Photo by Kurt Raether
Jaill @ Mad Planet, Dec. 19
Thursday, Dec. 17
Ex Fabula Spectacular @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7:30 p.m.
An array of storytellers from widely different backgrounds will take the stage at Ex Fabula’s latest Spectacular event, all rising to the same challenge: to win over the audience with short, autobiographical stories, all told without any notes. There are no limitations on the stories they tell—some are uproariously funny, others are intensely dramatic—but they’ll all be constructed around the night’s theme: “Never again.”
Friday, Dec. 18
Mario R. Martin @ Rush-Mor Records, 7 p.m.
A lifelong music collector, Milwaukee author Mario R. Martin has periodically also made his living in the music industry. This year Martin—a former label publicist and sometimes DJ who performs under the moniker The Ghosts of Laura Palmer—published his biography Growing Up Analog, an account of his love of music, fondness for record stores and days working in the music industry. At this appearance at Rush-Mor Records, he’ll sign copies of his book then stick around and spin some of the records he wrote about.
Nick Moss Band @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Some blues artists just look the part. Hefty, bearded and tatted-up, Chicago guitarist Nick Moss cuts an imposing figure, one that matches the searing ferocity of his electric blues. A 16-time Blues Music Award nominee, Moss was schooled on the sounds of his native city, though with his Nick Moss Band he also dips his toes into more soulful, Southern-style blues and straight-up rock ’n’ roll. That diverse sound and his long, showy guitar solos have earned him a loyal following in both blues and jam-music circles.
Marc Roberge of O.A.R. @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
Marc Roberge is no stranger to Milwaukee. He’s logged tens of thousands of miles on the road with his up-tempo, jam-rock band O.A.R.; those tours usually take him through Milwaukee at least once a year. For this stop, however, he’ll try something different—going sans band for an intimate, acoustic performance that will put his songs front and center.
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Saturday, Dec. 19
103.7’s KISSmas Bash w/ All Time Low, American Authors and 3OH!3 @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
All Time Low were poppy even by the radio-hugging standards of mid-’00s emo-pop—almost as much a boy band as they were a punk band. For a band that critics derided as slick to a fault, however, they’ve shown surprising longevity, outlasting many of their early Warped Tour tourmates, and carrying with them an audience that has remained loyal well past adolescence. The group stayed the course on their sixth and latest album, Future Hearts, their highest charting yet. They’ll headline this year’s KISSmas Bash from the pop station 103.7 FM, supported by the pop-rock group American Authors whose 2013 single, “Best Day of My Life,” got major airplay on the station, and the electro-pop duo 3OH!3 whose 2008 single, “Don’t Trust Me,” remains a frat party staple.
Ugly Sweater Party w/ Jaill, Midnight Reruns, Dogs in Ecstasy and Andi Action @ Mad Planet, 9 p.m.
For the fourth year in a row, Mad Planet has rounded up several of Milwaukee’s best live bands for its annual Ugly Sweater Party. This year’s lineup is topped by Jaill, the Burger Records-by-way-of-Sub Pop band whose latest album, Brain Cream, contains some of their prettiest psych-pop songs yet. They’re joined down bill by Midnight Reruns who, teamed with Tommy Stinson of The Replacements, produced their excellent sophomore album, Force of Nurture, and Dogs in Ecstasy, whose bombastic, synth-heavy new album, Welcome 2 Hell, plays like a lost ’90s relic from the Beastie Boys’ Grand Royal label.
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades w/ Dead Man Winter and Old Man Luedecke @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
Stevens Point isn’t especially well known for its music scene, but for the last few years one band from its scene has been turning heads around the state and beyond—Horseshows & Hand Grenades, a bluegrass quartet with a deep respect for genre tradition. Using an array of instruments that includes guitar, accordion, harmonica, fiddle, mandolin and a dobro, the group has earned a reputation for their boisterous live shows, which often play out as wild hootenannies. This year they released their latest album, Middle Western.
Sunday, Dec. 20
DigiTour Slay Bells Ice w/ Rebecca Black @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 4 p.m.
Remember Rebecca Black? If you don’t, you probably vaguely recall her fluke hit, “Friday,” a heavily Auto-Tuned pop-by-numbers song that became a viral hit (and eventually a real hit) largely because people couldn’t stop making fun of it. Now 18 years old, Black is the star attraction on this year’s DigiTour, a tween-friendly road show made up of performers who have found fame on the Internet, either through YouTube channels or Viral Vines.
Tuesday, Dec. 22
The Academy Is… w/ PartyBaby @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
Chicago rockers The Academy Is… were one of the countless bands that emerged in the wake of Fall Out Boy’s success and whose chipper pop-punk helped define the sound of alternative and pop radio in the mid-to-late ’00s. After aborting plans to record a fourth album (which would have followed 2008’s Fast Times at Barrington High), the group disbanded in 2011, but this year they reunited for a performance at Riot Fest in their home city. The show paved the way for their current December tour, marking the 10th anniversary of their debut record for Fueled By Ramen, Almost Here. But their reunion won’t be a permanent one; they’ve said they plan to go their separate ways again after this tour ends.
