Social Distortion @ The Rave, Aug. 8
Thursday, Aug. 6
The Les Paul 100th @ Naga-Waukee Park, 5 p.m.
No native son inspires more hometown pride in Waukesha than guitar great Les Paul, the man dubbed “the Wizard of Waukesha.” The city pays homage to him once again for this event commemorating his 100th birthday with an all-star band led by Milwaukee guitar slinger Greg Koch and the Tone Controls, featuring Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen. Robin Pluer, Sam Llanas and Willy Porter will be among the other artists performing at the event, which will also feature a group strum-along. Guitar players of all ages are encouraged to bring a guitar and join in. This will double as a kick-off event for this weekend’s Waukesha BluesFest.
Friday, Aug. 7
Mötley Crüe w/ Alice Cooper @ BMO Harris Bradley Center, 7 p.m.
Hair metal may not die, but it does consider retiring. After more than 30 tumultuous, off-and-on years together, Mötley Crüe announced their intentions to wind things down last year, following a stretch of touring that would take them through the end of 2015. But how do fans know this is really a final tour, and not one of those fake farewell tours? According to a press release, the band signed a formal Cessation of Touring Agreement—apparently a real thing that exists—that will prevent them from touring after this year. Following their Summerfest performance last year, “the world’s most notorious rock band,” as they were once billed, will swing through Milwaukee for one last bow, and once again they’ll be joined by one of their early influences: shock-rock great Alice Cooper.
Jason Derulo w/ Jasmine V @ Wisconsin State Fair Main Stage, 8 p.m.
One-man boy band Jason Derulo enjoyed a solid run of pop hits in 2009 and 2010, including the Top 40 staples “In My Head” and “Whatcha Say” from his self-titled debut. And then he struggled. His 2011 album Future History underperformed, and for a while it seemed like the singer was destined to disappear along with contemporaries like Jay Sean and Iyaz. That was before his loopy R&B single “Talk Dirty” belatedly caught fire on the charts last year, giving Derulo his first top 10 hit since 2010’s “Ridin’ Solo.” To capitalize on his renewed momentum, in spring 2014 his label reissued his 2013 album Tattoos under a new title. That title? Talk Dirty, of course. Since then, the hits have come easily, among them “Wiggle” and “Want to Want Me.”
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Waukesha BluesFest @ Naga-Waukee Park, 1 p.m.
One of the state’s biggest blues blowouts, the Waukesha BluesFest in Delafield’s Naga-Waukee Park draws some of the biggest blues acts from around the country each year. Highlights on Friday include prodigal British guitarist Chris King Robinson and veteran rock ’n’ roller Rick Derringer, who sang The McCoy’s hit “Hang On Sloopy” and played on classic albums with the Edgar Winter Band. Saturday the event continues with Southern soul music from Josh Hoyer and the Shadowboxers, gospel-inspired rhythm and blues from Damon Fowler and hillbilly blues rock from festival closers The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band. For a complete lineup, visit waukeshabluesfest.com.
Saturday, Aug. 8
Diana Krall @ The Riverside Theater, 7:30 p.m.
There are few true modern jazz stars. Diana Krall is one of them. With her smoky alto vocals and her smooth, flourishing piano work, she’s sold more than 6 million albums and topped the Billboard jazz albums chart eight times, an unprecedented feat for a jazz singer. Her specialty is standards. On her 2012 album Glad Rag Doll, she updated jazz tunes from the ’20s and ’30s, many of which she discovered from her father’s collection of old 78s. She tackles material nearer and dearer to her heart on her latest album, Wallflower, giving the jazz treatment to radio hits she grew up with in the ’60s and ’70s. She puts a sultry spin on staples from the era including Randy Newman’s “Feels Like Home,” The Mamas and the Papas “California Dreamin’” and Elton John’s “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word.”
Phish @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre, 7 p.m.
Now that his stint moonlighting with The Grateful Dead during their farewell shows is over, Trey Anastasio can return to his main gig as the anchor of that other jam-band mega-institution: Phish. Since reuniting after a five-year hiatus in 2009, the cultishly beloved Vermont band has toured as hard as ever, while keeping their sets fresh with new covers, new experiments and new material. Some of those new songs worked their way onto their 2014 album Fuego, which they recorded with Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel producer Bob Ezrin. (Also Sunday, Aug. 9.)
Social Distortion w/ Nikki Lane and Drag The River @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
One of the most celebrated originators of the hardcore punk movement in the early 1980s, So-Cal rockers Social Distortion remain best known for their radio singles “Ball and Chain” and “Story of My Life,” as well as their iconic cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” from their 1990 self-titled album, which blended their brand of punk with mainstream hooks and Western guitars. Led by singer/guitarist Mike Ness, the band’s only remaining original member, Social D has survived drug addiction (heroin), the death of founding guitarist Dennis Danell (brain aneurysm) and several hiatuses throughout its tumultuous history, but has always regrouped and returned to the road.
Sunday, Aug. 9
Brandon Flowers w/ Rey Pila @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
For a while The Killers were one of the biggest alternative acts in the country, thanks to a pair of blockbuster albums, Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town, and singles like “Mr. Brightside” and “When You Were Young.” But as the band’s popularity plateaued at the end of the ’00s, singer Brandon Flowers made the leap to become a solo artist. Without downplaying his pop instincts, his 2010 solo debut Flamingo positioned him as a heartland rock singer-songwriter a la ’80s Bruce Springsteen. His new follow-up The Desired Effect mines the same era of MTV, but thinks much bigger, drawing from the high-gloss production of Duran Duran, Madonna and Dire Straits. If there was any doubt about whether Flowers still wants to be one of the biggest stars of his era, this record should dispel it.
Wednesday, Aug. 12
Sugar Ray, Better Than Ezra, Uncle Kracker and Eve 6 @ Wisconsin State Fair Main Stage, 7 p.m.
By the mid-to-late ’90s, alternative rock was still going strong, but some of the gloom from the grunge had dissipated. A new crop of brighter, perkier alternative-pop acts replaced their harder predecessors, several of which now group together each summer for the nostalgia tour, Under The Sun. Anchored by Sugar Ray, this year’s lineup also features buzz-bin survivors Better Than Ezra, Uncle Kracker and Eve 6.
