Jurassic Park @ Discovery World, Aug. 28
Thursday, Aug. 27
Dusty Medical 10th Anniversary Show @ Club Garibaldi, 9 p.m.
For the last decade, Dusty Medical Records has been one of Milwaukee’s most consistent record labels, issuing dozens of killer releases from some of the city’s best punk, garage-rock and guitar-pop bands, and some gems from outside the city, too. Many of those bands will assemble for the label’s 10th anniversary shows this weekend, including garage-pop greats The Goodnight Loving, who have reunited for the occasion. The celebration will feature shows at five venues over four days and begins with this bill at Club Garibaldi featuring Midnight Reruns, The Midwest Beat and Phylums.
Jazz in the Park: Altered Five Blues Band @ Cathedral Square Park, 6 p.m.
It’s never easy for a band that’s mostly known for playing covers to make the leap to original music, but Milwaukee’s Altered Five Blues Band pulled it off on their 2012 album, Gotta Earn it, carrying over the same soulful spirit they brought to covers of acts like The Rolling Stones and The Pretenders on their 2008 debut, Bluesified, to their originals. The group, which won Blues Artist of the Year honors at the 2014 Wisconsin Area Music Awards, is playing behind their latest album, Cryin’ Mercy, which peaked near the top of both the iTunes Blues and Living Blues charts. The group plays the second-to-last Jazz in the Park concert of 2015 on Thursday, Aug. 27.
Friday, Aug. 28
Sprecher Brewery’s 30th Anniversary Party @ Juneau Park, 4 p.m.
Sprecher Brewery, one of Milwaukee’s oldest craft breweries, will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a free party at Juneau Park on Aug. 28 and 29. The event offers live music and, of course, beer, courtesy of the Traveling Beer Garden and Sprecher’s traveling tap trucks. The first night will feature a rare Milwaukee performance from the pioneering Los Angeles punk band, X, at 8:15 p.m., following performances from the Milwaukee acts Ladders and The Grovelers. Saturday’s festivities kick off at noon with music from Christopher’s Project, followed by Robert Allen Jr. at 2:30 p.m., The Living Statues at 5:15 p.m. and De La Buena at 7:30 p.m.
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Fish Fry & A Flick: Jurassic Park @ Discovery World, 5 p.m.
If Steven Spielberg invented the summer blockbuster with Jaws, he reinvented it for the digital era with Jurassic Park, a summer smash that teased the future of computer-generated special effects. More than 20 years later, those effects still look impressive, even though the bright neon color scheme of the park itself looks unmistakably early ’90s. This year’s sequel, Jurassic World, became one of the biggest hits of all time in part by tapping audiences’ nostalgia for the original, but it’s a much more cynical movie than its inspiration. Where Jurassic Park captures the awe of witnessing living dinosaurs for the first time, Jurassic World slyly comments on how even the most miraculous spectacles become stale over time. Discovery World screens Spielberg’s original for free outdoors as part of its Fish Fry & A Flick series. The movie begins at dusk.
Malibu Open Waterski Championship @ Veteran’s Park, 7:30 a.m.
For the sixth year in a row, some of the world’s top professional and junior water skiers will compete for more than $64,000 in prize money at the Malibu Open Waterski Championship at Milwaukee’s Veteran’s Park Lagoon. They’ve been competing over two days in traditional slalom and long-distance jumping, so spectators at this free event can expect to witness a mix of freestyle jumping, barefoot skiing and show skiing. Fans will also be able to chat with some of the athletes, who will be available for autographs. Come hungry—there will be food trucks. The competition continues on Saturday, Aug. 29.
Saturday, Aug. 29
Fromm PetFest @ Summerfest Grounds, 10 a.m.
For obviously practical reasons, pets aren’t allowed at Summerfest—it’d probably be a disaster if they were. But for those looking to spend a day with their dog or cat at Henry Maier Festival Park, there’s Fromm PetFest, a free, animal-driven gathering featuring a pet marketplace, training clinics, dock diving, grooming sessions and agility courses, in addition to live music and children’s activities. Don’t have a pet to bring? You could end up taking one home from the event’s Adoption Avenue, where more than a dozen rescue organizations will be looking to pair cats and dogs with worthwhile owners.
Trashfest @ The Local, 8 p.m.
Since debuting in 1984, Trashfest has been alienating audiences with all sorts of loud, obnoxious and obscure music at venues all over the city, including Café Voltaire, The Unicorn, Odd Rock Café, Stone Toad and other places that no longer exist. This year, it’s taking place at The Local (the former Club Anything at 807 S. Fifth St.), but the spirit’s still the same: celebrating music best described as “a matter of taste.” Among the curiosities at this year’s event are the mock soft-rock project Yacht Core, speed-metal polka band Cheese of the Goat, accordion act Tyler Christ Superstar, performance-art project Nummy and acts called Trans Vaginal Mesh and Gil Massen and the Rockabilly Douches. You know what you’re in for.
Alejandra Guzmán w/ Stephanie Guzman @ The Rave, 9 p.m.
The daughter of Mexican movie star Silvia Pinal and rock singer Enrique Guzmán, Alejandra Guzmán was destined to carve out a career in entertainment. Amazingly, she found even more success than her parents, becoming one of the most iconic Mexican singers of her time over a career than has spanned nearly 30 years, 16 albums and dozens of hit singles. After all these years, she’s still one hell of a performer, as her latest live album, 2013’s La Guzmán: Primera Fila, attests.
