Photo by Becca Dilley
Left to right: Quillan Roe, Matt Wilson, Jacques Wait and Phala Tracy
Trashfest, Beet Street Harvest Festival, Noche De Ronda, Tweed, Matt Wilson and more are entertainment options this week in Milwaukee.
Thursday, Oct. 10
Noche De Ronda @ The Jazz Estate, 8 p.m.
Over the last 15 years, Robert Figueroa has entertained audiences across the Midwest as the singer-songwriter for the Naborí Salsa Orchestra. Noche De Ronda, Figueroa’s latest project, is a tribute to the bolero, the ballads which for many years were an integral part of the salsa phenomenon and the music that preceded it. Figueroa and his group will offer rare night bolero and son classics.
Saturday, Oct. 12
Photo by Becca Dilley
Left to right: Quillan Roe, Matt Wilson, Jacques Wait and Phala Tracy
Matt Wilson and his Orchestra @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Matt Wilson had me hooked when his psychedelic-pop three-piece Trip Shakespeare played at Green Bay in the late ’80s. The band’s frequent stops in Milwaukee found Trip Shakespeare levitating long-gone cafés with names like Odd Rock and Toad. Their vocal harmonies were orchestral and their musical improvisations telepathic. The band’s shot at the brass ring came when they signed to A&M Records, but by 1992, Trip Shakespeare were done. While two members, John Munson and Matt’s brother Dan found success with Semisonic, Matt continued to play music as well, notably with The Twilight Hours and The New Standards. Matt Wilson stops in Milwaukee with an orchestra that includes banjo and harp.
Tweed featuring Gervis Myles @ Oconomowoc Arts Center, 7 p.m.
Music is evolution. Tweed Funk front man Joseph “Smokey” Holman died in October of 2017. The band had released four CDs up to that point. In 2018, Gervis Myles recorded a fantastic retro-soul 45. Now known as Tweed Featuring Gervis Myles, the band that boasts 6 WAMI awards is working on a new musical chapter.
Fourth Annual Beet Street Harvest Festival @ Cactus Club, Noon
The 2019 Bay View block party features music from Sarah Shook & The Disarmers (North Carolina), TRUE Skool Alumni, Retoro, Congo Gospel Music and DJ Dave Arnevik; a punk rock rummage; food and drink vendors; and this year, the Cactus Club will present films highlighting the intersection of music and film in Milwaukee.
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Trashfest @ Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall, 8 p.m.
The 35th annual trashstravaganza lineup includes, but is not limited to, Nervis Virgins, Atheists & Airplanes, Sha Na Not, Prettiest Scar, Primitive Telegraph Service, Satan’s Li’l Helpers, Gone & Loco, The Unmentionables, and The Paulettes. This Milwaukee tradition of quality trash includes tributes, trainwrecks, homages and eulogies and is quarterbacked by Paul “Fly” Lawson. It urges fans and performers to not take themselves so damn seriously—at least for one night.
Sunday, Oct. 13
M.O.T.O. (Masters of the Obvious) @ High Dive, 9 p.m.
In the YouTube comments section for M.O.T.O.’s “Dance to the Radio” video, frontman Paul Caporino wrote, “Look at the shit-eating grin on that singer's face—somebody punch him!”
M.O.T.O. have been around since 1981, and you can’t survive 38 years playing a blender-bender of “garage, ’70s punk rock and Brill Building-worthy pop” in the world of no-budget music without a sense of humor. As you might imagine, the band has undergone numerous lineup changes, but it has always functioned primarily as a platform for Caporino’s songwriting, a repertoire that includes hundreds of songs in a variety of genres.
