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Photo credit: Vera Tapola
Band Of Dust
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Alison Kraus
The new Milwaukee Bucks arena hosts its first comedy show, while Bay View hosts one of the city’s great neighborhood festivals.
Thursday, Sept. 13
Bobby Brown and Bell Biv DeVoe w/ Kid Capri @ Miller High Life Theatre, 7 p.m.
No group embodied the drum-machine-heavy sound of New Jack Swing quite as fully as Bell Biv DeVoe, the R&B trio formed by New Edition members Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe. Highlighted by its title track, their 1990 album, Poison, was one of the genre’s great masterpieces, a relentlessly hard record that took all the right cues from the hip-hop of the era. The group never broke up—they continued to perform as Bell Biv DeVoe and participate in New Edition reunions—but it took them 16 years to release their most recent record, 2017’s Three Stripes. For this tour, the band will share the stage with fellow New Jack Swing titan Bobby Brown.
Kevin Hart @ Fiserv Forum, 7 p.m.
It’s difficult to think of mega-stars as “self-made,” but Kevin Hart fits the bill. On the strength of his stand-up comedy, he landed roles in films like The 40-Year-Old-Virgin, Little Fockers and a couple of Scary Movie sequels. It’s only been in the last half decade or so, however, that those supporting roles have given way to star turns in hits like Ride Along, About Last Night, Get Hard and Central Intelligence. His latest comedy, a team-up with Tiffany Haddish called Night School, comes out on Friday, Sept. 28. Despite his new star status, his stand-up comedy remains both insightful and relatable on stage, emphasizing universal topics like family and marriage. This will be the first comedy show at the new Milwaukee Bucks arena.
Friday, Sept. 14
Alison Kraus
Alison Krauss @ The Riverside Theater, 7 p.m.
Few musicians have been more instrumental in re-popularizing bluegrass music than Alison Krauss. Outside of her many solo albums and her six records with the band Union Station, the singer-songwriter has performed on two watershed albums in the roots-music revival: the 2000 soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Raising Sand, her 2007 collaboration with former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, both of which helped grow the audience for traditional country music. Her latest album is 2017’s Windy City, which features 10 covers of American classics by artists like The Osborne Brothers, Brenda Lee, Glen Campbell and Bill Monroe.
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Photo credit: Vera Tapola
Band Of Dust
Band of Dust w/ Faux Fiction, The New Grey and Bandoleer Bacall @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 9 p.m.
On their new EP Songs For All Blood Types, the Milwaukee rock quartet Band of Dust don’t mess with a winning formula. In the spirit of their debut album, Whispers Are Roars, it’s another set of ragged, rootsy rock ’n’ roll as crisp and refreshing as the first sip of a freshly cracked tall boy. Highlighted by the rustic single, “Lara and The Devil,” the record pays due service to tried-and-true influences—Tom Petty and The Replacements loom especially large—but the band strikes an unpretentious, Midwestern vibe that’s all their own.
Saturday, Sept. 15
Bay View Bash @ Kinnickinnic Avenue, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Occupying a long stretch of the neighborhood’s flagship main street, Kinnickinnic Avenue, the Bay View Bash features one of the most eclectic entertainment lineups of any of the city’s major street festivals. In addition to an enormous array of local vendors and several stages of live music (with performers including Paper Holland, Sugar Stems, Mike Krol, Nox Boys, The Nuclears, Conniption and Metal Men), there’s a stage featuring comedy, belly dancing, drag performers from Hamburger Mary’s, fire dancers and circus stunts from Dead Man’s Carnival and an incredible strongman competition sponsored by the Brickyard Gym. (For an interview with Brooklyn blues-punk singer Shilpa Ray, whose band headlines the festival’s WMSE and Rush-Mor Records stage at 9 p.m., go here.)
Will Durst: “Durst Case Scenario: Midterm Madness” @ Comedy Sportz, 7:30 p.m.
Unlike observational comedians, political satirists don’t have the luxury of repeating the same jokes year after year. They’re faced with the challenge of keeping their sets up to date with the news cycle, something that Milwaukee-born humorist Will Durst has made look easy. His latest show, “Durst Case Scenario: Midterm Madness,” chronicles the numbing first year and a half under Donald Trump and outlines something Durst calls PTSD: “President Trump Stress Disorder.” Expect plenty of jokes about the ineptitude of the Democratic Party and the uncanny creepiness of Mike Pence from this seasoned comedian.
Sunday, Sept. 16
RuPaul’s Drag Race @ The Pabst Theater, 7 p.m.
As cable television has proven time and time again, it’s possible to create a reality TV competition around literally anything, but Logo TV’s hit “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is one of the relatively small handful of genuinely inspired ones—a behind-the-scenes document of what it takes to become a world-class drag queen. Hosted by Bob The Drag Queen, this tour will feature performances from season 10 finalists Aquaria, Asia O’Hara, Eureka and Kameron Michaels, as well as Kim Chi, Valentina and Violet Chachki.
