo courtesy of the band
Reigning Sound
Reigning Sound (Original Lineup) w/ Dusk @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
Since 2001, Greg Cartwright (The Oblivians, Compulsive Gamblers, Detroit Cobras) has led Reigning Sound, the Memphis-centric band that seems to ignore decades and genres. At his best, Cartwright’s music evokes the heady lineage of Lowman Pauling and Alex Chilton, intersecting at soul, garage rock and country music.
The band is playing four Midwest dates with the original lineup of Cartwright (lead vocals and guitar), Alex Greene (keyboards), Jeremy Scott (bass) and Greg Roberson (drums). The band’s first pair of albums, Break Up, Break Down and Time Bomb High School, are modern classics. Asheville, N.C.-based Cartwright is no stranger to Milwaukee, having produced the debut album by the Goodnight Loving, as well as recording live records at Circle A and Linneman’s Riverwest Inn.
Jazz at Noon Presented by Black Box Fund @ Skylight Music Theatre, Noon
There are few Milwaukee musicians who haven't been directly influenced or informed in some way by Don Linke. A university instructor, composer and producer with a passion for live performance and improvisation, Linke has a varied background, but his focus and love is jazz.
Wednesday, March 4
Randy Jackson of Zebra @ The Thistle and Shamrock, 7 p.m.
Celebrate The Thistle and Shamrock’s 10-year anniversary with a performance by ’80s rocker Zebra’s Randy Jackson, whose debut was the fastest-selling debut album in the history of Atlantic Records.
For a complete listing of live music performances, click here.
