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Gaelic Storm
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Boosie BadAzz
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Juiceboxxx
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Photo credit: Daniel Topete
Protomartyr
Milwaukee celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with a return visit from Gaelic Storm and a big block party Saturday in Shorewood.
Thursday, March 15
Gaelic Storm
Gaelic Storm @ Potawatomi Hotel and Casino, 8 p.m.
Over the years, Gaelic Storm have established themselves as one of Milwaukee’s most enduring St. Patrick’s Day traditions, packing the local venues each year with their worldly brand of Celtic rock. Between these shows and their usual Irish Fest gigs, it seems they have a soft spot for the city, and to their credit, they never play the same show twice, in part because they always have new material to play behind. The band’s discography bursts with narrative stories that are just as good to dance to as they are to drink to—and in concert, the band encourages crowds to do plenty of both. Songs like “The Beer Song” and “Back to the Pub” from the band’s 13th and latest album, Go Climb a Tree, should keep the crowd in good cheer.
Friday, March 16
They Might Be Giants @ The Pabst Theater, 9 p.m.
The fact that They Might Be Giants began recording children’s albums last decade didn’t come as much of a surprise to many of the long-running alternative group’s fans. After all, some of those same fans were introduced to the band through the afternoon cartoon “Tiny Toon Adventures,” which created kid-friendly videos for the band’s smack-happy songs “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” and “Particle Man,” and many of the group’s songs have a goofy, kid-friendly sense of whimsy. The band’s last kid’s album was 2015’s Why?, but their last couple of albums have been recorded with adults in mind, including this year’s new I Like Fun. This show is for fans 14 and older.
Boosie BadAzz
Boosie Badazz w/ Webbie and Yung Blu @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
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Going to prison for five years could be a career killer for some artists, but for the rapper formerly known as Lil Boosie it only bolstered his legacy. After being incarcerated for drug charges in 2009, the rapper was released in 2014 amid a homegrown “Free Boosie” movement that gained him attention from the press and built hype around promised new material. Boosie apparently stayed busy while in prison, reportedly writing more than 1,000 new tracks, as well as an autobiography. Sure enough, in the years since, he’s released a steady stream of new mixtapes and albums of trunk-rattling Southern rap, all of which have only further bolstered his legacy.
Stephanie Schultz Fashion Show @ Hot Water Wherehouse, 8 p.m.
Silversärk owner and designer Stephanie Schultz found inspiration in some unlikely places for her autumn-winter collection, Revenants, drawing from centuries of vampire lore and fiction. Models at this show, a benefit for the Cancer Research Institute, will be wearing unique headpieces from Deborah Olson and upcycled jewelry pieces by Joan Junghans of Muses Jewelry. The night will also feature performances from accordion and bandoneon player Stas Venglevski, as well as local drag queens Omēga Nightshade, Aubrey del Mar, Gluttoni Sinn and Melee McQueen. General admission tickets are $15, of VIP tickets that include early entry, reserved seating, a gift bag and hors d’oeuvres are $30.
Saturday, March 17
Photo credit: Daniel Topete
Protomartyr
Protomartyr w/ Hydropark and Dorth Nakota @ Company Brewing, 10 p.m.
Protomartyr hail from Detroit, and they sound an awful lot like their city: hard, edgy, resilient and proudly working class. It’s a style of punk that’s at once arty yet unpretentious, and it takes generous cues from the blue-collar post-punk that the late Mark E. Smith perfected with The Fall (singer Joe Casey’s baritone drawl often recalls Smith’s). Each of their albums has been richer, darker and more fascinating than the last, and that trend carries through last year’s Relatives of Descent, one of their hardest hitting yet. After a series of memorable sold-out shows in the city, the band returns to Milwaukee for this show at Company Brewing.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark @ Potawatomi Hotel and Casino, 8 p.m.
During their first two decades together, the British New Wave group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark recorded a full 10 albums, but stateside they remain best known for one song: “If You Leave,” the iconic closing number from the film Pretty in Pink. The band split in 1996 but reunited in 2006 with their classic lineup to tour behind early material. That reunion has given way to several new albums which have updated their familiar synth-pop/post-punk hybrid only slightly, including last year’s The Punishment of Luxury, one of their warmest, most inviting records in years.
Shorewood Shenanigans St. Paddy’s Day Block Party @ Three Lions Pub, 12:30 p.m.
Three Lions pub in Shorewood is going all out for St. Patrick’s Day, closing off the street on Kensington Square for a huge block party from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. featuring live music, Irish dancers and Jameson tasting stations. If ever there were a day to leave the car at home, it’s this one, but thankfully, the Brat House will be providing a shuttle up and down Oakland Avenue, with stopping points at other area bars. After the street party ends, the party heads indoors for live music in the pub beginning at 9:30 p.m. And for those who really want to get a jump on the day, Three Lions will be serving a traditional Irish breakfast from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Sunday, March 18
Miranda Sings @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
Few comedians have committed quite as fully to a character as Colleen Ballinger has to Miranda Sings. An elaborate sendup of YouTube celebrity culture based on the most deluded singing competition contenders, Miranda is an internet celebrity with more ego than vocal talent. The lipstick-obsessed character became so popular she even landed her own Netflix series, “Haters Back Off,” a dark comedy that ran for two seasons. Ballinger has also written a book in the character’s voice called Selp-Helf.
Tuesday, March 20
Juiceboxxx
Juiceboxxx w/ Platinum Boys, Duckling and Max Holiday @ Cactus Club, 9 p.m.
Milwaukee-area native Juiceboxxx began his career as a novelty rapper—a scrawny white kid who wilds the fuck out on stage—but over the years, he’s evolved into something more earnest: An open-hearted idealist who preaches the gospel of following whatever muse moves you, no matter how improbable it is. Journalist Leon Neyfakh was so inspired by him he wrote an entire book about the road-warrior rapper called The Next Next Level: A Story of Rap, Friendship and Almost Giving Up. For a time, Juiceboxxx was dabbling in heavily electronic sounds, but on recent releases, he’s honed in on more of a Beastie Boys-esque punk-rap hybrid. His latest record, last year’s Freaked Out American Loser, features some of his most memorable earworms yet.
Wednesday, March 21
Mitski w/ Half Wait @ The Back Room at Colectivo, 8 p.m.
There’s no shortage of songwriters who don’t hold back about expressing raw emotions, but few do it with the same passion and intensity as Mitski. On her breakthrough 2016 album Puberty 2, the singer-songwriter sang about love, heartache, depression, alienation and identity with almost skin-crawling candor and blunt lyrics that cut against the intrinsic prettiness of her music, frequently dialing up her distorted guitar to highlight the turmoil. It’s not an easy listen at all, but it’s a truly unforgettable one, and the record became a mainstay of music publications’ 2016 year-end rankings.
