Photo by Jim Newberry
The Sea And Cake @ Cactus Club, Dec. 13
Thursday, Dec. 11
Martina McBride @ Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, 8 p.m.
With big, adult contemporary-leaning hits like “Safe in the Arms of Love,” “I Love You” and “Independence Day,” Martina McBride embodied the crossover impulses of country music during the ’90s, but on her recent efforts the singer has indulged some less likely influences. Her latest record is Everlasting, a covers album that puts her powerful voice to work on soul and R&B standards popularized by acts like Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and The Supremes. In conjunction with that album, she’s overhauled her live show for her current tour, employing a full horn section to give some of her old country hits a soulful makeover.
Ex Fabula Spectacular: Surprise/Sorpresa @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7:30 p.m.
Usually Ex Fabula’s story slams are competitive events, with audiences voting for their favorite story of the night. For this winter’s Spectacular event, however, the series will put the competition on hold, taking some of the pressure off of the jury-selected storytellers who have been invited to share true, autobiographical stories around this month’s theme, “Surprise/Sorpresa.” As the word “Sorpresa” might have alerted you, there’s a twist here: Two of the stories will be told in Spanish then interpreted into English by translators.
Friday, Dec. 12
Canopies w/ The Fatty Acids @ Polish Falcon, 9 p.m.
The Milwaukee psych-pop group Canopies sure take their sweet time. It took them more than three years to follow up their 2011 self-titled EP with their new full-length album, Maximize Your Faith, but it was worth the wait. Pristinely produced and loaded with huge pop choruses, the album premiered this month on spin.com, and it builds on the vintage synthesizers of the group’s debut EP with a brighter New Wave feel. It’s a record that’s bound to earn the band some significant local airplay, and if the stars align, it could make an impression on modern rock airwaves as well.
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67th Annual Student Film Festival @ UWM Union Theater, 7 p.m.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee film department is regarded as one of the finest in the region, producing filmmakers who have gone on to showcase their work at film festivals including Sundance and, of course, the Milwaukee Film Festival. Each semester, students from the university’s department of Film, Video, Animation and New Genres showcase some of their latest works at a juried program that screens at the UWM Union Theater. If past programs have been any indicator, expect the program to include a generous sampling of experimental films.
Modern Echo w/ Lost in a Name @ The BBC, 9 p.m.
Hard rock doesn’t have the caché in Milwaukee that it did a decade or two ago. With indie-rock, punk and Americana music sucking up much of the oxygen in the city’s live music scene, hard rock bands have largely migrated away from Milwaukee, toward neighboring cities like West Allis and Cudahy. Modern Echo is one of the bands trying to reestablish a hard-rock scene in Milwaukee. At this show they’ll mark the release of their latest EP, Élan Vital, a sturdy five-song blast of melodic hard rock that takes cues from acts like Breaking Benjamin and Shinedown, with shades of Alice in Chains.
Saturday, Dec. 13
The Sea and Cake @ Cactus Club, 9:30 p.m.
Jazz was always a key influence in the Chicago post-rock scene, but few groups embraced it more fully than The Sea and Cake. On peak albums like 1997’s The Fawn and 2000’s Oui, the band melted jazzy rhythms and electronic textures into creamy indie-rock that played like a soft breeze on a mild summer day. This year they mark the 20th anniversary of their self-titled debut, and the group’s lineup hasn’t changed in that time—nor, for the matter, has their sound. Their latest album, Runner, is as gentle and textured as fans have come to expect from the group.
Davina and the Vagabonds @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Led by singer Davina Sowers and her huge, throaty voice, the Minnesota ensemble Davina and the Vagabonds celebrates blues music in all its forms, from the boogie-woogie of the genre’s 1930s barrelhouse incarnations to the brassy swing of New Orleans’ R&B and the smooth sounds of Memphis soul, with splashes of cabaret and gospel thrown in for good measure. All these sounds are represented on the group’s latest album, Sunshine, but they come across much better on stage, where Davina and company revel in theatrical excess.
Bel Canto Chorus: “Christmas in the Basilica” @ Basilica of St. Josaphat, 7:30 p.m.
Once again Bel Canto Chorus will pull out all the stops at its annual “Christmas in the Basilica” concert at the South Side’s lavish Basilica of St. Josaphat, 2333 S. Sixth St. The chorus will be joined by the Bel Canto Boy Choir, Stained Glass Brass and organist Kevin Bailey as they perform popular carols and audience sing-alongs. In addition to seasonal standards, the program will also include works by Richard Hynson, Carson P. Cooman and Márton Jokobey, as well as the U.S. premiere of a work by British composer Gordon Thornett, “Gloria.” (Also Sunday, Dec. 14, 3 and 6:30 p.m.)
Sunday, Dec. 14
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas @ The Riverside Theater, 7:30 p.m.
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra would later update and amp up the same formula with some progged-out electric guitars, but Mannheim Steamroller was the first outfit to make a fortune modernizing Christmas classics for new age listeners. Their synthesized and comically dramatic arrangements of traditionals like “Carol of the Bells” and “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” have become such seasonal hits that the group has recorded more than a dozen Christmas albums since their 1984 Yuletide breakthrough, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, which marks its 30th anniversary this year. To meet seasonal demand, group founder Chip Davis had divided the group into two touring outfits, one of which will play this Riverside Theater show.
Monday, Dec. 15
The Hobbit Trilogy @ The Avalon Theater, 12:30 p.m.
It’s the moment Bay View residents have spent years waiting for. The historical Avalon Theater on Kinnickinnic Avenue, originally opened in 1929, has completed its long restoration and will reopen this week. The official opening is Thursday, Dec. 18, when it will begin screening Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, but first the Bay View Historical Society is hosting three nights of special screenings there, beginning with this marathon of the three Hobbit movies: Unexpected Journey (at 12:30 p.m.); The Desolation of Smaug (3:45 p.m.); and The Battle of the Five Armies (7:15 p.m.). Tickets are $100 and include a tour of the venue.
Wednesday, Dec. 17
Wiz Khalifa and Meghan Trainor w/ Jacob Latimore and Eden XO @ The Eagles Ballroom, 8 p.m.
With his nasally, weed-mellowed flow, Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa has succeeded where marijuana-obsessed peers like Curren$y have not by translating his early underground buzz into genuine commercial success. Of course, he’s had the help of some choice producers, who have packed his albums with some of the most expensive, can’t-miss party tracks that money can buy, including “We Dem Boyz,” a smash from his latest album Blacc Hollywood. Tonight the rapper headlines this 103.7 “KISSmas Bash” show along with one of 2014’s breakthrough stars, Meghan Trainor, who scored a career-making hit with her ode to curves “All About That Bass.” Trainor will release her debut major-label album Title in January.
