Amy Schumer @ BMO Harris Bradley Center, Dec. 4
Friday, Dec. 4
Amy Schumer @ BMO Harris Bradley Center, 7 p.m.
Her unflinchingly personal, often sexually oriented stand-up routines earned Amy Schumer the respect of some of comedy’s biggest names, and had more than a few media outlets predicting that she’d become stand-up’s next true superstar. Even her biggest advocates must be a little surprised by what a banner 2015 she’s enjoying, though. The year has already seen her star in a hit romantic comedy, this summer’s Judd Apatow-directed Trainwreck; bask in further acclaim for the latest season of her hit Comedy Central show “Inside Amy Schumer;” host “Saturday Night Live;” and debut a new HBO special, “Live at the Apollo.” And the year isn’t over yet: This weekend she kicks off a seven-city arena tour here in Milwaukee at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Tony Bennett w/ Antonia Bennett @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
As anybody who has ever seen VH1 knows, music history is packed with great comeback tales, but few have been more remarkable than Tony Bennett’s. Popular throughout the ’50s and ’60s, the pop and jazz crooner fell upon hard times commercially and personally in the ’70s as he struggled to contemporize his sound for rock audiences. Broke and rejected, he nearly died from a cocaine overdose in 1979. But he rehabilitated his image in the ’80s, and by the ’90s he was widely regarded as a national treasure and praised for reintroducing the American songbook to younger audiences. Bennett celebrated his 85th birthday in triumph in 2011, as his Duets II album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, making him the oldest artist ever to reach that position. He repeated that achievement last year with his collaborative record with Lady Gaga, Cheek to Cheek, which netted him another Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
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Jon McLaughlin w/ Tess Henley @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
On his 2007 album Indiana, pop-rock singer Jon McLaughlin carved lovelorn songs with soft Christian-rock undertones out of light acoustic guitars and sighing pianos. He overhauled his image drastically, though, in the aftermath of his Academy Award-nominated contribution to the movie Enchanted, “So Close.” For his 2008 album OK Now, he ditched his farm-boy singer-songwriter persona to reinvent himself as a commercial-pop star. The record was buffed to a bright, electro-pop sheen by Jonas Brothers producer John Fields. McLaughlin has gradually returned to more intimate songwriting on subsequent albums, including 2012’s Forever If Ever, which featured the Sara Bareilles collaboration “Summer is Over,” and his upbeat latest record Like Us.
Real Time @ Dance Works, 8:30 p.m.
This fall dancers Andrea and Daniel Burkholder introduced their latest project: Real Time, a performance series that takes place the first Friday of each month. The format is fluid, but generally features a blend of dance, music and improvisation, and ends with conversation. For this month’s installment, the duo is joined by Ko-Thi Dance Company’s Artistic Director Ferne Caulker Bronson and its Musical Director Tarence Spencer for a rhythm-oriented program that will draw from the sounds of West Africa. Admission is pay-what-you-will.
Saturday, Dec. 5
Spiral Trance w/ The Cherrypops and The Black Saints @ The Metal Grill, 10 p.m.
Neither word in the band name Spiral Trance does justice to just how heavy this Milwaukee hard-rock group is, but then again, the band has never been one to overstate things. This year the quartet marked 20 years together without making a big deal about the anniversary—they just carried on as they always do, by playing pummeling, breakneck rock that draws from across a wide spectrum of metal, classic rock and even progressive rock, but never chases trends. They share this show at one of their usual haunts, Cudahy’s Metal Grill, with two similarly heavy local bands: The Cherrypops and The Black Saints.
Sunday, Dec. 6
Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
Scott Weiland is one of the most purely talented hard-rock singers of his time, though at this point he’s as well known for his struggles with addiction and his acrimonious relationships with his former bandmates as he is for his music. Following an ugly split from Velvet Revolver, his group with Slash from Guns N’ Roses, and a rocky reunion with Stone Temple Pilots, Weiland assembled a new backing band called The Wildabouts for his latest solo album, Blaster. As the title implies, it’s one of Weiland’s loudest records, a fuzzy, roaring rock album that plays to Weiland’s glam instincts.
Monday, Dec. 7
Heart @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
Although they’ve cycled through a staggering number of musician lineups, Heart has maintained its distinctive sound thanks to Ann Wilson’s soaring vocals and her sister Nancy’s multi-instrumental support. The band’s popularity has stayed steady over the decades. Hits like “Crazy on You” and “Magic Man” still get significant airplay on classic-rock stations, as does their signature song “Barracuda,” written by Ann in angry response to a journalist’s allegation that her and her sister were in an illicit relationship. The Wilson sisters have lost little of that fury over the years. Their latest record, Fanatic, is one of their most autobiographical yet, a reflection on a lifetime spent in rock ’n’ roll. It was followed last year by a fiery live album, Fanatic Live from Caesar’s Colosseum.
Tuesday, Dec. 8
Michael McDonald @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
One of the most enduring figures of soft rock, Michael McDonald cut his teeth singing with Steely Dan before joining The Doobie Brothers during their most commercially prosperous period. Since splitting with the Doobies in 1982 he’s rejoined them periodically as a guest performer, but focused most of his attention to his solo career, where he specialized in blue-eyed soul. He returns to Milwaukee for 95.7 BIG FM’s Christmas Bash, for a program that promises a whole lot of holiday staples.
Wednesday, Dec. 9
Rhett Miller w/ Mike Benign @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Rhett Miller never let his solo ambitions get in the way of his alt-country band Old 97’s, even after he found considerable critical and commercial success with his 2002 solo debut The Instigator. He’s continued writing and recording with Old 97’s—which last year released one of their wildest, most cathartic records in years, Most Messed Up—while juggling a solo career on the side. Don’t come to Miller’s latest solo album, The Traveler, looking for that kind of unfettered rock ’n’ roll, though. It’s an unusual departure from the songwriter, an inward-leaning indie-pop album recorded with assistance from R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and members of The Decemberists.
